I haven’t listened to Taylor Swift’s evermore yet. This is partially because I got my fill five months ago with folklore and partially because I had an overblown reaction to some of the lyrics in “willow,” the opening track. This did not entice me to pursue the album further. In “willow,” Taylor sings about a romantic relationship that has arrived unexpectedly, and in the final lines of the chorus, she says: “I’m begging for you to take my hand / Wreck my plans, that’s my man.” My misandry runs deep, so the mere mention of a man is enough to turn me off, but that’s not the only thing going on for me here. The aspect of this couplet that really rubs me the wrong way is that I sense a bit of smugness. Not only does Taylor mention a man, but she also uses a possessive pronoun in relation to him. “That’s my man.” I was thrilled to discover at age 25 that it was ok to fail at heterosexuality, that there was a place in the world for people like me, but a part of me still feels loss. I will never be able to string the words “my” and “man” together, and I resent the way it sounds so triumphant here.
Despite the conspiracy theories, Taylor Swift is likely a straight lady. Meanwhile, I am aromantic asexual, an orientation that the majority of the population does not even know exists. This is why my brain took “That’s my man,” a relatively innocuous line, and interpreted it as Taylor Swift flaunting her normalcy.
This kind of reaction is typical for me. I love pop culture and cannot get enough of it, but my response is often pointed, and consuming pop culture can be emotionally taxing for me. However, there is one subgenre of pop music that I find to be pure, uncomplicated fun. It is called the dance floor love song, and I made up the name myself. Since I made it up, I also get to decide its key features. Much like English grammar, there are exceptions to these rules; however, in its purest form, the dance floor love song contains:
- Concise and vague lyrics about a wonderful and exciting relationship
- Prominent use of electronic beats
That’s it. Those are the key features. I don’t ask for much.
“Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris is a paragon of the genre. It only has one verse, and the lyrics are vague and evocative at the same time, more about a feeling than a specific story. Harris sings about someone who he “feels so close” to, and he illustrates it with the following image: “Your love pours down on me / surrounds me like a waterfall.” This relationship provides safety, and it is rare and beautiful and powerful. (Also, loud? Can you imagine what your life would be like if you had a literal waterfall surrounding you?)
Harris’ single verse also includes the line “There’s no stopping us right now,” which hints at a feeling of invincibility. This relationship is the shit. It provides sunshine and rainbows; waterfalls and invincibility. Aside from the total euphoria that they depict, the best thing about these lyrics is that the pronouns are “I” and “you.” Anybody could be “I” and “you.” Harris is “I,” and the listener is also “I,” and “you” could be anybody we want it to be. It can be someone of any age, gender, or sexual orientation, and it doesn’t have to be someone with whom the listener has a romantic relationship. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be one person. These lyrics are vague enough that any listener who has ever felt close to any one person or group of people can relate.
The lyrics are gloriously inclusive but specific enough to evoke the feeling of liberation that comes with connecting with others and feeling safe with them. The instrumentals evoke this feeling as well. In the pre-chorus, there is just one synthesizer melody, but when we get into the chorus, we get a fuller sound with additional layers. The progression from the pre-chorus into the chorus feels like an ascent, and once you’ve made it, you are thoroughly uplifted. If you weren’t dancing, you might be floating.
“Feel So Close” is perfection. It is the best dance floor love song in the world, but there are many that are nearly as good. Even if you move away from EDM, where we have been thus far, and firmly plant yourself in the world of traditional pop music, this type of song remains prominent. “Now That I Found You” by Carly Rae Jepsen is one of the great dance floor love songs with a traditional pop lyric structure.
In this absolute banger, Jepsen sings about a new and exciting relationship. She says that their connection is “just like a miracle,” that she is “coming alive” with this person, and that “there is nothing like this feeling, baby!” The instrumentals reinforce the euphoria of the lyrics, pulling you in with an ethereal echo during the first verse and maintaining an airy quality throughout. Just like Harris in “Feel So Close,” Jepsen evokes the feeling of magic (waterfalls; invincibility; flying) that comes with discovering a deep connection with another person. There are some hints that the relationship is romantic; for instance, she wakes up in the morning with this person. However, we can ignore this, and also, you can wake up in the morning with a platonic companion such as a pet. Though the listener is likely to infer that Jepsen is discussing a romantic relationship, this is not necessarily the case.
This is an idea that Jepsen playfully entertains in the music video. Just like “Feel So Close,” there is some vague pronoun action in “Now That I Found You,” and the “you” in question could be just about anyone. In the music video, it’s a cat! There is a handsome man who shows up at the end, slightly undermining the way Jepsen subverts our expectations by focusing on a relationship with a pet, but the cat still gets more screen time than the human man.
So far, I have discussed dance floor love songs by Calvin Harris and Carly Rae Jepsen, artists popular among millennials, but let’s talk Gen Z for a moment. Gen Z’s favorite pop culture is the most indicative of what’s to come in the future. So, to make a case for the hipness and vitality of the dance floor love song, allow me to submit for evidence “Stay” by BTS. BTS is the biggest band in the world, and it is hugely popular with younger audiences.
“Stay,” released in November on the album BE, seems like a standard pop song at first. The verses have a traditional pop sound, but the chorus is pure EDM. The first time I listened to it, I was stunned when the chorus arrived and the electronic beats erupted from my computer speakers. It was the best surprise, and I felt like BTS had created this song as personal gift for me.
As is the tradition of the dance floor love song, the only pronouns in this song are “I” and “you.” There are many possible ways that the listener can relate to the lyrics, which are about maintaining a close connection with someone or someones while physically distanced from them. All possible interpretations are valid, but we do have an idea of the meaning that BTS intended.
According to Genius.com, a source that I am trusting for the purposes of this piece, “Stay” is a love song that BTS wrote for their fans. Apparently, this is a thing that they do. I don’t understand it because I am a tiny dinosaur, but I bet it makes a lot more sense to Gen Z. Regardless of my grasp of this cultural phenomenon, I appreciate what this song is doing, and it adds dimension to the dance floor love song genre. It opens up more possibilities. This one is not even about an individual person; it is about a group of people. And it is explicitly not about romance.
“Stay” makes me proud of my favorite subgenre for making it big. If BTS pays attention to your thing, you know it’s a big deal. I was sitting alone in my apartment when I first heard this song, but when the EDM instrumentals kicked in, I raised my open palm to make a “there you have it” gesture, as if I were resting my case, having proven to the universe that the dance floor love song is here to stay.
If you want to be surrounded by waterfalls, check out my Dance Floor Love Songs playlist on Spotify.
