open.spotify.com/playlist/…
“Strangers” - ACTORS Ooooh, this is some good shit! Just expert dark, post-punk that sounds straight out of the transition from the ’80s to the ’90s. Sounds a little like…
“Cuts You Up” - Peter Murphy …ACTORS definitely took a page out of the Peter Murphy/Bauhaus book. Since that book was written 30-35 years ago, it comes off as homage rather than ripoff. This song is a jam. If I made a mix tape of my favorite songs from my freshman year of college, this would be on it.
Chart Week: February 16, 1980 Song: “Coward of the County” - Kenny Rogers
Chart Position: #3, 14th week on the chart. This was the song’s chart peak.
One of my complaints about the old American Top 40s that I listen to is that only a small selection of the total library of shows gets played. If you listen often enough, you’ll quickly hear repeats of the same shows. With something like 18 or 19 years of programs to choose from, that seems hard to do.
I’ve spent a lot of time messing with this little tool, which shows you how any shape you draw would float if it were an iceberg.
Iceberger
Go head, fuck around with it for a bit. It’s fun to discover shapes that flip over to find their most buoyant position.
It was a very busy weekend for sports, so let’s get into it.
KU Hoops Five wins in a row! My big concern about this winning streak was that three of the wins came against K-State and Iowa State, the two worst teams in the Big 12. Was KU’s better play just a function of their opponents? Or was the second half of the Oklahoma State game that began the streak a sign that it would play against better teams, too?
[open.spotify.com/playlist/...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3CpuKpZT1Zc5OrhfFYXZV0?si=G81pG8LLT5a8d-bM-3i9tQ)
"Couch" - PONY
Some pretty good pop-punk. That opening riff sounds like it came from the first Clash album.
"Richie Sacramento" - Mogwai
This veteran Scottish act wrote this in tribute mostly to the late Dave Berman, but also to all their musical contemporaries who have passed in recent years.
"River" - Akron/Family
Sadly news broke late last night that Miles Seaton from the band Akron/Family had passed.
Normally when I see videos like the one I share below, I’ll watch a few minutes and then move on to something else. But I was absolutely mesmerized by this video of a boat traveling the waterways that connect Rotterdam to Amsterdam and watched the whole thing. Multiple times.
I have a medical procedure coming up that I’ve already attempted once and was unable to complete because of a bit of an anxiety attack (more on that in a couple weeks).
Our girls are all back in school today. Quite a few area schools either delayed or cancelled again, but we are on a normal schedule.
The mechanics of snow days are very different now than they were for my generation. Remember having to sit by the radio or TV, breathlessly waiting to hear your school’s name be read out, or to see it scroll across the bottom of the screen? I recall several days where I was ready to go to school - dressed, bag packed, coat on - and stood in front of the TV until the last possible moment to see if “Raytown Consolidated School District No.
Our long weekends got a little longer thanks to about nine inches of new snow yesterday. C and L were home Friday and Monday thanks to St P’s traditional President’s Day break, while M was just home Monday. All are eLearning today, although L had her assignments done in about 40 minutes and is currently playing Fortnite.
This was the biggest snowstorm we’ve had something like seven years.[1] It was nice for it to happen on a day when the girls were already out of school.
open.spotify.com/playlist/…
“You Don’t Own Me” - Pale Waves This song reminded me of something I’ve heard before…
“You’re Not the One” - Sky Ferreira …perhaps this. They aren’t exact matches but have some serious shared DNA. I wonder if Sky Ferreira will ever put out another album.
“Show Me Love” - Robin S “Show Me Love” - Robyn Unlike the previous two tracks, these songs sound nothing alike. But with the same title and like-named artists, they’ve always been joined at the hip in my head.
Three new books to share.
Lives Laid Away - Stephen Mack Jones Jones’ second August Snow novel. Once again the former Detroit cop gets sucked into a case that goes far beyond the neighborhood he’s attempting to revitalize. In this case it deals with rogue ICE agents, sex trafficking, and racist biker gangs.
If that seems like a lot, I think you’re on the same wavelength that I am. This book was not nearly as enjoyable as the first in the series.
Songs: “Sweet Caroline” - Neil Diamond. Peaked at #4 the week of August 16, 1969 “Take Me Home, Country Roads” - John Denver. Peaked at #2 the week of August 28, 1971
“Smoky Mountain Rain” - Ronnie Milsap. Peaked at #24 for two weeks in February/March of 1981
A different kind of RFTS post today. Rather than breaking down a song (or songs) and its place on the Billboard chart, this is a story about one of my kids with a pop music connection.
With the Super Bowl out of the way, here are some more sports notes from the past few days.
Kid Hoops L’s team had a big game Saturday. Her team played the squad they were tied with for second place in their league. Looking at comparative scores, it seemed like the teams were pretty evenly matched. We were going to have our best player. Things looked good. Then we got stomped.
Some thoughts on Sunday’s Big Game
The Game I was certainly surprised by the result. Even though I had watched Tampa’s defense stifle Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, I never expected them to do the same to Patrick Mahomes and all of his weapons. That was a ferocious, courageous performance by the Bucs’ D. They got consistent pressure to Mahomes, something every other team the Chiefs played this year struggled to do, while still bottling up Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
There’s been a discussion in my Twitter feed today about whether Super Bowl Sunday is an overrated sports day. I’m 100% on board with this take. The actual sports side of Super Bowl Sunday kind of sucks, as the game is always secondary to all the other things that surround it. The parties, the pregame show, the halftime show, the commercials. Unless your team is playing, the football is kind of a letdown.
The first playlist of February. The sun is coming up a little earlier every morning and staying up a little later each evening. Sure, the windchill is going to be well below freezing for the next week, but with the added sunlight it’s time to start thinking ahead to spring’s arrival.
open.spotify.com/playlist/…
“Brisbane Radio” - Stephen’s Shore I always associate strummy Aussie music like this with spring, for some reason. So this song arrives at the perfect time.
We have reached the point in our home where college is not some far-off thing in our kids’ lives that we are casually planning for. It is approaching rapidly, and we are beginning to think much more seriously about the concept.
M took the PSAT in the fall and ever since has received daily multiple brochures and letters from colleges. At first she was thrilled. The modern touch of the school creating a custom URL that included her name was an especially flattering.
Chart Week: January 21, 1984
Song: “Undercover of the Night” - The Rolling Stones
Chart Position: #20, 11th week on the chart. Peaked at #9 for two weeks in December and January.
This edition is more about how I listened to the song than the song itself. Although there will be some song trivia before we’re done.
1983 was a big year on my Classic Christmas Gifts post list. That was the Christmas I received, among other things, a Pioneer SK–111F boombox.
Movies and Shows The Witches A movie L picked for us to watch New Year’s Night. Roald Dahl stories are always wacky and this one did not disappoint in that sense. Very weird and maybe/likely offensive at times? I’m not sure, but I get how some folks were offended. B
Backstory: The Tale of T’eo Remember when we only had completely insane stories a few times a year? Now that they seem to happen almost daily we don’t get to really dive in and enjoy them the way we once did.
This weekend was a little different that other recent ones. No football, for starters. I also avoided the KU game, mostly because other plans kept me from seeing the beginning and by the time I had a chance to fire up the TV, several friends told me not to bother turning it on.
It was also our first significant snow of the year. We only got between 3–4 inches Saturday night (and then another inch last night), but that was enough for the girls to get outside with a few of their cousins Sunday to build a snowman and play for a bit.
January 2021
A slow month of easing back into things and listening to tons of random stuff instead of focused listening.
Wolf Parade - 25 Dua Lipa - 24 Lande Hekt - 21 The Rolling Stones - 19 Low Cut Connie - 18 Complete stats available at my Last.fm page.