Yesterday I needed a nice lunch, so I went down the block to Jimmy John's sandwich place. As usual, loud, ugly rock was blasting from the radio, but to my amazement, the woman at the cash register was humming along. She had actually detected a melody in the recording. (Don't tell the Rock Police.)

Intrigued, I listened while waiting for my #2 with lettuce and tomato. The recording was of a young guy, maybe 20 years old, whose voice had not really deepened yet. (Frankie Avalon's sound, if you remember Frankie Avalon.) And the musical theme was the melody of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, altered to a minor key.

It was such a blast to hear this singer sing about "my woman". "Gosh," I wanted to ask, "Is she out of high school yet?"

By the time my tomatoes were being spread fastidiously over the beef, the singer was trying to sound like a bum - you know, gurgling the phlegm in his throat the way they do to create the impression that they've beein living in a shack and know All About Life. Only the guy needed about 20 more years of whiskey&cigarettes before he could even dream of carrying that off. I longed to be out of there.

Finally I got my food and went to the outside tables to eat. There were two attractive young women, eating their lunch. This is usually the case. The young guys are eating inside, and the young ladies are outside, having fled the music.

I wonder how long it will take them all to catch on?