Don't bore us get to the chorus

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Do you agree with this principle?

Comments

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

Only if we extend it to getting to the pre-chorus, the first middle eight, the second middle eight, the weird hooky bit that appears in the intro and after the first chorus but then never again, the key change on the outro etc etc.

Plus also Beavis and Butthead on Creep.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It works for many, maybe even most, pop songs, but the verses are generally necessary because:

a) if they are not as good as the chorus they will make the chorus better, introducing ANTICIPATION and CLIMAXING into the listening experience
b) sometimes they are better than the chorus!
c) generally one listens to the pop song purely for the chorus on first few listens - the relative subtleties/idiosyncrasies of the verses keep you from burning out on the song too soon
d) the lyrics are generally funnier, and if there is narrative impetus this is where it will be

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It def works for Roxette songs.

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

Isn' t this the aural equivalent of the Atkins diet? (eg possibly delicious but dangerous and wrong)

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

No because often the chorus is the LEAST interesting or exciting part of the song.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Urban Cookie Collective didn't need verses!

south beach remix

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

Urban Cashew Collective

[epicharmus.livejournal.com]

I often like music that meanders. I often like music that has no chorus. I often like music that is peripatetic. I often like music with more fat than lean. Etc.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of analyzing exactly why "Welcome to the Jungle" was so good, years ago. The answer being that it had four or five different bits (hooks, riffs, whatever) that in and of themselves would be sufficient to carry a song. On one hand that suggests the answer was yes -- we loved the song because it was like a whole bunch of choruses crammed together. On the other hand, you have gorgeous songs like "Baby" by Caetano Veloso, where the chorus proper is slight, and when you realize there are no more choruses, well... I get tempted to stop the song before the end and start it over.

Whether either of these are "pop," is another question, I guess.

[giddyoldgoat.livejournal.com]

It's not a pop rec if the chorus is weaker than the verse

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

What about getting to the chorus before the verse? Eg The Beatles - Help - aka The Most Divisive Song In Pub Quiz History.

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

every song should be a chorus and a guitar solo.