22: Your Home State Sure Must Be Proud

22. "Miss America" by Styx [Video: nope.]

On September 8, 1984, I was a fairly fresh freshman at BYU. That evening, something magical happened. I had three desserts at the cafeteria. (Yes, I gained a lot of weight that freshman year.) Oh, also that evening, Miss Utah, Sharlene Wells, was named Miss America!

The apple of the public's eye. (Her home state sure was proud!)

Of course, just a few months earlier the previous Miss America, Vanessa Williams, was forced to resign after nude photos of her surfaced. (Surfaced? What, were they previously below the surface?) So, at the time, and to this very day, there are a lot of people who feel that Sharlene only won because the Miss America people were looking for a squeaky clean Mormon who would have no skeletons in her closet. (Just a two year supply of food.)

That's not really fair to Sharlene. She's clearly a beautiful and talented woman. 

I remember, at the time, being surprised that the news stories about Vanessa Williams' downfall didn't play this song. It fits perfectly for her story. 

This is, of course, a great rock song. James "J.Y." Young usually dwelled in the shadow of bandmates Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw, but he would usually have one song on each Styx album, and this one just happens to be the best Styx song ever. (In my opinion.)

Of course, it also helps this song's standing that when I was away for two years as a Mormon missionary, one day in the mail I got a cassette tape. (Yes, we used cassette tapes back in the day. How quaint.) On that cassette tape was a massage message from a friend who was vacationing at the time in Sweden. His roommate played the guitar, and they sang a few songs for me, one of which was "Miss America" by Styx. At the time, I couldn't listen to the actual "Miss America" by Styx. But I could listen to my friend's version of "Miss America," so I often did. (His roommate was pretty good on the guitar.)

"Next year, what will you do when you have been forgotten?"

COMING UP NEXT: One hint: Honey.

23: I Heard the Police Playing With Their Guns

23. "Do Ya" by Electric Light Orchestra {#24; 2/77} [Video: Do Ya.]

When they formed the Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan and Roy Wood were members of a band called "The Move," which was a very successful band in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In England. The Move had a large number of Top Twenty hits, and even reached #1 on the charts with a song or two. In England.

However, they didn't have much luck on this side of the pond. The Move only charted once on the Billboard Hot 100, and that was with a little song written and sung by Jeff Lynne called "Do Ya." "Do Ya" climbed all the way to #93 on the Hot 100 in October of 1972. And that's the extent of their chart success in America. (But really, they were a big, important, and influential band.) (In England.)

A few years and several popular albums later, Jeff Lynne decided to try "Do Ya" one more time. He knew it was a great song, and he thought he might have a bit more success now that his band had made a name for themselves. In America.

It's a great rocker song, with an excellent guitar opening and some fine drum work by Bev Bevan.

Great music, and an excellent painter, too!

Wait…

A great musician. (I wonder if he can paint?)

COMING UP NEXT: Is that you, Sharlene?

24: From Out of the Valley Came Long Tall Sally

24. "Let It Run" by Jeff Lynne [Video: nope.]

You've probably never heard this song. Most people probably haven't. That doesn't mean that it's not awesome.

The year was 1984, and ELO was coming off of the release of the "Secret Messages" album. It was not a critical or commercial highlight for the group. The writing was on the wall. So, Jeff Lynne went out and did a little solo work, writing and singing a couple of songs for the soundtrack of a movie called Electric Dreams. (The movie was about a love triangle featuring a woman, a man, and the man's computer.)(I've never seen the movie, but I did buy the soundtrack.)

One of the two songs, "Video!", was released as a single, but didn't make the charts. It's a fine, fun song that just missed making the HondoJoe Top 200.

"Let It Run," however, did make the list. It's a great rock/pop song. It starts out with some driving guitars. There's some good 80s synthesizers. There's a bit of piano pounding. There's some references to classic rock and roll songs. (Johnny B. Goode and Long Tall Sally.) And, it's a great song to listen to whilst working out.

And he paints, too! (Wait, that's not Jeff Lynne, is it?)

It's definitely a rare song. I can't find it on iTunes. Here's a link to a YouTube "video" that at least plays the music: Let It Run. 

COMING UP NEXT: You do?

25: We Never Played by the Same Rules, Anyway

25. "I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins {#39; 2/83} [Video: I Don't Care Anymore.]

I believe this song comes from the album that features a close-up picture of the face of Phil Collins on the cover.

I kid Phil Collins. Because of his album covers. Because he deserves it. But, dang he sure knew how to channel that anger into some good songs! (Maybe if he gets pissed enough from me teasing him about his album covers, he'll start making some good, angry music again.)

I think that's what really drew me to Phil Collins to begin with. It was the anger and the angst.

I had never known heartache, but I could tell that Phil Collins had. Phil Collins made a broken heart sound gloriously disastrous.

The Anger and the Angst

Later, when Phil had less reason to be angry, he just wasn't as good. But, that's okay, because if you were to ask him, I think Phil would say, "I don't care no more. No more, no more. No more, no more. No more, no more. No more, no more. No more, no more. No more, no more."

COMING UP NEXT: Run, Runaway.

26: Dream How Wonderful Your Life Will Be

26. "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" by Billy Joel {#77; 3/94} [Video:  Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel).]

There's really not much to say about this song. Just listen. It's a beautiful song. 

I've sung this song to all three of my babies. I was singing it just minutes ago, trying to get my baby girl down for a nap so I could write this.

It's this song that most aggravates me that Billy Joel won't write more new songs. He's a fantastic song writer. He has a skill. He has a gift. I wish he would use that skill and share that gift more. Sure, there's a chance there might be a lot of mediocre songs like "Two Thousand Years," and "That's Not Her Style." But, if there's a chance there could be more gems like this, I think it's a chance worth taking.

Come on, Billy!

"Some day we'll all be gone

but lullabies go on and on.

They never die

That's how you and I 

Will be."

COMING UP NEXT: Complete and total indifference.

27: Suspended Animation, a State of Bliss

27. "Learning to Fly" by Pink Floyd {#70; 10/87} [Video: Learning to Fly.]

First of all, let's be sure which "Learning to Fly" we are talking about. "Learning to Fly" by Tom Petty is a fine song. So is "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters. This is not either of those songs. This is "Learning to Fly" by Pink Floyd off of their album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason."

Is there a better example of a "flying, floating" song than one called "Learning to Fly," and featuring a video of someone flying and floating? This song came out right when I got home from my mission, and the video was played a lot as I tried to get myself reacquainted with music videos. The mountain venues of the video and the flying, floating feel of it, stuck with me. (The video was shot in the mountains of Alberta, Canada.)

Also, there is a little guitar riff that is played several times throughout the song that I especially like. It's hard to describe it, but every time it plays I feel compelled to air-guitar along with it.

COMING UP NEXT: Who needs sleep?

28: Wreckage Everywhere I Turn

28. "No Rewind" by The Orchestra [Video: nope.]

You know, one of these days I've really got to write that "Brief (Ha!) History of the Electric Light Orchestra and the ELO Family Tree of Musical Acts." 

But, for now, here's a brief recap of where we are. ELO drummer Bev Bevan wanted to keep recording music as ELO, but Jeff Lynne didn't. And so, Electric Light Orchestra Part Two was born. Eventually, several other former members of ELO joined Bevan, including bassist Kelly Groucutt, violinist Mik Kaminski, and orchestral arranger Louis Clark. (Along with them was session singer and songwriter Eric Troyer.)

Eventually, Bev Bevan decided to retire, and when he did, he sold the "ELO" portion of the group's name back to Jeff Lynne. The other guys, now joined by guitarist/singer Parthenon Huxley, wanted to forge ahead. Unable to legally use the name "Electric Light Orchestra" in any form, they decided to call themselves "The Orchestra." 

It sounds like a decent name for an ELO-ish band. Until you think about how it works for an internet search. (It doesn't. It's about the least Google-friendly band name this side of 90s group "Live.")

Anyway, The Orchestra put together and released an album in 2001. The album's name: "No Rewind." It is an abso-freakin-lutely excellent album!!! It is far better than Jeff Lynne's ELO album "Zoom" that was released about the same time. In fact, "No Rewind" is better than all but three or four of the original Electric Light Orchestra albums! It is, without a doubt my favorite album released this century!

The Orchestra is still together (minus Kelly Groucutt, who has passed away), and they still tour occasionally, performing the hits of ELO. Last July they made an appearance at the Deer Valley ski area in Park City, Utah. My brother John and I were able to attend the concert. It was fantastic! They performed almost all of ELO's hit songs, and did so in fine fashion. It was a great concert! But, I was probably the only one in the crowd who was a bit disappointed that they didn't play any of their own original songs from the "No Rewind" album.

The song "No Rewind" was written and sung by our old friend, Eric Troyer. It's a hidden gem of a song that hardly anyone knows about. "I'd do it all so different, but there's no rewind."

COMING UP NEXT: Comfortably floating.