Words and Music for Valentine's Day

Love Poetry Out Loud; edited by Robert Alden Rubin. A wildly diverse selection, includes everything from William Blake to Dorothy Parker and DJ Renegade.

A Lovely Love Story; by Edward Monkton. A brief, charming tale about dinosaurs in love. I’m fond of romantic children’s stories with clever illustrations. Makes the perfect Valentine’s Day gift if you want points for being romantic and generating an “Awww…” response without being too heavy.

How to be a Great Lover; by Lou Paget. If hot sex is what you wanna give your man, this book will help you do it. I reviewed this here at SK over a year ago and kept it for my personal library.

Hide this French Book (for Lovers); Claire Caro. Oi, Oi, there is no more romantic language than French. This little volume burns with the hottest romantic French expressions, such as “embrasse-moi” (kiss me) and “je t’aime” (I love you). Fill your lover’s cell phone with French text messages on Valentine’s Day. When you use this language, you cannot help but sound massively sexy.

The Rumi Collection; edited by Kabir Helminski. Strangely enough, I received this beautiful volume from the Relentless Tease a couple of years ago. I say strange because he prides himself on avoiding romantic gestures of any sort. Just goes to show, a tender heart beats within the chest of even the most macho, testosterone-poisoned man—you just have to find a way to inspire him to show it. Rumi’s works are wonderful--deeply moving and profound poetry.

Living Alone & Loving It; by Barbara Feldon. The Between Boyfriends Book; by Cindy Chupack. Two for the single girls among us, as a reminder that being “between boyfriends” can be the most enriching time in your life. These are filled with positive, empowering guidelines for being contentedly single without losing your faith in amour.

The New Sensual Massage; by Gordon Inkeles. Another book I reviewed for Sex-Kitten and then kept for my personal library. Detailed how-to for rubbing and caressing your lover into Valentine’s Day ecstasy.

And no Valentine’s Day massage would be complete without appropriate mood music. Chick flick soundtracks are a goldmine of delicious romantic tunes you haven’t already heard a thousand times. These are three of my favorite soundtracks.

Elizabethtown – brings you the soulful “Jesus Was a Crossmaker” (Rachel Yamagata), “Loro” (Pinback) and “Hard Times” (Eastmountainsouth). You’ve probably never heard these songs or artists before, and they are divine. This CD also has some classic artists like Tom Petty and Lindsey Buckingham.

City of Angels – Contains my most favorite fuck song of all time, Paula Cole’s “Feelin’ Love.” And the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” has always left me enraptured. Most of the artists on this CD you’ve heard of—Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Alanis Morrisette, Peter Gabriel—but the diversity makes for an interesting collection of music.

Serendipity – Another soundtrack with delightful music by artists you may not be familiar with, this collection captures the themes of magic and romantic destiny that make the movie one of the best chick flicks of all time. My favorites are “Never a Day” (Wood), “Waiting in Vain” (Annie Lennox), “Like Lovers Do” (Heather Nova), “When You Know” (Shawn Colvin), “Northern Sky” (Nick Drake), and “This Year” (Chantal Kreviazuk).

You can take your diegetic Valentine’s Day sounds in a quirky direction with an old favorite of mine, Dr. Hook. Remember them?

Cheesy as brie smothered in ricotta and cheddar, but sweet, nostalgic and innocently romantic. These gems are from their Greatest Hits CD: “Sexy Eyes,” “Sweetest of All” (Of all the lovers you let lie beside you, weren’t we sweetest of all?--This song was written by Shel Silverstein, did you know that?), “Years From Now” (The flame never dies; when I look in your eyes, the future I see), “When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman,” “Better Love Next Time,” “Sharing the Night Together” (We could bring in the morning, girl, if you want to go that far), “I Couldn’t Believe” (But I believe it now when I put my arms around you; there ain’t no doubt about it when I lay my hands upon you), “Making Love and Music” (I wanna see your face on the pillow next to me), “A Little Bit More” (Look into my eyes and give me that smile, the one that always turns me on), and “Only Sixteen” (We’d laugh and we’d sing and do funny things, and it made our hearts glow). Wow, it’s like this collection was made especially for Valentine’s Day. There’s even a big yellow heart dominating the album cover. Not bad for a bunch of goofy-looking 70’s nerds just trying to make the cover of the Rolling Stone.

© Tess