Yes, it has arrived: the end of summer. Good thing we’re about to hit the best three months of the year, or I’d be more sad that another summer is in the books. [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RltQooc7msHF5HaXBOgUn?si=f1a6ae48484d4911) “Summer’s Over” - Jordana & TV Girl Obvious starting point. “Chateau Blues” - Spoon Spoon are in the early stages of recording their next album. They also started a new tour opening for the Pixies this week.
Chart Week: August 20, 1977 Song: “Telephone Line” - Electric Light Orchestra Chart Position: #16, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #7 for two weeks in September and October. When I dove into this countdown last Saturday I was interested to see what it had to offer. Would a particular song jump out and lead to my next RFTS post? Or would Casey share some fun, new-to-me story that got my music trivia juices flowing?
I’ve been on a hot streak this month. In addition to the books below, I have three more I need to share. As they are related, I’m saving those for next week. King of Ashes - S.A. Cosby The latest addition to Cosby’s growing collection of terrific thrillers. Here Roman, a rising Atlanta financial advisor to athletes and other celebrities, returns to his childhood home in Virginia when his father goes into a coma following a car accident.
A relatively laid-back weekend that saw the return of football at multiple levels and a glorious change in the weather. High School Football The high school season began in Indiana Friday. 5A #2 CHS took on Ben Davis, a traditional 6A power that won state two years ago but is in rebuilding mode.[1] I figured CHS would win fairly easily. I guess that happened. The Irish were never really challenged, but could only score once themselves for an 8–0 win.
As I begin putting this playlist together Thursday evening, I’m not really sure where it is going. There are several older songs in the queue and I’m trying to figure out which newer ones to pull in. Let’s take a musical journey together and see where we land! [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OZsjP4UnbQ27b9D2h9ubz?si=b8317359f1f1482d) “From The Night” - The Prize Hell yes! Some very solid power-pop-punk from Australia. “Simply Obsessed” - Field Medic If you combined Trace Mountains and Wild Pink, but turned them into jangle pop, the result would probably sound like this.
Like some of our friends a few hundred miles west, yesterday was college drop-off day for us. We picked a good one, too. The first day of IU dorm move in was Tuesday, a day that saw heat indices well over 100° with rounds of heavy rain in Bloomington. Wednesday, though? Cloudy, relatively cool, with a blessed relief from the humidity that has plagued us all summer. That part of the day was a big win.
A few sports notes before we head to Bloomington in a couple hours… Colts Welp, it’s official: the Colts are a disaster. Tuesday they named Daniel Jones as the starter for the coming season. Which means Anthony Richardson must have been really, really bad in camp, because Jones is about as mid as you can get in an NFL quarterback. Even in 2022, when the Giants made a surprise run to the playoffs, his stats were remarkably pedestrian.
I just read Niko Stratis’ book, which is part memoir, part reflection and analysis of the music she has loved. I found this interview with her, and this passage really struck me. I strive for my posts that are about music and memory to be accurate, but I often wonder how accurate my recollections really are. Ultimately, I’m never going to fully know the past. I’m in my forties now, so some of those years are so far in the rearview that it’s hard to see them perfectly anymore, and that has to be okay…And that is a hard reckoning as you get older, of “What are the stories I’ve told myself are true, and what are the stories I actually believe are true?
A pretty chill weekend, with not a lot to share. Most activities revolved around making final preparations to move C to IU this Wednesday. A final trip to Target. A final order (or three) on Amazon. Many loads of laundry. A lot of organizing of our bonus room, which is the staging area. There are whole sections of the floor in there I haven’t seen since June that are exposed again as S worked hard to get things jammed into boxes and containers and bags.
A funny thing happened as I began putting this week’s list together. I noticed a common thread through many of the songs in my working pile of music. So that led me in a slightly different direction than I had planned. See if you can figure out what these songs all share. [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2dQT3Sx3Oma0FXQsOQtWIT?si=4087503f5e464da0) “Magic” - The Cars A song better suited for early summer, but I hadn’t gotten to it yet this year and this seemed like the perfect week to squeeze it in.
Chart Week: August 14, 1982 Song: “And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going” - Jennifer Holliday Chart Position: #26, 7th week on the chart. Would peak at #22 for three weeks. One aspect of the pop chart that messed with my head when I was young was how songs that were huge hits on the genre charts would barely dent the pop Top 40. It seemed like there was always a song by a Black artist stuck at #34 on AT40 for three weeks that had already been #1 on the soul chart.
Fever Well, I sure jinxed the Fever! The last time I mentioned them I pointed out how they had their longest winning streak in a decade, all without Caitlin Clark. Since then they’ve lost three-of-four, the only win against hapless Chicago. Worst of all was last week’s game in Phoenix. I didn’t stay up to watch the game but in the morning the final result was on my phone screen: a 95–60 loss.
Steven Hyden on seeing Oasis in London. Noel Gallagher is not a great or even cogent lyricist, and his melodies can sometimes seem a little samey. But when it comes to writing songs that large groups of individuals in various states of inebriation can sing in unison, perfectly, Bob Dylan and Beethoven have nothing on him. He is the absolute genius of that very specific art form. I Saw Oasis At Wembley And It Was The Greatest Stadium Show Of My Life This article annoys me for several reasons.
Some notes about things, some of which happened before the weekend began. But first… A Blog Update Yes, I fucked around with how the site looks over the weekend. I believe I had used the same theme for six or seven years. That package had not been updated in ages, and while it has continued to work through Wordpress updates, I kept getting warnings that it may fail at some point.
Several repeats of artists I’ve played recently who have more solid, new music out. [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4s8rTf2kcdLGrtXrnzYNxt?si=146f44ed92674909) “Sleep All Summer” - Crooked Fingers Hey, our freshman-to-be’s theme song! “Angelus” - The Berries Before we get to the repeats, here’s a new song from a new artist that is crazy good. “Call You Back” - TTSSFU Even if you don’t listen to the words, just from the tone you can tell this song is about desperate, late night interactions when a relationship is doomed but one person hasn’t gotten the message yet.
The Happy Isles of Oceania - Paul Theroux The latest re-read - for the fifth, sixth time? - of my all time favorite, non-fiction book. I actually meant to take it when we traveled to Hawaii four years ago but couldn’t find it. It turned up a year or two later and has been sitting on my shelf, waiting for the right moment. I decided I will continue to read it once every ten years or so as long as I am able.
Chart Week: August 5, 1978 Song: “Love Will Find A Way” - Pablo Cruise Chart Position: #9, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #6 the week of August 26. There are many factors that go into determining my favorite musical years. Clearly the songs are the biggest factor. It is a huge bonus if most of the best tracks of a given year were hits during the summer months. And then there is the personal side: if a lot of important things happened during a calendar year, odds are its music will stand out a little more.
Movies, Shows, etc Arrested Development, season one I figured “Why not watch this again?” the week of July 4th. Never disappoints. A Long Way Home This is Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman’s fourth series about riding motorcycles long distances. I watched the first, 20 years ago, and then didn’t realize the others existed. Luckily this one landed on Apple TV+ and the visuals are fabulous, although the actual travel insights are often rather banal.
A very busy weekend, at least the front half. A Wedding Friday evening we all went to the wedding of O, the oldest daughter of our neighbors at our old house. M was a bridesmaid, her first of many I’m sure, so it was an extra big deal for her. It was a very nice ceremony and reception; the bride and groom seemed to be having an awesome time which is most important.
Another big, eclectic mix of music this week. [open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50aIgpY3rbMCVTaKnjpU0V?si=3f8a7e3addea46c2) “Summer Drive” - Dragon Turtle For those moody, nighttime drives when summer’s hold begins to slip. “mangetout” - Wet Leg It took a minute, but a song from the new WL album finally jumped out at me. This track has all the cheek of their first album - so many sly lyrics! - with a slight edge that, to my ear, recalls the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.