Singles of the Week: Feb 14, 2010

Rap: Q-Tip - "Won't Trade"

Off his 2008 solo album Renaissance, “Won’t Trade” shows off Q-Tip’s signature laid-back but fast-paced flow. Atop Motown vibes and catchy soulful samples, Q-Tip’s lyrics use sports talk to describe everything that goes on in a relationship. While Q-Tip may be able to smoothly (and dare I say seductively) compare romantic decisions to baseball trade talks…boys, you probably shouldn’t try this yourselves this Valentine’s Day.

-Sara Wallace ‘12

Rock: Bon Iver - “Blood Bank”

In honor of this week’s blood drive, my single of the week is “Blood Bank” by Bon Iver. It’s safe to say that if you liked Bon Iver in “Skinny Love,” you’re going to love the sequel. This time, the band takes the crooning harmonies from “Emma, Forever Ago” and pours them back into the new EP. It’s hard not to be moved by the love story of “Blood Bank,” marinated in the delicate crescendos and heartbreaking falsetto of singer, Justin Vernon: “I’m in love with your honor/ I’m in love with your cheeks, what’s that noise up the stairs babe?/ Is that Christmas morning Creaks?“ Boys, beware. If you ever want to make a girl fall in love, you had better put “Blood Bank” on your Valentine’s day mixtape.

-Lisa Han ‘13

Pop/R&B: Beyonce - "Halo"

After Beyonce's massive haul at last week’s Grammy Awards it's only fitting that the song of the week comes from her masterful I am... Sasha Fierce. "Halo" was far and away one of the standout tracks on the 2009 album and must certainly be regarded as one of the best songs of the past year, if not the past decade. Beyonce's soaring vocals, crafted with the help of hitmaker and OneRepublic frontman, established the pop sensation as a force to be reckoned with -- one that won't be fading away any time soon.

-Kiran Gollakota ‘13

Indie: Frightened Rabbit - “Keep Yourself Warm”

When you're walking across campus, and you're drunk enough to feel your head humming, and it's so late you're going to sleep through brunch the next day, and you've just been hooking up with someone you barely even met, much less know, in a room you don't know the number of in a building you don't know the name of, which you thought you wanted because it might be the thing that would get you back on track, but it hasn't, it's left you drained and dirty, the whole thing, and you feel more alone than you have in months, turn on this song so that it can fix you.

-Daniel Abromowitz ‘13