Talking points

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About The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were fronted by Jonathan Richman, a native of Natick. The original lineup included fellow Natick native John Felice and Rolfe Anderson. The lineup changed shortly after forming to include two Harvard students, Ernie Brooks and David Robinson (a Woburn native).

After the original lineup broke up Richamn reformed the band with Robinson, Leroy Radcliffe, and ex-Rubinoos member Greg "Curly" Keranen. Later lineups included Andy Paley of Boston band the Sidewinders and Asa Brebner.

Most of the influence of the band is credited to the cult popularity of their self-titled first album. The album was recorded in 1971-72 with the assistance of Velvet Undergorund member John Cale, but disputes between record labels stalled the release until 1978. The album has been tremendously popular since its launch, and is listed on the Rolling Stone 500 greatest records of all time.

While Roadrunner is recognized as the standout paean to Massachusetts, the entire album has dozens of references to the Commonwealth, including numerous Boston landmarks – and even a passing mention to former Boston City Council president Francis Ahearn.

The influence of the Modern Lovers is hard to overstate. Many, many bands have covered the Modern Lovers, from the Sex Pistols, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, and Galaxie 500.

The influence of the band can also be credited to how successful all of its members ended up being. Most of the band would go on to participate in other great bands in Boston and elsewhere. Jerry Harrison joined up with the Talking Heads. David Robinson joined Boston legends DMZ, followed by The Cars. John Felice went on to form Boston rock band The Real Kids. Rolfe Anderson became a member of popular Boston band Human Sexual Response. Ernie Brooks became a successful producer and worked with many influential bands in New York, including Gods and Monsters.

About Roadrunner
Roadrunner's Wikipedia page has a lot of background information.

The song name-checks a lot of local places. There are several different versions of the song, but here are a few of the places that are mentioned in versions of Roadrunner: This leads to another point - the song has a folk-culture quality to it, in that the basic structure of the song stays the same, but Jonathan Richman (and the dozens of others that have covered it) all have added their own twists to make the song unique to the moment and the audience.
 * Route 128
 * Boston
 * Roslindale
 * Mattapan
 * Natick
 * Needham
 * Stop & Shop
 * Route 3
 * Mass Pike
 * Howard Johnson's
 * The Prudential Tower
 * Quincy
 * Deer Island
 * Cohasset
 * Amherst
 * Western Mass.

The song's influence in the punk rock movement owes much of its origin to the fact that the Sex Pistols recorded the song as a very early demo tape. Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten has called it his favorite song.

How much will this cost?
It only costs the time it takes to vote, and the benefits are much, much more. In addition to taking the time to recognize a local band that deserves attention, it helps promote civic pride and motivates participation in politics. Additionally, for many people, this will be the first time they get engaged with their state legislature.

What about Dream On?
Dream On is a great song, but it isn't right for state rock song. There are many reasons for picking a particular song as state song, but one usually views a state rock song as a symbol of state identity. In the case of Roadrunner, we would be picking a song that is fun-loving, innovative, highly influential, and way ahead of its time. Dream On was popular, but it doesn't represent more about Massachusetts. In fact, it doesn't even mention Massachusetts.

The way that Dream On has been sold has also suffered from some truth distortions. The two representatives that initially proposed Dream On stated that Rolling Stone calls the song one of the 500 greatest of all time. That is true, but Roadrunner is also on that same list. It has also been said that Aerosmith is the best selling American rock band of all time. They are doing quite well, but they are not. Wikipedia's list of best-selling artists puts Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, the Eagles, and Billy Joel all ahead of Aerosmith.