• (Early) Friday Vids

    I’m posting this a little early as Friday is a big day for the Mrs. and I: We are flying to New York City, the first visit there for both of us, believe it or not. Officially this is our annual trip to one of her conferences. But we will be spending most of the weekend with her two college…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 12

    Chart Week: August 18, 1984 Song: “We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Twisted Sister Chart Position: #39, 4th week on the chart. Peaked at #21 for two weeks in September. In between contractor visits last week, which have caused a move of my computer gear onto the dining room table temporarily, I was trying to hack together a post about…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 11

    Chart Week: August 5, 1989 Song: “18 and Life” – Skid Row Chart Position: #32, 5th week on the chart. Peaked at #4 the week of September 23. These late 80s countdowns are not my favorites. By 1987 my tastes were drifting away from mainstream, Top 40-style music. Emphasis on the word drifting, because I still liked plenty of music…

  • Friday Vid

    “Leave It Alone” – Amanda Shires. This song totally blew my mind this week. Shires is Jason Isbell’s wife and a member of his backing band, The 400 Unit. When I first began exploring his music, I checked out some of the songs she had recorded in the past. They leaned a little too country for my tastes. But her…

  • Reading for the Stars, Vol. 10

    Chart Week: July 10, 1982 Song: “Play the Game Tonight” – Kansas Chart Position: #17, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #17 for three weeks. I would guess I heard this song approximately once in a quarter century before I heard it at, of all places, a high school football game a few years back. In the hour of…

  • Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 9

    Chart Week: June 9, 1984 Song: “Eyes Without a Face” – Billy Idol Chart Position: #18, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #4 for two weeks in July. As I said, I’ve been sitting on a couple of these posts. And since Spotify and WordPress appear to be fighting again, I’ll knock this one out in place of a…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/user/224aiwksicafjldlua6nnpo4y/playlist/6Qk9crN1NzBvSQ2XaaTOfI?si=et4-XxSLTPCqemFzYg_goA “All We Got Is Time” – Eldoradio. I really can’t find much out about this band or song. It’s a good tune for the summer, which is enough to share it with you. “One Day Left” – Stars. If you’ve read my music writings over the years, you should know that I love songs and albums about breakups. This…

  • Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 8

    I’m a bit behind on these. Mostly because of not having solid internet access (fuckers). But I have three of these posts mentally queued up from the past month that I’m going to try to crank out over the next week. Chart Week: July 5, 1980 Song: “Stomp!” – The Brothers Johnson Chart Position: #28, 17th week on the chart.…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/user/224aiwksicafjldlua6nnpo4y/playlist/3ucomunsXs4wIvz054JpgP?si=AYka_owYSZKHmG-W7JEmsQ “You Amaze Me” – La Force. I’m not sure how to describe this song. There are hints of neo-R&B, but I wouldn’t say it’s a modern R&B song. There’s a healthy amount of indie rock to it, but it also doesn’t sound like standard indie rock fare. Nor is it straight, modern pop. Regardless, this ode by Broken Social…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/user/224aiwksicafjldlua6nnpo4y/playlist/01eBUFOqrO7yARqjQ97gqZ?si=yht308qAT8C1Rprd1l7zMw “Cuddly Toy” – Roachford. For years I couldn’t remember the artist that sang this song, which I listened to on an endless loop the week I graduated from high school. I had the cassette single of it – holy time warp, Batman – and someone swiped it from me when I got to college that fall. When the wonderful…