Why Cheap Trick's "Surrender" is absolutely brilliant
92,172
Published 2021-04-28
Listen on:
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Music Producer: Christian Lane
Video Director: Michael Collier
About Janda:
Behind The Song podcast host and creator Janda Lane is a radio DJ at WDRV-FM in Chicago, the city she calls home with her husband and podcast partner, Christian Lane, and their two cats, Ollie and Liam. She is a transplant from Los Angeles, where she was a video director at Fender, Executive Producer at Yahoo Music, playlist curator for ITunes, worked in rock management with artists like the Foo Fighters and Beck, was on the radio at KCRW, and she was a DJ at online radio pioneer site Soundbreak. She has not worked a day in her life.
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All Comments (21)
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I was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. I've crossed paths with all the members of Cheap Trick and their children. I can tell you from first hand experience they are all stand up people. A credit to Rock and Roll and our fine town.
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When my daughter was 2 I bought her a shirt that said Surrender on it and underneath It says Mommy's Alright Daddy's Alright They just seem a little Weird. She is now 20. She told me when she was little and even now. She would sing that whenever she gets/got scared and would feel better.❤ I am 48 and they are still my favorite rock band.
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Bun E. Carlos is my favorite rock drummer of all time. So cool at his work, never sped up, brilliant fills and restrained cymbal usage, steady as a metronome. Bun E. Carlos is a SURVIVOR, too. Can't say that about too many others in his generation. Viva Bun E.!
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Everybody in the punk scene in the 70s welcomed Cheap Trick as one of them
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Cheap Trick ignited my love for rock n roll when I was 15. Changed me forever. Truly an American original. And they still rock hard in concert.
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"Father said 'your mother's right, she's really up on things. Before we married mommy served in the WACS in the Philippines'" this is the best line ever written in rock n' roll.
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Mr. Nielsen is definitely in the pantheon as a songwriter and a rocker!
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For this boomer, I totally agree: Mommy’s alright, Daddy’s alright, They just seem a little weird! Thanks for the epic narration and backstory of this fantastic song!
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I once heard Rick Nielsen say “ you know you got the 2 good looking guys and then the 2 other guys and I get so tired of being stereotyped as one of the good looking guys”.
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My first concert 9th grade 1978 at Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, CA. 68 shows later, they're still tops for me. We are all getting old, but the music never ages. Rock on!
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If there is one song that takes me back to the nostalgic summer nights of my teen age years, it's Surrender.
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Power chord masterpiece. THAT is the secret to Surrender, plus the weirdly childish delivery of the lyrics. And of course, the brilliant swing of the beat.
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I've seen Cheap Trick more times than I've seen any other band- They're not good live- they're INCREDIBLE! some bands you see live and they sound like a garage cover band of themselves- these guys are ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL! Note for note, they hit every lick, every fill, every everything- every time!!! I've seen them in little bars and giant arenas- and every time, they're perfect. I only wish I would have seen them more!
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I saw Cheap Trick at the Second Chance Bar in Ann Arbor, MI in 1981 when i was in college there. They were billed as the Randymen and were there to try out new songs that would be part of their One on One album that would come out the next year. They played all their hits too and were amazing. I even ended up with a Rick Nielsen guitar pick that was flipped into the audience. I still have it too.
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There are actually TWO modulations in "Surrender". The song starts off with an intro riff in B flat; it then modulates up a half step to the key of B right as the first line of the lyrics is sung. The second modulation right at the "Whatever happened to..." line is to the key of C.
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I heard it today on the radio for the first time in a while... I realized it was much deeper than I had ever realized. Glad I found this
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Cheap Trick is the only band that I've seen live in concert twice. Still living with the tinnitus that you get from standing 2 rows back and dead center from the left stage stack at a Cheap Trick show. Still one of my top 3 favorite bands of all time.
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This was wonderful. It actually brought a tear to my eye. I started seeing Cheap Trick shows in 1980 and haven't stopped. I honestly don't know how many times I've seen them and in what cities. Certainly all over America, in bars and in arenas. Surrender is one of the greatest rock anthems ever recorded and I'll be listening to it forever. Play it at my funeral, friends, and play it loud. Cuz we're all all-right.
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I never imagined that I would ever hear Surrender analyzed as if it were some kind of assignment for a college English class 😀. But it is spot on...Surrender is absolutely brilliant.
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Very nicely written appraisal of a great song and band... 👏
