Time Machine week 16

It’s May 18th, 1970, and for once I can breathe a sigh of relief, as no major disasters happened on this date- unless you count the birth of Tina Fey.

Welcome to  a Full Moon Time Machine, where a very tame group of teasers include a hot 100 with 101 songs- and why;  the good and bad of Christian rock; and I find yet another of the world’s stupidest songs.  Climb in, and let’s see what trouble we can get into…

Despite a whopping 17 hot 100 debuts, I’m only mentioning five of them- and one is just because of the timing.  You see, a song called That Same Old Feeling hit the 100 this week by two very different artists.  The higher debut was by the Fortunes, who did a very similar job on their much bigger hit Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again.  The other was by a group called Pickettywitch.  This was an English group fronted by a lady by the name of Polly Brown (or Browne, depending).


Pickettywitch came in at 88, and in Laurie’s and my humble opinion, was far superior.  Check it out yourself here.  Also debuting at 77 are the Pipkins  featuring Tony Burrows (who is also in the count with Edison Lighthouse and White Plains) with Gimme Dat Ding; and Bobby Sherman at 62 with Hey Mr. Sun.  Oh, and there is one more hot 100 debut- but it’s also a TOP 40 debut, so we’ll get to it later.

Oh, this would be a good time to thank everybody for their birthday wishes, because it makes a seamless segue into the birthday songs for this week.  1977, 35 years ago this week, these songs debuted:  The Eagles’ Life In The Fast Lane (you know summer’s coming fast when…); Boston’s Peace Of Mind; ABBA’s Knowing Me Knowing You; Shaun Cassidy’s Da Doo Ron Ron; and Supertramp’s Give A Little Bit.  Turning 40 this week are America’s I Need You and Day By Day from the Godspell cast.  Turning 45 are Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes On You, Every Mother’s Son with Come On Down To My Boat, Spanky and Our Gang’s Sunday Will Never Be The Same, and the 5th Estate with Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead.

Oh, and one more- I saw this one on the bottom of the debut pile 55 years ago this week.  I have previewed this, and the curiosity of the name is far superior to the song itself.  It was called Ring Tang Ding Dong… subtitled I Am The Japanese Sandman.  The Cellos, an all-black doo-wop group who I can find nothing further about.  As for the song itself, it sounds much like you’d expect from late fifties African Americans trying to sound Japanese.  Though it made- just barely- the top 60 on Cashbox, it peaked on Billboard at #62.  As one of the commenters on Youtube said, “Racism never sounded so catchy.”  (Of course, he probably never heard The Whistling Coon.)

Our big mover for the second straight week, and with a 16 notch jump for the second straight week, are The Chairmen Of The Board with (You’ve Got Me) Dangling On A String, landing at #54.  The big dropper- again for the second straight week (doo DOO doo DOO… I know it’s not a full moon again yet), are the Supremes, falling 18 spots to 63 As opposed to 31 last week) with Up The Ladder To The Roof.

Our Where Are They Now at #50 this week is Baby Hold On by the Grass Roots.  The Grass Roots were a series of bands picked out by producer P.F. Sloan and writer Steve Barri.  This pair had penned such hits as A Must To Avoid for Herman’s Hermits and Johnny Rivers’ Secret Agent Man, and decided to create a band to play their songs.  Rather than building one from scratch, they looked down the roster of bands that would fit their sound.  It was the third such band, originally called 13th Floor, that became the nucleus for what we knew as the Grass Roots.  This band was originally a four piece outfit.  Creed Bratton was a guitarist/vocalist, and if the name sounds familiar to fans of NBC’s The Office, it’s because Creed Bratton, Quality Assurance Officer, was –and is- Creed Bratton the member of the Grass Roots.  Yes the man on the show is basically playing himself.  Drummer Rick Coonce was an on and off member the rest of the band’s history, and recently retired after 27 years working as a Child Protection Agent in Canada.  Warren Entner, keyboardist best known for the “1, 2, 3, 4” countdown before the chorus on Live For Today, became a promoter for metal bands such as Quiet Riot and Rage Against The Machine.  Vocalist/guitarist Rob Grill left the band in the early 80’s to go solo, opening for Fleetwood Mac on the Tusk tour, before returning to buy up the GR name and restarting the band along with later member Dennis Provisor.  Grill put out a new line up nearly every year until a bad fall led to a coma from which he died in July of last year.  He was preceded by five months by Coonce, who passed of heart failure in February.  Sloan, who among his other credits was the Falsetto on Jan and Dean’s Little Old Lady From Pasadena, is still in production, while Barri became one of those dreaded A&R men; among his signings were Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods.

How about top 40 debuts now?  El Chicano moves up 7 to 40 with Viva Tirada (basically “Go, Bullfighter”, I believe).  The high debut in this week’s hot 100 comes in at #38- and how many of you guessed it might be the Beatles with The Long And Winding Road?  Shooting up 14 to #37 are Melanie, backed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers with Lay Down (Candles In The Rain).  Tony Burrows comes into the top 40 with White Plains and My Baby Loves Loving, up 6 to 36.  Rising 11 to #35 is Neil Diamond with Soolaimon (An African Trilogy).  And the high debut this week, up 7 to #34, Glen Campbell with his cover of Oh Happy Day, first done by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.  Is it just me, or is it a small world today?

This week’s look back at the #1s of the past brought me to a song from 1916 called Hello, Hawaii, How Are You, by the Intriguingly named Prince’s Orchestra.  No, not that Prince, he was –42 at the time.  This band, which recorded under several variations of the name, was the child of Charles Adams Prince, an early band leader who specialized in their take on old standards.  Among them were perhaps the first recording of St. Louis Blues, The Star Spangled Banner (#1, 1916), It’s A Long Long Way To Tipperary (#2, 1915), and Alexander’s Ragtime Band (#3, 1912).  In fact, they come in #22 of all time on the MusicVF list of all time chart acts from the US of A and the UK since 1900.  They racked up 78 top 40 hits, all but one in the top ten, and 3 #1s (the other one was Ballin’ The Jack in 1914, which was a dance step, oh dirty minds).

I hadn’t noticed MVF’s chart until last night, and found that many of our featurees on this segment are on the top 50, including Paul Whiteman (#3), Billy Murray (#9), Al Jolson (#12), and Rudy Vallee (#32).  Not to say that more modern acts aren’t on the list, like Elvis (#2 to Bing Crosby), Madonna (#5), the Beatles (#11), Michael Jackson (#14), Elton John (#19), and the Stones (#20).  I’ll be having some fun with this at a later date.

Three songs enter the top ten, three fall out- and for some full-moon reason, two of them drop to the same spot.  Despite a complete numbering from 1 to 100, we had two droppers land, somehow, at #12- the former #4 Let It Be and the former #5 Something’s Burning.  The third dropper is Love Or Let Me Be Lonely, from 8 to 14.

Holding at 10 is Bobbi Martin with For The Love Of Him.  Leaping 7 to #9 is Ray Stevens with Everything Is Beautiful (except my typing right now.  Thank God for backspace!) Up one spot to #8 is Marmalade with Reflections Of My Life.  Up 5 spots to #7 is Simon And Garfunkel with Cecilia.  And holding at 6 is, appropriately, our six degrees victim.

The Ides Of March, with Vehicle at #6 this week, were led by Jim Peterik, who most everyone by now knows went on to found Survivor (the band, not the show!).  But what not everyone knew was that around the same time he was writing or co-writing most of the big hits by southern rockers .38 Special.  That list included Rockin’ Into The Night, Hold On Loosely. Wild Eyed Southern Boys, Caught Up In You, and Fantasy Girl.  Everyone also knows that the band was co-founded by Lynryrd Skynyrd sibling Donnie Van Zant.  His major partner in this was lead singer Don Barnes, who left the band in 1989 to record a solo album.  The album, Ride The Storm, sadly got shelved when the record company got sold.  One of the session players on the lp was one Dann Huff, who had years before formed the Christian band White Heart with his brother David and vocalist Steve Green.    The demo for their first lp bounced around a while before promoted by Christian Contemporary artist and producer Chris Christian.  The album sold a quarter-million discs; but rock wasn’t Steve Green’s gig, as any of you familiar with this powerful singer knows.  He went solo, and has racked up 13 #1 songs on the CC charts.

His replacement in the group was Scott Douglas- but three years later he was arrested- first for aggravated sexual battery, and later the charges were changed to statutory rape. According to Mathiesen (Scott’s real last name) and his wife, the encounters occurred with the full consent of two girls aged 11 and 13 who lived near him. He was also convicted of a third incident (which he claims never took place) as part of a plea bargain arrangement. None of these acts ever took place in connection with any White Heart activities, however.  He was released in the mid-90’s, had to register as a violent sexual offender, and went home to try and rebuild his family. 
"Scott fell due to pride," said his wife of nine years at the time. "In a way, he had never been humbled before the Lord. He grew up in the church, so he had never been saved out of a lot of 'bad stuff. He lived his Christian life by his own strength. He had a real problem with lust, and he remained very weak because he was fighting it on his own strength. That was the weak place where Satan could really attack. We could see the Holy Spirit really moving in concerts. A lot of power was beginning to come out, and that's when Satan began to attack on all fronts."  Showing once again, the hard way- Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. (Story pieces published in Cross Rhythms, June 1st, 1991.)

Blasting its way up 8 spots to #5 are CCR with Up Around The Bend.  Tyrone Davis climbs 3 to #4 with Turn Back The Hands Of Time.  The Jackson Five hang on at #3 once again with ABC.  And Norman Greenbaum slips from the pinnacle to #2 with Spirit In The Sky.  All of which gives us a new number one song.  May I present to you-



The Guess Who with American Woman!!!
For you all, it’s 9 AM Friday, but for me its 10 PM Thursday.  So have a good tomorrow, and be back here Saturday for the eighties countdown!

Happy Birthday to me...

Yep, I am now officially the big 5-0.  I believe that's one of the signs pointed to in Daniel 9, but I could be wrong.

Yesterday, while Laurie was passing a stone, I attempted to work, only to realize I was going through one of my patented fatigue spells and left at one rather than wait till I messed anything else up- including the trip home.  Thereafter I was conscious from 4:15 to 4:20, 5:45 to 7:15, 8:30 to 8:40, and 10:30 to midnight.  Stupidest I ever felt without benefit of hangover.  Would you believe I put the little line on the wrong side of a Q?  Put someone else's initials on paperwork since it was on the line above, rather than using my own?  Sent one of our power cords swinging as high as I ever saw one go?  But when I cut 5 of a certain cushion only to look at the worksheet and find out I was SUPPOSED to make them out of a fabric I knew darn well we were out of, I went to the boss' office and said, "Send me home!"

Today was better, at least mentally.  At work, we had a handful of guys from the Ft. Wayne plant come in to help with trucks.  Two things I'd like to point out about this.  When we were busier than crap and we had to pull people from every department to get trucks shipped, no help was ever offered.  Now that we are a month away from unemployment and much of the plant is deep in the don't-give-a-shits, NOW they send help.  Thanks loads.

Second is the way things are being done. We cut and sew a buttload of shells for KMart retail orders.  Plant gets closure notice, shells are sent to Ft Wayne and Amarillo to finish and ship.  Suddenly the finished products all get sent back to US, and WE end up having to ship them.  Why?  I asked my boss that, and she said that KMart refused to let us change shipment origin.  Why, I ask, when Ft. Wayne to Kendallville is not a change that is going to rack up huge shipping charges?  Don't know, she said.  At that point a rumour I heard about us possibly "kicking KMart to the curb" makes a lot more sense.

Oh, and this post wouldn't be complete without a shoutout to the lovely people from Amarillo and the excellent job they did shipping us their finished product.  Among their accomplishments:

- They owed us a bag of 405s (read: small, thin bag) from another truck they fubar'd; and they sent it, along with a very similar looking product called 134s.  Problem was, they stuck the 405 in with the 134s, counted it AS a 134, but labelled it correctly (But as it was among its 134 friends, I put a 134 label on it, someone else caught it, and that's when we found out they never put a 405 on the truck's paperwork.

- Shorted us a style of 201s (a chair cushion) and sent 6 extra 560s (another chair cushion), presumably because they forgot to count them until they had 3/4s of a row in front of them on the truck and assumed that the 6 560's were actually 201s.  Of course, we can't be too sure because ODP's idea of inventorying what comes in is, "run enough stickers to cover what they SAY came in, and if we have extra or missing stickers, we know something's wrong."  (Problem with that?  Dark trailer + long strips of 4 x 4 labels + "we need this done by x time" + 25 of this in row one, another 10 bags in row three, etc. = one big cluster.)

- 65% of bags have twice as much tape on them as necessary, much of it dangling and attaching itself to other cushions, while another 10% dont have enough to prevent cushions from getting out- or dirt from getting in.

- The first 25, more or less, out of a set of about sixty-five bags of another style had signs on them warning, "Do not pull!  Product does not have POP (point-of-purchase) tags."  Which means we will have to open the dumb things up, tack on the tags, and reseal them (Yay! More tape!) before they can ship- and many of these items are going directly from one truck straight onto the KMart order.  There's smart, and then there's KMart smart.

But the day has to end, by popular demand, and Laurie treated me to a very nice steak dinner.  "The steak is perfect," I told the waitress afterwards, "when the cow goes, "MOOO! It's Hot in here!" and you serve it."

Monday chunks

Let's start out with politics on the fly.  Item #1, I saw this weekend that Betty White is coming out in support of Obama.  White says in this year's election, she likes what Obama has done and "how he represents us."  Yeah, Betty, but you're not one of those 90-year-olds wondering whether they will be able to get their treatment or get a couple of Tylenols and your favorite last rites minister on speeddial.  I will suspend for now my speculation as to what Obama has done FOR her that is so much better than what he's done TO us.

Second item, the Journal-Gazette ran an article on Sunday by Errin Haines of the AP which basically talked about the fact that black Churches, usually overwhelmingly against gay marriage, are letting it go in the name of re-electing "one of their own". 

Like many black Americans, Dorsey Jackson does not believe in gay marriage, but he wasn’t disillusioned when Barack Obama became the first president to support it. The windows of his suburban Philadelphia barbershop still display an “Obama 2012” placard and another that reads “We’ve Got His Back.”
If Obama needs to endorse same-sex marriage to be re-elected, said Jackson, so be it: “Look, man – by any means necessary.”
Black voters and especially black churches have long opposed gay marriage. But the 40-year-old barber and other African-Americans interviewed in politically key states say their support for Obama remains unshaken.


On Tuesday,  (Leon) Givens voted in favor of banning gay marriage in North Carolina. Many black precincts voted 2-1 for the ballot measure, which passed easily.
The next day, Givens heard Obama tell the nation in a TV interview: “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”
But this fall, Givens plans to register Obama voters and drive senior citizens to the polls. A retired human resources manager, he suspects the president’s pronouncement was “more a political thing than his true feelings.” But he’s not dwelling on it.
“We can agree to disagree on gay marriage,” Givens said, “and then I leave him alone.”

Now, I'm not comparing anyone to Hitler here, but it's this kind of voting mentality that put Uncle Adolf in power despite never winning more than 35% of the vote.  And it's a lot like the Catholics in the US of A voting Democratic year after year and then panicing when Obama suddenly "disenfranchised" them.  If you don't carry your convictions from the pew to the voting booth, you are by definition a hypocrite.  I didn't vote for John McCain because he was white, and I wouldn't have shied away from voting for a qualified African-American candidate such as Colin Powell, Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, or Condi Rice, all of whom I think are far more honest, more intelligent, and more qualified that the teleprompter-weaned media creation who occupies the Oval Office now.

And since I brought up the subject of same-sex marriage, here is where I stand now, as taken from a comment I left on another blog:

I'm of two minds on this subject. On the one hand, I don't believe that you have to hold a religious belief to believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. Simple biology should be a good clue. On the other hand, as I've said before, as Christians, we cannot expect the tares to follow the same rules as the wheat.

A lot of things are injected into the election debate in the name of "determining the character of the candidate" that really have no place. I also find it funny that Obama never found the courage to make his statement till he saw how Joe Biden's trial balloon floated. Crap like that might fool the rubes, but I know a snake when I smell him. If the world would have caved in on Joe Biden, Obama's statement wouldn't have seen light of day till November.

As for Romney and Obama's religion, I agree that they should have little bearing. I know of many Mormons who are good people. And Obama's church isn't the only one I'd walk straight out of.

But what are we to do? Christians put up religious signs and such on piblic land thinking they're evangelizing when they really are just picking a fight, and FFR comes marching in with their ringers whether anyone wants them around or not. If we elected a dog, there'd be an all out fight over an anti-cat amendment to the constitution.

Next up, I got the latest of the Great Postcard Campaign postcards, this one courtesy of The Adventures of Cinderita  from somewhere in the wilds of Canada (If she wanted you to know where, she'd tell you!).  A lovely view of Long Beach on Vancouver Island, thereby increasing my longing to get back up to Pokagon!

Finally, speaking of wonderful women, Laurie's birthday gift that I told you about last night was a new, more powerful, digital camera!!  Hopefully we'll be sharing some better looking pics with y'all soon.

Time to go a-grazing now.  Have a lovely tomorrow...

Sunday birthday celebration

First let me tell you about our day.  This is, as you know if you read Friday's Time Machine, birthday week.  Which means a trip to Red Lobster to suck down a couple of Ultimate Feasts.  And my compliments, they did a great job.  This is the first time ever I've had crab legs where the meat slid right out the entire meal!

Then it was on to attempt #2 at watching the Avengers.  It grieves me so to not just tell the whole amazing story; suffice it to say that it lived up to the billing.  I've never had people tell me how great a movie was while I was buying tickets before.  I think, though, it's safe to show you Laurie's favorite part-

That, of course is Loki, shortly after explaining to the Hulk that the Hulk shouldn't beat him up as he is a god.


Then Laurie decided she was going to get me a birthday present.  "I don't need one," I protested.  I didn't know she was planning to and I had not idea #1 on how to reciprocate.  But it wasn't a battle I was going to win, so I trudged off in search of something... anything.  And then the music played and the clouds opened... and there they were:

Meet Stan and Jack (because what else are you going to name two somethings purchased right after watching a Marvel Comics movie?).  She's had bamboos before and really likes them because they're so easy to care for and tend to stay away from alcohol and drugs and only need a little pot-ty training (ba-dum-DUM!).  I doubt they be quite the affair that she's aiming to get me, but finding something she likes and hasn't gotten herself is beyond hard, and this was pretty much a home run.

What did she get me?  I don't know yet.  Not surprisingly, Wal-Mart got a fail for not having whatever it is in stock (When do they?  I've never seen a store that is one one hand so full of stuff and on the other so devoid of anything you really want.), so she is at this moment winging her way to Meijers.  Not, however, before she called me from the car and asked if I wanted her to pick me up anything to eat.  It is now about 5 hours since I had a serving of crab legs, a bowl of scampi, four fried shrimp, a lobster tail a salad with ranch, a baked potato with enough butter to make Paula Deen proud, and at least 4 cheddar bay biscuits.  "Are you INSANE?" was my response.

Thus, a much better weekend than last, especially when you throw in her sister and b-in-l taking us out to eat at Chinese buffet for our b-days Friday followed by mixed drinks and a rousing look at damnyouautocorrect.com.  Hope you all had a pleasant Mother's Day, and God bless all you REAL mothers out there, and thank you from the real kids you raised.  Excelsior!

Peter walks away- a bit at a time

It sure looked easy for Peter to give up his old life, as Christ asks of all of us.  Other than the occasional fishing trip and passing the hat, he was going from an established income and way of life to no home, no income, and most importantly, no idea what came next.  But he did it- he just walked away from all he knew and took up an entirely new life.  Easy.

 

Or was it?

 

Walking away was the easy part. But separating himself from the old life and building the new one were two different things, as he would find out. “Then Peter said, "See, we have left everything we have and followed you." (Luke 18:28)  But there were things he hadn’t left behind- and wouldn’t for a very long time.

 

He had to leave behind a mortal man’s perspective.  For all his loyalty to Jesus the Man, he had a hard time seeing Jesus as God.  He disputed Jesus when told of His impending death, more than once.  He refused- at first- to allow Jesus to wash his feet.  He even took up the sword to save Him from the mob.  And each one of these he was scolded for, to the point of losing his place in God’s scheme of things- "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." (John 13:8)  Peter had to learn to look past personalities, look past this life, and sell himself to the eternal plan.

 

Then, as they say in the Green Lantern comics, he had to overcome great fear.  “²⁹ Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” ³⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.” (Mark 14:29-31)  But he didn’t overcome that fear.  He caved, just as Jesus predicted.  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. “ (Which, ironically comes from I Peter 3:15-17)  Peter had to learn not only to believe, but to go out of his comfort zone to defend that faith.

 

He also had to overcome years of Jewish tradition. Excuse the lengthy passage:   

⁹ About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰ He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ¹² It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. ¹³ Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

¹⁴ “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

¹⁷ While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. ¹⁸ They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three^[a] men are looking for you. ²⁰ So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

…³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” (from Acts 10.)

 

Peter had to overcome the dietary traditions passed down for years in the Law. Centuries of tradition were holding him back from serving Christ among the Gentiles. “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” (I Cor. 9:23)

 

Finally, he had to figure out that he couldn’t just play to the audience. “Now when Peter^[a] had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; ¹² for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. “  (Gal. 2:11-12)  He couldn’t be this expanded, openly accepting Christian to one group and “Jew first” to others.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  (Gal. 3:28)

 

So after Peter left his old life behind, he had to leave his old LIFE behind- His mortal perspective, his fear of standing up for his faith, his time-hardened traditions, and his priorities.  He found, as we need to find- that becoming the New Man is more than accepting Christ and putting the rest on autopilot.  Walking away from the old life physically IS the easy part.  It’s what comes after that is hard- and makes the difference.

Saturday in the woods...

Woods is really starting to green up now.

A new dirt and stump formation to check out, in an area usually too wet to explore.

We kept hearing rustling in the leaves, and I think it was birds hunting for treats. but it was hard to tell, because the bird in the trees were VERRRRY noisy. Here, hear for yourself:

This was one sweet smelling bush. 

Later, we ended up crossing the mud flats.  There were things there that weren't on our side-

Like these beauties...

...or these guys.  Oh, and a lot more spider webs!

And these, whatever they are!

Man, I was hot!  Thank you, Daddy, for taking me to the river.

 

________________________________________

Before I go, I point your attention to the little new gizmo over on the right.  This is a portal to a place called Sneakpeeq, which is an innovative online shopping experience with a lot of high-end goodies and a point system involving "peeqs" that (being a man) I didn't quite grasp.  But check the place out, sign up through your Facebook account, and check out all the neat design, food, and fashion treats you can have for your very own.

The great eighties countdown week 3

Okay, today I am running a little late and can't blame it on blogger.  Had to check the news, facebook, the scoreboard, and take Scrappy for a walk first.  And read youse guys' blog posts, natch!  So here we go...

260- Don't Talk To Strangers, Rick Springfield, #2, 1982.  Actually, I liked most of Rick's stuff.  This one though brings back fond memories of my nephew's little cousin who used to change it to Don't Talk To Poopies...

259- Photograph, Def Lepperd, 1983, #12, #1 Mainstream rock.  This song, and Foolin', which we'll hit later on, filled a lot of boring days at IPFW waiting for the next class to start.  Another great Marilyn Monroe tribute.

258- Didn't Mean To Turn You On, Robert Palmer, #2, 1986.  Like Rick, another dude I liked everything by, but this is the one that stood out for me.

257- The Look Of Love, ABC, #18, 1982.  I'm a bit surprised to see this charted so low.  In CANADA, it hit #1... but I liked a lot of those goofy UK new wave songs.

256- Little Jeannie, Elton John, #3, 1980.  This was in its prime right during high school graduation for me.  This and Against The Wind were virtually the only songs I found worth listening to at the time.  Funky Town?  The Rose?  Steal Away?  Please.

255- Property Of Jesus, Bob Dylan, 1981, unreleased but played on Christian contemporary stations.  I loved Dylan's Christian lp Shot Of Love, and this was my favorite track, although most fans preferred the also-good Every Grain Of Sand.

254- West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys, 1984, #1.  Another of those goofy UK new wave songs I liked so much.

253- Can't Fight This Feeling, REO Speedwagon, 1984, #1.  Just edited this in as we speak.  second of three on the list, highest one is coming up in a bit.

252- Bringing On The Heartbreak, Def Lepperd, 1984, #61.  But didn't chart on mainstream rock? Go figure.

251- Land Of Confusion, Genesis, 1986, #4.  Not to say I like Genesis, but this is the first of nine of their tunes on the list.  Loved the video with the rubber masks.

250- America, Neil Diamond, 1981, #8.  God, was I glad to see him get extricated from Barbra Striesand!  I liked Love On The Rocks, too.

249- The Last In Line, Dio, 1984, #10 mainstream.  We're after the witch, we can never ever ever go home...  Higher of 2 by Dio on the list.

248- Keep On Loving You, REO Speedwagon, 1980, #1.   Did a bunch of flipping on REO this morning.  Happy now, though.

247- Heartbreaker, Dionne Warwick, 1982, #10.  Possibly the last of the great Barry Gibb-penned songs.

246- Babylon Sisters, Steely Dan, 1980, unreleased.  Second of two for SD on this list.  Like it for the background singers mostly.

245- You've Got Some Imagination, Boz Skaggs, 1980, unreleased.  From Middle Man, a much harder-edged lp than Silk Degrees.

244- Theme From New York, New York, Frank Sinatra, 1980, #32.  With an impact far beyond its chart position.  A lot of fond memories to this one, including dancing a kick line with my ex and 3 friends at the Trion in New Haven.  Good times.

243- Mountain Music, Alabama, 1982, #101 pop and #1 country.  This was when I first realized how good these guys were.  Oh, play me some mountain music, like grandma and grandpa used to play/ then I'll roll on down the river, to a cajun hideaway...

242- Red Skies At Night, The Fixx, 1982, #101, #13 Mainstream.  Surprised I never bought any of their tapes, I loved a lot of their stuff- as evidenced by the fact they will be back three more times.

241- Smiling Islands, Robbie Patton (with Stevie Nicks), 1983, #52, #16 on the Adult Contemporary charts.  Robbie was openning act for the 1979 Fleetwood Mac tour.  To help him out, Christine McVie produced his lp, Lindsey Buckingham played guitar on his bigger hit Don't Give It Up, and Stevie did a heart-rending vocal at the end of this one.

Okay, there we go for another week.  See you next time!