Cut to last night. We’re driving to dinner, and Styx’s “Come Sail Away” came on the classic rock station. Now, just to be clear, I love Styx. The Grand Illusion was the first album I ever brought to school for our 5th grade “bring your music to class” days. So I was perfectly happy to enjoy the fine musical ramblings of the boys from Chicago.

However, my darling wife disagrees… L don’t dig on classic rock. But before my bride scowled me into changing the station, I remembered that paired writing story. And I was struck with how similar that song is to the high-schoolers’ essay. The first half is all idyllic and, well, meaningful. And the second half is aliens.

I know Dennis DeYoung gets the sole writing credit on the tune, but now I’m wondering if Tommy Shaw and DeYoung secretly did a “I’ll write the first 2 verses, then you close it out” thing?

I remember back in the 80′s, seeing Michael Stipe and Mike Mills cover U2′s “One” with The Edge on an MTV awards show, and I thought that that was a fantastic rendition:

But just today, Pandora served up this version from Warren Haynes, and holy cow. This is just brilliant. If you’ve somehow been under a rock and don’t know this guy, then do yourself a favor and look into him. He’s, I think, one of the finest guitarists out there right now.

Goin’ To California with John Paul Jones…

Cover of Pearl Jam’s Black…

Okay, so I’m clearly behind the curve on this one. This is from an album released 2 years ago, but I just heard her for the first time this week on KBCO. Wikipedia says the song’s been featured on Grey’s, NCIS, Smallville and One Tree Hill. Which explains why I’d never heard it before.

At first hearing, I thought it was a new one from Brandi Carlile, but there are some subtle differences. Just a touch less gravelly I guess. Anyway, good stuff. Check her out: