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What Is ‘Detroit Leaning' In ‘Brass In Pocket'?

The Pretenders Do The 'Detroit Lean'
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Less than a minute into the music video for the Pretenders’ “Brass in Pocket” — one of the first clips ever aired on MTV — we see teddy-boy-coifed bassist Pete Farndon maneuvering a pink whale of an automobile toward the diner where singer Chrissie Hynde is waitressing. All three male Pretenders are riding along, and they’re each British, as is most of the slang in the song (“got bottle,” “skank,” “reet,” plus that title, signifying pocket change). But the car is definitely American; steering wheel’s on the left-hand side. Farndon looks cool and relaxed, driving with only one hand.

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