Listen: Atom Bomb (Edit) / Fluke
Atom

When I excitedly played ‘Atom Bomb’ for a close friend, who also doubles as an electronic music hater, being sure it would be the one to change his mind, he instead proceeded to point out the song’s lack of a chorus. My retort was, the whole song is a chorus. Indeed that’s all it is. Neither of us were accurate of course. But it did frame how a traditional song addict could dismiss this whole genre, based on structure.

That scenario is luckily not my problem. Either it’s good music and I like it, or not.

Never loved a Fluke song before or after ‘Atom Bomb. To be clear, I liked but didn’t love those other singles.

Still can remember my first hearing of ‘Atom Bomb’. Having just landed at Heathrow via the morning flight out of JFK meant an evening London arrival. Once clearing customs, and successfully boarding a modern day miracle known as the Heathrow Express, I fired up my transistor to Radio 1. Don’t forget, this was before Wifi and apps. I was just in time to catch the very last track on Jo Whiley’s and Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session, a UK premier of ‘Atom Bomb’.

Wow, did it sound good. Those first few new records I’d hear once firing up Radio 1 after arriving in London have always made for a memorable moment. In the case of ‘Atom Bomb’, a lasting one.

Listen: Freakin’ Out / Graham Coxon GrahamFreakin.mp3

I always thought Graham Coxon played more like Jimi Hendrix than anyone, even Robin Trower, on Blur’s ‘There’s No Other Way’. I don’t think he repeated the sound though – not sure as I never listened to the band’s albums.

Back in the day, although it does seem odd to put it that way but….back in the day when Jo Whiley held the morning shift on BBC Radio 1 – at the time, they really cranked alternative rock stuff, this got played a lot. It became a favorite.

I’d been meaning to play it for ages, but only just stumbled on this unfiled copy. Still sounds pretty great, a touch more on the hard rock guitar side than I recall, but a fave nonetheless.