Welcome to the frisson zone for your weekly dose of a curated collection of sonic shivers and joyful nonsense. Turn up the volume and brace yourself for an audio adventure.
| Title | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-Frame | J. Geils Band | Written by Seth Justman and Peter Wolf, the song captures the giddy rush of infatuation, like love caught mid-flashbulb. It’s pure early-’80s pop-rock energy, loaded with synth hooks and camera metaphors. A freeze frame is a still image taken from a piece of moving video. |
| Chelsea Dagger | The Fratellis | A swaggering pub-rock anthem named after frontman Jon Fratelli’s (born John Lawler) wife’s (Heather) burlesque stage name. She performed at the Glasgow venue Club Noir, which according to Guinness World Records is the largest burlesque club in the world. This infectious, tongue-in-cheek rock ‘n’ roll hit, lyrically playful and full of football-chant energy, became a stadium staple. |
| Do You Want To | Franz Ferdinand | A danceable indie-rock flirtation about the messy charm of afterparties and seduction. Written by Alex Kapranos, as somewhat of a joke. This knowingly cheeky, art school meets disco track is influenced by Talking Heads and post-punk groove. |
| Men’s Needs | The Cribs | Written by the Jarman brothers and produced by Alex Kapranos. It’s a biting, ironic take on male ego, relationships, and self-awareness, “men’s needs” being more emotional than they’ll admit. |
| Ain’t No Party | Orson | A Californian pop-rock track drenched in mid-2000s optimism and swagger. The lyrics twist the “life of the party” trope into something a little more self-aware. Written by Jason Pebworth, Julian Gallagher, Chad Rachild, Chris Cano, George Astasio, John Bentjen and Kevin Roentgen. |
| My Favourite Game | The Cardigans | Nina Persson’s lyrics blend obsession, risk, and emotional danger, love as a high-speed crash. Written by Persson and Peter Svensson; inspired by self-destructive passion. The iconic music video with Nina Persson driving a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, was banned for (too many) car wrecks. |
| Ruby | Kaiser Chiefs | A driving indie-rock anthem about a mysterious, possibly unattainable woman. Ricky Wilson has said it’s more of a character study than a real person. According to former Kaiser Chiefs drummer and songwriter Nick Hodgson, a dog was the original inspiration behind “Ruby.” He was writing on the keyboard at home when the family’s black Labrador named Ruby walked in, prompting him to sing “Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby…” |
| Fluorescent Adolescent | Arctic Monkeys | Co-written by Alex Turner and his then-girlfriend Johanna Bennett. During a Mediterranean holiday Turner and Bennett were reminiscing about characters they knew at school. The song laments fading youth and dull adulthood. |
| Ever Present | Admiral Freebee | Belgian singer-songwriter Tom Van Laere’s introspective rock ballad about persistence and emotional honesty. The title suggests being constant in a world of change. Backing vocals are performed by Nathalie Delcroix. |
| Lonely Boy | The Black Keys | A raw, blues-rock explosion about desire and devotion with a a foundation of live drums and guitar together in the room. It’s guitar bleeding into the drum mics. Written by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. Its viral one-take dancing video became a cult hit, featuring Derrick T. Tuggle dancing to the song in the lobby of a motel. |
| My Sharona | The Knack | Written by Doug Fieger and Berton Averre about Fieger’s teenage crush Sharona Alperin. Alperin ended up with Sharona, a Hebrew name, as her parents sent her to Hebrew school. It’s also the name of a small area in Israel. The song was produced by Mike Chapman and recorded at MCA Whitney Recording Studios in Glendale, California. The album version runs 4:52, but the single version was edited down to 3:58 with Knack guitarist Berton Averre’s solo chopped. Run-D.M.C. used the guitar riff for their 1986 song “It’s Tricky”. |
| Glastonbury Song | The Waterboys | Written by Mike Scott, this is both a spiritual anthem and a love letter to the English countryside. “I just found God where He always was” encapsulates its mystical optimism. Entirely original and quintessentially Waterboys: folk, rock, and faith intertwined. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
