AM Radio (song)

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"AM Radio"

Single by Everclear
from the album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
Released	February 13, 2000
Format	CD
Recorded	2000
Genre	Rock
Length	3:50
Label	Capitol
Everclear singles chronology
Wonderful	AM Radio	When It All Goes Wrong Again

AM Radio is a rock song by the band Everclear. This song samples Jean Knight's song "Mr. Big Stuff". This song was recorded circa 2001. The song was used in a television commercial for General Motors in early 2006.

The song's lyrics deal with Art Alexakis' reminiscences of growing up during the 1970s - specifically mentioning the years 1970, '72, '75, and '77 - while listening to his favorite music on AM radio, which Alexakis describes in the outro chant as: "We like pop, we like soul, we like rock, but we never liked disco." The song begins with a 1970s vintage jingle from Los Angeles radio station KHJ.

"AM Radio" is the second single from Everclear's album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile. It includes AM Radio and some older Everclear hits. The "AM Radio" single was mistaken by many to be the first single from Everclear's third album, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude, due to the fact that the song was released so soon before Everclear's third album.

[edit] Music Video

The music video starts off with a radio announcer saying the KHJ sample. It then shows the band, along with some extra brass players, performing in front of a giant screen. At first, the screen shows a bunch of smileys. As the first verse begins, the screen starts showing TV programs (i.e. Kojak, Hawaii Five-O, HR Pufnstuf) with Art Alexakis' face edited onto some of the characters to make them sing with the song, or other well-known people, events and styles from the seventies (i.e. Richard Nixon resigning, Jimmy Page, platform shoes.) A few scenes actually have members of Everclear doing 1970's things (i.e. posing in leisure suits, getting high in a Volkswagen Type 2.)