Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 120
Chart Week: November 2, 1985 Song: “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” – Loverboy Chart Position: #9, 11th week on the chart. This was its peak. First off, shout out to my brother-in-music E$ for messaging me when he heard this song on an old AT40 while driving through Iowa recently. Astute listeners may recall that I heard my first throw-back…
Weekend Notes
What a weekend. S and I were actually social three days in a row! That’s a record or something. Thus I’ll break it down a little differently than normal. Getting Out Of The House Friday we went to a fund raiser some friends were hosting for a lady who is running for secretary of state here in Indiana next year.…
Friday Playlist
“Stay In You Lane” – Courtney Barnett Our Aussie queen is back! “Talk To You” – Sam Fender featuring Elton John Last week Fender won the Mercury Prize for best album from the UK or Ireland. The next day he announced a deluxe version of People Watching that will come out in December. Good timing! This song features Elton John…
Reader’s Notebook, 10/23/25
Just one book in this entry, as I’ve begun a trilogy that might take a week or so and don’t want to forget about this one in the interim. The House Across The Lake – Riley Sager I read a couple of Sager’s thrillers last October, and they had a nice dose of spookiness that butted up against the supernatural…
On 30(-ish) Years Online
The wonderful piece I’m linking to below reminds me that I missed a golden opportunity this time last year when I failed to post a retrospective on my 30th anniversary of first getting online. Sadly, for some reason, it whizzed by without me realizing the significance of the moment. Which is a damn shame because you know I would have…
Weekend Notes
A very busy weekend centered on the entire family getting together to watch football. Or at least prepare to watch football. Friday M came home Friday afternoon, so we got to hang with her for the second time in two weeks. We sat around catching up while listening to Cathedral’s regular season finale against 6A #10 Warren Central. To complicate…
Friday Playlist
“House Of Dead Memories” – Sugar OH SHIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!! SUGAR IS BACK!!!!! Like, seriously back. This isn’t a song that was recorded 35 years ago and lost on a master tape hidden in a producer’s basement and unearthed when he died or something random like that. Bob Mould, David Barbe, and Malcolm Travis got together this summer for the first time…
A Mid-Lease Car Update
As we are in the back half of October, that means I am officially halfway through my current auto lease. With 18 months in the books as an EV owner, and 18 months left before I need to make a decision on my next car, it seemed like a good moment to check in and see how I feel about…
Wednesday Links
Steven Hyden with a wonderful retrospective on one of the great American bands that never really went away, at least on classic rock radio, but also never had a big revival. Listen to the Cars in 2025, and you’ll hear the accumulated history of 20th-century rock music—the elemental directness of Buddy Holly and Elvis records, the songwriting sturdiness of the…
Reader’s Notebook, 10/14/25
A bit of a slog lately, as I’ve worked through a group of books that I did not love. These are the risks you take when you grab suggestions from many different sources. Swag – Elmore Leonard Last month I came across an article that was an appreciation of some of Leonard’s lesser known works. I’ve read several of his…