Surrender | NY Transit Museum (Vol IV) | Notes Nobody Asked For | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Cheap Trick’s Surrender came out in June of 1978. At the time of its release, it was never really as popular as it is today. Surrender peaked at #62 on US Billboard’s Hot 100. Rolling Stone loves this song, calling it the “ultimate 70s teen anthem” and they ranked it 365th in their “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” (Rolling Stone) The song is set from the point of view of a 70s teen, but it feels timeless. For instance, I remember as a kid this being on Guitar Hero and thinking it was new.
Okay, woah, I didn’t know what any of these lyrics meant when I was playing it on Guitar Hero II back in ‘07. Safety first!
Rick Nielsen, the band’s lead guitar, singer, and songwriter said, “I had to go back and put myself in the head of a 14-year-old. I used to hear my friends saying they thought their parents were strange. The first thing I got was the opening of the chorus: 'Mommy's all right, daddy's all right.' It just rolled off at one sitting.” (Songfacts)
Not only was this song in Guitar II, but it was also in Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1983) and Daddy Day Care (‘03). The narrator of the song was a teenager in the ‘70s and his mother served in the Women’s Army Corp which started in WWII. They actually had to make some on-the-fly changes to these lyrics, after doing a bit of research I’ll just put it this way, they were pretty mean and too provocative. The “I’ve known her all these years” is the notion that every kid assumes their parents were always like they were now and weren’t wild youths at one point.
I’m skipping over this whole verse because… yeah. Cheap Trick would tour with KISS in their early years as a support band.
Anyway, shoutout to all the weird parents reading this. This song has a ton of interpretations but the moral of the song for me is about growing up but still staying young and having fun.
On to some random scatterbrain history…
NY Transit Museum (Vol IV)
This fine Sunday is the 3rd part of Stumblin’ Along at The New York Transit Museum. If you’re interested in Biggie Smalls or how the Subway system was initially built check out Stumblin' Along 8/20 '23. If you’re interested in getting aTalk of Indolence check out Stumblin' Along 8/27 '23. If those don’t do it for you and you’d like to read about the 1800s transportation in New York check out Stumblin' Along 9/17 '23. Located in Downtown Brooklyn, there was loads of cool stuff at the museum that anybody could check out on their own at $10 for adults and $5 for children. The entrance to the museum is authentic in that it’s an old subway stop.
By 1905 the first gasoline-powered motor bus in the United States was operated experimentally by the Fifth Avenue Coach Company between Washington Square and 90th Street in Manhattan. By 1907, Fifth Avenue Coach would replace its entire fleet of horse-drawn vehicles with motor buses. The New York State Public Service Commission was created, succeeding the Rapid Transit Board, to plan any new rapid transit lines and regulate the street railways in New York City.
I guess they had no idea if the motorbuses would work so they just decided they might as well make it a double-decker and jam in as many people as possible. Carl Benz in Germany actually created the first motorized bus that went into service on March 18, 1895, so the American Fifth Avenue Coach Company had something to model their design for a few years. Carl Benz is the Benz in Mercedes-Benz. (Mercedes-Benz)
By 1917, Manhattan had put an end to horsecar lines as motorbuses became the public form of transportation. By 1919, there were 1,344 miles worth of routes in New York City. More than 1.8 million passengers, most of them shoppers, would ride these Fifth Avenue Buses daily. The New York City Car Advertising Company would start to put ads on display inside the buses, noticing that the ads did well with their metrics. Any advertiser with an honest, clean proposition could buy spaces in the cars to advertise.
Okay, I think I must’ve gotten a little bored of the timeline from 1919 to 1970, but in 1962 5th Avenue Coach Company stopped operating. They took over for Fifth Avenue Transportation Company (who had been using horses and omnibuses since 1885) in 1895 so they had a nice run.
When public transit was first established, it would only cost about 5 cents to get a ride. You’d just insert a nickel inside pass-throughs for trains or buses. By 1948, New York City raised the fares to 10 cents so they had to change all the turnstiles to accept dimes. That wasn’t too big of a deal but when they raised the prices again to 15 cents they had a problem so they invented tokens. They were MetroCards before we could buy tickets on apps on our iPhones. In the 1970s, prices started to jump from 30 cents, then 35 cents, and 50 cents a ride all in a matter of 5 years.
This is an old Command Center Teletype Machine. It was used to transmit communication from the Bus Command Center to receivers in each local bus depot. Activity reports would be sent from the command center at 2 AM every night. They would also use it for emergency messages throughout the day. Fax machines would replace the Teletype Machine in 1984. Anyway, I kind of found the buses a bit boring so here is an…
Old Subway Car (Vol I)
BRT Brooklyn Union Elevated Car 1404
This subway car was built in 1907 by the Jewett Car Company in Newark, Ohio. It was in service in New York City from 1908 to 1969. It is a part of the Brooklyn Union fleet which is the oldest passenger vehicle in the New York Transit Museum’s collection.
Notes Nobody Asked For
Ireland vs. South Africa
- Location: Finnegan’s in Hoboken (Pint Count: 6)
- First stopped at Mulligan’s in Hoboken at around 2:15. The match started at 3 PM ET and it was standing room only. Ended up at Finnegan’s.
- Not that anybody asked but it dawned on me that I think of the Roman Empire at least once a week when using Roman Numerals. That doesn’t even include all the times a week I ponder about their architecture and the lasting imprint the Roman Empire had on society. (Clearly, I thought I needed to write that down after a few pints.)
- South Africa got off to a fast start. On an Irish penalty, they elected to kick for 3 points just 5 minutes into the match. 3-0 South Africa
- 20 minutes in Johnny Sexton suffered an arm injury from a tackle. Appears to be okay. At this point in the match, not going to lie, I was getting nervous. Then…
- At the 30-minute mark out of seemingly nowhere, Bundee Aki shot past the South Africans like a bullet. It felt like the turning point in the match. It flipped the momentum which led to…
- Mack Hansen’s Try in the 33rd minute. Sexton would add the 2 to make it 7-3 Ireland.
- During halftime of the match, WR Kenyon Coleman for Florida State had a nice Touchdown in OT. ‘Bama beat Ole Miss. Colorado was getting smoked by Oregon. UCLA couldn’t score on Utah.
- The 2nd half of the match opened up with South Africa scoring a quick try. Maine Libbock of South Africa missed the extra points. 8-7 South Africa.
- A huge break for Ireland happens at the 59th-minute mark. Their pack won a penalty after it was deemed South Africa collapsed the scrum. Johnny Sexton drills it through the uprights to put the Irish up 10-8.
- Irish fans serenading the stadium to Fields of Athenry was amazing. They do it every game but that one felt extra special.
- South Africa would win a penalty of their own at the 65th mark. Maine Libbock missed another one. Both misses were pulled to the left.
- Johnny Sexton gets replaced in the 73rd minute and the announcer says the line, “The Irish captain leaves the pitch with a lead.” I thought they might be doomed once the announcer said that.
- The Irish earned another penalty at the 77th-minute mark. Jack Crowley put them up 13 to 8. South Africa now needing a try, desperately moved the ball down the field and were only a few meters from scoring when the 80th minute on the clock hit and the game was called. 13-8 Ireland, Finnegan’s had plenty of cheers!
- Great match. The DJ at the stadium playing Zombie by the Cranberries right as time expired was great. That man or woman deserves a raise.
- I had 6 Guinness pints and as soon as I got back home passed out for 10 hours. Great sleep, I’m still in a daze from it. Time to lock in for the Jets-Pats.