Don’t bore us. Get to the chorus. If you’re trying to make a high impact first impression, why not hit the listener square in the face with the catchiest, most memorable part of the song from the off?
So today, songs that take off with a chorus. Don’t ignore us..Hour One The Chordettes – Lollipop (Greatest Hits 1958) Little Esther – T’Aint Watch Say It’s Watch Do (Single 1963) Martha and the Vandellas – Nowhere to Run (Dance Party 1965) Sonny & Cher – Baby Don’t Go (Baby Don’t Go 1964) Jackie de Shannon – What the World Needs Now (This is Jackie De Shannon 1965) Blur – Song 2 (Blur 1997) Cutting Crew – (I Just) Died in Your Arms (Broadcast 1986) (Live at Rockpalast 2007) The Goo Goo Dolls – Broadway (Dizzy Up The Girl 1998) Cheap Trick – I Want You To Want Me (Live at Budokan 1977) J.J. Cale – They Call Me The Breeze (Naturally 1971) Tonic – If You Could Only See (Lemon Parade 1996) They Might Be Giants – Everything Right is Wrong Again (They Might Be Giants (The Pink Album) 1986
Hour Two
Jain – Makeba (Zanaka 2015) David Guetta ft Bebe Rexha – One In A Million (Single 2023) Professor Green – Lullaby (Growing Up In Public 2014) Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend (Body Talk 2010) Pilot – January (Second Flight 1975) The Beatles – Two of Us (2021 Remix) (Let it Be 1970) Paul McCartney – Maybe I’m Amazed (McCartney 1972) Joe Cocker – You Are So Beautiful (I Can Stand a Little Rain 1974) The Triffids – Bury Me Deep in Love (Calenture 1987) The Velvet Underground – Sunday Morning ft Nico – The Velvet Underground 1967) LeCrae – Worth It (All Things Work Together 2017) Billie Eilish – Your Power (Happier Than Ever (2021) Fearless Soul ft Kenna Childs – Heaven is a Place on Earth (Cover Sessions 2022)
Continuing our French theme today, we have this year’s French Eurovision entry that came a disappointing fourth and the 2020 entry that came 2nd. Plus a selection of classic 70s rock, some unheard US punk and a couple of local artists, ArrDee and Tom Williams – plus the return of the Libertines and the Nirvana before Nirvana.
Hour One
Wishbone Ash – Blowin’ Free (Argus 1972)
Bad Brains – i against i – 02 (i against i, 1986)
The Comets – Help Me (The Comets 1981-3)
Keith Richards – Eileen (2022 – Remaster) (orig. Main Offender, 1992)
Led Zeppelin – Your Time is Gonna Come (remastered) (Led Zeppelin 1969)
Francoise Hardy, Charles Aznavour, Sacha Distel, Charles Trenet, Serge Gainsbourg. All great French artists. But let’s not stereotype French music. As a Romance language, the very words of French songs sound like an expression of undying love even when they’re talking about seeing Elvis in the chip shop. The French music scene is vibrant, contemporary and interesting. Today, without a lot of speaking from me, you’ll hear some of the best current music from across the Channel.
Love songs that you didn’t know you loved.
Aime les chansons que tu ne savais pas que tu aimes
Playlist
Hoorsees: Memory’s Knife A Superior Athlete French Indie 2022 320 kbps
Radio Elvis: La Traversée Les Conquetes French Indie 2017 320 kbps
Gwendoline: Pinata C’est a Ma Ca French Alternative 2024 320 kbps
Camp Claude: Horses Double Dreaming French Indie 2019 320 kbps
The Lanskies: Bank Holiday Bank Holiday French Indie 2010 320 kbps
Manceau: Full Time Job Life Traffic Jam French Indie 2012 320 kbps
Juveniles: Someone Better Without Warning French Indie 2017 320 kbps
Teeers: Driving On My Own Ampris French Indie 2023 320 kbps
Lou Doillon: Too Much Soliloquy French Indie 2019 320 kbps
The Dø: Despair,Hangover Ecstasy ShakeShookShaken French Indie 2014 320 kbps
Husbands: Dream Dream/Overseas French Indie 2013 320 kbps
Part-Time Friends: Paris en août Weddings & Funerals French Indie 2021 320 kbps
Cats on Trees: Lion Neon French Indie 2018 320 kbps
Flavien Berger: La Fête Noire Leviathan French Indie 2015 320 kbps
Frànçois + Atlas Mountains:La Fille Piano Ombre French Indie 2014 320 kbps
Grand Corps Malade: Mais Je T’aime Mesdames French Rap 2020 320 kbps
Isaac Delusion: Let Her Go Lost & Found French Indie 2024 320 kbps
Jeanne Added: Mutate Radiate French Indie 2018 320 kbps
Juliette Armanet:Le dernier jour du disco Bruler le Feu French Indie 2021 320 kbps
Lilly Wood & The Prick: Prayer in C Prayer in C French Indie 2014 320 kbps
L’Impératrice: Agitations Tropicales Odysee EP French Indie 2015 320 kbps
Lomepal: Trop beau Evidement French Hip Hop 2019 320 kbps
Odezenne: Je veux te baiser Rien French Indie 2014 320 kbps
Paradis: Toi et moi Recto Verso French Indie 2016 320 kbps
Cléa Vincent: Samba Tropi-cléa French Indie 2017 320 kbps
Petit Fantôme: Tu ne vois rien Stave II French Indie 2023 320 kbps
Poom: Les Voiles Les Voiles French Indie 2014 320 kbps
Terrenoire: Jusqu’à mon Dernier Souffle La Forces Contraires French Indie 2020 320 kbps
O – Olivier Marguerit: Dernière affaire Première affaire French Indie 2024 320 kbps
Sometimes wandering through the sun bleached bones of musical former glories we hear the mewling of new born artists. This week, we introduce you to Cardiff lyrical post punks Slate and their muse, the Welsh poet RS Thomas; the new Nubiyan Twist single with Fela Kuti’s heir Seun Kuti. Brighton based Fari Chiketa has given us exclusive access to her new single ‘Light’ and new Indie band Courting open the show. Plus new releases from Richard Hawley and Ed Harcourt; a time when Billy Bragg and Jonny Marr made great music together and a new version of ‘Alone Again Or; by Love – plus at the end, one of the most beautiful songs of all time that you won’t have heard before. Some lost – and some found immortals.
Hour One Courting – Flex (New Last Name, 2024) RS Thomas – The Peasant (Reading the Poems 2010) Slate – Tabernacl (Single 2024) Alley Cats – Escape From The Planet Earth (Live, 1979. Later released on Escape From the Planet Earth, 1982) Billy Bragg – The Boy Done Good (Bloke on Bloke, 7 track mini LP 1997. Also Reaching to the Converted, 1999) Love – Alone Again Or (Alt Mix) (Forever Changes, 1967) Blues Traveler – Carolina (Straight on Morning 1997) Gasoline – This is My Life (Efter endnu en dag, 1976) Stargard – Theme from ‘Which Way is Up’ (Stargard 1978) Nubiyan Twist – Carry Me ft Seun Kuti (Find Your Flame, 2024) Fari – Light (Light Single 2024) Jeff Tyzik – New York Woman (Jammin’ in Manhattan 1984) Hour Two Ed Harcourt – 1987 (El Magnifico 2024) Barbara Lynn – This is the thanks I Get (Here is Barbara Lynn 1968) Laurie Darmon – L’exil (La Traversée du Désir, 2022) Jewel – Long Slow Slide (live version as extended track on This Way, 2001. Goodbye Alice In Wonderland, 2005) Cris Jacobs – Wild Roses and Dirt (One of these Days 2024) Mary Gauthier – Till I See You Again (Dark Enough to See the Stars, 2022) Charles Pasi – Farewell My Love (Uncaged, 2009 Sometimes Awake, 2011) Richard Walters – This is Where it Ends (Golden Veins 2020) Richard Hawley – Prism in Jeans (In This City They Call You Love, 2024) JVKE – This is What Losing Someone Feels Like (This is What Losing Someone Feels Like Vol 1-4 2023) Pamela Richardson – Sainte-Fortunat (Saint-Fortunat 2008) Clarensau – Hollywood (This One’s for You 2012) Nikki Lane – When My Morning Comes Around (Single 2022) Extended Wolf Larsen – If I Be Wrong (Quiet at the Kitchen Door 2012) Chris Squire – Lucky Seven (Fish Out of Water, 1975)
The absence of a chorus in certain songs is not uncommon, and it can be because of different creative choices made by songwriters and musicians.So, while choruses remain a staple in popular music, artists continue to explore innovative ways to express themselves, sometimes opting for unconventional song structures that break out from established norms. So while the whole world is a stage, sometimes the stage is not big enough for chorus lines. Here are some non-chorus songs..
Here are some reasons why some songs don’t have a chorus:
Narrative Complexity: Some songs aim to tell intricate stories or convey complex emotions within a limited timeframe. In such cases, omitting a chorus allows the artist to focus on the lyrical content and maintain the song’s flow without interruption. For instance, Squeeze’s “Up The Junction” crams a relationship’s rise and fall, partying, pregnancy, marriage, cheating, and divorce into just three minutes, leaving no room for a traditional chorus.
Emphasis on Other Elements: Certain songs prioritize other musical elements over a chorus. For example, Queen’s iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” features multiple distinct sections, each with its own memorable lines, rather than a single repeated chorus. The track’s unconventional structure demonstrates that a hit song need not follow a linear format.
Instrumental Dominance: Sometimes, the instrumental components take center stage. The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” relies heavily on sampled strings from the Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time.” Adding a chorus might detract from the track’s surging momentum driven by those omnipresent strings.
Artistic Experimentation: Musicians enjoy experimenting with songwriting techniques. Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song” exemplifies this. Its unsettling rhythm, slurred melody, and ever-changing lyrics defy conventional song structures. In such cases, the absence of a chorus becomes an intentional artistic choice.
Freedom from Conventions: Artists may deliberately avoid established songwriting formulas. Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” encourages listeners to move forward without regrets, mirroring the song’s theme. By omitting a chorus, Springsteen emphasizes the protagonist’s unbridled pursuit of adventure.
Subtle Refrains: Some songs incorporate subtle refrains without a full chorus. R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” features the lines “I’ve said too much, I haven’t said enough,” creating a memorable refrain without adhering to traditional chorus patterns.
Hour One
David Gray – Please Forgive Me (White Ladder 1998)
Beady Eye – Flick Of The Finger (BE 2013)
Ride – Chelsea Girl (Ride EP 1990)
The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight (The Airborne Toxic Event 2008)
Radiohead – Spectre (Single release only 2015)
Joy Division – Atmosphere (Substance (Substance 1980)
Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener (The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas 2013)
R.E.M. – Country Feedback (Out Of Time 1991)
Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners – Evergreen (RMCM 2017)
Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young) – Mr Soul (Buffalo Springfield Again 1967)
The Lemonheads – My Drug Buddy (It’s A Shame About Ray 1992)
The Juliana Hatfield Three – My Sister (Become What You Are 1993)
Cat Stevens – The Wind (Teaser And The Firecat 1971)
Hour Two
Laura Nyro – And When I Die (More than a New Discovery 1967)
Billie Eilish – Everybody Dies (Happier Than Ever 2021)
Gordon Lightfoot – Black Day in July (Did She Mention My Name 1968)
Lisa Loeb – Stay (Reality Bites Soundtrack 1994)
Bruce Springsteen – Cautious Man (Tunnel of Love 1987)
Lana Del Rey – Fingertips (Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd 2023)
Sufjan Stevens – So You Are Tired (Javelin 2023)
Lucy Dacus – Historians (Historian 2018)
Fontaines D.C. – The Couple Across The Way (Skinty Fia 2022)
David Bowie – Make You Feel My Love (Unreleased 2015)
Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork (Stumpwork 2022)
Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye (Grace 1994)
Loyle Carner – Not Waving, But Drowning (Not Waving, But Drowning 2019)
Contributor Steve Wick continues his quest for the best funk rock band on the planet. We link three bands – Maccabees, 86TVs and I Am Kloot. Cool jazz from Brian Auger and Mr Scruff – and, of course, Cigarettes After Sex will light up the show.
Hour One The Dirtbombs – The Sharpest Claws (If You Don’t Already Have A Look, 2011) Filter – Hey Man Nice Shot (¼ lb) (Short Bus, 1995) The Maccabees – Marks to Prove it (Marks to Prove It 2015) 86TVs – Higher Love (You Don’t Have to Be Yourself Right Now EP 2023) I Am Kloot – 86TVs (Natural History 2001) Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll And The Trinity – Isola Natale (Open, 1967) The Cramps – The Way I Walk (…Off the Bone, 1983) Mick Ronson – Don’t Look Down (Heaven and Hull 1994) Car Wash – Globe (Single 2022) Flash And The Pan – Hey, St Peter (Flash & The Pan 1976) Okkervil River – The Valley (I am Very Far 2011) Broadcast – Man Is Not A Bird (Ha Ha Sound, 2003) Mr Scruff – Music Takes Me Up (Ninja Tuna, 2007) Hour Two Beth McKee – River Rush (Next to Nowhere, 2012) Richy Mitch & the Coalminers – Sierra Vista (Single 2024) Sheryl Crow, Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin – So Goddam Smart (Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, 2013) Ralph Castelli – Morning Sex (Long Distance EP 2019) Jeb Loy Nichols – Big Troubles Come In Through A Small Door (The United States Of The Broken Hearted, 2022) Cub Sport – Replay (Jesus at the Gay Bar 2023) Raign – Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Knocking on Heaven’s Door 2015) Frally Hynes ft Asdru Sierra – Broken Town (Frally 2016) Humanist ft Tim Smith – Too Many Rivals (On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World 2024) Hola A Todo El Mundo – Cara Cazador (Estela Castiza, 2011) Cigarettes After Sex – Pistol (Pistol Single 2022) Tors – Miracle (Live Piano Version) (Only For You, 2024)
This week we’re showcasing a number of emerging music artists pumping adrenaline into the flabby nervous system of the live music scene.
On Tuesday evening I was present as new neo-soul/jazz artist FARI captivated Brighton’s Folklore Rooms. Also on the bill was Matilda Bond, another great emerging jazz soul voice. The weekend before I gave a lift to one of my son’s friends Shaun Ramanah who is managing an exciting new Indie trio from London, milkshed. We’ll be giving their new single its first airplay. We’ll also give an airing to Mercury Award winner’s Ezra Collective’s new single.
Hour One
Vegyn ft. Ethan P Flynn – Another Nine Days (The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions 2024)
Milkshed. – Fairweather Friend (Fairweather Friend Single 2024)
THE LOST IMMORTALS – EXPANDING YOUR MUSICAL HORIZONS Ep 266 Sunday 28th April 2024 5-7pm on Mid Sussex Radio103.8FM with Roy Stannardand Matthew Staples www.midsussexradio.co.uk/listen
Hold onto your mind
Michael Hutchence fronting Talking Heads? Sweet playing dirty rock n Roll? Iggy Pop Search & Destroy reinforced with themissing bass and bite? The radio debut of #alfredopaz French rock from Guesch Patti? New birth of Dusty’s ‘Dream Merchant’? Our Poet Laureat Simon Armitage and Florence Pugh collaborating?
No, it’s not just in your mind; it’s on the radio..
HOUR ONE
Andwella – Hold on to Your Mind (World’s End, 1970)
Sweet – No You Don’t (Live, Musikladen 11.11.1974) (Sweet Fanny Adams, 1974)
Willy DeVille – Even While I Sleep (Backstreets of Desire, 1992)
Iggy Pop & The Stooges – Search and Destroy (Raw Power (50th Anniversary Legacy Edition))
Alter Bridge – Watch Over You (Blackbird, 2007)
Barry Adamson – The Last Words Of Sam Cooke (Cut to Black, May 17 2024)
John Moreland – A Thought is Just a Passing Train (LP5, 2020)
Alfredo Paz – Learning to Say Goodbye (Single, 2024)
Bill Fay Group – Strange Stairway (Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow recorded 1978–1981; Durtro, 2005) (Remastered and re-released 2024)
Guesch Patti – L’Homme Au Tablier Vert (Fleurs Carnivores) – (Nomades, 1990)
HOUR TWO
The Heads w/ Michael Hutchence – The King Is Gone (No Talking Just Head, 1996)
Chris Stapleton – Tennessee Whiskey (Traveller, 2015)
John Gorka – Heart Upon Demand (I Know, 1987)
Belle & Sebastian – Ever Had a Little Faith (Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance 2015)
New Birth – Dream Merchant (Birth Day – The New Birth 1972)
Tami Neilson – You Were Mine (Chickaboom!, 2020)
LYR – Lockdown (In aid of Refuge) ft. Florence Pugh, Melt Yourself Down (Single 2020)
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes – What Kinda Music (What Kinda Music 2020)
Max Gomez – Joe (Me & Joe, 2017)
Waxx & Pomme – Laissez-moi danser (Single, 2023)
Ruth Moody – Far and Wide(Brightest On The Heart / Far and Wide, 2014)
EXTENDED
● The Silencers -Wild Mountain Thyme (So Be It 1995) ● The Band – Chest Fever (Music From Big Pink, 1968) ● Chris Whitley – Breaking Your Fall (Hotel Vast Horizon, 2010)
Fishing, with its dull, patient anticipation of an exciting catch, is a metaphor for hope, symbolizing our pond larvae belief that the sediment will always be greener on the other side. Throwing out lines into polluted rivers in the hope that nothing too mutant-like will attach itself to them, reeling in a little peace and quiet, exacting a kind of revenge on the maggots that have consumed the other parts of our life. Always exaggerating our catch with the best of them.
With that in mind, here are some really big songs.
Hour One
Pixies – Ring The Bell (Indie Cindy 2014)
Throwing Muses – Fish (The Season Sessions: Spring 2012)
Pixies – Catfish Kate (Beneath The Eyrie 2019)
King Missile – The Fish That Played the Ponies (Mystical Shit 1990)
Bailter Space – Fish Eye (Tanker 1989)
Headless Chickens – Fish Song (Stunt Clown 1988)
Joe Bonamassa – The Whale that Swallowed Jonah (Dust Bowl 2011)
The Clean – Fish (Great Sounds Great EP 1982)
B52s – Give Me Back My Man (Wild Planet 1982)
The 3Ds – Fish Tails (Fish Tales EP 1990)
Prince – Dolphin (The Gold Experience 1995)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Fishing in the Dark (Hold On 1987)
Billy Joel – The Downeaster Alexa (Storm Front 1989)
Hour Two
The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues (Fisherman’s Blues 1988)
Van Morrison – And It Stoned Me (Moondance 1970)
Bow Triplets – The Fisherman (So Do I) (Fair Play to You 2006)
The Imagined Village – Fisherman (Bending the Dark 2012)
Fred Neil – The Dolphins (Fred Neil 1966)
Linda Perhacs – Dolphin (Parallelograms 1970)
Nick Drake – River Man (Five Leaves Left 1969)
KT Tunstall – The River (Wax 2019)
Beth Nielsen Chapman – Sand and Water (Sand and Water 1997)
Chris Rea – Gone Fishing (Auberge 1991)
Martyn Joseph – Dolphins Make Me Cry (Being There 1992)
Justifying a wasted life is a challenging task, as every individual’s journey and circumstances are unique, but even in moments of perceived failure or stagnation, there are valuable lessons to be learned and opportunities for growth and self-discovery.
So don’t waste your experience, recycle it.
Hour One
Stars – Wasted Daylight (The North 2012)
Tom Williams – Petrol Station (Follow the Leader 2021)
Marina & the Diamonds – The State of Dreaming (Electra Heart 2012)
The Audience – Running out of Space (The Audience 1998)
James – Our World (Yummy 2024)
English Teacher – Yorkshire Tapas (Polyawkward EP 2022)
Yard Act – A Vineyard for the North (Where’s our Utopia? 2024)
SomeSurprises – Be Reasonable (Perseids 2024)
Loney Dear – Airport Surroundings (Dear John 2009)
The Concretes – Say Something New (The Concretes 2003)
Röyksopp and Robyn – Every Little Thing (Do It Again EP 2014)
Mundy – Pardon Me (Jelly Legs 1996)
DEHD – Light On (Poetry 2024)
Hour Two
The Lemon Twigs – How Can I Love Her More (A Dream is all We Know 2024)
Burr Island – Later (Single 2024)
The Reds, Pinks & The Purples – We Only Hear the Bad Things People Say (Unwishing Well 2024)
Kasabian – Coming Back to Me For Good (Happening 2024)
Wallows – Your Apartment (Model 2024)
Khruangbin – Pon Pon (A La Sala 2024)
Iron & Wine – All In Good Time ft Fiona Apple (Light Verse 2024)
Musical hieroglyphics and wonders 