Anti-Valentine's Day Playlist

Modern Valentine’s Day is weird and its history is even stranger. Originally there was the Roman holiday of Lupercalia in mid-February. It was a celebration of the coming of spring and fertility and the patriarchal Romans literally handed out women to men via a lottery. ¡Que romantico! In the 5^th Century, the Christian church renamed it after St. Valentine and now it’s a retail bonanza. For modern folks in romantic relationships, it can be a nice excuse to celebrate their affection.  For everyone else, it’s annoying as hell. Full disclosure: I am in a happy romantic relationship and usually do a V-Day thing with my husband. But it wasn’t always that way. I am also a divorcée and was single for extended periods of my adult life, so I understand how very irritating the whole holiday can be. I mean, you can’t turn on the tv, scroll Instagram, or walk into a store in February without being bombarded with a flurry of heart-shaped products. Outside of Valentine’s Day, there’s also so much pressure in our culture for everyone to to find a life partner and settle down and if you haven’t or aren’t interested in that whole thing, you can feel a little out of step with the world. And personally, I think it’s a little unhealthy to feel that another person “completes” you. You and I and everyone else are complete all on our own. 

That’s where this Anti-Valentine’s Day playlist comes in. I didn’t want to add to the cultural heart-fest and just curate a bunch of love songs. First of all, that’s a boringly easy task and secondly, I felt like I wanted to show my love for all the single people. After all, singular is another word for exceptional. Exceptions can be good or bad and just because you’re not average doesn't mean there’s anything wrong with you. Celebrate your exceptional self and show yourself the love you deserve. This playlist has a bunch of amazing songs from some of my favorite artists, like Belle and Sebastian’s “I Love My Car;” Future Bible Heroes’ “I’m Lonely (and I Love It),” Nina Simone’s “Marriage is for Old Folks” and many more gems (some of which are more explicit than others.) 

I hope you have a fantastic Valentine’s Day - by yourself or with loved ones. Enjoy the playlist and let me know what you think in the comments. ❤️

xo,

Kaelen