AL: Since we both agree that BOC rock the paint off cars, why do you think they're still relatively unknown in the mainstream? They can be as morbid as Sabbath, as fun rockin' as KISS, as intelligent as Rush, as radio-friendly as Zeppelin, as soulful as the Doors... So why do they exist at the edge of obscurity? Poor marketing? Bad distribution / tour support? Have they angered the radio gods? Or is there something about them that only the truly wise (or leather-clad) can see?

Personally, I think that mass audiences can't digest brilliance, and so are fed only mediocrity. If the populace listened to BOC... it might be like looking at the face of God.

JF: I think that it definitely has a lot to do with their lyrics. It's easier for most people to get into a band that sings about "getting down with your lady" than a band that sings about harvesting the eyes out of peoples heads and taking them to get high. Although to the "enlightened few" (you know, smart folks like you and me) lyrics like that are what makes Blue Oyster Cult the greatest rock band to emerge from the 70s. And the photo that is in the cd reissue of Secret Treaties (my fave BOC album) is amazing. They look like an insane S&M biker gang from space. It took a lot of balls to look like that in 1973 when most folks in groups wore jeans and t-shirts. And Eric Bloom is in a three way tie for the best white-man's afro of the 70s with Rob Tyner from MC5 and Sib Sibhan from Boston.

I think the things that make most people afraid of BOC are the things that make me love them. Just like all the other amazing "cult" bands that I love: Devo, Animotion, Nu Shooz, DeBarge, Rockwell, New Edition etc...(i think something happened to my brain just now, sorry...)

AL: Yes, I see your point. The white man's afro could definitely have been the turnoff factor. That, and the whole "Harvester of Eyes" thing.