Romesh Ranganathan: ‘I Want Your Soul’ by Armand van Helden is so catchy that I’m sick of it” | Culture

The first song I fell in love with
When I was growing up, every weekend we would visit the home of a different Sri Lankan family in London. One of the kids got Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and I fell in love with Billie Jean. I then ripped up my brother’s bad Michael Jackson poster in retaliation, for which I now officially apologize.

The song I play at karaoke
I’ve never done that. If someone had my family and said, “Pick a song to release,” I would consider not doing it, before eventually settling on LL Cool J’s “Mama Saad Knock You Out.”

First song I bought
Prince’s bat-dance from Woolworths in Crawley is perhaps the worst engagement in Prince’s catalogue. To be honest, Batman led me on more than the Prince.

The song to which I inexplicably know all the words
My father is a huge Bob Marley fan. He had a bar and jamming 30 times in a row.

Best song to play at a party
Jumparound by House of Pain is an injection of energy into any party. It’s one of the biggest hip-hop tunes of all time, but it’s not offensive to people who don’t like hip-hop. It also does not require choreography.

The song I can no longer listen to
The build-up to I Want Your Soul by Armand Van Helden is so catchy, I must have listened to it 100 times. Now I’ve broken it, I’m tired of it.

The song I secretly love, but tell everyone I hate
Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. It totally slaps.

Best song for sex
Based on the tempo and length, song 2 from Blur. If you mess around a little, there’ll be a big explosion. You mess around a little more, there’s a second explosion, and then you’re done. If the second song ended with an apology, it would have been perfect.

The song that changed my life
“Nonstop Rebellion” by Public Enemy was the beginning of my journey into loving hip-hop. Now I host a show [For the Love of Hip-Hop on Radio 2] And throwing parties. It definitely changed my life.

The song that wakes me up in the morning
Juicy by the Notorious B.I.G., for the rags-to-riches lyrics, which makes me think of all the teachers at school who said I’d never amount to anything. I was a teacher, and I find it annoying that anyone would be so belittling.

The song that makes me cry
Hip-hop doesn’t like love songs as a rule. But I love the story of Got Me by the Roots with Erykah Badu and Eve, which is about trust, and how it doesn’t matter how long they’re apart. The drum and bass piece at the end is a nice touch, but that’s not what makes me cry – it’s the emotion.

The song I want played at my funeral
I want her out of my funeral, so Ante Up by MOP, just to get the party started. I love the idea that this will all be over as my coffin is lowered into the ground.

Romesh’s new podcastromesh ranganathan show, Out now.