Falling in love.
If we can believe pop songs--and what kind of world would this be if we couldn't believe pop songs?--then we don't edge cautiously into love; we don't dip our toe into love's metaphorical pool to see if the water is as cold as ice, and willing to sacrifice...well, never mind that comparison. But the point remains that we don't try to gently acclimate ourselves to love's tentative reward, at least not in pop songs.
We fall.
We fall deeply, deliriously, deliciously, desperately, divinely. We fall face-first, heart stapled to sleeve, and hope for the best. And we can all live happily ever after, at least for the brief duration of a decent pop song.
Chapel Hill, NC's native son Rich Miller (aka Rick Rock) is better known in pop circles under the nom de jangle Parthenon Huxley. Huxley has recorded solo and with his group name P. Hux (among others). He should be a household name, like Ellen Degeneres or General Electric. Lemme tell ya, he's a household name in these quarters. Under all of his names, Huxley has continued to release sublime pop songs to the delight of lovers and would-be lovers alike.
Parthenon Huxley's 1988 album Sunny Nights is an underappreciated pop classic, and it includes a nonpareil track called "Double Our Numbers." "Double Our Numbers" is a stirring affirmation of the promise and possibility of love: The kind of love we hear in the midst of seductive la-la-las in the greatest pop songs, and the love we so hope to discover in real life.
It would be unfair to say that real life is no fun. The fantasy world of pop music intersects with the mortal, physical world we know, each influencing the other on an ongoing basis. In reality, we know that it's sometimes prudent to wait, to review, to weigh the pros and cons of action versus inaction.
But in pop songs, we believe, and we act. Sometimes. Even in song, there are tales of regret over missed opportunities, and in our lives there are true stories of love at first sight. I'm certain that it happens all the time.
And that's it, isn't? That's not just the appeal of a pop song, but the core quality of what love's unfolding promise can mean to us, how it can motivate us, why we want it, the vital importance of reaching for it in its precise, fleeting moment. We fall. For our own good, or own detriment, we fall because that's the only way to get where we want to be.
Double our numbers. Double our chances. Double our pleasure, double our fun.
And if it doesn't work out? Double back and try again. Falling in love. I believe pop songs are right about love's promise. I know Parthenon Huxley is right with "Double Our Numbers."
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