Today I run through the first 10 members of this year's top 50, voted on by... well, me. I plan on interspersing the tale with various other things, and today I'll be telling you the tale of how KC and I took Aaron to his first hockey game.
Now in honor of firsts, I'll start out of order with the only act in the 41-50 slots NOT to be posting their first M10 hit in this countdown...
...Jana Kramer, whose I've Done Love grabs the #47 slot; and also, there only two of these acts that don't post their first hit with the songs in this grouping ( though they do later on). And they would be...
...POWERS, the one act that has three songs in the countdown, with their second one, Closer, coming in at #49...
...and Flogging Molly, whose second trip into the M10, The Days We've Yet To Meet, comes up at #50.
Now, last night we got to the game pretty close to the last minute, and thus had to park way out in the snow-swept boonies (which is a little redundant as everything was snow-swept). KC wondered if we'd remember where the vehicle was, but I wisely observed we were between row P and row S, and told Aaron that if he kept in mind the main two bathroom functions, we would be just fine.
Inside, we watched the hometown Komets play the Wheeling Nailers. First thing that KC taught our young novitiate was to look through the Nailers' roster to pick out a name to pick on. They soon settled on a player named Fejes. Apparently pronounced FEEG-ees with a very hard "g", KC started calling him "Veggies". Not to be outdone, I suggested that the "j" was in fact an upside down and somewhat mutilated "c", and thus he was in fact "Feces."
No feces in this countdown, though. Though we had no crap, we did have a "creep"- this week's #1 song, Shilpa Ray's Manhattanoid Creepazoids, coming in at #48.
Others of possibly questionable elements include the band that plays what it called "Gay opera church music"...
...the Hidden Cameras with their tune Day I Left Home at #46...
... and the non-PC named Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears at #42 with PTP.
The first period of the game really gave Aaron the best of things: two Komet goals for a 2-0 lead that lasted well into the final period, and two fights- the second of which featured our best guy (AKA the one KC and I liked from last year) Cody Sol pounding a luckless opponent into oblivion. After which, while there was considerable pushing and shoving, no one further dared to drop the gloves again.
Yeah, just try something...
And I couldn't mention a fight without mentioning the great fight video from Colony House's You And I, which takes #41...
On the opposite side of who you want to fight for you would prolly be ...
...Barry Manilow, whose NYC Rhythm/On Broadway medley took #45- which, I told Laurie was somewhat ironic. When I was a kid and he was big, I used to get so mad at end-of-year countdowns that always stuck his songs outside the top 40- and yet, now with my own countdown, here he sits.
Though we had a shutout going, our goalie was more lucky than good IMHO, and I figured it wouldn't last. And I was right- just after the middle of the 3rd period, he gave up two quick goals, and with about 5 minutes to go, it looked like we might have OT... but....
...first, let's bring up our last two songs for today. One of them...
...is Greta Morgan AKA Springtime Carnivore with Midnight Room (which I have been known to sing to Scrappy as "Midnight Booofus") at #43. The other...
...the late Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers with the amazingly prescient #1 hit Walls No. 3....
Some things are over
Some things go on
Part of me you carry
Part of me is gone
...which finishes the year at #44. And the finish of the hockey game?
Well, first I have to tell you about the Komet I picked on. His name was Mason Baptista, and I found him to be slow on an ice-skating tortoise level, and was on him all night- until late in the second, when I told KC, "Since I've picked on him SO much, he'll probably score."
So anyway with that table set, the game finished with two Komet goals in a very short time. Then, after we killed off a rare penalty (outside the fights, the refs only called an obvious high-stick and a cross-check I missed), the Nailers pulled their goalie for the extra skater. And guess who hit the empty net.
Mason Baptista.
One more note on Baptista: I had been cheering on a Komet named Gabriel Desjardins (calling him "Frenchy"). When Baptista made his appearance, KC said, "Another Frenchy", but I said, "If he was French, it would be Baptiste with an "e". I don't know what he is with an "a" ."
KC quipped, "Maybe 'southern French'."
To which I added, " Maybe Creole?"
Later as I was going down my Twitter feed at home, I hit the Komet tweet on Baptista's goal. Onto which, Twitter added the following helpful hint- 'translate from Haitian Creole?'
Some things you can't make up. Come back Monday for some order of 40-31!
With the musical Tardis taking a well-deserved week's vacation, I bring you this week an M10 update plus a few other things I have in my "in-box".
FIRST of all, I would like to announce that since Mo Kenney's Unglued hung in there for a tenth week, slipping a notch to #4, it passes the tied twosome of Quiet Corners And Empty Spaces and Strange Boy to become the all time biggest hit in M10 history! Plus, being that high still, Mo will prolly claim another honor next week- 11 weeks on the countdown, another all-time record.
SECOND, I hit a trio of headlines this week that really left me in amusement over the irony. Headline #1:
Russia warns U.S. against meddling in upcoming election
Not only is this one funny vis-a-vis the recent election and the continuing investigation (which reminds me of nothing so much as Scrappy sniffing his butt), but it was inspired by the State Department comment over Russia's high court banning Putin's only opponent, Alexei Navalny, because he had been convicted of fraud- a charge that Navalny claims was a convenient way of getting him banned from the election in the first place. In other words, you have to HAVE a contested election before you can meddle in it.
Well, I might be wrong there. I thought you had to have something to investigate before you have an investigation as well, but apparently I was misled there.
Another M10 announcement concerns the fact that we will have a new #1, as POWERS falls to #2 after 2 weeks at the top with Beat Of My Drum. And it won't be last week's #9 (Brian Fallon's Forget Me Not), or #8 (Shilpa Ray's tune Shilpa Ray's Got A Heartful Of Dirt), as they both maintain those positions.
The second ironic headline comes from Voice Of America:
Libya Puts 142 Migrants on Plane Back to Guinea
Which is ironic in that for a change Libya isn't in the news for sending migrants to Italy in leaky boats. Apparently they had a backlog of contestants for the swim to Sicily sweepstakes (perchance because they ran out of boats capable of getting out to sea before sinking), and had to send them back where they came from. Fortunately for the hard luck migrants, Libya has better planes than boats.
More Mo? More Mo!
Unglued slips that notch because Mo Kenney's next hit, On The Roof, climbs three spots to #3, thus you get 2 Mo in a row. Its partner in debuting last week, the Shacks and Audrey, moves 2 to #5. And since Bobby wasn't a big fan of the "breathy" nature of that song's live performance, here is the studio version:
And that third headline isn't so much ironic as just plain stupid. So you know it involves California, right?
Farmers' markets a racially biased cause of 'environmental gentrification,' professors say
Yes, Farmer's Markets are a bad thing, because- according to eminent intellectuals Pascale Joassart-Marcelli and Fernando J. Bosco (who earn their living make their money as geography (yes geography) professors at San Diego State)- they are a "white space" where white people do white people things (like apparently buying produce). And why is buying produce such a white-only activity?
The professors, as reported by Campus Reform, say farmers’ markets are “exclusionary” because locals cannot “afford the food and/or feel excluded from these new spaces.” The SDSU professors, who teach classes like “Geography of Food” and “Food Justice,” argue that “farmers’ markets are often white spaces where the food consumption habits of white people are normalized.”
And I mean that in triplicate: 1- HOW MUCH do they charge at California Farmer's Markets that non-whites can't afford to buy? 2- "Food Justice?" Has you tomato been wronged? 3- So it's a bad thing for whites to eat normally?
I decided to find out a little more about these profs and stumbled into RatemyProfessor.com, and I will share a little more about them after the lone M10 debut this week. Last time they were here, they got a one-week cuppa with their redo of Neil Young's Harvest Moon. This one is a bit livelier, so without further ado, here is Sunflower Bean ( and 12th Beauty Contestant Julia Cumming):
A video that reminds us all to shave before you go to the prom.
Anyway, back to comments by students about Pascale Joassart-Marcelli:
"Instructor is easily offended and in some ways it seems like she wants to be part of a minority. Like many university professors she is more interested in pushing her very left wing views than teaching the class. She doesnt understand that the only race that matters is the human race. I paid to learn geography not your politics" "This professor is a joke, no textbooks, only shows slides, and only for a few seconds, giving you no opportunity to takes note, etdc., worst still, she tests on specifics of slides, but then gets very offended when you point all of this out. " "I found it quite ironic that Prof Joassart-Marcelli would preach about the evils of racist, white farmers markets (seriously) while she enjoys hobbies that are 99% white like skiing, camping and hiking. I can think of no habit that normalizes white behavior more than paying $120 for a lift ticket while surrounded by other, wealthy white people"
And my favorite?
"Her trumpet like flatulence was the most intelligent form of language she could muster. I believe her favorite class film/lecture topic was Planet of the Apes."
Her partner, Professor Bosco, was much better rated...
"Good teacher, friendly & helpful. Lectures are kinda boring but he tries to make them good, gives study guides and the tests are pretty easy. 5 map quizes that are easy if you put in a small effort. Doesn't take attendance so you can read notes on BB & still do well. Overall a very friendly and understanding prof, interesting subject & pretty easy." "Funny and a very helpful professor, tries to make lecture fun, pay attention to his exmaples and you'll do good in class."
Of course, some students paid attention to more than his "EXMAPLES"...
"he is super nice, and really hot..."
Yes, this is really him...
Best of the rest: The rest of the M10 includes the former #1 Rhyl Love by Plume Of Feathers dropping from 4 to 7, Strawberry Runners' Garden Hose from 5 to 6... and the new #1...
...Shilpa Ray and Manhattanoid Creepazoids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tune in from here on for the M10 2017 top 50- which, as always, will diverge a bit from the straight-point system... but not a lot!
If I could give this whole world a gift, I know what it would be. But before I tell you what it is, let me tell you why it is.
For months, the battle was fought on TV and social media about kneeling for the National Anthem by the NFL. I do not wish to talk about that, but I do have something to say related to it. For months, old-time fans and non-Disney-beholden analysts figured out, by NOT listening to the conservative side of your fan base, the NFL would lose fans and still not please the protesters. The fact that the majority of protesters rejected the sweetheart deal the NFL worked out with the "player representatives" and the empty seats I saw Sunday in Kansas City- a city that used to hold records for sell-outs- on a day the team was trying to clinch their division, pretty much proved that those predictions rang true.
Another story: I was reading the report on a woman who had a United ticket to go back home, but when she got to the airport, United claimed "the passenger had cancelled it by app, and the seat went to the first person on the waiting list". Who just "happened" to be Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Problem here isn't her affiliation, nor whether the person rally cancelled the seat or not. But the problem comes when the woman took a picture of the Congresswoman to post on her social media as she battled with the airline over the situation. Jackson Lee, asked for comment later, opined that the woman "thought that I, as an African-American, would be an easy victim." More on this later.
Story three involves a two-day long twitter battle I watched between William Shatner and a group of people I might have defended a few months ago. Shatner had made a friend in Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olson, a nominee for Walter Payton Man Of The Year. (BTW, a non-kneeling white guy, for those that think that makes a difference.) The NFL and the players association have teamed up to provide a way for fans to vote via hashtags, and Shatner had been beating the drum for Olson. And for his efforts, which if successful would mean a windfall for Olson's children's charity foundation, he was- and is being- attacked by a group of people so incensed over the kneeling mentioned above, that they think supporting ANY NFL player for ANY cause is an "insult to the flag"- and an insult to the flag is far more important than any child that Olson's charity can help. Olson is an NFL player- he is therefore evil- and thus so is Shatner.
This is where we have gone wrong. Nobody can hear beyond their set of causes and sound bites. No, strike that. They can hear, they just don't want to.
Yesterday, on a nice Christian post by a relative of Laurie's, an atheist commented in amazingly polite opposition, citing that "If God was all you claimed, why wouldn't He want to show Himself?" and continuing with that Christian interference in the nation's laws makes us somehow the bad guy. Even though I knew what to expect, I relied on God's inspiration to give him a polite response, pointing out that God HAS shown Himself- the Word, the Prophets, the pastors we have and the opportunity to share that word- if not to his expectations, well, Jesus didn't perform signs for unbelievers. I also explained to him that once you make that decision against God, He respects your decision and closes your ears, and thus what is a Living Word to Christians is a book one can't understand to unbelievers. His reply, as usual, was the third pillar of atheist excuses- the Bible is "full of contradictions" and thus not worth looking into. Thus proving my point, but I knew he wouldn't catch that either.
Because he had made his decision. He can NO LONGER listen.
The NFL was not long ago the foremost brand-protective enterprise in the world- "Protect the shield" was the mantra. But now, because they would not listen past their own POV, they are being discussed as a case study in brand destruction by reputable business schools.
Sheila Jackson Lee didn't listen either. She heard all her usual rhetoric, that if a black person is involved in anything, the "cause" is white privilege and white prejudice. Despite the fact that a clear thinking idiot would realize the woman wasn't upset at losing her seat to an African-American, but to a privileged big-shot. Didn't matter if it was her, or Donald Trump or George Soros or Jeb Bush. They had money- they got the seat. But SJL can't hear things that blame herself or her OWN privilege; it must be because the woman's a racist.
The people attacking Shatner have a cause, some would say a good cause. I myself would say a good cause. BUT, they are fighting it in an arena just as poorly picked as the one the protesters chose, and look just as stupid doing it. And they aren't hurting the protesters or William Shatner one bit.
Here, people, is who their idiot battle is hurting.
In 2009, after watching his mother tackle and survive breast cancer, Greg Olsen founded Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation. The Foundation's Receiving Hope program focuses on cancer research and education programming. The program has distributed over $524,000 to six hospitals and foundations nationwide, with funding generated by events executed entirely by Greg. The program's most notable and largest fundraiser, Kicks for a Cure, has raised over $850,000 in its eight year history. In early 2013, Greg and his wife Kara founded the HEARTest Yard Fund after a routine examination of their unborn son, T.J., revealed the infant had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a congenital defect marked by an underdeveloped left ventricle and aorta. The HEARTest Yard Fund is a family service program administered in conjunction with Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte. The cutting-edge program provides families of babies affected by congenital heart disease with services including in-home, private nursing care, physical therapy and speech therapy, all at no cost to the families or hospital. The program provides about $25,000 - $30,000 worth of nursing care (approx. 460 hours) per family during the first six months of the baby's life. Since its inception, the fund has distributed nearly $1.7 million in support.
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There are people, like the guy on FB, who cannot listen. But people like the NFL, like the Shatner attackers, like SJL, they COULD listen. If they would quit clogging their ears with sound bites, slap themselves a couple of times, and LISTEN to what they are saying.
They claim to fight hate and prejudice, but foster it. They claim to be inclusive, but they are anything but. And it all starts when you let your ideology work your mouth, rather than studying a matter to its fullest.
And I am far from innocent. After ending one week with a tired tirade over something stupid at work, I posted a Bible verse the next Monday on my scoreboard. A verse, when I read it that night, made me drop my head in shame. It went like this:
37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed? 39 Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?
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So if I could give that one gift to the world this Christmas, it would be simply this:
Listen. Not to the stuff playing in your own head, but to what the other person is saying. To what GOD is saying. Listen, and make it a better world.
Lessee.... which child to clobber first... maybe KC...
Pet robot dinosaur...
Lilly got makeup stuff, art supplies, and a whiteboard/chalkboard easel... Aaron got a sci-fi game/book, the dino, and the big hit of the night, an air-hockey board...
and, of course, clothes...
A book on the Israeli air force and how they saved the nation for me- SCORE!
And this thing that Isaiah got was a rideable lion whose mane lights up and spins a bunch of balls. More balls can be fed into his mouth and shoot out a door in his chest.
But the highlight for me was the bag of duplo blocks we got Peanut. He sat down by himself, oblivious to further chaos, and played with them... I joined him minutes later, and we spent a bunch of time just "talking" and taking blocks apart.
A far less enthusiastic re-enactment of Aaron's reaction to the hockey game. KC set it up in his bedroom and several games ensued... with KC proudly claiming victory every time, show-off!
Later, while Peanut and the ladies continued Duplo play, I re-established a tradition. Years and years ago, when I was about Aaron's age, my Dad came home from work with pants that had gotten ripped- so he had me rip them the rest of the way off. Eventually he was left with a laughing kid and a fabric-covered belt. Last night, I grabbed an old t-shirt under my sweat shirt- and during a break in the action, had Aaron and Lilly rip IT off! Once they grasped the idea of grabbing the hols and ripping (instead of grabbing the collar and choking me), they had a blast, screaming and tearing and warning each other, "Don't touch the armpits!" Afterwards, I celebrated their victory by going back out to the living room, catching my foot on the baby barrier, and falling flat on my face!
Don't worry, I was not hurt... earlier in the day, I had done something to jam my left arm, and catching myself with my right hand and knee seemed to reverse it.
As the night wore on, Jessica gathered the older kids to distribute to parents/grandparents, and Isaiah started to fall asleep in Gampaw's lap. I handed him back over to KC (before he had TWO sleepers on his hands), and got that same ol' "Why are you going?" look from the little guy. I think he likes Gampaw...
Today we go to December 22, 1967- the day the movie The Graduate was first released. Which of course is a musical development because of the work of Simon and Garfunkel on it. But the three big songs that were on the soundtrack were each a story unto themselves. The Sound Of Silence was one of their first acoustic songs but never became a hit until a DJ overdubbed an electric guitar over it... suddenly it and they were big hits. Scarborough Fair/Canticle was the lead (but unreleased) track on their previous lp Parsley Sage Rosemary And Thyme, that got released as a result of being on the soundtrack. And Mrs. Robinson? At the time of the movie it was an unfinished tune with a working title of Mrs Roosevelt, and was missing a lot of lyrics (hence the "dee dee dee" at the beginning, that the movie producer loved), and wasn't actually finished (the soundtrack only got an abbreviated version, because that's all there was) until they went into the studio to cut their next lp, Bookends.
"So where did you THINK I was going?"
Well, I don't know, but thanks for sneaking Marilyn into the Beauty Contest for the second straight year, at the very last minute!
And with that, I have 11 of 12 semifinalists picked for the upcoming Beauty Contest! And you have ahead of you two great new M10 debuts, the Joe South chartbook, and a classic battle for the top spot between the two biggest bands of the year- and one of them is looking for a second POTM in a row! And for a change, I have no meaningless trivia so we might get done at a decent hour! So pull up a seat next to Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman, and let's go!
"Maybe you could give us a minute... this idiot is no better hooking it than unhooking.."
Sure, Mrs R! Why don't we check out our first debut. This was a song that this act has recorded on their debut EP as Audrey Hepburn... but someone suggested that they try recording it the different, dreamier way they did it at their live shows, and now, under the new title Audrey (Spending All My Time With You) it is their new single! Coming in at #7- The Shacks (In a slightly less dreamy than the single live video!):
As you all know, the Monkees won the Presidency of this week's Time Machine, so they are here to give the Panel list this week! Welcome, guys!
Davy: Glad we could be here. Where are the girls?
Girls? Let me guess, Elvis said there'd be girls... Peter: Yeah, he said girls with big...
Guys... P: ...sandwiches. Do you have a deli?
Guys, first let me say, Don't listen to Elvis, he lies. Second, we had 83 stations, which is still a lot, but the number of contestants is down to 24 because two songs hogged over 51% of the vote! So what we're going to do is have you guys save those two for last... Mickey: And one of 'em is ours right? (Everybody talking at once)
Yep, so let's get everything in alphabetical order here... D: Oh, let me do that! Michael: No, you can't do alphabetical...
I'll do it... you four just read them, okay? P: Got it. The first one... D: Hey wait a minute? Shouldn't we read them in alphabetical order for US, too? Mickey: But if we did that, you wouldn't know when it's your turn! P: How about by height? D: I know when I'll be going then... Michael: Look, I'll do the first 6, Pete will go second, Mickey gets third, and Davy, you can go fourth. Mickey: So does that mean Davy gets to do the big two at the end? Because I wanna do... (Everybody talking)
Guys, a one-day show here. Davy can go last and do the big two.
Mickey: Ohhh kay... Michael: So we have first the Ohio Express with Beg Borrow Or Steal, which dropped off the Cashbox charts last week. Mickey: What kind of deal is that?
We call it "they didn't get the memo". Michael: Then we have the Fantastic Johnny C with Boogaloo Down Broadway at #10. Glen Campbell was at #29 with By The Time I Get To Phoenix... P: What? Michael: Which what? P: By the time you get to Phoenix, what? D: Come on, it's not Mike that's going, it's Glen Campbell. Michael: Hey? Davy, you are on my list! D: Really? Let me do it! Michael: Okay, here, give me one of yours... D: Not that one, that's one of the big two. Here, take this one... Michael: All right, next we have The Royal Guardsmen with Snoopy's Christmas at #13. Next, I have Dream Time by some outfit out of New Zealand called Larry's Rebels. Sound like a wild bunch, eh? And My last one is the Lemon Pipers with Green Tambourine at # 62. P: That would be me, next. I have... no, that's the other big one. Here Davy, give me one of yours. D: Here, try this one. P: Okay, I have Gary Puckett and the Union Gap at #7 with Woman Woman. Then, the Beatles with I Am The Walrus, which is the flip side of one of the big two, at #48. D: Shouldn't I have had that one, too? P: No, because it wasn't that big. And besides, I already did it. Anyway, Gladys Knight and the Pips are next with I Heard It Through The Grapevine at #4... Mickey: I thought Marvin Gaye did that. P: Well, yeah, him too. And CCR will do it too. Michael: Who's CCR? P: I don't know, I saw it on one of Chris's screens while he was banging his head before.
I WAS NOT... just get on with it.
P: Smoky Robinson and the Miracles were at # 3 with I Second That Emotion. The Small Faces were at #81 with Itchycoo Park. And my last one is a local act who never charted anywhere else, Jon and Robin and the song I Want Some More. Mickey: Mickey: Thank you, and good morning ladies and gentlemen... Michael: It's not a news show... Mickey: I can do it anyway I want, right, Chris?
As long as you get my name right, I don't care anymore. Mickey: Thank you. My first song is Judy In Disguise by John Fred and his Playboy Band at #17. I'll bet HE's got girls... Next is the Hombres at ... well, they peaked in November... with Let It All Hang Out. Then came Little Becky Lamb and Little Becky's Christmas Wish. This was a real little girl's letter to her brother in Vietnam, and it was at #69. Then comes Wayne Newton...
"Yes! I'm Back!"
Wayne, out! Get out!
... with Love Of The Common People- which seems to be in short supply here- which peaked at #106. Didn't get much love at the record store either. The Bee Gees get a vote for their hit Massachusetts...er, (The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts... at #14. Should this have been Davy's? P: Naw, he's got enough already. Michael: And none of them are in alphabetical order anymore. Mickey: And my last one is Human Beinz with Nobody But Me at #72. Davy? D: Okay, here's what you have all been waiting for- I was at #1 in Australia with a little tune called Dream Girl. Then I Have The Cowsills with The Rain, The Park, And Other Things at #5. Been a lot easier if they'd have just called it Flower Girl. P: Then it would have been Mike's. D: Henson Cargill was at #87 with Skip A Rope. Lulu's To Sir With Love peaked in October. And the last two- the big two- these are your choices to vote for. Either vote for the Beatles with Hello Goodbye at #2... (Everybody) BOOOO!!! D: or us with Daydream Believer which was #1! (Everybody) YAYYYYYY!!!!!
Mm? Oh, thanks, guys. So there you have it. Just for the sake of notation, Snoopy's Christmas got 3rd with 8.4% of the vote. So will it be the Beatles- or do I have to go through this again NEXT time? Light a candle for me and place yer bets...
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Here's your second debut- and it gives us 2 albums with two hits in this week's M10! One is Shilpa Ray's Door Girl; and at #6, from the lp The Details, here's Mo Kenney...
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So this week's 6D victim was Aretha Franklin's Chain Of Fools, on which Joe South was guitarist. Joe had a pretty good singing career himself, but was even bigger as a writer. In addition to ones you might easily know (which I will get to in a bit), he did one of Laurie's favorites- the flip side of his own biggest single- called Don't It Make You Want To Go Home. He also did a gaggle of charting hits, writing wise, for others, so here we give you the Joe South Top Ten:
10- Hush, Billy Joe Royal, #52 in 1967.
9- I've Got To Be Somebody, BJR again, #38 in '66. You begin to see the pattern here.
8- I Knew You When, Linda Ronstadt, #37 in 1982.
7- Same song, BJR version, #14 in 1965.
5 (tie)- Games People Play, his own big hit, #12 in 1968.
(tie)- Walk A Mile In My Shoes, also his own, #12 in 1970.
4- Down In The Boondocks, BJR, #9 in '65.
3- Hush, Deep Purple, #4 in '68.
2- Yo-Yo, the Osmonds #3 in 1971 (BJR got stuck at #117 back in '66).
And Joe South's biggest hit?
1- Rose Garden, Lynn Anderson! Not only did she top CB and the country charts in 1970, she also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada (pop and country), Finland, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland, as well as top five in the Netherlands, the UK, and Austria! All this with a song that, while at least three men had recorded and failed to chart, her hubby told her not to do it because "it's a man's song"!
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Stat pack time!
I knew a big 4-0 this week! Good on me!
The #67 in '67 was Al Greene and the Soul Mates -yes that's the Reverend Al with the original final "E" still attached, and two buddies in the recording biz that encouraged him to do it with Back Up Train. Unfortunately, this was the extent of his climb on CB.
The #101 was a buddy of the Fantastic Johnny C, Joe Simon, with a tune called No Sad Songs. Though he would have a couple of big hits later, the soul star only got to #49 with this one.
The UK #1 was one of the big two- Hello Goodbye. The other, Daydream Believer, was #7.
And finally, the big mover was the Animals with Monterrey- 29 spots from 76 to 47.
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And the remainder of the M10.
The Foo Fighters feel the squeeze, dropping from 6 to 10.
Brian Fallon edges up a notch with Forget Me Not.
Shilpa Ray also up one with SR's Got A Heart Full Of Dirt- a song she wrote in less than an hour after a record exec told her her new demo wasn't "hooky enough". She said, "You want hooks, I'LL give you hooks!" and this was the result.
You've heard 7 and 6...
Holding at #5 are the Strawberry Runners with Garden Hose.
Slipping a spot to #4 are Plume Of Feathers with Rhyl Love.
Mo Kenney reverses course and moves back to #3 with Unglued. Anything over 6 next week not only ties the mark for most weeks- it makes Unglued the biggest hit in M10 history...
Shilpa Ray gets held off another week with Manhattanoid Creepazoids at #2.
And that means another week at the top for...
...POWERS and Beat Of My Drum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And on top of the Panel this week? Well, my guests today got 22.9% of the vote, but the winner with 31.3%...
...the Beatles with Hello Goodbye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next week, since many of you won't be paying attention anyways, will be just an M10 update, but be back the week after for the week-long countdown of the top on the M10 in 2017!
Wow, I didn't realize what a messed up battle this year was on my blog- but as the song says, "There's reason to believe that this coming year will be better than the last."
Far too many posts were spent fighting koolaid-sipping liberals, not because of my great love and devotion for Trump (which doesn't exist except in their tiny imaginations), but because they cannot accept reality or history. I believe I fought my last battle with my last remaining koolaid-sipping friend a few weeks back, when I found that explaining for the umpteenth time that equating ANYBODY in current US politics with Hitler or Stalin is showing a total disregard for both reality and history, was "invalidating" that person, while his making the point that he is "well-regarded by intellectuals" (AKA How dare you disagree with me, peon) was not a similar invalidation of myself. Difference being, I can take being called stupid, because it still leaves me with more common sense, but they could not accept that someone could reject their re-write on history. Truth though, is that the whole fight was leading me to want to say something I knew better than- and I said goodbye.
ANYway, that unfortunate year long battle with utter stupidity reflects heavily in my stats- and while I'm not going to quit fighting the good fight, I have my doubts that my opponents will be stopping by anymore. That said, let's look at the stats.
SimilarWeb says I am now ranked 7,394,364th in the world in blogs- 179,717 spots worse than last year. BUT, nationally I went up 1,881,499 spots to 1,392,734th. I have a feeling that that might be more because of a 40% drop in active blogs than anything I did, but that's just conjecture.
Not counting this one, I have posted 219 times so far this year. I have received/made 1,319 comments, roughly 6 per post. I have had 14,195 views, or roughly 65 a post. That includes a few heavily skewed posts- not near as bad as last year- that probably are the result of bored Russian spammers, one of which has been telling me all the ins and outs of the HVAC business on a 2012 post for the better part of a year.
I had thought to do another attempt at best comments- even started squirreling some away- but the battle between the "anybody I disagree with is a Nazi and coming for you" crowd and I broke my spirit on that fairly early. Just let it be known that unless you have been given the "stay on topic or I'll bounce you" warning, your comments are valued more than you realize. But I did make the annual top ten of most views/most comments, even if it's a mite early (because this is my one good chance to do so). So without further to-do:
MOST COMMENTED POSTS:
30- Coming Back Into The Sunshine, from Feb. 28th. This was one of those aforementioned battles, and one where the "stay on topic, Dale" rule was initiated.
21- Getting To Know You/30 Odd Questions Blogfest, from May 24th. This was my first real foray into a bloghop, started by a friend of Debbie the Dog-Lady. It was a lot of fun, and I met a lot of different people through it.
18- Life Approaches Normal 2017, Jan. 3rd. This was a New Year's roundup, including my grandson Isaiah (Peanut)'s 2- month birthday picture.
17- So The Battle Continues... from Jan. 24th. This is where a FB friend unfriended me because I called a crass "joke" a crass "joke". We have since made peace, but stay away from politics.
16- The Next Blog Button Revisited, from Valentine's Day. This is a sorta-annual thing I've done where I go to a friend's Blogger blog, hit the next blog button, and see what comes up. It can be great fun!
16- And This Is Why The Next Election Will Be A Landslide- And Why I'm Ignoring You, from Jan 16th. This one was a war over ACA and how soon we could pitch it in the dumpster. And perhaps the only one of the "battle" posts that had anything constructive come out of it.
16- Dumbasses And Hitler, from April 12th. Surprisingly, this one was not a "battle" post, but me raking former PressSec Sean Spicer over the coals for being no more literate on history than the "Trump's a Nazi" crowd.
14- Ye Olde Stats Page, from Jan. 2nd- last year's version of this post.
14- Blanket Statements, from June 12th- another battle post, wherein I joust with those who think saying, "you guys suck" is actually making a point.
And 14- And More Pictures... from Aug. 23, which was the picture post where Scrappy earned the title "Slayer Of Mushrooms."
"Yeah, I killed 'em- killed 'em dead!"
MOST VIEWED POSTS
294- Coming Back Into The Sunshine (a double winner, unfortunately).
280- And Now, Enough Pictures To Post, from June 27th. A picture post featuring, deer, foxes, and Scooter the Squirrel chewing us out for no real reason.
"I had my reasons..."
169- Fourth Of July In Pictures, from when else, July 4th. Due to only having a handful of pics that day, I threw in some (duly noted) from previous years.
159- The Lipitor Post, from Feb. 25th, where I discover the stuff I have to give up (yeah, right) since the Doc thinks my triglycerides needed shaved.
156- Let's Get To The Point, from Oct. 3rd. The Tom Petty Eulogy.
154- Hurricane Harvey And The Flood Of A-Holes, from Aug. 28th. The storm brings out the best- and worst- in the internet.
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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