The Modern Lovers -- "Roadrunner"
Jonathan Richman is out to prove here that three chords equals one too many--but then just to show that he could do it, he adds an extra chord right at the end. I don't think I've ever heard a song recorded in the studio that sounds so spontaneous, at least not one since the invention of multi-track recording.
There's the vintage rock sound of the organ, the single streamlined guitar riff that powers the song, and above all there's the rambling creativity of the nearly-spoken lyrics. The whole thing is so simple but undeniably distinctive, the work of a particular and peculiar genius. The song offers a simple equation: rock and roll isn't about sex or drugs or anything else. It's just about driving down the highway late at night, listening to the radio--or, in other words, discovering that moment when the world seems like it's made just for you. This song offers a very different vision fom anything else being offered in the early 70s, or even since then, really, but if you've ever seen the moon shine when you're out at night and driving around, listening to the radio, you know what Richman is talking about.
Certainly a candidate for best rock and roll song of all time, as far as I'm concerned.
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