Tuesday, February 11, 2025: TWOfer Tuesday - The "Songs About Cars" Edition

Kendrick Lamar has been having a pretty great year, topped off with a wild half-time show at the 59th annual Super Bowl.  I won't be writing about his stage show or his now borderline iconic song "Not Like Us", what I will talk about is his latest album, or at least the title of his latest album, GNX.

Named after the late 1980s series of muscle cars produced by Buick, the GNX was a variation of the massively powerful Buick Grand National.  The GN offered 200 horsepower (1984–85), 230 horsepower (1986) and 240 horsepower (1987), with each model featuring 300 lb-ft of torque. The 1987 Buick GNX added an upgraded turbo and intercooler, improved engine heads and exhaust, and a more robust suspension system.

Lamar is an insanely talented musician and songwriter, and now it can be said he has bitchin' taste in cars.

 This, of course, is just the latest in a long, very long list of songs that match music with cars.  I've chosen first what many consider to be the very birth of Rock and Roll, "Delta 88" by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats.  This could have been an entire theme week, with songs like Little GTO by Ronny & the Daytonas, Red Barchetta by Rush, 409 by the Beach Boys, “Hey Little Cobra” by The Rip Chords, “Chevy Van” by Sammy Johns, “Little Red Corvette” by Prince, I mean the hits just keep on coming.

However, for my 2nd track, I went a bit more obscure and decided to share '92 Subaru by Fountains of Wayne.  FoW get such a short shift because everyone thinks of them as a "one hit wonder" band, said hit being Stacy's Mom.  But they are so much more than that, so much more talented than that, their discography so much more diverse, unique and interesting than that. 

Please, use today's post as a springboard to get to know that band.  I mean, they guy that wrote the smash movie hit "That Thing You Do" has to know something about pure pop heaven, right?

 

Tuesday, September 24, 2024: TWOfer Tuesday - The "Cool For Cats" Edition

Imagine being nostalgic for the music from the year 2000.  Like, you wake up one morning, and you say, "You know, I want to form a band that pays homage to those great groups of yesteryear like Creed, Matchbox 20, Vertical Horizon and Savage Garden."

Well, that's kind of the timeline to consider when we talk about The Stray Cats, formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom.  Straight Outta the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York, these three rebel rousers were some of the forerunners to the Rockabilly Revival of the 1980s, harking all the way back around 24 years to the mid 1950s, when rockers like Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis ruled the roost with their unique blend of boogie woogie piano, hillbilly music and straight rock and roll.

The 1950s were big in the 1980s.  Starting in the previous decade with movies like American Graffiti, and TV shows like Happy Days, this harking back to the good/bad old days eventually came to include the openings of many 1950s inspired diners, the resurgence of vintage styles and retro aesthetics, and lots of denim.  So much denim.  Other bands, like The Blasters and The Polecats, also contributed to the resurgence.

The Stray Cats embodied the 1950s look, and their style became a visual signature of the movement, and their image helped popularize rockabilly fashion and contributed to the rise of retro culture in the 1980s.  Here's the rub, though.  These cats can play.  And I mean, play hard. Brian Setzer is a criminally underrated guitarist, he's one of the greats that should be enshrined right up there with Clapton and Paige, and that's a hill I will 100% die on. 

The Cats blended the energy of punk rock with the traditional sound of rock 'n' roll, their fast tempos and energetic performances elevated them to be so much more than just some Atomic Age tribute band.  Their sound and their spirit resonated with both the punk and New Wave audiences of the time, giving old rockabilly a contemporary edge.

Though still touring and recording, The Stray Cats' influence can be seen in subsequent generations of bands and artists who embraced rockabilly, such as Reverend Horton Heat and The Cramps. Brian Setzer later had a successful solo career, forming the Brian Setzer Orchestra, which helped popularize the swing revival of the 1990s.

If I were you, get on your leather jacket and poodle skirt, grab a brew, jump into your hot rod and start blasting The Stray Cats as loud as you can, they are a band in desperate need of some serious re-revaluation and deeper appreciation.

Oh, and I apologize for all the Squeeze fans who stumbled onto this post by accident.