Okay, so late-80’s metal fans could all probably agree that Operation: Mindcrime was the best of the Ryche--everything after that was lame and everything before wasn’t as well developed. So, Mindcrime is their best (and anyone who disagrees with me is a fascist).

Now, what is the best song on the album?

It could be “Spreading the Disease” with its filth and anger, but the spoken word portion pushes perilously close to cheesy. It could be “Breaking the Silence” with Tate’s soaring vocals and angsty lyrics. But, no, there are better songs here. “Eyes of a Stranger” is probably the sentimental favorite, but I’m not fond of sentimental favorites, even if they are reminiscent of Pink Floyd in some ways.

It could be “I Don’t Believe in Love"--and if teen girls had anything to say about it, this would be the end of the list. Lucky for you, I’m a hypercritical old guy who realizes that the best song on any heavy metal album can’t be the ballad. Even if it’s a really good ballad and maybe not quite as ballad-y as something from posers like White Lion or Bon Jovi.

No, the way I see it, it comes down to “The Needle Lies” and “Speak"--which is to say, making a choice between these two is tough. “The Needle Lies” was my favorite for a long time. It was the fastest, hardest song on offer, and that beat still grabs my attention. In fact, if you walked into my office while I was listening to this one, you’d find me nodding along with the song, mumbling the words--sort of embarrassed--"carved my cure with the blade that left me in scars/ now every time I’m weak words scream from my arm.” Oh, yeah.

The vocals on “Speak” are better, though--in fact, some of the best that the album has to offer. The drums (with just the right hint of cowbell (heh)) and the guitar work are superb examples of the 80’s heavy metal aesthetic. But the lyrics dive down into some stereotypical “boy, don’t rich people suck since they control the country and rape the poor” kind of philosophy that is harder to overlook the older I get.

Which leaves me with “The Needle Lies” as the best song on Queensryche’s best album.

(Although, damned if the ten-minute epic “Suite Sister Mary” doesn’t just cry out for recognition.)

None of which explains why the country has gone batty over Bush having the NSA perform signal intelligence duites sans warrants. Until this last week, there seemed to be an accepted and rather liberal concept of the necessity of secretly collecting electronic intelligence in times of war. Presidents, with an obligation to provide for national security, have historically had quite a bit of leeway in deciding how to collect intelligence from “agents of a foreign power"--in fact, I would suspect that most Americans have always expected the President (any American President) to have secret programs for collecting signal intelligence from belligerent foreign powers (including terrorists) that have nothing to do with needing warrants.

I would go further and suggest that most Americans would see that as a reasonable activity and would understand the distinction between the need to gather warrants for criminal investigations but not for military and national security operations. Most Americans aren’t all Americans, I realize, and some dissent is to be expected.

But how many people are really surprised that an American President (following Sep. 11th) instituted a secret program to collect signal intelligence from suspected terrorists and their contacts? Not me.