Best Songs for Singles This Valentine's Day

Love is timeless, but so is heartbreak. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, a lot of us end up being single for one reason or another. Now, you could be like me and have the “not-so-kind" memories of your exes haunt you randomly at 4 a.m., but there is a much healthier way to handle those emotions that the holiday brings to the surface – music. There is no doubt about the therapeutic power of music. It allows us to confront and feel the emotions we cannot even put into words ourselves. We all have our go-to songs to scream at the top of our lungs, but I want to offer a couple of tracks that are true undercut gems. The same old “they broke me” ballad can get overdone, and not everyone relates to those feelings fully. Heartbreak is complex and messy, and these ten tracks truly convey that. It’s time to give these songs the love they deserve.

Petrified - Omar Apollo

Where do I even begin with this absolute masterpiece? Apollo has garnered fame in the past few years due to his ability to capture raw emotion in song form. This track specifically feels like the culmination of all that talent and skill. From his debut studio album Ivory, Petrified captures the feelings of uncertainty and fear that comes with relationships and love. It tells the story of a speaker who gets pulled into a relationship that they originally believed to be beautiful, but soon learn it is far from it. Now forced to handle the unresolved feelings in the aftermath, the speaker laments the relationship with lines like “I’m thinkin’ of you more each day. I’m thinkin’ ‘bout all the words you say to me.” With references to angels, shadows and heavenly melodies, the lyrics make this very simple and relatable story into something like a fairy tale without a happy ending. Like most of his music, it has an alternative R and B feel to it. The mixture of silky, full chords and a grungy power bass, along with Apollo’s gorgeous belts and falsettos, add to the overall ethereal, yet gut-wrenching feeling. To make it even better, it’s gay. Overall, this song. This. Song. I would marry this man if I could.

I’d Rather Go Blind – Etta James

A lot of people already know about this song because of Beyonce’s beautiful rendition of this jazz ballad, but I want to take a second to appreciate the talent that is Etta James, the original singer. The song tells from you for another person. The speaker knows the relationship is over, but still, it would be better to not see them at all than to see them with another person. With lyrics like “I don’t wanna be free,” referenced in the hit musical Dreamgirls, James crafts something that, while exaggerated, is very real and personable. This song is the quintessential downhearted blues.

A Soulmate Who Wasn’t Meant to Be – Jess Benko

This is pure regret in song form. Benko expertly puts together a song that draws on all the feelings of “I never should have...” The track begins with empty white noise, only to be filled by an acoustic guitar and Benko’s soft vocals. She tells the story of being so in love with someone who never loved her back. The singer is left wanting to take back all the “I love you” and hand holding. When she looks into their eyes, she can only see how much they just do not love them the same. This song is heartbreaking and perfect for late night crying sessions. The emptiness in the song perfectly conveys that empty feeling inside. Breakups are messy, and the feelings are even messier. This song doesn’t avoid that. The pain can be tough, but we need to feel it to move forward emotionally.

Say You Love Me – Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware wrote the mesmerizing ballad Say You Love Me, which was produced by Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco. The song, released in 2014 as part of her second studio album, Tough Love, strikes a chord with listeners owing to its sincere lyrics and powerful voice. The track delves into themes of vulnerability, longing, and the complexity of love, making a lasting impression on both Ware's career and the emotions of her fans. The lyrics of the song dive deeply into the feelings associated with wanting someone to confess their love. Jessie Ware's beautiful voice portrays the aching and uncertainty that come with hope for reciprocation. It can bring up images of someone yearning for love and affection, seeking proof that they are actually wanted. The melody and lyrics reflect deep sensitivity, making "Say You Love Me" an accessible and emotionally charged song.

I Don’t Know You – The Marias

This alternative jam is a departure from the typical ballad. On the one hand, the lyrics reflect a relationship that has reached a point of no return. It highlights this distance between themselves and the other person, where the other person feels like they don’t know the speaker. The ex is the one that said,” I don’t know you.” The person has just become a weight in bed leaving tension and unresolved feelings. The heavy, but very real, subject matter is masked by a rhythmic indie beat. It’s one of those songs where on the surface it’s a bit bright and cheery, but the lyrics tell a completely different story. This song is perfect for confronting those weird feelings without getting heavier than it needs to be.

Leave – CIL

"CIL's song "Leave" is about a bad relationship that has reached a breaking point. The lyrics describe a circumstance in which the narrator is profoundly affected by their partner's Perc addiction and ongoing harmful conduct. The chorus, "Motherfucker, let me leave," reflects the narrator's yearning to get away from this toxic circumstance and move on. The post-chorus and outro portions highlight the narrator's request to be permitted to end the relationship and never see their spouse again. The repetition of "Let me leave" emphasizes the urgency and significance of this decision to achieve serenity and happiness. Overall, "Leave" delves on the emotions and problems that arise within a toxic relationship, emphasizing the importance of self-preservation and the fortitude to leave a harmful circumstance.

Firearm – Lizzy McAlpine

Lizzy McAlpine is a genius when it comes to heartbreak anthems. If you are a fan of Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever, then this song is perfect for you. It begins soft and tender, detailing the story of being left hurt after a breakup. The ex is the one who left the emptiness in the speaker's heart. They are the one with the firearm. With a relatable lament such as this, Lizzy was sure to have a hit in the making. But then the second verse hits and it turns into a full blown rock opera ballad. The feelings of emptiness turn into anger and blame, and it is reflected in grunge drum kit and power chord guitar. At the end of the song, the song returns to the solemn tone and repeats the chorus again, ending with the line, ”Now I don’t have the energy to.” Talk about storytelling. Lizzy made a track where the genre shifts halfway through to reflect the emotions of the lyrics. Genius. Girlboss. Mother.

Tummy Hurts – Renee Rapp

Speaking of mother, I think we can all agree that we need more Renee Rapp in 2024. Tummy Hurts is one of those songs that just scratches the brain in all the right ways, plus we get to scream the lyrics and imagine our crappy exes. With lyrics like, ”I just want some recognition for having good tits and a big heart,” this song is the perfect song for regaining that strength within yourself. Rapp doesn’t hold back in the lyrics. She describes how she feels bad because the guy she was with is with another girl now, but he’s her problem now, not hers. This song is excellent for taking some power back and screaming at the top of your lungs with your best friends.

single af – Fousheé

It’s all in the title. This R and B track is all about taking ownership of your singleness and being content in it, even proud of it. The lyrics talk about how the singer has confronted all their fears and done the work so that they can be proudly single. They went through all the bad, and they’re able to sing happily because of it. In "single af," Fousheé portrays the essence of the emotional rollercoaster that one can experience while navigating the single life. Fousheé's passionate delivery touches listeners, allowing them to connect with their own personal experiences of love, heartbreak, and self- discovery.

Confronting difficult feelings about love, particularly on Valentine's Day, is essential for personal development and emotional well-being. This day frequently highlights cultural expectations and romantic pressures, resulting in a range of feelings that may not be consistent with one's experiences or goals. Recognizing and processing these feelings is vital for developing self-awareness and resilience. Music, with its great ability to express complex emotions, can be used as a therapeutic outlet for negotiating the difficulties of romance and relationships. Whether through heart-wrenching ballads about grief or uplifting anthems about self-love, it provides a healthy and therapeutic outlet for people to explore and address their feelings. Embracing a broad playlist that captures the intricacies of love might help people negotiate Valentine's Day with a greater sense of sincerity and self-compassion.

Written by Jai Leprince

Photography: Garrett Hoy

CD: Jazzi Almestica

PM: Sophia Querrazzi

Talent: Colin Cardwell, Kristopher Jai Pruitt, Maggie Brockman, Diana Victoria

A Letter from Me to You; What Sparks When A Writer Is In Love?

Situationships, talking stages, ‘hey girlie’ texts- is there any room left for the real lovergirls and real loverboys of the world? Don’t stress yourself with the looming threat of bright pinks and reds that hangs around the corner. Love still exists! For the yearners who feel a certain dissonance with today’s dreadful dating landscape, here is a selection of love letters sent by renowned authors who throw their beautiful talents into the arms of their partners, their muses, their lovers in a fit of pure passion and genuine intimacy, some qualities lacking from this current day and age. May you feel comforted, perhaps even inspired, by the purest descriptions of love for one another.  

Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena

     “Milena- What a rich, heavy name, almost too full to be lifted, and in the beginning I didn’t like it much, it seemed to be a Greek or Roman gone astray in Bohemia, violated by Czech, cheated of its accent, and yet in color and form it is marvelously a woman, a woman whom one carries in one’s arms out of the world, and out of the fire, I don’t know which, and she presses herself willingly and trustingly into your arms.”

There are almost no words that describe the exact nature of Kafka’s prose, which seems to reflect that of the labyrinth of his inner mindscape. He found himself quite frequently experiencing a complete frustration with his ability to connect and communicate with other people, the world as a whole. It wasn’t until a letter by the pen of a certain Milena Jesenká, asking to translate one of his stories into Czech, that Kafka would find relief in his life. Beginning a passionate letter exchange, Milena was regarded to be one of the only people that truly understood the male writer, as her translations seemed to reveal the underlying framework of his works, unveiling his subconscious. To revel in the mere details of another person despite never having met is what brings me to love this sentence so much.

Anais Nin, A Literate Passion: Letters Between Anais Nin and Henry Miller

     “Things I forgot to tell you; that I love you, and that when I awake in the morning, I use my intelligence to discover more ways of appreciating you. That I love you, that I love you, that I love you.”

Nobody can write the complicated realm of romance and sex better than that of Anais Nin. Spanning across multiple novels, her writing seeks to dissect and bring new meaning to that of what is considered to be intimacy, and what is intimacy in the first place. Despite their marriages, Henry Miller and Nin began a fiery affair, expressed through their exchanges of letters over the years until their deaths, only separated by a few years. It is documented that even June, Miller’s wife, was briefly involved with the two. I chose this rather easy passage among other very well-described passages as it signifies feelings of love that can only be expressed in the simplest of terms. I love you, what else is there to say?

Vladimir Nabokov, Letters to Vera

     “How I wish you were saying right now, with feeling, ‘but you promised me…’ I love you, my sun, my life, I love your eyes closed- all the little tails of your thoughts, your stretchy vowels, your whole soul from head to heels. I’m tired, off to bed. I love you.”

Famous for having written Lolita, Vladimir shows a crucial, more sensitive side of his writing prowess to his wife, Vera Slonim. Over the course of forty-six years, the two swapped letters during the times of separation fueled by political discourse leading into the 1940s, with Vladimir’s astute observations of Vera’s wholeness, her character, providing a light to his life. Multiple instances of endearing Russian riddles, as well as recounts of their marriage, their children, and the resulting recognition of Vladimir’s works slowly gaining speed, it is no wonder that the book reaches a whopping 800 and counting pages of pure love and respect for his dear wife. A casual prose is seen here, much more intimate as it is on the go, on a whim, just mere thoughts spilling onto paper compared to the usual well-thought, contemplative style he equips for previous and later works, an aspect of these letters that I can do nothing but appreciate. 

Albert Camus to Maria Casarés

     “I’m thinking of you- and it rises like a tide in me. I love you, with all depth of being. I await you with determination and certainty, sure that ee can be happy, determined to help you with all my might and to give you confidence.”

One fact about the French philosopher that remains in my mind when I read his works, that really makes me laugh the most, is that he was regarded as a frequent womanizer of his time. Having met on the production of one of Camus’s plays, The Misunderstanding, the esteemed Spanish-French actress, Maria Casares, met the playwright and came together in a fling that lasted as quickly as it began, with Camus’s wife swiftly arriving back in Paris. Alas, only four years later on the same day as they met, June 6th, the creatives reunited through pure coincidence, and it is here that they remained in close contact with shared letters over the course of twelve, long years. Desperation for the other seeps through every word, every sentence on the pages. Even the most mundane of details are swapped between the two, signifying that anything, and everything, is electrifying when you find yourself in love, especially with one that is so far away. This distance mythologizes the romantic as a whole, they cling to each other for as long as they can, for as long as they can write.

Is it clear that I find love letters to be a lost art? What else is better than using the art of language to convey a feeling that may be much greater than you and I, but you try your absolute hardest, because it is all for the one you love? Stay safe and stay hopeful through this special holiday season. See you next issue!

Written by Nariyah Gonzalez

Photography: Garrett Hoy

CD: Jazzi Almestica

PM: Sophia Querrazzi

Talent: Colin Cardwell, Kristopher Jai Pruitt, Maggie Brockman, Diana Victoria

Why Everyone Should Masturbate

Masturbation! There, I said it. Now that we’re over the pleasantries let’s get serious. You’re reading this because you want to know why everyone should masturbate, and maybe more specifically, why you should masturbate. 

Well, to start, what even is masturbation? How is it defined, and who defined it? Masturbation has been around as long as animals with genitals have, not really, but wouldn’t that be fun? Or well, it’s been around for 40 million years at least, according to Dr Matilda Brindle, a researcher at University College London on the study this time estimate is from. Masturbation has been around for a long, long, long time. It’s also defined pretty loosely, in practice at least. However, masturbation is defined by Webster's Dictionary as “erotic stimulation, especially of one's own genitals organs commonly resulting in orgasm and achieved by manual or other bodily contact exclusive of sexual intercourse, by instrumental manipulation, occasionally by sexual fantasies, or by various combinations of these agencies.” Wow. That is a lot of words. Masturbation, synopsized, is the act of pleasuring oneself sexually.

Masturbation has been historically criticized, shamed, and demonized. Now, in 2024 we are starting to lean more toward a more accepting climate, especially surrounding female masturbation which is absolutely stigmatized to a greater degree than male masturbation. 

People, especially women, are taught from a very early age that masturbation is taboo. Throughout different cultures, races, and socioeconomic groups, masturbation is constantly villanized. Young women especially are taught that any act of pleasure is wrong and that the act of masturbation is disgusting as well as worthy of guilt. Young boys are taught that masturbation will make their hands fall off. Children are told that the act of pleasuring themselves is a worthy cause of guilt and shame and that this act can even cause them to go to hell, or make God cry. Religious guilt is never a reason to bar someone from exploring their sexuality, and all people deserve to have room to grow and learn on their journey of self-discovery and self-pleasure. Allowing people, children, preteens, teens, and young adults, to shed the embarrassment and guilt of masturbation, allows a much healthier space for room to grow and learn about sex itself.

Masturbation is a fantastic journey of self-discovery, that allows individuals to discover what they like (and don’t like) during sex, either on their own or with a partner. Being allowed room for these discoveries makes having sex safer as well as more pleasurable for both parties. Women especially are taught to expect disappointment from sex and that they should not advocate for themselves in these spaces. Masturbation allows all people the space they need for these important discoveries. Besides assisting with sex and sexual health, masturbation is also considered a facet of self-care. Being able to relax and focus solely on yourself for however long you need is an act of self-love (both literally and metaphorically.) When people can spend time on themselves, even if it’s every once in a while, the serotonin boost can be magical.  Masturbation can also be done during sex, with a seemingly endless world of options to choose from. Mutual masturbation, sexting, and phone sex are just a few options that individuals can try with a partner. 

Masturbation should not be screamed about from the rooftops, however, it should not be shunned. Masturbation exists and has a world of possibilities and benefits for every type of person. The idea that masturbation is shameful is shameful in itself, and simply another device used to shy individuals away from being sex-positive and exploring their sexuality. Whether it’s on your own, with a partner, with a toy, or with anything in between, masturbation can and should be a journey you explore. 

Written by Lucy Anderson

Photography by Thea Weiner

CD: Sophia Querrazzi

PA: Cam Lyken, Amy Kapel, Jazzi Almestica

Talent: Sophia Querrazzi