ST.ART Loving
Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, 1607-1608
By: Maddy Belton
It’s a commercial holiday made up by hallmark to make money, and single people feel inferior. It’s a holiday that implies to be single is to be less than. It’s the time of year when your mum forges someone else’s handwriting, when a friend sends you flowers. When your boyfriend spends hours on ASOS looking through your saved items. And your girlfriend ventures into stores and onto sites she would normally avoid, or a present for her under the guise ‘we’ll both enjoy it’. When teddy bears suddenly have a larger audience than 5 year olds, and restaurants change their whole layout, so that you can hear every word of the couple sitting next to you, because they’ve managed to fit 10 seats where 5 would be normally. When the set menu is heart shaped, and candles stink up the streets. When love songs either feel like they were made for you or made to taunt you. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Valentines Day 2017.
However you may feel about this admittedly cheesy holiday most people, single, dating, married or against all forms of human contact normally have that guilty love song. The one you listen to when you indulge your fantasies, the one that makes you simile ridiculously, because, someone, somewhere loved someone enough to write that song. And that means it exists right? That cheesy kind of love. Even if it only lasts three minutes. So it would be rude to not supply you with a selection of mine. As a morbidly single human, I appreciate valentines day isn’t for everyone, and if it is for you, you’ve probably all got plans on plans. But this selection is made up of the finest cheese, the songs from the movies that made you cry, the songs that make love feel a little too good to be true. And, at the risk of lecturing you, or taking away your special day with 'bae', I implore you to listen to it with an open mind. The day may be stupid, capitalist and at times silly. But love is not.
And we love more than just our partners. We love our friends and our pets and our parents and sometimes our stationery. So close your eyes and lay back and indulge your fantasies, with or without that someone. And, attached, alone or agnostic, tell someone you love them on Tuesday. A little love can’t hurt can it?
And remember, these are songs people have written about people, for people, by people and we’re people. So technically these songs can apply to anyone. So here’s wishing you, an inclusively happy Valentine’s Day. Love you Mum.