"Make It in Rockford"
October 25, 2019 12:27 PM Subscribe
Jonathan Ward posts in WFMU's Beware of the Blog, "In the late 70s (or early 80s?), the Rockford, Illinois Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored a songwriting contest for the locals. An LP was produced, funded by Pepsi...It's been one of my favorite 'civic pride' records since I came across it. My favorite moments are the new-wave-ish 'Making It In Rockford' and the sermon breakdown on 'Make It In Rockford…Weigh the Difference.' And the oppressive nature of the final, disco track... and the front cover photo collage... and the line 'Catch a smile on Whitman Bridge' from the first song..."
Full track listing:
01 Say Hello To Rockford (1:24)
02 Rockford On My Mind (2:41)
03 Making It In Rockford (1:43)
04 Team Up With Rockford (1:41)
05 Make It In Rockford... Weigh The Difference (2:19)
06 We've Got It All In Rockford (2:19)
07 It's All In Rockford (4:16)
08 Look Into Rockford (2:30)
09 Rollin Home To Rockford (3:22)
10 Make It In Rockford (3:31)
David Letterman featured it on his record collection segment here.
Full track listing:
01 Say Hello To Rockford (1:24)
02 Rockford On My Mind (2:41)
03 Making It In Rockford (1:43)
04 Team Up With Rockford (1:41)
05 Make It In Rockford... Weigh The Difference (2:19)
06 We've Got It All In Rockford (2:19)
07 It's All In Rockford (4:16)
08 Look Into Rockford (2:30)
09 Rollin Home To Rockford (3:22)
10 Make It In Rockford (3:31)
David Letterman featured it on his record collection segment here.
These songs are way better than I expected!
posted by ghharr at 12:45 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by ghharr at 12:45 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
the oppressive nature of the final, disco track
1:54 of competent studio musician funk + sax solo before the vocals come in!
posted by thelonius at 12:47 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
1:54 of competent studio musician funk + sax solo before the vocals come in!
posted by thelonius at 12:47 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's been one of my favorite 'civic pride' records since I came across it
Wait, what? Is this a thing? Are there more? I missed that category when browsing Discogs ;)
(BTW - on Discogs, the record is listed under Rockford Rockford Rockford Rockford)
But seriously, this is something that is hard to search for, because the word "record" has a number of meanings, and "musical collections" doesn't pop to the top of the list when searching for "civic pride" records or even "civic pride music records.
These songs are way better than I expected!
But of course! They're contest winners! (I kid -- I was also impressed :) )
posted by filthy light thief at 12:48 PM on October 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
Wait, what? Is this a thing? Are there more? I missed that category when browsing Discogs ;)
(BTW - on Discogs, the record is listed under Rockford Rockford Rockford Rockford)
But seriously, this is something that is hard to search for, because the word "record" has a number of meanings, and "musical collections" doesn't pop to the top of the list when searching for "civic pride" records or even "civic pride music records.
These songs are way better than I expected!
But of course! They're contest winners! (I kid -- I was also impressed :) )
posted by filthy light thief at 12:48 PM on October 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
not one mention of beef-a-roo?
posted by gorestainedrunes at 12:49 PM on October 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by gorestainedrunes at 12:49 PM on October 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
It's such a shame that WFMU shut down Beware of the Blog!
posted by smelendez at 1:05 PM on October 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by smelendez at 1:05 PM on October 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
Proud, yet modest! "It's one of the cities in America that's great" (from Weigh the Difference)
posted by echo target at 1:06 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by echo target at 1:06 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
(BTW - on Discogs, the record is listed under Rockford Rockford Rockford Rockford)
Probably because of the cover
posted by thelonius at 1:08 PM on October 25, 2019
Probably because of the cover
posted by thelonius at 1:08 PM on October 25, 2019
Ah yeah. Rockford native here. This record was a heavy irony-spin in my high-school days. I never came across too many copies in the Salvation Army stacks even then.
Also, you may know Ward from his work as curator of Excavated Shellac and associated compilations on the Dust-to-Digital label. He was also heavily involved in Bathtubs Over Broadway, the industrial-musical documentary, as that’s another of his obsessions/areas of professional interest.
posted by mykescipark at 1:13 PM on October 25, 2019 [4 favorites]
Also, you may know Ward from his work as curator of Excavated Shellac and associated compilations on the Dust-to-Digital label. He was also heavily involved in Bathtubs Over Broadway, the industrial-musical documentary, as that’s another of his obsessions/areas of professional interest.
posted by mykescipark at 1:13 PM on October 25, 2019 [4 favorites]
"It's one of the cities in America that's great"
Are we 100% clear on punctuation in this line? Could be any of these possibilities:
"It's one of the cities in America. That's great."
"It's one of the cities. In America, that's great."
posted by Miss T.Horn at 1:15 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
Are we 100% clear on punctuation in this line? Could be any of these possibilities:
"It's one of the cities in America. That's great."
"It's one of the cities. In America, that's great."
posted by Miss T.Horn at 1:15 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
This reminds me of the This American Life episode in which the prologue describes a similar civic pride initiative for Calgary, only to find out that the song, um, supports reuse and recycling.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:21 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:21 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Cheap Trick was from Rockford. Also Ginger Lynn.
I spent many extremely pleasant summers there.
posted by chavenet at 2:45 PM on October 25, 2019
I spent many extremely pleasant summers there.
posted by chavenet at 2:45 PM on October 25, 2019
My Dad grew up in Rockford and went to Guilford High. (My Grandpa was a chemist at Valpsar.) His band used to play "battle of the bands" against the future Cheap Trick. I think they lost a lot.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:50 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:50 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
His band used to play "battle of the bands" against the future Cheap Trick. I think they lost a lot.
Daddy’s alright. He just seems a little weird.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 4:43 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
Daddy’s alright. He just seems a little weird.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 4:43 PM on October 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
I guess I have to listen to this. I was born in Rockford but my parents yanked me away when I was seven to finish growing up in the Bay Area. As to Rockford, I remember cruising around internet in a slight moment of fake nostalgia to learn that Rockford got busted in the 80’s for practicing racial segregation in its public schools. My father worked for a company there with a great name: Rockford Screw Products. Good name for an industrial band.
posted by njohnson23 at 6:57 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 6:57 PM on October 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
His band used to play “battle of the bands” against the future Chap Trick.
Probably Fuse?
posted by coldhotel at 5:41 AM on October 26, 2019
Probably Fuse?
posted by coldhotel at 5:41 AM on October 26, 2019
I remember a civic pride radio ad from years ago. It was the most delightfully sincere and truly awful song I'd ever heard. "Come and Explore the Lake County Experience... Explore!" I've looked for it several times, but never had any luck. I wonder if somewhere there's a central repository for these things....
posted by cccorlew at 8:04 AM on October 26, 2019
posted by cccorlew at 8:04 AM on October 26, 2019
His band used to play "battle of the bands" against the future Cheap Trick. I think they lost a lot.
Daddy’s alright. He just seems a little weird.
Perhaps Cheap Trick didn't beat them. Maybe his band voluntarily surrendered. Yes, surrendered, yet retained their integrity by not giving themselves awaaaaaaaay.
posted by otherchaz at 1:07 PM on October 26, 2019 [3 favorites]
Daddy’s alright. He just seems a little weird.
Perhaps Cheap Trick didn't beat them. Maybe his band voluntarily surrendered. Yes, surrendered, yet retained their integrity by not giving themselves awaaaaaaaay.
posted by otherchaz at 1:07 PM on October 26, 2019 [3 favorites]
The old WFMU blog was great, I was really sad when they shut it down!
posted by crazy_yeti at 5:53 AM on October 27, 2019
posted by crazy_yeti at 5:53 AM on October 27, 2019
Oh, I used to go to Rockford every year for Thanksgiving for many years. The funny thing was that the relatives lived on the outskirts, and it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I realized that Rockford has a pretty nice riverfront, or even a river for that matter.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:36 PM on October 27, 2019
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:36 PM on October 27, 2019
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