I bought a new car today. So now I have cars. Plural. And that got me thinking about today's Three for the Road entry, about classic rock's favorite new wave band. The Cars came out of Boston in the late 70s and were pegged as part of the new wave, but with guitars AND synths they were acceptable to mainstream rock and today remain unique in their status as the only new wave band in the classic rock pantheon. And they were one of the first new bands I listened to as a kid and kind of got into -- you know, knowing the band members by name and instrument and all that. Definitely brings me back to my youth.
Needless to say, they've been an influence - albeit an understated one - on a lot of bands, and they've had a bunch of great songs. Here are my three:
1) "Let's Go" - I like the nightlife, baby. OK, this is an obvious choice for the leadoff spot, but too bad.
2) "It's All I Can Do" - The highlights for me are Greg Hawkes' synths over Benjamin Orr's chorus, and the great interplay between Hawkes and Elliot Easton's guitar solo.By the way, that's two-for-two off Candy-O.
3) "Moving in Stereo" - Let's give Hawkes his full due on this one -- he partially wrote the song, from the band's debut album. Not sure who gets credit for the great line "Life's the same, except for my shoes."
My problems with "Songs of Summer" is that many are cliche, and not very good. After reading your post, I thought of songs that make me think most of summer. Most of them blow. My list would have included Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime," and Seals and Crofts "Summer Breeze," but here are four decent picks and one AWFUL one.
"School's Out" - Alice Cooper
I'm a teacher, so this song, every June is the sweetest tune. One line specifically makes this song.
Well we got no class And we got no principles And we got no innocence We can't even think of a word that rhymes
That last line always cracked me up.
"Magic" - the Cars
This song brings me back to my junior high days. Such innocence and fun. Plus, Rick Ocasek walks on water with that awful mullet wig he wears.
"Doin' Time" - Sublime
The song has that slow lingering feel that you get on a humid, middle of the summer day. The main chorus is lifted from Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess." Plus, how can you go wrong when they sample a line from the Beastie Boys "Slow & Low"?
"Summertime Blues" - Blue Cheer
The 1st heavy metal song! Love the deep bass line. This version, the Eddie Cocharan one, the Who's, or even Springsteen's version all do the song justice. The best song about frustration when all your friends are having fun in the summer & you're stuck at a lame job working that night. I lived it.
...and the worst - "Summertime Girls" LFO
"I like girls who wear Abercrombie and Fitch..." Ugh the dumbest song to ever make money. I had a kid on the soccer team I was coaching try to justify this as a good song. I should have cut him right then and there.
"Boys of Summer" is not my favorite, but it has a good end of summer feel. I always liked the line about the deadhead sticker on the Cadillac." Billboard came up with their own list. Predictably, it is loaded with songs from the 60's.
As I looked back on 2011, I was a little underwhelmed. Many of these songs might not have made the list in previous years. Funny thing is: I probably listened to more music this year than I have in previous years. I embraced Spotify & used Grooveshark. I downloaded from itunes, and my SIRIUS radio played non-stop. I just couldn't get a great feel for what the year was. Here is the collection I archived. Every time I heard a song I liked, I tried to add it to the list for the year. Here is what I came up with:
"Machine Gun Blues" - Social Distortion
These guys are the greatest least-known band in America. Some 30+ years, and still cranking out that 50's retro/punk sound. A great chorus makes this song fly. I was glad to see they got a little push by opening for the Foo Fighters on their world tour. Hopefully they earned a few new fans.
"Make Some Noise" - Beastie Boys
Yes, my second old-timer band makes the list. I so anticipated this record, and was a bit disappointed. The first single and the video did not disappoint, though. Yauch still is the greatest MC to rock the mike. Plus, a great cowbell solo - how can you go wrong?
"Around My Head" - Cage the Elephant
This is one of my favorite newer bands. This is the second time I have included them on a "Best of" list. Their sophomore record, Thank You, Happy Birthday was a critical success. This was my favorite song off it. The video is a bit of a gory Weekend at Bernie's.
"Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster the People
Ok, so I think Court selected this song last year, but it was only released online then. The album, Torches, was released May 23, 2011, so I will count it for this year. This anti-hit, was super catchy. It was one of the songs that would be on when my kids were in the car that I liked. The band even chuckled that lyrically this should never have been a hit, but, damn that whistling gets to me!
"Jesus Fever" - Kurt Vile
I really liked Philly's own Kurt Vile. I was exposed to him via SIRIUS. I followed up listening to his record, Smoke Ring for My Halo on Spotify and really enjoyed the relaxed nature of it. He gets compared to Springsteen, which I find interesting. I'm still listening for it.
"Knuckle Down" - Man Man
Score another point for Philadelphia! Man Man is one of the bands I NEED to see live. Crazy stuff. The video is only 14 seconds of the song, showing the crazy process of being Man Man. Love the xylophone & vocals. Big fan! Look up the entire song.
"Get Away" - Yuck
It was the guitar solo that originally peaked my interest. When I heard that it, I swore it was J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Even though it has that guitar, it is so British Indie. Catchy. I love hearing it while driving on a cold fall day. Reminds me a little of the Cribs.
"Lotus Flower" - Radiohead
I, admittedly, am not the biggest Radiohead fan, but I like this one. I downloaded it from their site almost immediately after hearing it. It's tight & sophisticated sounding. My question is: will I hear it in a Banana Republic within a year?
"If I Had a Gun" - Noel Gallagher & the High Flying Birds
Take away my love for Oasis, and this still is a pretty great song. Noel shows a much softer, dreamier side here, that Oasis lacked. They (Oasis) could get sappy, but this doesn't feel it (except the title line.) Much to my Oasis loving friend's chagrin, I think the talent for the band lies here.
"Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys
I feel they are the "it" band at the moment. They are in magazines, on TV, all over the radio, and yesterday, I found out this song is in my son's video game. El Camino is probably not as good as their previous record, but they showed they have staying power. The video alone, warrants recognition. I got a good chuckle at the single shot video.
"Never Tear Us Apart" - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes
I think the Gimmes do a great job taking pop songs and giving them an edge. This year's covers are either from Australia or Japan. Who better than INXS to cover at full speed in 2:05 seconds?
"Sad Song" - The Cars
No, it's not 1978, but listening to this song, you might think it was. The song sounds like it should have been an outtake from Candy-O, but it's all new with all original members except the late Benjamin Orr. With the hand clapping, and synth sound, you've heard from previous Cars records, you'd be shocked that it was written in 2011. Funny thing, the song doesn't sound sad at all.
"Little Talks" - Of Monsters & Men
Truth be told, this was not my pick, but my wife's. It was her favorite song of 2011. I included it for I found her fascination with this six piece Icelandic band surprising. Looking it up, it has only gotten heavy play in Seattle, Columbus, and 104.5 out of Philadelphia.
"Hello" - Martin Solveig
Once again, a late 201 release, but had it's success in 2011. I downloaded a bunch of junk for my kids, but this one was catchy. A French DJ & a Canadian electro-pop act with a catchy bubbly dance track. I am already starting to regret this pick knowing it was covered by Alvin & the Chipmunks in the movie Chipwrecked!
