{"id":901,"date":"2011-07-19T10:12:57","date_gmt":"2011-07-19T17:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=901"},"modified":"2015-01-12T09:31:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T17:31:53","slug":"song-duel-drive-by-the-cars-vs-drive-by-r-e-m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2011\/07\/song-duel-drive-by-the-cars-vs-drive-by-r-e-m\/","title":{"rendered":"SONG DUEL!: “Drive” by The Cars vs. “Drive” by R.E.M."},"content":{"rendered":"

Two songs enter. One song leaves. Well, OK, both leave. It\u2019s not like we erase all traces of the losing song from the Internet, but we determine once and for all which tune has the right to their strikingly similar titles. This is\u00a0<\/em>SONG DUEL<\/a><\/em>!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Smack! Crack! Hey, kids, it’s a digital vs. analogue showdown between a quintessential ’80s synthpop ballad and an acoustic dirge that leant some gravitas to the alternative revolution.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
(via mostly-vinyl.com\/magnetmagazine.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this corner:<\/strong> “Drive,” the international New Wave hit by The Cars and the zenith of the Boston band’s career, achieved by trading in the guitar-driven power-pop of the group’s early hits for some full-on synth balladry, Mutt Lange<\/a> production and a Timothy Hutton<\/a>-directed video.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

And in this corner:<\/strong> “Drive,” the lead track and first single from Automatic for the People,<\/em> R.E.M.’s haunting meditation on death and loss, bringing the Athens, Georgia, college-rock heroes into the ’90s with acoustic guitar, accordion, tons of vocal reverb and a John Paul Jones<\/a> string arrangement.<\/p>\n