Is the love track dying? NPR’s Juana Summers speaks David Mora and Michelle Jia about their latest essay in The Pudding, which got down to reply that query.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Love songs have been round for a really very long time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “AT LAST”)
ETTA JAMES: (Singing) Eventually…
SUMMERS: Are right now’s musicians nonetheless writing about love, or is the love track dying?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “AT LAST”)
JAMES: (Singing) …My love has come alongside.
SUMMERS: That is the query David Mora and Michelle Jia got down to reply of their latest essay in The Pudding. They appeared on the prime 10 hottest songs for yearly from 1959 to 2023 to attempt to determine it out. David and Michelle, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
MICHELLE JIA: Thanks.
DAVID MORA: Thanks.
SUMMERS: What impressed the 2 of you to look into this?
MORA: Yeah. We had been actually focused on how artists current themselves not simply as themselves, however as characters in a narrative or in a persona throughout time and the way that is modified as society has modified. And as we had been exploring that, we began to consider the best way that these performers – whether or not that is Nicki Minaj or Elvis – associated to like and romance, which is so central on this complete dataset in pop.
And we began to ask this query, you already know, there’s a lot grumbling, notably from the older era, about how love has been misplaced, true romance is not represented anymore, that we stated, effectively, is that this actually there within the information? And what we discovered was actually shocking and attention-grabbing and allow us to simply utterly change the best way we considered what’s love and the way can we discuss it.
SUMMERS: OK, and once we strive to determine whether or not musicians are nonetheless writing about love or whether or not the love track’s dying, I imply, to reply that query, I really feel like you have to outline what a love track even is. And in your essay, you begin by songs that you simply classify as serenade. So these are sort of, like, probably the most easy songs about love, like “Cannot Assist Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE”)
ELVIS PRESLEY: (Singing) Smart males say…
SUMMERS: What makes a serenade a serenade?
JIA: I believe when individuals think about love songs, there’s nearly two massive classes. The primary one is the plain one, which is you the singer are in love with somebody, and also you’re singing to them direct. And that is what a serenade is. It is like a declaration of affection from one individual to the opposite. The second type, like every little thing else, is there’s an entire world of songs which can be about love, however aren’t that direct. And that is what the remainder of the essay will get into.
SUMMERS: In keeping with your evaluation, the recognition of serenades has declined from 23% of prime songs to solely like 12% of prime songs. However you two make the case on this essay, David, that that isn’t sufficient to show that the love track is lifeless. Inform us why.
MORA: Yeah. Effectively, clearly, you’ve gotten a quite simple relationship whenever you love somebody, they love you again and every little thing is nice. However there’s a lot extra mentioned in pop. And I believe we began kind of with the serenade, the place love is nice and every little thing’s easy. And I believe the plain class can be when there’s heartache. There’s the second class; songs like “Yesterday” by the Beatles.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “YESTERDAY”)
THE BEATLES: (Singing) I stated one thing unsuitable. Now I lengthy for yesterday.
SUMMERS: All proper. Now, I’ve received a query, if I can, about these songs about pursuing love. There are two examples that come to thoughts for me. There’s one thing like, say, “I Need To Maintain Your Hand” by the Beatles. And, utterly totally different universe, there’s one thing like “Purchase U A Drink” (ph) by T-Ache, that are two songs that anyone who hears them is aware of, they don’t sound something alike. And but you guys make the case that, lyrically, they’re fairly related. Inform us how.
JIA: I believe we are inclined to get caught up in style or in type lots once we take into consideration music, and so we’re like, oh, yeah, T-Ache, like, that is so sonically totally different from the Beatles. However as a result of we centered on lyrics, we had been capable of drill down into, like, what’s truly occurring on this T-Ache track?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BUY U A DRANK (SHAWTY SNAPPIN’)”)
T-PAIN: (Singing) Child woman, what’s your title?
JIA: He is within the bar. He needs to purchase somebody a drink. That is truthfully actually susceptible. Like, I do know you are T-Ache, however what if she says no? Like, that is nonetheless…
SUMMERS: What if she says no?
JIA: What if – she would possibly say no. So it is, like, nonetheless that second of you see somebody, you are sort of into them and you are making this gesture in the direction of additional closeness. And each these songs are about that.
SUMMERS: Effectively, let’s dig into one other class. And we won’t get too soiled right here as a result of we’re on the radio, however there’s additionally the sexual confidence class, which was just about nonexistent within the ’60s, after which there was this big surge of recognition within the 2000s. What do you assume that each one of those developments present us about how the expression of affection and music has modified over time?
JIA: Sexual confidence was an enormous class for us as a result of we knew it was sort of, like, the elephant within the room. Plenty of the instances when individuals speak in regards to the, quote-unquote, “decline of affection songs,” they normally check with the rise of songs which can be primarily about intercourse. And one factor that we felt strongly about is there’s an entire spectrum of human connection and the way we take into consideration that. And there is many alternative methods, you already know, culturally, morally to consider the place intercourse and romance sit subsequent to one another. However for us, we had been like, that is all a part of human connection, and this must be a sound a part of human expression.
SUMMERS: David, when you can, might you give us possibly a few examples of these sexual assured songs? I am having a tough time not picturing one Justin Timberlake in my head proper now.
MORA: Yeah. So one iconic one from the early ’80s was “Bodily” by Olivia Newton-John.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “PHYSICAL”)
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: (Singing) Let’s get bodily, bodily.
MORA: If you happen to consider fashionable ones, you’ve gotten “Work” by Rihanna and Drake. You even have “WAP” with Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “WAP”)
CARDI B AND MEGAN THEE STALLION: (Rapping) Now get your boots and your coat for this moist, moist, moist. He purchased a cellphone only for footage of this moist, moist, moist.
MORA: And so I believe it is actually attention-grabbing to see how clearly the tone, the explicitness of the songs has modified over time, however I believe that that sexual confidence was there within the ’60s. They could be totally different type. And possibly now it is turning into extra acceptable to precise it in different methods, however it’s nonetheless there. So although we see the surge within the 2000s and since then to modern-day, I believe that we nonetheless see the thread working by all of pop.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “WAP”)
CARDI B AND MEGAN THEE STALLION: (Rapping) I wanna whoop.
SUMMERS: David Mora and Michelle Jia, thanks for becoming a member of us. You’ll be able to learn the total piece on The Pudding’s web site. Thanks.
JIA: Thanks.
MORA: Thanks.
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