Who says you can't HEAD BANG on a Sunday?

Well, everybody who has come in contact with me today, actually.
I cranked up the SAXON as I drove the girls to their religious education class this morning (is there a punchline in there somewhere?) and Kerstin and Annika both cast wary glances my way.
What is he on about *THIS* morning?
I am just test-driving a 27-song iTunes playlist devoted to "The Big Teasers from Barnsley" this morning.
"Test-driving" is the operative term, as about 75 percent of Saxon's songs seem to be about MOTORCYCLES and TRAINS.
So just what is a jazz- reggae- soul- punk-loving guy like me doing, listening to Saxon?
I can't help it.
There's a certain charm about the band, who at times seem like the living embodiment of Spinal Tap. Other times, they seem to make perfect sense -- particularly in the anti-Thatcher anthems "Stand Up and be Counted" and "Never Surrender."
Lead singer Biff Byford has said in interviews how much he detested Margaret Thatcher's policies during the bleak days of the 80s -- when mining strikes and grinding poverty gripped the band's South Yorkshire home base.
Byford and the band melded their outbursts to surprisingly catchy, METAL MELODIES, resulting in a fairly large clutch of memorable songs.
So, what's not to like about a band that allies itself to punk sentiments and sings about jetliners instead of groupies?