First of all, I refuse to believe that 1981 was 37 years ago.
But, you know, even if the joke is way past its sell-by date, it’s not entirely wrong, is it? I must confess that a couple of months ago, the song came on as I was a couple of blocks from home and I sat in the car until the relevant part came along. Maybe you need to change “human being” to man. I’d say the incidence of air guitar/drums is somewhat lower among women.
However, lest I sound too forgiving of Whamond and the squirrel, it’s not a drum solo. It’s a drum riff. Approximately, 10 beats does not a drum solo make.
I doubt this song randomly comes up on your car radio very often (unless you’re tuned to an 80s Rock station, which is cheating). I wouldn’t say it couldn’t happen at all, though, since my car radio yesterday randomly played me El Condor Pasa.
I did this about a week ago; I confess I have Sirius, and rotate among MargaritaVille, Spa (new age), 50’s on 5, 60’s on 6, 70’s on 7 and 80’s on 8, and Y2Country. But still . . .
It’s on “oldies,” 80s, “variety” and “light rock” here. It may be old, but pretty darn iconic. Kids might be thinking of Mike Tyson now though
To be absolutely pedantic, it’s not a solo or a riff. It’s a “fill,” a single measure of unrelated music at the end of a section, played exactly once, to break up monotony.
I know what it is referring to but I don’t think I have ever played the solo (or riff or fill or whatever) on my steering wheel either. Of course, the next time I hear this I am likely to do so because of this comic.
I am sure that NJ 101.5 plays this at some point when “the music comes out to play”
I’m not even sure what the riff is. I’d have to listen to the song. I’ve heard the song enough to know the chorus but not the verse.
I am familiar with the song. It doesn’t inspire me to any kind of drumming… air, steering wheel, or other. What might do so is the drum riff from Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz”, the drum riff from Golden Earring’s “Radar Love”, or the drum intro to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”. OK, maybe also “I love it loud” from Kiss. And…
I like that song and think it’s one of Phil’s best, before he started putting out crud like Sussudio. But that said, I have never been tempted to air play the drum part being referred to here until Mike Tyson and The Hangover. I have to think the artist got the inspiration for this comic from the same source.
So, I’m guessing that Mike Tyson drums this out on his steering wheel in The Hangover? I’ve never seen it. I was drumming along when the song was new.
“First of all, I refuse to believe that 1981 was 37 years ago.”
I don’t have a problem there. I started employment[1] at Megacorp on 5/26/1981. I ceased said employment 2/1/2018, approximately 36 years and eight months later.
1. I originally had “work” there, but that’s always been somewhat controversial.
In one or the other of the films of The Secret Policeman’s Ball, Phil Collins comes on and says yes, he’s going to play that bloody song again, and proceeds to do so on the piano. At the appropriate part in the song, the drums are missing, since he’s playing the piano, but everyone in the college theater I was watching the film in spontaneously supplied the “buda bu-dump ba-dump dum dum dump”s.
Brian in STL: Was your employer really called Megacorp, or did you make up that name to anonymize it? Because, wow, it sure sounds like the name of a fictional evil corporation in a SF story. (Although perhaps not when it was founded.)
WW: I was curious, too. I think it’s a reference to Alfred Eichner’s book (1976). There are Mega corps around STL but one is a contractor with only 20 years of experience and the other is a real estate agency founded in 2003. The Mega corp in ABQ is over 40, though…
“Brian in STL: Was your employer really called Megacorp, or did you make up that name to anonymize it?”
Ha. I don’t know if there is a company actually called Megacorp or not. On a financial forum I read, that’s a common term used by people who work at large companies. It’s considered a good idea to not post too many personal details, including employer, in a public forum. As I mentioned, in my case, as of 2/1 it’s my former employer. Not that I really worried that before, but it’s also not too germane to the conversation.
I won’t make a mention of my birth year in relation to this song…
…but there was recently (around New Year’s) a meme going around about how if you start playing/watching some song/movie/tv show at exactly [x] time, then [y] significant part would happen exactly at midnight, thus allowing one to begin the new year in the correct manner. I don’t know if this song was the originator of that meme, but the idea was that if you began playing the song at some time (I forget when), the drum riff in question would start at exactly midnight.
Also, for the record, I’m a woman who drums along on the steering wheel, and some times does the guitar riff also. :)
Real-life synchronicity: Today (2/9), I walked into my therapist’s office in the middle of In the Air Tonight . . . I drummed along on the chair’s armrest. Now, what’s the likelihood of THAT happening – someplace I visit once 1 month, at various times of the day. Cue Twilight Zone music.
Comics I Don't Understand 
First of all, I refuse to believe that 1981 was 37 years ago.
But, you know, even if the joke is way past its sell-by date, it’s not entirely wrong, is it? I must confess that a couple of months ago, the song came on as I was a couple of blocks from home and I sat in the car until the relevant part came along. Maybe you need to change “human being” to man. I’d say the incidence of air guitar/drums is somewhat lower among women.
However, lest I sound too forgiving of Whamond and the squirrel, it’s not a drum solo. It’s a drum riff. Approximately, 10 beats does not a drum solo make.
I doubt this song randomly comes up on your car radio very often (unless you’re tuned to an 80s Rock station, which is cheating). I wouldn’t say it couldn’t happen at all, though, since my car radio yesterday randomly played me El Condor Pasa.
I did this about a week ago; I confess I have Sirius, and rotate among MargaritaVille, Spa (new age), 50’s on 5, 60’s on 6, 70’s on 7 and 80’s on 8, and Y2Country. But still . . .
It’s on “oldies,” 80s, “variety” and “light rock” here. It may be old, but pretty darn iconic. Kids might be thinking of Mike Tyson now though
To be absolutely pedantic, it’s not a solo or a riff. It’s a “fill,” a single measure of unrelated music at the end of a section, played exactly once, to break up monotony.
I know what it is referring to but I don’t think I have ever played the solo (or riff or fill or whatever) on my steering wheel either. Of course, the next time I hear this I am likely to do so because of this comic.
I am sure that NJ 101.5 plays this at some point when “the music comes out to play”
I’m not even sure what the riff is. I’d have to listen to the song. I’ve heard the song enough to know the chorus but not the verse.
I am familiar with the song. It doesn’t inspire me to any kind of drumming… air, steering wheel, or other. What might do so is the drum riff from Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz”, the drum riff from Golden Earring’s “Radar Love”, or the drum intro to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”. OK, maybe also “I love it loud” from Kiss. And…
I like that song and think it’s one of Phil’s best, before he started putting out crud like Sussudio. But that said, I have never been tempted to air play the drum part being referred to here until Mike Tyson and The Hangover. I have to think the artist got the inspiration for this comic from the same source.
So, I’m guessing that Mike Tyson drums this out on his steering wheel in The Hangover? I’ve never seen it. I was drumming along when the song was new.
“First of all, I refuse to believe that 1981 was 37 years ago.”
I don’t have a problem there. I started employment[1] at Megacorp on 5/26/1981. I ceased said employment 2/1/2018, approximately 36 years and eight months later.
1. I originally had “work” there, but that’s always been somewhat controversial.
In one or the other of the films of The Secret Policeman’s Ball, Phil Collins comes on and says yes, he’s going to play that bloody song again, and proceeds to do so on the piano. At the appropriate part in the song, the drums are missing, since he’s playing the piano, but everyone in the college theater I was watching the film in spontaneously supplied the “buda bu-dump ba-dump dum dum dump”s.
Brian in STL: Was your employer really called Megacorp, or did you make up that name to anonymize it? Because, wow, it sure sounds like the name of a fictional evil corporation in a SF story. (Although perhaps not when it was founded.)
WW: I was curious, too. I think it’s a reference to Alfred Eichner’s book (1976). There are Mega corps around STL but one is a contractor with only 20 years of experience and the other is a real estate agency founded in 2003. The Mega corp in ABQ is over 40, though…
“Brian in STL: Was your employer really called Megacorp, or did you make up that name to anonymize it?”
Ha. I don’t know if there is a company actually called Megacorp or not. On a financial forum I read, that’s a common term used by people who work at large companies. It’s considered a good idea to not post too many personal details, including employer, in a public forum. As I mentioned, in my case, as of 2/1 it’s my former employer. Not that I really worried that before, but it’s also not too germane to the conversation.
I won’t make a mention of my birth year in relation to this song…
…but there was recently (around New Year’s) a meme going around about how if you start playing/watching some song/movie/tv show at exactly [x] time, then [y] significant part would happen exactly at midnight, thus allowing one to begin the new year in the correct manner. I don’t know if this song was the originator of that meme, but the idea was that if you began playing the song at some time (I forget when), the drum riff in question would start at exactly midnight.
Also, for the record, I’m a woman who drums along on the steering wheel, and some times does the guitar riff also. :)
Real-life synchronicity: Today (2/9), I walked into my therapist’s office in the middle of In the Air Tonight . . . I drummed along on the chair’s armrest. Now, what’s the likelihood of THAT happening – someplace I visit once 1 month, at various times of the day. Cue Twilight Zone music.
Andréa, I’m surprised when that DOESN’T happen.