In the mood for a revolution?
We marked Bastille Day 2025 with ten such songs, before turning to songs from some of France’s beloved roster of performers from Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier to Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy. Also: songs simply in French, or about Paris.
But it was also the birthday of Bob Casale of Devo, troubled drummer Jim Gordon and America’s ace troubadour Woody Guthrie, so they were all represented as well. In the case of Gordon, it stretched to nine songs, but could have gone longer. Guthrie’s songbook was represented by his own recordings and those from the Byrds to Sharon Jones and Wilco. And Dylan sang his early career salute to his mentor.
Here’s a link to the whole show; the setlist follows:
Capital Radio. July 14, 2025. 1 – 4:30 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Revolution,” The Beatles
- “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” Tracy Chapman
- “Revolution Blues,” Neil Young
- “Children of the Revolution,” T.Rex
- “The Revolution Starts Now,” Steve Earle
- “Revolution,” The Pretenders
- “Soft Revolution,” Stars
- “Revolution,” Mother Earth
- “Revolution, [live]” Nina Simone
- “Revolution,” Dr. John
- “Bastille Day,” Simone Felice
- “Ca Plane Pour Moi,” Plastic Bertrand
- “Bravo Pour Le Clown!” Edith Piaf
- “Le temps de l’amour (Fox Medium),” Françioise Hardy
- “Quelqu’un M’a Dit,” Carla Bruni
- “L’anamour,” Ivy
- “Avril En Mai,” Apples in Stereo
- “Un Jeune Homme Bien,” Petula Clark
- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Claudine Longet
- “Girls, Girls Girls!” Maurice Chevalier
- “Moulin Rouge,” Tim Buckley
- “The Song from Moulin Rouge,” Sam Cooke
- “Bonnie and Clyde,” Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot
- “The Simple Story,” Jane Birkin
- “Paris Summer [live],” The Last Shadow Puppets
- “Paris 2004,” Peter Bjorn and John
- “Paris 1919,” John Cale
- “Give Paris One More Chance,” Jonathan Richman
- “Swing de Paris,” Django Reinhardt
- “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris,” Morrissey
- “Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring,” The Magnetic Fields
- “Paris Train,” Beth Orton
- “Free Man in Paris,” Sufjan Stevens
- “Uncontrollable Urge,” Devo
- “Come Back Jonee,” Devo
- “Bongo Rock,” Incredible Bongo Band
- “Apostrophe,” Frank Zappa
- “New Coat of Paint,” Tom Waits
- “Only You Know and I Know,” Delaney & Bonnie
- “Cry Me a River, [live]” Joe Cocker
- “Bell Bottom Blues,” Derek & the Dominos
- “World in Changes,” Dave Mason
- “Jump into the Fire,” Harry Nilsson
- “Power to the People,” John Lennon
- “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),” The Byrds
- “Pastures of Plenty,” Woody Guthrie
- “This Land is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie
- “Little Darling,” Woody Guthrie
- “At My Window Sad and Lonely,” Wilco
- “Song to Woody,” Bob Dylan
- “This Land is Your Land,” Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Capital Radio returns July 21 at 1 p.m. EDT on www.cygnusradio.com, where this and other recent shows are posted. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Older shows are available at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.