"Hangar 18" by Megadeth

   Hello, all! As the hauntingly horrifying Halloween season descends upon us, The Dial drops a selection  into your trick or treat bag that may frighten and disturb some, yet will likely cause many others to raise the “sign of the horns” high in the air and bang their head enthusiastically. From 1990, it’s thrash metal pioneers Megadeth, and their ode to visitors from the stars… “Hangar 18”.

“Welcome to our fortress tall… Take some time to show you around.”

Thrash metal is a genre I dabble in very rarely. I’ve never been much of a metal head, but I definitely appreciate the technical mastery of metal musicians. However, this single, pulled from Megadeth’s 1990 Rust in Peace LP, really blew me away. It didn’t hurt that the subject of the song is something I’ve been interested in for a while, the idea that the US Government has sequestered a wrecked spacecraft and alien bodies since the 1940s at either “Area 51” at Edwards Air Force Base in California, or Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton Ohio, which actually does have a Hangar 18 on site. The video is appropriate Halloween viewing as the aggressive music and rough vocals are coupled with scenes of alien creatures being captured and tortured… and clearly not enjoying it.

“Foreign life forms inventory… suspended state of cryogenics…”

Now, this is far from George Lucas or Steven Spielberg stuff here – it’s a lower budget music video with a lot of quick cuts of aliens struggling against military personnel, and ominous views of the inside of the hangar and the equipment within. But even still, it impresses me for the atmosphere it creates. Check out the disturbing scenes involving the short hairy alien with the huge proboscis nose, the half-naked cyborg woman, the sawblade “surgery”, and the cute baby like alien who suffers the receiving end of a needle probe while still alive. Warning, this video is not for the squeamish.

There’s also a curious opening sequence in which Megadeth’s band mascot Vic Rattlehead (the skeletal ghoul that appears on many of the band’s LP covers) barks orders to the soldiers at Hangar 18 to capture the aliens from the crashed spacecraft. Does this mean that he is actually a high ranking military or government official? That would explain why he’s giving the orders.

Additionally, at the end of the clip, the Megadeth band members are frozen in canisters, to be locked up in a deep freeze with the extraterrestrials. This raises the question – are the band members themselves actually aliens? Or are they being frozen because they’ve seen too much, given that they were rockin’ out in the hangar as the aliens were being brought in?

And why were there multiple disparate alien species in this spacecraft? Was it an intergalactic Noah’s Ark? That would be like if we sent a spacecraft to another planet containing people, cows, hawks, gorillas, kangaroos, flamingos, and alligators.

So. Many. Questions.  But I love it.

“The military intelligence… two words combined that can’t make sense.”

Thrash metal has always been a tough sell on top 40 radio, and Megadeth’s music never quite made the pop mainstream. In fact, the only hot 100 entry for the metal pioneers was 1992’s “Symphony of Destruction” which peaked at US #71 pop. Hangar 18 did not chart in the US, though it did make UK #26.

Despite the lack of support by radio, Hangar 18 has rightfully become one of Megadeth’s signature tunes, and even inspired a 2001 sequel entitled “Return to Hangar”, in which the aliens kill all the military personnel and scientists in the hangar before escaping.

So crank it up, and prepare yourself for thrash legends Megadeth (guitarist Marty Friedman, bassist David Ellefson, drummer Nick Menza, and of course, snarling vocals from Dave Mustaine) as they relate a story of extra-terrestrial visitors who come to regret their Earthly stop.

And from all of us here, (Mrs. Radio Dial, the Radio Dial kids, and of course, your host – me... Kyle !) have a happy, spooky, and safe Halloween!

“Possibly I’ve seen too much… Hangar 18… I know too much.”

 

 

 



Nancy Wilson's autograph!

Hey friends!

Here’s a completely different style of post on the Radio Dial, just to switch things up a little bit.

A few weeks ago, my friend and fellow music aficionado Steve got a chance to meet Nancy Wilson of Heart at Used Kids Records in Columbus Ohio, where she stopped in support of her side project Roadcase Royale.

Even though I was unable to go, Steve brought along my Heart Greatest Hits CD booklet that Nancy was kind enough to sign!

This is my first rock star celebrity autograph, and I hope there are more to come… maybe I’ll manage to get Ann’s signature on this CD as well sometime!

Anyway, enjoy the autograph, and feel free to revisit my “Two For Tuesday” article from 10/17/15 which features two songs by Heart, 1980’s “Tell It Like It Is”, and 1987’s “There’s the Girl”, the latter of which features lead vocals from Nancy!

http://kylesradiodial.blogspot.com/2015/10/tell-it-like-it-is-and-theres-girl-by.html?m=1

"Jammin' Me" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

   Hello everyone, thanks for checking out the Dial today for our special coverage of an underplayed hit from one of the most interesting and beloved rockers of the modern era. Give it up for Mr. Tom Petty and his ’87 hit “Jammin’ Me”.

“You got me in a corner… You got me against the wall...

I got nowhere to go... I got nowhere to fall"

The lead single from 1987’s “Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)” LP, “Jammin’ Me” only reached #18 on the Top 40, but proudly sat at #1 on the mainstream rock singles chart for 4 weeks straight! Three other singles were extracted from the LP, “Runaway Trains”, “Think about Me”, and “All Mixed Up”, none of which reached the hot 100, but all of which charted respectably at mainstream rock.

Written with rock legend (and fellow “Traveling Wilbury”) Bob Dylan, alongside Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, Jammin’ Me is about a man reaching his breaking point in regards to media onslaughts of news reports, celebrity gossip, misinformation, and commercials. He views all of this as overwhelming noise and distraction, and he just wants to make some sense of the world around him.

Hence his angry chant… Quit jammin’ me.

And keep in mind, this song was written 30 years ago, before social media, reality TV, constant celebrity scandals, 24 hour news channels, and all the other current worry and bother in today’s society. As a result, Jammin’ Me resonates even more now than it did then.

“Take back your angry slander… Take back your pension plan...

Take back your ups and downs of life... in raisin-land."

The music video is a lot of fun to watch, as a flashing chaotic collage of newspaper headlines, advertisements, and horoscopes serve as a backdrop to Petty and his band mates.

Additionally, images of wartime, 1950’s nuclear war safety videos, and contemporary news footage is interspersed with pop culture goodies like Thundercats toy commercial snippets and a few seconds of Atari’s Marble Madness arcade game to create a blend that can go from grim and troubling to fun and lighthearted in a split second.

There’s also wackiness to be had with lots of close ups of Tom and his Heartbreakers mugging for the camera, singing along, and a crazy effect where their faces are scrambled together. I also dig the effect where Tom reaches into a TV and pulls “static goo” out of the screen while calling out Vanessa Redgrave, Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy. Not sure what he has against these particular folks, or if he’s naming them just because they were rather popular at the time. I wonder if Piscopo and Murphy participated in an SNL skit that angered Tom? The lyrics also contain a reference to Steve Jobs which is slightly more veiled.

So we invite you to check out Tom’s rant in the video at the end of this article, and I imagine you’ll agree with his sentiment that we need less media intrusion into our lives… especially nowadays.

“You're jammin' me, you're jammin' me… Quit jammin' me!

Baby you can keep me painted in a corner... you can walk away, but it's not over"

 

Now of course, for the reason for this particular tribute…

By the afternoon of Monday, October 2nd 2017, some news outlets were reporting that Petty had passed, some said he hadn’t, but the common thread was that the news was bleak, and Tom was on life support.

When I came home from work that day, my 12 year old son said…

“Dad, did you hear about Tom Petty, he’s not doing well.”, and he was clearly bummed by the news, as he’s been a Petty fan for years.

Mrs. Radio Dial had dialed up Tom’s music videos on the TV, and my 5 year old daughter was snuggled under her blanket on the couch watching the brilliant Alice in Wonderland inspired clip for “Don’t Come Around Here No More”.

She said: “Daddy, I like Tom, I’m gonna miss him.”

It gave me the feels something fierce.

Tuesday morning came the news that we all expected but didn’t want confirmation on.

Tom Petty was no longer with us at the age of 66.

As my good friend Steve succinctly posted on his Facebook page…

“Breakdown. It’s all right”.

Good night Tom, thanks for your genius, your sense of humor, your unmistakable voice, and your awesome, timeless music. We’ll ALL miss you.

 



 

 

 

 

"Dyslexic Heart" by Paul Westerberg

     Welcome back friends! As we begin the month of October, the Dial tunes in a signal containing a forgotten ‘90s alternative rock hit, recorded by the founder of one of the most popular college rock groups of the ‘80s. Time to jog your memory with Paul Westerberg and his “Dyslexic Heart”!

“You shoot me glances and they’re so hard to read… I misconstrue what you mean…

Slip me a napkin and now that's a start... is this your name or a doctor's eye chart?"

A clever tune about the mixed signals one often receives when dating, Paul details various scenarios encountered during a particular courtship. For instance, after giving him the eye at a bar, the woman in question gives him an undecipherable note on a napkin. Then over dinner, she prefers reading a book instead of making conversation. Finally, she gives mixed physical signals in the bedroom, making him wonder if she is a timid lover or a wild woman. He wonders if she is just playing with him for her own amusement, culminating in the memorable line… “Do I hate you, do I date you?”

Pulled from the soundtrack to the 1992 Gen X classic Singles, “Dyslexic Heart” was a US alt rock #4 hit, but despite the film’s popularity, and the fact that the movie produced two other alt rock hits, (Alice in Chains’ “Would?”, and The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Drown”), Paul’s soundtrack contribution earned no hot 100 crossover success. Adding to the song’s mystique is its exclusivity to the Singles soundtrack, as it has not appeared on a Westerberg LP to date.

“Do I read you correctly, lead me directly… help me with this part.”

Paul Westerberg was a founding member of The Replacements, a college rock band of the ‘80s that met with widespread critical acclaim, but no major success on the pop charts. Their best showing was 1989’s “I’ll Be You”, which topped the US Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, but climbed just halfway up the hot 100 to US #51.

As a solo artist, Paul hit the #4 alt rock position a second time with his 1993 follow up “World Class Fad”, but following that, his only other charting song was the #21 alt rock “Love Untold” from 1996. Paul tends to contribute to movie soundtracks and compilations in between releasing self-published albums these days.

“You keep swayin’… what are you sayin’? Thinkin’ about stayin’?”

I hadn’t thought of “Dyslexic Heart” in at least 20 years until I heard it in my local Kroger on a recent late night grocery run. As soon as I heard the cheeky “Naaa-na-na-na  Na-na-na-NA-na” refrain, I knew I had found the next song for the Radio Dial to spotlight.

On a side note, Kroger’s in-store music playlists are created by someone (or more than likely, many someones) that tend to share similar eclectic musical tastes to yours truly. For every well-known mainstream hit, they’ll play an obscure album cut or lower charting song, and they’ve run the gamut of rock, country, soul, and dance… hmmm… maybe I should see about getting a position with the Kroger in-store radio network!

So take a listen to Paul’s humorous tale of a guy confused by his intended lover (although to be honest, aren’t we all?) and stay tuned to the Dial for more great tracks from radio’s past!

“I try and comprehend you but I got a dyslexic heart... I ain’t dying to offend, you, I got a dyslexic heart.”