I Think You‰’re Cute: The Inconvenience of Crushes

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Bailey Cunningham

Courtesy of Billboard

So, you‰’ve got a crush: a bona fide, sweaty palms, poem-writing, want-to-talk-to-them-and-only-them-for-48-hours-straight type of crush. But what‰’s a girl to do when Venus is in retrograde and your only flirting skills consist of sharing fun facts about Vlad the Impaler? Crushes are inconvenient and scary, especially in a dating environment that encourages us to remain apathetic—no one wants to play the hopeless romantic and end up getting rejected. Instead, we all do what college students do best: play it cool, avoid them altogether, and bury our feelings in nostalgic music.

Here‰’s a playlist for when you‰’re too stubborn, too scared, or too awkward to admit you‰’ve got the hots for someone.

“400 Lux”—Lorde

“We‰’re never done with killing time/can I kill it with you?‰Û

A lux is a unit of measurement for light, and a sunrise or sunset is about 400 lux. This song‰’s hazy, slow-burn ambience makes it the perfect soundtrack for a drive home after a long day or night and for quietly pining from the passenger seat.

“Cute”—D.R.A.M.

“I choose you like a Pokemon/I choose you, you‰’re selection one.‰Û

This song is just plain adorable, hearkening back to purer days of movie theater hand-holding and beautifully awkward first dates. It‰’s simple and whimsical, with a catchy beat and references to Instagram-based flirtations that we can all relate to.

“Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”—The Smiths

“Haven‰’t had a dream in a long time/see the life I‰’ve had/can make a good man bad.‰Û

Perhaps the Smiths at their most delicate, this plaintive and minimalistic song expresses a melancholy, wistful desire for things to just work out right for once. Although the writer is terrified to potentially be rejected yet again, there‰’s a stubborn (if desperate) hope at the heart of this song that can‰’t be quashed.

“Girlfriend”—NAO

“When I‰’m your lady/you‰’ll know how beautiful and mystical you are.‰Û

Soulful vocals and a synthy downbeat combine to create a hypnotic ode to the boy she fancies, but also (in some ways) to herself.

“I Wanna Be Yours”—Arctic Monkeys

“Secrets I have held in my heart/are harder to hide than I thought.‰Û

Smoky, melodramatic, and aching with desperation, this song was adapted from a John Cooper Clarke poem of the same name. The lyrics are a classic expression of being mad with desire for someone, and of wanting to be useful to them (or simply be used by them).

“Just Like Heaven”—The Cure

“Spinning on that dizzy edge/I kissed her face and kissed her head/And dreamed of all the different ways I had/To make her glow.‰Û

Written about a trip he took with the girl he would later marry, frontman Robert Smith fully captures the wild, sparkling energy of young love in this colorful 80‰’s hit. It‰’s poignant, nostalgic, and exactly the type of song you can‰’t quite help but dance around your room to when you hear it.

“Fallingforyou”—the 1975

“I don‰’t want to be your friend/I want to kiss your neck.‰Û

Heart-wrenching in the best way, with lyrics that cut to the core with their specificity and raw emotion.

“Warm Water”—Banks

“Looking you over/you don‰’t know my name yet/by the time you looked away already knew I couldn‰’t fake it.‰Û

A seductive electropop jam that captures the initial spark of attraction between two people. It flows with atmospheric energy as she entreats the object of her attention to come closer, and to fall down the rabbit hole with her.

“Come and Be Alone With Me”—Jungle Giants

“It‰’s alright, it‰’s okay, I didn‰’t need my sanity anyway.‰Û

This song captures the jittery, thrilling anxiety of having a crush, and the mix of ecstasy and fear that comes with being around them. It‰’s the musical equivalent of wanting to be with someone all the time and simultaneously being totally incapable of being around them.

“Thinkin‰’ Bout You”—Frank Ocean

“Or do you not think so far ahead?/cause I‰’ve been thinkin‰’ bout forever.‰Û

I don‰’t even need to explain this one. If this isn‰’t on your sad crush playlist I don‰’t know what to say to you other than you‰’re doing it wrong.