 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Valentines Day can elicit two distinct emotions. If you're with someone you're probably thrilled, and if you're without someone you're probably blue. Our Music List looks at love from both sides, offering 13 tunes that alternate between swooning and scrapping. Ever the optimists, we start and finish with a love song. Hope you do, too. |
|
|
|
Click song title to listen to a clip. Click artist name for bio, news, CDs, and more. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Fallin' |
Alicia Keys
|
| love - It takes a pretty intense relationship to create the kind of love that steadily reinvents itself, and as Keys explains her passion in the song that brought her superstar status, she makes a case for commitment being an ever-evolving thing. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She Hates Me |
Puddle Of Mudd
|
| not - Singer Wes Scantlin admits this relationship only lasted "a week or two," and sank fast when it hit the toilet. In his best Kurt Cobain rasp he recounts his partner's lack of remorse about its demise with a shoulda-known-better vehemence. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Can't Get You Out of My Head |
Kylie Minogue
|
| love - Like her hero Madonna, Ms. Minogue has a way of turning a disco beat into a chant of fascination and fidelity. The depth of the romance equals the insistence of the groove, and her heart really pounds on this one. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Over |
Ashanti
|
| not - The scene is set by a skit prefacing this track on the singer's debut - curse words and animosity rule. The sultry ballad itself finds Ashanti contemplating what both parties have lost, and her delivery makes it sound like a lot. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted |
Simple Plan
|
| love - There's something snide in Pierre Bouvier's voice, but as the band helps him explain his yen for a newfound love, you hear an unmistakable honesty in his punk pop whine. Every time the chorus comes around, his commitment seems a bit more ardent. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Picture |
Kid Rock
|
| not - The American Badass deals with rejection much as you'd expect him to: he hits the road looking for dames and drink. But thanks to that old snapshot on the table, his honey will never let him alone. Sheryl Crow makes us believe the feeling's mutual. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beautiful |
Snoop Dogg
|
| love - It's not often MCs show their romantic side, and Snoop in particular has avoided the subject. But here he sees a schoolmate from the childhood days in a brand new light. Pharrell and Uncle Charlie help him explain himself. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Harder to Breathe |
Maroon 5
|
| not - Adam Levine knows there's a breach between him and his lady, and as the 5's funk flexes, he explains how he's suffocating. She won't listen; he threatens to get physical. With lots of revenge in the air, he reminds that breaking up is hard to do. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yellow |
Coldplay
|
| love - Evidently Chris Martin's crush is a blond, because in this nursery rhyme of a tune he sees the color everywhere. Some say love is obsession. Coldplay's ardent way of beefing up a ballad proves it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cry Me a River |
Justin Timberlake
|
| not - Where did it all go wrong? When Timberlake's lady friend dallies with a pal, he's left in the cold. So romance turns to revenge. Rebuffing her phone calls, he offers a simple message: "Now it's your turn to cry me a river." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fell in Love with a Girl |
The White Stripes
|
| love - Jack White meets someone new and love blooms. Now all he has to do is convince the left side of his brain that the feeling isn't fleeting. The Detroit duo's giddy stop/start thrash gives you a good idea of what the rest of his body is thinking. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Those Three Days |
Lucinda Williams
|
| not - Sometimes an affair begins with a glance but burns out in a flash. That kind of thing does a number on your head, and the Texas singer with the patented ache in her voice is reeling as she tries to decipher what just happened on a long weekend. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Play Our Song |
Ruben Studdard
|
| love - "This is for the couples," says Rube at the get-go, and as he explains how an evening of slow dancing can rekindle a romance, he reminds that there are lots of ways for us to sustain the mood of "the night we fell in love." Happy Hearts Day. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
