SOMETHING OLD
Mickey & Sylvia - Love Will Make You Fail in School
1957
Mickey & Sylvia - Love Will Make You Fail in School
1957
Happy Valentine's Day Eve!
The duo famous for Love Is Strange put out a fairly similar-sounding tune the following year: Love Will Make You Fail in School. It's perfectly in line with the 50s-60s teenage lovesick era with songs like Dion & The Belmonts' Teenager in Love and Sam Cooke's Wonderful World. The sweet lyrics eventually switch to school will make you fail in love, painting teen relationships as too all-consuming to be compatible with getting a solid education. Could anyone describe it any better?
Mickey & Sylvia were Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanterpool, a guitar teacher and student duo inspired by married musical pairs like Les Paul and Mary Ford. Following in the footsteps of the pioneering Sister Rosetta Tharpe, both Vanterpool and Ford were rare sights of women playing electric guitars for the time. Vanterpool went on to produce The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight, a major milestone in the origins of hip hop.
Mickey & Sylvia were Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanterpool, a guitar teacher and student duo inspired by married musical pairs like Les Paul and Mary Ford. Following in the footsteps of the pioneering Sister Rosetta Tharpe, both Vanterpool and Ford were rare sights of women playing electric guitars for the time. Vanterpool went on to produce The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight, a major milestone in the origins of hip hop.
SOMETHING NEW
Thundercat featuring Lil Yachty and Flying Lotus - I Did This To Myself
January 29th, 2026
Thundercat featuring Lil Yachty and Flying Lotus - I Did This To Myself
January 29th, 2026
I'm a little torn on including this as part of a Valentine's Day special, but it definitely have a lovesick element to it, and it's really great.
This latest Thundercat single is in anticipation of his newest album Distracted, which will drop in April. The first half of the song describes feeling foolish over giving all he's got to a girl who isn't overly interested in him, but he knows he did this to himself. Lil Yachty's verse in the second part is much more critical of the female subject, but at least it's set to a really cool bassline.
As expected with both Thundercat and Lil Yachty, the song is full of humor.
This latest Thundercat single is in anticipation of his newest album Distracted, which will drop in April. The first half of the song describes feeling foolish over giving all he's got to a girl who isn't overly interested in him, but he knows he did this to himself. Lil Yachty's verse in the second part is much more critical of the female subject, but at least it's set to a really cool bassline.
As expected with both Thundercat and Lil Yachty, the song is full of humor.
SOMETHING BORROWED
Syreeta - I Love Every Little Thing About You (Stevie Wonder)
1972
Syreeta - I Love Every Little Thing About You (Stevie Wonder)
1972
Stevie Wonder's 1972 Music of My Mind album immediately precedes four of his most beloved and successful albums: Talking Book, Innervisions, and Songs In The Key of Life. So maybe that's why it seems to be overlooked and buried in the massive, brilliant, and massively brilliant discography. But it's a truly magical album, and I Love Every Little Thing About You is a standout track.
In 1968, Stevie met Syreeta Wright, who had been singing backup for The Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas at the time. By 1970, they were married and a powerhouse musical duo. While already divorced by 1972, the couple remained close friends continued working together, including on Syreeta's debut solo album. It includes this gorgeous, sweetly sung, funky take on the Wonder song, complete with his background vocals.
SOMETHING... FUNKY (AND LOVING)
The Meters - Love Slip Upon Ya
1975
The Meters - Love Slip Upon Ya
1975
Let's celebrate another genre that wouldn't exist without Black American trailblazers: funk.
Here's a lesser known song from The Meters just in time for Valentine's Day, though I'm not 100% if the lyrics suggest that love can slip up on you, as in sneak up on you when you don't expect it... or if love can crumble and mess up on you before you know it. I'm gonna hope it's the former, for the sake of the theme.
Either way, this is exemplary funk. Nothing has a deeper groove than The Meters.
This track is especially important for Black History Month thanks to the New Orleans flair, an essential geographical landmark in Black American music. This Fire on the Bayou record was produced by Louisiana legend Allen Toussaint and features founding Meters member Art Neville and his brother Cyril, who would later form The Neville Brothers (and release a different record, Fiyo on the Bayou!).
This track is especially important for Black History Month thanks to the New Orleans flair, an essential geographical landmark in Black American music. This Fire on the Bayou record was produced by Louisiana legend Allen Toussaint and features founding Meters member Art Neville and his brother Cyril, who would later form The Neville Brothers (and release a different record, Fiyo on the Bayou!).