Song #595: "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer

Date: May 3, 1986
Weeks: 1

Oh good. After "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister, I was starting to worry that my 80s nostalgia was misplaced. But this song made me remember everything I liked in 80s music.

Unlike "Broken Wings," the guitar parts in this song drive it. They are bold and strong and featured. The drum is driving, but has just enough variety to stay interesting. The synth-keyboards accent the rest of the song properly. Synth-keyboards seem to be a bad match with soft rock songs, but other kinds of rock songs can make them awesome.

Robert Palmer has one of those great gravelly voices that makes anything sound cool. He's emotionally invested in the song and performs it well.

I'm working to adequately describe why this song sounds so great, but one of the great things about good pop music is that when it's good, it just works and you can't necessarily identify all the parts that make it work. I can talk about each element, but the bottom line is that they just click together. It's like alchemy. You turned lead into gold, but darned if you can figure out how you did it and manage to repeat it.

The lyrics are maybe the only weak spot, and they're not even that bad. Like a lot of songs since illicit drugs and rock music met, this song compares being in love to being addicted to drugs. This one in particular tackles withdrawal. "Your heart sweats, your body shakes, another kiss is what it takes."

That's fine, and I think in the 1980s there may not have been as many variations on this theme as there are now, but this song doesn't quite go into a story. Who's addicted to love? Why are they addicted? Who are you to this person, and why do you care? My best guess is that maybe this guy is looking for women who are on the rebound from an ended relationship because he's looking for an easy hookup. I'm basing almost all of this on the line "Another kiss and you'll be mine." If that line means something else, then I'm really not sure what the song's real meaning is.

Regardless, the lyrics in the verses are incidental. Nobody remembers anything but "Might as well face it, you're addicted to love" anyway. They also remember the music video, with the band of identical women. Other than a striking image, I'm not really sure I get what it's supposed to mean. I guess it could mean he's saying all women are the same, but since that interpretation interferes with my ability to enjoy the song, I prefer to just ignore it and enjoy the music.

My verdict: Like it. I haven't heard this song in a while, and I forgot how good it was. Definitely an 80s classic.