The Best and Worst: Music to makeout to

Your days in college are a robust experience where you might find your “study session” turns consensual makeout. Given that you are most likely in your late teens or early twenties, making out with music is essential! Once your romantically inclined interaction occurs, the playlist is queued and  a mood shift happens, what music do you want that mood to convey? Although you can’t go wrong with playing almost exclusively D’Angelo or some other sensual R&B for your love interest, I would caution you against such conventional and safe choices. Rather, I urge you to makeout to the following songs from my own makeout playlist. The ratings for each song ranges from 1-10, with 10 equating optimal makeout results and 1 equating less than favorable results. The field research for this review was very rewarding, and I would recommend for your friends, partners, parties, and hookups alike!

“Dignity”- Jon Bunting

This local musician from Northern California offers shockingly honest lyricism which will warm the hearts of a wide range of listeners. “Dignity” is a single from Bunting’s earlier work. His new EP released this year provides many more enjoyable tunes to kiss to. The upbeat kissing which accompanies this song will make you and your partner feel like the two of you are characters in Juno. As the quirky intervals escalate, the beat keeps you and your partner linked in a back and forth exchange ramping up to the prospect of much more. Though the song’s rhythm spurs a trance-like state, it is possible to recover from the song’s musical stupor by listening closely to the often heartbreaking lyrics. The upbeat tempo masks most of these observations and was not distracting enough to be a major concern. Rating: 7/10

“Sports” –Viagra Boys

This song is perfect for kissing while in a group; either at a party or at another function which would encourage the switching of kissing partners. Rather than succumbing to the usual songs played during a group activity such as favorites like: “Act Up,” “American Boy,” and/or “Mo Bamba” show your musical autonomy and offer this gem! As the bodies moving around you begin to come in closer and collide with one another, you may have caught the eyes of a potential partner. This song does not encourage the usual swaying of hips or any fluid movements, rather, it conjures images of dancers from a Berlin nightclub. With your external movement in mind, try your best to not let kissing one person take up the entirety of the song. Use the song’s lyrics as a metric: as Viagra Boys switch off listing different sports, you too can switch off and pair  up with different people. The music has an underlying steady beat which is overlaid with different musical accoutrements that gradually escalate with the added eroticsonic element of panting. But, nearly three fourths of the way through, the song makes a very sudden shift where the lead singer begins to just yell, “SPORTS” over and over again. This point in the song marks where — depending on the crowd — they might skip your song. Although, if they make it past this sudden shift, the kissing could get even crazier. Rating: 5.5/10

“Baby I’m Yours” – Arctic Monkeys

This song is far softer in tone than the two aforementioned songs. Do not put this on your playlist if you are kissing someone casually. The song has the potential to catapult you into a very intimate, “What are we?” conversation as they may question the songs placement in a playlist before a hookup. From the song’s onset, the saccharine “oohs” and “aahs” of the Arctic Monkeys nudge you and your partner towards gazing longingly into one another’s eyes. The lyrics in this song are hard to miss: “I’ll be yours” until … xy&z occur. This song conveys a certain longevity and is a bold move to place on your playlist unless of course a partnership is pre-established. If on a date night, this could be the perfect fit; maybe an escalating slow dance with soft kisses. The 2006 song transports you to the elementary school days where younger you existed imagining different cast members of the cinematic classic, Highschool Musical were in fact kissing you to the Arctic Monkeys, “Baby I’m Yours.” Due to the sentimentality I would give this 8/10 but 2/10 for a hookup.

“Lazy Lover”- Brazilian Girls 

This psychedelic tune will astralproject you into outer space. Combining drugs and kissing could prove to be a very nuanced experience: the different tonalities within the Brazilian Girls sonic intervals are experientially individualistic. The bossa-nova esque Brazilian background beats, matched by the English and Portuguese vocals are interwoven in this four-minute song, allowing listeners to achieve a deeper self-understanding. In the right circumstances you can feel this song radiate in your bones and wash over your body. Kissing will be secondary to the act of listening as your bodies together mirror the inside of a lava lamp and “Lazy Lover” takes center stage. Rating: 10/10

“Left Right” –The Chats & “Gold Hole” – Shame

These songs have pretty much the same effect. Fast-paced punk music is matched by fast-paced kissing. The aggressive accelerated pace could be off-putting if you prefer soft kisses. The two songs are dependent on the vibe of you and the other person kissing. Rate: 7/10

“Make Out in My Car” Moses Sumney, Sufjan Stevens version

Do NOT put this song on any makeout playlist ever! If, like me, you were fooled by the song title containing the phrase “make out,” know that you are not alone. This is the saddest song ever. While doing research for this article, this song came up on shuffle and completely ruined my mood. I caution you in playing this song as listening to it could leave both you and your partner in tears. Moses Sumney had his song covered by three different artists: Alex Isley, James Blake, and Sufjan Stevens. The mastery in how each artist approaches the composition is beautiful, but better listened to in solitude. Rating: -1/10

“Sutphin Boulevard” –Blood Orange

My editor suggested this song and it turned out great. “Sutphin Boulevard” can be placed on any playlist for any partner configuration. Blood Orange has a steady beat that (unlike Shame and The Chats) is not determinant to the pacing of your kisses. The lyrics do not saturate the kiss with any romanticism. You could probably play while kissing without having the memory afterwards align with “Sutphin Boulevard” as the song fits nicely among others while not calling too much attention to itself. How you interact with the music while kissing is entirely up to you as the possibilities are endless while dependent on its place among others. Rate: 9/10

That concludes my review of potential songs to makeout to. Although every listener is different, choose as you please when venturing into any further makeout adventures.

Article by Paloma Macias