The song "Thirteen" by Big Star

DonZabu

Specifically, the line "Rock and roll is here to stay."

There's something inextricably tragic about that line for me.

Maybe because it's apparently something that bandmembers Alex Chilton and Chris Bell said when they saw The Beatles in '63, when they themselves were 13.

Or maybe it's because, as their career would go on, all of their albums would flop and the band itself would fall apart.

Or maybe it's because, nowadays, rock is less than relevant in music and culture compared to hip-hop and EDM.

Or maybe it's because the song itself is so tender, I don't know.

This one line has a lot of baggage, I guess is what I'm saying.

Nyktos

Or maybe it's because, nowadays, rock is less than relevant in music and culture compared to hip-hop and EDM.

But it's not like it went away or something.

captainbrass

You'd expect "rock n' roll is here to stay" to come from a chest-pounding song by Kiss or AC/DC or something, but this song is basically the reverse of all that.

I remember reading a long article about Big Star and for an influential band, they had the most screwed-up career - nothing ever went right for them. Alex Chilton kept going after the break up though. I think he died fairly recently.