There’s no quicker way to melt a heart than with a love song. Here’s a Scene staff playlist to keep you bubbling with romantic anticipation on this Valentine’s Day.
Songs
Sade | "By Your Side"
As the ultimate queen of seduction and intimacy, Sade has an entire catalogue of songs that would fit perfectly on any couple’s Valentine’s Day playlist. But her 2000 single “By Your Side” is the best of all.
“By Your Side” is one of the most genuine and heartfelt love songs ever. When Sade softly croons “I’ll be there / By your side,” you believe it.
Some love songs are about heaping praise upon someone and some are geared more toward the bedroom. But “By Your Side” is perfect for both.
-Sean Meehan
Real Estate | "It's Real"
When someone has truly fallen in love, they have no way of actually explaining it.
They can feel it in their heart and soul. Love is something pure and true. It’s real.
This song conveys that message in such a simple manner, whereas the concept of love is overwhelmingly complicated, and that’s why I like it so much.
“When I tell you how I feel/believe me when I say/it’s real.”
-Sydney Gore
The Beatles | "Here, There, Everywhere"
This famed Paul McCartney track is the ultimate Valentine’s Day number. It’s the type of song that if two lovers were to hear it, they’d instantly look at each other and think the same thing: This is our song.
McCartney’s sweet cooing vocals gently toss beautiful little lyrics at the listener, like “I want her everywhere / And if she’s beside me / I know I need never care.”
It’s enough to turn anyone into a hopeless romantic, even if only for a few moments.
-Yohana Desta
Ingrid Michaelson | "You and I"
Ingrid Michaelson has made a career out of twee love songs, and “You and I” is no exception.
Michaelson croons alongside her producer Dan Romer to the notes of a sanguine acoustic guitar. The song is short and sweet, progressing into a communal sing-along alongside Michaelson’s fluttering vocals.
The song’s simple message makes it easily relatable, and thus a top pick for any couples looking for “their song.”
-Hoai-Tran Bui
Movies
Before Sunrise
An unabashedly romantic film set in one day in Vienna, “Before Sunrise” is the intellectual response to the prototypical rom-com.
The film stars Ethan Hawke (“Sinister”) in his ‘90s hey-day and Julie Delpy (“2 Days in New York”) as two strangers who meet on a train in Europe and impulsively decide to spend the day together in Vienna.
Little happens in the movie except for the two of them walking throughout the quaint European streets and alleyways, but the pair’s optimistic, romantic and poignant musings on life and love have the ability to resonate with any viewer, no matter how cynical.
-Hoai-Tran Bui
When Harry Met Sally
There is no better a choice for a date night flick than the Rob Reiner-Nora Ephron 1989 collaboration of “When Harry Met Sally.”
Riveting dialogue, an incredibly strong screen couple in Billy Crystal (“City Slickers”) and a then perky and jovial Meg Ryan (“You’ve Got Mail”), in a role which solidified her as a solid and smart romantic lead for many films over, and one of the most memorable scenes in film history.
“When Harry Met Sally” is one of the best New York romantic films out of the ‘80s.
-David Kahen-Kashi
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Valentine’s movies can be kind of tricky. You want something cute to cuddle up with but run the risk of being too cheesy.
That’s where “Scott Pilgrim” comes in. It’s a love story told in a completely different way. Not as cliché as “The Notebook” or other romantic cry-fests and not as nauseatingly twee as “(500) Days of Summer”; “Scott Pilgrim” works a cute love story into a movie exciting enough to actually hold your attention.
There’s plenty of action scenes to keep you interested and plenty of quirkiness in the main characters to fit any couple dynamic.
-Sean Meehan
Annie Hall
Some films don’t need to have that happy ending in order to fill you with a blissful feeling.
That’s what Woody Allen’s romantic comedy “Annie Hall” does. It offers odd, yet touching, glimpses into a relationship that are both relatable and romantic.
There’s no need for the grand gestures, like standing outside of a window with a boombox or meeting at the Empire State Building. All that’s needed is a few fond memories of some happy nights together and a forlorn, neurotic Allen breaking the fourth wall.
-Yohana Desta
Breakfast at Tiffany's
It’s the quintessential date night movie that will please almost any woman who worships Audrey Hepburn. She’s the classiest call girl of all time and makes us all wish we could lead fabulous lives as single women in New York.
This film is a classic and should be embraced by lovers as they cuddle in each other’s arms.
-Sydney Gore
