What's your CURRENT favorite radio hook???

WATYF · #1 10-16-2003

I wanted to start this thread to get a feel for the tastes of other songwriters oat there who also listen to the radio.

Here's the question:

What is your favorite hook from a song that is in current rotation on the radio?

You can answer this question as many times as you like, because next month, your current favorite hook might be something else.

My current favorite is "Rest in Pieces" by Saliva. The chorus is a little repetitive, but the first couple times, that's just a great hook. And the verse has a great melody, too.

I previous favorite was Staind's "So far away"... but that got old pretty quick (as I'm sure Rest in Pieces will.

).

WATYF

(btw... this is not a discussion aboot whether or not you think hooks "matter", or what you define as a "hook", or whether or not you think the radio sucks... just answer the d@mn question.

)

ed2brute · #2 10-16-2003

I can't get StoneSour's "Inhale" outta my head!!! "All I want to know is why does any of it matter? (I can't take it anymore)..."

Aaron Cheney · #3 10-17-2003

I've been really diggin' the Jason Mraz album. I love the hook in both "Waiting for my rocket to come" and "The Remedy". My favorite types of hooks are those that deliver a rythmical surprise, like:

"well I'm just a curbside prophet with my hand in my pocket and I'm waiting for my rocket to come.
I'm just curbside prophet with my hand in my pocket and I'm waiting for my rocket ya'll."

The way the second line is delivered shortens up the phrase and works perfectly!

got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com

GenChildren · #4 10-21-2003

Hmm...

Music I like doesn't really get played on mainstream radio.

I did like that Beyonce song, Crazy in Love - The brassy bit, dun duh-dun duh-dun dun, that was pretty cool, I thought they could have done a lot more with that.

I guess that is more of an arrangement hook rather than a song writing hook.

rguagenti · #5 10-21-2003

The acoustic version of One Way Motorway by Foo Fighters brings out the chorus beautifully. the opening chord riff is simple, but bring you into the tune very nicely.

The "hook" if you will gets buried in the electric version.

dafduc · #6 10-21-2003

Nothing is moving me right now - really enjoy Shelby Lynne's and Rickie Lee Jones' and Cassandra Wilson's new offerings (Detroit public radio is so cool!), but the fact I can't remember a single hook right now would indicate a missing wildcard, I guess. The pure pop stuff - some of it's catchy, but more in an Earworm kinda way than a positive hook. I agree on the Staind hook, but that's gettin old.

What I'm listening to the most these days is my HR Comp II CD - some excellent hooks there - particularly Voxvendor's In My Head, but also dtb's bluegrass piece and foo's Steely Dan tribute - though it was foo's guitar work that drew me first, and then the hook got to me later - I know it's supposed to be the other way round.

The hooky pieces aren't necessarily my faves, but they ARE catchy!

And Aaron - your "Bad Luck, Good Story" is one of the greatest hooks ever anywhere. I am so not worthy...

Daf

WATYF · #7 10-21-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by dafduc
And Aaron - your "Bad Luck, Good Story" is one of the greatest hooks ever anywhere.

Yeah... I dig that one too. I wouldn't say "greatest ever"

but it's a groovy song.

WATYF

Aaron Cheney · #8 10-21-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by dafduc

And Aaron - your "Bad Luck, Good Story" is one of the greatest hooks ever anywhere. I am so not worthy...

Quote:

Originally posted by WATYF

I wouldn't say "greatest ever"...

got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com

Aaron Cheney · #9 10-21-2003

Hey, speaking of Bluegrass dafduc, how about that Nickle Creek song that's playing on the radio right now... called "the Smoothie song" or something like that.... That is a great hook.

And by the way...thanks for the positive affirmation.

got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com

CyanJaguar · #10 10-21-2003

my favorite is staind's "so far away"

at first, I hated the song, but I could not stay away from its melodic intensity for long.

erichenryus · #11 10-22-2003

now this is a fun thread watyf!

i was recently knocked over by the following:

'meant to live' by switchback. not on the radio, but it popped up on launch.com and i bit the hook.
the bridge in the acoustic version of 'times like these' (also mentioned above).
jason mraz remedy, the end of the bridge where he hits that high note.
'chop suey' by system of a down. just heard that again yesterday on the radio.
anything they play by the white stripes.
'beautiful' by christina a. that song made me listen to my niece's copy of the cd. the rest of the cd is an example of an incredibly talented singer singing crap imo, but that one song is amazing.

not on the radio but, have you listened to erland's song 'right or wrong' yet? that one killed me.

WATYF · #12 10-22-2003

Actually that's "Switchfoot".. and it is on the radio... at least it is in St. Louis. And yeah.. that one's a pretty good hook.

And no.. I haven't heard Erland's latest yet... (darn it...

) I'm gonna check it out on my lunch hour. Thanks for the heads up.

WATYF

erichenryus · #13 10-22-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by WATYF
Actually that's "Switchfoot".. and it is on the radio... at least it is in St. Louis. And yeah.. that one's a pretty good hook.

And no.. I haven't heard Erland's latest yet... (darn it... ) I'm gonna check it out on my lunch hour. Thanks for the heads up.

WATYF

Switchfoot. right. there was another song by them that killed me. Mandy Moore sang a song they wrote called 'Only Hope'. I listened to that like a million times in a row. Perfect production, perfect execution, perfect songwriting. I'm not sure if that was ever on the radio. Might be a little too spiritually focused for the general public.

You must listen to the Erland song immediately

. I think it's right up there with 'from a boy to a girl'.

WATYF · #14 10-22-2003

I've heard Only Hope... and yes... great production.. great execution... agreed.

Man... if it's up there with FABTAG then I better download that thing quick before he pulls it off the net.

WATYF

erichenryus · #15 10-22-2003

well it's on the CD. so don't worry aboot it

. you've already got it.

the one on the website has some extra production by ianw-uk that's pretty nice.

bdbdbuck · #16 10-23-2003

Gravedigger............DMB

bd

lesterpaul · #17 10-25-2003

i heard a new Kenny Chesney song th other day i liked it but i knew where it was headed straight off ...th song is about a guy finding out he's got a kid on th way so th chorus goes into "there goes my life" from a young guys perspective of losing his youth to th kid (you ahead of me yet ) so th kid grows up and he changes but th line still stays th same as in his child has become his life and th youth was a fair trade ....i know its sappy ,i just wish i had thought of it first i mean th song sounds like it wrote itself ...he also had a good turn of phrase with "The Good Stuff "....but my vote for my hook of th week is th new song ,just don't know th name more than likely it's called "there goes my life" .....peace

demensia · #18 10-25-2003

That tune where the only part he screams is "So Lay Down"

. I dont know the name of it, but that hook rocks.

Doug H · #19 10-25-2003

Trying to use actual current examples (as apposed to No Quarter etc...)

The chick singing about her new dancing shoes is pretty cool, and that "Save Me" tune had a hard hitting chorus.
"Days like this" although I think it works better on the acoutic version.

edit:
shit I know, right now my fav hook is that I hate everything about you tune, the part

"Why do I hook*Love You*hook"

It's too bad he comprmises the lyrics at the end by turning the tables, the song would have been perfect.

Kramer · #20 10-25-2003

Radio?LOL.I havent listened to the radio(other than NPR Jazz)since 1994(I was 29 at the time) or so.

I hate every effin thing from ALL genres in popular music.Popular Music is in the worse state it has ever been in.People thought Disco was bad.LOL.I PRAY for the days of Disco to return.

Whats sad is,that todays listeners have been lulled into a deep sleep in the last 10 years and tricked into taking whatever the labels throw at them via the airwaves,and fooled them into thinking that the music they are being fed is actually up to par with the hit makers of the past..not even close...it's a shame.

WATYF · #21 10-25-2003

thanks Kramer...

meanwhile, back at the origial topic...

demensia... "So Lay Down" is from Chevelle's "The Red". Good hook too.

Doug... Yeah... I agree he shouldn't have switched the lyrics around at the end of that song. It didn't fit at all. Another thing I noticed about that song is that it was so poorly edited. You can totally tell that he didn't sing that chorus all in one breath. It almost chops the word "hate" off before he's even done singing it. Not surprising though, with the lousy production standards these days. I prefer the verse of that song over the chrous, believe it or not.

WATYF

Kramer · #22 10-25-2003

See what I mean.You actually believe there are songs on the radio with good hooks.What a sheep you are.LMAO!

Doug H · #23 10-25-2003

Some of my favourite recent hooks

tune by pod? I think "...these wounds they will not heal..."
that "Been a while" tune I thought was killer, nice wall of guitars
the "if I don't make it, don't cry" tune which I thought was Billy
"Steve McQueen" by Cheryl Crow
And, sad as it might seem, "Complicated" (I like Allannis too)

That Grave Digger tune rocks. That line "rode his bike like the devil till the day he died" rips my heart out and hands it to me.

bah-ah-ah-ah-ah

WATYF · #24 10-25-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Kramer
See what I mean.You actually believe there are songs on the radio with good hooks.What a sheep you are.LMAO!

I'm assuming you're joking.

Define "good". Good means what? Good to you? Good in general? Good according to what..? most people...? some people...? a few people...? the "musical elite"...?

'how bout this... Some schmuck who can barely form a G chord on the fret board gets lucky enough to write a song with a chorus that is so catchy, people just love listening to it over and over. The aforementioned schmuck and his schmuck band gets signed, they sell a million albums because the hook in the chorus of that one song is enough to carry the entire album. He is now a rich and famous schmuck.

Now... Is he still a schmuck...? Yes. Was the album crap...? Yes. Was it over-compressed... and sanitized... and packaged like every other album and played incessantly every five minutes on the radio...? Yes.

But does that mean it wasn't a good hook?

Nope.

And if it wasn't for how good that one hook was, he'd still be just another schmuck, sittin' around trying to learn how to play a G chord, and complaining about how much mainstream music sucks.

WATYF

CyanJaguar · #25 10-25-2003

"Going under" by evanescence

I turn up my radio till the speakers distort every time that song comes on

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