"Roadrunner" could become official Mass. rock song

BOSTON (AP) — The Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner," an iconic 1970s ode to the joys of driving along Route 128 when it's late at night, was unlike any song of its era.

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Credit Flickr / Quique Lopez

Jonathan Richman, leader of rock group The Modern Lovers, performing in Barcelona in 2009.

Now it could become the official rock song of Massachusetts.

At a time of drug-infused lyrics and bloated orchestration, the Modern Lovers — led by Bay State native Jonathan Richman — crafted a deceptively simple anthem about listening to AM radio, cruising along the turnpike, driving by the Stop & Shop and listening to "the modern sounds of modern Massachusetts."

Now Boston state Rep. Martin Walsh has filed a bill to make Roadrunner the official rock song of the commonwealth.

Although the two-chord wonder is an unabashed celebration of driving alone at night on highways and suburban streets, it would be embraced by the punk rock explosion that followed a few years later.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.