Tommy Shaw asked me, "Hey, how's it going?" I can die happy now. I can go to sleep mildly amused now.

In honor of the fact that I happened stumble into Tower to rent DVDs at the same time Styx—sans De Young—was signing records, I give you two Styx classics performed by artists most people have never heard of. That's what I do.

Keali'i Reichel "Come Sail Away" (Styx cover)
What I know about Hawaiian music can be summed up in two bullet points:

When I was 2 years old and visiting Hawaii with my grandparents, I sang "Tiny Bubbles" on stage with Don Ho.

I never want to hear Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's now-ubiquitous version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" ever again. You know the one that was used in everything from eToys and hospital commercials to Meet Joe Black (I know, no one even saw that) to the episode of ER where the Anthony Edwards character bites it? Yeah, that one.

Polysics "Mr. Roboto" (Styx cover)
Man, the Japanese are crazy. And awesome. And obsessed with Devo. And video games. Okay, I know this does not describe everyone from Japan, but it seems Polysics fits all four bills. And though in their own compositions they come off as unique, this cover is pretty faithful to the original. Well, if Shaw, DeYoung & Co. used more vocal effects and didn't take themselves so damned seriously. I mean, I was only about 11 when they released the Kilroy Was Here album—which I, of course, have on vinyl—and the "Mr. Roboto" video hit MTV, and even I knew that the little dystopia concept they'd created was not only uncool, but also quite possibly the lamest thing ever.