I'm Back...With A Flashback

 Hello again everyone, except you, Ron DeSantis. Seriously, he's amongst my most despised people on Earth right now. More so than...I won't mention it here. Anyway, it's been a minute (actually almost a month) since I wrote in this blog and published it. I had written some of another one, explaining what has happened in the past month, but my heart just wasn't into it. Anyway, here's a Reader's Digest condensed version. I had a birthday, celebrated a little, had a sister die, and was seriously let down on Valentine's Day...AGAIN. I'll probably go into detail more when the time is right, but I'm still processing and trying to heal. 

So tonight, I thought I would do something different; in past blog posts, I would do a Top-40 flashback for the particular week on which it was written. Well for this one, and possibly subsequent posts similar to this one, I thought I would forego the date aspect of it and just throw one out there at random. Also, as some of you may know, I am recreating Billboard's Hot 100 charts and adding a points system based on how high a particular song charted and its length. Well, I am up to 1985 on that, and one the songs was "Dare Me" by the Pointer Sisters.

Now remember "American Top 40?" It's still around today, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, but in the 1980's, it was hosted by the legendary late Casey Kasem, and was based back then off the Billboard Hot 100. Many of us knew Casey as a kind man who when we listened to him, made us feel good, and sometimes human. Whether it was his countdown show or his voiceovers as Shaggy on Scooby-Doo or Robin (of Batman & Robin) from the Superfriends on Saturday morning cartoons, or his annual appearances on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. He always knew how to tug at our heartstrings.

 

However, there was one occasion that Casey's dark side came out and the rest of the world eventually found out about it. In September of 1985, Kasem had a complete meltdown when attempting to read a long-distance dedication (a staple of his show) from a truck driver in Ohio (NOT Florida) to his dead dog. It happened to be set for broadcast right after the song "Dare Me," which of course was catchy and upbeat. The dedication incidentally was "Shannon," a ballad from the 70s which I have no recollection of ever hearing. Freaking ponderous, man.

With that said, here were the Top 40 songs according to Billboard Magazine for the week of September 14, 1985 with some personal anecdotes sprinkled in with it:

40. Spanish Eddie by Laura Branigan. This song could have been ahead of its time for one reason. The first line of the chorus goes, "The night Spanish Eddie cashed it in..." It got me to thinking, what if the late wrestler Eddie Guerrero (who is of Hispanic descent) lived long enough to participate in a "Money in the Bank" ladder match and wound up winning and eventually cashed in that briefcase at a later date? Wouldn't that have been something?

39. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free by Sting. His first solo effort since disbanding The Police, which was LONG before "defunding the police" became a left-wing talking point.

38. Mystery Lady by Billy Ocean

37. Do You Want Crying by Katrina and the Waves. Given the past two weeks? No.

36. I'm Goin' Down by Bruce Springsteen

35. The Way You Do The Things You Do (medley) by Daryl Hall and John Oates

34. No Lookin' Back by Michael McDonald

33. Lovin' Every Minute Of It by Loverboy. True story, the very first concert I attended was Loverboy at the Virginia Beach Music Festival back in 1997. America was also there, but you had to pay to see that one, whereas you didn't with Loverboy.

32. I Got You Babe by UB40. Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders actually dueted with the group, but according to Billboard's website, isn't credited.

31. Part-Time Lover by Stevie Wonder. In my seventh-grade year, I was in band and the first song for our annual spring concert that year was this one.

30. What About Love? by Heart. Yeah, what about it? Mine never seems to get reciprocated. Even after a heartfelt letter to someone special. 

29. Every Step Of The Way by John Waite

28. C-I-T-Y by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band

27. Fortress Around Your Heart by Sting. Going back to what I wrote for #30, I guess my heart is a freaking citadel.

26. Life In One Day by Howard Jones. I low-key kinda like this song.

25. Dancing In The Street by David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Did you ever see the video for this? Guys, get a room, geez...

24. There Must Be An Angel by Eurythmics

23. Never Surrender by Corey Hart. No, I don't plan on surrendering anytime soon...

22. Shout by Tears For Fears. Another favorite of mine.

21. Shame by The Motels

20. Cry by Godley & Creme. I think I only heard this song in its entirety once, and it wasn't on radio. Back when "American Bandstand" was still a thing, they played the video for this song. I hated it. First, the song is cringeworthy enough (especially the face-melter at the end), but the video? Ugh. It was nothing but a bunch of people crying. As a teeny-tiny bony scribe, I used to be fascinated with people crying. Not after watching the video for this song. No way...

19. Lonely Ol' Night by John Mellencamp. The only type of night I've ever really known.

18. Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston. I slow danced the end of this song to my one-time middle school crush. It was the only opportunity I had to do so for she relocated to a different school not long afterwards. Just my luck.

17. Take On Me by a-ha. Everytime I hear this song, I immediately think of a Vine (remember those?) I saw put to the intro to this song.

16. Smokin' In The Boys Room by Motley Crue. Some kid named Jerry from my middle school used to sing along to this song, but he added his own lyrics to it. I didn't know what in the world he was talking about until many years later. Ah the joys of being raised in a very conservative, pseudo-evangelic family (and town).

15. Oh Sheila by Ready For The World. I know of two Shielas, one was a teacher in the little podunk town I just spoke of, and the other was a classmate who I wish I got to know better. The former was arguably the best-looking teacher in our town, which isn't saying much other than there was absolutely no chance of a Mary Kay LeTourneau situation happening in our school...

14. Dress You Up by Madonna. Indulge me for a moment, while I melt inside...

13. Dare Me by The Pointer Sisters. Now we arrive at the basis for this flashback. Is Don on the phone? And where arre the picture I was supposed to get last week?! Ponderous, man. Now on with our countdown. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

12. You're Only Human (Second Wind) by Billy Joel

11. Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams. I'm still waiting for my summer of '69 (IYKYK).

10. Invincible by Pat Benatar. Also featured on several YTMND memes.

  9. Pop Life by Prince

  8. Freedom by Wham! Remember in 1985 when Wham! toured China? Four years later Tiananmen Square happened and any hopes of Chinese freedom flew out the door.

  7. Freeway Of Love by Aretha Franklin. I remember when Real Radio 104.1 in Orlando was starting out in the summer of '93. They would play this song almost hourly on the weekends when they weren't airing lame talk radio.

  6. Don't Lose My Number by Phil Collins. If I had a dollar for every time in my life someone had lost my number, I'd probably still be up the creek without a paddle.

  5. The Power Of Love by Huey Lewis & The News

  4. Cherish by Kool and the Gang

  3. Money For Nothing by Dire Straits. Good luck hearing the full unedited version of this song in 2023...even on Spotify

  2. We Don't Need Another Hero by Tina Turner

and the number one song the week of the Dead Dog Dedication was...

  1. St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) by John Parr. He had this hit and then faded into Bolivia as Mike Tyson would put it. He just dipped.

Well, I FINALLY got through another blog post. I hope to finish the one I had started within the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of things that need to get done, but for now, take care.

More To Come

CT

 

Brief Update To The Last Post

 Good morning, everyone, with a couple of notable exceptions (I won't mention their names, some of you may know who I'm referring to). In my last entry, on the fifth paragraph, I briefly provided my thoughts on would win the NFC and AFC Championship games later this afternoon. I had mentioned that Philadelphia and Cincinnati would advance. Well, after certain events over the course of the last, oh 48 hours, I have to make a change of sorts to one of those picks. What those events that took place is nobody's business, but I will say that I'm now rooting for Cincinnati NO MATTER WHO WINS the NFC Championship. So, who am I picking in the NFC game? I'll let this GIF of Ace Ventura explain it for you:

Imagine being a New York Yankees fan back in 1986 watching that year's World Series (between the hated Boston Red Sox and the equally annoying New York Mets). It's kind of like that. If Philly does win, we're at least guaranteed a Super Bowl matchup that we haven't seen before. If the Niners win, well, as legendary hockey announcer Mike Lange would say, "(we've) seen that fish before." Hopefully though, Cincinnati wins the whole thing, and as Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I got to say about that."

Enjoy the football fest, everyone. 

More to come

CTBS

Happy Year Of The (you) Bunny (wrote)

 Hello, I'm a few days late in writing this so indulge me. The Lunar New Year has arrived, and this year is called the year of the rabbit, and since some rabbits are bunnies, and the word "bunny" plays a significant role in my favorite Russian curse word, I'm naming it the Year of the Eбанирот.

This week really has interesting to say the least, and mainly not in a good way. Numerous mass shootings, our bum-ass governor being, well a bum-ass governor. Voldemort deciding that he wants to run for re-election. My right ear whichwas clogged the first half of last year is clogged again. Just what I needed on the cusp of my birthday, which last year didn't turn out too bad, but what turned out to be a precursor to how bad 2022 went. I'm trying to avoid that this year.

At least today is the 20th anniversary of the Bucs Super Bowl triumph in San Diego. I still have the shot glass I got later for Christmas that commemorates that win, and I still use it for when I decide to let loose, which is something I'll definitely be doing in a couple of weeks. But today, I kinda wanna call out a money-making app that's turning out to be a bunch of cheap-skates, that's Survey Junkie.

Survey Junkie is an app where supposedly you take surveys and earn points to cash out. But, there is a catch. First, you have to accumulate 500 points to cash out, and reaching 500 points, if you're like me and disabled, is quite the task. First, you click on a survey, then you're asked a bunch of pre-qualifying questions (like what is your sexual orientation, race, if you live in a suburb, etc). Then after you answer all that, you're not taken to the survey, but some mumbo jumbo about privacy permissions and the use of cookies for their survey. then once you fill that out, you get some message saying, "we're sorry, you don't quite fit this survey, we'll find you another one." Then you have to go through the same thing again until after a couple of times Survey Junkie will say that you don't qualify for that survey, or my favorite, that the survey filled up before you could take it. Apparently, they love to do this when you're on the precipice of cashing out, so that you can't cash out. It's like those internet games where you earn money once a certain number of points, but once you're close to the threshold, the game suddenly doesn't allow you to accumulate any more points, so you're stuck on that amount as if you're caught in some carnival game where you just can't win. Survey Junkie? More like Survey Flunkie if you ask me, and something that would have me say, "Eбанирот."

Another thing that was me saying that is of course my eldest sister. Just today, I informed her of something I got in the mail from Ford of Port Richey. It was one of those flyers that had a scratch off spots on there where if the numbers matched, you could be a winner. So naturally, I want to investigate and see if this is legit, and naturally, my eldest sister HAD to get involved. She thinks the whole thing is a scam and that I'll wind up signing for a new car. Uh, no. The way I see it, the best that could happen in that I get an early birthday gift, the worst that can happen is nothing. She doesn't see it that way. She's a hard-core right-winger and DeSantis supporter who'd rather have me live a non-fun puritan-like existence. Can't say "gay," can't say "black," can't say diddly-poo, etc. *insert eye-roll here*. Well, I'm going anyway, I'll take the bus, but it's better than nothing. 

Speaking of right-wingers, I decided to make my Super Bowl pick for the NFC after what Nick Bosa allegedly said about Philadelphia. Well, if that is indeed the case, Eagles by a thousand. Who against in Phoenix? Preferably Cincinnati, because I (and I imagine a bunch of others) are sick to death of the Chiefs, and that chant that they stole from Florida State University. So, in two weeks, it will be Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati in SB LVII.

Another I should look forward to this weekend is Gasparilla, and guess who the grand marshall for this year's parade is? WOOOOOOOO!!!. Unfortunately, with it being so close to my birthday (and it being so far away from me), I won't be able to attend this year, in fact I don't know when the next time I'll be able to join will be, so not only does that get a "Eбанирот" from me, but also a very hearty "сука блять!!"

Tomorrow, I should have my flashback feature back up and going. Until then, enjoy your Thursday!!

More To Come

CT

A Bucs Post-Mortem

 Good morning, or I guess mourning if you're a Tampa Bay Bucs fan. Man, last night was a disaster, wasn't it? I'll spare you the gory details, but the Bucs looked exactly who they played like for the majority of this season, a poorly coached football team with too many injuries and departures to overcome that had the bizarre fortune to play in a shitty division.

 

(this may have sealed the Bucs fate last night)

There have been many times this season where watching a Bucs game resembled more like a pirate funeral than a pirate party. So undisciplined in their play (Donovan Smith just got called for another holding penalty as I typed this), such incompetence when it came to running the football; in fact, their average rushing yards per game this season was an all-time franchise low. Even worse than the 1977 squad, who was probably the worst offense in league history. Now THAT'S a feat! If this is Tom Brady's swan song, he deserved better; we ALL deserved better.

So, where do the Bucs go from here, besides the golf course? Well, for starters, they could axe the coaching staff, especially offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Todd Bowles didn't do that bad of a job with the defense, but the jury is still out as to whether or not he's head coach material. I've said on Twitter that he needs to go, but after about three hours of sleep maybe they should possibly retain him and see how he can do with an actual offensive coordinator that isn't so predictable (I mean how many runs up the middle can you call on first and 10?). 

As far as Brady, I'm of the opinion he's Audi 5000 (I think it's Outtie 5000, but Audi looks better to me). If he retires or not, he isn't coming back to Tampa for 2023. That leaves us with Blaine "Yo Gabba" Gabbert and a VERY unproven Kyle Trask as their quarterback. My gut feeling says that with pick #19 at the draft later this spring, the Bucs will go offensive line. Mike Evans will be reaching his tenth year in 2023, yet we still have Chris Godwin. Rashard White seems like a nice running back, when they can run the ball. 

A lot of questions will be facing this franchise during the offseason, it will be very interesting what will happen this spring and summer. But man, this year was quite the bummer, dude. 

More To Come

CT 

Forty Years Ago...

 Good morning, everyone. Yesterday, I was listening to Spotify and my early 80's playlist, and I noticed that I had a bunch of songs in a row that came from 1983, and the realization hit me that 1983 was indeed forty years ago. Read that again, 1983 was forty years ago. Ronald Reagan was in his first term as president, the space shuttle orbiter Challenger had yet to make its maiden flight, and I at the start of the year was a nine-year old going to school in mamby-pamby land (it was a church school) fawning over a girl named Margie and enjoying Taco Tico with my sister Gwen every Friday. Speaking of Gwen, she was first seeing her future husband that year, and I would spend most of that summer with my brother and his somewhat intolerable wife. Fast forward to 2023, and I wonder to myself if what happened to me that year wound up shaping what would happen to me in life.

I was merely a nine-year old living in Orlando, but I had thoughts of being an astronaut at the time, for the Space Shuttle had me interested. However, I had not yet gone to Kennedy Space Center, in fact, I still have never been there, shame on me, I know. I would doodle on sheets of paper the scene of the shuttle launches at the time. But when Challenger was destroyed in 1986, my interest in space kind of went away. For some perspective, I was in the middle of sixth grade when the Challenger disaster happened; the shuttle wouldn't launch again until I had started my freshman year of high school. Out of mind, out of sight, right? But it was something else that really put a damper on those dreams I had of being an astronaut or working as a rocket engineer at KSC eventually, the mere fact that I wound up moving away that summer to Podunkville, NC.

I wonder what would have happened if my father hadn't been haunted by living in the house that he and my mother (who deceased on Halloween of 1981) stayed in, or had he more importantly blown his savings on hospital bills for mom (he didn't believe in insurance like a dumbass) and could no longer afford living in Orlando at the time. Would have I still be interested in the space program as I was starting to do back then? Would I wind up with a career in radio (as a little kid, like five or six, I would holler in the back yard just to ear the echo of my voice as it carried across a sinkhole/retention pond) as music videos were just really beginning to take off, and I had just gotten a little black and white TV for my ninth birthday? 

I probably would have had a greater opportunity to grow as a human had I stayed in Orlando instead of the small, narrow-minded town in North Carolina I grew wound up growing up in. But then again, I probably wouldn't be the person I am now. But it sure doesn't hurt to speculate what could have been...

More to come...

CT

Flashback: Billboard 1980

 Hello everyone. In my last flashback post of 2022, I did an entry regarding my top 100 songs based on data from Radio & Records magazine. Today for the first flashback of 2023, I thought I would do the same, only this time using Billboard magazine. Methodology for making this chart is the same as the one from the previous entry. So, without further ado, here were my top 100 songs according to data from Billboard Magazine for the year 1980:

100. I Can't Help It by Andy Gibb & Olivia Newton-John (211 points, peaked at #12)
  99. One In A Million You by Larry Graham (211, peaked at #9)
  98. All Over The World by Electric Light Orchestra (212)
  97. Every Woman In The World by Air Supply (216)
  96. In America by Charlie Daniels Band (220)
  95. Pilot Of The Airwaves by Charlie Dore (229)
  94. You're The Only Woman (You And I) by Ambrosia (230)
  93. Hold On To My Love by Jimmy Ruffin (234)
  92. Hot Rod Hearts by Robbie Dupree (245)
  91. Guilty by Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb (250)

  90. Don't Do Me Like That by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (251)
  89. An American Dream by Dirt Band (254)
  88. One Fine Day by Carole King (260)
  87. Please Don't Go by KC & The Sunshine Band (261)
  86. We Don't Talk Anymore by Cliff Richard (263)
  85. Romeo's Tune by Steve Forbert (265)
  84. Into The Night by Benny Mardones (275, peaked at #11)
  83. Off The Wall by Michael Jackson (275, peaked at #10)
  82. Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders (281)
  81. This Is It by Kenny Loggins (286)

  80. Daydream Believer by Anne Murray (294)
  79. Jessie by Carly Simon (297)
  78. Whip It by Devo (303)
  77. The Long Ru by The Eagles (305)
  76. She's Out Of My Life by Michael Jackson (307)
  75. Let Me Love You Tonight by Pure Prairie League (313, peaked at #10)
  74. Let My Love Open The Door by Pete Townshend (313, peaked at #9)
  73. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by Hall & Oates (320)
  72. Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John & ELO (322)
  71. Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar (325)

  70. Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen (330, peaked at #5)
  69. Send One You Love by Stevie Wonder (330, peaked at #4)
  68. Tired Of Toein' The Line by Rocky Burnette (340)
  67. How Do I Make You by Linda Ronstadt (342)
  66. Stomp! by The Brothers Johnson (353, peaked at #7, two wks in Top Ten)
  65. Sara by Fleetwood Mac (353, peaked at #7, five wks in Top Ten)
  64. Dreaming by Cliff Richard (360)
  63. Let's Get Serious by Jermaine Jackson (373)
  62. The Second Time Around by Shalamar (379)
  61. You May Be Right by Billy Joel (386)

  60. Hurt So Bad by Linda Ronstadt (387)
  59. More Love by Kim Carnes (409, peaked at #10)
  58. I Can't Tell You Why by The Eagles (409, peaked at #8)
  57. I'm Alright by Kenny Loggins (417)
  56. Fire Lake by Bob Seger (424)
  55. Him by Rupert Holmes (425)
  54. Real Love by The Doobie Brothers (436)
  53. Love On The Rocks by Neil Diamond (442)
  52. Lookin' For Love by Johnny Lee (458) 
  51. Cars by Gary Numan (490)

  50. Special Lady by Ray, Goodman, and Brown (496)
  49. On The Radio by Donna Summer (522)
  48. Never Knew Love Like This by Stephanie Mills (523)
  47. Too Hot by Kool & The Gang (532)
  46. Against The Wind by Bo Seger (535)
  45. (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon* (536)
  44. Escape (The Pina Colada Song)* by Rupert Holmes (538)
  43. I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross (544)
  42. Late In The Evening by Paul Simon (546)
  41. Drivin' My Life Away by Eddie Rabbitt (547)

  40. Fame by Irene Cara (582)
  39. Shining Star by The Manhattans (592)
  38. Sexy Eyes by Dr. Hook (598)
  37. Steal Away by Robbie Dupree (605)
  36. Give Me The Night by George Benson (614, two wks at #4)
  35. Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer by Kenny Rogers w/ Kim Carnes (614, three wks at #4)
  34. Master Blaster (Jammin') by Stevie Wonder (634)
  33. The Wanderer by Donna Summer (636)
  32. With You I'm Born Again by Billy Preston & Syreeta (638)
  31. Cruisin' by Smokey Robinson (651)

  30. Desire by Andy Gibb (661)
  29. Take Your Time (Do It Right) by The SOS Band (664)
  28. More Than Words Can Say by Leo Sayer (671)
  27. Coward Of The County by Kenny Rogers (672)
  26. He's So Shy by The Pointer Sisters (674)
  25. Yes, I'm Ready by KC with Teri DeSario (683)
  24. Longer by Dan Fogelberg (695)
  23. Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time by The Spinners (698)
  22. Biggest Part Of Me by Ambrosia (735)
  21. Emotional Rescue by The Rolling Stones (741)

  20. Sailing by Christopher Cross* (763)
  19. Lost In Love by Air Supply (783)
  18. Working My Way Back To You by The Spinners (808)
  17. The Rose by Bette Midler (815)
  16. Ride Like The Wind by Christopher Cross (955)
  15. Little Jeannie by Elton John (969)
  14. All Out Of Love by Air Supply (998)  
  13. Rock With You by Michael Jackson* (1,013)
  12. Funkytown by Lipps, Inc.* (1,084)
  11. Magic by Olivia Newton-John* (1,086)

  10. Do That To Me One More Time by Captain & Tennille* (1,096)
    9. Lady by Kenny Rogers* (1,194)
    8. It's Still Rock & Roll To Me by Billy Joel* (1,219)
    7. Woman In Love by Barbra Streisand* (1,278)
    6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen* (1,313)
    5. Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) by Pink Floyd* (1,336)
    4. Coming Up by Paul McCartney * (1,344)
    3. Upside Down by Diana Ross* (1,425)
    2. Call Me by Blondie* (1,469)

    1. Another One Bites the Dust by Queen* (1,580)

So, as you may have been able to tell, there were many differences between this chart and the one I posted last week. First, Billboard back in those days were sales based, where as Radio & Records was based on airplay, and the data that was used then was somewhat inexact. I think in those days, disc jockeys had to mark down what they played and submit that list to the music director/program director of the radio station they worked for, who in turn submitted that list via phone to the magazine. 

But anyway, that's what I tabulated from Billboard for the year 1980. I don't know yet whether I'll do a combined chart (R/R & Billboard), but I'm thinking about it. Regardless that's all for now, enjoy your Thursday night.

More to come

CT

My Anti-Bucket List

 Good morning. Before I begin this entry, a quick update from yesterday. First, the uncle of Damar Hamlin, speaking to NFL Network and CNN, stated that he is still not breathing on his own, but the required Oxygen is now at 50% as opposed to 100%, and he has been lying on his stomach to prevent clotting in his lungs. Furthermore, the NFL announced that there will be no changes to the week 18 slate of games, and also had no timetable as to when (or if) Monday night's game will be made up. My gut feeling is that they'll not continue it and call it a tie. Stay tuned to what happens as far as that is concerned, but Hamlin has a long way to go, so keep those prayers and good healing vibes coming. Now, onto our scheduled post.

The other day on Twitter, a friend tweeted what she wouldn't do ever again which was accompanied by a photo that has taken off on Twitter and on Reddit. That got me to thinking, what would be on MY anti-bucket list? Well, here are a few of them:

1. Own a Tesla

      2. Willingly watch Fox News

      3. Willingly vote Republican

      4. Step foot in my former home of St. Pauls, NC

      5. Attend a Rays game at Tropicana Field (unless the Rays are serious about building a new ballpark in Tampa)

      6. Willingly listen to any radio station owned by iHeart media, or almost any radio station in Tampa.

      7. Date a woman named Angela

      8. Befriend anyone named Abigail

      9. Visit Texas

    10. Take something for granted, especially after Monday night.

More to come

CT