Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

The way to stop violence is to stop manufacturing the hatred that fuels it.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

You know he’s going to shit a cat.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

The revolution will be supervised.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

You are here: Home / Music / I’m a gonna raise a holler

I’m a gonna raise a holler

by | 29 Comments

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Today, I’m debuting a new feature — Song Of The Week, courtesy of the excellent Can’t Explain blog. This one has a special place in my heart, because I vividly remember this ad for M Network (in my mind, Juice Newton was singing in the ad, but the internets tell me that’s not true).

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Eddie Cochran, “Summertime Blues” (1958)
This seems appropriate after a long tedious week of watching bad-faith Republicans squirm desperately for position (and not over yet), aka “Death Panels II: Dark of the Debt Ceiling.” I like that the singer here takes his problem to the United Nations but ends up talking to his Congressman. In my case, talking to my (freshman) Republican Congresscritter usually feels like it’s doing about as much good as taking my problem to the United Nations. This tune at least is some kind of relief, its exasperated wiseass teen griping nailed down to fine shtick, notably in the flat booming intonations of the walk-on grown-up parts, e.g., “Now you can’t use the car ‘cos you didn’t work late” or “I’d like to help you son but you’re too young to vote.” A million people have covered it over the 50+ years that followed, but I think Eddie Cochran’s is still the best (requires viewing on YouTube).

More versions:
Eddie Cochran 78
Eddie Cochran live
Blue Cheer
Who
Flying Lizards
Alan Jackson
Rush

Review at Can’t Explain

Reader Interactions

29Comments

  1. 1.

    stuckinred

    God, it seemed like such and old song when I saw Blue Cheer do it 43 years ago!

  3. 3.

    stuckinred

    Yea, I was at Ft Lewis in the summer of 68 and we’d go to Seattle and see lots of great music. Ever hear of the Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter than Air Fair?’

    washington.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5425

    “On August 30, 1968, the Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter Than Air Fair opens a three-day run in a pasture near Sultan, in Snohomish County, Washington. This is one of America’s first multi-day, outdoor rock concerts. Among the bands and performers playing at the Sky River Rock Festival are Santana, Big Mama Thornton, James Cotton, Country Joe and the Fish, Richard Pryor, Dino Valenti, Byron Pope, It’s a Beautiful Day, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Alice Stuart Thomas, the Youngbloods, New Lost City Ramblers, and local groups such as Juggernaut and Easy Chair. On the last day, The Grateful Dead arrive unscheduled. “

  5. 5.

    MaxxLange

    Oh man, this takes me back! Back to the sweltering restaurant dish rooms of Decatur, Ga, 1982

    where the boss said, “go back, son, you gotta work late”

  6. 6.

    MaxxLange

    Blue Cheer TOURED last year, if I am not mistaken….with at least one real member

  15. 15.

    Svensker

    Eddie Cochran’s definitely the best. Funny, I posted it last week on a music chat group I belong to.

  16. 16.

    debit

    See, I was going to say, “Didn’t that band that I can never remember the name of, but they had a T-Rex or Godzilla sort of creature on the cover of their album do a cover of this?”

    Then I remembered, no, it was another Eddie Cochran song and checked google. Twenty Flight Rock and the band was Montrose. What did we do before the internet?

    And now I feel very old.

  17. 17.

    the fenian

    The Woodstock clip of The Who is the prime version. Plus, you get to see the band.

  18. 18.

    Gregory

    Sly beat me to it. Setzer’s casting would have been the movie’s most perfect example of born-to-play-the-role had it not been for Marshall Crenshaw as Buddy Holly.

    On the soundtrack recording, you can hear a string break right before the last chorus. I’ve always loved that they left it in.

  19. 19.

    JoyousMN

    I always loved the Flying Lizards version of this song. Thanks for the reminder.

  23. 23.

    Hungry Joe

    The Blue Cheer version blew out the $6.99 speakers in my car’s 4-track stereo. Well, all of “Vincebus Eruptum” did, I guess. I still remember how great that 4-track sounded to my 1969 ears.

  27. 27.

    Captain Goto

    One more vote for Live at Leeds. I played that on the ride to the beach with my kid, maybe age 12…she didn’t know the old man had in in him.

  28. 28.

    pookapooka

    If you haven’t heard Flying Lizards, don’t talk to me about what’s the definitive version.

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