The Murray State Racers mascot is a prominent symbol of Murray State University's athletic teams. Known as Dunker, the mascot embodies the spirit and pride of the Racers. Dunker is a raccoon, chosen as the mascot due to its connection to the region of western Kentucky where Murray State University is located. The raccoon is native to the area and represents resilience, adaptability, and resourcefulness, qualities that the university aims to instill in its students and athletes. Dunker can be seen at various sporting events, cheering on the teams and entertaining the crowd. The mascot is known for its energetic and playful personality, engaging with fans of all ages.

What in the word?

Love is one of the most common themes in music, but why do we love “love” so much? And how can love songs pull on our heartstrings? Australian musician Nick Cave suggests that “[A]ll Love Songs must contain duende . For the Love Song is never truly happy…The Love Song must resonate with the susurration of sorrow, the tintinnabulation of grief.” Love songs embrace the conflict between wanting and not having, and it is this sense of passion and longing — and sometimes even heartbreak — that we are most drawn to. But how do you write song lyrics to make someone swoon?

On February 11, 2021, UCLA English professor (and Planet Word Advisory Board member) Adam Bradley helped us identify some of the most defining characteristics of love songs, which he says are part of a long tradition of love poetry. When it comes to love, “songwriters now have to invent new figures, new ways of saying what people have been saying for millennia now.” Some lyrics that might seem prosaic and corny now, such as Robert Burns’s “O my Luve is like a red, red rose / That’s newly sprung in June; / O my Luve is like the melody / That’s sweetly played in tune,” were fresh and innovative when they were first published.

There are only so many ways to talk about love straightforwardly and only so many ways to rhyme with it — think “of,” “above,” “thereof,” “dove,” “glove,” and “shove,” some of which might sound strange in a love song. As such, in order to make something new and worth listening to, Bradley says songwriters “have to find…other techniques to expand the palette of the words that will work and will enhance our understanding of what love is.” Some of these techniques include slant rhyme and other types of sound repetition (e.g., assonance, alliteration, epistrophe). But “the major technique that they employ is figurative language, metaphor and simile, to…take from something else that’s tangible and connect those properties to the way that we are feeling in the moment about love.”

At the same time, Bradley caveats that songwriters shouldn’t get mired down in technique. The best love songs “have what the Italian call sprezzatura, a kind of a conscious ease and almost a carefully disheveled sense of it in that way, to seem spontaneous, to make it feel like love itself.”

With this in mind, let’s break down the clever techniques used in the lyrics of some of our favorite love songs!

“Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin” — The Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields’ “Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin” uses extended metaphor and simile in conjunction with wry irony to turn the common notion that love is intoxicating on its head. Other love songs that use this theme tend to focus on the liberating aspects of intoxication, rather than the messiness of a bad night out. While this song does not ignore these aspects of both love and gin, it is ultimately much more concerned with the cost.

“Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” — Cole Porter

Cole Porter’s song “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” is a tongue-in-cheek call for romance. Porter uses double entendre to code his less-than-safe-for-work message, as well as different types of repetition to add an extra layer of playfulness. A prime example of double entendre is at the beginning of the song when Porter uses the ambiguity of the word “blue” — meaning “the color blue,” “melancholy,” and even “bawdy,” as in “blue comedy” — to say that nature is telling us it’s time to fall in love.

“Helpless” — Lin-Manuel Miranda

In addition to rhyme at the end and in the middle of lines, Lin-Manuel Miranda uses assonance to serve his storytelling in the song “Helpless” from Hamilton. In the song, Eliza wants nothing more than to be in love with this one man, Alexander Hamilton, and have a family with him. Miranda repeats the sound “AI,” echoing Eliza’s name, across numerous lines to emphasize her longing and create tension.

“Stereo Hearts” — Gym Class Heroes (ft. Adam Levine)

“Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes leans into the corniness of love songs, primarily using different types of rhyme — notably, slant rhyme and mosaic rhyme, both of which are very common in rap — within the extended metaphor of the singer’s heart being an old-school boombox.

“Drop the Pilot” — Joan Armatrading

In her song “Drop the Pilot,” Joan Armatrading uses anaphora to persistently ask the person she loves to drop their current partner and choose her instead. In doing so, she contrasts herself with a catalog of people from different professions to say she is a better match.

What love songs make you swoon? Let us know on social media by tagging @PlanetWordDC or #PlanetWord.

This blog post is adapted from a virtual program held on February 11, 2021.

Adam Bradley is a Professor of English at UCLA and Planet Word advisory board member. He was instrumental in developing our karaoke-style Unlock the Music gallery, where you learn about the songwriting techniques used in songs as you sing along.

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Compilation of the Month | Pagan Love Songs Antitainment Vol. III

Pagan Love Songs turned 15 this year on August 27th. Time flies. I remembered drooling over the photo gallery at Nightmarezone.de while participating in the Deathrock/Post-Punk revival in NYC around 2002. So when I received my copy of the first Pagan Love Songs compilation, the discs seldom left the CD tray in my PC. It became a treasured possession, and soundtrack to the events I was working on that were in turn inspired by the initial exploits of the brothers Thyssen in Germany.

The third and final Pagan Love Songs Antitainment Compilation continues to curate an fantastic collection of Post-Punk, Gothic Rock and Wave with new and classic bands. Classic bands such as The Chameleons, Rosetta Stone, and Red Temple Spirits. New bands such as Ash Code, Ascetic, The Devil and The Universe, Phosphor, She Past Away, and Wires and Lights (featuring their debut). Also included is a new Frank The Baptist song “Ashes Ashes”, off of their upcoming LP, and dancefloor staples such as “The Porter” by Dream Affair, and “Ravage” by Skeleton Hands.

These Pagan Love Songs discs are the Mick Mercer Gothic Rock compilations of our generation, and there are only 1000 copies of Vol. III available. Order now!

PAGAN LOVE SONGS – Antitainment Compilation Vol. 3
CD 1:
01 – Passion Play – Running On Empty (2014) **
02 – Rosetta Stone – Reason
03 – The Fair Sex – Helpless Fall (Endless Fall) **
04 – She Past Away – Ritüel
05 – Ash Code – Dry Your Eyes (Pagan Love Songs Edit) **
06 – Linea Aspera – Malarone
07 – Phosphor – Rotary
08 – The Devil & The Universe – It Is Our Will (Pagan Love Songs Mix) **
09 – Three Winters – Atrocities ****
10 – Dream Affair – The Porter
11 – Skeleton Hands – Ravage (Video Edit) ****
12 – Psyche – Misery (Truth Of The Story) **
13 – Element – Skeletons (A Wonderful Nite For An Evening Mix) **
14 – Frank The Baptist – Ashes Ashes (Let The Dancing Begin) **
15 – Terminal Gods – Electric Eyes (7”)
16 – Schonwald – Blacklight
17 – Tempers – Strange Harvest ****
18 – Azar Swan – Over 19 – Nejet Nok – After Stars Fall ***
20 – Schleimer K – Hope Deep Inside ***

CD 2:
01 – The Chameleons – Intrigue In Tangiers
02 – The Convent – Take It On A Chin ****
03 – Red Temple Spirits – Soft Machine ***
04 – Mirror Walker – Seven Postcards (7” Edit) **
05 – The Blue Angel Lounge – Caught Crow
06 – ASCETIC: – I Burn
07 – Ulterior – State Trooper ***
08 – Muffdiver – Feuer ***
09 – Spectres – Remote Viewing ****
10 – The Merry Thoughts – House Of Rain (Trick Or Treat 1980) ***
11 – Horror Vacui – In Darkness You Will Feel Alright
12 – Christ vs. Warhol – A Drop In The Ocean (Heathen Heart) **
13 – Judith – Of A Heaven (What Remains)
14 – Catastrophe Ballet – The Garden Of Decay
15 – Night Sins – To London Or The Lake ****
16 – Walls Have Ears – Flux Garden ***
17 – No More – Do You Dream Of Angels In This Big City?
18 – The Present Moment – General Relief
19 – miserylab – People
20 – Wires & Lights – Swimming (Pagan Love Songs Demo) *
* – exclusive track ** – exclusive version *** – rare **** – first time on CD

Pagan love songs

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The mascot is known for its energetic and playful personality, engaging with fans of all ages. Whether it's high-fiving young fans or leading cheers, Dunker is an integral part of the Murray State game-day experience. In addition to its appearances at sporting events, Dunker also participates in various community outreach programs and events.

New Pagan Love Song

by Paul Brill

Digital Album

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

credits

released October 20, 2004

Performed and Produced by Paul Brill
Mixed by Nancy Hess

1. paulbrill.com
2. Facebook
3. sterlingsocialclub.com

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The mascot visits local schools, hospitals, and other community organizations, spreading joy and promoting the university's values. The presence of Dunker adds an element of fun and excitement to Murray State's athletic program. The mascot serves as a rallying point for fans, bringing people together in support of the university's teams. It represents more than just a symbol; Dunker embodies the spirit and pride of the Murray State Racers. Overall, the Murray State Racers mascot, Dunker, plays a vital role in the university's athletic program. From its energetic presence at sporting events to its involvement in the community, Dunker serves as a symbol of pride and unity for students, alumni, and fans alike..

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