5. Method Man feat. Mary J Blige – I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need to Get By
A remix of Method Man’s already uncharacteristically sentimental ‘All I Need’ that amps up the romance in the track through a verse from Mary J Blige as well as a hypnotising chorus. Though the track broods with the typical atmosphere and darkness expected from Method Man at the time, there’s an almost lullaby quality mixed in there. Then there’s those lyrics that find Meth wearing his heart on his sleeve about his love for and dedication to his shorty.
6. LL Cool J – I Need Love
Even though it’s often seen as rap’s first ballad, LL Cool J already had two to his name thanks to his debut album – the ladies loved Cool J for a reason, ya know. However, this was definitely the first to make it big. The track isn’t aimed at anybody in particular, but rather finds LL Cool J expressing how he’s looking for that special someone and just how special he’s gonna make her feel when she comes around. LL’s looking for something serious.
7. Cat Power – Sea of Love
Although originally a song by Phil Phillips, Cat Power simultaneously makes the song her own and melts a million indie hearts the world over with her cover version. Taking her cue from the originals simple but poignant lyrics, Chan Marshall (Cat Power) keeps her version stripped back to basics. It’s a little rough around the edges stopping just short of twee, but it’s all the more beautiful for it. Marshall’s sincere, gentle vocals carry you along with them to the sea of love.
8. The Maccabees – Toothpaste Kisses
‘Toothpaste Kisses’ is a love song in the tradition of the simple but effective, just shy of kitsch and cute, indie ballad. Steering clear of over-sentimentality, the song instead comes across as sincerely sweet. Which you’d be hard-pressed to find many indie bands doing without lashings of irony. The song is genuinely just lovely, and though the lyrics are minimal the little detail of the title’s ‘toothpaste kisses’ paints the picture of a realistic, un-pristine romantic relationship.
9. Air – All I Need
Air’s ‘All I Need’ manages to be a little bit folksy, a little bit electronica, a little bit down-tempo, a little bit space pop, and a whole lot of love song. The track kind of drifts along in the kind of dazed but comforting confusion of finding love with someone, as the chorus confesses how there’s now ‘something to do…something to give[and]something to live, with you’. Whoever Beth Hirsch is singing about, they’re all she needs.
10. Lykke Li – Little Bit
Not all love songs are about actually being in love, sometimes they’re about that little bit just before, when those stronger feelings are just blossoming and you come to the realisation that you might just be a little bit in love with this person. Of course, there’s a certain uncertainty that comes with those feelings, like maybe it’s just you, and Lykke Li captures all that uncertainty and resistance perfectly on ‘Little Bit’. As well as the want to just let go and fall head over heels.
11. Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You
This is a love song, a no fooling honest to science love song. I’m telling you. I mean, sure, it’s not steeped in grand gestures, or overt romance, and for all intents and purposes, to most, a pretty straightforward French house track by a singular-songed Daft Punk offshoot. However, most are wrong, because what is more of an expression of love than the simple sentiment that somehow everything is just infinitely better in the company of your loved one. In this case, the music sounds better.
12. PJ Harvey – Good Fortune
PJ Harvey’s ‘Good Fortune’ is another song that follows the feeling of how life just seems so much better in the company of that special someone, or not even with them physically but how having that relationship is enough to make the world just that little bit a better place. Through a series of observations on her daily routine and the city around her, Harvey expresses earnestly just how exponentially everything has improved with this person in her life.
NEXT PAGE
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
