Be my valentine... oh, go on. [spotify]

Daniel Johnston – True love will find you in the end
Smoke – Awake
Moondog – High on a rocky ledge
Flamin’ Groovies – Love Time
Ivor Cutler – I love you but I don’t know what I mean
Arthur Russell – A little lost
Dexter Romweber – I’ve lost my heart to you
Ike & Tina Turner – River Deep Mountain High

My deadline for this playlist was Valentine’s Day so I took the plunge and put together some of my favourite tracks about longing, lust and the other ‘L’ word too.

Daniel Johnston starts the show in his endearing hopeful way. Next, Smoke paint a picture of the complexities of domestic bliss and the passing of time. Moondog follows, with perhaps the most beautiful metaphor ever used for the object of somebody’s affection. Following this, the Flamin’ Groovies meditate on the notion of stopping time when in that perfect place. Ivor Cutler and Linda Hirst then offer a simple but affecting duet which does little to define love (but a lot to define what it is to not be able to define love). Afterwards, Arthur Russell does his best to warm someone with his cello and voice, and warms us in the process. The penultimate artist, Dexter Romweber, then lends his voice to (and improves?) an old Charlie Rich classic. And finally, Ike and Tina Turner close the show with their vulgar display of unadulterated wall o’sound passion.

Playlist Club-er: Luke Richards (@myyada)
I’m Luke from Falmouth, Cornwall. I work as a freelance writer and researcher during the day, and play in the powerskiffle band Zapoppin’ during my spare time.

Image CC Don't Panic.