Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Come on, man.

Let’s finish the job.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

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

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Republicans in disarray!

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

You are here: Home / Music / Open Thread

Open Thread

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I am currently feeling no pain while playing Mass Effect 3, which is really, really good, but at the same time pisses me off in a number of ways. I need a mini-map, and I need the option to zoom out, damnit.

Regardless, this is what I am listening to:

Everyone always wants to boil the Cars down to Candy-O and Moving in Stereo, but they were really one of the quintessential rock bands of the late 70’s and early 80’s. They were every bit as good (and in some regard, better) than a lot of bands like Van Halen (before that Hagar abomination). It was good, timeless, mellifluous rock and roll.

I’m no longer in the closet. I love the Cars and have every album. And Rick Ocasek married Paulina Porizkova, so what other validation do you need?

Reader Interactions

148Comments

  1. 1.

    Efroh

    Ooh! What platform are you playing on? I’m on Live and assuming that’s the same for you, feel free to hit me up anytime if you’d like to give mp a spin. (GT: Komboloi)

  2. 2.

    handy

    Everyone always wants to boil the Cars down to Candy-O and Moving in Stereo

    They do? Off the top of my head I thought of “Good Times Roll,” “Just What I Needed,” “Dangerous Type,” “Touch And Go” and “You Might Think” (which I think was probably their biggest hit thanks to MTV).

  4. 4.

    Michael2

    Yes, zooms would be preferable and a floating map (a la KOTOR), and they missed some titanic things on the multiplayer on XBOX at least. But the campaign story line is almost F***NG depressing it is so good!! So involved, intricate. Great, great so far.

  6. 6.

    different-church-lady

    Amazing stuff: quintessential of it’s time, and yet still sounds completely fresh 30 years on. Maybe it was the two guitars thing, kept them from being just a synth band.

    I bet I’m the only person on the planet who has Panorama as the favorite album.

  7. 7.

    Linnaeus

    Count me in as another Cars fan, and have been so since I was a kid. A vastly underrated band.

  8. 8.

    freelancer

    No ME3 Spoilers, Please.

    I still need to gather people and resources and shit in order to vault through the Omega 4 Relay. I really don’t need to have the new game ruined as to whether Shepard does/does not “take back the Earth”.

    Here’s what I’m listening to.

  9. 9.

    Linnaeus

    Everyone always wants to boil the Cars down to Candy-O and Moving in Stereo

    I’m not sure about this. Okay, “Moving In Stereo” has some notoriety attached to it because of Phoebe Cates’ scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but it seems to me that Candy-O is the Cars album most people forget about, if they know it at all. The Cars gets a lot of credit, but they didn’t really hit it big until Shake It Up and Heartbeat City.

  10. 10.

    Catsy

    ME3 is amazing. A worthy successor. There is not enough good space opera.

    That said, a number of things are pissing me off about it too, but few of them have anything to do with the gameplay. I absolutely *HATE* the set of assumptions they make for new games that don’t import an old save–like assuming that Wrex is dead, or that you didn’t do any of the side missions whatsoever. It makes it so that it’s impossible for a fresh start to get the full experience as it’s meant to be. I finished ME1 on 360 and PC, and finished ME2 on PC, but I never finished it on PS3 and due to EA’s fucked-up Origin bullshit I’m not going to be buying it on PC even though that’s where I prefer playing shooters. I need to get my copy of ME2 for PS3 back from my friend so that I can finish it and start a new ME3 game with an imported save.

    Oh yeah, and fuck EA again. I hope Origin is a devastating financial fiasco for them. Worst, most anti-consumer publisher in the industry.

    But yeah, ME3 is really awesome. I’m not sold on all of the changes but they did a lot of things right–I really appreciate regaining the ability of any class to use any weapon (the restrictions in ME2 were idiotic and un-fun) and the new weight system is a great way to balance it.

  11. 11.

    John Cole

    @handy: Maybe it is just my peers- you mention the Cars and they all talk about Spicoli and Moving in Stereo.

    Side note, I was at a gas station buying a soda and pulled out a wad of crumpled ones, and totally dated myself when I said “sorry for the Spicoli money.” The teen working the register just looked at me funny.

  12. 12.

    John Cole

    But while we are at this, we had the Cars and Van Halen. What else was the quintessential rock and roll of the era, without going into glam bands and other shit?

  13. 13.

    YellowJournalism

    “You Might Think” ranks as one of my fondest music video memories. (Does anyone else feel like complaining about MTV not showing music videos is the Gen X equivalent of “get off my lawn?”)

    “Touch and Go” is a sexy song, I might add.

  15. 15.

    Linnaeus

    @John Cole:

    But while we are at this, we had the Cars and Van Halen. What else was the quintessential rock and roll of the era, without going into glam bands and other shit?

    Don’t know if there’s really an answer to this. While I can appreciate some of VH’s songs, I was firmly a New Wave child and to me at the time, The Cars and Van Halen didn’t overlap much.

  16. 16.

    GregB

    Cole, this is part of your Alinskeyite plot to keep the attention off of the latest news that Barack Obama was consorting with known tenured professors.

    I’ll never forget watching the Cars You Might Think video after a mushroom fueled food fight at one of my brother’s college pals apartments.

    Good times.

    Now stop covering up for Obama.

  17. 17.

    Linnaeus

    @YellowJournalism:

    Does anyone else feel like complaining about MTV not showing music videos is the Gen X equivalent of “get off my lawn?”

    I’ve heard people say this since the late 1990s, so people have been wanting others off of their lawns since they were in their 20s.

  21. 21.

    shecky

    The Cars were the absolute shit during that special time in the late 70s. “Just What I Needed” hit the airwaves and sounded like nothing else up to that point, and completely against the grain of the stuff AOR stations were playing (and still play to this day). Songs that were short, concise, with incredible hooks, and masterfully economical playing. And Elliot Easton’s guitar soloing is fucking remarkable, a lesson that every guitar wanker needs to learn.

  22. 22.

    Linnaeus

    Speaking of games, I was excited when I saw that Feral Interactive will be porting BioShock 2 and Empire: Total War to Mac OS X. I was not excited when I saw that my computer will not be able to run either of them.

  25. 25.

    well paid replicant

    Okay, “Moving In Stereo” has some notoriety attached to it because of Phoebe Cates’ scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but it seems to me that Candy-O is the Cars album most people forget about, if they know it at all.

    Sad, too. That really was one hell of a good album.

    And, I’ll never forget the reaction to Ben Orr taking lead vocals on “Drive”. The man could always sing, but nobody knew who the hell he was until that song came out.

  26. 26.

    Suffern ACE

    My favorite song by the cars turned out not to be by the cars. So now I’m backing away from music threads for a bit, because I’d hate to post embarrassing things on the net by mistake. Thank god we don’t have one of those dislike buttons around here, or I’d feel shamed.

  29. 29.

    Mark S.

    Not much of a Cars fan, but Since Your Gone is a fucking awesome song.

    Oh yeah, and fuck EA again.

    I don’t know what Origin is, but if EA has anything to do with it, I’m sure it sucks. EA has fucked up some of my favorite video game series. I have nightmares they’ll someday take over Bethesda and fuck up Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

  31. 31.

    Roxie

    Great studio band but definitely the worst live concert I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen Styx and Foreigner!

  32. 32.

    piratedan

    @Linnaeus: now come on, They played the livin’ shit out of those first two albums and yeah, there was a lull because of the perceived lack of “single” material in the eyes of the A&R guys but Panorama is still a very solid album.

    I agree with you that the 77-83 time was a huge flux for music, FM radio was dying, college radio was coming on strong and MTV changed everything. Some bands were made for it (ex: Blondie, Pat Benatar, Police, Duran Duran) and others weren’t (The Cars, Toto, Elvis Costello). Video changed everything and a lot of bands got lost in the wash of the video revolution and some artists were the vanguard of the alternative movement simply because they weren’t photogenic enough.

  33. 33.

    well paid replicant

    Can I throw some prog in here?

    Rush

    Genesis

    Yes

    ETA: +1 on the Police and BOC!!!

  34. 34.

    Wag

    I think the pair of Moving in Stereo followed by the segue into All Mixed Up is perfection. Either song on its own is strong but back to back they define my late high school/early college years.

  36. 36.

    freelancer

    @John Cole:

    You’re like a decade off on this shit. We’re talking 78-85.

    This is central to my point. I grew up a little laters. However, see my above post. Also, was Boston around then? I fucking love Boston.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiOqHLVxZvA

    Also, there’s these guys:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW8TlrYhBxk

    FYI, I’ve seen them twice in the last five years. They played the 4th of July concert in my hometown last year, and a year before that we took my Dad, who was born in ’58 to an arena concert with .38 Special, Styx, and REO Speedwagon for his birthday as a surprise. He leans over halfway through Styx, somewhat drunk “Hey, boys! Best Birthday EVER!”

  38. 38.

    Linnaeus

    @piratedan:

    now come on, They played the livin’ shit out of those first two albums and yeah, there was a lull because of the perceived lack of “single” material in the eyes of the A&R guys but Panorama is still a very solid album.

    I totally agree; not saying that Candy-O or Panorama should be overlooked, just that they tend to be because of the lack of a high-charting single.

  39. 39.

    piratedan

    @Linnaeus: well I have to admit, my musical tastes were all over the place at that time, I was listening to everything from ELO to Shoes, Elvis Costello was heavy on my playlist, but then again, I was also into The Inmates, The Records, Squeeze, Sniff and The Tears and Nick Lowe… but I think a lot of what you got turned on to depended on where you were and what your local stations would play. I was lucky, the mid-atlantic coast had a hot music/college radio scene that allowed me to get exposed to a wide variety of artists.

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne

    I’m not sure which was the first Smiths song I ever heard, this one or this one. But I know for sure it was on the syndicated “London Calling” radio show on WXRT.

    But, cliched as it is now, this one is still my favorite.

  41. 41.

    H.E. Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist

    Glad you love ME3, I think it will be the next best thing after Skyrim (which I played the crap outta…) also appreciate your dedication to the Cars, we’re not so far in years!

  42. 42.

    Catsy

    @Mark S.: Origin is EA’s new proprietary Steam-wannabe content distribution system. They yanked a lot of their content off of Steam, and then started making their flagship titles like BF3 and ME3 require Origin on the PC.

  43. 43.

    dopealope

    After playing Skyrim for almost 3 straight months, I’m having a hard time adjusting to all the new fangled weapons in ME3: I kind of wish I had had my Deadric Bow sometimes …

    Joking aside, it’s amazing how fast Mass Effect sucks me back into its storyline. Now I just have to hope I get to have Legion on my team again …

  45. 45.

    Linnaeus

    @piratedan:

    When I think about it, I liked a lot of different kinds of pop, rock, and hip-hop too, but because of that, it’s hard for me to decide what’s emblematic of the period. Probably true for any era, because as you say, what you heard depends on a lot of things.

  46. 46.

    Mark S.

    I remember being four years old and singing My Angel is a Centerfold, having no idea what a centerfold was. Maybe that’s why my parents soon took up hardcore rightwing Catholicism. Damn you, J Geils Band!

  49. 49.

    well paid replicant

    BTW Cole…I take issue with you on that crack about the Hagar abomination. David Lee Roth was a better entertainer, but Sammy Hagar was the better musician by a long shot.

  51. 51.

    RadioOne

    I think the era you mentioned was a very good one for college rock and mainstream pop music, but was a real disaster for mainstream rock. I think mainstream rock acts like the Cars and Van Halen were great, but were overshadowed by mainstream pop music like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper, the people who produced more memorable and iconic music videos, and were right to do so.

    A lot of us think this was the point where college radio bands finally figured out how to reach the MTV crowd, and they were right to do it. Instead of having to buy and read fanzines about my favorite band in the 90’s, I had MTV to tell me up front what they were doing, where they were touring, and what new songs they had written.

  52. 52.

    Mnemosyne

    @freelancer:

    The funny part is that the music can travel both ways: my mom still likes Pink Floyd and AC/DC because my brothers used to listen to it.

  55. 55.

    Mnemosyne

    BTW, anyone who likes the second wave British invasion (New Wave, New Romantics, etc.) and has not seen 24 Hour Party People needs to rush out and get it from Netflix right fucking now. It’s mostly about the guy who discovered Joy Division/New Order and put “Madchester” on the map, but it’s a really entertaining movie all by itself.

  56. 56.

    CanadianShield

    The Cars and The Fixx are my top two 80’s bands that I still listen to…

  57. 57.

    SarahT

    Ric Ocasek & Paulina Porihzkova (sp.?) live in my neighborhood. He’s not as tall in person as you’d think, & Paulina & I frequent the same reasonably-priced nail salon. Impressive, right ?

  58. 58.

    piratedan

    @Mnemosyne: aye, second that…. some great stuff outta England from 81-86… have to say that Echo struck me as the best of the bunch, but as always, ymmv

  61. 61.

    YellowJournalism

    Hubby and I spend many a night watching video after video on Much More Retro. He gets a kick when I see something Canadian and get confused, like Snow or pop diva Alanis Morissette. It makes me happy just to see some fav old videos like “Buddy Holly” or “Sabotage” (greatest video ever behind “Thriller”).

  62. 62.

    John

    My junior high to high school years exactly (78-85). My memory of the time is a lot of AC/DC, Cheap Trick, VH, Nugent, Zep, Sabbath, Foreigner, Hall and Oates, Hagar (pre-VH), B-52’s (Rock Lobster, specifically), Def Lep, Boston. The cooler kids were into the Clash, the Ramones, the L.A. punk bands (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, etc.) Prince first got popular around then, and the Time. The second British invasion was during that period including Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Rockpile, The Jam, The Vapors, Boomtown Rats, very early U2. The Minutemen, Husker Du, and Sonic Youth all started out around then.

    I guess music was just plain better back in the old days, kids.

  63. 63.

    Cain

    @John Cole:

    Side note, I was at a gas station buying a soda and pulled out a wad of crumpled ones, and totally dated myself when I said “sorry for the Spicoli money.” The teen working the register just looked at me funny.

    I would have looked at you funny too and I’m same age as you are.

  65. 65.

    Cain

    @John Cole:

    Queensryche and Rush? Just kidding. Rush was an acquired taste, and us Rush fans love them like mac fans love their macs.

  68. 68.

    Jewish Steel

    @GregB:

    Van Halen with Sammy Hagar was is as bad as the Three Stooges Van Halen with Joe Besser.

    Better.

  70. 70.

    Mnemosyne

    @handy:

    Ah, the old skool Spandau Ballet before they put them in suits. I usually think of this song for that period.

    And I still have a soft spot for Martin Fry and ABC, even though their album was the first one to break my rule that if I liked at least three songs, the whole album would be good. (I was wrong — everything else on the album sucked eggs.)

  74. 74.

    S. cerevisiae

    I second the Moving in Stereo/All Mixed Up segue. Crank it up and pass that bong!

  76. 76.

    Mnemosyne

    My favorite Bananarama song.

    And since I have to stroll off to bed now, I will leave you all with the video so terrifying that it will keep you awake all night: Fred Schneider’s Monster.

    Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

    ETA: Okay, I guess I haven’t seen that in a long time, because I didn’t remember Keith Haring making an appearance.

  77. 77.

    S. cerevisiae

    @Yutsano: I heart Heart. and the Pretenders. And Joan and Pat as well.

    I have a DVD of Cal Jam 2 from 78 and Heart really rocks on it.

  78. 78.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne: I know there are more female rockers out there but I’ve been cooking up a storm and I’m pooped.

    I made this. It’s incredibly fragrant and not as overpowering as you might think. In fact it’s downright divine.

  79. 79.

    piratedan

    @S. cerevisiae: women of that era were incredibly awesome… you also had RomeoVoid, The Waitresses, Holly Beth Vincent (Holly and the Italians) and The Bangles…. Josie Cotton, Cyndi Lauper et al… a fantastic time that saw female musicians and singers have a renaissance of sorts

  80. 80.

    well paid replicant

    @Jewish Steel: Damn…you *really* have something against Sammy, don’t you? Sorry, but David Lee Roth could not sing. He could screech pretty well, but so can poo-flinging monkeys. Thank FSM he fizzled out shortly after “Just a Giggalo”.

  81. 81.

    well paid replicant

    @Yutsano: +1 on the ladies. I’d propose to Pat Benatar on the spot if her and Neil ever split*

    *not that I wish that…her and Neil have made some awesome music together.

  82. 82.

    Yutsano

    @well paid replicant: I saw an interview with her about a year ago. She still looks fucking fantastic. And not a hint of plastic surgery anywhere. That’s how it’s done Hollywood.

  84. 84.

    Nutella

    @SarahT:

    Ric Ocasek & Paulina Porihzkova (sp.?) live in my neighborhood.

    Heh. I remember when they got married I thought it was such a cliche pairing and would never last. Apparently I was wrong.

  86. 86.

    dollared

    @John Cole: 78-85. Dude, there were so many great rockin bands. it was New Wave and Roots Rock at the same time. George Thorogood. Joe Jackson. THE CLASH. Elvis Costello. El Vez, for that matter. Right at the end, Los Lobos. Any of the great Ska bands – Specials, English Beat, UB40. Wasn’t Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night in that window? Talking Heads. Patti Smith. Damn, the Pretenders! Who didn’t love Chrissie Hynde?

  90. 90.

    dollared

    @John Cole: I am living proof that you could live through the decade and diss Van Haggis at every opportunity and live. Most of those idiots would also argue with you that Led Zepelin was more Important than the Stones. Morons.

  92. 92.

    Jebediah

    @John Cole:

    But while we are at this, we had the Cars and Van Halen. What else was the quintessential rock and roll of the era, without going into glam bands and other shit?

    Roky Erickson?

  94. 94.

    Jebediah

    @Jewish Steel:

    If you are still here – care to give free advice? I kind of like going from an open D minor to an open A6, but can’t figure out where to go next. Nothing I have tried seems to say anything.

  95. 95.

    piratedan

    Christ, will someone put on the Heavy Metal soundtrack to soothe the savage JC?

  99. 99.

    Anne Laurie

    No love for these guys?

    Or this guy?

    Hey, I was living in a mid-Michigan college town between 1973 and 1989…

  101. 101.

    NobodySpecial

    For all the love everyone gives to DLR, it took Hagar to give them a #1. 5150 and OU812 are absolutely fine albums and…well, haters gonna hate.

    Not that there was anything wrong with DLR leading the band. There’s a reason my iPod is full of stuff from I, II, Mean Streets, and Women and Children First.

    Now, if you REALLY wanna hate on some Van Halen, hate on the Gary Cherone version, mostly because it killed Extreme for one very crappy album.

  102. 102.

    Hewer of Wood, Drawer of Water

    My 7 year old told me that the song her dance class was working on for their recital was “Shake it Up”. I thought, “wow, they’re doing a Cars song? Cool.” Then I found out it was Selena Gomez – fuck I’m old

    Did anyone mention an obscure little band out of Ireland called U2?

  104. 104.

    master c

    @piratedan: the shoes! the records! sniff! great to hear a shout out for these. I had the rockpile 8 track too. Just saw Nick Lowe open for Wilco last year. B52s anybody?

  105. 105.

    J.W. Hamner

    I got ME3 yesterday, but there is some face importing bug for some users, and sadly I am one… I invested too much time in this character to try and recreate her face from memory. Apparently they are working on a patch so I will wait for that.

  107. 107.

    master c

    oh and kinda regional, but anybody remember The Judys? I saw them open up for the b52’s in 81 or 82 and really like them. Also want to mention P-Furs. Talk Talk Talk an awesome album.

  109. 109.

    quannlace

    I’ve always liked the Cars too.

    John, you gotta stop apologizing for your musical choices.

  110. 110.

    stratplayer

    The Cars were a great and utterly original band, and one of the last to reflect a distinctive regional pop sound. Undoubtedly original, but also thoroughly Boston. Are there any truly recognizable regional “sounds” remaining outside of New Orleans? There used to be so many.

  111. 111.

    Blue Neponset

    ME3 definitely needs a FOV adjustment thingie. I have to sit on the other side of the room from the TV to avoid getting motion sickness. It also makes it much easier to get out flanked.

    As someone mentioned above, the realism of the game is bumming me out a bit. At this point in the series I have spent a lot of quality time with my boy Garrus and hearing him worry about his family is a bit depressing. Other than those two critiques so far so good on ME3.

  112. 112.

    Morbo

    Oooh, look at me; I’m a front pager; I can post embedded videos in the comments; what do you think of that, commoners?

  114. 114.

    virginia

    Well, yeah, The Cars were terrific. And Ric did marry Paulina. Feel better. And, yes, of course as stated above — Talking Heads and REM. And those were just Born This Way in the USA. Screwed up times tend to make for really good music so I’m still looking and hoping.

  115. 115.

    Phoebe

    @shecky: What Shecky said. The late seventies was a horrible time in music for someone who hates Journey/Toto/Styx, so I really loved that song, Just What I Needed. I was 15 and this was all extremely important. That song was the gateway drug to punk rock. It WAS just what we needed, me and my little friends!

  116. 116.

    patrick

    “But while we are at this, we had the Cars and Van Halen. What else was the quintessential rock and roll of the era, without going into glam bands and other shit?”

    ’78-85 time frame you gotta include J. Geils, Dire Straits, Rush, and I’d say Tom Petty and the Heatbreakers….

    also the Boss….

  118. 118.

    Sentient Puddle

    @Bob: How did it take this long in the thread to mention REM?

    Also agree about the new Cars album. It’s almost like they never left us, and picked up right where they left off.

  119. 119.

    Surly Duff

    @freelancer:

    Glee did a version of it in their first season that is definitely worth hearing.

    I object; Glee has never done anything worth hearing.

  120. 120.

    Jewish Steel

    @well paid replicant: Yes. I loathe him. It’s true. He represents the triumph of the mediocre in rock music. David Lee Roth was a bright, articulate, fun front man. The perfect foil to EVH’s pyrotechnics.

    @Jebediah: Let’s go to Gm/D by baring the first three strings and leaving the 4th string open. Strum only the 1st 4 strings ( D Bb D G ). Then let’s drop back one fret with our barre, extend your 1st finger to the 4th string and put your 2nd finger on the 3rd fret, A7. This points back to your D minor and now you have a little circle of chords that can be repeated.

    Now give it a beat and some good words and BANG! Rockstardom!

  121. 121.

    MCA1

    Contrarian’s view (I’m wearing my raincoat right now): overrated. The songs blend together. I should say that I think “My Best Friend’s Girl” is a great and really catchy pop tune that I still love to hear now and again. But the prominent synthiness makes most of their stuff sound so dated to me, and I never liked Ocasek’s voice, even as a kid. I will say that I was too young in the late ’70’s to listen to them, and so by the time I heard them it was through MTV and they weren’t a gateway to punk but just another pop-rock band they played at the roller rink a lot. So maybe I’d have a different view if I were 5-6 years older, I guess. I respect the economy of their songcraft and general lack of self-indulgence, but when compared to what the Talking Heads or R.E.M. or Prince were doing around the same time, the Cars aren’t even in the same game in terms of music that’s stood the test of time. That’s not to say they’re not still bombarding the airwaves on Classic Rock radio – I’m sure they are – but so i sJourney. That’s, shall we say, not a very reliable indication of actual quality.

  123. 123.

    Death Panel Truck

    @redshirt: Yeah, thanks to Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, et. al. Zeppelin took their songs, changed them ever so slightly, and put their own names on them. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were serial plagiarists.

  125. 125.

    No One of Consequence

    Excoriate me if you will, but has no one mentioned:

    Level 42
    Men At Work
    English Beat
    Yellow
    Thomas Dolby
    Howard Jones

    Oy. I remember these mowing lawns on my Walkman… Anyone? Anyone?

  126. 126.

    low-tech cyclist

    I apparently missed the memo that said it wasn’t cool to like the Cars.

    But then, I’m a bit old for caring about what’s cool and what isn’t.

    I like Blondie, too, and I got that memo ages ago.

  129. 129.

    No One of Consequence

    LOL @ Jewish Steel.

    Heh.

    English Beat – Special Beat Service

    Thomas Dolby – Golden Age of the Wireless

    I remember those albums.

    – NOoC

  130. 130.

    Bokonon

    I was one of those east coast college radio people during the 1980’s. I even worked as a DJ at a college station, and served as that station’s music director for a year.

    It was the best gig ever. Just … the … best. I got to be an evangelist for all the terrific music that was coming out in the mid to late 1980’s.

    Then radio changes, the music industry changed, people’s taste changed. And most of that promise and hopefulness went away too.

    There is still good music out there (and it is bubbling up around the margins, through satellite radio and Pandora and other sources). But the horrible condition of the commercial music business, the payola system in FM broadcasting (ahem – Clear Channel), and the truly awful concert promotion business that currently exists means that lots and lots of creativity gets strangled in its crib.

    And THAT is why things are kind of bleak these days. Things WERE better in the late 1970’s and 1980’s.

  131. 131.

    Gravenstone

    Dead thread and all, but for fuckssakes, where are the metalheads?

    Iron Maiden (eponymous debut through the seminal Powerslave fall in your arbitrary window)
    Judas Priest
    Dio era Black Sabbath
    Rainbow

  132. 132.

    The Other Chuck

    ME3 came out with DLC on Day 1, and no, I’m not screaming bloody murder about it — it was always going to be DLC anyway so who cares when it comes out — but the kicker is that EA did such an amazing job at _hiding_ it.

    Is it in the Origin Store? Nope. Not even an ad for it. Is it on BioWare’s site? Nope, also no mention, and it was still showing “pre-order” on launch day. When the game advertises the DLC on the laptop on the title screen, can you click on anything to get it? Nope, and that’s a step back from ME2.

    You have to right-click the game in origin and select the menu option for add-ons (named something like that, I don’t remember offhand). From there it’s pretty obvious, but unlike actual games, you’re not allowed to purchase DLC with real money, but “Bioware Points” which of course cannot be used for any other EA DLC. Maybe you guys will have that merger done in five more years?

    You get a nice little warning about how you MUST OBEY THE UI and click through all the way to the end or you may be charged without getting anything. You ever see that in Steam? Fuck no. Since I have paypal balance sitting around, I decide to use that, and it frames the paypal auth page in the origin window (same as steam does) except it’s _not scrollable_, and I can’t actually get to the magic button to pay. Finally I figure out how I can select-and-drag through the text to scroll the window to the bottom, and I manage to click it.

    And Origin crashes.

    Someone at EA is desperately afraid at the thought that someone, somewhere, might actually want to give them money. That can be the only explanation for Origin. It makes Games For Windows Live look like a god damned masterpiece.

  134. 134.

    Paul in KY

    @John Cole: Cheap Trick was pretty good. I was more ‘new wave’ than you (I bet), so I had Blondie, The Police, Clash, Talking Heads, etc. etc.

  136. 136.

    Paul in KY

    @hhex65: They are back together (The Cars). No Ben Orr though (RIP).

    Edit: Sorry, didn’t see you were talking about The Police.

  139. 139.

    Jebediah

    @Jewish Steel:
    Well, I like the way it sounds, but it turns out that I am an idiot – I was originally going Dm to A7 (open A, G and high E strings, second fret on D and B strings, maybe its not even what I think it is) not A6. Apparently I’m as good at guitaring as Mitt is at connecting with people. If I manage to get another job (will be unemployed as of 3/22) I should treat myself to some professional guitar lessons. Muddling along on my own I think I have hit a plateau.
    Again, thank you for indulging me and sharing your expertise and talent!

  143. 143.

    Edoc

    I would say that the power-pop era got screwed when it came to commercial airplay. They fell between the cracks– old formats of classic rock transitioned right into MTV/New Wave commercialism. The Cars were one of a small # of bands that were able to bridge the transition. Cheap Trick, The Police, Elvis Costello, Pretenders, Tom Petty, Squeeze and a handful of others also made it.

    Unfortunately, good bands like 20/20, Shoes, Bram Tchaikovsky, The Records, Phil Seymour, Paul Collins Beat, Starjets, The Producers and many others either didn’t make it or were gone in a flash.

    Shoes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGHQAkbOaYU
    Paul Collins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb636y8-3qE
    The Records: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAH1ioLiaHw
    Bram Tchaikovsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIQYViIlWX4
    Starjets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaPOeev5gY4
    Phil Seymour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KTE75F5Qkw
    The Producers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT6Lv5iBsLM

  144. 144.

    MCA1

    @Death Panel Truck: Absurd overstatement. Foundation of their early sound found in traditional delta blues? Absolutely. “Took their songs, changed them ever so slightly, and put their own names on them?” Do you actually listen to music? Hello, protesteth too much. You sound like you have an irrational axe to grind with this sort of hyperbole. I suppose you think Beethoven sucks because he stood on Mozart’s and Brahm’s shoulders, tweaked things just a tiny bit, and everybody started calling him a genius?

  146. 146.

    Homer Snodgrass

    Late 70’s, early 80’s. Great times for music. I saw J. Geils, The Motels, INXS, and Adam Ant in 1982, I think J. Geils was my first concert. INXS was dreadful, absolutely the worst show, the worst ever even 30 years later. I remember Adam Ant hurt himself doing a flying kick, and hobbling around for the rest of the show, prolly pulled a groinal (as we kids who ran track in H.S. used to call it), and you knew it had to hurt like hell the way he tried to look like it didn’t. And Martha Davis was beautiful and sang even better.

  147. 147.

    Edoc

    @Homer Snodgrass: “INXS was dreadful, absolutely the worst show, the worst ever even 30 years later.”

    I saw them a bit later (Listen Like Thieves tour) and they were very good. Funny that you hated their show– I’m reading the biography of the band right now and one recurring assertion throughout is that they were one of the best live bands, usually putting other 80’s artists to shame. It’s a bit annoying when a band boasts like that.

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