Desire

Here are some songs that we recommend – a compilation of little spells that resonate with the theme of desire.

Consider the list a sonic grimoire of torch-lit meditations for lovers of midnight drives, cologne on borrowed jackets, plummy wine, stolen glances, hotel bars, beautiful obsessions, and  anyone who has ever followed a flicker of light into the woods.

Some make us smile, some make us shake our head, and some just hit different.

Sweet Dreams, TN by the Last Shadow Puppets. Truly anything this Arctic Monkeys-adjacent supergroup releases is delightful. The line “I just sort of always feel sick without you baby/I ain't got anything to lick without you, baby” sticks. 

Devil Like You by Gareth Dunlop. Desire in song form, pure and simple. No notes. 

Glorybox by Portishead. Smokey, sultry – desire in song form, nineties edition. Definitely no notes. 

Dinner at the Brasserie Zédel by Luvcat. Oyster- and Kir Royale- flavored cabaret-style ode to yearning. Also, shout out to the Brasserie Zédel itself. Located in the Regent Palace Hotel in London, it was described in 1935 as “just a trifle dissipated and naughty, but not sufficiently so to be vulgar.” Certainly it was and remains our kind of joint. 

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse. Amy is the undisputed queen of romantic ruin and this song is a shot of broken-heart-on-your sleeve desire thwarted. 

Two Weeks by FKA Twigs. This song is an ethereal, almost narcotic, vaguely trip-hop art-pop invocation of desire as a tool for alchemy, for embodiment. 

Hold Me by Fleetwood Mac. A shimmery, hopeful charm for being pulled into the arms of somebody you adore. 

Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. Dark and frothy, the nitro cold brew of lust and longing. (Also check out the version from Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox featuring Ariana Savalas – Telly Savalas’ granddaughter!) 

The Dancer by PJ Harvey. A hymn to desire, to love so profound that breaks your ribs open, cuts out your heart, and forces you to eat it. Yum. 

Closer by Nine Inch Nails. Obviously. Desire as obsession, as a force of nature heedless of dignity or consequence. Deliciously feral and sad.

Turn Me On by Norah Jones. A gentle, somewhat vulnerable plea for satisfaction, for re-awakening. Sweetness and light with just a hint of edge. 

Do I Wanna Know? by the Arctic Monkeys. The perfect theme song for desire. Someone on the internet once said the bassline sounds like what ovulation feels like. Here here. All plush velvet and quinine.  

Bonus Track: Sadeness by Enigma. How could you not love a quirky, campy old-school ambient dance track in French and Ecclesiastical Latin about the Marquis de Sade? Marla thinks it is elevator music for a secret passage between a monastery and brothel. 

If you are interested, this playlist is available on Spotify.