This is a song that feels eternal. Not because of the running time but because it feels it’s always been there, besides you, just like its subject matter. Inescapable and same for all but through different means.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper is a song of two audiences: the ones whose memory is attached to a particular moment in pop culture (SNL, Halloween, The Stand, Scream) or those who got blown away by that killer solo and can feel that ending sustained note ring through their souls.

I’m on the former side. Even if my parents never liked Stephen King, I was glued to my seat when The Stand aired on ABC in 1994. The apocalyptic opening scenes with the after effects of the plague while the song plays hooks you, and although it hasn’t aged that well, I still love that adaptation. Certainly a much better effort than The Langoliers. And you can’t go wrong with Gary Sinise.

I found a copy of Agents of Fortune at a jumble sale in Beeston, many decades ago. The CD booklet was pretty much falling apart and I think I got a contact high from how much ancient bits of weed and seeds were in there. Still, I was pleasantly surprised. I found I knew more songs by them than I realized. E.T.I. is a hoot, and This ain’t the summer of love is brilliant. No wonder L7 covered it for the I know what you did last summer soundtrack.

In a way, I think (Don’t Fear) The Reaper is analogous as an obsession just like California Dreamin’ was to my dad. He loved all versions of the track, and so I love all versions of (Don’t Fear) The Reaper. The bootleg from Red House Painters, solemn and fuzzy in its pirated version. The H.I.M. version, eerie and perfect for a Halloween mixtape. Gus Black, when you want to be cheeky with Ghostface. Goo Goo Dolls, on their punkier phase. Hayseed Dixie, for running on fields of wheat, intoxicated with bourbon and moonpies. No matter how you tell this story, it all ends the same: the reaper wins and we all break even.

I don’t actively look for solos, but appreciate emotion over technical prowess. Cinnamon Girl’s “simple” solo gives me much more joy than Dragonforce’s Through the fire and flames. I think (Don’t Fear) The Reaper manages to intersect both emotion and technique. I hate to repeat myself, but that sustained note by solo’s end, just before the drum kicks back? Perfection.

-Sam J. Valdés López