One more sign of the apocalypse

My brother-in-law is a fan of Billy Idol. Yes, that Billy Idol. When I first met him about 3 years ago, I thought this was a little peculiar. No, not because I didn't enjoy some Idol's songs--I mean, what's not to love about such toe-tappers as "White Wedding", "Rebel Yell", "Cradle of Love", and my personal favorite, "Dancing with Myself". What makes that last one so great is the fade out, where Billy starts chanting "Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!" Ah yes, what a wordsmith.

So, like I was saying, my brother-in-law is a big fan. By big fan, I don't mean that he will pause when scanning the radio for a good tune and finds out it's 80s weekend on the top 40 station. By fan I mean that he owns all the albums. I don't think he has any posters or tour shirts, but I wouldn't put it past him. I only ever knew one other person ever that was that big a fan, and that person was a girl...back in 10th grade. So, now I know two.

So, I'm chatting with my sister, who found my brother-in-law irresistable despite this strange obsession with Mr. Idol. Don't get me wrong, I think she picked herself a mighty swell guy. He's a good American and one that I quite like having as part of our family. Anyway, she and I were talking about my kids, and I told her how after recently scanning the radio for a good tune, I found that the 80s station was playing a Billy Idol song. As a bonus, it just happened to be my favorite Idol tune, "Dancing with Myself". I told my beloved sister how much I enjoyed laughing with my kids about the way he started the "Sweat" portion of the song. Good times.

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, we were both able to surf the Internet as we talked, and we both ended up on Idol's site. And what is Mr. Idol up to these days? Why, doing what all former punk rockers do...recording a holiday album!

Yes, that's right kids, Billy Idol is now in his 50s and has mellowed a bit. He's at that age where he's ready to be the modern equivalent to Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and David Bowie...well, he only did that one thing with Bing, but we'll leave him on the list anyway.

Wanna judge for yourself? Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with White Christmas! If that's too much, start with Jingle Bell Rock. Be prepared to start dancing with yourself.

As shocking as it was to discover this latest album, these selections aren't all that bad. I might purchase a copy after all.