"Get the lead out!" It's an old expression that basically means "pick up the pace, step lively, get things moving." It's very helpful when applied to soldiers and athletes, and, on occassion, is also appropriate to Rock Musicians. It seems that every so often in the cycle of pop music, rock stars get overly focused on sounding loud, hard, macho, and intimidating. Trouble is, they end up with a sound that plods along like a ten ton dinosaur. Fortunately, something comes along that puts a little swing back in the dance floor -Completely appropriate, as rock and roll did start out swingin' back in the '50's. When late 60's rock started to suffer under its own weight, the early 70's proto punk sound of The Ramones and the Stooges came to the rescue. By the late 70's, bands like Led Zepplin had once again buried rock and roll's energy under a morass of excess. Punk rock to the rescue. Even during the 90's, when a frantic lust for hard rock legitimacy clung to the feet of rock and roll like a tar pit, there was an all too brief swing revival. So as I sit here hoping that someone will rescue us from the slow plodding beats of the crunk millennium, I remind myself that you don't have to rock like a sloth to be a rebel. Back in the 80's, Adam Ant chided listeners who "Don't drink, don't smoke, what do ya do?" What was the name of the song?

Bonus Question: Hip cats in search of new wave tunes that swing, should grab a copy of Tones On Tail's album "Night Music," which includes one of the best 'B-sides-that-later-became-a-club-hit' ever. "Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya-ya yo," the tune advises that "Living it up is a big kick, it's good for you." What was the name of the song?