Throwback Thursday: Blue Oyster Cult

Throwback Thursday: Blue Oyster Cult – Blue Oyster Cult (1972)

Yes, let us go back in time to the self titled, first Blue Oyster Cult album. I know this may be surprising to some (sarcasm), but Blue Oyster Cult actually does have other songs. It has always irked me that people just dismiss them as “that cowbell song band.” As much as I may enjoy that sketch, I am quite sick of any cowbell related jokes in regards to BOC. They are so much more than that.

I never really listened to BOC much in the past. I had heard “the song that shall not be named” and “Burnin’ for You” 5 million times on the radio, but I had never bothered to see what BOC was really about.

On a side tangent BOC is a good example of how classic rock radio is doing a major disservice to amazing classic bands. You would be doing an injustice to yourself if you believed that Black Sabbath was only “Iron Man”, “Paranoid” and “War Pigs”. Is there no more to Metallica than “Enter Sandman”? You wouldn’t say AC/DC had 16 albums (14 international and 2 in Australia) by the 5 songs the radio continuously plays over and over again. Apparently Deep Purple has no more to offer than “Smoke on Water” and do we really need to hear “Don’t Stop Believin” again? These bands have so many other songs that are just as good, if not miles better than the few songs the radio keeps senselessly beating into our heads, and yet they don’t play them.

There was once a radio station in Southern California called 105.5 KNAC. KNAC was a hard rock/metal station that went off the air in 1995. I was not old enough at the time for this sort of thing to be in my sphere of thought, so I obviously never listened to the station when it was on the air. I did however find old recordings of the final few on air hours of KNAC online (now available on YouTube).

On that final day James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica were in the studio chatting about old times and choosing songs. Lars said something that really struck me and I have still remembered it years later. He chose to play a BOC song and commented, “I guarantee this is the last time a Blue Oyster Cult song that’s not Don’t Fear the Reaper” will ever be played in Southern California.” That comment really stuck with me, because he was right. Ok, you could also throw in “Burnin’ for You” and “Godzilla” onto that list, but besides those three songs, that’s it.

I feel that I have given classic rock radio its fair chance. I grew up on it for goodness sake. My early years as a music fan were formed on the tunes they played, but at some point it becomes tiresome. Why does classic rock radio insist on playing the same songs year after year. How will the public be exposed to the gems of the past if they don’t receive any exposure?

So we throw this one back to you Blue Oyster Cult, because you are so much more than just one song.