My kind of funeral...

Okay, today we are going to cover a little bit of everything.  But first, let me get the political stuff, brief as it is, out of the way.

First:  Meryl Streep.  I don't know exactly what she said, and more to the point, I don't care.  In the middle of their make believe world, awarding a self-glorifying movie for being glorifying to themselves, Meryl had something to say about the new President- and MMA and football as well, I guess.  Now yesterday, I saw on SocMed an excellent article which I have now found out came from the In Jennifer's Head blog by Jennifer Hast, clear back in Summer 2010.  You can click the link to read the whole thing... or, just settle for the gist of it that applies so well in these occasions...



I’ll crank the organ grinder; you dance.

I don’t really care where you stand on issues.  Honestly, your stance matters far less to me than that of my neighbor.  You see, you aren’t real.  I turn off my TV or shut down my computer and you cease to exist in my world.  Once I am done with you, I can put you back in your little box until I want you to entertain me again....

 I’m supposed to care what the director of fluffy tripe made for gullible people thinks of those who realize global warming is a scam?  Get back into your bubble.  I’ll let you know when I’m in the mood for something blue and shiny....


Second, I heard part of an interview with our outgoing POTUS with David Axelrod on Christmas today on the way home, and something struck me in it...

OBAMA: It's interesting. You and I both, I think, would acknowledge that when we were campaigning, we could connect. Once you got to the White House and you were busy governing, then...
AXELROD: Right.
OBAMA: ... partly, you're just constrained by time, right? You are then more subject to the filter. And this is -- you know, I brought up Fox News, but it was Rush Limbaugh and the NRA and there are all these mediators who are interpreting what we do, and if we're not actually out there like we are during campaigns, then folks in -- in a lot of these communities, what they're hearing is Obama wants to take away my guns...
AXELROD: Right.


So let me see if I have this straight.  If Obama could be a full time campaigner, then the people who would have listened to him wouldn't have listened to Rush and the NRA?  I thought the people that listened to you DIDN'T listen to Rush, that he only attracts the lunatic fringe and alt-right?  Or is it that if YOU are not in someone's face 24/7, they MIGHT be influenced by Rush?  So either Rush is an amazingly mesmerising speaker, or the people you try to suck into voting for you are easily brainwashed by the media.   I think I'll go with #2 on that one.


Third and final on the political end, it strikes me- the Democrats are falling all over themselves to blame the (now) evil Russians for pretty basically exposing Hillary for a huge idiot who casts secure documents to the four winds.  But wait a minute, I always thought that you guys were ideologically aligned with the Soviets.  Oh wait, I know why you're throwing the Russians under the bus NOW...


Who's still Communist, Russia- or CHINA?

That same China that Donald Trump spent a fair amount of time bashing?

Makes a bit more sense now, don't it?


______________________________

Moving on, I'm going to share something here I rarely do- a dream.  Last night, Laurie, KC, Shenan, and I were walking in this big park, and we came to a spot where the trail becomes this giant circle around an open green.  We turned to the left and began going along the circle, when we came to one of those old wooden signs with the built-in pointer.  It was pointing across the circle to the other side, and read, "CRITTERS".  We said, okay, lets go the other way.  On the other side, there was a little picnic area, a flowery crossway to another trail, and another wooden sign that read, "CRITTERS".  At this point I laid down on a picnic table whilst everyone else wandered off.  Looking at the crossway, there were like four wooden "fans" at each corner, like a decoration- until I looked closer and realized that they were four little peacock like birds with tails like a peacock's fan, only looking like balsa wood.  At this point I noticed what I thought was my group coming up behind me.  I farted at them, only to learn later it was another family, who swiftly went back whence they came.

Soon, my group appeared, and as I told them the tale of my errant gas, KC was kinda kicking the "wooden fans."  I told him that they were really birds, and he bent down close to see.  Just then, the one he was looking at turned towards him, and he jumped.  It came over and pecked at his leg- and then all of the sudden, he was Scrappy, and the bird was pecking his tail.  Higher and higher he pecked, until he started pecking at Scrappy's butt, and Scrappy finally got up and left.  Laurie asked, "Is he all right?"  And I answered, "His butt's not bleeding, but it's sure tenderized!"  And with a hearty laugh, I woke up.


---------------------------------------------

Finally today, I saw a story yesterday that made me say, "I want a funeral just like THIS:"

A Taiwanese funeral featuring 50 pole dancers has become the talk of the Chinese internet this week.
Videos of the funeral procession, which took place on Tuesday, have been circulating online showing skimpily-clad women gyrating on top of jeeps in the southern city of Chiayi.
The funeral was for local politician Tung Hsiang, who died last month.
His family said they wanted to honour Mr Tung, who loved "having a lively fun time", local media reported.
The procession, featuring the convoy of colourful jeeps blasting loud music, brought traffic to a standstill in the city centre.
It also had a drumming troupe, a marching band, performers dressed as deities and giant puppets.

Mr Tung, a local councillor, was a well-known figure in the city and was active in politics for decades.
He died from an unspecified illness at the age of 76 in December.
"He told us he wanted this through a dream two days before the funeral," his brother Tung Mao-hsiung told Taiwanese broadcaster CTS.
Since Tuesday, videos of the procession have been circulating on Chinese media and social network Weibo, generating much interest.
"Now this is what I call a funeral!" said one user, while another wrote: "Looks like when it comes to funeral matters, Taiwan still comes first."
Others praised Mr Tung and his family for providing an entertaining afternoon for the city's residents. "This is what it means to be the 'people's councillor'!" said one netizen.

Another person joked: "The city's residents are asking: please die one more time!"

Time Machine Coordinates VVII4102017ALPHABC

Welcome to the Time Machine Beauty Contest episode!  This week we'll be doing a special 2-location TM in honor of the two lovely ladies we lost recently- Carrie Fisher and her Mom, Debbie Reynolds!

And we are doing that by splitting this into teams! And years- because the week of Carrie's first birthday, Mom hit #1 with her big hit Tammy!  So this is what you are about to get:  First up, the Presidential poll of songs for the month of Carrie's birth, October 1956.  I had to do a month's worth because my source doesn't have a lot of station charts in '56, so what I did is take the #1s from the whole month, eliminate same-station repeats, and came up with our candidates for the month.  Your Presidential pick list for Team Carrie contains:

Elvis with the week's #1 on Cashbox, Don't Be Cruel.
Another of the acts we lost in 2016, Jim Lowe with the week's #5, The Green Door.
The instrumental Honky Tonk by Bill Doggett, currently #3.
The first of two novelty hits from Li'l Abner for Don Cherry, If I Had My Druthers (neither of the DC songs chart).
Elvis with the flip side, Love Me Tender, which was #2.
The other Don Cherry tune, the more famous Namely You (at least you CAN find this one on YouTube).
And my personal favorite of the group- from the movie High Society, Bing Crosby and Grace Kelley with True Love, which sat at #8 on CB.

Okay, if you've been here the last few weeks you know the drill, pick the winner of the most #1 votes and wait for results at the end!  And now, how about the ladies of Team Carrie!

Jana Kramer...

Julie London...

Marilyn McCoo...

Crista Ru of Powers...

Petula Clark...

...and three others who you'll see in the final round!

Next up, and in-between the two teams, we have our one-and only M10 debut.  This is from a Brooklyn "Bubble Grunge" act called Charly Bliss, fronted by our first official 2017 candidate, Eva Hendricks...






Ruby debuts at #10 this week.

__________________________________________

And now, the charts not quite one year later.  Tammy had fallen from the top 3 weeks before and was at #6, but I wanted to do one from it's FIRST of 7 CB weeks at the top, and give Debbie a chance to be this week's co-President.

Hey hey, this is Mickey Dolenz, and I object!  You've always let the President of the week intro the acts before, and as representative for America's favorite rock'n'roll band, the Monkees, I have to protest!  First you skipped the one we would have introed LAST week, and now...

Say no more, Mickey- please!  You are absolutely right.  Please go ahead and intro the Team Debbie Candidates.

The girls?

No, the songs.

That's a rip-off!

The question is moot.  I get the girls!

Okay, okay.  Here are the candidates for the Debbie Team, from the week of August 17th, 1957...

The Schoolboys, a local east coast band, with Carol, which didn't chart nationally.
The Dell-Vikings with Cool Shake, stuck at #50 on CB.
Paul Anka's Diana, which was #10.
The Four Lads with Eyes Of God, which would peak at #49 late the next month.
Pat Boone with his heavy metal hit, Gold Mine In the Sky... oh, not heavy metal?   Anyway, it was at #20 on CB.
Johnny Mathis with It's Not For Me To Say, which was #5;
Here's one everybody knows- Rainbow by Russ Hamilton, which was #15.
The next song was called Soft Sands, and while it charted in the USA by the Chordettes, this particular version was from Canada's Dorothy Collins.  Because we had an FCC rule or something.
Elvis was on this list as well, with Teddy Bear at #2 nationally...
AND the #1 song, of course, Tammy.  Is that it?

Yep, thanks Mickey!  So now you can pick your winner from this list, too, and I'll help you narrow it down in a bit.  But now, it's time for Team Debbie...

Brooke Annibale...

Dami Im, aka the last girl cut...

Melody Prochet of the Echo Chamber...

Elisabeth Ellison of Radiation City...

Ruth B...

... and three others who you'll see in just a little bit!

_______________________________________________

And now, just to have it in, most of the rest of the M10!

Radiation City slips to #9 with Come And Go in week #10- making it and the M50 #1 Quiet Corners by the Jayhawks the only 10-week charters in M10 history!

Also slipping, though a steeper five spots to #8- The Shacks and This Strange Effect.

Ducktails makes a 2-spot climb to #7 with Surreal Exposure.

From here, the competition is deadly, and I told Laurie these spots might not even move next week.  First, moving 4 to #6 are the Hidden Cameras with Day I Left Home.

At 5, up 3, is Puddle Of Mudd with Gimme Shelter.

At #4, managing only one spot up, is Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears with PTP.

Also up one spot (again), is Rad City with Zombies at #3.

After 3 weeks at #1- how about three weeks at #2 for the El Michels Affair and the Shacks with Strange Boy!

And number one at the end, or thereabouts....

_______________________________________________

Clue time: If your pick on the Carrie poll was anybody but Elvis, go sit down.  On the Debbie poll, there are only three of the group that got multiple votes, so you who have Russ Hamilton, Dorothy Collins, Four Lads, Dell-Vikings, Johnny Mathis, or Elvis bumper stickers, sorry 'bout your luck.

________________________________________________

And now, allow me to reveal to you the final six...  First, from Team Carrie:

Helo Pinheiro, the Girl from Ipanema...

Jane Birkin...

And Marsha Hunt!

And the ladies from Team Debbie:

Jahan Yousaf from Krewella...

Marika Justad from Tangerine...

And Agnes Obel!

______________________________________

And now we careen towards the finale.  And the Team Carrie President this week winning 31.25 % to 25%-

Elvis with Don't Be Cruel!!!!!!!!!!!


He'll share the next week Presidency with the winner of the Debbie poll, with 26.7% of the vote...

...Paul Anka with Diana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

________________________________________________

All right, the moment is here.  The names are thrown in a hat...

Our judge is ready...

The choices laid before him, and...

He makes the choice!!!!

And our 2016 Time Machine Beauty Contest winner....

In just a sec.  Let me first say that the M10 #1 is Melody's' Echo Chamber with I Follow You- marking another M10 first- the last 3 #1s have spent 3 weeks each at the top!


And now... the winner....

  JANE BIRKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Good Scrappy!  Good Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Tune in next week for a more regular dose of fun!

Life approaches 2017 normal

Okay, so we got all the holiday stuff here out of the way until Friday, so now I can catch you up on things at the Martin Safety Zone.

First of all, for Christmas the kids got a discounted DVD player for Laurie at Wal-Mart.  And when Laurie opened the somewhat mussed box, it was bent in the middle as if one min-wage employee had hit another over the head with it.  All is now well, the offending machine has been replaced, and just in time.  Apparently the semi-annual culling of shows swept through Netflix, and all the stuff Laurie had been watching- Columbo, The Rockford Files, and Emergency- have been replaced by newer stuff.  Funny thing is, a month or so ago, I was on a diary study that was asking about what we watched on NF, and whenever they asked what the appeal was with these shows, the answer was the same- the writing back then was so much better.  Thanks for listening, NF!

"One more thing- you thought they LISTENED?"

Which brings up the survey thing- I get surveys from this outfit called Opinion Outpost.  They pay off in points that you can convert into among other things, amazon gift cards.  This is how I restock my book larder on the cheap, and right after Christmas gifted myself with a stack about 2 feet high.  The current reading material is Robert Payne's The Gold Of Troy, featuring a Heinrich Schliemann bio that has me expecting him to rip open his shirt and fly away any moment now.

Next up should be the story of our new years debacle.

Our cast of characters included Jessica's good friend Chuck, for whom I spent the night seeking an appropriate nickname.  After he shot a ball off the pool table, I dubbed him Cannonball.

I got drunk.  And a hat!

 

 Mr. Stud Pool player. We went oh-fer-the night.  But we got to watch that lovely performance by Ohio State in the playoffs- which spurred our first contestant in best meme of 2017...

The pool brigade and eventual celebration of the new year- which I topped off by wishing it on the way out to a young lady that was far from expecting it and nearly jumped across her table- was followed up for some stupid reason by going to a local "gentleman's club".  The only redeeming thing from that adventure was one certain "entertainer"- who was approximately three times the size of any of the other ladies- giving KC an unwanted-by-him dollar dance.  This girl, who was built approximately like Chuck (see above) with much bigger boobs, climbed onto KC's lap and promptly buried him in an avalanche of bosom.  With KC gasping for air, she told him, "I'm doing this wrong, you're still breathing!"  To which he told one or the other of her breasts, "I'm SUPPOSED to breathe!"  In any event, Chuck, who picked the venue, told Jessica to tell KC he'd make it up to him.  I suggested proper penance would be a Chuck-vs- Big Bertha mud match.


Prior to that, we had a much tamer event over at Bobby G's, where we got to meet his adorable kittens...

...and I received a Doctor Who Character encyclopedia, which currently occupies the venerable Throne Room Position.  We had a great discussion of old cartoon characters and I did a soliloquy on the current affairs of the Marvel Universe that would have led a lesser man to kick me out.

Oh, and I may have mentioned Scrappy got a treat-gun for Christmas.  While he has yet to grasp the principle of the thing, he is enjoying my attempts to get it to fire right.


And speaking of Scrappy, we started out the year yesterday with a just-under-4 mile walk...

And here we have the 2017 Goose Soccer extravaganza at the IPFW pitch.  Had to have been close to 100 participants.  Unfortunately, nobody brought a ball, so they were just sorta milling about.

"Whattaya mean, I'm gonna fall in... oops..."

This left the Boofus quite unwilling to get up this morning, and as I had to re-learn how to get up at 5 AM for tomorrow anyway, I took a 3.7 miler in the darkness this morning.  We've been keeping track since our little Peanut came into the world, and since then I have racked up about 120 miles and Scrappy close to 72.  Oh, and speaking of Peanut...

...he turned 2 months on NYD!


And that should have you all sufficiently caught up on all the doings hereabouts.

Ye olde 2016 stats page

So here I sit on New Years Eve, and apparently the "grand plan" for going out has run aground.  Life lesson #265 for KC:  The more people involved in a plan, the more likely it will break apart on the selfishness of others who don't mind agreeing to something they really don't want to do and then bail at the last minute.  But rather than feel sorry for myself (it IS only 6:30 PM and I have plenty of rum), I said, "You know, I haven't done the yearly blog stats post."

So let me start out by saying that this blog is the 3,274,233rd biggest website in the nation, and 7, 214, 647th in the world...

...and that I have went back and found the most popular posts and most commented posts of the year!  The top two seem to have been HEAVILY upgraded by the Russian and French spam waves of the past year, as they got a LOT of pageviews without actually showing up on my Blogger graphs (in fact, both posts were in troughs in my graph...)  But anyway, here's the 2016 list:


#9 (tie)- from May 16th, my post about my birthday and all the nifty things that happened in history on that date, 121 views.

#9 (tie)- from March 9th, this post featured me getting nominated for yet another award, my punishment for which was to answer questions about myself in lyrics from my favorite band, ELO.


If you could change your name, you would change it to:

Ma-Ma-Ma Belle


#8- from October 18th, the world-famous "Bugs Bunny" write-in Presidential candidate post which featured my duel with almost-POTUS Cherunda Fox, 122 views.

#7- One of my most successful audience participation posts ever (without really trying), where I went to YOUR blogs and hit the "next button" at the top to see where it would send me, dated February 22nd... (144 views)

Robin February 22, 2016 at 5:03 PM
Well, now I want to know where you'd go after you left MY blog. 

Yeah, you left Baby in the corner.



CWMartin February 22, 2016 at 5:10 PM
I just tried... remember, you asked for it...

It was titled "Word Vomit", and had a Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats ad on the side...


#6- A February 9th Martin World News that featured kosher marijuana and how much pizza each candidate was ordering got 169 views.

#5- My silly "naming the new elements" post from June 27th that got 176 views and two comments on my funniest comments post last week.

#4- My favorite post- announcing the birth of Isaiah Christopher Martin, from November 2nd, with 177 views.

Hey!  Who the hell are all these people?

#3- Another cross-blog effort, Debbie the Doglady's "A to Z with little ol' Me", where you had to answer a-to-z questions about yourself.  Posted june 14th, it got 207 views.


I- In Love With:  Currently the Justad sisters from the band Tangerine.  See also Molly Rankin from Alvvays and Victoria LeGrand from Beach House.




J- Jealous of:  Occasionally the customers who buy our products, because if they buy our product, that means they have a big old boat and a lake cottage and THAT's what I want and won't ever get.

K- Killed someone:  What're you, CSI?

#2- With a barely-believable 294 views, a rant titled "Martin World Opinion", where I started out with the local SPCA and chewed out everyone in my path, dated March 1st.

#1- With a non-believable 558 views, the follow up to the write ins post at #8, posted November 14th.

And the most commented:

#9 (tie)- 16 comments on January 25th's post about a former co-worker who ODed.  Once again proving how wonderful my commenters are.  It is not forgotten.

#9 (tie)- 16 comments on a silly short post about the ridiculous names of the NFL players who got cut in the first round of training camp.

Name game: You KNOW that all these names come from a slot-machine like device that churns up a 2-letter beginning like La or Da, or sometimes a single letter with an apostrophe; a four to six letter "core word" which is basically a random pick of any six consecutive letters in the Chicago metro phone book; and a three letter ending such as "ius" or "ion" or "dry".

#7 (tie)-   17 comments on my rant from January 31st attacking Purdue's apparent  need to kill everything that grows around its soccer fields, including the prettiest shady lane in the county.

#7 (tie)- 17 comments on the Bugs Bunny write in post above, including two from former candidate Fox demanding I be shut down.

#5- with 18 comments, the "people are too stupid to do a Martin World News Post On" post which included a FB guesser identifying Mork and Mindy as "Donnie and Marie Osborn" from February 23, along with the woman that thought the Ural Mountains were in Italy on Jeopardy.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings February 23, 2016 at 9:13 PM

Oh yeah I remember Mork and Mindy, but also you know what the world is full of idiots who have no idea and these people make us wonder how did they survive so long without walking into traffic and ending up dead and no I have no idea why I said that I just wrote the first thing that came to mind

CWMartin February 24, 2016 at 3:36 PM

I'm glad you said that- fit the post perfectly.

# 3 (tie)- with 19 comments, my birthday post from above.

#3 (tie)- My "Last Campaign Speech", where I tried- apparently in vain- to convince people the world did not end because of the election results.

DiscConnected November 9, 2016 at 12:37 PM

I am a little worried...I hear no birds singing....I see no lovers loving....and my cat is nowhere to be found.

Crap.

Oh, there he is, sleeping on the couch.

Maybe you're right....

CWMartin November 9, 2016 at 4:03 PM

Gotta open yer curtains, son...

#2- with 33 comments, the "Next Blog Button" post.

And at #1- with a whopping 35 comments, the A to Z with Lil' Ol' Me post above.

Al Penwasser June 15, 2016 at 12:29 PM

Good thing you weren't the Christopher who requested a sex change.

CWMartin June 15, 2016 at 3:26 PM

And the train's last cars finally jump the track....

Sunday message- David and Joseph

So Saturday morning I was reading in 1 Samuel and noticed how much David and Joseph had in common.  They both were called by God from a young age;  they both had brothers who got angry with them;  They were the youngest (or second youngest) of a big family. They both had times of isolation and suffering. God led them both to leadership and glory, and they both saved their people, though the people's sins made both rescues short-lived.

But as I pondered this and other similarities, what caught my eye- especially when I try applying the stories to myself- was two differences, one major and one you might almost miss.


I'm betting you can guess the major one- sexual temptation.  Joseph had open access to Potiphar's wife, and he turned it down, despite the consequences and what he was missing out on.  In fact, he RAN, even leaving his robe behind.  David had open access to Uriah's wife- and took it.

Now if you read the Psalms, you can't help but think that David and Joseph were equally close to God.  They had the same access to God, and David had even greater experience, perhaps, in knowing what God could do for him- where Joseph had to that point survived the pit and being sold by Ishmaelites, David had survived Goliath AND Saul, as well as a rebellion by his son Ammon.  So why did David fall where Joseph did not?


Now I can't be sure this is the reason, but this minor difference I caught came to mind.  First, let's look back at the story which led to Joseph being a victim of the jealousy of his brothers:

Gen 37:11  And his brothers were jealous of him. But his father observed the word. 
Gen 37:12  And his brothers went to feed the flock of their father in Shechem. 
Gen 37:13  And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them. And he said to him, Behold me. 
Gen 37:14  And he said to him, Now go, see the welfare of your brothers, and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me. And he sent him out of the valley of Hebron. And he came to Shechem. 
Gen 37:15  And a man found him. And, behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, What do you seek? 
Gen 37:16  And he said, I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding the flock. 
Gen 37:17  And the man said, They have left here, for I heard them say, Let us go towards Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. 
Gen 37:18  And they saw him from a distance. And before he came near to them, they plotted against him, to kill him. 

And now, David's run in with his own brothers:

1Sa 17:17  And Jesse said to his son David, Please take to your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp, to your brothers. 

1Sa 17:18  And you shall take these ten cuttings of cheese to the commander of the thousand, and you shall visit your brothers, as to how they fare. And you shall bring their token. 

1Sa 17:19  And Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 

1Sa 17:20  And David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and got up and went, as Jesse commanded him. And he came to the barricade, and to the army which was going out to the battle array. And they were shouting for battle. 

1Sa 17:21  And Israel and the Philistines set up in battle array for rank to meet rank. 

1Sa 17:22  And David left the goods on him into the hands of the keeper of the goods, and he ran to the army. And he he came and asked his brothers of their welfare. 

1Sa 17:23  And as he was speaking to them, even, behold! The man between the two, Goliath the Philistine was his name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines. And he spoke according to these words. And David heard. 

1Sa 17:24  And when they saw the man, all the men of Israel ran from him, and were very much afraid. 

1Sa 17:25  And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who comes up? For he has come to reproach Israel. And it shall be, the man who strikes him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and he will give his daughter to him. And he will make his father's house free in Israel. 

1Sa 17:26  And David spoke to the men who were standing with him, saying, What shall be done to the man who strikes this Philistine, and turns aside reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should reproach the armies of the living God? 

1Sa 17:27  And the people spoke to him according to this word, saying, So shall it be done to the man who strikes him. 

1Sa 17:28  And his eldest brother Eliab heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger glowed against David. And he said, Why is it you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. 

1Sa 17:29  And David said, What have I done now? Was it not but a word? 

"OK, Chris, so what's the catch here?" Well, and it's a little one indeed.  David arrived on his own; Joseph allowed himself to be led by a mysterious man who found him.

Confused?  Joseph was of a character that allowed him to be led.  Anointed a leader by God, but willing to be led by God.  David, similarly anointed, was of a character that made him a leader first, not seeking help in determining the right and wrong way.  So when Joseph hit his "stumbling block", he followed the leading of the Lord and ran away.  David met his stumbling block, plunged straight ahead and fell on his face.

So the moral of this connection is this- if you allow yourself to be led by God, He will keep you in His will, and while it might not start out great in the eyes of men, God will prosper you in the end.  Having all the faith in the world isn't going to save you without this part, as David learned.

Time Machine Coordinates VVI4092016Omega

And welcome to the most mashed mash up in Time Machine history- a thorough mixture of the week's M10 and the top of the year-end M50!  Included in the mix are three new M10 debuts and three tunes that belong to BOTH lists!  So strap in- and take notes, because you won't be able to keep track without a program!

First, the highest M10 debut:

This one I heard on the radio the other day.  They do a "recycled hits" feature where they play an original hit followed by a cover.  Sometimes you get a winner, sometimes a stinker, but this one had a hard time losing, because the original was the Stones' Gimme Shelter!  The cover was from a disc of covers called Re(disc)overed from the hard rockers Puddle Of Mudd, back in 2011.  And this week, it debuts at #8 on the M10...





M50 #8, then, it's only fair...

And at #8, we have a three time #1 from the Beach b... ooops, make that The Explorers Club!  California's Calling Ya, and the wonderful Beach Boys tribute video, can be had here.


This one made both charts, too...

...but we heard the M50 placement way back at #36.  On this week's M10, though, Agnes Obel slips a pair to #6 with Mary.

The last non #1 on the M50...

...Is one of the top five- a group that was set in stone a long time back.  The second hit (virtually at the same time) for Nada Surf, Believe You're Mine, pointed at #13 but makes the 50 at #5.  Another KEXP video live can be seen here.


And the first of the three double-top tens...

... is at #10 on the 50 and down one to #7 on the weekly chart- Radiation City's Come And Go, for which you can catch the audio there on that link.

Here is the current three-member lineup.  It will be a five-piece here in a minute...

And now, debut #2...

... coming in at #9 on this week's chart, it's the return of Ducktails, with another song I pulled off the lp St Catherines...





If you recall, they had the #1 Headbanging In The Mirror back in January- as well as back at #39 on the 50.


Meanwhile, at #4 on the M50...

...another 3 week #1, this one for Eleanor Friedberger, and Two Versions Of Tomorrow.  Her video, which I hadn't seen before, is right here.


The bigger, but not necessarily better....

...Radiation City of 2013 comes in at #4 on the M10 this week, up 4 spots, with Zombies.

With both Elisabeth Ellison and Patti King then...

And the reason why nobody's in point order...

...is because sometimes you get stuck behind a song that doesn't let you through in time.  Such a song will be coming up momentarily, but the one that WOULD have been higher than #28 pointwise IS higher on the non-point based M50.  At #6, I give you case/lang/veirs and Honey And Smoke...


Our second double-dipper...

...on most charts would have been too new to make a year-end chart.  In fact, when I cobbled together the M50, it would have only pointed at #33.  Now, though, it would have fallen just outside the top ten.  On the M10 this week, it is #2 for a second week after 3 at #1; on the M50, it comes in #9... and that song is the El Michels Affair with the Shacks and Strange Boy.


Now, for that big bully...

...who kept Honey And Smoke (among others) out of the top spot for the month of June, and finishes both points and M50 at #2-  Tangerine with You'll Always Be Lonely.

This week's M10 big mover....

...is Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears with PTP, moving 5 to #5.


Our last debut...

...is a Canadian band whose style has been called originally "gay church folk music".  Nowadays, though, The Hidden Cameras go for a less flamboyant style, and this song reaches across the genres.  I would suspect you might be hearing this one here next year....






Day I Left Home comes in at #10 this week.


See what THIS one started...

The first time I played what was soon to be the three-week #1 Keep It Warm by Flo and Eddie for my son KC, the verse, "make a better world from the old one/make yourself a baby and hold one..." really hit him- but I didn't know how hard when, 8 weeks later, Jessica told me she was 8 weeks along with the upcoming Peanut.

"...and that's the story of how YOU came along..."

Keep It Warm, from the 1976 lp Moving Targets, is the year's #3 and you can hear it here... but wear a condom just in case!


More Shacks!  More Shacks!

But of course!  This Strange Effect holds at #3 on the M10 this week.


And the final double dipper...

...would have been 54th had I went by points at the time.  Now, it would have been mid 20s after 2 weeks at the top.  But instead, it places at #7, and still sits at #1 on the weekly chart...

... Melody's Echo Chamber with I Follow You!!!!!!!!!


And that brings us to the top of the fifty...


...and the song I knew would be there right from first listen...







And there we go!  Come back next time, when I MIGHT do 1978, but I WILL do the Beauty Contest!!!!!

Requiem for music 2016

So today (Tuesday) is the day I set down to do a post on the musicians we have lost this year.  I began counting up top ten albums, top 40 singles, top tens, and number ones which had principals die this year thus far.  I counted 68 lps, 118 top 40s, 59 top tens, and 17 number ones.

Then I gave up.  I had just started June.

Wikipedia lists "deaths in rock and roll", a list that includes almost any type of popular music from any year, and includes producers, djs agents, even sound men.  There were 22 names listed dying in the '50s, 59 in the '60s, 121 in the '70s, and 182 in the 80's.

I counted 190 in 2016.

They were as young as 19- year old Tomas Lowe and River Reeves of the band Viola Beach, who charted just outside the UK top ten in 2015 with Swings and Waterslides - and died with the rest of their band and their manager, when they tried to beat a bridge opening and failed.

They were as old as Horacio Salgan, a Brazilian tango pianist who was 80 days past his 100th birthday.


Bands such as Mott The Hoople (Dale "Buffin" Griffin), the Box Tops (Danny Smythe), 3 Doors Down (Matt Roberts),  and Y&T (Leonard Haze), lost drummers.  Others lost keyboardists (Parliament/Funkadelic's Bernie Worrell), bassists (Booker T and the MG's Lewie Steinberg, Harvey Danger's Aaron Huffman, Dio's Jimmy Bain), horn players (Tower Of Power's Mic Gillette, MFSB's TJ Tindall, the Blackbyrds' Alan Barnes), guitarists (Status Quo's Rick Parfitt, Wings' Hugh McCullough).  A lot of acts lost vocalists:  Nick Caldwell of the Whispers, Gary Loizzo of American Breed, former Beauty Contestant Gayle McCormick of Smith, Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts, Pete Burns of Dead Or Alive, Robert "Big Sonny" Edwards of the Intruders, Don Ciccone of the Critters and the latter-day Four Seasons, Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf.

And then there were the stars:  David Bowie.  Glen Frey. Paul Kantner.  Maurice White.  Keith Emerson and Greg Lake.  Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.  Merle Haggard.  Prince.  Billy Paul.Glen Yarbrough.  Rod Temperton.  Bobby Vee.  Leon Russell.  Leonard Cohen.  And George Michael, of course.

Names beyond the music itself also fell- Robert Stigwood and George Martin, the guiding geniuses behind two of the biggest acts of all time, the Bee Gees and the Beatles, went down.  Two influential acts of the 60s and 70s lost two members (ELP's Lake and Emerson, Jefferson Airplane's Kantner and Signe Toly Anderson).

Some of the names were more known for what they wrote- Clarence "Blowfly" Reid who wrote Clean Up Woman and Rockin' Chair; Mark Gray wrote The Closer You Get and Take Me Down; John D Loudermilk wrote Indian Reservation, Tobacco Road, Norman, and Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye; Guy Clark wrote Desperadoes Waiting For A Train and Heartbroke.  Some, like Temperton, Sandy Perlman (Blue Oyster Cult), and Gary Paxton (the Hollywood Argyles) were more behind the scenes.  Some, like The Voice's Christina Grimmie, we barely got to know.

Some held records.  Merle Haggard had 36 country #1s.  Julius La Rosa (Eh, Cumpari!) peaked at #21 five times between 1956-8.


21 were listed with heart problems as cause of death; 3 brain tumors, 12 from lung diseases, 6 from dementia or Alzheimers complications, 27 other cancers, 2 suicides, and two drug overdoses.  Which is I guess a good thing, as I counted 31 listed ods from 1956-1989.

Some had only tenuous claims to fame.  Dennis Davis' high point was drumming on Bowie's Young Americans;  McCullough was lead guitar for Wings on Hi Hi Hi and My Love; Signe Toly Anderson was only on the first Jefferson Airplane lp; and Lenny Baker sang Blue Moon for Sha Na Na on Grease.

32 of them were younger than me.


I remember a day when we could fit most of the stars that had died on a Righteous Brothers song.  Now, you'd need a box set.  Maybe just for this year.  But was THIS year really worse?  You tell me.

Wiki listed deaths 2015:  89.

Wiki listed deaths 2016: 190.


And now, I add on Debbie Reynolds.  Her Tammy was #1 for 7 weeks and was the #1 song of 1957.  Just a day or two after her daughter Carrie Fisher.  I don't know if the heroes' hall in Valhalla is full, but I sure hope the musician's hall is...