Flashback: April 23, 1993

Hello, again everyone. Well, I finally decided to put my fingers to the keyboard after almost two weeks away from this blog. My mental and emotional state wasn't the best in the world during that time, unfortunately. However, writing is usually my way to get over what I'm feeling at the time, so I thought I'd give you another flashback. 

I had debated on which year to do at first, a couple of weeks ago I had rolled my D20 die (which I use in determining what year to do), and it came up at 16, which meant I was either going to do 1995 or 2015. However, a quick look at the 2015 chart at the time showed me that the song that I thought ruined pop radio for me, Bruno Mars' "Uptown (Sk)unk," was in there, I automatically decided to go with 1995, which interestingly enough was around the time my ship (USS Eisenhower) had returned from the Mediterranean/Persian Gulf. It was also the time of that hideous Oklahoma City bombing. But, like I said, my mental state was in the toilet, so that brings us up to this week. I thought about doing 1990, because in a Facebook post I shared last week, I said that my life had peaked (so far) during that year. Plus, the project I'm working on is covering 1990. But then I thought why not roll the die again. At first it came up 12, but I had done 1991 AND 2011 already this year. So, after another roll, it came up 14, which meant 2013, or 1993. 

Portion of old school Orlando skyline, from "Orlando Weekly"

After a quick analysis of what was charting this week in 2013, I decided against it because honestly, I didn't recognize half the songs on said chart. I mean there were back-to-back Taylor Swift songs, Maroon 5, Demi Lovato and Fall Out Boy, but near the top was that damned Bruno Mars, and much like the movie on Disney +, we don't talk about Bruno on this blog, plus it might trigger my emotional problems from last week. So, 1993 it is. I had just started Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando at the time, and in a way, I was kind of enjoying life. I got to see a few Magic games (it was Shaq's rookie season), I was able to hang out at the Edge on weekends, but other than that, schooling was tough; it was the first time in my life that I had struggled learning academically, but I persevered and made it through Power School...barely. Anyway, here were the Top 40 songs according to Radio & Records magazine for April 23, 1993.

40. So Close by Dina Carroll. Her only chart hit, and in a way, it somewhat describes my life...

39. That's The Way Love Is by Bobby Brown. This was right around the time Bobby and Whitney were an item. If only we could see the red flags coming from that relationship. 

38. Lost In Your Eyes by The Jeff Healy Band. Believe it or not, the late Jeff Healy isn't technically a one-hit wonder ("Angel Eyes" in 1989); this song began a three-week run this particular week.

37. What You Won't Do For Love by Go West. A remake of Bobby Caldwell's tune from 15 years prior.

36. Somebody To Love by George Michael & Queen.  Another remake of a classic. Recorded at Wembley Stadium in 1992 during a benefit concert for Queen's late lead singer Freddie Mercury. 

35. Come In Out Of The Rain by Wendy Moten. Outside of this song, she was virtually unknown to the general public at the time. It wouldn't be until she was runner-up on "The Voice" (a show I don't watch) that her star would fully shine. 

34. Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang by Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre. The song that launched everyone's favorite smoking buddy into super-stardom. No, I don't smoke, and that's likely why I'm not involved with anyone. 

33. Hip Hop Hooray by Naughty By Nature. To this very day, I can remember waving my hands with everyone else at The Edge to the chorus of this banger..."HEYYY! HOOOOOH! HEYYY! HOOOOH!"

32. Sleeping Satellite by Tasmin Archer. She was primarily known in England, but this song was a favorite of mine, and her lone hit in the US.

31. Silence Is Broken by Damn Yankees

30. Dedicated by R. Kelly and Public Announcement. You know, I wonder what R. Kelly thinks about all these allegations that have come out on P. Diddy.

 

29. I Feel You by Depeche Mode. As I recall, the video for this song was low-key kinda sexy.

28. That's The Way Love Goes by Janet Jackson. Speaking of sexy, remember the cover of her self-titled album that came out that year, "Janet?" How about the cover of "Rolling Stone" the week that said album was released?

27. That's What Love Can Do by Boy Krazy. Talk about an outlier, this song was everywhere in the spring of 1993. No, I never saw the video on MTV, so I don't know if that was why it was so popular. EDIT: I just watched this, and other than the lead singer looking like a blond Belinda Carlisle, it wasn't that spectacular. Maybe I'm not giving this song enough credit for being a banger. Maybe I should just shut up.

26. Cat's In The Cradle by Ugly Kid Joe. Remake of Harry Chapin's classic from 1974. 

25. Come Undone by Duran Duran. Follow-up to their widely successful "Ordinary World" from th band's "Wedding Album." I thoroughly loved both songs.

24. Tonight by Def Leppard. Speaking of tonight, game two of the Tampa Bay Lightning's playoff series against the Broward County LOLCats. Hoping for a better effort from the Bolts tonight. I swear I'm going to incorporate Florida sports into this blog soon, if I ever get my sh!t together.

23. Comforter by Shai. Speaking of getting my stuff together, remember the computer issues I was having? Turns out I ordered a lemon for a laptop. It was made by Shenzhen Global Industries, and I got it really cheap from Wal-Mart. You know, instead of our government going after TikTok, why don't they concert their efforts on preventing us consumers from getting hoodwinked by companies like SGIN, like an anti-lemon law for direct-to-consumer imports? Okay, rant over.

22. I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me) by Expose. I'll refrain from commenting at this time.

21. Livin' On The Edge by Aerosmith. Unforgettable video for this hit, and I think my sister still tries to imitate Steven Tyler's lip quiver at the end of it.

20. Tell Me What You Dream by Restless Heart. One of the very few country crossover hits from this era.

19. Angel by Jon Secada

18. Love Don't Love You by En Vogue. Speaking of entities that aren't very well loved, O.J. Simpson died this past week. Here's a general reaction from most people:

17. Connected by Stereo MC's. Another banger that I used to dance to at The Edge. Still one of my all-time favorites.

16. Buddy X by Neneh Cherry. I hope she wasn't seeing into the future and describing a potential friendship with none other than Squealon Muskrat himself.

15. Love U More by Sunscreem. Another favorite of mine from this particular year.

14. Don't Walk Away by Jade. One of the sexiest videos I've ever seen.

13. I'm So Into You by SWV. They had a monster 1993 and early part of 1994. Didn't hear too much from them after that though.

12. Two Princes by The Spin Doctors. A somewhat relatable song in the fact that I don't have very much compared to others at this time...BUT

11. Simple Life by Elton John. One advantage of not having too much is having a relatively simple life, I guess. 

10. The Morning Papers by Prince & The New Power Generation. I don't know about y'all, but I preferred Prince & The Revolution myself, which is not to say that the NPG weren't talented, because they were, but after this particular era is where Prince's career started going sideways.

  9. The Crying Game by Boy George. This song should be very fitting for this decade, if you know what I mean. This particular post by the way was not sponsored by RuPaul's Drag Race, seen about every night on VH-1, which used to stand for Video Hits One but now stands for gosh-awful reality television.

  8. Nothing My Love Can't Fix by Joey Lawrence. For some reason, I used to get him confused with that really annoying kid from later seasons of Diff'rent Strokes, Danny Cooksey. Altogether now, "WHOA!"

 

  7. If I Ever Lose My Faith In You by Sting. Turns out, I have lost faith in a particular someone. Sad.

  6. Who Is It by Michael Jackson. It wasn't a friend of his, nor was it his brother as sang in the song. Was it Macauly Culkin? No. Was it Liz Taylor? No. Wait, I know, it was propofol. Rest in peace, Michael.

  5. Freak Me by Silk. Freak me you ask? It's been a while hate to say.

  4. Informer by Snow. I've seen the lyrics, and there's absolutely NO way I could ever recite them, even if my voice wasn't somewhat affected by my stroke in 2017. Not at that speed. A licky-boom-boom-down. 

  3. Looking Through Patient Eyes by PM Dawn

  2. Love Is by Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight. You know the skyline picture of Orlando from earlier? Well McKnight is from Orlando (although not a native), and he graduated from Evans HIgh School. Now why didn't I know this beforehand?? Last year, I did a flashback from 1993 (which I would hyperlink, but it was dedicated to someone I won't mention), and songs from "Beverly Hills 90210" were very prevalent in that chart. This I think is the only song from that soundtrack on this week's chart.

...and the number 1 song this date 31 years ago was... 

  1. I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston. Which come to think of it, describes what ideas I have in increasing the number of eyeballs to this blog. I guess a grassroots campaign is necessary for me to increase clicks on this blog. I'll get right on that.

Hey, I managed to get through this blog post without any technical errors, which I guess is an accomplishment. Seriously, I would like some feedback as to how I could make this blog even better in the future. I guess I can take a small nap before my sisters wake up for the day now. Until next time, enjoy your Tuesday!

BonyScribe

Total Eclipse Of The Scribe...

 Hello, hope you're all having a good week. A lot has happened so far this week, most notably the total solar eclipse that occurred on Monday. I missed the one in 2017; I was in the hospital because I had suffered my stroke just days beforehand. This one I had the privilege of sitting outside for, and I got a "picture" of the sun just as the moon passed over it:

I caught it off a reflection off my camera phone through the sunroof of the kitchen in my house. I wanted to try to get a better shot during the peak of the eclipse, which just shy of 60% here in the northern reaches of Tampa Bay, but my elder sister (who can be somewhat overprotective like my late oldest sister, just less annoying and petty) decided to hang out to smoke, so I couldn't really do that. But, I did notice the sky get a little darker, and the surroundings not as bright as they normally would on a clear spring day down here. And no, nothing monumental happened, like a rapture or the Apocolypse. I swear some people take things like an eclipse and overthink it, or what I called it in the Navy, "nuke it out." What's that? You mean "the rapture" will allegedly take place in a couple of weeks? Okay (makes cuckoo gesture).

I Like It When I'm Right...Sometimes.

Also on Monday, the college basketball national championship took place, and as I told you on this very blog a couple of weeks ago, Connecticut took it all, dominating every game they played in the tournament. They're the first to repeat since Florida in 2006-07 and have solidified themselves as one of college basketball's bluebloods. Now if only the ACC allowed them in several years ago. Speaking of the ACC, what a run by the NC State Wolfpack! They came up short against Purdue, but still, a magical run for what some college basketball fans as the third wheel in the three-team rivalry in the Raleigh-Durham area. Speaking of which, Duke appears to be the way too early favorite for next year, but don't be too surprised if UConn pulls off the threepeat, which I believe has only been done by UCLA.

Pro Wrestling Is Back!

For those of us who love the "sport" known as professional wrestling (like me), that particular term is back in the WWE. In the past generation, such a term was taboo in the powers that be (Vince McMahon) of the WWE, but since he's gone (and there's more beer for us) the term "Sports entertainment" has been put on indefinite hiatus, and "professional wrestling" is back. And did it come back with flair (WHOOOOOOO)! WrestleMania 40 this past weekend from Philadelphia was arguably the best WM of all time, carried by an outstanding program on Sunday. Cody Rhodes finished the story, ending Roman Reigns' 1,316-day reign as WWE Undisputed Champion. It was an emotional victory, heck I even cried after he won; Dusty Rhodes (his late father) was my favorite wrestler as a kid. In fact, the last two times I shed tears was over wrestling; Sting's final match a month ago being the other. You could hear the emotion in ring announcer Samantha Irvin's (who by the way, shot to superstardom) voice. All the babyfaces celebrated in the ring. It was quite the moment. 

The same cannot be said about the company he helped found, All Elite Wrestling. Last night on their weekly Dynamite program, footage aired of an incident involving former talents CM Punk (who was promptly scooped up by WWE after his ouster) and Jack Perry (who's working in New Japan Pro Wrestling) at 2023's All In event at Wembley Stadium in London, in which the latter goaded the former into a brawl. Punk on a podcast had some not-so-flattering things to say about his former employer, or his boss, Tony Khan. Turns out, Punk was speaking the truth, and in doing so, made Khan look like an idiot. There's one GIF that encapsulates the decision by Khan to air the footage, if you know, you know:

Tuesday Was A Good Day

Tuesday was my first day out since the disaster of last month, and it went well. I only drank water, but did have one shot of Fireball, and it didn't taste well. So, I promptly abandoned that idea, even though I made a toast to myself saying, "here's to someone else's bad decision with one of my own." I think you may know who I'm referring to there. I won't get into what was discussed, but I left 1) sober and 2) feeling much better about things. Afterwards, I went to Cracker Barrel to have lunch, and on the way there, I noticed a siren coming down US 19. However, it wasn't an ambulance, police, or sheriff's deputy. It was a truck for the US Forestry Service. I've never known Forest Trucks to carry sirens on them, but I guess they're allowed to, even though there wasn't a forest fire in the area; it was a hauler carrying two trucks. I have no clue as to why they were travelling on US 19 either, as Ocala National Forest is nowhere near that road, unless it was coming from the Panhandle (Apalachicola Forest). Rather curious to me. Anyway, I had a nice dinner a Cracker Barrel and an even nicer rest afterwards. Now, I'm back to burning the midnight oil again. I guess I'll never learn.

Coming Up

Tomorrow, I should have my flashback feature for y'all, even though I haven't rolled my D20 die to determine which year I will choose. This weekend is also The Masters golf tournament (yawn), and at the beginning of next week, my one sister turns (gasp) 70. Plenty to look forward to this weekend and beyond. So, until tomorrow, I hope, take care.

Bony Scribe 

April 3, 2011 Flashback and Other Goodies

Hello again, everyone. Been a couple of weeks since I last posted on here, but that definitely doesn't mean I haven't been around, and I'm glad that people have been paying attention to what I've said on other platforms (cue the crickets chirping) 

All kidding aside (it WAS April Fools Day), I would like to present to you a long overdue flashback since it has been a couple of weeks for that as well. This week, we're going back a mere thirteen years to 2011, when I had just moved back into my old house in Tampa with a friend from high school (that I initially wanted to take further, but didn't work out), but instead of having memories of that time frame (because I was at the Post Office working and not in school), I will submit random thoughts throughout this particular flashback. So, here were the Top 40 songs for April 3, 2011, loosely based on data from Mediabase 24/7.

40. Waiting For The End by Linkin Park

39. Back To December by Taylor Swift

38. Closer To The Edge by Thirty Seconds To Mars. Pause here since this week as a rather cruel April Fools joke, Jared Leto (the worst Joker in cinema history) came out instead of Pat Sajak as host of Wheel of Fortune alongside Vanna White. On behalf of almost everyone, Merv Griffin Productions, please don't do that again.

37. The Show Goes On by Lupe Fiasco. The only song to debut in the top 40 that week, replacing Rihanna's "What's My Name" (it was Ohnana).

36. Hit The Lights by Jay Sean f/Lil' Wayne. Not as popular as their previous compilation from 2009, "Down," which was one of the biggest hits of that year.

35. Sing by My Chemical Romance

34. Rolling In The Deep by Adele. I remember radio stations, apparently paranoid of being fined by the FCC, slightly edited this song because the powers at be (primarily Crap Channel) THOUGHT that one line of this song said, "I'll lay your shit there" when it was actually "I'll lay your ship bare." Goddamn I Hate ClearChannel (iHeartMedia iHateMedia nowadays)!

33. Backseat by New Boyz f/The Cataracts)

32. Bow Chicka Wow Wow by Mike Posner f/Lil' Wayne. Nope. Can't relate to that at this moment.

31. Marry Me by Train. Trying. Not. To. Get. Triggered. 

30. Rhythm Of Love by Plain White T's. I remember a song called "Rhythm Of Love" by Scorpions, as well as another song with that same title by Yes (both coming out in Summer of 1988), but I don't remember this one, at all.

29. Stereo Love by Edward Maya

28. I Need A Doctor by Dr. Dre f/Eminem

27. Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj f/Drake

26. For The First Time by The Script. Here's a pro tip, I guess. It helps to actually listen to the songs you're going to be discussing while writing in your blog. It helps jog memories. That said, this song is somewhat relatable to current times...

25. Price Tag by Jessie J f/B.O.B. Sad to say, it actually is about the money money money to some people. Ted Dibiase would laugh about this. Shameful.

24. Jar Of Hearts by Christina Perri. Speaking of which, Wrestlemania weekend is upon us. It's being held in Philadelphia this year. A lot of anticipation is going into it this byear and I'll definitely be watching, albeit on my phone because the computer I'm typing this on gets hot too easily and the newer one can't boot up properly. Time to have it looked at I'm afraid.

23. Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears

22. Rocketeer by Far East Movement f/Ryan Tedder

21. Pretty Girl Rock by Keri Hilson

20. Lazy Song. And this reminds me as to why I shy away from doing flashbacks from the 2010s; I loathe Bruno Mars. 

19. Yeah x3 by Chris Brown. Speaking of loathesome acts, we have Chris Brown. Maybe him and Bruno can tour together sometime...

18. Down On Me by Jeremih f/50 Cent. I remember there was some kid that was a YouTube sensation for lip-synching songs in front of the camera. One time, he made one such video with this song, and 50 himself made a cameo. I didn't really care for the kid doing these videos because he bore a striking resemblance to a particular Tampa radio personality who is quite polarizing. Then again, aren't most radio personalities in Tampa polarizing?

17. Firework by Katy Perry. I used to have a crush on Katy, then she got annoying. Still, I wonder how she shot fireworks out of her boobs...reminds me of someone...you know, nevermind.

16. On The Floor by Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull

15. Written In The Stars by Tinie Tempah f/Eric Turner. As I recall, this song was used for Wrestlemania that year. 

14. Till The World Ends by Britney Spears. I think Kesha (yes, THAT Kesha) released this as a demo before Britney got a hold of it. I think this was before Kesha became famous and ultimately ruined by Uncle Luke. Yuck.

13. Just Can't Get Enough by Blackeyed Peas. This was right at the height of this group's success. Too bad Stacey Ferguson left the group a few years ago...

12. What The Hell by Avril Lavigne. I've been waiting for this one. The other day on Facebook, a post was made by College Sports Only, and I couldn't help nut notice the picture they posted regarding Indiana State's basketball team. They reached the Final Four of the NIT all despite getting the shaft by the NCAA selection committee. That group selected Virginia. Anyway, here is the photo that was posted:

Here you have Indiana State, and their star player, Robbie Avila, who let's be honest, kinda looks a bit dorky in this picture. Meanwhile, you have another dorky-looking white guy (below) getting passed over in favor of another substandard entity from Virginia. 

YEAH, WHAT THE HELL INDEED?!

11. Grenade by Bruno Mars

10. Blow by Kesha

  9. Coming Home by Diddy-Dirty Money. Uh, you sure about that?? You sure about that?? 

  8. Tonight by Enrique Iglesias f/Ludacris

  7. More by Usher. According to Wikipedia, this song was released under the deluxe version of his Raymond v. Raymond album, but after it was released as an iTunes exclusive, which just so happens to be the Jimmy Joker remix that played on the radio. The other version (that isn't available on Spotify) can be found here.

  6. Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) by Pitbull. Mr. Worldwide was ubiquitous in 2011, yet on this chart, he only appears twice. I thought it was more...

  5. E.T. by Katy Perry f/Kanye West

  4. ...Perfect by P!nk. Pretty much what I think I have to be to snag someone.

  3. S & M by Rihanna

  2. Born This Way by Lady Gaga

...and the number one song thirteen years ago this week was...

 1. Forget You by Cee-Lo Green. Very, very relatable; just listen to the lyrics.

Tomorrow, I'll have the electric devices on overload; the Final Four, and Wrestlemania, will be going on simultaneously, and NC State is one of the semifinals (they begin at 6:09). My pick for the National Title game (UConn-Purdue) is still in it, maybe next year, if I'm feeling confident, I can make some serious bank from picking some games. But alas, not this year. Anyway, this weekend should be very exciting. I hope you all enjoy it!

As for this blog, I hope to have more on the way, as soon as I get over this chronic depression of mine. I wouldn't hold my breath though, as evidenced by the last couple of weeks. But, I really want to get back into the swing of things. 

Until next time.

BS

Bracke-Tyner-gy 2024

 Hello again, everyone. Well folks, we made it. Tournament time is upon us, and we get to see how our brackets will be obliterated this year. This year's bracket caused some serious headaches for some programs that felt as if they were slighted by the selection committee; Indiana State, USF, St. John's, I know that feeling. All in all, this college basketball season was mid to say the least. It seems like whoever was number 1 in the polls would lose their following game, and there were some weeks where multiple teams in the top ten of the polls would lose. 

Be that as it may, the number one seeds are defending national champion Connecticut, Houston, Purdue, and North Carolina. Of those teams, only UConn won their conference tournament. The others fell in the conference finals or semis. In the East region, three of last year's Final Four teams are in: UConn, Florida Atlantic, and San Diego State. The other one, Miami, failed to reach the tournament this year. What's interesting to note is that all three teams are in the top half of the region; FAU is seeded eighth, while SDSU is seeded fifth. This means that a rematch of last year's title game would take place in the Sweet Sixteen. I don't think it matters all that much though. The only team I see giving Connecticut any competition is Illinois, and even if they do, they have to do so in Boston. So, UConn gets the East.

(Connecticut Post)

In the West region, North Carolina is the top seed, and with the exception of their ACC Final loss to NC State, have been playing really well down the stretch. Now watch them get upended by Michigan State (who has zero business being in the tournament imho) in the second round. Beyond that, I think the best teams that could take down the Heels are Arizona, the number two seed, and Baylor, the three seed. Watch for Grand Canyon and New Mexico to pull first round upsets. My pick for the West? Arizona.

(Bleacher Report)

In the South, Houston (and Robeson County's very own Kelvin Sampson) is the top seed. I don't think they reach the Final Four though, to me, we may get a rematch of the 1992 East Regional classic between Duke and Kentucky. Potential upsets include #11 seed NC State, and #12 seed James Madison. Florida is in this region too, although I strongly doubt the get past the second round. My pick to win the South? Kentucky.

(Antonio Reeves, from AZ Central)

Finally, we have the Midwest, Purdue looks to exact revenge from the last year's tournament debacle, which is why Florida Atlantic got to the Final Four to begin with. They shouldn't have trouble this season, unless Tennessee or Creighton play out of their minds this year and pull the surprise. If any upsets come out of this region, it could be 13-seed Samford over 4-seed Kansas; the Jayhawks will be without their leading scorer for the tournament and have been sputtering down the stretch. But I think this is the year Purdue gets over the hump and reaches the Final Four.

Zach Eady

In Glendale, I have Connecticut outlasting Arizona and Purdue beating Kentucky to set up a matchup between last year's champ, UConn and the team with the best player nationally Purdue. The only other time that a top seed was knocked out in the first round was in 2018, when UMBC upset UVA, and Virginia wound up winning the whole thing the very next year. I don't think That will be the case this year, as UConn's devil magic will prevail in the end. So, my national title pick this year? The Connecticut Huskies.

Good boy!!

Bony Scribe

Flashback: March 16, 1991

 Good day, everyone, and Happy St. Paddy's Day. Hope everyone wears their green and drinks responsibly this weekend, and most importantly, stays hydrated. I of course won't be participating in the latter part, but I will be wearing green for USF men's basketball; they might win their conference tournament on and possibly clinch their first NCAA Tournament appearance in thirteen years. Tonight, I'll be watching the ACC Final between North Carolina and NC State. 

But that's tonight. For right now, albeit a day late, I thought I would give you my weekly flashback segment. This week I rolled my D20 die, and it wound up on 12, which meant I could choose between 1991 and 2011. Of course, I chose 1991. A rather interesting point in time to say the least. Personally, I was getting acclimated to a whole new school system, as my family had just relocated from Podunkville, NC to Apopka, Florida. Plus, we had just wrapped up Operation Desert Storm, in which (in a precursor to events a dozen years later) Allied forces overwhelmed Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi Army. 

Musically speaking, these were the Top 40 songs according to Billboard Magazine for the week ending March 16, 1991:

40. Deeper Shade Of Soul by Urban Dance Squad. Only hit from this outfit, which had already moved out of the R/R charts for about a month at this point.

39. Chasin' The Wind by Chicago. Last top 40 hit for these longtime chart veterans.

38. How To Dance by Bingo Boys f/ Princessa. I usually turned the radio station when this song came on.

37. Together Forever by Lisette Melendez. As I recall, this was a staple on WXXL radio in Orlando.

36. I Saw Red by Warrant. Actually, I haven't seen "Red" in over a month, but I have seen her red flags everywhere. something I should have seen from the outset...

35. I Like The Way (The Kissing Game) by Hi-Five. No, your guy never has played a kissing game with a woman, all my "relationships" have never gotten to that point.

34. Just The Way It Is, Baby by The Rembrandts. Thier much lesser-known hit before they sang the theme to an iconic sitcom later on in the decade.

 33. If You Needed Somebody by Bad Company. A favorite of mine that stands the test of time, if only radio stations that specialize in old music would play it.

32. My Side Of The Bed by Susanna Hoffs. Her maiden solo effort, and a nice video to boot. 😉

31. Something In My Heart by Michel'le. I honestly do not remember this song at all.

30. Joyride by Roxette. After taking most of 1990 off, they returned with this song in early 1991.

29. Cry For Help by Rick Astley. When this video came out, we wondered what had happened to Rick because he no longer had the Howdy-Doody haircut (it was significantly longer). In any event I would hear this all the time at the Winn-Dixie I worked at in Pine Hills.

28. The First Tine by Surface. True story, the first days I rode the bus to Apopka High, there was this one girl who had really bad acne. I mean HELLA bad. And unfortunately, a couple of times she wound up sitting beside me, so I (to myself) changed the lyrics to this song to "the first time I saw your face I barfed." 

27. Baby Baby by Amy Grant. Speaking of barfing...

26. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)/I Want You by Robert Palmer. The other radio station to in Orlando I religiously listened to at the time, WOMX, would play this a LOT.

25. The Star-Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston. Recorded before Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Florida.

24. I'll Do For You by Father MC. A rather humorous ending to the song, as the female singer asks, "am I finished?"

23. Wicked Game by Chris Isaak. Excuse me for a second...

I hope that picture triggers some adolescent memories for the guys out there...you're welcome.

22. Rico Suave by Gerardo

21. I'll Be By Your Side by Stevie B

20. Round And Round by Tevin Campbell. As I recall, I think Prince had a hand not only in launching Tevin's career, but also with this particular track.

19. Sadness by Enigma. An all-time favorite of mine that reminds me of the "Pure Moods" CD that was advertised all over TV in the 90s.

18. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C+C Music Factory. Wanna feel old? If anyone has watched any part of ESPN's Champ Week coverage (which includes the ACC Tournament), you undoubtedly have heard THIS song. In 2024. 

17. Iesha by Another Bad Creation. This group was formed (IIRC) by Bell Biv Devoe, who of course would also launch the career of Boyz II Men.

16. Signs by Tesla. Unfortunately, I don't have this song on Spotify because I can't seem to find the edited for radio version.

15. I've Been Thinking About You by Londonbeat. But you haven't been thinking about me. Story of my life, buddy.

14. You're In Love by Wilson Phillips. Oh really??? I don't think so.

13. Waiting For Love by Alias. How long have I been waiting for love??

12. Around The Way Girl by LL Cool J

11. Madonna. I liked this song more than I did "Justify My Love."

10. Hold You Tight by Tara Kemp. Had a couple of bangers in 1991 then faded into Bolivia...

  9. Where Does My Heart Beat Now by Celine Dion. Long before "My Heart Will Go On," she debuted with this hi

  8. Get Here by Oleta Adams. Part of the reason why I think this song was so popular was because of Desert Storm, which I mentioned earlier in this entry had just wrapped up. This was also used by Trailways Bus Service, when they were still in existence.

  7. All The Man That I Need by Whitney Houston

  6. This House by Tracie Spencer. A few years ago, Tampa Bay's (s)hit music channel, WFLZ, used part of this song on a loop as bumper music. Otherwise, this song has been largely forgotten.

  5. All This Time by Sting. I'm a little surprised in retrospect that this song charted this high.

  4. Coming Out Of The Dark by Gloria Estefan. Remember when she had that near-fatal bus accident in 1990? This was her triumphant comeback from it.

  3. Show Me The Way by Styx. Their biggest hit since "Mr. Roboto" eight years earlier.

  2. One More Try by Timmy T. Pretty song, it would hit number one the following week, which at the time was the first song from an indy label since Lionel Richie's "Truly" in 1982 to reach the top spot. And I don't think she'll get another try if she decides to do so.

...and the number one song this date 33 years ago was...

  1. Someday by Mariah Carey. Featured in the music video was a drummer who was featured in a Levi's commercial the year before, who didn't have a drum set, but a pair of sticks and a bucket.

So that's your flashback for this week. I might have another entry come late Sunday or early Monday concerning the upcoming 2024 NCAA basketball tournaments. One other very important note before I sign off for now, even though I highly doubt she'll see this, but I wanted to wish my daughter Kaylee a very happy 25th birthday tomorrow.

this was taken before her senior year of high school

Until later, take care...

BonyScribe

Not Doing That Again...

 Good morning. Monday, I tried to get back what I tried to set out to do a month ago in properly celebrating my 50th birthday, which was ruined by one grifter robbing me and a bartender acting all stuck up like I didn't even exist even though I've done much for her. Oh, and her worthless (now) husband being a total tool. So, I went to another establishment in the area to drown my sorrows, but wound up getting virtually punched in the stomach, then literally sick. The woman I was talking to wound up being the unintended recipient of a nice gift I got the aforementioned tender for Christmas this past year (after showing her what I got for her and explaining to her why I was drowning my sorrows). So, I guess I was chopped liver to her (tender) after all. But then after about two hours of drinking, I felt ill...REALLY ill. 

Call it Montezuma's revenge, or call it me being dumb, but I wound up hurling my sorrows into the toilet. I was so sick, that the manager of the establishment wound up calling an ambulance. I wound up getting admitted to Trinity HCA Hospital to be treated for dehydration (and thankfully not alcohol poisoning). After about four-five hours, I was released and able to go home. 

That ordeal alone was a wake-up call to me. I wound up out $90 for an ER visit (thankfully I have Aetna), and I really didn't get anything accomplished, other than almost hitting rock-bottom. Suffice to say I think after Monday, my drinking days are done and over with. I'm 50 years old for crying out loud, and I know I don't have much time left on this planet, why should I waste it on getting drunk and not able to enjoy life? Maybe it's the fact that I didn't start until I was 38, and I may have been making up for lost time, which seems to be a recurring theme for me. But this took nearly three days to fully recover from, and that's something I really can't afford to have happen going forward.

So, as of March 12, 2024, my drinking dyas are done and over with. So long, Fireball.

BonyScribe

Flashback: March 6, 2009

 Hello, everyone. I was going to have more content for you but as usual, my computer started acting up...again. So instead of me ranting about an old man yelling into a cloud, and a crisis actress doing some lame interpretive dance routine afterwards, so instead you get a weekly flashback. This week we're going back all of fifteen years to the year I thought I was going to move to a quieter part of Florida, and possibly meet up with a lady from Germany (it wound up being a trap anyway), 2009. I believe if memory serves me correctly that this is the latest date I've ever done a flashback on. So, here were the top 40 songs for the week of March 6, 2009, loosely based off data from Mediabase 24/7.

40. If I Were A Boy by Beyonce. Well Beyonce, in 2024 it's totally plausible that you can be a boy, if you should choose to do so...

39. Day N Nite by Kid Cudi

38. 18 Days by Saving Abel. The lesser-known follow-up to "Addicted."

37. If You See(k) Amy by Britney Spears. Radio stations rreally had to dance around the actual title of this song, for obvious reasons. 

36. Second Chance by Shinedown

35. Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson

34. Halo by Beyonce

33. Turnin' Me On by Keri Hilson f/ Lil' Wayne

32. Angels On The Moon by Thriving Ivory

31. Love Lockdown by Kanye West. Probably my favorite track from Ye.

30. Light On by David Cook

29. The Climb by Miley Cyrus. Just after "Party In the USA." It took fifteen years, but Miley finally got her Grammy. Don't worry about getting her flowers though, she said she can buy her own.

28. Candle (Sick and Tired) by White Tie Affair

27. Right Now (Na Na Na) by Akon. Another favorite of mine.

26. Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback. I am somebody, too bad some people can't acknowledge that fact, right "Vixon"???

25. I Will Be by Leona Lewis

24. Kiss Me Thru The Phone by Soulja Boy. I wonder if the phone number that was mentioned in that song still works.

23. Crack A Bottle by Eminem/Dr. Dre/50 Cent. Until the other day, I felt like cracking a bottle upside someone's head. Not worth it though, I'll let karma work it's magic.

22. Womanizer by Britney Spears

21. How Do You Sleep? by Jesse McCartney. Quite well actually. It's the time that I sleep that's problematic.

20. Green Light by John Legend f/Andre 3000. I waited for that green light, but got thrown a sudden stop sign, then a detour. Dammit.

19. Beautiful by Akon

18. Thinking Of You by Katy Perry. Not anymore, I'm not.

17. Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf f/Lil' Wayne

16. Live Your Life by T.I. f/Rihanna

15. Untouched by The Veronicas

14. Poker Face by Lady Gaga. It wasn't until a few years ago that Gaga would admit that she let a vulgar word slip into the chorus.

13. Mad by Ne-Yo

12. I Hate This Part by The Pussycat Dolls

11. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyonce. In the fifteen years since this song came out, I have put two rings on two females. Neither worked out.

10. Dead And Gone by Justin Timberlake f/T.I. 

  9. You Fond Me by The Fray

  8. Right Round by Flo Rida f/Kesha

  7. Just Dance by Lady Gaga f/Colby O'Donis

  6. My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson. The aforementioned woman from Germany tried dedicating that song to me one time. It aged like warm milk.

  5. Love Story by Taylor Swift. No, I don't think she knew of Travis Kelce at the time. In fact, I don't think anyone outside of Ohio had heard of EITHER of the Kelce brothers this time fifteen years ago.

  4. Sober by P!nk. I've been sober for a month now, which means I better get to a bar next week. No, not THAT one...

  3. Heartless by Kanye West. Somewhat relatable due to recent events.

  2. Circus by Britney Spears

...and the number one song fifteen years ago this week was...

  1. Gives You Hell by The All-American Rejects. Enough said...

Well, if my POS computer doesn't give me yet another blue screen of death, I hope to have more content for y'all this weekend. 

BonyScribe

Flashback: March 2, 2001

 Hello, everyone. My computer appears to be working, for now. I have my Spotify app closed so hopefully it helps (UPDATE: it didn't). As long as I can get my 'puter to stay on for once and not crash, I'm golden. Last week, I ran back 1994, this week, we're taking a look back to just before our lives would all change forever.

With that said, here were the top 40 songs per Radio & Records Magazine for March 2, 2001, with some memories and random thoughts sprinkled in. Can you believe it's been 23 years already?!

40. Broken Promises by Tonya Mitchell. As I recall, she was a singer from Tennessee that allegedly was the one Justin Timberlake cheated on Britney Spears with. After this single, which was her breakthrough, her father died, and Mitchell left the music industry not long afterwards.

39. Loser by Three Doors Down. Gee, with the way my mental and emotional health has been lately, I feel like one, but I'm not.

38. Liquid Dreams by O-Town. Did we REALLY need another Orlando, Florida-based boy band? If Backstreet was Coca-Cola and *NSYNC was Pepsi, I guess this group was RC Cola, and much like RC Cola, they're still around, just not very relevant.

37. E. I. by Nelly. To this day, I don't know what "E.I." stands for. Looking at Wiki, it apparently is code for something I'd rather not discuss on this blog, but if you're curious, go ahead. For those who don't want to click on the link, think of the term "butter face."

36. Too Little Too Late by The Barenaked Ladies. This song kinda reminds me of the classic rant from "Animal House."

35. Stutter by Joe f/Mystikal. Joe also released a smoother R&B sounding version of this song, but it didn't get any play on FLZ.

34. My Everything by 98 Degrees

33. Ooh It's Kinda Crazy by Soul Decision. You mean how my February went? You can say that. 

32. I Wish by R. Kelly. I bet he wishes he didn't fool around with underage girls back in the day.

31. Beautiful Day by U2. There was a rather forgettable commercial for a Tampa-area car dealership back in the early 2000's that utilized a poorly sung version of this song. I don't think they increased their business from those ads, and they were probably even more annoying than the dude for Spectrum that cosplays Vincent Van Gogh yelling, "$29.99!!"

30. I'm Like A Bird by Nelly Furtado. Had it not have been for Timabland, Nelly would have been known as the singer that sang the bird song, which was feature in a State Farm ad about a decade ago. "I only fly awayyyyy."

29. I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack. Rare country crossover hit. As I recall, there were two versions of this tune, one for contemporary radio and one for country. I think only the country version is available on Spotify.

28. Southside by Moby f/Gwen Stefani. A favorite of mine from that era, unfortunately for me, the version with Gwen is not available on Spotify. Dammit man...

27. Breathless by The Corrs

26. Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning) by Vertical Horizon. If memory serves me correct, this was their final Top 40 hit. Quite strange considering they had the most (over)played song of the year 2000.

25. Thank You For Loving Me by Bon Jovi

24. Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse. The song that just wouldn't go away. I think it was still in the top 10 when 9/11 hit (Update: after a quick check, it was). 

23. Follow Me by Uncle Kracker

22. Hemorrhage (In My Hands) by Fuel. Casey Kasem on his countdown show never said the actual title on his countdown shows. I never realized that "hemorrhage" was taboo to say over the airwaves, but maybe to some listeners they found it offensive. Then again, those same people would get offended if someone picked their nose.

21. Free by Mya

20. No More (Baby I'ma Do Right) by 3LW. A one-hit wonder for this group.

19. Case Of The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do) by Mya. This was her biggest solo effort, her biggest hits were "Getto Supastar" and "Lady Marmalade" which were collaborations.

18. Never Had A Dream Come True by S Club 7. I'm still waiting for mine, and I'm getting closer.

17. The Call by The Backstreet Boys. There was one call I wish I had made in 2004, but I didn't, and that's probably why I'm single now.

16. It Wasn't Me by Shaggy f/Rik Rok. The whole premise of this song is hilarious. Dude gets caught red-handed cheating on his woman, and Shaggy tells him to say it wasn't him. Now unless there was an identical twin that the woman had zero idea about, how on Earth could this POSSIBLY work?

15. Thankyou by Dido. Yes, I had to watch how I spelled Dido. Anyway, this took off thanks to Eminem who sampled this in his hit, "Stan." Which is also where we get the GenZ term "stan" (meaning fanatic of) from. Thanks, Marshall!

14. Ms. Jackson by OutKast. Iconic song that launched OutKast into the mainstream. Hold on, we're getting reaction now from Mr. Jackson, and it doesn't look good for Andre and Big Boi:

13. Around The World (A La La La La La) by ATC

12. You Make Me Sick by P!nk. Her third hit from "Can't Take Me Home." I wonder if she still does songs from this era on tour right now? And does she fly through the air on a trapeze-like device doing so?

11. Independent Women Part I by Destiny's Child. First off, congratulations are in order to Beyonce for becoming the first female artist of African descent to score a #1 country song, which is also the number one song on this week's Hot 100 ("Texas Hold 'Em"). Secondly, since this song was from the movie "Charlie's Angels," I should state that I had such a crush on Drew Barrymore back in the day. 

10. If You're Gone by Matchbox Twenty. Low-key a favorite of mine and an underrated hit in my opinion.

  9. Jaded by Aerosmith. Their Super Bowl appearance that year (along with Britney and NSYNC) undoubtedly propelled this chart hit, which I think was their final top ten.

  8. Nobody Wants To Be Lonely by Ricky Martin with Christina Aguilera. I really thought this would take off big time, but it only got to #7 the following week, then fell off. A pretty good song actually.

  7. He Loves U Not by Dream. Dream was supposedly the female version of BSB. I wonder what happened to them? Whoa, here's something I didn't know until now, group member Melissa Shuman accused Nick Carter of rape in 2002.

  6. Butterfly by Crazy Town. Crazy town, perfectly describes about any town in Florida. That or Lumberton, NC.

  5. Don't Tell Me by Madonna. FLZ played the fast tempo version of this song (which I hated) while their butt-ugly sister station Star 95.7 (now extinct) played the regular version. In fact, there was a lot of things I hated about FLZ at the time. Now I just hate them for being an iHate Local Radio iHeart Media station.

  4. Crazy by K-Ci and JoJo. Yeah, thinking about has just about driven me crazy...

  3. Angel by Shaggy f/Rayvon. An updated version of Merilee Rush's 1968 song "Angel Of The Morning," which was remade by Juice Newton in 1981.

  2. Again by Lenny Kravitz. Great song, only a matter of time until it reaches a "new" oldies station, which I'm surprised hasn't happened yet that I am aware of.

...and the number one song twenty-three years ago this week was...

  1. Love Don't Cost A Thing by Jennifer Lopez. Wrong. It actually does cost something eventually. Either that or I have become jaded with relationships to the point that true love does not exist. 

That puts a wrap on this week's flashback feature. I'm formulating ideas in my mind on how I want to expand the BonyScribe brand further. More entries on this blog would help at first, but stay tuned. I want to do something more online in the coming months, that is if I ever get my depression somewhat resolved. Until next time, have a good weekend!

BonyScribe

Dammit Man

 Hello, everyone. Except for you, Eric, you POS. Suffice to say this month has not been a great month for me personally. What I thought was going to be the biggest month of my entire life was anything but. First I was heartbroken. Then I was kinda robbed. Then I didn't receive any explanation for my my heart was broken. Add that to the numerous times I received the blue screen of death on my two-month-old computer, and you can pretty much say that the first month of my fifties was an utter travesty.

I think my romantic aspirations, or lack thereof, is paramount among my frustrations, but my computer has to be a close second. The only applications I added to my computer were Google Earth and Spotify, and Google Earth I uninstalled within a week because I thought that was what was crashing my computer so much. Maybe it was Spotify instead. I can't really tell because every time I turn the computer on, I get a blue screen telling me to press F1 for recovery environment, etc., and when the computer does load properly, within a minute I get the Blue screen of Death saying "critical process died."

I have gone to youtube to help diagnose the issue, but I get the same lame-ass result. I don't want to take it to Best Buy and have it looked at (I got it from WalMart for cheap online), but maybe I have too. Man, between that and the other thing, what a sucky month. Hopefully March will be better.

BonyScribe

Flashback: February 25, 1994

 Good morning, everyone. I wanted to start off with a tweet (yes, I still call them that, Squealon Muskrat) from someone I follow closely on Twitter, Dani Leigh, who is best known as a wrestling fan and her thoughts on that industry. Well, in this tweet, she began, "I know today's society looks down on venting, but I'm a big proponent of it." First off, I agree with Dani whole-heartedly on venting. Heck, some entries on this blog are just me venting; I guess it's a family tradition of ours. If anyone knows anything about the Tyner family, they will know that we can have a good vent or two every once in a while. I guess it came from my grandfather (who passed before I was born), who passed it on down to his children, most notably my father, my uncle DH, and my aunt Sadie. They of course, passed it down to my generation. While we don't rant and rave about every little thing imaginable, because that would be rather ungrateful, we do have opinions that we aren't afraid to share, and if you're an avid reader of this blog, you know that. Secondly, and I think I may have inadvertently answered this already in the last sentence, who said that venting was frowned upon? 

(from MTSsalestraining.com)

Anyway, I thought I would throw in a few rants here and there with today's flashback. This week, we're going to 1994, when I was miserable in Charleston, SC hoping to pass my nuclear prototype training. I'm utilizing the Radio & Records chart for this flashback. Here were the top 40 songs for February 25, 1994.

40. Bump N' Grind by R. Kelly. Continuing with my rant from the last flashback I did, not only did the "pop" station refused to play this song, but the urban station in town played a smoothed out slow jams version of it. I just couldn't win in this decade.

39. And Our Feelings by Babyface. Nope. Didn't hear this one in Charleston either. What feelings were Babyface talking about anyway, crippling depression? (Of course not.)

38. Gin And Juice by Snoop (Doggy) Dogg. Similar to #40, the urban station in Charleston played a totally different version. Damn, Charleston sucked!

37. Come To My Window by Melissa Etheridge

36. Miss You In A Heartbeat by Def Leppard. One thing about the 90's I disliked was the pivot musically to a more acoustic sound. Thanks, MTV. Maybe the reason you're an irrelevant network nowadays is karma from the times you forced fed "Unplugged" down out throats.

35. Ain't Seen Love Like That by Mr. Big. If I may speak like someone from Robeson County, North Carolina for a moment, "ain't remember no song like that there, y'all." Which reminds me, I don't think any radio station in Charleston at that time aired either neither "American Top 40" nor "Casey's Top 40"; I think the nearest station that did was all the way in Myrtle Beach, which was a bit too far to pick up cleanly on my radio.

34. Baby, I Love Your Way by Big Mountain. A mere five years and change beforehand, dance group Will To Power remade this as part of a medley along with "Freebird." They really don't do a lot of remakes anymore, then again, I stopped listening to modern music about seven years ago.

33. Getto Jam by Domino. Didn't hear this one until some years later.

32. Queen Of The Night by Whitney Houston. Talk about staying power, this song came from the soundtrack to the movie "Bodyguard," which was nearly two years old.

31. Since I Don't Have You by Guns 'N' Roses. This was GnR's last chart hit, and as someone who wasn't a big GnR fan, good riddance.

30. Linger by The Cranberries. The Irish group's breakout hit.

29. Having A Party by Rod Stewart. See my note after #36 for my thoughts on this one.

28. Streets Of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen. From the movie "Philadelphia," this one was a favorite of mine, and I can still see the lines of people outside of Pat's and Geno's from eight years ago to this very day.

27. Shoop by Salt N Pepa

26. Mr. Jones by Counting Crows

25. Will You Be There In The Morning by Heart. Let me go ahead and answer that question, probably not. I'll get into why later.

24. Cry For You by Jodeci. No, I don't do that anymore. In fact, there's another song from later in 1994 named "Can't Cry Anymore" by Sheryl Crow. But that's not the reason I don't do that as you will see later.

23. Cannonball by The Breeders. I don't think the bass line to this song gets talked about enough in my opinion.

22. Groove Thang by Zhane

21. Life (Everybody Needs Somebody) by Haddaway. I sort of liked this better than "What Is Love" to be honest. Probably because it wasn't featured on SNL, although I think those Roxbury skits came later.

20. I'm In The Mood by CeCe Peniston. She suddenly faded into Bolivia after this single. IYKYK.

19. (Lay Your Head On My) Pillow by Tony! Toni! Tone!

18. Breathe Again by Toni Braxton. I can still remember her running through that maze in the music video for this song. Kinda like me at times.

17. Everyday by Phil Collins

16. Understanding by Xscape

15. Found Out About You by The Gin Blossoms. I CERTAINLY did, and that's the reason I don't cry for you anymore. IYKYK.

14. All For Love by Bryan Adams, Sting, and Rod Stewart. You know, I can't imagine these singers donning three musketeers' costumes (which is the movie this song is from). Maybe Sting, but definitely not Bryan nor Rod.

13. Amazing by Aerosmith. I had a huge crush on Alicia Silverstone at the time, as most young men did. It went away quick after "Batman and Robin" though, which is by far the worst movie in the entire Batman franchise.

12. Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Oh, my my, oh hell yes. You got to pit on that party dress.

11. Now and Forever by Richard Marx. Don't remember the title of it, but I think it came from a movie with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. Update, it was from "The Getaway."

10. Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through by Meat Loaf. This was actually a remake of a song that Jim Steinman, the man behind Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell II" album, released in 1981 that reached the top 40 on Billboard. This version however was much better.

  9. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3

  8. Choose by Color Me Badd. Unfortunately, they were still around in 1994. They're still around today actually, when they aren't fighting each other on stage.

  7. Whatta Man by Salt N Pepa f/ En Vogue. Wow whatta video for that song. Why did the sexiest member of En Vogue have to leave the group though?

  6. Stay by Eternal. If a radio station nowadays decides to include 90's hits on their playlist (talking to you, Hits 106), this song should definitely be included.

  5. So Much In Love by All-4-One

  4. The Power Of Love by Celine Dion. A remake of a Laura Branigan tune from a few years prior. 

  3. Without You by Mariah Carey. Another remake, this one from Nillson back in the 70's.

  2. Because Of Love by Janet Jackson. 

...and the number one song this date in 1994 was...

  1. The Sign by Ace of Base. Now made somewhat popular again thanks to a Miller Lite advertisement. Which is a good alternative to Bud Light for those of you who want to protest, well you know.

  Well, that wraps up this week's flashback. If something comes up, I'll be back here again sometime this weekend. For now, it's time to grab some breakfast and talk to my therapist via video chat later this morning. Man do I have much to tell her. For now, enjoy your weekend!

Bonyscribe.

Have We All Gone Crazy?

 Good morning. While awaiting my computer to boot up this morning (which I'll probably have to do again later today; that's another story for another time), I was thinking about a brief conversation I had with my sister Carmel on Monday night. She was having a conversation with someone younger while she was still living in North Carolina, and she was asking the younger woman if she believed in dating and such, and the younger woman said that they didn't really believe in that. According to her, it was pretty much a hook-up culture. Now I really can't relate to what she was talking about, because I haven't been on a date in almost eight years and have been vastly unsuccessful in procuring any type of relationship for longer than that. But it got me to thinking, especially after the latest circumstance with the one I had been pursuing for the last year-plus; have we all gone insane?

It already takes an act of Congress for me to go out on my own to begin with, thanks to overbearing siblings, so I don't go out much to begin with. Plus, it seems like I fall for someone, something unbelievable and fluky happens to screw the whole situation up, like I would lose contact with somebody, or they just move away for unknown reasons. One thing I can't understand though, is why one mere month after starting a relationship with someone, they're already married? Excuse me?? Like you just got out of a year-long relationship with someone and now you're married to someone else??? Have you gone crazy?

 

Better yet, have we ALL gone crazy? Just look at some of our celebrities and our society as a whole since the turn of the millennium. People don't interact in person like they used to. Most of our shopping is done online instead of in person. There aren't many standing bookstores left. Record stores are all but non-existent. Even some grocery stores are going the way of the dodo bird. Yeah, COVID played a part, but this has been going on for about a decade now. Worse yet, people are falling more and more for propaganda and false news from all ends of the spectrum. Oh, and don't get me started on religion; my sisters are somewhat religious whereas I would rather have freedom FROM religion. And every other commercial on television nowadays is for some pharmaceutical product. 

I used to think that the "mental health crisis" in America was just a phrase. Maybe sadly, it might be our reality.

And yes, I had to reboot my computer twice just to complete this.

BonyScribe

Flashback: February 16, 1996

 Hello again everyone. The last time I did a flashback was January 25th, and I wound up getting my heart ripped out that day...again. So, this flashback, I should have a clear mind (if not a slightly bruised heart) and should follow through with a proper flashback. This week, we go back to 1996. I don't think I've done a flashback from that year before. I'll have to check to be sure. Also, I'm doing this flashback a little different from my other ones. In the past my flashbacks came from either the Radio & Records pop chart from that week or the Billboard Hot 100. This week however, I'm basing this off the Hot 100 Airplay sector of the Billboard chart. Charts back in those days, as well as radio, was rather unique. So, without further ado, here were, according to Billboard Magazine, the 40 most played pop songs:

40. Brain Stew/Jaded by Green Day. Got plenty of run on MTV and rock radio, but course, pop radio in Virginia (where I lived) wouldn't touch the song. Kinda like how a country station in Oklahoma won't touch Beyonce's latest country song (Update: after public outcry, the station caved and started playing it). Another reason that I kinda despise that state, especially after a few weeks ago. 

39. Runaway by Janet Jackson. At this point, this song had already dropped below the Top 40 according to Radio & Records. Even though I had it as recurrent, as it was below #20 with 20+ weeks on the chart.

38. Not Gon' Cry by Mary J. Blige. This one had yet to reach the top 50 on Radio and Records pop chart yet. It would eventually debut on March 8.

37. Back For Good by Take That. Big in England, not so much here outside of this track.

36. Set U Free by Planet Soul. A staple at the old enlisted club in Norfolk Naval Base. I don't think that place exists anymore...

35. Glycerine by Bush. A little surprised in retrospect that this charted because much like Brain Stew at #40, this hardly got any traction outside the rock and alternative stations in Virginia.

34. Anything by 3T. I honestly don't remember this tune. 

33. Kiss From A Rose by Seal. From I think the best Batman movie, "Batman Forever."

32. Follow You Down by Gin Blossoms.

31. I Want To Come Over by Melissa Etheridge. 

30. Diggin' On You by TLC.

29. Run-Around by Blues Traveler. I have yet to see exactly how long it stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 by on Radio and Records it stayed for almost a year!

28. Before You Walk Out Of My Life by Monica. 

27. Don't Cry by Seal. Quality follow-up to "Kiss From A Rose."

26. Carnival by Natalie Merchant. Her first smash hit as a solo artist. Faded away as the century came to a close.

25. You'll See by Madonna. I think this was her last hit from her "Bedtime Stories" album, before the "Evita" soundtrack later that year.

24. Roll To Me by Del Amitri. If I'm not mistaken this was one of a handful of one-hit wonders from the mid-90's.

23. Til I Hear It From You by Gin Blossoms. Just as "Runaway" at #39, I had as a recurrent song, it was listed on Radio & Records because back in February 1996, their recurrent rule was at least 26 weeks in the top 40 and under position 25.

22. Hook by Blues Traveler. Kind of a humorous video to this song.

21. Only Wanna Be With You. Yeah, the Dolphins made Darius Rucker, and plenty of others in South Florida, cry this season.

20. California Love by 2Pac (f/Dr. Dre & R. Troutman). Arguably 2Pac's signature hit. Didn't get enough run on pop radio.

19. Ironic by Alanis Morissette. Was it just me, or did I have the feeling that Alanis was a little unhinged going off of the video for this song?

18. Tell Me by Groove Theory. Another hit that I thought didn't get enough run on pop radio.

17. Hey Lover by LL Cool J. I just did a compare/contrast with the two media markets that I spent the majority of my time in (Norfolk, VA and Raleigh, NC) and no wonder that my music listening experience in the 90's was whack. On Z104 (NOR), this song got 30+ plays for the week, while it received zero on G105 (RDU). Conversely, "Ironic" had a similar number of plays during the week in Raleigh, while receiving zero in Norfolk. Also, "Hand In My Pocket" was G105's number one song for the week, Z104 was listed as CHR/Pop, but were anything but. If anything, they were rhythmic/urban.

16. Fantasy by Mariah Carey. Another thing about G105, that station refused to play this song, but would instead play the song that "Fantasy" is sampled from, "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club. Seriously. I swear I had to have been around the two WORST markets for pop radio in the mid-90's. No WONDER I was miserable while I was up there! 

15. Sittin' Up In My Room by Brandy. Another song that G105 ignored. 

14. 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. Another song that Z104 ignored that you could only get on the rock station. You starting to catch my drift as well as sense my frustration?

13. The World I Know by Collective Soul. As you may have been able to tell with the last few songs, the world I knew at the time (at least from a music standpoint) was not a fun one.

12. Wonder by Natalie Merchant.

11. As I Lay Me Down by Sophie B. Hawkins. Unfortunately, this (and not "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover") is Hawkins's signature hit. Reason, the original video for "Lover," which suddenly went away when Hawkins came out. Damn.

10. Wonderwall by Oasis. Probably the greatest singalong song of my lifetime, even though I never sang it while intoxicated.

  9. Be My Lover by La Bouche.

  8. Nobody Knows by Tony Rich Project.

  7. One Of Us by Joan Osborne. I may have mentioned this in a prior entry years ago, but the spoken word intro to this song sounds like it came from a woman I used to know from Lake County, Florida.

  6. Exhale (Shoop Shoop) by Whitney Houston. Again, another great song that G105 ignored. Seriously G105, were you racist or something back then???

  5. Breakfast At Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something. Another mid 90's one-hit wonder.

  4. Time by Hootie & The Blowfish. Another song I used to sing along to.

  3. Name by Goo Goo Dolls. A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio. Somewhat prophetic words there.

  2. Missing by Everything But The Girl. Kind of describes my life; everything but the girl.

...and the most played pop song according to Billboard Magazine on this date 28 years ago was...

  1. One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men. I think until recently (within the last five years), that held the record for most weeks at number one on the Hot 100 chart.

Hope to have more entries for y'all this weekend. Enjoy your Friday everyone.

BonyScribe