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.

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: May 23, 1987

Hello, everyone. I had started this particular post about a week ago when I was going to complain about our (Florida's) governor's latest controversial policy regarding climate change. But I didn't want to put that kind of negative energy out in the Universe; heck there already is when you consider him, the buffoon who's on trial in New York this week, Squealon Muskrat, and some pissant who got busted for opioid possession (among other things) and will likely be put away for a while next week, I wanted to write about something positive. So, I decided to pull a (broken) Matt Hardy and delete that topic for writing and go with my old reliable: a 1980s flashback, when life sure seemed much simpler, and I (and most of us Gen-X'ers) were seemingly happier.

This week, we're going back to 1987, when the Edmonton Oilers were facing off against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final, Al Unser won his fourth Indy 500 title in a huge upset (not really), the Golden Gate Bridge turned 50 years old, President Ronald Reagan hadn't yet told Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall," and yours truly hadn't started wearing eyeglasses yet; that would come in October. As for the Top 40 that week? Well, here's what Billboard Magazine ranked the pop chart for that week:

40. Serious by Donna Allen. I think I've mentioned this on one of my social media channels before, whether Facebook or Twitter (no Squealon, I REFUSE to call it what you renamed it to), but Allen was a member of the Swashbucklers (Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders) LONG before the Bucs were good, or when they decided to have guys join the squad and wave pom-poms, yuck.

39. Alone by Heart. This song debuted in the top 40 that week, it would go on to (by my data) be the highest rated song of 1987. I may have to give a refresher on how I come up with said data sometime in the future, although I've said it in the past, on this very blog even.

38. What's Going On? by Cyndi Lauper. What's going on? Lauper is still doing Cosentyx commercials, that's what.

37. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship. I think this incarnation of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship gets a bad rap because of "We Built This City" when I think this was their best song from that era.

36. Jammin' Me by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. I'm thinking of people who I should tell to get back, like Tom said in this song. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Marc Zuckerburg, Steve Harvey (he's everywhere), LeBron James, I could go on and on...

35. Sign O' The Times by Prince. Pretty powerful song once you listen to the lyrics, which maybe I should have done more often when I was younger.

34. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) by Aretha Franklin & George Michael. I'm hoping she'll be waiting for me in the very near future. In a related story, I may be delusional.

33. Don't Disturb This Groove by The System. I remember first hearing a snippet of this song on a TV commercial for a local radio station in Wilmington, NC. No, I couldn't get that particular station; Lumberton was too far for their signal.

32. Get That Love by The Thompson Twins

31. The Finer Things by Steve Winwood. I like the finer things too, like Calabash style seafood complete with clams and hush puppies, pulled pork BBQ, Cheerwine. By the way, there's a sugar-free version of Cheerwine that allegedly can be found here in Tampa Bay. I need to do some investigating.

30. Lessons In Love by Level 42. I don't quite remember what was on the previous 41 levels, and I'm not sure if Avicii's hit from 2011 covered that. I do know that I'm nowhere near the level I need to face the final boss. Wait, what the hell am I talking about? Anyway, on with the countdown.

29. Fascinated by Company B. I remember this song not when it came out, but during a talent show at Hoke High where two girls did a dance routine to this song. One was a red head named Cyndi and the other was named Angela.

28. I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me by Whitney Houston. Second week in the top 40 for the song who would be runner-up to "Alone" as my song of the year, although neither would be Billboard's #1 song of 1987, which was "Walk Like An Egyptian" by the Bangles. Yes, I'm using this as an excuse to display Susanna Hoffs iconic glare:

27. The Right Thing by Simply Red

26. Heartbreak Beat by Psychedelic Furs. I think "Love My Way" was a better song from them, but that's just me.

25. Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House. I'm not, also, go back to what I said for #34.

24. Songbird by Kenny G. I seem to remember hearing about two decades ago that the number of instrumentals in the Top 40 were decreasing rapidly. In fact, other than Zombie Nation's "Kernkraft 400" and Darude's "Sandstorm" I can't think of any instrumentals this millennium that have had any impact.

23. You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon. Visions of Chevy Chase hijacking the music video, proving that he was rather unlikeable back then as well.

22. Just To See Her by Smokey Robinson. When this song was released, I was thinking about a couple of girls from elementary school in Orlando I wanted to see again. They're both married now, and I only got to see one of them.

21. Day In Day Out by David Bowie. Talk about a coincidence, this was the song that just played on my Spotify.

20. Se La by Lionel Richie

19. Meet Me Halfway by Kenny Loggins. In a lifetime, I always reached for the tuner button on my radio when this song came on.

18. If She Would Have Been Faithful by Chicago. Fortunately, that's something that I haven't had issues with...yet.

17. Diamonds by Herb Alpert. Remember what I wrote down for #22? Well, I imagined that one of those said girls was Janet Jackson in the video for this song.

16. In Too Deep by Genesis.  Another thing that I haven't had difficulty with over the course of my life, being too deeply involved with someone...yet.

15. Head To Toe by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. I recall that certain radio stations (G105 in particular) would add in a random sound drop in the extended pause toward the end of the song. If I was a radio DJ, and this song played on my airshift, I might throw in Dave Mishkin's "SCCOOOORRRRRREE!" for the aforementioned pause. 

14. Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi. Right now, I'll settle for just being wanted.

13. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You by Glenn Medeiros. Uhhh...

12. I Know What I Like by Huey Lewis & The News. Redheads, Bucs football, the Stanley Cup playoffs, etc.

11. Right On Track by The Breakfast Club

10. Talk Dirty To Me by Poison. Can't say that I've had a woman talk dirty to me, yet.

  9. La Isla Bonita by Madonna. I don't know about you, but I liked her better in her Like A Virgin era better than her True Blue era, probably because one girl I had a crush on back then kinda looked like her.

  8. Always by Atlantic Starr. Always...someone told me that and I'm going to hold her to it.

  7. Big Love by Fleetwood Mac

  6. Heat Of The Night by Bryan Adams. NBC missed an opportunity in my opinion. The next year, they would premiere the TV show "Heat of the Night" based off the 1960s movie with Sidney Portier. They could have used this song for that show, but either NBC didn't contact Adams or the record company. Either way, a lot of hoops would have had to have been jumped through to make that happen that at the time my then-14-year-old brain had no clue about.  

  5. (I Just) Died In Your Arms by Cutting Crew

  4. You Keep Me Hangin' On by Kim Wilde

  3. The Lady In Red by Chris Deburgh. Don't care for the song, but the premise of it? Another story.

  2. Looking For A New Love by Jody Watley

and the #1 song this date 37 years ago was...

  1. With Or Without You by U2

Kinda mailed in the last few songs because as I'm typing this, it's nearing 2am here in Florida. So, until next time (maybe this weekend). Take care!

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

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

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