Romantic comedies are often considered the quintessential Valentine’s Day films.
Stories about couples meeting, falling in love, engaging in some shenanigans and finding their way to a happy ending. It’s a straightforward formula.
While this isn’t a bad thing and I think that romcoms get a little too much hate, I would argue that it reinforces a long-standing tradition of Valentine’s Day being cheesy and lighthearted when it holds the potential to be so much darker and romantic than that — more magical.
Anna Biller’s The Love Witch is always on my mind when this season comes around. It’s a film that encapsulates an atmosphere of obsession, sensuality, desire, cravings, darkness and, of course, witchcraft.
Halloween isn’t the only day for casting spells and summoning spirits. Why can’t Valentine’s Day be another holiday with whimsy and mystique?
People create love spells around this time, buy charms and amulets to attract potential suitors and even wear certain crystals just to increase their likelihood of securing a date.
There’s something so old world and mystical about the whole concept of people lighting candles and channeling something from beyond to bring them closer to love, and I think that’s what’s missing from Valentine’s Day. We have to put the romance back in “necromancy.”
This playlist was made with these themes in mind, as well as the fact that there can only be so many playlists about magic that feature Stevie Nicks and Lana Del Rey.
So for a fresher listening experience, I brought some electronic and alternative tracks into the picture. From Cocteau Twins ethereal vocals, to the desperation in Yves Tumor screaming its devotion against the backdrop of one of the most ridiculous guitar solos on the album Heaven To A Tortured Mind, this is an ode not just to The Love Witch but to everyone who needs a little magic in their love life this week.
So, whether it’s for summoning a soulmate from beyond the grave or getting ready for a date, enjoy getting lost in some dreamy, romantic, whimsical and obsessive tracks.
Sea, Swallow Me — Cocteau Twins, Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies
Genesis — Grimes, Visions
Road Head — Japanese Breakfast, Soft Sounds from Another Planet
Kerosene! — Yves Tumor, Heaven To A Tortured Mind
Me and Your Mama — Childish Gambino, “Awaken, My Love!”
Gotham Love — BAKGROUND, LT-GLOBE-XXX
Give Me a Reason — Boy Harsher, The Runner (Original Soundtrack)
Nightcall — Kavinsky, Nightcall
Romanticist — Yves Tumor, Heaven To A Tortured Mind
Posing in Bondage — Japanese Breakfast, Polyvinyl 4-Track Singles Series, Vol. 3
Teardrop — Massive Attack, Mezzanine
Scorpio — Mareux, Scorpio
Can you kiss me first — College, Teenage color EP
Polycephaly — Doon Kanda, Polycephaly
Listen to ’Toban Tracks — Wouldn’t thou like to live deliciously? on Spotify here:
