1981 - As If "Don't Stop Believing" Weren't Enough...SOML Post 14
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Album:Four
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In 1981, my sister got a stunning piece of '80's vinyl. The black n white countdown screen forever stuck on "4" was somehow nostalgicly clever, even for a ten-year-old. That's right - it was Foreigner's fourth album, aptly titled "Four". I don't know if you loved that album, but she played it enough in her bedroom that I got to hear some of the tunes. A lot of them were simply too boring for a kid my age, but "Jukebox Hero" was a rock-star wannabe's dream song. "Standing in the rain, with his head hung low". I could see the poor kid, drenched with long stringy hair. When the kid puts his ear to the wall and hears that one guitar like a distant scream, I could hear it with him, completely lost in the building frevor of the song. I had seen a Blue Oyster Cult live show on TV for some reason, and they all had beards and sunglasses. From that time on, I pictured all rock stars as having full beards and '70s sunglasses (you know, mirrored and gold-rimmed). So when the distant scream one guitar comes in, I imagined the lights coming on the stage, and the bearded, sunglassed lead singer belting out the rest of the lyrics. I think this is where it all began. The spark that would ignite my desire to become a genuine, bona-fide jukebox hero. This was the spark that would turn into a flame down the line with other bands. I can barely listen to this song anymore because of it's gratuitous cheese content (well over the FDA regulation). I revived it in the early '90s and it showed up on just about every mix tape I made for friends, as Bil and Doomsayer can attest. But every once in a while, when I'm feeling like I may have passed my shadow by the backstage door, this song shows up in a rotation or on the radio in a barber shop or something. And when it does, I'm that kid in the rain again, wishing I had a ticket and setting my jaw in determination that one day I WILL ROCK! ...Then I shake it off and get back to making sure the $10 rookie barber isn't shaving my 10-year-old's head bald. Enjoy.
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