Friday Playlist
We’ve reached December, the month when these playlists can get a little squirrelly. There’s less new music to begin with. I’m listening to holiday music much of the day. I’m also focused on my Favorite Songs of the Year playlist. This year has the added element of me just reading a book about Eighties music, and being neck-deep in a…
Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 94
Chart Week: November 14, 1981 Song: “Never Too Much” – Luther Vandross Chart Position: #37, 6th week on the chart, first week in the Top 40. Peaked at #33 for two weeks. Happy Thanksgiving week to you all! A quick entry based on a Casey anecdote about how a pop artist paid the bills before he started making hits of…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0MPKDxxlLKjK7qdv3S0cJx?si=ddff3358588541bf “Beaming” – The Treasures of Mexico What a glorious piece of jangle pop this is, harkening back to the mid-80s college rock scene. “What Now” – Brittany Howard Howard bringing the funk to her blues. If you don’t like this, stop reading these posts. “Beautiful Sky” – Semisonic featuring Jim James I gave Semisonic’s new album a listen when…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 93
Chart Week: November 5, 1983 Song: “Automatic Man” – Michael Sembello Chart Position: #34, 7th week on the chart. This was the song’s peak. A quick RFTS to fill the place of the Friday Playlist as we are taking an adult fall break for the next few days. The 100th entry in this series is getting very close. I’ve been…
Friday Playlist
An extra-stuffed playlist this week, heavy on tracks from albums I have previously shared songs from. Also, a heads up that there may be no playlist next week. I will be traveling for a couple days and may leave the playlist machine at home. Then again, maybe I’ll whip something together before we depart. It will be a surprise for…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 92
Chart Week: October 30, 1982 Song: “I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)” – Donald Fagen Chart Position: #36, 4th week on the chart, debut week in the Top 40. Peaked at #26 for three weeks in November and December. Pop music tends to be pretty limited thematically. Amongst the bazillion or so songs about love, lust, and heartbreak, occasionally one will…
Friday Playlist
I didn’t blast much new-ish music this week, so today’s playlist will skew in a slightly different direction than normal. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5PmuVKcNg8Kf2UXZJbzhEu?si=a4325e6cebe44e16 “Collect” – Torres It’s been a couple years since we had new Torres music. That album landed not one but two tracks on my Favorite Songs of the Year list, so the pressure is high for 2024. This is…
Friday Playlist
Man, the weeks are really adding up. One more playlist before we slip into the final two months of the calendar year. It always seems like it will take forever to get here in January and February, then it is suddenly late October and both holiday music and my Favorite Songs of the Year playlist are right around the corner.…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Jza04TxJ3VZGBsO4z4eoe?si=68e26a4d61c8480e “Stuck” – Soft Science There’s been an influx of modern shoegaze in my playlists lately, and I am not complaining about it. “Your Day” – Pastel A buddy of mine who is super into all things Manchester described this as sounding like Liam Gallagher and Johnny Marr made a record together. I’m down with that. “Up and Comer” –…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 91
Chart Week: September 29, 1984 Song: “On the Dark Side” – John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band Chart Position: #24, 19th week on the chart (charted twice, see below). Peaked at #7 for two weeks in October/November. The history of pop music is filled with opportunists. If an artist or musical style makes a big splash, you can be…