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Snail Mail, 'Valentine'

This #NowPlaying discovery comes from today's episode of All Songs Considered.

Snail Mail's "Valentine" finds a pair of lovers at circumstantial odds: one followed by a spotlight, and the other on the threshold of departure. Through buzzing synths and rocking bass, the song dwells on this separation — between a servant and the lady of the house, as per its music video — hindered by an overwhelming desire to remain, to stay together regardless of the outcome: "As long as it's us two / F*** being remembered / I think I was made for you." Guitars crest and crash in the chaos of her heartbreak, trying to understand why she was left behind. She bargains her own destruction in service of her lover, swaying with the melody, waiting for the day to come: "You always know where to find me when you change your mind."

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Alex Ramos is an artist, writer and editor who specializes in media journalism and music criticism. They're a recent graduate of California College of the Arts, where they were trained in filmmaking and animation. Outside of their work at NPR, Ramos is editor-in-chief at Sunstroke Magazine, an independent publication that centers Generation Z, culture and activism.