Staff Pix 2/17: Milk Date

The Milk Crate Staff chose tracks that defined their Valentine’s Day this year, and called it Milk Date! Tune in Fridays 2-3pm to the Staff Pix radio hour.

Anya Perel-Arkin

Every Other Freckle by alt-J

I was going to write about “I Think I’m Going to Kill Myself” by Elton John for this week, but I’d like to take a break from being that cynical misogamist I make myself out to be, even if it’s funny. This week, I’d like to talk about desire. Valentine’s Day is traditionally about romantic love, a topic that I can’t mentally process at this time, so I chose a chest-burning, soul-swallowing, all-consuming song that represents yearning and the desperate urge to be within someone. Living inside their lungs, freckling their skin, being every button they press— it’s creepy, but desperate. I always fall for a song with a Lou Reed reference.

Amelia Oei

Drunk II by Mannequin Pussy

Perhaps one of the greatest breakup songs ever, “Drunk II” is the lead single of the Mannequin Pussy’s third album with Epitaph, Patience. A passionate, angry, desperately drunk song written to the ex lover of Marisa “Missy” Dabice, the lead singer of Mannequin Pussy. Missy tries to drink to drown out her despair but still is filled with an empty, rageful sadness. In this rage, Missy also reveals a vulnerable part of her psyche and wrestles with her own actions: “And everyone says to me / ‘Missy, you’re so strong!’ / But what if I don’t want to be?” The frenzy continues and the intensity grows around 3:00 with a passionate guitar solo and Missy’s screaming lyrics: “Half pitcher down / I drink to drown / I am alone.” The riffs and melody embody an indescribable rage at the ex lover, at the self, at the situation.

Julia Norkus

Our Song by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Not everyone is well qualified to talk about healthy love, but RKS knew what they were talking about when they released “Our Song” in 2020. This anti-love anthem talks about the deterioration of a relationship over time, the toxic energy emanating from the abrupt starts and stops of the band throughout all one minute and 56 seconds. There are fights, there are make-ups, but at the end of the day, it’s terrible and of course you want more because that person is so awful but aren’t they just so pretty when they’re mad, their brown eyes sparkling with rage? Aren’t they so sweet as they cradle you through shuddering sobs that THEY caused by gaslighting you into oblivion? Man, I love love! Lyrical genius is exemplified by lines like, “Still got your back even when you break a chair on mine like / Shit! Is it Monday night?” which is a silly reference to Monday night wrestling and loving someone even when they turn around and treat you like absolute garbage. People change and we outgrow each other, but at the end of the day, people honestly suck and it’s important to know that there’s more than one way a heart can break. Anyways — happy belated Valentine’s day!

Karenna Umscheid

Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen

There are so many Springsteen love songs I could choose - “Fire,” “My Love Will Not Let You Down,” “Prove It All Night,” - but something always keeps me coming back to this one. In the last Valentine’s Day staff pix I chose a Fiona Apple track out of angst, but this year I regret to inform you that I’ve honestly been feeling nothing. No catastrophic crushing delusion, no romantic joy or even a small glimmer of any feeling at all - good or bad. I feel love for my friends and family, but in the romantical valentine’s day sense, I’m pretty much empty. I’m also stuck in a constant weekly cycle of overworking myself and laying in bed for hours in exhaustion, as the emergence in springtime in our sweet city of Boston passes me by. To put it simply, Bruce Springsteen just gets me right now. “Dancing in the Dark,” in particular, speaks perfectly to my mind-numbing February, my being encompassed only by work and exhaustion, my boredom and desire to feel something, anything more.

Adri Pray

Painkiller by Ruel

In an almost desperate attempt to be near his person, “Painkiller” details the relief Ruel feels when he’s around, presumably, his ex. Groovy, slow, and intentional, this song captures how it feels to chase after who you know is the right person for you. It’s very “right person, wrong time,” and you can hear how hurt Ruel is singing about this person. An on brand anthem for Valentine’s Day, he’s able to capture his emotions through a heartbeat-like keyboard bass line and synchronous drum beats that allow the song to build to its explosive climax.

Shreya Partha

ICU by Phoebe Bridgers

I have always listened to breakup songs with the presumption that they have to be as depressed as I am — the beat slow, the voice torn, and the melody dripping with sorrow. Clearly, I hadn’t listened to Phoebe Bridgers before that. “ICU” is written about Bridger’s ex-boyfriend/drummer Marshall Vore, and in an interview with Rolling Stone, she says they “became like family to each other, so our breakup was extremely tough. But if this tells you anything about our relationship, we wrote this song together, just like everything else.” This is reflected in the lyrics as well, when she sings “If you’re a work of art/ I’m standing too close/ I can see the brush stroke,” showing her raw admiration for him and the heart-wrenching and often overwhelming feelings that are associated with such a fiery and passionate love. With the lyrics “‘Cause I don’t know what I want/Until I fuck it up,” she shows how possible it is to appreciate the relationship and the memories that have been made and come to terms with the end of it even if it’s in a beautifully tragic way. Love is painful, heated, passionate, and beautiful. It is meant to be clear, but it is equivalently meant to be confusing. “ICU” perfectly captures the turbulent waters of love — and its aftermath — and does it so inexplicably flawlessly. 

Farah Rincon

My Funny Valentine by Chet Baker

While it is not explicitly stated as one of the five types of love languages, humans have dedicated songs to express their devotion since we discovered how to communicate with one another. Chet Baker's version of "My Funny Valentine" does exactly that—it communicates with the listener through a musical love letter filled with inside jokes and personalized messages. Some may argue that the song is somewhat backhanded in that it refers to the singer's "funny" looking valentine, but I believe the message is more profound than it seems. Chet Baker's tone is smooth and gentle throughout the song, transforming all of these semi-offensive comments about someone's appearance into a unique way of stating that his lover's flaws and unique appearance are his "favorite works of art," perfectly imperfect and completely enticing to him. All of the elements Chet Baker inputs into this classic are what sweep me off my feet each Valentine's Day, making me reflect on the various ways I've loved and been loved.

Kaitlyn Hardy 

But I Like You by Say Sue Me

“But I like You” is pure joy and giddiness; it’s the uncontrollable feeling of a love so powerful it feels like it’s bursting through your chest; it’s the euphoric forcefulness of a crush so overwhelming you can’t wait until you sleep so you can dream about them. Especially for us heartless folk out there– or those of us with exceedingly high standards– the song captures the feeling of finding someone so perfect it feels too good to be true. If soulmates exist, Say Sue Me proves it. The singer, a self-proclaimed cynic who’s “nothing but full of things I hate” meets someone who leaves her rolling head over heels (“I like you liking me Yet I’m full of things I hate// I’m full of things I hate/ But I like you”). Although the lyrics are a bit simplistic, the song’s punchy melody is an unstoppable force driving it through– it’s seriously addictive. The notes bounce off each other, crafting the bliss the song radiates. Just like the narrator herself. The lyrics may be monotonous, but what’s behind them shines through.

Laila Gilio

Ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine

Just when you thought Valentine’s day had done enough damage to your psyche, Ms. Lizzy McAlpine released the music video to “Ceilings.” So if you thought you were sad before, wait till you watch this one! Yes, it is gut-wrenching, but in the best female, melodramatic, emotional breakdown kind of way, that makes you want to listen and watch it on a never-ending loop. The music video paints the ever-so-painful picture of what it looks like to reminisce on those fleeting moments in a past relationship. She illustrates the early days of her relationship at the beginning of the song, “My shoes are now full of water/ Lovely to be rained on with you.” These lyrics suggest the notion that you can be perfectly comfortable being uncomfortable with someone you love. She sings these words in a hauntingly melancholy tone that implies a bittersweet ending to this relationship. However, Lizzy doesn’t reveal this heartbreak until the song's end, leading you to think that maybe everything will be ok. But with her songs, that’s usually not the status quo. The most impactful part of the story is the ending, “But it’s not real, and you don’t exist.” McAlpine lets the listener know that the beautiful journey she just took us on with her and her partner came to an unexpected turn, and he wasn’t her partner after all. This partner being the one she described in the song, a sweetened version of the actual partner she had. The music video and song end, bringing us back to the reality of a single person’s valentine’s day with our protagonist. Pretty damaging, to say the least. 

Salem Ross

Kill You in Bed by George Clanton 

On Valentine's day I wrote four poems around 10pm in my dorm while listening to house music. Unlike house music, these poems did not make me want to dance. Love has always been a foreign concept to me. To love someone would be a personal sacrifice. Kill You in Bed is the last track off of George Clanton’s album 100% Electronica. This record has a few… questionable songs that can be debated if they are about love or not (so is my poetry). The push and shove of wanting someone so bad that it's embarrassing. The feeling of it is torture and since it's a new feeling, it leaves you second-guessing what to make of it. The song starts off with what you might think is Oasis’s Champagne Supernova with its crashing waves but instead of guitar you hear Clanton’s soft glow of electronic synth made possible by “professional” mixing on a “fake Mac Pro and a Fostex Model 80 reel to reel” sounding identical to yearning love songs of the 1980s, even when released in 2015. It is reminiscent of that hollow feeling that any new wave track will give you. Its long draws of each verse stress earnestly that the only way they can describe loving someone is out of frustration and confusion about how new the feeling is to them. While the first half of the song displays wanting to be so close to someone that it kills them,it turns self reflective towards the end. Loving someone can be an internal battle. “I'll give it all up in time”; I’ll give myself up to you as long as you do the same. Love is a foreign language but realizing its presence can be positive, even if it doesn't feel like it. 

Matt Kugel

Let Me In Your Life by Asha Puthli

As the five opening chords arpeggiate and bloom, Asha Puthli’s 1973 cover of “Let Me Into Your Life” quickly asserts itself to be a deep profession of one-sided love that hits the ground running and never lets up on pure beauty the whole way through. Originally a Bill Withers song, Puthli’s rendition was the first song I ever heard by her and I’ve had it on constant repeat ever since. Everything, from the funk-filled bassline to the shimmering keyboard, builds off of each other in a way that makes each part feel essential to the track. It’s a cover that sounds meticulously layered and dense but still manages to keep a certain lushness the whole way through, perfectly complimenting the song’s lyrics. As she sings, Puthli gives us the perspective of someone in a situation just as complex as the various tonal differences in the music. She’s strikingly direct in her plea to an unrequited love, and with lines like “I wasn’t there when she hurt you/So why must I have to pay?”, the singer paints a picture of pure desperation, having deep feelings for someone who’s unable to reciprocate them because of a past relationship. She’s so happy to be in love but is just as saddened by the response she’s met with, and it’s that contradiction (which carries through the whole song) that makes it such a great listen.

Lily Suckow Ziemer

I Want Love by Brenton Wood

Around this time of year, I should be a bitter single. Sure, Valentine’s Day is nothing but a capitalist excuse for couples to buy each other gifts and post on their Instagram stories, but I can never fully entrench myself in that mindset. I love Valentine’s Day and the sweet sentiment surrounding it. I just feel like many others; I want to be loved. This is perfectly echoed in Brenton Wood’s “I Want Love.” The song has a sweet exterior, with Wood’s g in entle voice and clear piano keys. But what seems like a classic love song at first, turns into something much more longing. The lyrics are simple, and ones many can relate to: “I want love / Gotta have a whole lot of love.” There’s something so honest in the simplicity of it. It isn’t angsty or sad, but instead easy to listen to. Maybe we don’t always need love in the romantic sense, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting it.

Will Ingman

Mad Girl’s Love Song by Roman Candle

A well-written song is a poem set to music. The two art forms are intrinsically different, but historically inseparable, like star-crossed lovers forbidden to meet. A poem may be read rhythmically, and a song may sound like poetry, but a poem is a poem and a song is a song. Enter Las Vegas emotional hardcore band Roman Candle, who unite poetry and music in the Plath-inspired “Mad Girl’s Love Song”, which borrows its title, its refrain, and singer Piper Ferrari’s unbounded, languishing howls from the Sylvia Plath poem of the same title. While it’s not a one-to-one transliteration, Plath’s vivid imagery and symbolism take the form of dagger-sharp guitars, hopeful and emotive, but with a razor of distortion to mirror the despair that colors the poem’s desolate depiction of love. Where Plath writes of a love too beautiful to be real, Ferrari sings about a lover too distant to hold. Both are stinging depictions of love — one erupts in a firework of guilt while the other is swallowed through repetition — perfect for any fellow misanthropes who find themselves loveless this Valentine’s Day.

Anne O’Leary

The Promise by Tracy Chapman 

Tracy Chapman knows how to perfectly encapsulate the feeling of unconditional love in this song. Chapman wants her partner to wait for her, and she will return with all the love she has. This slow folk song has a special place in my heart, with the lyrics, “If you wait for me/Then I'll come for you Although I've traveled far/I always hold a place for you in my heart.” We as humans often want our love to be fast and overbearing, when in reality, some of the best forms of love are slow and tedious. Perhaps it’s a parent, or a friend you've known for twelve years, or even that barista you see every morning who knows your coffee order; love isn’t always an immediate dopamine sugar rush. Love can be something that grows over time. I have a very personal connection to this song because they would always play this song at the end of my childhood summer camp. Hundreds of people would stand in a large outdoor theater as this song played, holding each other and crying our eyes out. I would spend a week building strong, heartfelt connections with kids my age, soon to have to leave this special place in the Redwood forest, knowing that life would not be the way it was there, and this song always reminded me that if I do a little bit of waiting, I can return back to summer camp, and relive those memories all over again. 

Stephanie Weber

Luna by The Smashing Pumpkins

Released in 1993, “Luna” by The Smashing Pumpkins is the love song of the 90s. It is dreamy and slow, perfect to dance to at your junior-high mock-homecoming. Nasally vocals by front man Billy Corgan and simple strum patterns by guitarist James Iha make “Luna” a love song for hopeless romantics. It could be put in some high school drama about teenage pregnancy and making it through because of love. Lyrics like “I'll sing for you / If you want me to / I'll give to you / And it's a chance I'll have to take” are heartbreakingly honest and open, revealing a very melancholic kind of relationship. Earth’s moon is named “Luna,” so there are of course references to the moon and infinite possibilities. Corgan sings “And those moon songs / That you sing your babies / Will be the songs to see you through.” The song ends with the repeated lines “I’m in love with you / So in love,” a perfect closer to this lovely song.

Che Wetzel

Nothing Came Out by The Moldy Peaches

It’s not so much a “love” song as a “like” song. The timidity and insecurity of having a crush shine through Kimya Dawson’s shaky voice as she croons about something we are all too familiar with— not being able to tell the person you like how you feel. “I tried to ask you to your face / but no words came out / I put on my hood and walked away / that doesn’t mean I don’t like you.” We’ve literally all been there, right? This song is simple, sweet, and perfect for anyone with a crush they just can’t quite talk to (yet). For anyone lacking a Valentine this year (but with your eye on someone), this is your anthem. Also, the Moldy Peaches are touring for the first time in 20 goddamn years— it’s time to get them back on your playlists in anticipation for their Brooklyn Steel show this August!

Isa Luzarraga

That’s Where I Am by Maggie Rogers

This song encapsulates so much: unrequited love, on and off again relationships, and as Maggie Rogers would put it, your “eternal, forever what-if.” Long story short, I am obsessed. I would also tag on “Ode To A Conversation In Your Throat” by Del Water Gap to this pick because I feel like it complements “That’s Where I Am” perfectly. Listen in tandem for the full experience. “That’s Where I Am” has it all: a toe-tapping beat, a strong melody and of course, Rogers’ special brand of songwriting. She paints a tale as old as time yet still always engaging: friends to lovers to undefined people who love each other despite everything. This progression is illustrated in each of the track’s verses. “I told you I loved you/ when we were just friends/You kept me waiting and I hated you then/Gave it a few years, you settled your debts/But I never got over the secrets I kept,” Rogers begins in the first verse. We listen as this relationship evolves, transitioning to the second verse, “Who were you then, and who is she now?/Did she know we were together, somehow?/You never touched me, but I felt you everywhere.” That last line gets me every time. The pre-chorus and chorus provides some levity, essentially pushing aside all the questions regarding how these two lovers eventually got each other, “It all works out in the end/Wherever you go, that's where I am/Even boulders turn into sand.” Whoever you love, they are always thinking of you, you are always there. And so is Maggie Rogers.

Parker Bennett

Voulez-Vous by Johnny Goth

Released on Valentine’s Day of last year, this single from alt-indie-rocker Johnny Goth is a wonderfully sultry groove that should help remind you how much of a freaking catch you are. This is a song that oozes seduction, and the thumping dance backbeat is the perfect soundtrack for the most feeling-yourself strut of your life. Johnny Goth’s muttered vocals are a lustful indulgence that blend perfectly with the twangy drone of the guitars, and the switch-up into mournful crooning on the chorus is exactly what the doctor ordered. Who needs liquid courage; this song is enough of an adrenaline rush to get you off that barstool and talking to whoever you’ve got your eye on. For those lucky enough to have been booed-up this Valentine’s Day, this song is a must-have for your date-night playlist and will definitely have both you and your partner feeling like the 10/10’s you are. 

Minna Abdel-Gawad

Glue Song by Beabadoobee

Beabadoobee’s “Glue Song” is the perfect song for all the girlies who are in the honeymoon stage of a relationship, basking in all the moments with that person, lighting up every time they are around and wearing an obnoxious love struck smile on your face. “Glue Song” opens with romantic string pieces and a bright strumming acoustic guitar, and Beabadoobee’s breathy and yearning vocals. Bea plays into every cliche about love, and that simplicity and sincerity in the opening statement “I’ve never known someone like you” may seem obvious to some but it is such an endearing sentiment that you can’t help but smile. The song is sweet and sappy in all of the best ways featuring lyrics like “Never thought I'd find you/ But you're here/ And so I love you” the lyricism is simple but heartwarming, sometimes love isn’t complicated, its pure and something to bask in, which is exactly the kind of love song Beabadoobee created for this Valentine’s Day.

Claire Dunham

Love, Try Not To Let Go by Julia Jacklin

Julia Jacklin is desperate for love, and she’s not ashamed to admit it. The lyrics of “Love, Try Not To Let Go” are multilayered, transitioning between the songwriter’s repetitive affirmations and hazy dreamlike memories. Jacklin sings lyrics like “Can I give my love to everyone somehow?” and subsequently, proves that she is asking all the right questions this Valentine’s season. Similarly, the sound varies between unassuming piano parts and fervent guitar breakdowns. The song is featured on Jacklin’s latest album Pre-Pleaser, and it is the perfect Valentine’s Day song for over-thinkers, like myself. 

Ethan Herbert 

The Moon by Phil Elverum 

Love can be an unfortunate thing, often being reduced to a painful, stinging memory that was once something tangible and inexhaustive. In “The Moon,” Phil Elverum falls back on the memory of a previous relationship, recalling the intimacy he once had with this person. Spending a night in the house where she grew up, driving up to the island where he’s from–these are just some of the experiences they shared and are the places he returns to in an attempt to hold onto some semblance of the love he lost. But in the middle of this melancholy the beauty of love still remains, finding itself in the images of mountain tops and the sound of waves. What Elverum describes, then, is not a world marked by the absence of love, but one that clings onto it in the face of loss. This is a very grounding song, and I think it tries to remind us that the world is more than two people and the time they may have once shared. That love is all around us, and that it’s all comforting under the moon. 

Maura Cowan

Shrike by Hozier

It’s a truth universally acknowledged, and yet a question as old as time itself: why do lesbians so adore Hozier? I don’t intend here to speak on behalf of the entire league, but for me, it’s the all-consuming, complex adoration. Hozier’s love for the women he writes about isn’t pure or sanitized — it’s religious, bordering on worship, it’s obsessive, it’s political, it’s layered. Wars have been fought over the intentionality behind some of his lyricism, whether his words are more about love or power, and whether or not they can be both. But regardless, it speaks to me as someone whose love is often politicized… and who loves people with a fire that sometimes cannot help engulfing us both. While there are other songs by Hozier that I have connected to more in relationships past and present, “Shrike” most reflects the messy truth within his lyricism. He describes a love that is sacrificial and yet symbiotic, angry and yet adoring. It’s a love that I recognize, and there’s a comfort in knowing that I (and “my people”) will always have an artist who is able to put it into words.

Harry Bates

Every Night by Odetta

Few things are as heartfelt and soul-bearing as Odetta’s voice. “Every Night” was originally released by Paul McCartney in 1970, but, for me, Odetta’s rendition from Odetta Sings will always be kept close to my heart. I find myself circling back to this song whenever I’ve fallen hard for someone; daydreaming about pulling a “Before Sunrise” and jumping at the chance to explore authentic, unbridled love. I’m a true romantic at heart. Hell, I went to see Shakespeare in Love by myself at the Coolidge this week. It was in between clenching handfuls of buttery popcorn and gawking at a pre-Millennium Joseph Fiennes as poet Shakespeare that I thought of this song. Maybe this Romeo will find his Romeo someday—maybe not. One thing, though, remains true: The sense that love is right around the corner, that a quick non-coincidental encounter could change everything is much too important to the experience of life to not care about. Odetta’s “Every Night” gets this, and the way she delivers this message reminds me that I’m not the only one caught in the optimistic veil of true love. For me, this song isn’t about being in love with a specific person, but rather that the experience of love is just beyond the horizon line—within sight but a bit too far from touch.

Rachel Charles 

Murder Your Memory by Title Fight 

Valentine's Day can be a reminder of unresolved painful romances. So for this season of love, I want to do some damage control to stop those memories from resurfacing with Title Fight’s “Murder Your Memory.” Off of the emo post hardcore band’s third studio album, Hyperview, this album steps away from the band's usual hardcore elements and borrows some shoegaze dreamo sounds. The dreamy layered peddled guitars mixed with the soft heart-wrenching vocals make this the perfect song to put on when you want to forget the memories of that one person who plagues your mind (and maybe your heart). So don’t torture yourself going back through all those cute photos and memories with your ex thinking about what could’ve been, and instead put on your headphones and blast Title Fight's ode to lost love (and cry if you need to).

Julia Federing

Never Is a Promise by Fiona Apple

I don't know how I forgot this song existed but I've been thinking about it nonstop ever since. It’s so cathartic because not only is Fiona exposing her partner for failing to live up to their promises, but she herself swears to never make that same mistake. The lyrics are so rich and full of so much meaning, but above all “Never Is a Promise” is about having faith in yourself despite who you choose to love. You may love someone temporarily, someone who says they understand you but make no effort to (“You'll say you understand, you'll never understand”), but as long as you know your worth your feelings “swell and stretch” and you’ll “see from greater heights.”

Izzy Desmarais 

Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer 

I am a sucker for 90s/2000s teen dramas. Beverly Hills 90210, One Tree Hill, and Dawson’s Creek specifically. My mom loves to put them on as background noise while she’s reading her book because she’s seen every episode a million times each, so she doesn’t have to pay full attention. I used to sit next to her on the couch and mercilessly make fun of these shows without giving them a real chance. Don’t get me wrong, I still think they’re awful, but once I started to actually watch the episodes of whatever show my mom was playing that day, I slowly started to love them. One Tree Hill is probably my favorite to hate-watch because the plotlines are absolutely ridiculous, but Dawson’s Creek is a close second because Dawson is the most annoying protagonist in television history. “Kiss Me” is featured in the show and even though I despise most of the romantic pairings (cough Dawson and Joey cough) in those first couple of seasons, that song makes it much easier to stomach. It’s so dreamy and swoon-worthy and immediately transports me to that magical forest beneath the milky twilight. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that this song is on my playlist of potential first dance songs! It’s literally perfect for the occasion!!