Songs with no intro

XP - n that case more than half of American Water qualifies!

Also Sundays, I Feel

“Good Vibrations” is such a wonderfully pure example of a “no intro” song, tho

The Fabs did this constantly; No Reply, Penny Lane, Hello Goodbye..

Another classic of the genre;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WngGeI9lnA

“Good Vibrations” is such a wonderfully pure example of a “no intro” song, tho

IDK, that opening verse always felt like an intro to me. 'Gold Soundz', though, there's a song that just drops you straight in there from the first beat!

Weedking by GBV always stumbles in awkwardly due to the lack of intro

A good variation on this is "they've been playing this tune for half an hour and you've just walked into the room"

for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-T9pMqzHf4

xxp It’s funny I didn’t think of “Gold Soundz”; it’s one of the best songs by one of my favorite bands, lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZswHWIv_eo

ramones - now i wanna sniff some glue
the byrds - 5d

A good variation on this is "they've been playing this tune for half an hour and you've just walked into the room"

That's how Funkadelic's "One Nation Under A Groove" struck me when I first heard it.

or similarly,
The Modern Lovers - “Pablo Picasso”

^On the opposite tip, one for the thread topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcjK1dKa15E

Weeper - Buddy Holly

Weezer even

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP2d8yZzhdM

Belle & Sebastian open their first four LPs like this. Either the voice is the very first sound you hear or it comes within a second of a quietly strummed guitar. Several singles too: "Slow Graffiti", "I'm Waking Up To Us", etc.

Leonard Cohen does it a bit. ("Bird on a Wire", "Sisters of Mercy", "Is This What You Wanted?") Probably not uncommon where the singer is wielding an acoustic guitar. Maybe Smog and a bunch of folk singer types too?

Smash Mouth - All Star

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTaM6XD-cAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j85MhM_gCTQ

re: Smog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67yAOOXE7d8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah5FpgT6N4E

Vampire Weekend’s « Step » (among others of theirs)

napalm death - you suffer

plus about a million other grindcore songs

Kate Bush “The Big Sky”, “Cloudbusting”
“Hounds of Love” almost

Quite popular circa 2003. eg.THIS and THIS

awopbopaloobopawompbamboom

...is the intro

I mean I guess it's also the chorus, so never mind, I'll allow it

Rush "Red Lenses"
Urge Overkill "Jaywalkin'"
Big Star "Give Me Another Chance"
Jawbox "His Only Trade"

tubthumping

lol n/m

i knock myself down but i get up again

lotion - dear sir

Bob Dylan & the Band - I’m Not There (...and probably other Basement Tapes songs? The Mighty Quinn?)

Royal Trux - The United States vs One 1974 Cadillac El Dorado Sedan

Royal Trux - Every Day Swan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=098IhhIOJeY

Beach Boys, "Do You Wanna Dance" - but not the Ramones, or Bobby Freeman for that matter.

"Somebody to Love" - Jefferson Airplane
"Delta Dawn" - Tanya Tucker; Helen Reddy
"Rich Girl" - Hall & Oates
"China Girl" - Iggy Pop
"Le Freak" - Chic

A lot of these begin abruptly but not necessarily in medias res.

"lizard lady" and "semolina" from duck stab/buster and glen by the residents

probably some others, i'm listening to "weight lifting lulu" now though, it's good

Hop Along - "The Knock"

― may the force leave us alone (zchyrs), Friday, January 3, 2020 10:21 AM (eleven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

This was the first one that came to mind when I saw this thread. Love that song.

I keep thinking about The Fall, but MES so often just utters something ("Pink press threat!", "Who makes the Nazis?", etc) upfront, followed by what is otherwise a musical 'intro' passage. Still, "In the Park" clearly fits the bill. And the likes of "Mr Pharmacist", "Dice Man" and "Kicker Conspiracy" commence with the chorus.

Yeah, those are good ones. "Kicker!"

Pixies - Distance Equals Rate Times Time

^ good one... no intro, drops right into the action, and also no real chorus

Dexys Midnight Runners, "Plan B"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8QI69ifsiY

... and others I suspect.

genesis with peter gabriel did this shit all the fucking time

looking for someone
supper's ready (which gets bonus points for being a _23-minute epic_ with no intro)
dancing with the moonlit knight

there are some other songs that are very close, like "lillywhite lilith" and "the lamia"

Buncha Sam The Sham songs: "(I'm In With) The Out Crowd"; "Medicine Man"; "How Do You Catch A Girl?"; "Ju Ju Hand"; "Ring Dang Doo"; "Lil' Red Riding Hood" (if the wolf howl counts)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A9GIgghiP4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpAI8YOh0K4

Love that song....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTWpAsMJMX0

Rolling Stones: "Mother's Little Helper"

Minor Threat “out of step”

Elvis Costello, Accidents Will Happen - starts with vocal and it is already the verse. Does that count?

EC's first three albums all start with just his voice, already in the verse: Welcome to the Working Week, No Action, Accidents Will Happen.

Steve Hillage: Wait One Moment
The Cramps: Tear It Up
Johnny Thunders: Little Bit of Whore

Toni Braxton - Dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgA6hdK0gq4

Courtney Barnett - Elevator Operator

Haddaway - What Is Love

Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle

i would argue that the kind of acapella chorus shouting of that song and "you give love a bad name" is an intro, even though it starts with vocals.

anyway, dababy's "off the rip" is a hip-hop example, along with a bunch of his other songs

Yeah, I probably should have titled the thread "songs where the vocal comes in immediately" (and then there is also a distinction btw. songs with an "vocal intro" and songs that jump right into the verse).

"Road to Nowhere" by Talking Heads is an interesting example: an a cappella intro which is unrelated to the rest of the song.

another obvious example of that is "bohemian rhapsody," though themes from that intro recur throughout the song

felt Abba must have these, because they have a way of going right into their choruses...

(see also this thread: the CVC formula: songs with choruses as intros)

...so I scrolled thru the 59-track Abba Gold Anniversary Edition and found these:

“Take A Chance On Me”, “Super Trouper” (both start with the chorus sung acapella tho); “Our Last Summer”, Kisses Of Fire”. “I Am Just A Girl” has just one guitar strum, “Rock Me” has two drum beats.

probably more to be found on their albums