"How I Feel About Love"

For the past two years, especially when at school I have been keeping a journal in which everyone was allowed to write. People drew pictures, wrote poems (haikus, specifically), and assessments of celebration from a friend's 21st birthday to bid day. Some of my favorite things that have been written over the years have been nicknames for friends, how we feel about people we don't always jive with, and reactions to intense feelings - especially after large events, like the Packers winning the Super Bowl.

Something that often got written about was love - mostly love between sorority sisters and supremely close friends. But every now and again, the topic of the good ol' romantic love comes up. Now, being the cynical people who wrote in my journal, love wasn't always held up in the best light. Like the beginning of the Chuck Klosterman novel Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Lloyd Dobler (if you don't know him, google it) is the greatest man for every quirky, smart girl. Unfortunately for us, Lloyd Dobler does not exist in real life. The gap in societal expectation (see, Lloyd Dobler) and humans is pretty high. The gap goes both ways, and makes it impossible for Chuck Klosterman (and many others) to believe they are in love.

I couldn't be happier to have this journal, as it holds some of my favorite memories. Today, I found myself listening to corny, romantic music. But like always, I can't take myself seriously when listening to these songs. This prompted me to remember a lovely journal entry by a really close friend of mine where she says, "I do not believe in love. It is a fake thing that people make up in their heads because they need a reason to be with someone....being romantic is dumb because no one ever does it. Its not like the movies people." Hilarious.

In honor of the greatest journal of all time (that I've ever seen) and its quirky ideas about love, check out these three beautifully corny love songs.

Sham-A-Ling-Dong by Jesse Winchester - this is perhaps the most beautiful rendition of a love song that I have ever heard. Love it. This video comes from Elvis Costello's Canadian television show (it's true, look it up!) and makes Neko Case cry! But in reality, I don't blame her because this song is for sure tear-worthy. Don't get depressed now though, because it makes you cry because it's so beautiful.

That Teenage Feeling - Neko Case - Because the last song made her cry, here's an incredible love song from her 2006 record Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

...and the best love song of all time, You Go To My Head - Louis Armstong and Oscar Peterson - seriously, almost no song is better.