Now, what about Blue Öyster Cult? “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is better than any Journey song. They were one of the first “meta” bands, seen as heavy metal from one angle, something like an art-rock project (courtesy of impresario Sandy Pearlman and lyricist R. Meltzer) from another. Here’s an R. Meltzer lyric: “With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound / He pulls the spitting high-tension wires down.” Here’s a Steve Perry lyric: “Lovin’, touchin’, squeezin’ / Each other.”

Wow, of all the Blue Oyster Cult songs he could have quoted. What a rube.