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Making playlists: What’s your love language?
“How can I show my love?” A question bouncing from heart to heart in any new relationship. Quality time, physical touch, affirmation, gift giving – all possible solutions, but nothing says “I love you” quite like effort.
People have been using music to show how they feel for years. Music puts exactly what you’re feeling into words. I mean, that’s why almost every song is about love… right?
We make playlists for everything now, from road trips to chasing feelings. More than background noise, music often becomes a bridge between people. We make playlists for people that we love: a song that reminds us of them, a track tied to a shared memory, a lyric that finally says what we can’t. Sure, it’s cost-effective, but it’s also revealing. Every added song is a small piece of ourselves.
Collaborative playlists are really just the modern version of an old romantic language. For Generation X, making a mixtape was basically a confession of love. Mixtapes were carefully recorded song by song, with a specially designed label and a handwritten track list. The effort showed in everything, from the packaging to the order of songs.
We’ve seen this kind of musical intimacy in pop culture for decades. Think of the 1989 movie “Say Anything,” where Lloyd Dobler stands outside of Diane’s window holding a boombox over his head, blasting “In Your Eyes.” Even now, there's something electric about a song coming on over the grocery store PA or the radio and you both instantly know the lyrics. Learning how to play their favorite song on the guitar, making mixtapes and cassettes, burning CDs, or curating playlists together, these are all acts of affection, some more time-consuming than others. There is something so intimate about recognizing someone within chords strummed, even if the perfect song doesn’t magically play at the perfect moment.
Now I’m not saying to replace all your relationship efforts with sending a few lyrics. Still go to dinner, catch a movie, and share a box of chocolates. But while your hands touch reaching for the popcorn, remember that sometimes the most intimate gifts could be small things you hear every day. When you hear that lyric or their hum in the background, let that be known! Loving music and loving loudly don’t have to be separated – you can tug on heartstrings while listening to guitar strings.
My love song this week is “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” by Elvin Bishop.
Check out KWVA’s Valentine's playlist! Curated by our lovely staff.