Full Description
What do pop songs have to say about love? Surprisingly, this book shows that most popular love songs express much more about alienation, infatuation, estrangement, jealousy, and heartbreak than about love. Scheff takes the reader on a tour of popular lyrics from 80 years of American song to reveal the emotional and relational meaning of lyrics. He shows that popular love songs typically steer listeners away from a healthy connection to the emotions surrounding love. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of love songs while appreciating the author's suggestions for how listeners and artists could enrich the art of the love song.
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Conceptions of Love; Chapter 3 Emotion Languages; Chapter 4 Alienation in Top 40 Songs 1930-2000; Chapter 5 Nobody Knows but Me; Chapter 6 Genuine Love and Connectedness; Chapter 7 What Emotion is the Shadow of Love?; Chapter 8 The Beat Goes on; Chapter 9 Afterword;