Instead of crappy flowers or fattening chocolates, today I’m giving you a three-way.
Of songs, that is … all from one artist who knows a little something about heartache. And though I’m a happily married woman, I know what a drag this day can be. So this is some music you can really wallow in.
Ever since I heard the first bizarre-o strains of Portishead’s Wandering Star, I’ve been obsessed with trip-hop. I discovered the dance-music version in the dexterous style of Massive Attack, and then Tricky took over. I devoured his albums, which produced a pretty tributary of pop trip-hop with protege and once-lover, Martina Topley-Bird.
Miss Bird’s voice is velvety and ethereal, like most trip-hop ingenues. But the production and abstract lyrics make her songs the kind I can listen to endlessly. Since her trip-hop days, her producers have pushed her envelope into other genres–that crooner’s voice lends itself well to a lot of sounds. There really isn’t much about her stuff that I don’t enjoy.
And since we’re feeling all romantic and/or heartbroken on this Hallmark nightmare of a day, here are three Topley originals that trace the arc of love lost.
Then on to the cold realization that you got played in Sandpaper Kisses:
And finally, the bitter acceptance of Ilya:
There are also lots of great live versions of these songs, in case you like your suffering served rare. Ah … Love is in the air!
Best Time and Place to Listen: Today, obviously.
If this Song were a Celebrity, it Would be: The lovelorn and lost sisters of The Virgin Suicides.
