Thirteen Songs From Before His Birth that my Son Plays on Rock Band
I really wish I could insert a video here, but my son, my daughter and their friends have been absolutely entranced by Rock Band for X-Box. Instead of being horrified by the video game obsession (after all, I was a 1st generation Tetris addict), I am thrilled to hear the strains of "classic rock" pouring from the play room instead of the drone of rap or hip-hop!
1.
Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who
Year: 1971
Lyrics that mean something:
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
2. Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi
Year: 1987
Lyrics that mean something:
It's all the same, only the names will change
Everyday it seems we're wasting away
Another place where the faces are so cold
I'd drive all night just to get back home
3. Mississippi Queen by Mountain
Year: 1970
Lyrics that mean something?:
You know she was a dancer
She moved better on wine
4. Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
Year: 1969
Lyrics that mean something:
Oh, a storm is threatning
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
5. Detroit Rock City by KISS
Year: 1976
Lyrics that mean something?:
for
lovers of the bad boys, woodward avenue, faygo redpop, axel foley,
coney dogs, the uniroyal tire, strohs, horsepower, belle isle,
greenfield village, magnum p.i., greektown, the heidlelberg project,
st. andrews hall, michigan lefts, gordie howe, motown records and bob
fucking seger!
6. In Bloom by Nirvana
Year: 1992
Lyrics that mean something:
Sell the kids for food
Weather changes moods
Spring is here again
7. Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones (Uncle Craig would be so proud!)
Year: 1975
Lyrics that mean something:
They're piling in the back seat
They're generating steam heat
Pulsating to the back beat
The blitzkrieg bop
8. Long Time by Boston (OMG!!! We did a pom-pom routine to this in high school...yeah, like you didn't already figure out that I was a cheerleader.)
Year: 1976
Lyrics that mean something:
It's been such a long time
I think I should be goin', yeah
And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'
Sail on, on a distant highway
I've got to keep on chasin a dream
I've gotta be on my way
9. Highway Star by Deep Purple
Year: 1972
Lyrics that mean something:
Nobody gonna take my head
I got speed inside my brain
Nobody gonna steal my head
Now that I'm on the road again
Oooh I'm in heaven again I've got everything
Like a moving ground an open road
10. Orange Crush by R.E.M.
Year: 1988
Lyrics that mean something:
We are agents of the free
I've had my fun and now it's time to
Serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me)
Coming in fast, over me
11. Paranoid by Black Sabath
Year: 1971
Lyrics that mean something:
I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind
12.Suffragette City by David Bowie (I saw Bowie on the Serious Moonlight tour at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse...I can remember shouting out "Wham, Bam, Thank you Ma'am" as this played in my dorm room and my roommate and I rocked out to it)
Year: 1976
Lyrics that mean something:
Oh don't lean on me man, cause you can't afford the ticket
13. Train Kept A-Rollin' by Aerosmith (When Steven Tyler could REALLY hit those high notes and Liv Tyler was just a sparkle in her Daddy's eye)
Year: 1974
Lyrics that mean something:
I'm in heat, I'm in love,
But I just couldn't tell her
So, my friends, there is hope for the next generation. They can't refer to any of "our" music as anything but "oldies" until they adopt it officially into their generation. So, as soon as my son gets Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker on that game, I'm in:
Year: 1979
Lyrics that meant something:
Your love is like a tidal wave
Spinnin' over my head
Drownin' me in your promises
Better left unsaid
By the way, thanks to Tim for the Pat Benatar comment about my hair yesterday. That's a nice way to start the day...and I've canceled my haircut for today!
Which of these albums did you have in your album collection?
Di

I love The Who! :)
Posted by: Haley-O | January 24, 2008 at 02:10 PM
Rock Band is amazing for just this reason. Such great songs, so worthy of greater publicity.
Great idea!
Posted by: Rian Fike | January 24, 2008 at 02:45 PM
We sort of did the same thing, but you did it so much better. Have a great TT. :)
Posted by: Comedy Plus | January 24, 2008 at 02:50 PM
Ramones, Boston and Pat Benatar WERE in my collection. Too bad we couldn't trade them in for CDs.
Posted by: Linda | January 24, 2008 at 07:29 PM
Wonderful list...I was around when most of these where new! God, I feel old!
~Harris.
Posted by: Harris Channing | January 24, 2008 at 10:23 PM
This is a great list. Happy TT.
Posted by: pussreboots | January 24, 2008 at 11:47 PM
That is a great list!! My neighbour's son has that game and at 11, he was born waaaaay after those songs too! But what a fun game!
Posted by: mapsgirl | January 25, 2008 at 07:27 AM
Those were all recorded after my birth, but I'm afraid I don't know any of them.
Posted by: Nicholas | January 25, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Hi, I'm testing your captcha to see if either I can get passed it without doing it, or it has a built in accessible alternative. You might not have captcha enabled, but most typepad people do for some reason. Typepad provides a particularly evil form of captcha, because it sneaks it in right at the end.
Cheers!!!
Noelle
http://lifes-adventures.net
Posted by: Noelle | January 27, 2008 at 02:11 PM
I kept looking for "the Bozo's" or the Plastics, no huh?
Posted by: Kip | February 14, 2008 at 12:49 PM