Journey versus Dawn of the Dead

Chaos! The apartment building swarmed with police, refugees, and fugitives.  No one was safe. Everyone was a target. And, that was before all hell broke lose!

Scene: The police bust open the door to an apartment in the corner of the hall.  Inside, the unholiest of holy waited: zombies. The undead. The struggle was immediate. Shoot or be eaten. Many perished, a few survived. 

"Shoot it, man! Shoot it in the head!"

A couple of Philadelphia SWAT managed to escape to the basement. But with in the cinderblock walls was hidden a sanctuary of the undead. Then the movie's music began it's ominous bass guitar thumping, "bomp, ba-bomp, ba-bomp, ba-bomp, ba-bomp, ba-bomp, ba-bomp…"

Wearing a pair of shorts and a Journey 2011 Eclipse t-shirt,  I was 30 minutes into my Wii Fit workout "Step up, step up; step down, step-down…" and watching George A Romero's classic Zombi: Dawn of the Dead (1978), while also drumming on my Evens 7" practice drum padh with a couple of Vic Firth 5a drumsticks . It's a good work out: upper body and leg condition all at once.

Drumming to my own tune, the "bomp, ba-bomp, ba-bomp" captured my full attention. I've heard that tune somewhere before (besides the many times I have watched this movie, of course). I began to drum with the hypnotic baseline and continued to steadily climb up and down the Wii Balance Board — ironically, much like a zombie. My voice wanted to join in. I mumble some sounds. Then the words came to me:

You make me weep, I wanna die
Just when you said we'd try…

Ohh-Emm-Gee! Suddenly, I knew where I knew that music from — Journey's 1979 hit, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" . I continued stepping, drumming, and humming as the SWAT team blasted zombies. Skipping lines I sang:

You're tearin' me apart
Oh every, everyday
You're tearin' me apart
Oh girl what can I say? 

It was after this verse I realized that, regardless of what Steve Perry claimed in VH1's Behind the Music: Journey (2001), this song was not about some cheating bitch, it was about ZOMBIES! 

It can't be more obvious — the hit song's core baseline sounds like Dawn of the Dead's riveting baseline score  —  Steve Perry's lyrics, "tearing me apart" — it could only mean one thing: Journey wrote songs about zombies and cleverly disguised them as ballads that the millions of teenage girls ate up!

It won't be long, girl, till you're alone
When your lover, he hasn't come home
Cause he's lovin' he's touchin',
He's squeezin' another

He's tearin' you apart
Oh, every, everyday
He's tearin' you apart
Oh girl what can you say?
Cause he's lovin', touchin' another
Now it's your turn, girl, to cry…

I challenge you to watch the movie and listen to the song, and decided for yourself. As for me, I am convinced "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" is about zombies. Rock on!

nom, nom, nom-nom, nommm, nom. nom-nom, nom-nommm, nom...

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