The Rebel Black Dot Anti-Valentine's Song of the Day

The Ataris, "Giving Up on Love" from End Is Forever (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary: Once upon a time, "before the dark times, before the Empire," The Ataris used to right our best songs of love gone terribly wrong. Those Ataris are gone, but the music remains. (Dang it, that's just too upbeat an observation for Anti-Valentine's week! This next bit should balance the scales back towards gloom.)

"This last few weeks, I've been convinced,
Sometimes I wonder if I'm better off alone.
You fall in love, they break your heart,
Your fall in love again, it's never ending.

"I used to have this friend, who took his fiancee
To see Billy Idol a couple weeks before their wedding day.
The chick got backstage and left my friend outside.
The next day she called from a hotel asking for a ride.

"I guess I'm giving up on love.
I guess I'm giving up on love.
I guess I'm giving up on love, yeah,
'Cause it really kind of sucks!…

"I guess I'm giving up on love.
I guess I'm giving up on love.
It's just not worth it!
I guess I'm giving up on love,
'Cause it really kind of—"

Operation AXIOM: Be My Anti-Valentine
Because tomorrow is a Sunday, the Lord's Day, "the day we cannot live without," we shall denounce the cynical contemporary celebration of Valentine's Day today instead. I've loved this week's cavalcade of anti-love songs so much I'm actually considering a whole 'nother week of the same. There's nothing wrong with romantic love—eros. Romantic live is beautiful. Romantic live is right. What is ugly & wrong is the notion that romantic love can only—or even best—be expressed through the gifting of jewel-encrusted precious metals, chocolates, & heart-strewn stuffed animals. I'm not only a capitalist, I'm a believer in the social utility of well-crafted marketing. But there are, there must be limits of taste & common decency. I love love, which is why I hate, hate, hate Valentine's Day. Be my anti-Valentine.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day '15 | Valentine's Day '14, Part I, Part II, & Part III

Valentine's Day '13 | Valentine's Day '12

Valentine's Day '11 | Valentine's Day '10

Valentine's Day '09 | Valentine's Day '08

Valentine's Day '07 | Valentine's Day '06

Valentine's Day '05 | Valentine's Day '04