a) The song uses (or could use) an occasional crash cymbal on the sixth and eighth eighth-notes of a measure, and/or

b) The song makes your kiss feel magical enough for a 1980s teen movie.

Here they are (and click here for the Rhapsody playlist!):

1. “Just Like Heaven” -The Cure. These boys practically epitomize the sound and the spirit we’re going for: “I promise that I’ll run away with you.” Awww.
(“Friday I’m in Love,” would’ve worked nicely, too.)

2. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” -The Pretenders. “There’s something in the air.” Is there a sweeter song?

3. “Tenderness” -General Public. This one makes it in on the title alone–not to mention the fact that it’s in Weird Science.

4. “Can’t Hardly Wait” -The Replacements. Youthful urgency at its pop music best.

5. “Keep The Car Running” -Arcade Fire. Here marks our anachronistic detour to songs a decade or two late, but otherwise perfect. The highlight of this one is at about 1:45. Hard to believe this band wasn’t Born in the USA.

6. “In This Home On Ice” -Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Yeah.

7. “Is This Music?” -Teenage Fanclub. This one’s all instrumental and, though from 1991, cries 80s. (Often overlooked fact: the album from whence it came–Bandwagonesque–beat out Nirvana’s Nevermind for Spin’s album of the year.)

8. “Edge Of Forever” -Dream Academy. This one makes an appearance in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s the song to which Sloane Peterson declares “He’s going to marry me.”

9. “I Melt With You” -Modern English. It really can’t be beat. Mmm-mmm-mmm, mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm…

10. “The Promise” -When in Rome. If it’s good enough to round out Napoleon Dynamite, it’s good enough to round out our play list.

We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about our little love-makin’ jazz playlist we compiled for you a few weeks back. As one reader raves: “Thanks for the tuneage–my lady and I rode the Coltrane all the way to Love Junciton and back!”*

As such, we’ve decided to use this issue of Thursdates to launch a new series for the site: PlayDates. The idea is simple–soundtracks for your love life. We’re pulling together the best of the best songs by which to live and love.

Our inaugural playlist is a collection of wistful reveries to, well, make out to. Perfect for a sleepy, shadowy afternoon with the one you love. Lose yourself in a soundscape of patient rhythms, shimmery guitars, gentle slides. Play the whole list, or pick your favorites and put them on repeat–you could even loop just one, over and over, on its own. Whatever your fancy, find a blanket, draw the shade, and dream away. Click here to get the Rhapsody list.

DateSpaces’ Top 8 Dreamy Make-Out Songs**
1. “Introduction” -Nick Drake. A fitting start both in name and tenor. Let the orchestral swell send you on your way.

2. “Linger” -The Cranberries. A lush, layered pop classic that has us wrapped around its finger.

3. “Agaetis Byrjun” -Sigur Rós. One track (and one letter) takes us from Ireland to Iceland. Tune into the rolling drum beat.

4. “High and Dry” -Radiohead. I got my first college kiss to this song. I think we listened to it about six or seven times in a row before our lips met.
5. “She’s a Jar” -Wilco. Perhaps the best part is the descending 3-2-1chord progression (right after the line “…in my fragile family tree.”) Lift off.

6. “Seymour Stein” -Belle & Sebastian. The tune really coalesces at the end with the claps, the comping piano, the brushing of the drums, and the rumble of the jet plane.

7. “Pink Moon” -Nick Drake. Yes, we could have done a whole playlist of Nick Drake.

8. “Fade Into You” -Mazzy Star. The slide guitar and rolling 12/8 feel make this a candidate for the best make-out song ever. The title says it all.

Enjoy.

1. DateSpace of the Week
In need of some mead? You’re in luck. This week’s DateSpace of the Week is Hearth: “As far as we know, Hearth is the only bar or restaurant in New York City that actually serves mead. What’s mead you ask? It’s honey wine — that’s right: wine from fermented honey as opposed to grapes — and it also happens to be the libation that Beowulf and his crew drank heartily the night they kicked Grendel’s ass.” And if mead can help you slay a dragon…

Why else is mead a great date drink? Because of the inevitable chain of romantic associations it initiates. Mead…Trapper Keepers…Lisa Frank…bunnies in tutus…ballet…Romeo and Juliet…family feuds…Louie Anderson***… Ok. Maybe not, then. But it sure is delicious.

Been on a really great date lately? Suggest next week’s DateSpace of the Week by emailing eric@datespaces.com.

2. This Week at The Daily Dater
Letty offers comfort to a hairy man. Don’t sweat it, friend. Some women prefer hairy men. Heck, we got a guy here at DateSpaces who makes Alf look like Mr. Bigglesworth, and he just got engaged.

Happy Dating,

The DateSpaces.com Team

XOXOX

*Not.

**Sure, we could’ve made it 10. But that would be just as arbitrary as going out for coffee instead of caramels, and we think Will Hunting makes for a pretty good role model.

***Love you, Louie.

Here’s a fact that may surprise you: whether you know it or not, if you are an American born before 1990, you are a certified Jazz Lover. How do we know? Because every living person meeting those criteria–regardless of race, creed, gender preference, waist size, etc.–loves Us3’s 1993 single, “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia).” In terms of mass appeal, it’s right up there with “Hey Ya!” and “Tom’s Diner.” You may recall “Cantaloop” as the, “Dip trip, flip fantasia,” song. Don’t remember? Click here. Funky, funky!

Some purists will argue that the song doesn’t qualify as jazz. Very well. Consider, then, that this hit is based on a sample from jazz great Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island.”* (We believe you call that “signifying,” Professors.)

So, in review, you love jazz. And why shouldn’t you? After all, jazz has long been associated with good, good lovin’. Heck, some etymologists claim that the word “jazz” originally referred to (gasp) doing the deed.

In any case, there’s no denying that jazz is great for what Marge Simpson would call “snuggling.” And so, DateSpacers, our gift to you this week is a list of three of our favorite mood-setters, in no particular order.

1. “Naima” -John Coltrane
2. “Body and Soul” -Coleman Hawkins
3. “Para Machuchar Meu Coracao” -Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto

Click right here to take a listen. See if they don’t have you feeling all Romeo and Juliet. And, please, send your recommendations our way. We’re always looking to expand our playlist

1. DateSpace of the Week
This week’s DateSpace of the Week is Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, a restaurant and jazz spot where, “[t]he sultry melodies, exotic harmonies, and breathy instrumental timbres are hard to resist…The venue also boasts one of the best views New York City has to offer… [and] [K]eeping with jazz’s southern roots, the menu features such delectable dishes as crawfish beignets, mac n’ cheese casserole, and blueberry crisp.” Mmm hmm.

Our tip, show up late. Well, later. Check out the After Hours set at 11pm: “For starters, tickets are about 75% less expensive, so you can afford the aforementioned cuisine, but more importantly, you’ll also get the opportunity to see jazz’s rising stars, who are usually the featured acts in the late night. So even if you’re a jazz novice, you can still impress your date and sound like an expert by saying, ‘I’ve never heard these guys before but they’re supposed to be incredible.’” Like we said–mmm hmm.

Been on a really great date lately? Suggest next week’s DateSpace of the week by emailing eric@datespaces.com.

2. This Week at The Daily Dater
This week, our musing married man recounts, not so fondly, a weekend wine tour. Let’s just say his trip to the winery went about about as well as this gal’s. (It’s ok to laugh.)

If peeing your pants is cool, consider us Miles Davis,

The DateSpaces.com Team

XOXOX

*Also, for those of you who didn’t know, this is the Herbie Hancock to whom Chris Farley attributes the largest signature on the Declaration of Independence–as in, “John Hancock? It’s Herbie Hancock!” Nostalgic for the early/mid 90s yet?