These days, it seems like whenever I tune into the radio on the car, it’s pretty much guaranteed that a love song will be playing. And when it comes to that love song playing, I can pretty much guess that it will be about: a breakup, pining after someone or reminiscing about a past relationship. Love songs have dominated the music industry for a long time, but it seems like these days a lot of the songs sound the same.
Case in point: Olivia Rodrigo. Rodrigo’s songs are just all about love and teenage angst, which isn’t a bad thing because she does have an audience that loves those themes. Listeners are drawn to love songs because love and heartbreak are broad and universal topics that many can relate to. Even if some people don’t experience love, they can still yearn for it and find comfort in the songs. Personally, I like love songs as much as the next person, but I just wish that there would be more variety in mainstream music.
The music industry just seems to be oversaturated with these narrowly constructed love songs. Whether it’s Rodrigo or Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter, all these songs just blend together after a while.
It’s not that all love songs are bad, it’s just that the ones that are mainstream these days feel very small-minded and shallow.
“Would That I” by Hozier is about love, for example, but it feels much deeper and the wordplay much more thought out than songs that Olivia Rodrigo would write.
Another point to add is that the songs that get my attention these days are the ones that aren’t about love, instead focusing on other topics, like mental health or other kinds of connections to people.
Songs that have deeper meanings than that teenage angst and romance.
“Icarus” by Bastille, for example, focuses on hubris and touches on alcoholism as well. “Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons is about bravery and youth, while “Passing Through (Can’t the Future Just Wait)” by Kaden MacKay is about embracing the future and not being afraid of letting the past go.
If the radio could play songs that are more than just about love, it could open up the doors to more genres of mainstream music in the future.
