valentine’s day – Topical Fruit

Are These the Best Rock Love Songs?

Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to argue about music rankings, and Billboard gave rock fans plenty to debate.

The magazine’s editorial staff released its list of the 50 Best Rock Love Songs of All Time, pulling from six decades of music and covering everything from classic rock staples to modern favorites.

If you are building the ultimate love song playlist, or just looking for an excuse to revisit some legendary tracks, this list has you covered.

Taking the top spot is David Bowie’s “Heroes” from 1977. Billboard’s staff crowned it the best rock love song ever, praising its emotional weight and larger than life feel. It is a love song that feels hopeful, defiant, and cinematic all at once, which is probably why it still hits just as hard today.

Right behind it at #2 is “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from 2003. It is raw, vulnerable, and painfully honest, showing that love songs do not need to be polished to be powerful. Coming in at #3 is The Beatles’ “Something”, released in 1969, a track often described as one of the most sincere and beautiful love songs ever written.

Here are the Top 25:

“Heroes”, David Bowie (1977)
“Maps”, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
“Something”, The Beatles (1969)
“Just Like Heaven”, The Cure (1987)
“In Your Eyes”, Peter Gabriel (1986)
“Your Song”, Elton John (1970)
“Still Into You”, Paramore (2013)
“Because the Night”, Patti Smith (1978)
“Sweet Child O’ Mine”, Guns N’ Roses (1987)
“Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Elvis Presley (1961)
“This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”, Talking Heads (1983)
“I’ll Stand By You”, The Pretenders (1994)
“Maybe I’m Amazed”, Paul McCartney (1970)
“Happy Together”, The Turtles (1967)
“Come to My Window”, Melissa Etheridge (1993)
“All the Small Things”, Blink-182 (1999)
“Harvest Moon”, Neil Young (1992)
“Never Tear Us Apart”, INXS (1987)
“I Want to Know What Love Is”, Foreigner (1984)
“There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”, The Smiths (1986)
“May This Be Love”, Jimi Hendrix (1967)
“Eres”, Café Tacvba (2003)
“Just the Way You Are”, Billy Joel (1977)
“Lovesong”, The Cure (1989)
“You Make Loving Fun”, Fleetwood Mac (1977)

The list jumps across eras and subgenres, from classic rock and new wave to pop punk and alternative. It is a reminder that rock love songs are not just slow dances and power ballads. They can be joyful, heartbreaking, awkward, or explosive, sometimes all in the same track.

If you are building a Valentine’s Day playlist or just looking for an excuse to revisit some all time greats, Billboard’s ranking makes a strong case that rock music has never been short on love.

15 Horror Movies to Watch This Valentine’s Day If Rom-Coms Aren’t Your Thing

If Valentine’s Day usually means dodging rom-coms and pretending you’re “busy,” this list is for you. Here are 15 horror movies that still count as love stories, just with more blood, trauma, and extremely questionable relationship choices.

“Bones and All” (2022)
A tender road-trip romance where the couple connects emotionally, spiritually, and occasionally through cannibalism.
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992)
The most dramatic vampire love story ever made, featuring tragic passion, flowing hair, and a man who desperately needs a blood alternative.
“Bride of Chucky” (1998)
Two killer dolls on a road trip somehow manage better communication than most movie couples.
“Crimson Peak” (2015)
A gorgeous gothic romance set in a haunted house that is very clearly trying to warn everyone to leave.
“The Fly” (1986)
Love, science, and the slow realization that your boyfriend is becoming a full-on nightmare bug.
“Lisa Frankenstein” (2024)
A teen girl reanimates a corpse and decides he’s boyfriend material, which honestly feels on-brand for high school.
“Mandy” (2018)
A breakup movie turned revenge nightmare, starring grief, chainsaws, and Nicolas Cage losing his mind in spectacular fashion.
“Misery” (1990)
What happens when your biggest fan loves you so much she absolutely refuses to let you go home.
“My Bloody Valentine” (1981), plus the 2009 remake
A Valentine’s Day slasher that proves chocolate and murder have always gone hand in hand.
“Possession” (1981)
A marriage falling apart so violently it somehow involves subway breakdowns and something truly unholy.
“Spring” (2014)
A vacation romance gets complicated when one person turns out to have an extremely intense personal secret.
“The Strangers” (2008)
A couple enjoys a quiet night in until random people decide to emotionally destroy them for no clear reason.
“Valentine” (2001)
A group of friends learns that being awful in high school can come back later with a knife.
“Nosferatu” (2024)
A moody, gothic nightmare about obsession and dread, and why some crushes should absolutely stay unreturned.
“Heart Eyes” (2025)
A Valentine’s-themed slasher where couples are literally the target, making staying single feel like a survival strategy.

Halloween: The Loneliest Night of the Year (and Not Just for Ghosts)

Apparently, Halloween isn’t just spooky for kids… it’s also terrifying for single adults?

A new survey from Dating.com found that 59% of single people say Halloween is one of the hardest days of the year… and 57% say it’s actually worse to be alone on Halloween than on Valentine’s Day. Which is wild, considering Valentine’s Day was literally invented to make single people feel awkward.

Almost 80% admit they feel lonely on October 31st, and more than half have even cried after opening the door to trick-or-treaters. (“No, I’m not crying… you’re crying. Now take your Snickers and leave me to my pumpkin spice despair.”)

So why does Halloween hit so hard? For one, it’s a very group holiday.

There are couples costumes, family parties, and squads of friends all pretending to be vampires together. And, if you show up solo, you may think you look like you wandered out of a haunted house looking for emotional support.

And even staying home isn’t exactly a win. Watching horror movies or baking festive treats alone sounds cozy in theory, but in practice it’s a lot more fun when shared with someone (anyone) else.

77% of singles admit they’ve pretended to have plans on Halloween, and 73% say social media makes it worse.

It’s tough scrolling past photos of matching “Barbie & Ken” costumes when you’re dressed as “Person Eating Candy Alone, Again.”

So if you’re flying solo this Halloween, remember: you’re not alone in being alone. Just think of it as the one night you can wear a mask and emotionally hide behind it.