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

  

Why I Do So Many Flashbacks...

 Hi everyone, except for Ron DeSantis. No, we don't need more golf courses in Florida, ESPECIALLY at the expense of or state parks. I came on here tonight to try to explain a little bit why most of my blog entries are musical flashbacks. I saw the last night of the Democratic National Convention from Chicago, and the vibes that I got were that of a block party mixed with a bit of what I remember seeing as a teenager in 1988, when George H. W. Bush took the GOP nomination for president at the Superdome in New Orleans. On a side note, interesting how that particular facility would be an albatross of sorts for his son, but I digress.

Todd Heisler--NY Times

I grew up in a Republican household, in fact my stepmother's brother had milk and cookies with President Reagan when they were children; they both grew up in northwestern Illinois. So, for mostly that reason, I aligned myself at the time with the Republican Party, even though I had little idea of politics at the time. The 1908s were a wonderful time to grow up in, even though I didn't really enjoy them as much as I would have liked to. Of course, the Buccaneers were flat-out awful, but there were more than enough things that made up for it. There weren't any wars, unless you call quick military operations in Libya and Panama wars, television was actually watchable for the most part. Instead of mindless talk shows that permeated the airwaves in the latter part of the decade and the 90's, we had Oprah, Sally, and of course Phil Donohue, May God rest his soul. There were game shows in the morning and reruns of Andy Griffith (at least in NC) in the afternoon, and of course MTV.

Speaking of which, the music that was on the radio was amazing, especially between 1983 and 1984. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel (who my sister REALLY enjoys 😂) Journey, Bon Jovi, etc. It seemed like such a simpler time.

Of course there were no bills to worry about, no families of our own that we had to take care of, just the innocence of being a kid...until puberty hit. Then our some of our eyesights started to change, the guys started growing facial hair, and the gals started growing...you know. Life was rapidly approaching us, and we had to adapt accordingly. 

That's probably why I do so many flashbacks to the 1980s on here, as well as play a lot of 80s music on Spotify to share; to go back in time somewhat when the worst thing that happened was a Space Shuttle breaking apart midflight. I long for those days, and I'd like to imagine many of you close to 50 feel the same way.

Thanks for reading.

Bony Scribe

Flashback: August 14, 2009

 Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? The last time I opened up this blog, we hadn't had the presidential debate, and since then, we have a new candidate for President thanks to an awful debate performance. One candidate for President was shot at, the situation which I we don't know the whole story about (and likely never will). The economy was on the verge of a recession...until it wasn't. The Olympic Games in Paris happened without any major incident (other than a HIDEOUS attempt at breakdancing), and Ukraine invaded Russia. Oh, and I reconciled with a particular redhead. Wild times indeed.

So, to break the silence on here, why don't I do another flashback? This week we're going back fifteen years (has it been that long already?) to 2009. I was in the middle of a failed move to Gainesville, contemplating resigning from the USPS for a $15,000 buyout (which I didn't wind up taking) and totally changing my life. Here were the Top 40 songs roughly based off Mediabase 24/7 for the week ending August 14, 2009.

40. Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus--debut. This marked the start of Miley's transition from Hannah Montana to the Miley we've come to know and adore today. Speaking of which, Miley was honored this week as a Disney legend.

39. Who's Got Your Money by Tina Parol--down #36. Isn't that another way of Capital One asking, "what's in your wallet?"

38. Say Hey I Love You by Michael Franti & Spearhead--debut.

37. One Time by Justin Bieber--up from #40. Ugh...

36. Sweet Dreams by Beyonce--up from #37. Or a beautiful nightmare. I loved this tune back in the day.

35. Obsessed by Mariah Carey--up from #38. Every time I hear this song, I think of the viral TikTok girl who danced to this song while wiping away tears.

34. Radar by Britney Spears--unchanged from the prior week. Well since she's single now, she could potentially be someone's radar, if you can handle her crazy that is.

33. Wanted by Jessie James--down from #25

32. New Divide by Linkin Park--up from #33. Song from the "Transformers" movie that was released that year.

31. Hush Hush: Hush Hush by The Pussycat Dolls--down from #30. Other than "Dontcha," I forgot PCD had another chart hit.

30. I'm In Miami (Trick) by LFMAO--down from #29. Can we forget about LFMAO already?

29. So Fine by Sean Paul--up from #31

28. I Do Not Hook Up by Kelly Clarkson--down from #24. Speaking of Kelly, my one sister had a comment over lunch about a rather tough cherry that she bit into; she called it a 40-year-old virgin. NOOO!! KELLY CLARKSON!!

27. Her Diamonds by Robb Thomas--up from #28

26. Birthday Sex by Jeremih--down from #20. One can wish, huh?

25. Love Drunk by Boys Like Girls--up from #26. I liked this song.

24. Hotel Room Service by Pitbull--up from #27. Can't say that I've utilized hotel room service.

23. Never Say Never by The Fray--unchanged from the prior week. One lesson I learned the past few weeks is to never say never.

22. Not Meant To Be by Theory Of A Deadman--unchanged from the prior week. Or is it???

21. Down by Jay Sean f/Lil' Wayne--up from #32. Without a doubt, one of my favorite songs from 2009, although I didn't understand why exactly radio stations decided to mix up the second and third verses to the song. Talking to YOU, FLZ...

20. If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback--down from #17. To steal a quote from another song, it's a reason why we should live like we were dying.

19. Second Chance by Shinedown--down from #15. Jacksonville's own.

18. She Wolf/Loba by Shakira--up from #21. I know it's been 15 years, but I'm still processing some of the moves she made in that video for this song.

17. That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings--down from #16. Not my favorite song from them, that would be "Two Hands."

16. Halo by Beyonce--up from #19

15. No Surprise by Daughtry--up from #18. Remember them? I wonder what they're up to nowadays.

14. Boom Boom Pow by The Blackeyed Peas--down from #12. Their star was soooo massive in 2009, then Fergie left, and they faded into Bolivia as Mike Tyson once said.

13. Don't Trust Me by 3Oh!3--down from #8. love love love this hit.

12. Please Don't Leave Me by P!nk--down from #9. This was recorded around the time I think her and her hubby Carey Hart had a split in their relationship, but they stayed together and now their daughter is performing on stage.

11. Best I Ever Had by Drake--up from #13

10. Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon--up from #14. Remember just the other day when the internet "commemorated" the Dave Matthews Band incident in Chicago? Well in 2010, the kinda reverse happened in St. Louis, when pigeons exacted a measure of revenge on DMB on Kings Of Leon. That band hasn't really been the same since...

  9. I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) by Pitbull--down from #7. This launched "Mr. 305" into "Mr. Worldwide."

  8. Battlefield by Jordin Sparks--up from #11. A good song, but not as iconic as Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield" some 25 years earlier. 

  7. Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship f/Leighton Meester--up from #10

  6. Fire Burning by Sean Kingston--unchanged from the prior week

  5. Lovegame by Lady Gaga--down from #3. It was great seeing her during the Olympics opening ceremonies.

  4. Knock You Down by Keri Hilson--up from #5. I still have beef with radio stations, (especially iHate Media, formerly ClearChannel) that would unnecessarily censor this song because it contains the word "ship," and ClearChannel was in such a panic that they would be fined from the FCC (who I believe was ran by Michael Powell at the time), who wasn't afraid for fining stations for indecent conduct even if it was accidentally sneezing on air.

  3. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift--up from #4. I believe Travis Kelce was at the University of Cincinnati around this time as I'm suddenly reminded that since it's August, we are one month away from non-stop 24/7 coverage of Taylor Swift on ESPN.

  2. Waking Up In Vegas by Katy Perry--down from #1. Unfortunately for Katy, "American Idol" has decided told her to cash out; Carrie Underwood is replacing her as a judge.

...and the number one song this week 15 years ago was...

  1. I Gotta Feeling by The Blackeyed Peas--up from #2. Like I said earlier on this blog, their star was as bright as any star in the sky, and this song was their signature hit.

I should have more coming later this week...as long as my depression doesn't kick in again, until then take care. 

BonyScribe

Ohhhh Brother, Here We Go Again (The 2024 Presidential Debate Drinking Game)

 Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a day that is both looked forward to and dreaded at the same time; the date of the first Presidential Debate of 2024. Once again, it's President Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump, and given the age of both candidates, it should be sponsored by Geritol. While some of us will be watching with bated breath, others will just ignore it completely. Then there are those that would rather drink than watch this train wreck take place and that's where I come in. I think the best way to watch this debate is to make it into a drinking game, so grab your favorite bottle of liquor and play along!

Since the debate is being hosted by CNN, if Trump makes a reference to them as "fake news," take a shot.

Since the debate is held in Atlanta, if either candidate brings up the election subversion case in Georgia, take a shot. Take an additional shot if Trump brings up Fani Willis.

If Trump makes a personal insult, regardless of it's to Biden or either of the hosts, take a shot.

If Biden tells Trump to "shut up," take a double shot.

If either candidate kisses up to Benjamin Netanyahu, take a shot.

If Trump mentions anything about the war in Ukraine, take two shots, blyat.

If Stormy Daniels is mentioned, take a shot.

If Hunter Biden is mentioned, take a shot.

If "Dark Brandon" somehow appears, take THREE shots.

If Biden mentions how the economy is improving, take two shots.

If the Border Wall is mentioned, take a shot.

If Trump says "China," take a shot.

If Trump makes a bizarre facial expression, take a shot. Here are some examples:

If Trump breaks out in his gosh-awful dance of his. Drink the whole damned bottle. 

You know what? Maybe just grab a bottle of Everclear to wash that sight out of your system. Either way, you're sure to be blacked out by the end of the night and hopefully you won't remember what transpired later tonight when you wake up on Friday. 

In any event, if you decide to watch this debacle, please be careful. I don't want to hear of anyone suffering from alcohol poisoning from watching it. So, in the words of Edward R. Murrow, good night, and good luck.

BonyScribe

The Kitties Did It

 Last time I graced you with my presence on here almost two weeks ago, the Florida Panthers were on the verge of sweeping the Edmonton Oilers to clinch their first Stanley Cup title. Then things went a little squirrelly, then a little sideways. Next thing we knew, Edmonton had rallied from 0-3 down to tie the series and force a winner-take-all game 7 Monday night in Broward County with all the momentum in the world. Fortunately for our feline friends from South Beach, Sergei Bobrovsky regained his stellar form and the Cats won Game 7 and their first Stanley Cup title. 

The title gives the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region the grand slam of professional sports, meaning that their teams have won titles in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and now NHL, an accomplishment last achieved by Dallas/Fort Worth region last year when the Texas Rangers won their first World Series. If only the Dolphins can get their act together and win one before my time on earth passes; their last title was just before I was born, in January of 1974. 

But, anyway, congratulations Cats, and thank you for cementing Florida as the new State of Hockey. Oh, by the way, if you're reading this on Tuesday, google "Panthers Stanley Cup" for a nice little surprise.

 

Congrats Kitties, and in the words of the late Jim Mandich, "ALLLRIGHHT MIAMIIIII!!!"

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

I Missed My Calling In Life

 Hello, and Happy Hurricane Season. Also, Happy Pride month for those who celebrate, now leave me alone. Doing some thinking over the past week, and I think I missed my calling in life. When I was a little bitty Bony Scribe living in Orlando, my father had all sorts of CB radio equipment in the garage. I remember hollering across a sinkhole/slash retention pond in our backyard, trying to emulate at my young and naive age the host of televangelists my mother would watch on television on Sunday mornings. But, as I grew older, my passions evolved towards sports and sports broadcasting, although I was anything BUT athletic growing up. In my teenage years, when I was living in small town North Carolina my focus turned to radio, but like I've said many times on this blog, it was somewhat Podunkville; the nearest major metro area was some 70/75 miles away (Raleigh/Durham) in a period of time in which North Carolina still had much of a Mayberry feel to it. Nowadays, Raleigh is a top-30 market. But did my parents do anything to help me with that? No. They were from the "greatest generation" and their philosophy on life was that I should continue my father's legacy, and that was to become an electrical engineer. 

So, instead of trying to become a broadcaster, I joined the Navy in the nuclear power program; I found out that I wasn't that good at it, but I survived, then after that I was going to attend USF, but surprise, I had a baby on the way back in Virginia. So, instead of going to school, I joined the Postal Service. It wasn't until 2010 that I tried to pursue that broadcasting dream of mine, and lo and behold, I was somewhat good at it, but again, life got in the way and that dram went away. I always thought that there was a small possibility I eventually re-pursue that dream, then I had a stroke in 2017. That dream was all but dead then. I guess I could have done a broadcast engineer or someone behind the scenes, but I had delusions of grandeur, I guess. Also, I think I would not have liked broadcasting in the Tampa Bay area because there are too many politics involved in this market; just my opinion but I don't think a neutral/left-leaning ideology would work in this market; I would be better off in Miami or possibly Orlando if I stayed in Florida. Maybe I could fit in in a larger market, like Philly or NYC. I don't know.

What I'm saying is I think I missed my calling in life I think. But you know what some say, never say never...

Bony Scribe