Anna Nalick is one of several artists with songs that include two-way radios in their lyrics.

No, they don’t actually play music. But we here at TwoWayRadiosFor.com got curious about the fact that so many random objects from spark plugs to salt shakers make their way into song lyrics. So on a whim, we did a quick online search and found several songs with lyrics that mention two-way radios.

The first one we found was simply a massive shopping list set to music and, presumably, made a statement on the sheer amounts of stuff we Americans pay good money for.

“Two way radios, rocket ships
Celery shooters, pasta dips
Headphone hi-fi bargain tripe
Dribble cups, drainage pipes”

The band that wrote and performed “Superstore” was Cake Like, an all-girl indie rock band based in New York. The three met at New York University’s Experimental Theatre Wing and decided to do the ultimate in experimental theatre – form a band despite the fact that nary a one of them had ever played music. Nevertheless, Cake Like got themselves signed to several labels during their 1993-1999 stint before breaking up.

The next song we found was “Tiger the Lion” by a band called The Tragically Hip.

“This is Tiger the lion
Gimme the Knuckles of Frisco
If there’s danger in the lyrics, gentlemen,
I suggest no further use of the two-way radio”

The lyrics are centered on John Cage, an experimental music composer who described his music as “purposeless play” and was quoted as saying that his music was “not an attempt to bring order out of chaos … [but] simply to wake up to the very life we are living, which is so excellent once one gets one’s own mind and desires out of the way and lets it act of its own accord.”

Fans say it’s a testament to Cage’s approach to music as “purposeless play” rather than a formulaic, radio-ready money maker.

Our favorite two-way radio lyrical mention is in a song called “Satellite” by Anna Nalick.

“Satellite, save my life
I’m wishing on a two-way radio
Love might be just like me
Jaded, waiting all alone
A whisper on a two-way radio”

The song is sung from the point of view of a woman leaving a relationship-gone-bad, the two-way radio signifying her need to communicate, perhaps with God or simply with a new love.

And there’s an Amsterdam-based electro pop/rock girl band called Two Way Radio. Unfortunately, since we don’t speak Dutch, that’s about all we can tell you about them.

Know any other songs that mention two way radios? Leave us a comment. In the meantime, enjoy this YouTube recording of Anna Nalick’s “Satellite.”