With Valentine’s Day lurking, I spent some time with recent love songs across genres. Some of them are popular, others should be, but they all say something about how powerful music can be as the soundtrack to feeling moonstruck.
Bruno Mars, “It Will Rain’’
No need to ask: He’s a smooth operator. Reminiscent of Beyoncé’s “Halo’’ (which, by the way, is my favorite love song of the past few years), “It Will Rain’’ is pure sensation. Those silky vocals glide over the sweeping melodies, and Mars scores bonus points for saying it’ll rain without his lady’s love. Bill Withers, he of “Ain’t No Sunshine,’’ would be proud.
Lady Gaga, “You and I’’
Unless you’re counting “Bad Romance,’’ I don’t think of Gaga in the context of love songs. She’s got other things on her mind: fame (“Paparazzi’’), exotic men (“Alejandro’’), Madonna (“Born This Way’’). The same aversion could be attributed to Kelly Clarkson’s repertoire. (Or as a colleague recently put it: “It’s always a kiss-off - I don’t need you, I’m gaining weight, and no one can stop me.’’) “You and I,’’ however, is Gaga’s sturdy salute to two kindred spirits, and it’s as memorable as anything Elton John wrote in the ’70s.
Paul McCartney, “My Valentine’’
As one of two originals on McCartney’s new “Kisses on the Bottom,’’ a jazz-pop collection of songs he grew up with, “My Valentine’’ is a reflection of the album’s after-hours elegance. Not since Chet Baker has the notion of calling your beloved your valentine sounded quite so seductive.
Rihanna, “We Found Love’’
It’s rare for a love song to appeal to the heart as much as the feet. Like Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own,’’ “We Found Love’’ is one of those anthems best heard with the sun out and the windows down. The video is almost as beautiful as the song.
Hayes Carll, “Another Like You’’
