But there are earnest themes too, about poverty or caste discrimination.
There are earnest divisions here, often driven by deep-seated religious convictions.
There are earnest protestations of love from Janet (Jackson), Montell Jordan, Kandice Love and Case, not to mention the determinedly low-pressure flirtation in Musiq's "Just Friends".
The Broadhursts have no idea what to do with her, and there are earnest conferences with her sisters (now working in art galleries or married to accountants) over possible careers.
There was the aggressively engaged David Susskind and the boyish Dick Cavett, who rarely failed to mention he had gone to Yale; there was earnest, eager Phil Donahue and now there is the folksily deferential Charlie Rose.
And this is not to lay all the ills of society at the doors of marquee journalists striking out on their own: no doubt there are earnest intentions to produce good work.
There was earnest introspection too: from Mr. Varela, whose gentle ballad "Habáname" ("Havana Me") mingled sadness with affection for his city, and from Mr. Torrens, who called borders humanity's "most selfish invention" before singing "Ni de Aquí ni de Allá" ("Neither From Here Nor There").
There are earnest elements of goth and new wave on the London five-piece's Priestess, but at its heart is a joyous celebration of the singer Isabel's sister, who is a dancer and appears in the video, premiered below.
"There is earnest demand for more convenient urban and regional transportation services, especially in light of the growing population of senior citizens," Didi added via a statement.
Like anything else, there's earnest expressions in the culture and then there's kind of bandwagoning.
