No Genie, No Lamp

Why would Alan Eden's friends call him Aladdin?

First, as a new West Seattle middle school student in 1992 (the year the popular Disney movie came out), the wiseacre in the back row called out, "He's Aladdin!"

Second, real magic (or is it a curse?) invades his life by means of the music of the Bee Gees. From infancy, Alan's mother subjected him to thousands of hours of Bee Gees. Alan knows all the melodies, all the words, but he doesn't know how the music tells him things. When the magic happens, Alan just knows, and what he knows is more valuable than any genie's granted wish.