KEVIN McCORRY, HOST: I’m Kevin McCorry and this is ‘Jukebox Journey.’
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness, “Love” by John Lennon, “Love is Strange” by Mickey & Sylvia]
KM: We’re unstuck in time, jumping through decades and genres, meditating on a theme.
This week: The word known to all.
[MUSIC: “Madame George” by Van Morrison]
KM: From 1968, Van Morrison.
Of all the themes in music and the arts, it’s that word that stands the tallest. In song and in story, it’s the greatest, common quest — so basic, so normal, yet so dire, so needed.
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “Love” by Kendrick Lamar, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” by Connie Francis, “Without Love” by Little Richard]
KM: Kendrick Lamar from 2017, Connie Francis from 1961 and Little Richard from 1965.
But what do we talk about when we talk about love? Some kinds lend themselves better to pop songs.
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “Crazy On You” by Heart, “Sex On Fire” by Kings of Leon]
KM: Physical desire, of course — thank you 1975 Heart and 2008 Kings of Leon — and also that thrilling feeling of tumbling headlong into infatuation.
[MUSIC: “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Bjork]
KM: Bjork from 1995.
From there it can go in all sorts of directions. You got your tainted, your stupid, your radar:
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell, “Stupid Love” by Lady Gaga, “Radar Love” by Golden Earring]
KM: And your muskrat, your puppy, your modern:
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “Mrs. Jackson” by Outkast, “Muskrat Love” by Captain and Tennille, “Modern Love” by David Bowie]
All feel better than the dreaded: unrequited.
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” by Bonnie Raitt, “You Don’t Know Me” by Ray Charles]
KM: Bonnie Raitt from 1991 and Ray Charles from 1962.
If you’re lucky, you find someone. Someone you can count on as a partner in the long run. Someone you can change and mature with, overcome and endure with. A love you work to maintain, come what may.
[MUSIC: “To Make You Feel My Love” by Adele]
KM: From 2008, Adele doing the Dylan cover.
Maybe harder to express in song is the truth of love as a multiplier. The alchemy that is ‘love between two’ becoming a strength for many. Whether building family or creating community, it’s the kind that gives others an anchor to hold, a wave that cascades through generations.
[MUSIC: “Love Reign O’er Me” by The Who”]
KM: The Who from 1973.
So, yeah, maybe it’s a Hallmark holiday, but also a reminder to say: here’s to those who, through the messy day-to-day, keep fighting to make true that holy word known to all.
[MUSIC: “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys]
KM: 2003 Alicia Keys.
[MUSIC SWELL]
I’m Kevin McCorry and this has been a Jukebox Journey on WHYY.
collapse
