What good is a love song if dating can feel so painful today? It can feel so hard to find a meaningful romantic connection nowadays, no matter how many dating apps are on the market. People can’t afford to date the way they’d want. Or they’re incentivized to prioritize themselves and deny the mere prospect of love. To make matters worse, the gender wars and misogyny make the strain for connection even more difficult.
So the iconic love songs we grew up with can almost feel trivial. It begs the question: Is love dead? The legendary songwriter Babyface doesn’t think so— but it’s definitely different from what he’s used to.
In an interview with The New York Times, he argued that how we understand love in music has shifted over the years. Rather than sounding like a classic Boyz II Men song, it sounds like “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA. The song that really sticks with Babyface nowadays is Olivia Dean’s smash hit “Man I Need”. The way she simply declared her pursuit of love felt simple and effortless.
“That’s not always easy finding that,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get more of that so we can have that good feeling ’cause we just want a good feeling, y’know? Doesn’t have to be heartbreak, just pure emotion.”
Babyface Says We’re Fighting a War on Love in Music Because of the Internet
The 67-year-old then argued that we’re in a crisis for love and that crucial emotion because the internet has desensitized us. The sweeping soul we used to experience in music and in life has turned cold due to the digital aspect. Our connections with one another have altered, making our music change as a result.
“We’re fighting a different war… for emotion because the internet and social media have taken a lot of the soul out of everything,” Babyface stressed. “When you take away the innocence, you take away the romanticism of it all, the imagination of love, of sex, love has to find a new way to connect.”
Another aspect he notes earlier in the interview is how women’s autonomy has bolstered a new relationship with love in songwriting. Records like Faith Evans’ “Soon As I Get Home” don’t connect as much because everything doesn’t center around a man and a relationship. There’s an equal partnership that changes the dynamic of love.
“Women are far more independent,” Babyface told the publication. “They don’t look for… somebody to save the day for them. They can save themselves. So being romantic today is a little different than being romantic in the 90s.”
The post This Legendary Songwriter Explains Whether or Not He Thinks Love Is Dead: ‘Being Romantic Today Is a Little Different’ appeared first on VICE.
