Originally published February 14, 2021 on radiofodder.com

Are the nausea-inducing ads depicting beautiful couples exchanging expensive gifts over outrageously-priced meals getting up your nose? How about those anxiety-inducing dating scam app advertisements? We hear you. Here at Radio Fodder, we say ‘boo sucks’ to Valentine’s day and commercialised romance. Take a stand with us and enjoy our list of anti-romance songs.

All I Want (Is A Love That Lasts) Olivia Rodrigo

I had never heard of Olivia Rodrigo before stumbling across this song late one night (don’t come for me please). Needless to say I was not expecting the intense feels this song brought me. Too often we focus on the good parts of love; the late nights, cute cuddles, dumb jokes. Even the horrible fights and messy breakups. But rarely does anyone talk about the times that love just kind of fizzles out. That feeling of wondering if there was anything there in the first place? This song is great for those sad and confused hearts after losing a love that you really thought would last.

Mollie Crompton

Berlin Chair You Am I 

From the perspective of a protagonist who relates themselves to a chair being leant on to the point of breaking, Australian 90s alt-rock song Berlin Chair (You Am I) is my song of recommendation for the broken-hearted and once loved. Coupled with what can only be described as a perfect music video (seriously perfect), Berlin Chair is remembered for its pained lyrics and the catchiest alternative structure you could ask for. Sitting aloft an impassioned melody of grungy guitar chords, Lead Singer Tim Rogers belts out a barrage of aggrieved lines like “my cold hand is there for you to take” and “I’m the re-run that you’ll always force yourself to sit through”. The way Berlin Chair sucks me into its world and wills me to experience its protagonists’ romantic failings is why I keep on returning to it, making it my recommendation for the broken-hearted this Anti-Valentine’s day.

Daniel Snowden

Both Sides Now Joni Mitchell

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell surely deserves a place on any heartbreak playlist. Mitchell’s poetic imagery, that features so strongly in all of her work, is in full force here. However, it’s my association with THAT devastating scene in Love Actually, when Emma Thompson’s character learns that the necklace her husband bought is in fact a Christmas gift for another woman, that makes this song so heart wrenching. Accompanied by a swelling orchestra, Mitchell is candid in acknowledging just how disorienting it can be to feel life’s lows after riding blissfully through its highs. It is raw, poignant and sobering. Those after a bit of a boogie or an upbeat ballad should certainly steer clear.

Olivia Ryan

Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right Bob Dylan

Sigh. Is there anything more cliché than reminiscing about your first love to a Bob Dylan song? Probably not.
I heard this song for the first time (and became a fan of Bob Dylan – I know, I wasn’t a trendy teenager) during my gap year in India. My group of American friends were singing it around a campfire in the Himalayas, and the guy leading it became my first love. Cheesy yes, but also very true.
It was never going to work out for many reasons, but listening to this song brought me, during varying stages of mourning what might have been, hope, sadness, and later acceptance.
Bob Dylan seems to have a unique talent for capturing the wistfulness and introspection which comes with heartbreak, whether that relationship was a long-term commitment or little more than a passing dream

Zoe McLeod

Don’t Stop Me Now Queen

Valentine’s Day is a time when you can be made to feel ‘bad’ if you don’t have a partner to celebrate with. Well, I say ‘who cares if you don’t!’ Let it be a day to celebrate yourself and your beautiful worth! While you’re indulging in your favourite pastime and food, listen to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and have a good time.

Christina Savopoulos

Graphics by Rai

Introduction by Sarah Jackson