Van Halen
A straightforward party-rock come-on built around a single repeated plea, this track trades narrative complexity for swagger and…
seduction and impatience male bravado nightlife and escape from work
Whitney Houston
A dance-pop declaration of instant, total surrender to a new love, built almost entirely around one repeated vow of…
instant attraction surrender and devotion desire framed as fate
Marvin Gaye
A slow-burning seduction built almost entirely on repetition, this track turns a dancefloor encounter into a mantra of desire.…
seduction and pursuit dance as courtship ritual instant attraction
Eric B.
A late-80s Eric B. & Rakim track that doubles as a comeback statement and a victory lap, addressing fans who waited through a…
hip-hop mastery community and borough pride patience and delayed gratification
Michael Jackson
A buoyant, physically driven declaration of infatuation built almost entirely around a single hook that gets repeated, echoed,…
infatuation desire and pursuit possessiveness
Smokey Robinson
A straightforward declaration of romantic devotion, built on the classic Smokey Robinson template of certainty and fidelity. The…
romantic devotion certainty/fate fidelity
Madonna
A slow-dance ballad built around a single moment: crossing a crowded room toward someone and closing the distance between…
infatuation vulnerability physical desire
Creedence Clearwater Revival
A cover of the Gene Pitney-penned, Ricky Nelson-popularized 1961 pop-rock standard, this Mardi Gras rendition is CCR playing it…
love at first sight teenage infatuation nostalgia for early rock and roll