What if what’s tearing us apart isn’t complicated at all? The march of civilization has been a march toward isolation, after all. We started as tribes of hunter-gatherers and then split into villages once we mastered agriculture. Villages and towns were good enough for a long time, but they eventually evolved into cities too large for us to know all of our fellow citizens.

Even then, we still gathered in public places: churches, parks, pubs, dance halls. When radio came along, we gathered publicly a little less, and then television isolated us even more.

Now it’s not uncommon to see five people staring at five individual screens, ignoring each other completely. Is it any wonder that our sense of community continues to fade?

But you and I, we still have a common bond. We both like music, so let’s listen to some togetherness songs:

“Together Now,” Heart.

“Together Again,” Buck Owens.

“Let’s Stick Together,” Wilbert Harrison.

“Alone Together,” The Strokes.

“Down Together,” The Refreshments.

“Goolie Get Together,” The Toadies.

“The People Will Come Together,” Bert Sommer.

“Real Good Time Together,” Lou Reed.

There you have it: Eight songs for coming together, right now. What did I miss? I’m listening.