I love music. I love songs. I am totally the person who listens to the lyrics and tends to eschew the stuff where you can't hear the lyrics. (I am not the person who knows all the lyrics to all the songs, however.) So, I am the person who snickers on the call in shows when people dedicate "I'll Make Love to You" to the person they met in the coffee shop or "I Will Always Love You" to the person they are marrying the next day. So, of course I have stuff to say about Entertainment Weekly's Best Love Songs list.
I tried to first come up with songs I thought had to be on the list. (I don't know that I could come up with twenty five without serious angst.) This was also the point where I realized I can come up with a lot more break up songs that I love than love songs. (I'm not a bitter person, but I do have a schmoopy threshold.)
"If I Could Make a Day For You"
"Grow Old With Me"
"God Bless the Broken Road"
"Perfect"
Then I scrolled through the list - eh, eh, okay, - "Your Song" - total agreement.
"Time After Time" gave me pause, not because I don't like it, but because I never really considered it a love song, but okay.
Eh - Dylan.
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Love it.
Eh - Beyonce
I agree that lyrically "Unchained Melody" is a great love song (and really a better choice for serenading someone you want to impress than "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling") but - as they mention - it's got a very dark feel to it. But this isn't love songs that you can dance to, so okay.
"These Arms of Mine" - Very nice.
"You Send Me" - Sure.
"At Last" - Ah, yes.
"When a Man Loves a Woman" - Sure. A bit like "Unchained Melody" for me - good on paper, but eh.
"Ring of Fire" -Again I say, huh. It is indeed about love, I just didn't have it in my head as a love song.
"In Your Eyes" - Agreed.
U2 - eh.
"Sweet Child O' Mine" - Sure.
"Wild Horses" - Eh.
"I Will Always Love You". And now - it's one. Is this a great song about the end of love? Sure. But then, this list is desperately missing "Kerosene", and "I'm The Only One" and all sorts of other our love is ending songs. If we are talking about love songs in the more standard schmoopy sense, this song about leaving the one you love does not belong.
Eh.
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Okay.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" - Always a good one.
"God Only Knows" - Hmmm. Okay.
I guess, even though my own teeny list has stuff that people don't all know, I feel life I should have had more of a reaction to more of these. Ah well.
