Time Machine week #63

Today we sail into March 11th of 1973, and the middle of the Indian uprising at Wounded Knee.  An FBI agent is wounded in the hand (not the knee) and, in the fine tradition of micronations everywhere, the  Indian militants declare Wounded Knee "an independent nation" and announce that they are at war with the United States. "If any foreign official representing any foreign power - specifically the United States - comes in here, " says Russell Means, "it will be treated as an act of war and dealt with accordingly. Anyone caught in here without passing through our customs or getting a pass or visa will be dealt with as spies and as countries deal with spies all over the world."

Now we're going to start things just a little different, kind of a "stream of consciousness" that started when I went to build- a bit late, I have to admit- the six degrees which would have led to our highest charter this week which got no love from the soon to be announced Panel.  And that song led to an lp of the same name, on which this singer also did a cover of a Beatles tune- the McCartney feature Mother Nature's Son (which ought to be your first clue as to who it is).  That tune the Beatles recorded on the White Album- well, the actual recording was Paul and the brass arranged as usual by George Martin.   Martin, long known as "the Fifth Beatle" and their longtime producer, died this week.  Adding to an ever lengthening list this year, he joins another legend that I have been neglecting to mention- Sonny James.

  He was known best in pop circles for his huge hit Young Love (one of only 2 top 40s), but on the country charts, he was only 3 #2s and a #3 away from a 26 song #1 streak from 1964-72.  This HOFer passed on February 22nd.

And the song that started this whole trip?  John Denver's Rocky Mountain High, which was at #7 this week.

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As for the Panel that was not of a Rocky mindset, they were:  WRKO Boston, WSTP (the racer's edge) Salisbury NC, WTVB Coldwater MI, WGNG Pawtucket, WLLL Lynchburg VA, WKXY Sarasota, KAKC Tulsa, KMEN San Bernardino (which I can finally spell right the first time), CKLG Vancouver BC, KHJ Los Angeles, CFGO Ottawa, and WAKY Louisville.  They racked up 20 different songs including Lynchburg's #1- Loudon Wainwright's Dead Skunk, and Gladys knight und der Pipsters with Neither One Of Us, which was #1 in Louisville and Tulsa but couldn't generate another 2 lousy points and squeeze into a tie for the Panel's #4.  The lowest charter on the panel was Timmy Thomas' Why Can't We Live Together, at 79 this week after peaking in the top 5.

The Panel 4 was yet another romp, by a 46 to 29 score.  And as I mentioned, the 4th spot is a tie:

With no #1s and 12 points, both the week's #3 song- the O'Jays' Love Train- and the #6 song- Deodato's Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001).

With 17 points and the #1 from Coldwater, the week's #4 nationally, Edward Bear's Last Song.

With 29 points and the #1 from North Carolina, the national # 2, the Dueling Banjos from Deliverance- which might make the first Panel 4 with two instrumentals!

Believe it or not, I first saw this bumper sticker in rural Ohio after playing Dueling Banjos less than two minutes before...

And the Panel's #1, with the other seven #1s- stay tuned...

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I have three debuts on the M10 this week, and the one at #10 is the second time The Knocks make my chart.  They have released a handful of singles since I Wish (My Taylor Swift) made the M10, but it was when last week they finally released a full lp that I heard their FIRST single.  That song, with vocals by an indie duo called POWERS and someone I would have never thought would grace these pages- rapper Fetty Wap (which, in fact, I thought was Fetty WRAP until last night), and their hit is this:




Not your usual M10 fare, I admit, but catchy.  Shady will probably be proud of me for expanding my horizons.



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Next, in Honor of his wonderful tweet to Kim Kardashian about her latest nude picture (‘I know the old man’s $50 million in debt, Kim, but this is absurd. Want me to buy you some clothes?’), Piers Morgan gets this week's quote:



“Absolutely nobody in the entire United States of America has even a modicum of interest in who I am, but I’m determined to change that."

So he would have been better off fulfilling his first expectation than the second, but even he can get behind....

This week's UK top ten...


10- Dave Edmunds takes a shot at the Ronettes classic Baby I Love You, one of 3 American no-charts on this ten.

9- Focus, who had a big hit here with the semi-instrumental Hocus Pocus, was at this point with Sylvia.  It peaked at 89 here.

8- American soul singer Jimmy Helms had his one big hit in the UK, Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse.  It would barely graze our R&B chart.

7- Here sits the Panel's (and the National) #1 this week, so it's a secret for now.

6- Alice Cooper's Hello Hurray here, currently at 31 on the US charts.

5- Rod Stewart and the faces were in this spot with Cindy Incidentally, which was at 114 over here.

4- Another American soul act- the Detroit Emeralds- were here with a song that peaked at #22 on our R&B charts- Feel The Need In Me.

3- The second non-charter here was yet another tune by T-Rex, this time 20th Century Boy.

2- Donny Osmond held down the runner-up place with a song that was 64 and climbing here, The 12th Of Never.

And the UK #1 this week...

...Slade with the original Cum On Feel The Noize!!!!!


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Debut #2 on the M10 would normally go here by itself, but with the way things have gone today, it's time for the M10 anyway!  So, the song at #9 this week, and our second debut- and lifted from last week's UK top ten- I give you the bay City Rollers:




The Scott Brothers move up 2 spots with Hold On at #8.

And our third debut belongs to a brand new release from Nada Surf.  Those in the know remember these guys from their mid nineties hit Popular.  I kinda liked the first single from their new lp, but this is the one that grabbed me...






In the tradition established the last two weeks, we have one 2 notch dropper- Built To Spill's Living Zoo, dropping to #6.  If it follows the trend, though, it will move back up to five next week.


At #5 is last week's big debut, Best Coast and Feeling Ok, climbing a quick 3 to #5.

And if you did the math from two comments ago, you know that the #4 slot is filled by Brian Fallon's Nobody Wins, which creeps back up a spot to #4.

And, it was Brooke Annibale who pulled the trick first, dropping to 4 two weeks ago, then climbing one last week, and holding at #3 this week, with Remind Me.

For a second week, Flo and Eddie hold onto the #2 spot with Keep It Warm.  Also, Brooke and F&E join a select group- they are just the fifth and sixth songs to log 7 weeks on the M10!

And at the top...


M10 says:

... Eleanor Friedburger for a second week with Two Versions Of Tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, Panel says...

...well, you can read...


That's it for this week!  Tune in next time for a fun trip to...  eek... 1979!