Summer 1997

ARTICLE TOOLS

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It was thirty years ago today when Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. And to commemorate the anniversary of this much-celebrated Beatles' album—and the "Summer of Love" that it helped usher in—I have been seeking a little help from my friends under the age of thirty.

Specifically, I have been asking my twentysomething friends to name for me as many 1990s "masculine love songs" as they can. By "masculine love songs" I mean love songs sung by male artists who have a sizeable male following. (In other words, songs by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Michael Bolton don't count.)

Now, the reason I am interested in this information is because I am convinced that one of the best barometers of a society's health is the number of masculine love songs popular among its youth.

Show me a culture where young men listen approvingly as male artists sing openly about their affection, devotion, and fidelity to women, and I'll show you a culture whose official Index of Leading Cultural Indicators is apt to make Bill Bennett smile.

Show me, instead, a culture where masculine artists hide their love away—or seemingly have no love to hide—and I'll show you a culture in crisis. A culture overrun with sexual violence and exploitation and illegitimacy and, well, all the other junk you're already familiar with if you've "read the news today (oh boy)."

As you might have guessed, most of my twentysomething friends haven't exactly overwhelmed me with examples of 1990s love songs. Those who listen to r&b and (especially) country have had an easier time coming up with examples—making me almost wish that every American had taken Alan Jackson's advice and "Gone Country."

But my friends plugged in to the musical genres most popular ...

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