Lately I've been obsessed by Paul McCartney's song Jet. Pop music critics focus on lyrics because they're writers and they understand words better than music. So there's a lot of talk about what the lyrics mean in this song - though they're essentially nonsense designed to sound great - and not nearly enough about the startlingly abstract descending melodic line that's the centerpiece. You'll hear it in the first phrase:
I can almost remember their funny faces
and then, in a more elaborated form, in the second:
That time you told them you were going to be marrying soon
If you try to sing these lines getting the melody and rhythm exactly right, I think you'll find it hard! Or maybe I'm just bad at singing... but I don't think so - I think they're rather slippery. And so he put this melody in several extremely catchy frames:
Starting the song, a repeated ominous 4-note theme. This should remind you of the phrase "band on the run" from the title song of this album.
A recurring bump-and-grind thing on rhythm guitar, which anchors the whole piece. This is actually reminiscent of a reggae rhythm, since it plays the 3rd and 4th beats while leaving the 1st and 2nd silent.
Most obviously, the shouted chorus of "Jet!" The whole band sings this, and its intense while still sounding cheery. They do it 3 times before the main lyrics come in with that descending melody. From then on, the first 2 of the 3 are followed by an insanely catchy "woo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo". This instantly grabs everyone.
A chorus with a different type of melody:
Ah Mater want Jet to always love me
Ah Mater want Jet to always love me
Ah Mater, much later
