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Nearly 25 years after his last significant hit, Billy Squier inexplicably finds himself back in fashion. Rappers like Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Dizzee Rascal have sampled huge chunks of his song "The Big Beat," while "The Stroke" has appeared on the soundtracks of comedy blockbusters Billy Madison and Blades of Glory. So what better time to revisit his pivotal 1984 album, Signs of Life? Squier thinks it killed his career, largely due to the video for his highest charting single, "Rock Me Tonite," which was played nonstop by MTV and portrayed the shirtless rock star humping around a pastel-hued bedroom set. But it might have more to do with the fact that Squier was drifting away from the Led Zeppelin-inspired power chords of his earlier releases and more towards a glossed-up New-Wave sound, as evidenced by "Eye On You" and "Another 1984." So Signs of Life might not represent Squier's creative peak, but for the next rap heavyweight, it's a veritable goldmine. --Aidin Vaziri
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