When Cupid strikes a chord: What makes a great love song

By Jeff Miers

News Pop Music Critic

 

There are innumerable quotations detailing the intangible marriage between music and matters of the heart. One of the most indelible comes courtesy of the philosopher Plato, who, though he never had the pleasure of hearing Bono sing "With or Without You," seemed to implicitly "get it."

 

"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back," wrote the great man. "Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet."

 

So tough to argue with, this notion that love can bring out the poet in all of us, the part we keep well-hidden most of the time. If we follow Plato's train of thought, then the best music captures our need for a communion of our own heart and mind with those of another — what the poet might call a marriage of souls.

 

Of course, when handled clumsily, the language of the heart can become cloying, cliche-ridden, and somehow, cheapened. For every "With or Without You" — a song that comes to the conclusion that love is pain and pleasure, attraction and repulsion, desire and fear intermingled, or it is nothing at all — there are a thousand examples of "Everything I Do, I Do for You" or "I Will Always Love You" melodrama.

 

Love, whatever it is, is certainly not simple, and it demands a song that mirrors its complexities, ambiguities and contradictions. The countless songs saying "Oh baby, I will love you forever and we'll always be happy" fail this test, even if they remain incredibly popular at weddings.

 

Speaking of weddings, they do seem to bring out the best and the worst in the betrothed's taste for the good ol' love song. How many times have you been at a nuptial celebration, having an otherwise fine time, when, out of nowhere, the DJ announces a first dance and it ends up being "The Wind Beneath My Wings?" Talk about a buzz kill. If Sister Sledge got a royalty check every time some poor wedding band is forced to perform "We Are Family" while the family in question performs a sloppy group-hug on the dance floor, it would have more Benjamins than Steve Jobs.

 

That said, love songs at weddings, vow-renewal ceremonies and Valentine's Day events don't always plod wearily along the low road. According to Buffalo musician and producer Nelson Starr — who has played more than his fair share of all of the above with the likes of the Party Squad and others — there are no set rules when it comes to melodies celebrating amore.

 

"There really is no clear answer, when it comes to discerning the most-requested love song at a wedding," says Starr.

 

"Believe it or not, there is quite a diversity among requests for first dances. Everyone seems to pick something rather particular and special to them. I give high points for creativity to most couple's picks."

 

-More here : http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/953113.html

 

:nice:

cool beans

I thought it was interesting. :tongue: It's not often I read the paper. :P