episode 242
Recently in the record store. A young man in his twenties enters the shop and turns to the salesperson: “Where can I find Styx?” – The retailer asks what that is again. – “Oh, that’s how it goes under AOR, Adult Oriented Rock.” – Ah, of course, you have your own subject, AOR is currently doing very well.
While a feeling of irritated arousal takes hold of me at the sight of this information, I’m already busy rummaging through memories of any Styx songs and examining their possible appeal to stylishly coiffed later-borns. I leave the shop in a hurry, because concentration is out of the question here.
On the way home, two songs from the band’s portfolio come to mind: “Boat On The River” and “Mr. Robot”. My brother, who was fourteen years older than me, owned the former when he was single. It’s one of those typical late 70’s percussive guitar bangers that immediately make fringed flared jeans grow on your legs. While the song’s Mollene portends evil, the lyrics celebrate the river and boat as places of regeneration, capable of rescuing the song’s protagonist from the grips of the hectic world. Astonishing when you consider that the Styx is the “waters of horror” in Homer. Unlike most of the band’s catalogue, the song, which I think I heard around the campfire on Catholic Youth trips in later years, is sung by guitarist Tommy Shaw.
“Mr. Roboto”, on the other hand, was released in 1983 and presents the band in a completely new sound, heavily influenced by the spirit of the times. It is a dystopian song that lets the eponymous AI formulate captivating lyrics: “I’m not a robot without emotions, I’m not what you see/ I’ve come to help you with your problems, so we can be free.” The music sounds like a Queen cover band company outing to “Starlight Express”. I can’t say that either track would appeal to me today, nor do I understand the band’s appeal to young record collectors after the two songs.
Too exhausted to continue listening to Styx’s music, I watch the videos for both songs, which may provide clues as to why the band is so popular. In the “Boat On The River” clip, even less happens than in my fitness room: the musicians stand around with their hair on their heads and beat you up.
The video for “Mr. Roboto” isn’t exactly designed to get you in the mood for a Saturday night out, as it starts with a very long-winded robot babble. But then singer Dennis DeYoung enters the scene, and with his showing up it suddenly becomes clear what must fascinate young people about Styx: the man is the charisma on stilts and massively presses the tube when it comes to theatrics: DeYoung acts in that Clip at times like a musical star on all drugs at the same time – and sings like that too. The man from Chicago is the heroic tenor in the wide AOR arena. It seems only too understandable that in an age of increasingly dehumanized showbiz, young people would seek — and find — support from stage titans of DeYoung’s caliber.
The deeper involvement with the man also seems to be worthwhile: From 1993, DeYoung played Pontius Pilate 268 times in a “Jesus Christ Superstar” production. Later he even wrote his own musical version of “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”. More rock stars should follow his example.
The next day I’m in a different record store. Now also keen on the band thanks to my encounter with DeYoung, I also drop by the Styx compartment. Lo and behold: It’s yawning empty! Emptier than the depths of the horror waters. Only the AOR philosophers from REO Speedwagon can help here: “You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish.”