Sunday
Jul202025
JULY 23, 2025
Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 08:37AM 
The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo.
The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG
SPECIAL EDITOR'S NOTE: We're thrilled to announce the debut of Peter's first work of fiction, "St. Michael of Birmingham." Make no mistake, it doesn't resemble anything you've read from him before. In fact, it is quite a dramatic departure. It is mystical. It is sexy. It is funny. It's moving. And it is a flat-out wild ride unlike anything you've experienced. Having said that, it is definitely not for everyone, but then, it is from PMD, so that probably shouldn't come as a surprise! Check it out on Amazon Kindle here. -WG
(Acura)
Acura and USA Bobsled/Skeleton have formed an official Premier Technology and Automotive Partnership to advance performance utilizing the world-class Honda wind tunnel in Ohio. The Partnership includes Acura support of USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS) at World Cup/World Championship events and the Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina 2026 and the French Alps in 2030. Honda R&D will apply technical resources and 50 years of advanced engineering capabilities to aid in the training and performance goals of USABS. Initial testing has begun at the Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio (HALO) Wind Tunnel. Honda will also be a Founding Partner of the LA28 Games, which includes Honda and Acura vehicles.
The AE Song of the Week
Oh-oh, oh-oh (so much for my happy ending)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh (so much for my happy ending)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Let's talk this over
It's not like we're dead
Was it something I did?
Was it something you said?
Don't leave me hanging
In a city so dead
Held up so high
On such a breakable thread (breakable thread)
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be
You were everything, everything
That I wanted (that I wanted)
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it (we lost it)
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh) So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
You've got your dumb friends
I know what they say (I know what they say)
They tell you I'm difficult
But so are they (but so are they)
But they don't know me
Do they even know you? (Even know you)
All the things you hide from me
All the shit that you do (all the shit that you do)
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be
You were everything, everything
That I wanted (that I wanted)
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it (we lost it)
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
It's nice to know that you were there
Thanks for acting like you cared
And making me feel like I was the only one
It's nice to know we had it all
Thanks for watching as I fall
And letting me know we were done
He was everything, everything
That I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
You were everything, everything
That I wanted (that I wanted)
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh) So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh)
(Oh-oh, oh-oh) So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh (so much for my happy ending)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Let's talk this over
It's not like we're dead
Was it something I did?
Was it something you said?
Don't leave me hanging
In a city so dead
Held up so high
On such a breakable thread (breakable thread)
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be
You were everything, everything
That I wanted (that I wanted)
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it (we lost it)
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh) So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
You've got your dumb friends
I know what they say (I know what they say)
They tell you I'm difficult
But so are they (but so are they)
But they don't know me
Do they even know you? (Even know you)
All the things you hide from me
All the shit that you do (all the shit that you do)
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be
You were everything, everything
That I wanted (that I wanted)
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it (we lost it)
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
It's nice to know that you were there
Thanks for acting like you cared
And making me feel like I was the only one
It's nice to know we had it all
Thanks for watching as I fall
And letting me know we were done
He was everything, everything
That I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
You were everything, everything
That I wanted (that I wanted)
We were meant to be, supposed to be
But we lost it
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away
All this time, you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh) So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh)
(Oh-oh, oh-oh) So much for my happy ending
(Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
"My Happy Ending" by April Lavigne from the album "Under My Skin" (2004).* Written by Avril Lavigne and Butch Walker. Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Official Music Video here.
*This song is about a breakup, with Avril saying farewell to the happy ending that could've been. The song finds her dumped, looking for answers, and realizing that he wasn't being genuine this whole time. She puts some of the blame on his dumb friends, who she knows talked bad about her. Lavigne wrote this song with Butch Walker, who also produced the track. Walker also worked on the Under My Skin songs "Don't Tell Me" and "Freak Out." Meiert Avis directed the video, which shows Lavigne dealing with the cad she sings about before picking up a guitar and playing the song on a rooftop. In the video and the radio edit, the line "All the s--t that you do" is replaced with "All the stuff that you do." Avril Lavigne made a big impact with her debut album, Let Go, which was released in 2002 when she was 17. "My Happy Ending" was the second single from her next album, Under My Skin, following "Don't Tell Me." Both songs connected with Avril's fans and kept her momentum going. Her later work took more of a pop turn as the punk sound of the early '00s fell out of favor.
The drummer, Kenny Aronoff, had this to say about this track: "But this song, 'My Happy Ending,' went down like this: I'm rehearsing for a tour with Melissa Etheridge, and I get a call from Butch Walker, the producer. 'What are you doing tonight?' 'I'm rehearsing.' 'I need you to record three Avril Lavigne songs.' So, the next night I get there, and nobody is in the control room except for the engineer. Then Butch shows up, and he goes, 'Here's the song.' The song was him playing acoustic guitar and singing, a click track, and a loop. That was it! And he recorded it into an Mbox. He brought it up on the console, and now I'm composing the drum part to this song, which sounded kind of acoustic-y and folk-y.
I said, 'Butch, I always look at myself as a drummer as an actor in a movie: What is my role?' So, I asked Butch, 'What kind of a song are we doing here?' He said, 'I want this song to rock harder than anything she's ever done.' But the song doesn't sound like that – it was just acoustic guitar and him singing. So, I pictured myself in a stadium playing with Zeppelin or the Foo Fighters or somebody big, and I come up with this drum part and they literally build the entire song around the drums.
Now, a million things could have gone wrong, but the song became a hit and was the first single on her record. She had already finished her record, but this happened many times with artists, where you finish the record, and they're feeling like they haven't gotten enough hits. Avril did that, and this song ended up being the golden gem that she had hoped she would have. And the fact that it did so well is like a miracle." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
*This song is about a breakup, with Avril saying farewell to the happy ending that could've been. The song finds her dumped, looking for answers, and realizing that he wasn't being genuine this whole time. She puts some of the blame on his dumb friends, who she knows talked bad about her. Lavigne wrote this song with Butch Walker, who also produced the track. Walker also worked on the Under My Skin songs "Don't Tell Me" and "Freak Out." Meiert Avis directed the video, which shows Lavigne dealing with the cad she sings about before picking up a guitar and playing the song on a rooftop. In the video and the radio edit, the line "All the s--t that you do" is replaced with "All the stuff that you do." Avril Lavigne made a big impact with her debut album, Let Go, which was released in 2002 when she was 17. "My Happy Ending" was the second single from her next album, Under My Skin, following "Don't Tell Me." Both songs connected with Avril's fans and kept her momentum going. Her later work took more of a pop turn as the punk sound of the early '00s fell out of favor.
The drummer, Kenny Aronoff, had this to say about this track: "But this song, 'My Happy Ending,' went down like this: I'm rehearsing for a tour with Melissa Etheridge, and I get a call from Butch Walker, the producer. 'What are you doing tonight?' 'I'm rehearsing.' 'I need you to record three Avril Lavigne songs.' So, the next night I get there, and nobody is in the control room except for the engineer. Then Butch shows up, and he goes, 'Here's the song.' The song was him playing acoustic guitar and singing, a click track, and a loop. That was it! And he recorded it into an Mbox. He brought it up on the console, and now I'm composing the drum part to this song, which sounded kind of acoustic-y and folk-y.
I said, 'Butch, I always look at myself as a drummer as an actor in a movie: What is my role?' So, I asked Butch, 'What kind of a song are we doing here?' He said, 'I want this song to rock harder than anything she's ever done.' But the song doesn't sound like that – it was just acoustic guitar and him singing. So, I pictured myself in a stadium playing with Zeppelin or the Foo Fighters or somebody big, and I come up with this drum part and they literally build the entire song around the drums.
Now, a million things could have gone wrong, but the song became a hit and was the first single on her record. She had already finished her record, but this happened many times with artists, where you finish the record, and they're feeling like they haven't gotten enough hits. Avril did that, and this song ended up being the golden gem that she had hoped she would have. And the fact that it did so well is like a miracle." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
