In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing. This week, in advance of Valentine’s Day, we’re talking about songs we’ve used (or would like to use) to win a crush over.
I’m probably supposed to feel sheepish about liking Snow Patrol, the band best known for soundtracking some pivotal moment on Grey’s Anatomy (or so I’m told), or worse, for being a second-rate Coldplay. But fuck that, because Snow Patrol makes exactly the kind of mainstream, radio rock that hits my sweet spot, and I’m happy to recommend the band’s 2004’s album Final Straw to anybody who likes the best bits of U2 or Coldplay. I would also recommend it to a potential love interest, although my days of making mixtapes for my high-school sweetheart (who is now my wife-sweetheart) are long over. But for young playlist-makers looking for advice, it’d be tough to go wrong with “Run,” which says all the right things to a potential partner. It shows that you are a person who’s loyal (“I’ll be right beside you, dear”), sensitive (“To think I might not see those eyes / makes it so hard not to cry”), and even realistic about the potential roadblocks to happiness (“All I want’s to find an easy way / to get out of our little heads”). Beyond that, the music itself is bombastic enough to mitigate words that might seem silly on paper. Don’t take any fashion cues from the band members in the video, but embrace their sentiment without shame, and your new boyfriend or girlfriend will surely appreciate it.