# I've had it with "Edge of Seventeen" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844 "2017-02-02T20:06:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/21 "2017-02-03T03:39:24Z")
I’ve reached my maximum lifetime dose of Journey, REO, Foreigner, and the Cars, among others too numerous to mention. I used to be able to listen to classic rock stations for long stretches, but now I constantly have to change the station when they play another song I’ve heard for the 50,000th time. [Carl on The Simpsons] How come oldies stations are always playing the same songs? How about some NEW oldies, geniuses! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/22 "2017-02-03T04:03:55Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Now I have Sirius XM radio, and the Classic Rewind and Classic Vinyl channels are doing a lot to put artists on my personal no-hear list. They’ve recently destroyed The Who for me. I listen to Classic Rewind a lot; they play a Van Halen song every hour or so. I think I’ve reached my lifetime maximum of Van Halen. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/23 "2017-02-03T04:13:22Z")
American Pie gets shut off in the first few notes, I think I’ve been subjected to it, hmm, it’s gotta be at least 10,000 times in the last 45 years. "A long, lo \ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/24 "2017-02-03T04:24:27Z")
When I was seventeen, I got stuck sharing my bedroom with a cousin. He brought his record player and listened to it every night. I am mostly a silence kind of person. One album he played end to end just about every night was _Fly Like an Eagle_, which, to me, sucked right out of the starting gate (“_Look through the window, tell me what do you see? A beautiful planet, peace and harmony, harmony, harmony_”). At one point, I became concerned that I hated that shit because I resented having him in my room, that maybe the music itself was not actually so horrible. Then he brought in the brand new _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_, which settled for me that it was Steve Miller that gagged me. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/25 "2017-02-03T08:38:47Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > American Pie gets shut off in the first few notes, I think I’ve been subjected to it, hmm, it’s gotta be at least 10,000 times in the last 45 years. > "A long, lo \ This. Really, American Pie and anything by Elton John are all that have me reaching for the dial. I could listen to a Bryan Adams/John Mellencamp/Bruce Springsteen marathon instead of those. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/26 "2017-02-03T12:13:32Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I have a Bob Seger rule: if I am in a vehicle and can reach the audio controls, no Bob Seger. What if it was Motorhead covering Thin Lizzy covering Bob Seger? (Not likely at all to encounter that one on the radio, I admit.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/27 "2017-02-03T14:05:53Z")
There are so many artists and songs where I get a quick hit, can flash on the entire song/album/career and be ready to move on immediately. Some stuff has been so overplayed it is no surprise. All of the artists listed so far had their big day so we all got our fill. Songs like \*\*Edge of Seventeen \*\*also have that throbbing guitar riff based on using a delay pedal just like **Pink Floyd’s Run Like Hell** from The Wall. That chuggy riff is dangerous for a coupla reasons: it puts the song squarely in the 80’s when that sound was first innovated and used, so it sounds a bit dated (not too dated, because guitarist Waddy Wachtel is a tasty player). Also, it is just a relentless riff - it demands your attention but you already know everything it has to offer from countless previous listenings. Songs like \*\*Mickey by Toni Basil \*\*can be big fun when you are in a silly mood, but are otherwise grating. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/28 "2017-02-03T14:36:59Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Now I have Sirius XM radio, and the Classic Rewind and Classic Vinyl channels are doing a lot to put artists on my personal no-hear list. They’ve recently destroyed The Who for me. That’s why you should check out Deep Tracks and the [like](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=790935). > [@bobot](#): > > What if it was Motorhead covering Thin Lizzy covering Bob Seger? > > (Not likely at all to encounter that one on the radio, I admit.) Nice one…I just learned that “Rosalie” is about Canadian radio music director [Rosalie Trombley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalie_Trombley). Early Bob Seger rocks - I can still enjoy “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”, “Get Out Of Denver”, etc. (probably because mainstream rock radio didn’t kill these). ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/29 "2017-02-03T14:39:55Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’d have picked “Higher Love” as the most execrable Steve Winwood song that I _swear to Christ_ I keep hearing almost daily over grocery store loudspeakers 30+ years after it first slid out of the lower bowel of FM radio and splattered pop culture with its anodyne 80s insipidity. I don’t know if Patrick Bateman ever used it as mood music for a chainsaw disemboweling, but he damn well should have. I debated between “Higher Love” and “When You See A Chance.” I think I do hear “Higher Love” more often. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/30 "2017-02-03T14:41:18Z")
I could listen to “I’m 18” forever. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IvN8z5i9w6U/hqdefault.jpg "Freaks and Geeks - I'm Eighteen (Alice Cooper)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvN8z5i9w6U) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/31 "2017-02-03T14:43:10Z")
And like I mentioned in the thread **Mixolydian** links to, listen to Jim Ladd’s show for a taste of what FM radio used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/32 "2017-02-03T17:10:58Z")
My Guaranteed Station Switchers: Aerosmith - Living on the Edge Dexys Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen Arctic Monkeys - Crawling Back to You My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/33 "2017-02-03T17:21:25Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I have a Bob Seger rule: if I am in a vehicle and can reach the audio controls, no Bob Seger. What about Metallica covering _Turn the Page_? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/34 "2017-02-03T17:36:02Z")
I was confusing “Edge of Seventeen” with Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen” and thinking: “Really? Do stations still play that? Wow.” Anyway I agree with most of the selections in this thread and will add “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” as two songs I wish to never hear again. And, growing up under the influence of Detroit classic rock, I was Bob Segered out before the rest you even heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/35 "2017-02-03T17:40:56Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > There are so many artists and songs where I get a quick hit, can flash on the entire song/album/career and be ready to move on immediately. Some stuff has been so overplayed it is no surprise. All of the artists listed so far had their big day so we all got our fill. > > Songs like \*\*Edge of Seventeen \*\*also have that throbbing guitar riff based on using a delay pedal just like **Pink Floyd’s Run Like Hell** from The Wall. That chuggy riff is dangerous for a coupla reasons: it puts the song squarely in the 80’s when that sound was first innovated and used, so it sounds a bit dated (not too dated, because guitarist Waddy Wachtel is a tasty player). Also, it is just a relentless riff - it demands your attention but you already know everything it has to offer from countless previous listenings. Songs like \*\*Mickey by Toni Basil \*\*can be big fun when you are in a silly mood, but are otherwise grating. I’ve always wondered how tired the guitar player’s hand must have been at the end of that song. It’s gotta be hell playing the same riff so quickly for 4 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/36 "2017-02-03T17:53:42Z")
> [@Spit](#): > > I’ve always wondered how tired the guitar player’s hand must have been at the end of that song. It’s gotta be hell playing the same riff so quickly for 4 minutes. Just to be clear: with a delay set up like that, you are only hitting, say, every fourth note with the rest filled in with the delay(s). You have to stay in sync with the delay, but it isn’t really exhausting per se. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/37 "2017-02-03T19:09:38Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Just to be clear: with a delay set up like that, you are only hitting, say, every fourth note with the rest filled in with the delay(s). You have to stay in sync with the delay, but it isn’t really exhausting per se. I was unaware this was a thing. If I am understanding correctly, There is a strum, and then an “echo”, for lack of a better term, then another strum? Could you point me towards a youtube video of this in action? I am not a guitar player, and I have always found that riff to be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/38 "2017-02-03T19:29:47Z")
> [@Spit](#): > > I was unaware this was a thing. If I am understanding correctly, There is a strum, and then an “echo”, for lack of a better term, then another strum? Could you point me towards a youtube video of this in action? > > I am not a guitar player, and I have always found that riff to be interesting. Here is a YouTube video on how to set up a delay pedal in order to get this guitar sound. He discusses how to get the delay to ping-pong with your picking by targeting “dotted 1/8” notes, which is just a tempo you need to hit in sync with the delay. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O6deaZzKh0E/maxresdefault.jpg "Dotted 8th DELAY TUTORIAL - Run like Hell style - Pink Floyd David Gilmour - U2 The Edge - SD video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6deaZzKh0E) He goes into enough detail to teach a guitar player, so it may be too in the weeds, but hearing him build up the sound is a great look behind the curtain. At around 4:00, he is playing very dry, muffled picky bits that sound meh. Over the next 30 seconds he opens it up more until around 4:30, when you get a full David Gilmour feel. That’s at the heart of how this stuff works. It is very fun to play this for about one song. Fun to lock into that groove but I prefer not playing against a metronome 100% of the time. Finally: I looked up a couple How to Play Edge of Seventeen videos. He does a slow but steady up and down picking groove on a single string and the delay syncs up with the pattern to make it sound like a bazillion guitars hitting that groove. Not the same as the ping-pong effect in the video above. Edge of Seventeen’s is somewhat simpler. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/39 "2017-02-03T19:43:31Z")
Wow, that is awesome! I never realized that you could have a delay with the exact same output of volume. I have wondered since I was a kid playing with a guitar just how the heck anyone could keep that “Chukka-Chukka-Chukka-Chukka” (Edge of Seventeen) sound going for four minutes without their hand getting instant arthritis. Consider ignorance fought today, my good man! Oh, and “Edge of Seventeen” is a great tune that should be forever kept in the rotation at any light rock station. Even Beyonce sampled it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844/40 "2017-02-03T19:56:00Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > A Horse With No Name is a perfectly good song. No, _it is not!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-had-it-with-edge-of-seventeen/778844.md?page=3)