Films and albums about love

by Andrew Bowman

Albums

Lemonade (2016) - Beyoncé

Stand out tracks: Hold Up, Freedom (feat. Kendrick Lamar), Formation

Genre: R&B

Lemonade is the 6th solo studio album by American singer and icon Beyoncé. This record is a very personal expression of her womanhood, blackness, and it also deals with the infidelity of her husband Jay-Z. It is an empowering and expressive release from Beyoncé that was a smash hit upon release. The lyrics of this album detail Beyoncé's self-healing and eventually the decision to keep her relationship with her husband, but on her terms. The album is accompanied by the “visual album” of the same name, which applies powerful visuals to the already powerful music. It is also a mixing pot of genres and souls, with country, trap, hip hop, soul, rock, and R&B songs all included. The opposite of a break-up album, this deals with Beyoncé’s internal struggles and the healing between her and Jay-Z. If you want an original, intelligent, powerful, and enjoyable album to listen to this month, check out Lemonade.

Blonde (2016) - Frank Ocean

Stand out tracks: Nights, White Ferrari, Ivy, Pink + White, Solo (Reprise)

Genre: R&B, avant-garde soul

Another very personal album, Frank Ocean’s second release Blonde is immaculate. This record thrusts you into the dreamy landscape of the summer that Frank met a boy, at the age of 17. The album tackles many themes and goes from euphoric to depressing at times. It is relaxing but complex, romantic but reserved, and most of all, just beautiful. The imagery this album conjures can take you to a different world where you jump for joy and also break down in tears. This surreal feeling is created by the record's atmospheric and progressive sounds that are much unlike his previous album. This is not to mention the raw emotion Frank’s incredible voice brings to these songs. If you want a dreamy stream of consciousness that is experimental and also enjoyable front to back, try out Blonde this Valentine’s Day.

Igor (2019) - Tyler, the Creator

Stand out tracks: IGOR’S THEME, EARFQUAKE, RUNNING OUT OF TIME, PUPPET,

GONE, GONE / THANK YOU

Genre: R&B, hip-hop, neo-soul

My favorite album of 2019 was Tyler, the Creator’s most recent album Igor. After the departure from his earlier sound on his 2017 record Flower Boy, Igor goes in this direction even further. More emotional, more melodic, more atmospheric, and further away from traditional hip hop sounds. Almost every song on this album would be an amazing single, all individually experimental and hard-hitting. But they also fit together into a narrative of a relationship between Tyler and some mystery man. The context of most of the songs seems to be some sort of relationship, with songs like PUPPET where Tyler feels like he’s being controlled and, I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE, at the end of the album, where the relationship ends. You have to listen more actively to the lyrics to find these themes, but the album is also beautiful to listen to regardless of the meaning of the lyrics. If you want something between the loud and powerful Lemonade, and the quiet and surreal Blonde, try Tyler’s latest, Igor.

Films-

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - Dir. Céline Sciamma

Genre: Historical romantic drama

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a French romantic drama set at the end of the 18th century. A young painter is enlisted to make a portrait of another high-class young lady on a remote island. While isolated on the island, the young painter Marianne must paint this portrait secretly because Héloïse, the lady of the gentry, doesn’t want the painting made. This is an exquisitely complex drama, that manages to stay very tense throughout the whole runtime. The first film by a female director to win the Queer Palm at the Cannes film festival, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of the only romance films I enjoy. This is because of Céline Sciamma’s bold vision, the beautiful cinematography, and the level of tenseness that is present throughout the film as if everything could be taken away at any moment. It also has one of the most effective and powerful endings in any movie I've seen, along with an amazing classical score. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a perfect Valentine’s movie choice.

Moonlight (2016) - Barry Jenkins

Genre: Coming of age drama

Moonlight won the best picture at the Oscars in 2016. As wrong as the Oscars usually is, I believe they got it right in this case. This film about a character named Chiron is told in a three-part structure. The first act is titled Little, and takes place in Miami and stars Chiron as a young boy. This section deals with Chiron’s life as an elementary school student as well as the crack epidemic among other issues. The second act titled Chiron, in which Chiron is now a teen deals with Chiron’s discovery of his sexuality as well as trying to avoid a school bully. He also meets a boy named Kevin who reappears in the third part. The final section is titled Black, with a now-adult Chiron, who sells drugs in Atlanta. This film is like a slideshow of Chiron's life, showing his most defining and important moments, whether those be big or small things. There is so much going on in this film that you will need to watch it to experience it, and though it has fewer “romantic” moments, it is extremely touching and powerful. This one's on Netflix, so check it out as soon as you can.