Jeff Lynne is on a Mission: By Abe Orabi
I’ve been using the same toothpaste for the last 30 years. I’ve been showering the same way for as long as I can remember. I still enjoy the cereals of my childhood. I tie my shoes in the same order and with the same technique as I did when I was six. I am a creature of habit. Like all humans, I crave consistency and predictability. I like Jeff Lynne for the same reason I like Lebron James—both are the embodiment of certainty. When I shuffle through the Electric Light Orchestra catalogue, I know exactly what I’m getting. There are no surprises, and rarely ever any disappointments. “Mission (A New World Record)” is the title song off ELO’s seminal album and another Jeff Lynne masterpiece. The opening bars could easily be mistaken as something off Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon . The intro lyrics are eerily spoken to the accompaniment of synthesizer chords and a passing siren. Lynne takes on the persona of a visitor from outer space who is describing his observations of...