2870: Love Songs

2023-12-21T09:03:46Z

F3mkek: Added link to Spotify playlist with the songs

{{comic
| number = 2870
| date = December 20, 2023
| title = Love Songs
| image = love_songs_2x.png
| imagesize = 373x341px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The Piña Colada song carves a trajectory across the chart over the course of the song.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LOVE SONG WHERE BOTH SIDES HATE EACH OTHER (AND THEMSELVES) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic shows an xy-chart of various love songs, graphed according to how the subjects of the song feel. The x-axis represents the narrator/singer's feelings for whomever they are singing to or about, from "No!!" to "Yes!!", while the y-axis represents the other person's feelings for the one singing the song.

{|class = "wikitable"
! Song !! Artist(s) !! Explanation !! Do I like you? !! Do you like me?
|-
| {{w|No Scrubs}} || {{w|TLC (group)|TLC}} || The narrator is the target of another person's affections but considers that person completely undesirable as a romantic partner. || No!! || Yes!!
|-
| {{w|That Don't Impress Me Much}} || {{w|Shania Twain}} || This song was referenced in [[984: Space Launch System]]. || Unclear/Neutral || Yes!
|-
| {{w|Cry Me a River (song)|Cry Me a River}} || {{w|Justin Timberlake}} or {{w|Cry Me a River (Arthur Hamilton song)|Knight/Cocker/Wilson/Welch/Bublé}} || || No! || Yes!
|-
| {{w|We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together}} || {{w|Taylor Swift}} || At the start of the song, the narrator has spent a prolonged time in an on-and-off relationship with someone, repeatedly getting close to them before they distance themselves. As the song progresses, the narrator expresses their frustration with their partner and makes it clear that this time, ''they'' are the one leaving, and they're ''never'' coming back, no matter what their now-former lover says or does. || No!! || Yes?
|-
| {{w|You're So Vain}} || {{w|Carly Simon}} || This song has been [[1501: Mysteries|mentioned before]] in xkcd. || No! || Unclear/Neutral
|-
| {{w|I Will Survive}} || {{w|Gloria Gaynor}} || || No! || No!
|-
| {{w|Somebody That I Used to Know}} || {{w|Gotye}} feat. {{w|Kimbra}}  || || Unclear/Neutral || No!
|-
| {{w|You Oughta Know}} || {{w|Alanis Morissette}}  || || No!! || No!!
|-
| {{w|Thank U, Next (song)|Thank U, Next}} || {{w|Ariana Grande}}  || || Unclear/Neutral || Unclear/Neutral
|-
| {{w|Teenage Dream (Katy Perry song)|Teenage Dream}} || {{w|Katy Perry}} (or {{w|Teenage Dream (T. Rex song)|T. Rex}} or {{w|Teenage Dream|others}}) || || Yes!! || Yes!!
|-
| {{w|Shape of You}} || {{w|Ed Sheeran}} (or {{w|Shape of You (Reshaped)|Beverly Knight}}) || This song is about being in love physically, and to a lesser extent, emotionally, to another person. The verses indicate that the love is reciprocated.|| Yes!! || Yes!!
|-
| {{w|I Will Always Love You}} || {{w|Dolly Parton}}, cover: {{w|Whitney Houston}} || || Unclear/Neutral || Yes
|-
| {{w|Call Me Maybe}} || {{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}} || This song/Carly in general has been mentioned [[2379: Probability Comparisons|so]] [[2198: Throw|many]] [[Challengers|times]] in xkcd. || Yes! || Unclear/Neutral
|-
| {{w|Killing Me Softly with His Song|Killing Me Softly}} || {{w|Lori Lieberman}}, cover: {{w|Roberta Flack}}, {{w|The Fugees}} || || Yes!! || Unclear/Neutral
|-
| {{w|Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne song)|Girlfriend}} || {{w|Avril Lavigne}} (or {{w|Girlfriend (disambiguation)|many others}})  || The narrator is in love with a boy who already has a girlfriend, and spends the song trying to convince him to dump her so she herself can go out with him. || Yes || Unclear/Neutral
|-
| {{w|You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'}} || {{w|The Righteous Brothers}} || This song was featured in [[317: That Lovin' Feelin']]. || Unclear/Neutral || No?
|-
| {{w|You Belong with Me}} || Taylor Swift || The narrator has a crush on someone already in a relationship (implied throughout the song to be a toxic one), and lists various reasons why they would make a better partner. It's also worth noting that in the [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw& music video], the narrator's crush is actually on decent terms with them, rather than flat-out disliking them as the chart suggests.|| Yes || No!
|-
| {{w|Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep}} || {{w|Radiohead}} || || Yes!! || No!!
|-
| {{w|Escape (The Piña Colada Song)|The Piña Colada Song}} (title text) || {{w|Rupert Holmes}} || The narrator is stuck in an unfulfilling relationship and takes out a personal advertisement looking for a new partner. He mentions that he likes Piña Coladas (And getting caught in the rain). He responds to the ad and goes on the date, only to find out that the woman is his partner. They recognize that their relationship isn't as bad as they thought resulting in a trajectory from the lower left to the middle or upper right. || varies || varies
|}

The songs are all in this [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0R1FWH3Hq4Ur08HSNSFtyf?si=WMD6u3QuThW7f2GXBTTJQA&pi=e-wEOR4pNmQ2Sp Spotify playlist].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Y-axis label:]
:Do you like me?

:[X-axis label:]
:Do I like you?

:[X- and Y-axis values (from bottom left):]
:''NO!!''; No; Unclear or Neutral; Yes; ''YES!!''

:[Top left quarter:]
:No Scrubs
:That Don't Impress Me Much
:Cry Me a River
:We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together

:[Middle left:]
:You're So Vain

:[Bottom left quarter:]
:I Will Survive
:Somebody That I Used to Know
:You Oughta Know

:[Center:]
:Thank U, Next

:[Top right quarter:]
:Teenage Dream
:Shape of You
:I Will Always Love You
:Call Me Maybe

:[Middle right:]
:Killing Me Softly

:[Bottom right quarter:]
:Girlfriend
:You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
:You Belong with Me
:Creep

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Romance]]

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2870: Love Songs