“Convoy” is one of those weird novelty #1 hits from the past that seem inexplicable to generations who weren’t alive when the song took off. Though I’m tempted to compare it to something like “Monster Mash,” that song at least resonates with children around Halloween. The CB radio culture of “Convoy” is utterly foreign to anyone who didn’t live through it. There were even movies (including one based on the song). Imagine in twenty or thirty years, a young person listening to a song celebrating the culture of Periscope or Clubhouse or some other app that is no longer popular. Now imagine that song is a spoken-word country song containing conversation snippets supposedly taken from the app, plus spoken verses, all voiced by a character from a recent bread commercial. Plus a chorus sung by commercial jingle singers. That’s “Convoy.”

Lou Barlow, most famously of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, and his wife Adelle have a podcast called Raw Impressions. For their weekly feature “mini-music-monday,” Barlow records songs, usually covers. For the most recent music episode, Barlow has covered “Convoy.” Continue reading »