The Anti-Valentine’s Love Song: a List for the Loners

Aimee Goldblum

For many of us single people, we’ll be spending this Valentine’s Day scrolling through social media and wondering just when everyone we know got into relationships. Some of us will be jealous, and some of us will be questioning where these ugly men our friends are dating crawled out from, and where they go when it’s not the 14th of February. For me, though, Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romantic love. I’ll be spending mine with my housemates, watching Emerald Fennel’s Wuthering Heights, an experience sure to be mind-numbingly silly if reviews are anything to go by. So, I’ve compiled a list of songs to listen to this Valentine’s Day, for any situation you may be in. If you appreciate your friends, if you’re mad at the world, or even if you just want a laugh, this list will have a song (or two) for you.

For those who love their friends:

True Blue – Boygenius

Since the release of this song, Boygenius’ Phoebe Bridgers has become a third wheel to her bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, True Blue will forever be the ultimate expression of platonic love. The trio takes us on a journey of friendship, from visiting the beach, to hurting each other, and then all the way back to forgiving and forgetting. The central thesis of the chorus – “it feels good to be known so well” – will always make me tear up. If you’re looking to maximise the Galentine’s feelings on Saturday, give this a listen.

Beautifully Unconventional – Wolf Alice

Wolf Alice’s Beautifully Unconventional aims to appreciate the uniqueness we all hold, to see the beauty in our friends. While the song is based on the film Heathers, lead singer Ellie Rowsell stated that the song was “a celebration of all your non-conforming friends; a celebration of individuality and the adventures that come with embracing that.” If you can get past the slight stalker-ish vibes that the Heathers retelling necessitates, the non-romantic admiration of the subject of the song is a perfect off-kilter Valentine’s song.

Me and Michael – MGMT

Ambiguously toeing the line between romance and friendship, Me and Michael tells a story of a pair who are “solid as they come”. However you interpret the song’s meaning, MGMT centres a relationship that is natural and inevitable, despite any “imaginary bombs” that may try and destabilise it. If you’re a fan of 80s music, I’d stream this. While it was released in 2018, the smooth synths, cheesy lyrics and echoing vocals perfectly evoke everything great about the decade.

For those who want to feel alive:

Buzzcut Season – Lorde

Lorde’s Buzzcut Season captures adolescence in a way only she could. While ‘Pure Heroine’ is full of songs that bleed nostalgia, Buzzcut Season encapsulates the dichotomy of living amongst the violence of the modern day and growing up alongside your friends; the title itself derives from the buzzcuts Lorde and her friends would give each other during the summer. If you want to get existential this Valentine’s Day, this song is for you. Think back to your childhood favourite friends. “I live in a hologram with you,” she sings. Buzzcut Season weaves a powerful story about the importance of friendship and connection amongst a world that can be so cruel.

Beaches – Beabadoobee

Beaches is a song about living and experiencing. Written about the nerves of recording her album, Beabadoobee throws herself into the deep end of her Malibu setting, and comes to realise that on the right beaches, uncertainty turns to certainty. It’s a song about breaking down barriers and existing when times seem tough. The cheery, soft instrumental helps – for me – to conjure images of days spent relaxing over the summer with friends, a lifetime of memories blurring into one. If you’re feeling (happily) nostalgic, this song is a perfect accompaniment.

For those who are grateful:

Alewife – Clairo

In a sadder turn, Alewife tells the story of a girl whose friend stops her from ending her own life. Never failing to make me cry, Clairo thanks her friend, comparing her to a sister. It’s a short, hard-hitting number guaranteed to make you appreciate the connections you have. You never know when someone will come to your rescue. Listen to Clairo and treasure the superheroes and potential superheroes in your life.

The Light Behind Your Eyes – My Chemical Romance

For a slightly different genre, I turn to My Chemical Romance. Released on a compilation called ‘Conventional Weapons’, originally a scrapped album before their final record ‘Danger Days’, The Light Behind Your Eyes sees lead singer Gerard Way sing goodbye to his friends who have met “tragic ends”. The song presents a desire to protect loved ones, to sing them to sleep, and “never let them take the light behind your eyes.” It encapsulates a strong, true love not rooted in romance. Instead, love is derived from grief and sorrow, lasting past death. Allegedly written for a fan battling chronic illness, there’s a pain to this song that cuts right to the core. If you’re missing someone this Valentine’s Day and need catharsis, there’s no better song than this.

For your siblings:

Brother – Gerard Way

Continuing our journey across My Chemical Romance’s discography, I turn here to a track from the lead singer Gerard Way’s solo album ‘Hesitant Alien’. At the heart of My Chemical Romance is the sibling relationship between Gerard and his brother – the band’s bassist – Mikey Way. Brother is a heart-wrenching, nostalgic elegy to Mikey, after an alleged overdose. With Way, we traverse the brothers’ lives across childhood play to addiction and recovery. It’s an atmospheric track, with repeated descriptions of city rain and overlaying reverbed vocals that bring you right into a stormy day in New York City. While the song is called brother, I think you can use your imagination and transpose its meaning onto a sister if you wish. 

For those who are sick of Valentine’s:

Crush Culture – Conan Gray

“Crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out.” Can anyone summarise it better? If you’re mad at the entire concept of romance and Valentine’s, I can’t recommend anything more than Conan Gray. After spending his time crafting fictional, gut-wrenching romances, Gray shoves it all to the side to complain. Who hasn’t been there? He critiques the dating landscape of our present, the push and pull, the hard-to-get situationship. This song, and this Valentine’s Day, are for those of us who are sick of it all. So, here’s your soundtrack. 

For those in a situationship:

Are ‘Friends’ Electric? – Gary Numan

We all know about the dreaded situationship. The tension of not knowing, the waiting for something to happen. It’s a timeless concept. While the word ‘situationship’ emerged from figures like TikTok dating coaches, the experience is nothing new. Gary Numan experienced it in the 70s, with his song Are ‘Friends’ Electric? The answer: no, of course. Instead, we get a groovy, upbeat tune to dance to while lamenting our own complicated situation. So, if you’re looking to toe the line between friends and lovers, without quite committing to either, then this classic is for you. 

For those who want to laugh:

Stacy’s Mom – Fountains of Wayne

Sometimes, its good to be unserious. So, I offer you Stacy’s Mom – perhaps the truest representation of all-consuming love in our modern times. Stacy’s Mom has got it going on, and Fountains of Wayne are going to tell us all about it. If you want to laugh this Valentine’s Day, look no further than the pop punk classic we’ve all grown up with. Better to laugh at Mr Fountains of Wayne’s misfortune than our own. At least we’re not mowing our friend’s mum’s lawn and watching her with just a towel on. Small wins.

For those who are focusing on themselves:

Phoebe – Audrey Hobert

If there’s one thing 2025 break-out star Audrey Hobert does well, it’s authentic self-love. Initially gaining fame through her work as Gracie Abrams’ co-writer on songs like That’s So True, Hobert crafts a persona that slots perfectly into the post-ironic landscape of Gen-Z TikTok. She dances strangely, sings about taking awkward thirst traps, and to many of her detractors, she rejects the typical beauty standards of the age. Phoebe perfectly encapsulates the Audrey Hobert mission; she references Friends, doesn’t care whether her outfit matches, and ultimately, embraces herself. Her acne doesn’t matter – it goes away. She goes on a journey of self-acceptance across the track that I think we could afford to go on this Valentine’s Day. 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide – David Bowie

Perhaps a rogue choice for my final song, especially when talking about self-love, but I think Bowie gets at something in this song that hasn’t been as succinctly delivered since. The cry of “oh no love, you’re not alone” strikes me to my core, and I hope it does the same for you, too. Remember, even if you’re single this Valentine’s, love is all around us. It’s in this music. Give it a listen.

Aimee Goldblum