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Love Songs
Spelman Spotlight
February 1982
Top Ten Records
By Nancy Travis
Contributing Writer
Music and romance go
together naturally; one com
pliments the other. Artists like
Johnny Mathis and Barry White
are famous for providing the
musical background for
evenings of love. The dominant
theme in soul music, country,
rock, pop, blues, standard
ballads, and disco is love. Singers
happily proclaim new love when
it is found, lament in anguish
when it is lost, or express an
urgency when love is longed for.
Song has long been a means by
which one person expresses the
affection he or she feels toward
another.
Today, however, songmakers
of every category are not only
less coy in descring the pains and
pleasures of romantic en
counters, but often they get
quite explicit. Sex (or making
love) is no longer taboo on
television or radio. Candlelight
and moonglow are by-passed
because somebody wants some
“funky stuff.” Some of the
steamier lyrics we have heard
are: “Push, push, push, push it in
the groove. Push, push, push,
make my body move...Thighs
high to the sky (I wanna grip your
hips and move)... Pull up to my
bumper baby, drive it in
between... Give it to me. I’ll
make you holler like you had
enough.”
These songs reflect a new
casual attitude in our society
toward sex (and even love for
that matter). We can see how this
attitude has a dehumanizing
effect on male/female
relationships by the fact that
singers don’t talk about loving
“him” or “her,” but instead they
sing about loving “it.” One’s
potential to arouse is of the
utmost importance, while one’s
personality, values, and in
telligence are seldom men
tioned. This concept of
relationships is made acceptable
and taken for granted when
heard on the air. The songs say,
"I might not love you, like you,
or even know what you are
about, but since you look good,
let’s go to bed.”
Who was the first artist to bring
unreserved erotica to the mass
audience? A few years ago Major
Harrison's “Love Won't Let Me
Wait” was enough to capture
everybody’s attention. A year
later, Donna Summer became a
star with “Love to Love You,
Baby.” Hearing this musical
outpour of breathy spasms and
recording studio orgasms can
make one feel pretty uncomfor
table. Who wants to listen to
some other couple’s heavy
breathing?
Songs that tell a little more of
the singer’s story than just his or
her burning yearning to get sex
have long stood the test of time.
Take for instance songs like “My
Girl” and "R-E-S-P-E-C-T” or “I
see her face everywhere I go, on
the street and even at the picture
Male /Female
Relationships:
Friendship
By Lisha B. Brown
Who ever said your closest
friend had to be a member of
your own sex? As males and
females interrelate more in
business and social settings,
many find friendships in
someone of the opposite sex. So
begins the platonic relationship.
The word “platonic” derives
from the Greek philosopher,
Plato. He believed in the idea of
non- sexual love; sexual love was
only an individual release of
tension that brought no spiritual
sensitivity. The French call these
loving relationships "aimte en
rose.” While they describe them
as more than friendship and less
than love, platonic relationships
are the most special because
they require so much more from
each person.
Stated Barbara Mathias, a free
lance writer who is presently
compiling a book on the subject,
“Platonic friendships among
heterosexual men and women
appear to be growing. We have
no societal norms for platonic
friends so people tend to feel
awkward and view the
relationship with suspicion.”
Many platonic relationships
within the A.U. Center face this
suspicion described by Ms.
Mathias. If a male friend calls or
visits regularly, other people see
the relationship as a romantic or
sexual one. However, this is not
always the case. Platonic
friendships are growing among
young people. Through these
friendships each person learns
more about the opposite sex.
They can understand their life
experiences, their behaviors,
etc. Their platonic friendships
can even enhance their separate
romantic relationships.
There is the question of sexual
attraction in platonic
relationships. Will sex destroy
the uniqueness of the friendship,
or will the trust and confidence
gained in one another secure a
lasting romantic relationship?
The answer varies from
friendship to friendship. But
whether your platonic friend
becomes your groom or your
"maid of honor", it is safe to say
he will always be your best
friend.
show. Have you seen her? Tell
me have you seen her?” or “I’ve
just got to be with him, on the
midnight train to Georgia.” or
“Every drop of rain is glad; I
found her, heaven must have
made her just for me. Ain't no
woman like the one I got...”
There just seems to be more
tenderness in these songs; they
reflect the desire to maintain a
love relationship.
Some songs, however, are not
written to put forth a particular
story or message; they were
created solely to entertain. Their
lyrics are not deep, profound, or
detailed, but they get the point
across, rhyme, and go with the
music. The same rhymes are sung
year after year: arms, charms;
chance romance; time, make
you mine; lover, want no other;
boy, my joy; girl, my world; and
so on. Some lyricists will go to
extremes to make sure that the
song rhymes: "Upside dowm
you’re turning me, I say to thee,
respectfully.”
Although the future for
thoughtful songs about love and
dedication mey seem bleak, we
should not despair; hits like
"Endless Love” and artists like Al
Jareau keep radio romance alive.
Hopefully, the love songs of the
future will concentrate less on
"looking for that good stuff” or
being "caught up in a one night
love affair” and emphasize more
the relationship that is honest
and caring.
family Planning Clinic Physician
is proud to announce the
Grand Opening of his new
office on Febuary \J, 1982.
5. Dekalb Office Park Suite A
3011 Rainbow Drive
Decatur, Ga. 30034
243-3131 or Zbl-0390
Evening } Weekend appt. available
AUC Students w/Valid 1.0. Special Discount
The following listing of the ten
most popular 45’s was provided
by The Music Scene in The West
End Mall. The new listings of
1. If You Think You're Lonely
2. That Girl
3. I Want To Hold Your Hand
4. Call Me
5. Genius of Love
6. I Can’t Go For That
7. Cool
8. I Will Fight
9. Make Up Your Mind
10. Jam the Box
records will be revised February
17,1982. Perhaps your favorite is
on this list, and if not, then it
might appear on the next one.
The list is as follows:
Now Bobby Womack
Stevie Wonder
Lakeside
Sky
The Tom-Tom Club
Hall & Oates
The Time
Gladys Knight
Aurra
Bill Summers