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Spinout007
Spinout007 GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/10/13 10:28 a.m.

Not sure what it says about me as a car guy but I created a Beach Boys station on pandora earlier and the first thing that came on was Little Duece Coupe. Now I've been listening to this song since I discovered it digging through mom and dad's vinyl records as a kid. But for the first time I understood every word in that song.... WOW I seriously just used to kinda mumble along to most of it. I got every word of it this time.

That is all

gamby
gamby UltimaDork
7/10/13 10:41 a.m.

Yep.

Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy PowerDork
7/10/13 10:44 a.m.

My 10-year old daughter loves the Beach Boys greatest hits CD - I always stop the "409" song and question her what the car components mean.
4-speed? dual quad? positraction? 409?

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/10/13 10:56 a.m.

Cool song. Ugly grill...

foxtrapper
foxtrapper PowerDork
7/10/13 10:56 a.m.
gamby wrote: Yep.

Nope. "..with a flat head mill"

gamby
gamby UltimaDork
7/10/13 10:59 a.m.

That's the actual car on the actual record, though

gamby
gamby UltimaDork
7/10/13 11:17 a.m.
Woody wrote: Cool song. Ugly grill...

I dig the grill because it's so "60's kustom rod". I love that aesthetic.

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand Reader
7/10/13 11:48 a.m.

My dad grew up in California in the 50s/60s, so he always had a Beach Boys tape in the car. Now my kids listen to them everyother day as my dad picks them up at school :D

He used to pick me up from school in a '66 Cadillac ... Now my kids get picked up in an '07 Civic, some things change some don't.

ultraclyde
ultraclyde Dork
7/10/13 12:05 p.m.

I grew up listening to The Beach Boys and a lot of folk - Simon & Garfunkle specifically. And I was born in '75. Through my Junior High years when everyone else was buying Ratt tapes I was listening to the oldies station.

Gotta love the old car songs. little Cobra,Deadman's Curve, 409, Baby Driver, the list goes on...

stuart in mn
stuart in mn PowerDork
7/10/13 12:22 p.m.

The car in the photo belonged to Clarence "Chili" Catallo. The customizing work was originally done by the Alexander brothers in Detroit, and I believe some additional work was done by George Barris later on.

Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy PowerDork
7/10/13 12:27 p.m.

If you are listening on Pandora; be sure to add Jan & Dean.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/10/13 12:49 p.m.
Datsun310Guy wrote: My 10-year old daughter loves the Beach Boys greatest hits CD - I always stop the "409" song and question her what the car components mean. 4-speed? dual quad? positraction? 409?

But it's not actually a 409 in the song. It's a 348 Also, that's one of the few songs they released before they started with the falsetto harmonies IIRC.

kreb
kreb GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/10/13 12:53 p.m.

My dad raced motorcycles in the 60s and couldn't stand the whole pretty-boy surfer thing and the music that went with it. I guess these things skip generations, 'cause I kinda like them.

foxtrapper
foxtrapper PowerDork
7/10/13 1:01 p.m.

That is from the cover of the third release of the song, and it doesn't match the lyrics. In the song, it's a flathead Ford with lake pipes, not a blown GM mill.

The song became quite a hit, and they decided to release it a third time as the lead song and cover of yet another album. So they went looking for a car to put on the cover.

The song came first, a suitable car was found later, after the song become so popular.

pirate
pirate Reader
7/10/13 2:03 p.m.

I think that only three original Beach Boys are still alive. Brian Wilson (last of the brothers) Mike Love (I think a cousin) and Al Jardine. None of them tour together and at times have had various lawsuits against each other although I think some of that has been reconciled.

They have come to Biloxi a lot in recent years playing at the casino's. The last few years they have been there for Cruisn' the Coast an annual one week long cruise and car show in early October that attracts probably close to 6000 hot rods, muscle cars, customs, etc. We have gone to their shows many times and it is always fun.

Always amazes me as to how many kids are there, mostly brought by grand parents it seems and younger adults. Everyone seems to have a good time especially the hot rodders that grew up with that music. Seems every show is always sold out!

Will
Will Dork
7/10/13 6:19 p.m.
Keith Tanner wrote:
Datsun310Guy wrote: My 10-year old daughter loves the Beach Boys greatest hits CD - I always stop the "409" song and question her what the car components mean. 4-speed? dual quad? positraction? 409?
But it's not actually a 409 in the song. It's a 348

I had read (in the liner notes of a Beach Boys cassette way back in the day) that it was actually a 351. I don't remember if it was supposedly a Cleveland or Windsor, but then I can't really vouch for the accuracy of any of this. It's just what I read.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/10/13 6:25 p.m.

You could be right, I remember that it was smaller for sure. Late night run up and down the street before the neighbors complained.

I think the car in Cosmic Girl (Jamiroquai) is a Lamborghini Diablo, but I'd have to go looking...

vwcorvette
vwcorvette GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/10/13 6:30 p.m.

I have this album. Found it in a record shop in Atlanta while waiting around for an ATL region SCCA solo 2 meeting. It was owned by my Dad and he left it with us when my parents divorced. I listened to that record until it finally disintegrated. I remember bringing it into 5th grade for show and tell and playing Brontosaurus Stomp. Yeah, the class had no idea. Any way I lost what was left of it and had been searching for it for most of my adult life when I found it 2002 before moving back to Vermont. I had a friend transfer it to CD and gave a copy to my Dad. He was shocked it meant so much to me. I'm pretty sure he had forgotten about the album.

Best thing is I got a deal on the album as the store was closing down and getting rid of inventory. Got it for next to nothing. If I hadn't been early that day I never would have found it.

I too didn't understand the lyrics until much later in life. Now I love listening to this album.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/10/13 7:19 p.m.

And you can get it on eMusic! Awesome. Thanks for the tip.

http://www.emusic.com/album/various-artists/shut-down/12541029/

xFactor
xFactor Reader
7/10/13 11:32 p.m.

Shut Down is like the best drag race song ever.

Two cool sharks sitting side by side...

stuart in mn
stuart in mn PowerDork
7/11/13 7:57 a.m.

It was two cool shorts.

Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy PowerDork
7/11/13 8:01 a.m.
xFactor wrote: Shut Down is like the best drag race song ever. Two cool sharks sitting side by side...

One of my favorites too.

But my fuel injected Stingray's really startin' to go
To get the traction I'm ridin' the clutch
My pressure plate's burnin' that machine's too much

xFactor
xFactor Reader
7/12/13 6:57 a.m.
stuart in mn wrote: It was two cool shorts.

Teh interwebz has it both ways. I hear sharks when I listen to it, and to me, it make more sense than shorts. After all, Stingrays are kinda like sharks.

Who has seen two cool shorts at a street race?

gjz30075
gjz30075 Reader
7/12/13 7:13 a.m.

Had the albums way back and no longer, but I'm looking for them again, not for the record inside but for the cool artwork for framing.

Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy PowerDork
7/12/13 7:40 a.m.
stuart in mn wrote: It was two cool shorts.

Thinking I know a lot of car lingo - 'splain this?

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