No. 986 – Over the Top

Performer: John Lee Hooker

Songwriter: Pete Townshend

Original Release: The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend

Year: 1989

Definitive Version: None

It might seem at odds with common perception, but when I drove to my friend Jessica’s wedding in Colorado Springs in the fall of 1989, I was actually excited to see Nebraska, because, well, I’d never it before. In fact, I’m not sure I’d ever seen any pictures of it except from a Cornhuskers football game.

I drove back roads for the most part, because, well, why not? You drive on interstates, and eventually everything looks the same--dull. If you have the time, two-lane roads are really the only way to truly see the country when you drive.

I was in the middle of a major Who renaissance thanks to having finally seen them in the summer, so I listened to The Iron Man (on cassette!) a lot on the trip, particularly through Nebraska. (I drove through Friend, Neb., so A Friend Is A Friend seemed particularly appropriate.) When I hear Over the Top, my favorite song from Pete Townshend’s kid’s tale concept album, I think of Nebraska—and yes, it is very flat until you start to get to the West side of the state—and particularly the night I stopped in McCook. It was a Friday night, and being literally in the middle of nowhere, the entertainment options were limited to an obvious choice: Hit up the local high-school football game.

I took my camera, and I was allowed to wander around the sidelines as if I were covering the game (shades of New Buffalo the year before). I can’t remember who McCook played or who won (although I seem to think the local team did in fact win its season opener), but what I remember was how the kids in McCook (population about 6,000) looked, dressed and sounded exactly the same as those from Herald City (aka the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, population about 580,000). I suppose given the spread of MTV, I shouldn’t have been surprised at how homogenized the pop culture had become, but I was anyway. Eventually, everything looks the same, indeed.