Long Distance Relationships Will Kill You: Sounds for the Distance
The romantic nature inherent to long distance partnerships always intrigued me- a mix of emotions, throwing yourselves together at airports, lying in bed in stupefied fascination. Now, due to our recent run-in with a global pandemic, my love and I have been ripped apart. I’m not in the minority here; it feels as though every couple I know is in the same boat, separated by bus rides we aren’t allowed to take or arrivals at customs that only happen in dreams. We’re finding out that The Naked Brothers Band may have been right all along.
In light of this, I have compiled a playlist to combat the certain dread that starts to sink in when you have to make the shift from goodnights to goodbyes.
1. To Whom It May Concern- The Civil Wars
“Slowly counting down the days/ Until I finally know your name”
Get the tissues! The Civil Wars produce only the most beautifully melancholy tracks, and this one is no exception. On the surface level, the lyrics appear to be directed towards a future lover, one that the narrator has yet to meet. However, in the context of LDR, this song is all too fitting. The missing that accompanies the waiting, the yearning despite not knowing what it may feel like to be together (again). “I’ve missed you/ But I haven’t met you.” An unique type of longing. The mysterious kind.
2. Hourglass- Catfish and the Bottlemen
“Come back, move in, mess my place.”
When Van McCann tells you he wants to “bring you home myself”, you listen. And you replay. Possibly Catfish and Bottlemen’s most intimate song, this stripped-down acoustic style is rare for the band but nevertheless powerful. When you’re apart from someone special, there isn’t anything you want more than to “catch up on the lost times”.
3. Bleached- Decent Criminal
“And I still sit on my own/Wondering what you think alone”
A bit of a more optimistic take on the whole situation, Decent Criminal’s “Bleached” is an ode to the long-awaited return of your loved one. With 90s-infused vocals, this guitar-driven song is a sunny pick-me-up when you want to daydream about the moment when you finally can lay together for hours. I was lucky enough to get their quarantine-take on the release of the “Bleached” music video. Check it out!
4. Cross Oceans- First Aid Kit
“It feels like I am/ Waiting for the rain”
This one is for all of the lost loves! Distance can bring people together in wonderfully mysterious ways, but it can also tear them apart. Despite an infectious drumbeat and some fun clapping opportunities, this one is a real lyrical doozy. Especially when the sister-duo descends into chants of wanting to travel for the one they miss. “There’s something about you I’m never gonna find out”. Ouch.
5. Demi Moore- Phoebe Bridgers
“I don’t wanna be alone anymore”
Regardless of the eerie tranquility that Bridgers is able to convey in her music, this song has a particular haunting nature to it that feels oddly comforting. I first heard it on a bus ride with my boyfriend to his hometown, and I sought it out when we had to part for winter break a few months ago. With him being half a world away, we had to find time to call and this was often a difficult feat. Bridgers paints the all-too familiar picture; “It got quiet on the other line/Said the sun was coming and I”. Moments of connection, a fictionalized meeting in time and space. Bending the telephone wires. It can feel like magic, but it can also make you feel hollow.
6. Despair in the Departure Lounge- Arctic Monkeys
“He’s pinin’ for her/ In a people carrier”
This one is for the dreaded goodbye- the true despair in the Terminal E at Logan Airport. Or the bus station. Or the train. Or the walk home, if you really can’t handle distance well. With a simple electric guitar and classic Arctic Monkeys graininess, the emptiness of the nature of parting is palpable.
7. Red Eye- Vance Joy
“Think that it’s worth it?/ Well, I hope that you’re right”
Who doesn’t love a little Dream Your Life Away? Cushioned in the same album that gave us “Fire and the Flood” and “Riptide”, Vance Joy taps right into the heart of long distance with “Red Eye”. He masters the wistful nature of these relationships, pining for his lover as she flies far away from him. There is a sense of loss in this one, as he wonders whether or not her choice to leave is the correct one. The song ends with a pleading that his partner will tell him that she’ll wait until the next day to talk it all through. Those damn time zones!
8. I’ll be seeing You- Billie Holiday
“I’ll be looking at the moon/ But I’ll be seeing you”
Swoon-worthy, raspy vocals. A connection to The Notebook. NASA’s last transmission to the Opportunity rover on Mars in 2019. What else could you need? My great-grandparents considered this “their song”, and we played it quite frequently after my Papa passed away. We like to think they sing it together now.
For the full playlist check our Spotify: