Stream Okkervil Rivers' "You Don't Love Me Yet" from Amazon Music's Love Me Not Playlist Available Today

Today, Amazon Music is releasing two new playlists of original music for the Valentine’s season – one for lovers (Love Me) and one for haters (Love Me Not). Both playlists feature original songs and covers from a wide range of artists like Ingrid Michaelson, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Tacocat, Okkervil River, Kadhja Bonet and more. The playlists are now available for streaming exclusively on Amazon Music—both Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music. Together, Love Me  and Love Me Not  offer 74 new recordings to help embrace love in the air or alternately, ease the pain of heartbreak at  amazon.com/lovemelovemenot.

On the  Love Me Not Playlist,  Okkervil River honor psych-rock pioneer Roky Erickson, with whom they teamed on 2010’s True Love Cast Out All Evil, with a version of his moody “You Don’t Love Me Yet.” Bandleader Will Sheff recalls how that collaborative effort influenced this recording. “In the early stages of producing True Love Cast Out All Evil, I was given a large amount of archival video and audio from Roky's life, as context and for possible use in some found-sound collages for the noisier bits of the album. I remember combing through them slowly and being deeply moved by a home movie of Roky performing ‘You Don't Love Me Yet’ on an out-of-tune guitar. The song - especially in this performance - seemed to capture, for me, all of the wisdom and spirit and childlike tenderness that's accessible underneath the more gruff and scary side of Roky's persona. This version was recorded with the old lineup of Okkervil River, doing that home movie arrangement, everybody live in the studio, playing it once and moving on. It's kind of like a snapshot of a snapshot.” 

LOVE ME
For Love Me, listeners can enjoy various covers like emo revivalists Joyce Manor’s revved up take on the  alternative anthem “Into Your Arms,” and Passenger offers a plaintive rendition of the Smiths’ iconic “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.”  

Hurray for the Riff Raff delivered a sweet and soulful new take on The Ronettes “Be My Baby.” The band’s Alynda Segarra says of her choice, “Ronnie Spector's flawless performance of ‘Be My Baby’ influenced me since I first heard my family sing along on long road trips from NYC to Florida. The song is perfect, and it made me think about melodies and what makes a song timeless. Everywhere I've traveled: from an ancient pub in Ireland, to my brother's wedding in the Dominican Republic, to a festival stage in New Orleans - people get excited when I cover this song. Maybe it makes us feel young. Maybe it makes us feel in love. Maybe we just love to sing along.”
 
Love Me  also features amazing originals like the beautiful “Starlight” by singer-songwriter, Ingrid Michaelson, whose 2016 album, It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense, also dealt largely with matters of the heart. “[It’s] a simple song about loving someone through imperfections and reality. Real love is about holding on after the story books. I wanted to have an emotional build near the end of the song to evoke an emotional response. It was a song that wrote itself so easily.  In my opinion, those are the best kind," says Michaelson. 
 
Love Me  Tracklist:
1.       "Funnel of Love," Nikki Lane
2.       "Be My Baby," Hurray For The Riff Raff
3.       "Smother You," Futurebirds
4.        "I'm Your Man” Amanda Shires
5.       "Chicago," Lewis Watson 
6.       "Can't Help Falling In Love," Lady Lamb 
7.       "I'm On Fire," Joshua Hyslop 
8.       "Into My Arms," Angel Snow
9.       "I Melt With You," Surfer Blood
10.   "Starlight," Ingrid Michaelson
11.   "You’re My Everything," Starsailor
12.   "Loving Hold," Tor Miller 
13.   "Crush," Emily King
14.   "Into Your Arms," Joyce Manor
15.   "A Love Song," Ladyhawke
16.   "Making A Difference," American Wrestlers
17.   "The Girl," Run River North
18.   "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,"   Passenger
19.   "Only To Be With You (Unplugged)," Judah & The Lion
20.   "Fear of Love," The Dig
21.   "Red Balloon," Cider Sky
22.   "1 to Love feat. Mone Yukka," MJ Songstress
23.   "You on my Mind," HOLYCHILD
24.   "Some Kinda Way," Elijah Blake
25.   "OTL (Acoustic)," Little Hurricane
26.   "Keep You Guessing," Jo Harman
27.   "Sleepwalking, Pt. I” Alvarez Kings
28.   "L.O.V.E.," Xenia Rubinos
29.   "Viscera," Mimi Goese and Ben Neill
30.   "The Ballad of Tessy Boo," Tess & Dave
31.   "Tell Me," Lera Lynn
32.   "Love Is Strong," Eric Krasno Band
33.   "You Were the Rain," Ryan Beaver 
34.   "That Look You Give That Guy," Oh Pep!
35.   "For Her (Acoustic)," Chris Lane
36.   "Back on Track," Beatie Wolfe
 
LOVE ME NOT
For the heartbroken, Seattle’s Tacocat tackle the Dolly Parton tell-off “Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That,” about which the band deadpans “this is the greatest breakup song ever written, that's all we have to say.” JD McPherson surprises listeners with Erasure’s teary anthem “A Little Respect,” and South Carolinian rockers Susto deliver a four minute sonic thrill ride with the by-turns funky and raucous “Serial Monogamist.”
 
Kadhja Bonet provides a cover of The Spinners “One of a Kind Love Affair.”  Bonet says of her decision to record the Spinners’ classic “I love The Spinners. Their take on this song of separation is celebratory, which I love, a focus on gratitude instead of loss. But I wanted to do a more internal version, a version that was still trying to overcome the ‘bitter’ part of the bittersweet. A version where the narrator was still holding on more than they wanted to admit. I hope it retained some of the tone of gratitude which makes the original so unique.”
 
Love Me Not  Tracklist:
1.       "A Little Respect," JD McPherson
2.       "Cry One More Time," Mary Chapin Carpenter and Peter Wolf
3.       "Blond Girl, Blue Dress," Ethan Johns with the Black Eyed Dogs
4.       "Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That," Tacocat
5.       "Stormy Eyed Valentine," Ben Nichols (of Lucero)
6.       "Always Far Away," Dylan Gardner
7.       “River” Theo Katzman
8.       "One Of A Kind Love Affair," Kadhja Bonet 
9.       "Darkness on the Edge of Town," The Trigger Code
10.   "Letting You Go,"  Little Green Cars
11.   "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye," The Dove and the Wolf”
12.   "House on Fire," Fort Atlantic
13.   "Jealous Guy," Luke Bell
14.   "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore," Great American Canyon Band
15.   "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You," Doug Paisley
16.   "You Don’t Love Me Yet," Will Sheff (Okkervil River)
17.   "Call Me A Friend," Brynn Elliott
18.   "I’d Rather Go Blind," Blank Range
19.   "Love Is A Lie (Amazon Original)," Beth Hart
20.   "Strange Cargo," Mark Pickerel
21.   "Kill,"     SOJA
22.   "State Line," The Americans
23.   "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," Heather Maloney 
24.   "I'm Not There," Happiness
25.   "Serial Monogamist," Susto
26.   "Being With You," Froth 
27.   "After You," Madame Ghandi
28.   "Belong Here," Maximo Park
29.   "Blame Me," Ex Reyes 
30.   "Landmine," Braves
31.   "Her Man," Cardiknox
32.   "I'm Good," Case
33.   "Finishing Sentences," Sammy Brue
34.   "FL, CA (Acoustic)," The Rocket Summer 
35.   "Penelope," Kyle Gass 
36.   "Somebody Got There First," Katy Rose
37.   "I Wrote A Love Song," Finn Matthews 
38.   "Treaty," Sean Rowe
 
In all, the  Love Me   and Love Me Not  Amazon Music Original playlists offer listeners a soundtrack to most any romance-induced mood that may arise this Valentine’s Day. Customers who sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited can begin their free 30 day trial today. To find out how to listen, visit  www.amazon.com/howtolisten. With Amazon Music Unlimited, there is no searching or browsing required, just ask “Alexa, play the Love Me  playlist,” or “Alexa, play the  Love Me Not   playlist” on enabled devices.

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