KJHK wishes you a Happy Valentine’s Day and/or Mass Nauseation Day! Whether you’re spending the day snuggled up with your boo or just crushing a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream by yourself, the DJs here at the station have put together a list of music for all our fans to jam too.
Name: Cody Boston (DJ Boston)
Position: Content Director
Year: Senior
Couple’s Dance Recommendation: Illuminaughty – Dreamgirl
The beautiful stylings of this KC band are reminiscent of 1950’s high school dance if that dance took place on a beach. With sexy undertones and immense vocal prowess, this whole album sets the perfect tone for pulling your honey close. The best track is without a doubt, “Teenage Blue” which will have you slow dancing in the kitchen, eyes closed and the feeling of sand between your toes.
Listen here: https://dreamgirlmusic.bandcamp.com
Name: Josh Gaston (Judge Dredd)
Position: DJ for Malicious Intent and Music Staff
Year: Graduate
Couple’s Dance Recommendation: “A3 (feat. MikexAngel)” – Trey Songz
I’m probably more cynical about Valentine’s Day than any other holiday (and that’s saying a lot), but “A3″ by Trey Songz is quite possibly the sexiest song I’ve ever heard, and I just feel utterly compelled to spread the word. Lyrically, the song seems to be focused on how the speaker knows how to please his lover like nobody has before or ever will. He knows that he can give her what she needs, and the anticipation is just killing them both!
This is elation,
I’m so impatient,
This feels like day one,
Anticipation
Ungh!
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_zBgiG6uTQ
Songs for Singles: Feb. 14 – Drive-By Truckers
Besides extreme metal, sad bastard music is essentially my specialty, so it was much more difficult to cull a favorite for the Singles Recommendation rather than the Couple’s Dance Recommendation. However, the title and lyrics of Feb 14 make the song a perfect candidate for this category. The lyrics on Feb 14 by the Drive-By Truckers are told from the perspective of someone who had a particularly bad breakup with their significant other on Valentine’s Day. He cynically asks her to be “his Valentine” all the while recounting the circumstances of their bad breakup and possibly subtly yearning for a rekindling of the relationship. A perfect tune for all us lonely, sad bastards on Valentine’s Day!
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4VgmBbSO8I
Name: Olivia Schmidt
Position: Producer for Arts and Culture
Year: Junior
Couple’s Dance recommendation: “Night and Day” by Everything but the Girl
Lovers of the universe, give a listen to Everything but the Girl’s Cole Porter cover of “Night and Day”. This one gets me every time. This English couple from the 1980s flawlessly icepicks the jazzy elastic tone that always smacks a grin on my face and gets my foot swaying from side to side. There’s so much love pressed into these two minutes and fifty-three seconds. It’s as if lead singer, Tracey Thorne has no time for hesitation. Who doesn’t want a forthright love like this? The milky consistency of her voice plays on the pattern of one’s heart caught up in the fixation phase of falling for another human. It begs the question of whether or not this seemingly insatiable appetite will ever be cured but Thorne answers it all with these few lines, “Oh such a hungry yearning, burning inside of me. And it’s torment won’t be through till you let me spend my life making love to you, day and night, night and day.”
Listen here: Lover’s Track
Songs for Singles: “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” by Jeff Buckley
My choice for all the lonesome ramblers out there is Jeff Buckley’s dreamscape masterpiece, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over.” This is the seventh track on his only complete studio album ever made. Jeff died at the young age of 30 in a drowning accident while recording his next album. He is the “Dream Brother” whose legacy forever lives on. He is an instant classic for any rainy day or gut-wrenching heartbreak. Many conspiracy theorists speculate that Buckley had predicted his death in the words of his own lyrics. Rumors aside, his voice is undoubtedly the sexiest sound known to woman. As quoted by one of Buckley’s biggest influences, Robert Plant, “It was mind-altering.” This track lays it all out for display with the magnetic sound of the solo organ echoing in your ears. You envision yourself standing alone on a misty dock awaiting your estranged lover’s return. The clicking of the guitar swiftly enters alongside Buckley’s angelic tone that lifts you onto your feet again and propels you forward. The lyrics reveal his inability to “Keep good love from going wrong.” As much as one can define the involvement of being in love as splendor, the pain inflicted from these wars can amass some of the most incredible works of art like Buckley’s critically acclaimed album, Grace.
Listen here: Noncommittal millennials
Name: Meredith Emshoff
Position: Arts & Culture Producer
Year: Junior
Songs for Singles: Total Eclipse of the Heart-Bonnie Tyler
To experience a whirlwind of emotions this Valentine’s Day, be sure to blast Bonnie Tyler’s hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Many single people in this world are single by choice and love the idea of being single-until Valentine’s Day comes around. On February 14th, we realize every now and then we get lonely. We realize every now and then, we fall apart and maybe it would be nice to have someone. Thankfully, the beautiful and strong voice of Bonnie Tyler is here to soothe your single soul. For added emotions, watch the music video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOxhH8N3Bo
Couple Dance recommendation: Heaven-Bryan Adams
I don’t know anything about love, but if I had to guess, it would sound something like Heaven by Bryan Adams. Period.
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TtwR2Dbjg
Name: Lily Grant (DJ Lil G)
Position: The Local Block DJ & Content Staff
Year: Junior
Songs for Singles: “BABESQUAD” by Reva DeVito and Com Truise
This song is for listening to while you’re chillin with your babesquad, dancing around your room with a glass of red wine in one hand, Rihanna style. Because Valentine’s Day is not just about romantic love–it’s about loving your friends, your family, your dog, and red wine.
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iw7q3WrD18
Couple’s Dance recommendation: “Child’s Play” by SZA; “Redbone” by Childish Gambino; “Quirk” by Flume
For all you lovebirds out there, these selections were hand-picked from my Spotify playlist entitled, “( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°),” to make V-Day night a little extra special.
Listen here: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Name: Mason Kilpatrick
Position: Station Manager
Year: Senior
Couple’s Dance and/or Songs for Singles Recommendation: “What Are Hands For?” – Toughies
As I lie in bed, at night alone, snuggling closely with pillows, I reflect on why I feel a sense of pressure to find ‘love’. I think I know what love is. But why does our culture paint romantic love as this necessity in our lives? A lot of media we consume today tells us that romantic love is the most vital love of all, reinforcing ideas like “soul mates.” What is so appealing about romantic love anyways?
But then I remember that a local band named Toughies exists. And they have a sweet track named, “What Are Hands For?” For the first few listens, I seriously debated what hands really are for. But after I came to that conclusion, I began to feel something. I began to imagine a certain sensation.
I was the person that never went to prom. I wasn’t secure enough with myself to go to events like that. I also didn’t like dancing at this time. But when I listen to this track, I imagine me dancing with a faceless other (and certainly a taller other). We are dancing to this song. Eyes are starry and smiles are soft, yet endearing. We lightly hold each others bodies with a graceful embrace. That sounds kinda cool. So cool it is comforting. And when I feel this feeling, I understand why people are constantly in search for romantic love. I can empathize with people who long for this sensation. That sensation is dope.
But then I remember I am cuddling three pillows, listening to music until three in the morning, singing obnoxiously to myself, and reading books about Japanese wrestling. I probably couldn’t do that if I shared a bed with someone else. So I always decide to ride this lonely train for a bit longer.
Listen here: https://toughies.bandcamp.com/track/what-are-hands-for