Friday Afternoon Rad Jam

When people name off their favorite bands, they generally do one of two things. They give you the generic/safe answer of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones that guarantees approval. Or, if they are wearing a scarf and retro t-shirt, they will name off some dipshit band whose name features four randomly selected words. In either case, people never truly reveal ALL of the bands they love. That's because every person has at least one "guilty pleasure" band. A band they rock out to in the privacy of their own living room/car/shower. This band rocks, but for some reason you're afraid to admit your love for them in public as it will indicate you have cheesy taste in music. This week's Friday Afternoon Rad Jam comes courtesy of the ultimate rockin' guilty pleasure band: JOURNEY.

I don't care what anyone says, Journey fucking rules. Science has proven that's physically impossible to refrain from pumping your fist upon hearing a Journey song come on the radio. Journey's entire catalog consists solely of Rad arena rock anthems tailor-made for epic fist pumping. Now, Journey's music is often classified as cheesy by people who simply have not grasped their radness for whatever reason. "Cheesy" I've discovered is basically code for "catchy 80's rock anthems from Rad band dressed in ridiculous attire." So apparently it's a synonym for "awesome." I mean..just look at the fucking Rad picture above. Clearly Journey is not here to impress anyone. They look like five registered sex offenders that randomly booked a gig at the Raddest 80's prom ever. There's no telling which guy's gonna spike your punch though I'd wager on the rad guitarist with the open shirt in the center. Anyways clearly when they woke up in the morning they didn't put too much thought into their look, because they were too busy focusing on the task at hand: rocking your balls off.

Goofy looking or not Journey will bring the rock upon you, and too often people ignore this fact. One of the reason's people don't take Journey's music seriously are the connotations of their biggest hit "Don't Stop Believing." Everyone totally "loves" this song that reminds them of Sigma Chi keggers sophomore year. The song is catchy, cliche', and simple to sing (or scream) along with no matter how many jello shots you've consumed. Therefore, the band's been pigeonholed as the cheesy one-hit wonder 80's band who produced an overplayed college anthem. Despite the fact that Journey is also responsible for many other epic 80's rock anthems that are way more Rad than don't stop believing. Song's like the exhibit A shown below: "Separate Ways (World's Apart)."

Seriously this song is just filled with Radness. You and your friends probably play air guitar along to rocking jams all the time. Well have you ever thought to have an entire band of people playing air instruments simultaneously? That would be a totally Rad idea. And an unoriginal one, as Journey already did it in this video with it's revolutionary 80's special effects. Whoa where'd that keyboard go?? Oh there it is! The band's most important instrument of course are the vocals of frontman Steve Perry, seen here rocking a totally rad mullet and sleeveless tee. Everytime you're not quite feeling the full effect of this song the camera cuts to a passionate close-up of Perry that draws you back in. And then they cut to a Rad profile shot of the entire band doing the barbershop quartet thing and emphasizing to that special lady that they still love her...though they've gone and went their separate ways. And if her new man ever hurts her..oh man the band will be there to bring the pain. Anyways enjoy your weekend folks and enjoy this totally Rad guilty pleasure jam. Spend the next few days breaking those chains that bind you.