88: He Spends His Evenings Alone In His Hotel Room

88. "Spread Your Wings" by Queen [iTunes? Yes] {Video: Spread Your Wings. (Which is more noticeable, Freddie's star-shaped sunglasses, or Freddie's teeth?)}

I've bought a lot of music over the years. 8-tracks, cassettes, 45s, LPs, CDs, MP3s, downloads, and such. But, my music collection didn't really start when I started buying music. It started when my brother started buying music. (Oh sure, my sister had bought music before my brother, even joining Columbia House, but all I remember from her collection was a John Travolta LP that featured a large picture of a shirtless Vinny Barbarino, and a bunch of K-Tel records.)

I'm not sure what order he bought them, or if he bought them all at the same time, but the first three 8-tracks I remember my brother purchasing were "A New World Record" by Electric Light Orchestra, "Out of the Blue" by Electric Light Orchestra, and "News of the World" by Queen.

We listened to those three 8-tracks over and over and over again. (Except for track 3 of Queen's "News of the World," which featured the song "Get Down Make Love," which we found to be "icky.") (Listening to it as an adult, I hold by our youthful judgment. It is an "icky" song.)

"News of the World" is, of course, best known as the album featuring "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions." On the 8-track, the song that followed that giant hit was this one, "Spread Your Wings."

It's a great, heartfelt ballad. It tells the story of Sammy, who is sweeping up the Emerald Bar. I'm not really sure exactly what the lyrics mean, but I like the way Freddie sings them.

One of the things that stood out the most to me about "News of the World" was the incredible album cover:

As a fan of comic books, I was a fan of this cover.

But it wasn't just the front cover. The inner fold was awesome, too:

True, this image wasn't available on the 8-track, but I did see the LP in record stores.

The "robot" on the album cover brought to mind the giant robotic Iron Man villain by the name of Ultimo.

Ultimo Lives! (And he will rock you!)

Is it a coincidence that the first three albums my brother bought, three albums that had such a huge influence on my musical tastes for my whole life, have album covers that feature an Iron Man villain and a spaceship? They didn't talk much about "synergy" back in the mid-70s, but I think my Star Trek and comic book love melded together with these albums to an extreme degree. Just sayin'.

COMING UP NEXT: Impressions or Impersonations?

89: Filling Out Forms, Standing In Line

89. "Allentown" by Billy Joel {#17; 11/82} [iTunes? Yes.] {Video: Allentown. (I didn't remember this video. It's not that great.)(Unless you like shirtless steel workers.)}

This is definitely a "wheelhouse" song. Released in November of 1982, it came out early in my junior year of high school. And it reminds me, probably more than any other song, of playing church basketball. Mostly because I always changed the lyrics to:

"Everyone had a pretty good shot,
but I made sure that their shot was blocked.
'Cause something happened on their way to that place,
they had a basketball slammed back in their face!"

Yes, it's pretty silly. Yes, it's pretty stupid. But, that's how I used to always sing it, and that's how it's ingrained in my memory.

And now, because no one asked for it, my Top Five people named "Allen" (or "Alan.")

5. Alan Hale Jr.

Skipper!!!!!

Yes, the main reason I like Alan Hale, Jr. is because of his close proximity to Dawn Wells and Tina Louise. Does this make me a shallow person? Probably.

4. Alan Rickman

And I haven't even seen any of the Harry Potter movies.

The dude is seriously involved in two iconic movie quotes:

"Yippee-kie-ay, mother#@$%^*!" from Die Hard 

and

"By Grabthar's Hammer, you shall be avenged!" from one of the most under appreciated movies of our time, Galaxy Quest.

3. Alan Alda

He's eaten a river of liver. (And an ocean of fish.)

Hawkeye Pierce. Come on, he's just one of the greatest characters in the history of television! (Not as great as Frank Burns, but pretty darn great.)

2. Tim Allen

Did I mention I liked Galaxy Quest?

You know, I wouldn't really consider myself a Tim Allen fan. Home Improvement? It was okay, but nothing to write home about. (I have never written home about Home Improvement.) I have never really thought, "A new Tim Allen movie? I've got to see that!" In fact, the vast majority of his movies I could care less about. That said, he happens to be the star of two of my Top Ten favorite movies of all time, Galaxy Quest and Big Trouble. (I know what you're thinking. Big Trouble? Top Ten favorite of all time? Yes. Sorry, but I am a big, big fan of Dave Barry. I want to be Dave Barry when I grow up. And I happen to think Big Trouble is a funny, funny movie. So there.)

(And besides all of that, he is also the voice of Buzz Freaking Lightyear!)

1. Alan Page

THE Purple People Eater!

Alan Page is the reason I have been a Minnesota Vikings fan for over 40 years. (I'm not sure if this is a reason I should like him or a reason I should loathe him.)

He was the first defensive player to ever win the NFL MVP award. He is in the Football Hall of Fame. And, after he retired he later became a justice on the Minnesota State Supreme Court! (Maybe he's not as qualified for the US Supreme Court as Sandra Day O'Conner, but he definitely has more quarterback sacks than her.)

COMING UP NEXT:  Ultimo lives!

   

90. Better, Better, Better, Better, Better, Better, Oh!

90. "Hey Jude" by the Beatles {#1; 9/68} [iTunes? Yes] {Video: Not the studio version of the song, but close: Hey Jude. (Worth watching the video for the nerd who looks like a young Dwight Schrute at the 3:29 mark, and for the amazingly uninterested girls at the 3:43 mark. And lots of cool sixties fashions.)}

I mentioned I liked "Na-na" songs, right? Well, the last four minutes of this song are nothing but "na-nas" and some of the best screaming you'll ever hear in a song.

Nice jackets. (THANKS!) 

Of all the songs that the Beatles released, this was their biggest hit. Why? They took a sad song….and made it better! How did they make it better? They used the Power of the Na!

(And you really should check out the uninterested girls at the 3:43 mark of the video. They are very interesting in their uninterestingness.)

COMING UP NEXT: Going for a drive up I-78.

91: You Make Me Weep

91. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" by Journey {#16; 7/79} [iTunes? Yes.] {Video: Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'. (You have to see it to believe it!)}

Women's fashions. I had no idea I'd be writing about women's fashions when I set out to write a post about "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" by Journey.

Nice blouse, Steve!

Yes, I've got something else for the "Things I Learned On the Interwebs" File. When I watched the video for this song, I was amused by the red top that brilliant and talented singer Steve Perry is wearing. And I started to write about it, calling it a "halter top."

Seriously. Nice blouse, Steve!

For all of my life, I have thought that a women's shirt, unbuttoned and tied at the bottom, was called a halter top. But now, I have discovered that I have been wrong all those years. Apparently, a "halter top" refers to the top of the shirt, not the bottom. (I probably should have figured that from the use of the word "top" in "halter top," but I didn't.) A "halter top" is a top that goes or ties around a woman's neck but does not, necessarily go over her shoulders.

I didn't think anything could top Steve's blouse. Then I met Neal's fro.

What I had always thought of as "halter tops" are actually called "tie-front shirts" or "tie-front blouses." I'd like to thank Steve Perry for helping to educate me on this subject. (Although, if I were to be truthful, I'd rather have been educated on this subject by Lynda Carter.)

As far as the song goes, obviously I like it. I like the little bit of piano at the beginning. I like the tale of heartache and woe. Of course I like the distinctive vocal stylings of Mr. Steve Perry. And, I'm a big fan of the super-long "Na-na" fade-out ending. Never underestimate the power of a good "na-na-na!"

In fact, I can think of a certain song that would have benefitted greatly from a bit of a "na-na-na." "The Breakup Song" by the Greg Kihn Band is an excellent song. But, I propose that if Greg and his band were to change the "uh-uh-uh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh" to "na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na," the song would be much easier to sing along with, and would have landed higher on the charts than the #15 it reached in 1981.

Seriously. The next time you hear "The Breakup Song," replace the "uh-uhs" with "na-nas" and see how much more fun it is to sing.

Believe in the Power of the "Na-Na!"

COMING UP NEXT: Did someone say "na-na?"