Operation Mindcrime: 30 Years Later

There are very few hard rock albums of the 80's that truly hold up. Especially 30 years later. But Queensryches' Operation Mindcrime is one of the few.

Released in 1988, Mindcrime was a fantastic concept album telling the story of young Nikki, a young operative in a power play of corrupt politics, sex traffic, religious bigots and drug abuse. The record has so many great songs like Speak, The Needle Lies, and my personal fave Eyes of a Stranger. The themes, the lyrics and even the newsworthiness of it is so unflinchingly fresh today as it was 30 years ago.....and that is actually pretty scary when you think about it.

I believe one song even features the phrase "the one percent". Do you remember using or hearing that phrase way back then?

I was lucky enough as a girl of 16 to see Operation: Mindcrime performed in its entirety while Queensryche toured their Empire album. It was an exhilarating spectacle of video images and film along with the gripping music of the record itself. That was my first "rock" concert, and I became a fan of Queensryche for life. And of Geoff Tate. In the 12th row, I swear he and I had "a moment" from the stage. My husband still riffs on me about it to this day. It happened. Shut-up.

A year or so ago the hubs and I managed to see Geoff again. He wasn't touring the 30 Year Anniversary of Mindcrime, not yet anyway, but he was playing some of the old hits of the band. And let me tell you, this guy brings it as much to an intimate room with fewer fans as he does to an arena. And he's still got the voice. How many 80's singers could you say that about?

Reclaiming Your Childhood: Priceless

This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...

My Week with Rumor

My dog Rumor was an experiment. A trial offer. And all parties knew that going in. Except for maybe Rumor. Rumor was an outdoor country dog. His given name was Ruger (named after a firearm if you don't know, I didn't) which made sense for a dog raised in hunting country. He was a stray that came to live with a loving family at about the age of 1. He lived outdoors, slept in a garage crate at night, frolicked with an older dog pack and had a lovely life. We think he was about 4 years old. He had been neutered, had vet care and was by no means a "rescue". His dad offered Ruger to me on a give-it-a-try basis. He knew I wanted a dog. He told me Ruger would be sweet to me and also be my protector. He was right on both counts. He told me if it didn't work out, I could bring Ruger back to him and his wife. I could tell they were a little sad when they dropped him off. It made me glad to see that Ruger came from such ...

NYE for $200, Alex

Can we all just agree that New Year's Eve is the worst of the string of winter holidays? I would even go so far as saying it's THE WORST of all the holidays. I loved when Stanford Blatch defined a party as feeling very "forced festive". To me, most NYE parties feel that way. The idea that this is a big year-end blow-out and we'd all damn well better make it awesome! The reason I hate NYE is because it combines two of things I most hate about celebrations: cold weather and crowds. Plus it's during a time of year when everyone has already spent all their money. AND you usually have to the leave the house. ADDITIONALLY, you have to stay up late. It's a big F.U. from me on all this. I would dare say that some of my happiest New Year's memories have been spent at home in my pajamas with either my child, an S.O. or happily alone. I remember one unforgettable year of moving into a 3rd floor apartment on NYE. I rememb...

Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

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