Sunday, March 06, 2011

ON THE RADIO


Which song, when it comes onto the radio (if anyone still plays unprogrammed music besides me), can you not resist singing along with?

I posted this song one Sunday and it has not let go of me yet.

RUNAWAY, Dell Shannon.

I just love it because you can really belt it out. Scares Phil a little but some of his opera arias by screechy sopranos scare me.

Speaking of which, with all that music loaded onto your MP3 and IPODs don't you miss the spontaneity radio allowed? Didn't you love it when you didn't know what the DJ would play next?

32 comments:

Deb said...

I sing along with all of 'em! My van radio stays on the oldies stations (except when the kids are with me)--anything from the early 1960s through the mid-1990s (at which point, my musical knowledge becomes hazy). My husband's car has satellite radio and I love the channel that plays alternative/new wave music from the 1980s. I find even when you put your i-pod on shuffle, you still know in once sense what you're going to hear since you were the one who loaded all that music; with radio, you don't know what's coming next. Could be "You Really Got Me" or it could be "Seasons in the Sun." You just never know.

Paul D Brazill said...

Runaway is a beaut song. I don't listen to the radio. But I sing along to adverts on tv. Current fave: 'Jogobella,jogobella...'

sandra seamans said...

"Take it Easy" Whenever that comes on in the car I turn the volumne up and sing as loud as I can! I expect anyone who sees me thinks I've gone nuts, but that song just makes me happy. No clue why.

Anonymous said...

Patti - I'm a music person, so I have to admit I sing along to lots and lots of different songs. I really do. And I do miss sometimes not knowing what song's next. The trouble is that when I do listen to the radio, every time I hear a song and get really "into it," the DJ comes along and starts talking over the music. A serious peeve of mine.

David Cranmer said...

I posted Runaway as well. It is a song you never get tired of. I like Del's Hats Off To Larry also.

I was never a fan of the DJ. I much prefer controlling the stereo.

Chad Eagleton said...

I don't really listen to the radio all that much anymore. I feel like there's such a lack of variety now, that you hear the same couple of songs over and over. The only time I do listen to the radio is for a couple of programs on our community radio station. Or if I happen to be in the car when Little Steven's Underground Garage is on.

And I'm with Margot, I hate when the DJ starts talking over the song. In general DJ seems annoyingly invasive anymore.

Music is very important to me. I listen to a lot of music, especially when I'm writing. If I had to talk about one song in particular it would be for a slightly different reason. There's a Traveling Wilburys song called "End of the Line." That song seems guaranteed to come on the radio whenever I've had a bad day and make me feel better.

"Runaway" is a great song. I can't think of it, however, without remembering the tv show Crime Story.

pattinase (abbott) said...

You had to be around before Crime Story, I think. It's a whole different take on a song when you heard it "live" in effect and can even vaguely remember Dell performing it on Bandstand.
We have two oldies stations in Detroit and if I can pry the radio away from my husband (in the car) I listen to them. He likes the classical stations.
You Really Got Me is another one that's fun to sing. Let's face it I sing most of them--just not well.

Jersey Jack said...

I only listen to the radio. Don't want to know what's next.

My favorite sing along is "Twist and Shout," either the Eisley Bros. or the Beatles cover.

Rock and roll forever!

Ron Scheer said...

The random function on iPod is enough to keep me surprised. I've forgotten half of what I loaded onto it. I don't listen to music on the radio; hate the commercials.

I like Bonnie Raitt's version of Runaway.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Me either, Jack. I do use the shuffle on my MP3 but by now all the music on there is too familiar. I guess I need to redo.

Naomi Johnson said...

I rarely listen to music radio anymore, except for classical. Couldn't identify a popular song/artist these days to save my life. I know who Justin Bieber is but have no idea what he sounds like.

But hey, with 9000 songs and auto-shuffle I don't know what my iPod will play next, and my playlists are a lot longer than most radio stations use these days. My singalong favorite: The Contours' DO YOU LOVE ME?

pattinase (abbott) said...

Another one you can really belt out.

NOW THAT I CAN DANCE....

Scott Cupp said...

"We have a thing, It's called Radar Love". Golden Earring at their best. I'm surprised I have never been ticketed when it is on the air.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Just played it, Scott. And I see the reason.

Charles Gramlich said...

I have no MP3 or Ipod. I do sometimes listen to cds but mostly it's the spontaneous radio. There is a big smile taht you get when something good comes on that you haven't heard in a while. Definitely soemthing to be said for spontenaity.

Ron Scheer said...

It takes a country song to get me singing along, like Brooks and Dunn's YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE.

Cap'n Bob said...

We have an oldies station in my area with no dj and no commercials. I, too, hate it when dj's run their mouths over the music so this station is a godsend. iPod? MP3? Those are for my kids. I'll sing along to anything, but only when I'm alone in the car.
I have a special affinity for "Runaway" because I can play it and it was one of the first really big hits after I moved to New York as a kid. Sadly, Del Shannon committed suicide.

George said...

When I listen to the radio, it's usually NPR (or a Buffalo Sabres game). But I'm always listening to music CDs when I'm driving around. Love to sing Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" and anything by Katy Perry. Scott's right about "Radar Love." I also love the song referred to in that song: Brenda Lee's "Comin' On Strong."

pattinase (abbott) said...

I listen to NPR religiously at home but in the car, Phil likes music. It's just what kind of music we differ on.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Did not know that about Dell, Bob? Sorry to hear it.

Anonymous said...

I also first thought of the Eagles' TAKE IT EASY and also THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT by the Tokens.

Scott D. Parker said...

I almost always listen to my MP3 CDs or my iPod. Lately, however, I'm starting to listen to the local radio ( when I'm not listening to NPR). The song that always stops me is "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley and "Haven't met you yet" by Michael Buble.

Anthony said...

My Special Angel by the Vogues.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I'm gonna have to check that one out. Did it start "You are my special angel." I do remember it, I think.

Erik Donald France said...

A to last Q: Yes! Eclectic is good -- I used to wake up as a kid to an AM clock radio; they played everything from Johnny Cash to anything you could imagine. It was great!

Plenty of songs to sing along to.

Gerard said...

I don't sing along. I never here this on the radio anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1UcoEXQieU

pattinase (abbott) said...

Aren't they fabulous. Now I have to go to the site that gets rid of the song in your head. http://unhearit.com/#

Olivia V. Ambrogio said...

"Runaway" is a lot of fun. I always associate singing in the car with my father, so the song that first comes to mind for me is "Sherry," which he and I sing along to in truly horrendous falsettos ("She-e-E-E-E-rry, BAy-yay-bee"), causing my mother to threaten to divorce/disown us, respectively.

pattinase (abbott) said...

The first time I heard Sherry was on the boardwalk at Ocean City, NJ and I will always associate it with the smells of fudge, funnel cake and pizza.

Unknown said...

"Time After Time"... my favorite to sing to. Satellite radio(Woo Hoo!), iPod, elevator, mall, store... wherever! I will sing to pretty much anything though, if I like it. I don't sing well, mind you... throat injury... but I do SING!! I see Deb and I have something in common... I LOVE "Seasons In The Sun"!

Oh... another favorite... The Hollies - The Air That I Breathe... "sleep, silent angel... go to sleep..." <3

Anonymous said...

Sorry I missed this as we've been on the road, but as you know "Runaway" is my favorite song. There are, however, many songs I sing along to. In fact on the way home we were listening to several oldies CDs and one had Del Shannon's "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)." It's no "Runaway" but I sang along anyway.

Others: "It's Over" by Roy Orbison, "Every Breath You Take" and most everything else by the great Gene Pitney (even though both are WAY out of my league) and pretty much anything that was a hit from (say) 1961 through 1970.

Jeff M.

Anonymous said...

Of course I meant "Every Breath I Take" as the Gene Pitney song.

Patti, yes. "My Special Angel" was a remake of the Bobby Helms original. He's probably most famous for "Jingle Bell Rock."

We saw Del Shannon in concert in 1988; as Cap'n Bob said, he killed himself in 1997.

Naomi, we saw The Contours (with some of the original members) two years ago and they sounded great.

I love that Wilburys song too, but then Roy Orbison could do no wrong for me. Another one who died way too young. (We saw one of his last shows, six months before he died, and he sounded fantastic.)

Jeff M.