Perhaps the highest-profile example of this is Starship’s “We Built This City,” a tune often denounced in music-critic circles as the worst thing ever written. (This most certainly will happen.)Īlso note: The word “rock” needn’t be listed in the title for a song to be considered a bona fide RnRSaRnR. Secondly, there are numerous accepted ways of spelling “rock and roll,” with most variations buzzing like flies around the conjunction “and.” We have the fully spelled-out “rock and roll,” the ampersand-reliant “rock & roll,” “rock n’ roll” (apostrophe to the right), “rock ‘n roll” (apostrophe to the left), “rock n roll” (no apostrophe), rock ‘n’ roll (double apostrophe), and the seldom recommended “rock/roll.” For the sake of continuity and sanity, I’ll commit to using “rock n’ roll” throughout this piece, except where an alternate spelling appears in a song title. As such, let’s immediately discard everything from the Rolling Stones’ “Rock and a Hard Place” (probably about poverty) to the Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” (probably about fucking) to the B-52’s “Rock Lobster” (probably about crustaceans). First up, the RnRSaRnR subgenre is exclusive to rock songs about rock music, as opposed to songs simply containing the word “rock” in their title. Prior to deep-diving into this decades-old trend, let’s establish parameters. And for those of us who possess a well-calibrated inner Seinfeld, one nagging question bubbles to the surface: What’s the deal with these songs? And what makes them so irksome? Put another way: I like rock n’ roll, but I don’t like “It’s Only Rock N’ Roll (But I Like It).” Chuck Berry’s “Rock and Roll Music.” Oasis’ “ Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Billy Joel’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” The list is as long as it is relentless. We’re all familiar with rock n’ roll songs about rock n’ roll (or RnRSaRnR, for brevity’s sake). Lewis and News’ 1984 hit perfectly exemplifies one of popular music’s more frustrating subgenres: the rock n’ roll song about rock n’ roll. It immediately stirred up feelings of ambivalence. Recently, while in the pharmacy line at my local CVS, Huey Lewis and the News’ “The Heart of Rock & Roll” made its presence known on the overhead speakers.
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