Songs that mention the Radio

Stone Blue by Foghat

 

Z Z Top- Heard It 0n The X

Do you remember
back in nineteen sixty-six?
Country Jesus, hillbilly blues,
that's where I learned my licks.

Oh, from coast to coast and line to line
in every county there,
I'm talkin' 'bout that outlaw X
is cuttin' through the air.

Anywhere, y'all,
everywhere, y'all,
I heard it, I heard it,
I heard it on the X.

We can all thank Doctor B
who stepped across the line.
With lots of watts he took control,
the first one of its kind.

So listen to your radio
most each and every night
'cause if you don't I'm sure you won't
get to feeling right.

Anywhere, y'all,
everywhere, y'all,
I heard it, I heard it,
I heard it on the X.

 

Warren Zevon- Carmelita

I hear Mariachi static on my radio
And the tubes they glow in the dark
And I'm there with her in Ensenada
And I'm here in Echo Park

Carmelita ...hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I'm sittin' here playing solitaire
With my pearl-handled deck
The county won't give me no more methadone
They cut off your welfare check

Carmelita ...hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I pawned my Smith-Corona
And I went to meet my man
He hangs out down on Alvarado Street
By the Pioneer chicken stand

Carmelita ...hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

 

Unless I missed it, nobody has mentioned one of the all-time greats:

"Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" by the Raspberreis
This song pretty much sums up the dreams of thousands of bands/performers and contains the brilliant trick of making it sound like we are hearing this actual song on a transistor radio.

OTHERS:
"We Built This City" (Jefferson Starship)
"Radio Gaga" (Queen)
"Video Killed The Radio Star" (Buggles)
"Crocodile Rock" (Elton John)
"Yesterday Once More" (Carpenters)
"Modern Music" (Be Bop Deluxe)

And others have mentioned them, but "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers and "Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio" by the Ramones are fantastic!

 

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You, complete with whatever your local station ID was dubbed in.

 

Cheap Trick - On The Radio

It's on the radio, I love the music on the radio
It's what they're playin', when the radio's on
And you and me get crazy
It's on the radio, I love the music on the radio
It's what they're playin', when the radio's on
And you and me get crazy



Hey Mister on the radio, please play my favorite song
The one where she didn't go away
Hey Mister on the radio, you're really my best friend
Please play my favorite song for me



It's on the radio, I love the music on the radio
It's what they're playin', when the radio's on
And you and me get crazy
When the radio's on, yeah, you and me get crazy



Hey Mister on the radio, you're with me every day
And late at night I turn you on
Hey Mister on the radio, you're really my best friend
Please play my favorite song for me



All of the rock and roll DJ's, got their fingers on the world
'Cause they play the songs that make you and me feel so good



Turn up your radios and hear the music on the radio
This song is playin', when the radio's on
And you and me get crazy
Turn up your radios and hear the music on the radio
This song is playin', when the radio's on
And you and me get crazy



When the radio's on and you and me get crazy
When the radio's on, yeah, you and me get crazy
When the radio's on, yeah, yeah, you and me get crazy
Crazy, crazy, crazy



One minute, the back side of midnight, it's me Captain Gonzo
Ready to roll hot wax anything you want to hear all night
It's a balmy 73 degrees in Fog City
71 in the Valley, 80 in Santa Cruz
But remember, if you snooze you lose
I'm gonna hang with you, I'll crank it on the girls



So let me know what you want to hear
Phone lines are open now, you say it
You know I'm gonna play it and be ready to win
When I tell you to call in and whatever you do
Remember the phrase that pays, puts your brain on vacation
And let your toes take over, keep your pedal to the metal
I'll be back in sixty seconds, in the meantime go with it
Go for it, go nuts, go completely wild

 

Gin Blossoms - Found Out About You

Street lights blink on through the car window
I get the time too often on AM radio
Well you know it's all I think about
I write your name drive past your house
Your boyfriend's over I watch your lights go out

 

The Sports - "Who Listens To The Radio"
The Wonder Stuff - "Radio Ass-Kiss"
Thomas Dolby - "Airwaves"
Rage Against The Machine - "Guerrilla Radio"
Everclear - "A.M. Radio"
Pukka Orchestra - "Listen To The Radio"

 

Going way back.....I'm An Old Cowhand

We know all the songs that the cowboys know
'Bout the Big Corral where the doggies go
We learned them all on the radio
Yippie yi yo kayah, yippie yi yo kayah

 

"Rock & Roll" - The Velvet Underground

 

At least one more Van Morrison song, one of his "recitation" pieces, On Hyndford Street:

Take me back, take me way, way, way back
On Hyndford Street
Where you could feel the silence at half past eleven
On long summer nights
As the wireless played Radio Luxembourg
And the voices whispered across Beechie River

I think he maybe has referenced Radio Luxembourg more than once - anyone with a better memory than mine?

 

Al Stewart - Song on the Radio
Thomas Dolby - Radio Silence

 

They Might Be Giants - Hey Mr DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal

I could never sleep my way to the top 'Cause my alarm clock always wakes me right up
And since my options had been whittled away
I struck a bargain with my radio DJ
I said I'd like this song to be number one He said 'I'd really really like to help you my son'
And then I knew that I would have him to thank
Because he asked me how much I had in the bank

He said to think long term investment and That all the others had forgiven themselves
He said the net reward would justify
The colossal mess they'd made of their lives

He said the record wouldn't have to be hot
And no one ever seemed to care if it's not It would depend on something else that I've got
And that the other ones who'd given it a shot
Had seen a modest sum grow geometrically
And then they had forgiven themselves Because the net reward had justified
The colossal mess they'd made of their lives

Hey Mr. DJ, I thought you said we had a deal
I thought you said, 'You scratch my back and I'll scratch your record'
And I thought you said we had a deal

Well, I told you about the world (its address)
I wonder when they're gonna clean up the mess
You know the rabid child is still tuning in Chess piece face's patience must be wearing thin
Because they haven't played this song on the air
Not that anyone but me even cared
And the disc jockey has moved out of town
The district courthouse says he's nowhere to be found

He said to think long term investment and That all the others had forgiven themselves
He said the net reward would justify
The colossal mess they'd made of their lives

Hey Mr. DJ, I thought you said we had a deal
I thought you said, 'You scratch my back and I'll scratch your record'
And I thought you said we had a deal

 

The Beach Boys, Dance Dance, Dance:

I hit the radio dial and turn it up all the way

This could be a long thread!

 

"The Nightfly" -- Donald Fagen

 

It's eight fifteen
The time that it's always been
We heard your message on the radio
Conditions normal and we're coming home

Yes, it's Enola Gay by Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark (OMD). Classic early 80s Brit electronica.

NB Has WOLD by ? Harry Chapin been cited yet ?

Faraway Eyes my fav...

 

Frank Zappa - "The Radio Is Broken" from the Man From Utopia
Golden Earring - "Radar Love"
Roxy Music - "Oh Yeah (There's a Band Playing On the Radio)"

 

Ramones - "Rockaway Beach" ("Dad's got the disco on the radio")
The Clash-"This Is Radio Clash"

 

Niiiiiice! Did I miss an edict against "Radio Radio"?

I've been LOVING Ex Hex's "Radio On":

 

Living on the Radio - Lady Gaga

 

On The Radio (Remember The Days) - Nelly Furtado

 

Dave Alvin - 'Border Radio'
The Beach Boys - 'That's Why God Made the Radio'
Harry Chapin - 'W.O.L.D.'
The Clash - 'This is Radio Clash'
Elvis Costello - 'Radio Sweetheart'
John Hiatt - 'Pirate Radio'
Helen Reddy - 'Angie Baby'
The Selecter - 'On My Radio'
Talking Heads - 'Radio Head'
Warren Zevon - 'Mohammad's Radio'

 

Van Morrison "in the days before rock'n'roll"

Justin, gentler than a man
I am down on my knees
At the wireless knobs
I am down on my knees
At those wireless knobs
Telefunken, Telefunken



And I'm searching for
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Athlone, Budapest, A F N
Hilversum, Helvetia
In the days before rock 'n' roll



In the days before rock 'n' roll
In the days before rock 'n' roll



When we let, then we bet
On Lester Piggott when we met
We let the goldfish go
In the days before rock 'n' roll



Fats, Fats did not come in
Without those wireless knobs
Fats did not come in
Without those wireless knobs
Elvis did not come in
Without those wireless knobs



Nor Fats, nor Elvis
Nor Sonny, nor Lightning
Nor Muddy, nor John Lee



In the days before rock 'n' roll
In the days before rock 'n' roll



When we let and we bet
On Lester Piggott 10 to 1
We let the goldfish go
Down the stream
Before rock 'n' roll



We went over the wavebands
We'd get Luxembourg
Luxembourg and Athlone



A F M, stars of jazz
Come in, come in, come in, Ray Charles
Come in, the high priest



In the days before rock 'n' roll
In the days before rock 'n' roll



When we let and we bet
On Lester Piggott 10 to 1
We let the goldfish go



And then the, and then, and then, and then, and then
Then killer came along, the killer
The killer, Jerry Lee Lewis
There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on
Great balls of fire
Little Richard



Justin, gentler than a man
Justin, Justin, where is Justin now?
What's Justin doing now?
Just, where is Justin now?
Come aboard