This essay first appeared in the NPR Music newsletter. Sign up for early access to articles like this one, listening recommendations and more. I love the word "heartthrob." It stops you whether you ...

If you look at the Top 10 songs on the Billboard charts, odds are you’ll find nary a love song. Tracks about heartbreak, friendship and self-empowerment abound, but straightforward ballads about ...

Is the love song dying? NPR's Juana Summers speaks David Mora and Michelle Jia about their recent essay in The Pudding, which set out to answer that question. JAMES: (Singing) ...My love has come ...

All songs are love songs. That is if you believe Charles Darwin’s claim that music, like birdsong, developed as a vehicle for sexual selection (indeed, a good voice and a sexy Les Paul go far). But ...