Written by: Mary Broome
I was entertaining myself at home the other night with some funky-soul classics, a little Kentucky bourbon, and my eternal summer memories of LA (We were always dancing to these same tunes in bars and apartments around town). The moment inspired me to craft another sappy love poem… this one would be about kisses.
My head was swirling with ideas as it always does when I sit down to write. I started with a list of the people I’ve kissed in chronological order. Next to that, I wrote the names of people I would have kissed, in chronological order, given either the opportunity or the guts. Then, I jotted down every reason why each person on the did-kiss list made the cut, and I crossed out the woulda-kissed list entirely, because what purpose did that serve anyway? (Sigh…) I attempted to make the did-kisses and their cause-effects rhyme, but the longer and harder I tried, the more did-kisses I deleted. What appeared to be a fruitless romantic exercise ended up showing me which kisses have actually mattered most over the past seventeen years… a surprising and wonderful development in my timeline.
I swayed back and forth with the official did-kiss list, but no amount of rephrasing and rearranging did it poetic justice. Referring to my notes and mental pictures, I decided to create something better than another sappy love poem: a playlist in honor of the good times, the sighs, and the guys that made the kiss-lists (both did and woulda) possible. May these songs inspire you to kiss the ones you love, the ones you’ve always wanted to, your dog, your hand… just do it while you have the chance, dammit! If you’re feeling extra inspired, send me a kiss list of your own. Free love and stuff!
I’d like to thank about a dozen men, Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Spotify for making this possible.