Continuing my Five Year Mission Dream Set, the second song up is Balance of Terror, featuring the tragic love story of Robert Tomlinson and Angela Martine, two characters basically put into the original episode so they could be torn apart by the plot. The band doesn't play this song very often - I would guess that it has been close to two years since they last played it, and they only did so because they were performing at a friends' wedding. According to Andy Fark, it was more than two years before that that they had performed the song live, so they had to rehearse the number quite a bit for the occasion. On the other hand, I don't see the band perform more than two to three times a year, and they might have performed this song more recently. If I was making the decisions about what they should perform, they'd play it every time they took the stage.
One might ask why I think they should perform this song. The first reason is simple: Balance of Terror is my father's favorite episode of the Star Trek series, and by osmosis, it has become one of mine. The second reason is even simpler: This is a really catchy song, with great lyrics about a doomed romance that serve as a counterpoint to its upbeat music. There is something slightly humorous about focusing the song for an episode that is essentially a space-borne version of The Enemy Below upon a disrupted marriage ceremony. But the song is ultimately a bitter paean to love lost to Romulan aggression. I love it. I love the off-kilter approach to the song. I love the contrast between the music and the subject matter. I love the episode it relates to. I just wish that the band would play it live more often, so it is part of my dream set for them.
Previous Musical Monday: The Cage by Five Year Mission
Subsequent Musical Monday: City on the Edge of Forever by Five Year Mission
Dream Five Year Mission Set
Musical Monday Playlists Five Year Mission Musical Monday Home
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