Bony Scribe's Random Top 40 Flashback, Volume III

 Hello once again. If you didn't catch my last entry, we had snow in Florida yesterday, and south of Tampa, there still may be a threat of snow showers believe it or not. Later today, the NHL Stadium Series comes to Raymond James Stadium as the Tampa Bay Lightning face off vs. the Boston Bruins.  As of right now, the temperature in Spring Hill (about 45 minutes north of Tampa) is 31 with windy conditions and going down to about 25 by daybreak. Quite the start to my birthday month. 

Today marks the third edition of my random Top 40 flashback feature. In November, I did March of 1989. Then in December, I did May of 1987. Today, I'm going to do the fourth week of August 1997. For those of you who may be new to reading this blog, the way I do my flashbacks is that I take the data (depending on the date) from either the Billboard (Hot 100 from 1980-91, Hot 100 Airplay from 92 on) charts, the Radio & Records CHR charts, or both. For these random ones, I utilize both. A predetermined point value is given to a song in relation to the position of that particular chart, along with bonuses for longevity, or how long that song has been charting. I wrote how and why I did this several years ago on this site, I might have to repost it to give you a reference. Anyway, from the data given, here were the Top 40 songs for the week of August 22, 1997.

Before we begin, there were fifty songs that charted on the BB Hot 100 Airplay and R&R CHR pop charts, so ten missed the cut. Those were:

On My Own by Peach Union (#40 R/R)
Everything by Mary J. Blige (#40 BB)
Turn My Head by Live (#39 R/R)
Love You Down by INOJ (#39 BB)
What Do You Want From Me? by Monaco (#38 R/R)
Supernatural by Wild Orchid (#37 R/R)
Not Tonight by Lil' Kim (#37 BB)
Happy With You by Samantha Cole (#36 R/R)
Stomp by God's Property (#35 R/R)
Walkin' On The Sun by Smash Mouth (#35 BB)

40. Takes A Little Time by Amy Grant (#33 R/R--8 points)

39. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T. by Changing Faces (#32 BB--11 points)

38. When I Die by No Mercy (#32 R/R--11 points). While both GHETTOUT and When I Die had 11 points, When I Die was on its ninth week on the R/R chart while GHETTOUT was on its eighth week on the Billboard chart.

37. I Belong To You (Every Time I See Your Face) by Rome (#34 BB--12 points)

36. To The Moon & Back by Savage Garden (#29 R/R--17 points)

35. Barbie Girl by Aqua (#36 BB, #27 R/R--19 points)

34. How Do I Live by Leann Rimes (#38 BB, #26 R/R--20 points)

33. I Wanna Be There by Blessid Union Of Souls (#30 R/R--21 points)
32. MMMBop by Hanson (#30 BB--21 points). MMMBop was a former #1 on both charts. I Wanna Be There merely reached the top 20 on the R/R chart and only charted for one week on the Hot 100 airplay chart. Interesting because IWBT was on its 18th week on R/R while MMMBop was on its 19th on Billboard; it had already reached recurrent status on R/R (Under #20 with 20 or more weeks since its debut). Kinda indicates some vast differences between the BB Hot 100 Airplay, which I assume covers all formats, and the R/R charts, which only covers mainstream pop. I wish I had worked in the radio business so I could better try to explain it and possibly give some insight as to why IWBT didn't get as much run on BB.

31. I Don't Wanna Wait by Paula Cole (#33 BB, #24 R/R--27 points)
30. Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious B.I.G. f/Puff Daddy & Mase (#19 BB--27 points). In this instance, the opposite of what occurred with the last two songs appears evident, as this was the only song by Biggie to chart on R/R (it hadn't reached the Top 40 yet), and when it did it only reached #29, doing so in October. I'll have another example of that featuring Diddy later.

29. Fly by Sugar Ray (#25 BB, #31 R/R--28 points)

28. Coco Jamboo by Mr. President (#31 BB, #20 R/R--33 points)

27. The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (#27 BB, #28 R/R--37 points)

26. Invisible Man by 98 Degrees (#28 BB, #18 R/R--38 points)

25. Say You'll Be There by Spice Girls (#29 BB, #34 R/R--39 points). Pause here to give some of you some eye candy:

...and you wonder why my affinity towards redheads comes from? Forever grateful, Geri.

24. More Than This by 10,000 Maniacs (#26 BB, #22 R/R--41 points)

23. Building A Mystery by Sarah McLachlan (#17 BB, #25 R/R--42 points). No, there wasn't a sappy commercial from the ASPCA that accompanied this song, nor was it featured in that infamous dead dog dedication. Maybe my next flashback will feature the song that was involved with that.

22. Barely Breathing by Duncan Sheik (14 BB--45 points). Already reached recurrent status on R/R.

21. A Change Will Do You Good by Sheryl Crow (#22 BB, #23 R/R--47 points). The song with one of my favorite lines, "Jack off Jimmy everybody wants more."

20. If You Could Only See by Tonic (#21 BB, #21 R/R--47 points)

19. The Difference by The Wallflowers (#23 BB, #16 R/R--47 points)

18. One Headlight by The Wallflowers (#11 BB--52 points). As was the case with Barely Breathing, One Headlight had also reached recurrent status on the R/R chart.

17. Honey by Mariah Carey (#18 BB, #14 R/R--53 points). I read recently that Mariah has only five Grammy wins. How is that possible?! Then again AMPAS voted Jethro Tull over Metallica for best hard rock performance in the early 90s and in 2001 had an album of the year win by Steely Dan. Steely Dan.

16. Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band (#20 BB, 19 R/R--58 points)

15. Push by Matchbox 20 (#13 BB, #12 R/R--73 points)

14. Foolish Games by Jewel (#12 BB, #10 R/R--76 points)

13. Return Of The Mack by Mark Morrison (#16 BB, #17 R/R--79 points)

12. Where's The Love by Hanson (#24 BB, #6 R/R--84 points). Coming off the heels of "MMMBop," this track proved that a strictly pop hit while almost a certain smash on R/R doesn't guarantee success on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.

11. The Freshmen by The Verve Pipe (#9 BB, #13 R/R--97 points)

10. I'll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans f/112 (#6 BB, #15 R/R--103 points). Remember the earlier example regarding Biggie? Diddy reached #4 on Billboard with this tribute track to Biggie and Tupac (who were assassinated in separate incidents over the prior six months), and surprisingly got some rub on R/R yet only managed #13.

  9. Do You Know (What It Takes) by Robyn (#15 BB, #7 R/R--108 points)

  8. Bitch by Meredith Brooks (#10 BB, #9 R/R--110 points). Don't think that song would work today. Censorship has started to run rampant present day. Case in point, the E****** files.

Seriously, nothing makes sense anymore. That gets bleeped out on TikTok while Chappel Roan practically exposed her breasts on the red carpet of the GRAMMYs last night.

  7. All For You by Sister Hazel (#7 BB, #8 R/R--120 points)

  6. 2 Become 1 by Spice Girls (#8 BB, #4 R/R--137 points). Again, I ask for your indulgence:

  5. Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin (#2 BB, #11 R/R--167 points). Speaking of the GRAMMYs, remember Colvin's win for Best Song in 1998 and her acceptance speech got hijacked by Ol' Dirty Bastard? Come to think of it this was the same GRAMMYs where "Soy Bomb" interrupted a performance by Bob Dylan. Now, the whole WORLD is unhinged...

  4. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) by Backstreet Boys (#5 BB, #2 R/R--190 points)

  3. How Bizarre by OMC (#4 BB, #3 R/R--195 points)

  2. Men In Black by Will Smith (#1 BB, #5 R/R--210 points)

and my top spot for the week of August 22, 1997 went to...

  1. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind (#3 BB, #1 R/R--235 points).

A quick word about this week before I wrap things up for this entry. Not only is Sunday my birthday, but it's also Super Bowl Sunday. I pick Seattle to get revenge on what happened a dozen years ago in Arizona to the hands of New England. Friday I'm going to have some fun, but also the Winter Olympics begin in Italy. During the Opening Ceremony, wouldn't it be something if, given the state of matters in the US, a member or several members of Team USA as they're marching into the San Siro for the parade of athletes did THIS gesture:

Food for thought. Anyway, enjoy the week!

Bonyscribe.

Top 100 of 1994 and a Personal Note

 Good evening, except for you Megyn Kelly, you sick f**k. Haven't been very active on this here blog lately. That isn't because I've had nothing to talk about, but I haven't felt like doing much writing lately. Like I've said in previous entries, I've been a bit too depressed to write anything. This time it's a combination of what's been going on in the news, which is depressing enough to begin with, and not being able to see my love interest for almost a month. I hate it. Plus, the holidays are coming, which aren't what they used to be now that there's just the two sisters and I left...for now. I did have a somewhat good evening, minus one detail. Five of the teams that I root for won, and while the autumn chill has descended upon the Tampa Bay area, the weather hasn't been bad (except for last week, when it was colder than a well digger's a$$), so I thought I would submit this entry.

Tonight, I'm going to give you my Top 100 songs of 1994 based on data compiled by both Radio & Records Magazine and Billboard Magazine. So, without further ado, away we go.

100. Anything by SWV
  99. Loser by Beck
  98. At Your Best (You Are Love) by Aaliyah
  97. Mr. Vain by Culture Beat
  96. Dreams by Gabrielle
  95. I Wanna Be Down by Brandy
  94. The Way She Loves Me by Richard Marx
  93. Stroke You Up by Changing Faces
  92. I Miss You by Aaron Hall
  91. Something's Always Wrong by Toad the Wet Sprocket

A few things of note here, both 100 and 95 appeared on Billboard, but not R&R during 1994 (although Brandy did appear briefly on there the next year), the only two songs in this list that accomplished that feat. Also, Stroke You Up was backed by R. Kelly, who controversially was seeing Aaliyah at the time, who was only 14. But according to Megyn Kelly, it shouldn't be a big deal. Megyn...

  90. Never Lie by Immature
  89. Never Keeping Secrets by Babyface
  88. Misled by Celine Dion
  87. Circle Of Life by Elton John
  86. Beautiful In My Eyes by Joshua Kadison
  85. Basket Case by Green Day
  84. Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots
  83. Far Behind by Candlebox
  82. Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through by Meat Loaf
  81. You Better Wait by Steve Perry

In this group of ten, we have the breakout hit by Green Day, a song that my former roommate had a fixation for (Far Behind), and Steve Perry with a comeback hit of sorts that kinda ties into recent headlines, and someone I mentioned before on this entry.

  80. Sukiyaki by 4PM
  79. Understanding by Xscape
  78. Allison Road by Gin Blossoms
  77. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden
  76. Lucky One by Amy Grant
  75. Groove Thang by Zhane
  74. Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  73. Love Sneakin' Up On You by Bonnie Raitt
  72. Regulate by Warren G. & Nate Dogg
  71. You Gotta Be by Des'ree

Among this group is a fantastic hip-hop track that could've been the song of that summer, Last Dance, which featured Kim Basinger in the video (and I didn't know Mary Jane was code at the time, I was 20), and You Gotta Be, which lasted on the charts about as long as the Energizer Bunny did.

  70. Round Here by Counting Crows
  69. Turn The Beat Around by Gloria Estefan
  68. You Want This by Janet Jackson
  67. Stay by Eternal
  66. Everyday by Phil Collins
  65. I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff
  64. Living In Danger by Ace of Base
  63. What's The Frequency, Kenneth? by R.E.M. 
  62. Fantastic Voyage by Coolio
  61. Linger by The Cranberries

Every time I see the song "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" I'm reminded of a former shipmate onboard the Eisenhower that had the first name of Ken, although I never got to use that line when asking what the frequency of the generators on our ship were (it was always set at a certain frequency).

  60. Can We Talk by Tevin Campbell
  59. Amazing by Aerosmith
  58. Choose by Color Me Badd
  57. Again by Janet Jackson
  56. I'll Take You There by General Public
  55. Here Comes The Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze
  54. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3
  53. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm by Crash Test Dummies
  52. All That She Wants by Ace of Base
  51. Said I Loved You...But I Lied by Michael Bolton

Numbers 55-53 were noteworthy because they were from artists that were genuinely one-hit wonders. Neither of those three were really heard from again after their respective songs.

  50. Streets Of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen
  49. Until I Fall Away by Gin Blossoms
  48. Prayer For The Dying by Seal
  47. I'll Stand By You by Pretenders
  46. Always by Erasure
  45. Endless Love by Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey
  44. Bump N' Grind by R. Kelly
  43. I'm Ready by Tevin Campbell
  42. Back & Forth by Aaliyah
  41. Because The Night by 10,000 Maniacs

I had mentioned earlier about the controversy between R. Kelly and Aaliyah. Well if it weren't for Tevin Campbell, they would actually be together on this list. Eww.

  40. I'm The Only One by Melissa Etheridge
  39. December 1963 (Oh What A Night) by The Four Seasons
  38. Crazy by Aerosmith
  37. Found Out About You by Gin Blossoms
  36. On Bended Knee by Boyz II Men
  35. Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa
  34. Always by Bon Jovi
  33. Please Forgive Me by Bryan Adams
  32. 100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters
  31. Return To Innocence by Enigma

December 1963 wasn't actually the track that first appeared in the mid-70's; it was a remix by Ben Liebrand that got significant airplay thanks in part to John Garabedian's "Open House Party" back in the day. I don't know if that program exists anymore, last I checked it was being run by the former evening DJ at WFLZ radio in Tampa. Yuck.

  30. All For Love by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, & Sting
  29. Anytime You Need A Friend by Mariah Carey
  28. So Much In Love by All-4-One
  27. Anytime, Anyplace by Janet Jackson
  26. Now And Forever by Richard Marx
  25. Because Of Love by Janet Jackson
  24. Secret by Madonna
  23. Come To My Window by Melissa Etheridge
  22. Hero by Mariah Carey
  21. Whatta Man by Salt-N-Pepa w/En Vogue

"Secret" by Madonna was off her CD Bedtime Stories, which is noteworthy because a female shipmate (who I had one of my first...uh, relations with while driving around Norfolk) played the cassette in the car I had at the time, a 1985 grey Mercury Grand Marquis. Oh, by the way, she was a redhead.

  20. Shine by Collective Soul
  19. Breathe Again by Toni Braxton
  18. Another Night by Real McCoy
  17. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World by Prince
  16. Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John
  15. When Can I See You by Babyface
  14. You Mean The World To Me by Toni Braxton
  13. If You Go by Jon Secada
  12. Without You by Mariah Carey
  11. The Power Of Love by Celine Dion

songs 17-11 seem like a list of songs that would be played during one of those Long-Distance Dedications that the late Casey Kasem used to do on his countdown shows way back when. Speaking of which, here is the most beautiful girl (woman) in the world to me:

  10. Baby I Love Your Way by Big Mountain

    9. Wild Night by John Mellencamp w/ Me'chelle Ndegeocello

    8. All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

    7. Mr. Jones by Counting Crows

    6. I'll Remember by Madonna

    5. I Swear by All-4-One

    4. I'll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men

    3. Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

    2. Don't Turn Around by Ace of Base

    1. The Sign by Ace of Base

Finally, we come to the top of the list. It was a consensus number one for the year, as The Sign (by a hefty margin) nabbed the top spot on both Billboard and R/R. In fact, eight of the Top Ten I tabulated from Billboard made the Top Ten, while nine came from Radio and Records. Interestingly, "Baby I Love Your Way" failed to make the Top Ten in either Billboard or R/R (14th and 11th respectively) but reached #10 when combining the data. 

Anyway, before I go, I wanted to express my dismay on what's going on back in North Carolina. President Trump this week has sent his ICE goons to both Raleigh and Charlotte in an "immigration crackdown" of those areas. I sure as heck don't like it and neither do the majority of folks that live up there. I guess he wants another distraction from The Epstein Files, which will be released this week. Heck, if what has been going around TikTok the last 24 hours is true, he'll start a war with Venezuela. Stay tuned. And F*** ICE.

Bonyscribe

 

 

 

It's 7/11...Oh Thank Heaven...(Flashback)

 Hello again everyone, except for TEMU Fred Durst and the management at Crazy Squirrel Bar. You may shut me out from patronizing your establishment, but you aren't shutting me down. And with that, it's 7/11 day, which will score you a free small Slurpee at 7-Eleven, if they still have that offer. Hell, with the way things are going in the world, I doubt that even they would be free. Thanks, Trump.  

Anyway today, I thought I would publish my second flashback this week, and third this year. Usually, I would have several more flashbacks under my belt this year, but this hasn't been your usual year by any stretch of the imagination. My mental and emotional health have been on a roller coaster to say the least, first sky high, then down in dumps. I'm trying to get back to the way things were in February and March. Kind of like my mental state in the summer of 1994, which is what this flashback is going to cover today. Here are the Top 40 songs according to Radio & Records Magazine of the week of July 11, 1994.

40. All I Want Is You by U2. Not my dream woman's genre of music per se, but a song I would definitely send to her. I think you know who it is...

39. Longview by Green Day. Incredibly, "Basketcase" was not the first top 40 hit from Green Day, this was.

38. It's Over Now by Cause & Effect

37. I Need Your Love by Boston. Kind of random since their heyday was about two decades earlier.

36. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. As I remember, Z104 in Norfolk, VA was all over this (as was MTV) that summer, too bad within two years, the station would go away from playing rock music that crossed over to pop altogether.

35. Selling The Drama by Live. Much like Green Day, one of their signature songs ("Lightning Crashes") didn't debut first. On a side note, as a younger man at the time and quite possibly naive, I thought that the voiceover dude from WDCG G-105 in Raleigh, which I would listen to on liberty from the Navy Base at the time, was actually the lead singer of Live because they had similar voices. Looking back, I could have done a lot of things differently back then...

34. When Can I See You Again? by Babyface. I liked this song at the time because I had met someone from Puerto Rico that spring while on port call, and this kind of applies now to the woman of my dreams; I haven't seen her since Mother's Day weekend...

33. You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast by The Spin Doctors. Well, maybe I did. I always do that.

32. I'll Be Loving You by Collage. The last gasp of the freestyle dance format, which was wildly popular amongst radio stations in Florida during the early 1990s but quickly fell out of favor. Could it be because it was popular in Florida???

31. Hard Luck Woman by Garth Brooks. Yes, you read that right. Garth Brooks hit the pop radio Top 40 thanks to a cover of a song first released by Kiss.

30. Backwater by The Meat Puppets

29. Fall Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket. Speaking of falling down, I'm feeling a bit down all of a sudden. I have an inkling as to why, but I'd rather not talk about it on here for now...

28. Sleeping In My Car by Roxette. This was the final top 40 hit for the Swedish duo. Reminds me of one of their iconic songs. It must have been love, but it's over now. Rest in peace, Marie Fredrikssen.

27. Misled by Celine Dion. With the exception of "That's The Way It Is" in 2000, I think every other song she released after this was a ballad.

26. The Way She Loves Me by Richard Marx

25. Round Here by Counting Crows. Round here lately, here being social media, I've seen posts about profiles being "stalked." I have a few thoughts on that.

24. I'll Take You There by General Public. One, isn't one the purposes of social media is to put yourself out there? Hell, I WANT my social media pages to be stalked to an extent, as long as I control what I put out there so that everyone can see...

23. Ain't Got Nothing If You Ain't Got Love by Michael Bolton. Two, if you're so paranoid about your social media being "stalked," there's always the "block" button. Just saying.

22. The Sign by Ace of Base. Now that I have that rant out of the way, this song was ubiquitous in 1994. Hell, Ace of Base was ubiquitous. You couldn't get away from them.

21. Return To Innocence by Enigma. I remember that the video was kinda like time going in reverse, with a white horse with a unicorn horn poorly attached to its forehead.

20. Back & Forth by Alliyah

19. Come To My Window by Melissa Etheridge

18. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World by Prince. I wonder who that might be??? 

17. Prayer For The Dying by Seal

16. Wild Night by John Mellencamp f/Meshell Ndegeocello. This was an amazing song that somehow didn't reach number one. It peaked at #3 on both R/R and Billboard.

15. Until I Fall Away by The Gin Blossoms

14. Baby I Love Your Way by Big Mountain. Loved this one as well.

13. Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. Gonna be big stars...

12. Always by Erasure

11. Shine by Collective Soul. Debut hit for a group that would help define mid-90s rock.

10. Can You Feel The Love Tonight? by Elton John. No, I actually can't. Not since March to be honest.

  9. Anytime, Anyplace by Janet Jackson

  8. Crazy by Aerosmith. Alicia Silverstone was so hot back in 1994. Why did she throw it all away and support RFK, Jr.???

  7. Anytime You Need A Friend by Mariah Carey. It's just a DM away.

  6. You Mean The World To Me by Toni Braxton. If only I meant the same to her...

  5. If You Go by Jon Secada

  4. I'll Remember by Madonna

  3. Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

  2. I Swear by All-4-One. Without going into too much detail, I hated this group because at the time I thought they flat out stole it from John Michael Montgomery. Turns out there were two versions of the same song by two artists release concurrently, one for pop radio and one for country radio. I thought the country one was better.

...and the number one hit this week 31 years ago was...

  

1. Don't Turn Around by Ace of Base. See, I TOLD you that you couldn't get away from them in 1994.

Well, that puts a wrap on this week's second flashback. Long before there was such a thing as social media, or Jet2 Holidays, or TikTok. I'm going to spend part of Saturday meeting new friends and running other errands before possibly watching wresting tomorrow night. I might have another entry in me for later this weekend, that is if I'm feeling up to it. Until then, take care.

Bonyscribe. 

Flashback: August 28, 1992

 Hello once again. I'm spending my Friday night behind the keyboard getting some writing done this weekend. For the first of what I hope is three blog posts this weekend is another Top 40 Flashback. This year we're going back (sorry Kamala) to August 28, 1992, when I was knee deep in Navy World at RTC Orlando and quite honestly was oblivious to what was going on around me. I do remember being out on the grinder (a large concrete slab that we utilized to march in formation to go to class, the galley, etc.) during this time because we had heard that Hurricane Andrew was bearing down on Miami, and I remember the outer band clouds drifting from east to west as well as a breeze. This week, I'm utilizing the Radio & Records chart because this was during a time that the pop charts, especially Billboard, were going a bit sideways; songs were peaking early in their chart life and hanging around longer. You could tell that we were entering a new era musically. Anyway, without further ado, here were the Top 40 songs this week in 1992.

40. Too Funky by George Michael--down from #33. The video for this song was one of my favorites because I got to see Tyra Banks for the first time, only covered up top with tassels.

39. Bang Bang by David Sanborn--Debut. We lost Sanborn earlier this year, and unbeknownst to me until his death, he was a Tampa native.

38. Just Another Day by Jon Secada--down from #36. This song doesn't mean as much to me now as it did then, probably because (anti)social media has basically reconnected all my old classmates from the past. Sometimes technology is a good thing.

37. Friday I'm In Love by The Cure--down from #20. Every time this song comes on, I want to sing along to the lyrics.

36. Constant Craving by k.d. lang--up from #40. From what I remember, she rose to prominence from her remake of Roy Orbison's "Crying." I never understood why she never capitalized her name, if that is her given name. I'd ask her twin brother, Clay Aiken, but he was unavailable for comment. 😂

35. Kickin' It by After 7--up from #39.

34. Come And Talk To Me by Jodeci--down from #27. One of the few things that came out of Charlotte that's worth mentioning. The Hornets have pretty much always been mid, the Panthers are currently an embarrassment to the NFL, but at least there's NASCAR, but even that organization has been more like WWE instead of racing lately.

33. Jam by Michael Jackson--down from #17. Speaking of the Hornets, their owner Michael Jordan made a starring role in the video for this. Hold up, he sold the team? Well, I have to pull this picture out since they never won a playoff series during his tenure as owner:

32. Take This Heart by Richard Marx--down from #21. The video featured Marx in a dream sequence winning the World Series for the Chicago Cubs. Something at that time was unimaginable but came true in 2016. Also in the video, Bob Uecker was the announcer instead of Harry Caray.

31. Life Is A Highway by Tom Cochrane--down from #24. This song has lasted the test of time very well.

30. Forever Love by Color Me Badd--Debut. Don't have a lot for this one, because I loathed CMB at the time.

29. Would I Lie To You? by Charles & Eddie--up from #35. No, you may not. I've been lied to one time too many, even by members of my own family.

28. Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad? by Def Leppard--up from #34. Abso-freaking-lutely. To this day, I love this song.

27. Nobody Wins In This War by Mitch Malloy--up from #28. Yeah, he's right. That said, Slava Ukraina!

26. Restless Heart by Peter Cetera--unchanged from the previous week. This was his last major hit single, spanning a career that started in the late '60s with Chicago.

25. Always The Last To Know by Del Amitri--up from #32. This song only exists so that Del Amitri wouldn't be called a one-hit wonder ("Roll To Me").

24. Divine Thing by Soup Dragons--up from #29. I enjoyed this group. Too bad this and "Freedom" was all they were known for on the radio.

23. Not Enough Time by INXS--up from #31. It seems like that's what everybody has these days; not enough time.

22. Please Don't Go by KWS--up from #30. I remember when Orlando DJ Just Plain Mark on XL 106.7 one night late in 1992 played this song, and as a joke or for shits and giggles decided to count the number of times KWS said "please don't go" in the song. I think the total turned out to be 81.

21. Keep On Walkin' by CeCe Peniston--down from #12. Peniston was on her way to becoming a bright star in the early 90s, but then she just kept on walkin' to oblivion.

20. Give It Up by Wilson Phillips--up from #25. Yet another case of a star fading quickly after 1992, after a monster 1990 and 1991. I think I saw Carnie and Wendy promote an appearance at a fan expo on Facebook just the other day. No, Chynna wasn't featured.

19. I Wanna Love You by Jade--up from #23

18. Move This by Technotronic f/Ya Kid K--down from #14. This song was more known for being featured in Revlon commercials featuring Cindy Crawford, who may or may not have been drinking a Pepsi. 

17. When I Look Into Your Eyes by Firehouse--up from #22

16. Give U My Heart by Babyface f/Toni Braxton--up from #19. This was where most first heard of Toni Braxton, though I wouldn't for another year because I don't remember this song during this time (remember, I was in boot camp).

15. Nothing Broken But My Heart by Celine Dion--up from #18. It was so good seeing her at the Olympics Opening Ceremony earlier this summer.

14. She's Playing Hard To Get by Hi-Five--up from #16

13. Even Better Than The Real Thing by U2--unchanged from the previous week. As I recall, Dana Carvey (as Garth Algar) played drums to this song during the MTV VMAs in '92 while U2 was on tour and did a satellite linkup with their concert.

12. Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough by Patty Smyth with Don Henley--up from #15. No, it isn't, and I don't really know why...

11. This Used To Be My Playground by Madonna--down from #4. I only saw the last part of the movie ("A League of Their Own") the song came from. Why did Geena Davis drop the ball? BTW, there is crying in baseball, just ask the 1986 Boston Red Sox.

10. Jesus He Knows Me by Genesis--up from #11. A very good track shedding light on the absolute hypocrisy displayed by various television evangelists in the 80s and early 90s. They still exist by the way, right Joel Osteen?

  9. Do I Have To Say The Words by Bryan Adams--up from #10

  8. Givin' Him Something He Can Feel by En Vogue--down from #5. This song had a rather cringeworthy video of a bunch of men at a cabaret drooling all over themselves at the sight of the Funky Divas. Reminds me of the lovesick wolf in that Tex Avery cartoon in days of yore.

  7. All I Want by Toad The Wet Sprocket--unchanged from the previous week

  6. Stay by Shakespear's Sister--up from #8. I didn't know at the time but one of the members from Bananarama was in this duo, the one married to Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.

  5. Humpin' Around by Bobby Brown--up from #9. Not at my house...yet.

  4. The One by Elton John--up from #6. This was a song I wanted to dedicate to a girl I knew back in the early 80s, before I knew what love was all about. Last I heard, she sells real estate near Orlando, and no, she was not the one.

  3. Baby-Baby-Baby by TLC--down from #2. This should have reached number one, but as you'll see in a moment, they were blocked out of that spot.

  2. November Rain by Guns N' Roses--up from #3. An iconic song from an iconic group with an iconic video (I think they won the Video Vanguard Award the following year). Should have been the #1 song of 1992, but like the song before this one they were shut out by...

...the number one song on this date 32 years ago...

  1. End Of The Road by Boyz II Men--unchanged from the previous week.

This took a lot longer than I thought; 24 hours and change later I finally completed this one with a couple more entries to go. I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead. Catch you later!

BonyScribe

  

Flashback: June 15, 1996

 Hello again. It's been a few weeks since I did a flashback Top 40 blog post (about three weeks ago to be exact). Usually, I roll a 20-sided die to determine which year I choose for this blog, however with the Florida Panthers, the team I called the LOLCats for the longest time, on the precipice of their maiden Stanley Cup titleprecipice of their maiden Stanley Cup title, I thought I would turn back the clocks to 1996, the year they first reached the Final (and only their third year of existence). Now unfortunately for them, they would get swept by Colorado (who had just poached the team from Quebec City), and it wouldn't be until last season that they won a Stanley Cup Final game, but the rat throwing craze hit fever pitch in South Florida. So, grab your rats and get ready to toss them, as we go over the top 40 songs (provided by Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart) for this week in 1996.

40. Standing Outside A Broken Telephone Booth With Money In My Hand by Primitive Radio Gods. Man, that was a long title. Anyway, this song got, despite having heavy airplay over the summer of that year, didn't reach the Hot 100 singles chart. Remember, I'm going off airplay here. 1996 was weird, man.

39. Your Loving Arms by Billie Ray Martin. Not to be confused with country superstar Billy Ray Cyrus or late baseball manager and New York Yankees legend Billy Martin. To me this song sounded somewhat familiar to AC/DC's 1980 classic "You Shook Me All Night Long."

38. Jealousy by Natalie Merchant

37. Children by Robert Miles. It was a later song by Miles that I enjoyed more, "One and One." Sadly, Miles passed away from cancer in May of 2017. F*** cancer.

36. Big Me by The Foo Fighters. This was their first crossover hit from their self-titled debut album. I didn't know at the time that frontman Dave Grohl formed the band (that's what being in The Navy will do to you; there are some things that you lose awareness of). The video for it was a spoof of those Mentos commercials that aired in the 90s.

35. Salvation by The Cranberries

34. Machinehead by Bush. Probably my favorite Bush song. I thought it was from the movie "Swimfan," but it actually came from "Fear." I knew it was from a movie, but it was that I didn't see.

33. Flood by Jars Of Clay

32. Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham. Add this song to Madonna's "Oh Father" in 1989, The Nixon's "Sister" from later in 1996, Avicii's "Hey Brother" from 2014 (has it really been ten years already?), and either the aforementioned "Children" or Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child Of Mine" and you pretty much have a family tree playlist. Don't know if songs from Sister Sledge ("We Are Family") or Sly & The Family Stone ("Family Affair") can be included, maybe if you're a boomer it could.

31. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) by Coolio. As I recall, the pop radio station in Richmond, VA (I lived in Newport News at the time) played the unedited version of the song. Apparently, the n-word was acceptable on the radio up there, and to that I say...

30. Counting Blue Cars by Dishwalla. The first song, or anything for that matter, that I remember of the portrayal of God as a female. 

29. You're Makin' Me High by Toni Braxton. Excuse me while I stare at the following picture for a bit...

28. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio. I'm sorry if I triggered certain memories here. One of these days, I'm going to come up with a "Jukebox From Hell" and this song will be included in it.

27. The World I Know by Collective Soul. A favorite of mine from back then.

26. 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins. 1979 was a pretty decent year, what little I remember of it.

25. Champagne Supernova by Oasis. Loved loved loved this song. 

24. The Earth, The Sun, The Rain by Color Me Badd. I avoided CMB like the plague back in the 90s, kinda like I avoid Bruno Mars present-day.

23. Be My Lover by La Bouche. Another mind-numbing banger from the mid-90's, where it seemed like songs like this were a dime or dozen. By the way, the young woman that worked at the laundromat down the road from where I was staying in Newport News sort of resembled lead singer (now deceased) Melanie Thornton.

22. Closer To Free by The Bodeans. True story, just before I left the Navy, I was invited to see a concert featuring the Bodeans by a red-head. I didn't take her up on the offer though because she happened to be MARRIED to a guy on the ship I was stationed aboard that had left for the Mediterranean (I stayed behind because my EOS date was like a month afterwards.

21. Fastlove by George Michael. I had to look up exactly when Michael had that controversial bathroom encounter that kind of derailed his career. It was 1998, I thought it was sooner.

20. Sweet Dreams by La Bouche

19. Sittin' Up In My Room by Brandy. Fun fact: I never watched an episode of "Moesha."

18. Name by Goo Goo Dolls. This song brings up another thing about 90s music that I didn't like; songs stayed in the top 20 for a long, long, long time. This particular song was on its 44th(!) week on the airplay chart. Of course nowadays, some songs have lasted an entire year in the Hot 100 (I think "Levatating" by Dua Lipa comes to mind).

17. Everything Falls Apart by Dog's Eye View. The beginning of this song really spoke about how my outlook on life was back in 1996; "Don't look now, things just got worse..." You know Einstein's Theory of Relativity? Well, I joked that I had Tyn-stein's Theory of Negativity. Too bad I was an angry cynical young punk back then. Maybe if I had a lot more gratitude back then, my life may have played out different...or not. But definitely one of the two.

16. You're The One by SWV. Actually, she wasn't the one after all.

15. Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel. She was rather cute when she first started out, her and her snaggle tooth.

14. Insensitive by Jann Arden. I know of a few persons that are in fact insensitive, couple of them have red hair, too.

13. Tha Crossroads by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. This was actually the number one song on the Hot 100 for this particular week, a wonderful tribute to the late Easy E.

12. Theme From "Mission: Impossible" by Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen. Otherwise known as the OTHER two members of U2 (besides Bono and Edge). I saw this movie while it was out in the theater, and I believe it is the ONLY Tom Cruise flick I've seen on the big screen. I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan.

11. Follow You Down by The Gin Blossoms. No comment.

10. Wonder by Natalie Merchant. When you talk about the ladies of 90s music, Natalie is just, kinda there. Sure, she was solid at what she did, but there was no real hype about her, I think she was more geared to VH-1 than MTV whereas Mariah, Alanis, Janet and Madonna got most of the run on that network.

  9. Old Man & Me by Hootie & The Blowfish. Debut single off their follow up album to Cracked Rearview, Fairweather Johnson. You know, come to think of it, this was around the era of those Big Johnson T-shirts that some guys used to wear, and if you combine it with the term "fairweather friend," and...

Shut up, Bonyscribe.

  8. You Learn by Alanis Morissette. After all this time, I finally figured out how to correctly spell Alanis's last name. I guess I did learn after all!

  7. Missing by Everything But The Girl. The name of the band fits my life to a T so far. I'm still hoping to change that part.

  6. Nobody Knows by Tony Rich Project. One of several one-hit wonders that permeated the decade of the 90s.

  5. Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman. This song sort of threw me off for the longest time. It started out like a lazy river but finished like a fast car (pardon the pun), and I have always had difficulty whenever I heard this song in pinpointing where the pace of the song subtly changed.

  4. Ironic by Alanis Morissette. None of the scenarios in this song are actually ironic. That's something you can't do on television, let alone songwriting (see what I did there?). 

  3. Killing Me Softly by The Fugees. The video to this song exploits one of my biggest pet peeves; talking aloud in a movie theater. That and making a mess of the theater. Don't they have any consideration for the poor teenager who has to clean up thier mess. Wait a minute, what if said teenager was a classmate of the group in the movie theater and they just wanted to prank that person? Doesn't make it right but still...

  2. Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey

and the number one (most played) song this week according to Billboard Magazine this week in 1996 was...

  1. Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion. From the movie "Up Close and Personal" with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford.

So that puts a wrap to this week's flashback. On Saturday, the LOLCats Panthers will try to put a wrap to the 2023-24 NHL season. Now to dodge some raindrops for the rest of the weekend. Stay safe, everyone.

Bonyscribe

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

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.

Flashback: June 23, 1995...Plus Other Stuff

 Greetings once again. We've made to the end of the week, and I'm on my pen and paper (well, keyboard) again. It has been an interesting week to say the least, with wild weather, two tropical systems in the Atlantic, a tragedy further north in the Atlantic, and two kerfuffles tailor-made for Celebrity Death Match, which used to air on MTV; when that channel was relevant. 

Today, we're taking a look back at the Top 40 songs in the US based off data from Radio & Records Magazine for June 23, 1995. Along with the songs I'm flashing back to, I'll give my thoughts on the topics I mentioned above, as well as other things. So, without further ado, here we go.

A brief note before we begin, this isn't the actual top 40 per R&R Magazine for this date (They actually used a Top 50 chart). Some songs on the actual top 40 were removed because they fell under recurrent rules; a song that had been in the top 40 for greater than 20 weeks but were below #20 on the chart. In the 1980's this rule was never utilized because a song would RARELY reach 20 weeks in the top 40, but as the methodology for tabulating these songs changed as the years went by, songs would stay on the radio longer and longer, thus necessitating a recurrent rule. Songs removed due to this were:

When I Come Around by Green Day
Hold On by Jamie Walters
In The House Of Stone And Light by Martin Page
Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow
Hold My Hand by Hootie & The Blowfish and
Another Night by Real McCoy, which was below the Top 40 but had yet to be moved to recurrent.

40. Could I Be Your Girl by Jann Arden. This was actually (according to my data) her first Top 40 hit before "Insensitive." Speaking of insensitive, a lot of jokes have been made concerning that submersible vessel that apparently had a catastrophic implosion en route to see the wreckage from the Titanic. Heck I'm a bit guilty of it too, until yesterday when news broke that the crew was indeed lost.

39. Human Nature by Madonna. Interestingly enough, the chorus to this song starts, "and I'm not sorry..." I mean, you're spending $250,000 to see historical wreckage of a ship that you could've seen up close (on a TV screen) for FREE. Plus, the five crew on board were uber-rich, including the CEO of the company that ran the sub, OceanGate. Still, five lives were lost, just as the ones who sank in the Mediterranean last week.

38. Dream About You by Stevie B. This was his supposed comeback to his 1990 mega smash, "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)." It didn't go very far because the music scene had changed drastically in the span of five years.

37. Somebody's Crying by Chris Isaak. Speaking of crying, there was plenty of crying going around Twitter this week over the term "cis," meaning cisgender.

36. Colors Of The Wind by Vanessa Williams. According to Merriam-Webster, cisgender is an adjective denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with the person's sex at birth. Well, I was born a male, so I guess that makes me cisgender. But let's see what the internet's self-proclaimed "Mr. Know It All" has to say about it.

35. Remember Me This Way by Jordan Hill. Per Elon Musk (cue a million eye rolls), "cisgender" or "cis" is now considered a slur because some therapist didn't like the term. BOO F***ING HOO!! I suppose this cat also believes that the 2020 Presidential election was somehow stolen. You know, since Squealon Muskrat bought Twitter, that platform has become more and more toxic, and not in a Britney Spears way. Dude seriously needs to shut the bleep up...

By the way, here's a late update:

34. Strange Currencies by R.E.M. Or, even better, he can have his ass handed to him...by Mark Zuckerberg. Ace Ventura? Your thoughts:

33. Baby Baby by Corona. Earlier this week, it was announced that Musk and Zuckerberg would have a cage fight. Apparently, Zuckerberg has launched a competitor application to Twitter called Project 92, and Squealon is big mad. Quite frankly, I hope both annihilate each other into oblivion, but then what would we have to air our opinions, Reddit? Oh, I understand the undercard for this CDM-worthy brawl is quite entertaining in its own right.

32. Shy Guy by Diana King. To quote Joey Styles when he was announcing for ECW, "CATFIIIIGHT!!! CATFIIIIGHT!!!" The GOP's two most infamous divas, Majorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, had a petty argument that spilled out onto the floor of the House this week, complete with name-calling and sophomoric behavior. 

Saw this conversation… not sure if it was a friendly one pic.twitter.com/tpz3z2Phtv

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 21, 2023

At least it was a little bit more civilized than this classic commercial from about 15 years ago.

31. Freak Like Me by Adina Howard. Well those two definitely are not freaks like Adina Howard. Whatever happened to her anyway? She had two singles in faded into Bolivia as Mike Tyson once said.

30. Red Light Special by TLC. You remember the HORRIBLE record deal that TLC signed that caused them to be broke even though they had massive success? When I first heard about the story right around this time, I thought the person who I heard it from (who was a shipmate on the Eisenhower) was full of crap. Then a few years later, I saw the VH-1 "Behind The Music" episode about TLC. Lo and behold, the shipmate was right after all.

29. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me by U2. This song came from the "Batman Forver" soundtrack. Could have done without Bono going orgasmic towards the end of the song (at least tgat part was removed for radio).

28. Run Away by Real McCoy. Janet Jackson would also have a hit called "Runaway" in 195, though it entered the charts about two months after this one dropped off. 

27. (You Got Me) All Shook Up by Nelson. I figure this would be a good opportunity to hyperlink you to the Nelson story I wrote about almost two years ago.

26. Wonderful by Adam Ant. This song definitely does not describe the weather over Tampa Bay this morning.

25. Leave Virginia Alone by Rod Stewart. Well Rod, I have; I haven't visited there in over a decade, before my daughter and her family moved to Illinois (then Kentucky).

24. Kiss From A Rose by Seal. Also from the "Batman Forever" soundtrack. There actually was a woman from Puerto Rico who I was interested in at the time named Rose. She's married with kids now, one of whom is set to graduate from college. 

23. Good by Better Than Ezra. You know what isn't so good? The weather in the Caribbean. For the first time since hurricanes/tropical cyclones have been recorded in the Atlantic, there are two named systems currently spinning during the first month of hurricane season. 

22. Scream by Michael and Janet Jackson. The only time this brother/sister combo collaborated, with a very expensive (a record at the time IIRC) video to boot.

21. December by Collective Soul. The calendar may read late in June, but it feels like December along portions of the Pacific Northwest, where some higher elevations along th Cascades got a surprise snowstorm the other day.

20. I Saw You Dancing by Yaki-Da. I think I heard this sing once when it came out, and I thought it was from Ace of Base. But it wasn't. Probably the same reason Regina's "Baby Love" and Gotye f/Kimbra's "Somebody That I Used To Know" were also so popular; they sounded like other popular artists of that time (Madonna for Regina, Katy Perry for Kimbra). 

19. Can't Stop Loving You by Van Halen. The last notable hit from the group before Sammy went on to Cabo and David Lee Roth reentered the group, but not before Extreme's Gary Cherone replaced Hagar. 

18. Waterfalls by TLC. Please stick to the river and the lakes that you're used to. Something the crew of the OceanGate submersible could have heeded. Speaking of which, Joe Exotic (yes, that guy) has an opinion regarding the tragedy, and he's...right? Didn't think I had Joe Exotic being somewhat relevant in 2023, but if he's going to drag Dan Crenshaw, I'm here for it.

17. Someone To Love by Jon B. and Babyface. I believe this is one of the few songs dedicated to me, and it came from Rose, who I mentioned earlier. 

16. This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan. Kind of disappointed that this was one of only two hits he had. The other came in 2000 with "Get It On Tonight." Of course nowadays, Jordan lends his vocals of this melody to Uber One (as does Donna Lewis, Kelis, and others).

15. Misery by Soul Asylum. Also known as what it felt like to be a Tampa sports fan from 1983 to 1996. No, Arena Football doesn't count. Frustrated incorporated indeed.

14. My Love Is For Real by Paula Abdul. She had a birthday this week, so Happy Birthday, Paula. She also had probably one of the more memorable first pitches in Tampa Bay Rays history.

13. Come And Get Your Love by Real McCoy. I will, as soon as my sister allows me to come visit you (you know who you are).

12. Lightning Crashes by Live. Did you know that some radio stations (like WDCG in Raleigh) edited the opening verse because it contained the word "placenta?" And I thought Clear Channel editing the word "ship" was overkill. Jeez. By the way, Lightning did crash..out of the first round this year.

11. This Ain't A Love Song by Bon Jovi. Narrator: in fact, it was a love song.

10. I Know by Dionne Farris. We've finally reached the top ten, and this song was 1995's highest ranked hit. It was also her only solo hit, as she also charted as a member of Arrested Development. 

  9. I Believe by Blessid Union Of Souls. Not on my Spotify playlists because it contains the N-word and I can't seem to find the edited version.

  8. I Can Love You Like That by All-4-One. One thing I despised about this era is that you had one version of a song played on pop radio and another version of the same song played on country radio. All-4-One did it TWICE with John Michael Montgomery. Of course, later on, the two acts did a collaboration of this and "I Swear" which I saw on TikTok.

  7. What Would You Say by Dave Matthews Band. Since I talked about TikTok, what would I say to them? Stop with your somewhat ridiculous advertising. I know there is an algorithm that determines which ads are shown on a person's feed, and nie out of every ten advertisements I see are LGBTQI(AEIOU and sometimes why)-centered. Look, I get that it's Pride Month and you're doing your best to be inclusive, but as someone on that platform mentioned on their page in regard to the new "Sex & The City" series, we don't need it in our faces 24/7/365. It's like you're being woke for woke's sake, which is why I think certain politicians in DC and elsewhere want to ban the platform, not for the reason they're telling everyone (Chinese security threats). Also, may explain why our douchebag governor is the way he is, but that's another story in and of itself that I have touched on occasion.

  6. Run-Around by Blues Traveler. Speaking of which, the NHL is giving all thirty-two of their franchises the run-around, by no longer allowing themed warmup jerseys to be worn before games this year. According to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettmann, the jerseys have become somewhat of a distraction. So let me get this straight, a couple of Russian players are offended about having to wear a rainbow-themed jersey during warmups, and now an effective marketing tool for certain franchises are now being taken away? I guess them damned Soviets got their way after all, after 43 years. I'm going to miss the Gasparilla-themed sweaters the Tampa Bay Lightning wore.

  5. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman by Bryan Adams. Question for Mr. Adams, have you? Seriously though, I have, I'm just not afforded the opportunity that I want right now with my current living situation. Hopefully that will change real, real soon.

  4. Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Nikki French. I don't know how popular she was in Canada England, but this was her only hit stateside.

  3. Let Her Cry by Hootie & The Blowfish. I think I mentioned Darius Rucker getting his start in country music by accident as a result of a Burger King commercial one time on this blog, but I don't have time to look for it.

  2. Water Runs Dry by Boyz II Men

and the number one song on this date 28 years ago was...

  1. I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts. I remember also talking about this song in an earlier blog post of mine. No, I haven't watched "Friends" lately; I'm on a break. 

Well, after about eight hours (with about a couple of hours away to go to the doctor and eat mxed in) this entry is in the can. Hopefully, I'll have more this weekend. Later everyone!

CT