RIP Sammy -- Long Live Lemmy

Of late, the 5pm Car Tunes segment on our local rock station, Xtra 99.1 has become one of the high points of my day. They almost always play some kick butt rock and roll like classic Ozzy, Boston and even Pantera. Yesterday the DJ announced he'd be coming back from a commercial break with some Sammy Hagar. I'd had a tough day and the prospect of hearing One Way to Rock or I Can't Drive 55 was enough to keep me hanging on through the commercials.

Instead they played some "new" Sammy Hagar song. The opening was so awful I was sure the DJ had screwed up and was playing Winger or something. But when the vocals kicked in, it was obvious this was Sammy. Or at least his shell. With some crappy rock ballad riff going on in the background Sammy crooned about opening your heart and letting your guide whisper in your ear. This was not Sammy Hagar. This was Celine Hagar. This was Jack Nicholson after the lobotomy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It was like being promised a shot of Jack Daniels and being served a Zima instead. I wanted to cry.

So today as I drove home I tuned in to Xtra again. Once again my confidence in their rock prowess was shaken when they actually did lead off Car Tunes with Winger. As I glumly watched the road contemplating the death of rock I blanked the song out. How could this have happened? My favorite station and one of my favorite rockers had been neutered. What was next? Hillary winning the election?

Just when I thought all hope was lost I was snapped out of my melancholy by the staccato bass riff of The Ace of Spades. My hand instinctively grabbed the volume control and spun it to the right. My sorrow was instantly turned to rapture. My faith in the DJs at 99.1 instantly restored. Lemmy descended like a vengeful angel of the airwaves wielding the mighty sword of RAWK!

It was the same feeling of exhilaration I felt in that final battle scene in Saving Private Ryan where the mortally wounded Tom Hanks is vainly firing his pistol at the approaching German Panzer. All around him his comrades are being cut to ribbons. Matt Damon is curled in a ball in the corner, wailing like a little girl. Then, just when you think it's curtains for everyone, the tank explodes and a P-51 comes blasting through the smoke and destruction. Lemmy was my P-51.

Long Live Lemmy!