(Feel free to add your own caption.) A few random thoughts as we close out 2018: The year-end retrospectives have begun from mass media, and social media is no different. My various feeds are inundated with looks-back, best-ofs, and various videos. I'm not sharing any of them. Here's why: -I'm afraid that my Instagram "top … Continue reading Fast away the old year passes: Barry Manilow, “It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve” (1977)
1970s
40 Christmases ago in Chicago: The WLS Top Forty-Fives, December 23, 1978
(Above: Clearly, someone was keeping score at home.) Christmas 1978 would have placed me in the fifth grade at Helen Keller Elementary School in Tinley Park, Illinois. The upcoming year would see me start to pretend that I was on a radio station for a class assignment; this career aptitude (or ineptitude) would not be … Continue reading 40 Christmases ago in Chicago: The WLS Top Forty-Fives, December 23, 1978
Christmastime at the Voice of Labor: WCFL’s All Hit Music Chart, December 23, 1972
It occurred to me that we've never looked at a WCFL chart on this site, and it's high time we fix that. Let's travel back 46 years to the day before Christmas, 1972. What's big in the Windy City? 40. Joni Mitchell - "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio." Back in 1991 when WYTZ/Chicago … Continue reading Christmastime at the Voice of Labor: WCFL’s All Hit Music Chart, December 23, 1972
Rest in peace, Marty Balin: Jefferson Starship, “Miracles” (1975)
(Above: Balin with the rest of the Airplane on the cover of Surrealistic Pillow.) Marty Balin, one of the founding members of the Jefferson Airplane, passed away yesterday at the age of 76. No cause of death has been given. Balin, along with Paul Kantner, Jack Casady, and - of course - Grace Slick, formed … Continue reading Rest in peace, Marty Balin: Jefferson Starship, “Miracles” (1975)
Multiple-hit wonders: How a music network got a countdown wrong
(Above: Hits, as in "more than one.") Today is some sort of holiday called National One-Hit Wonder Day. I don't remember celebrating this as a kid, so I suspect that it came out of social media as an opportunity for people to share forgotten songs that are fun to dig out every once in a … Continue reading Multiple-hit wonders: How a music network got a countdown wrong
Great lost hit: Dean Friedman, “Ariel” (1977)
(Above: Was hoping for a photo of Ariel, but OK.) Way on the far south side of Chicago, there was a song that WLS played a lot.... The summer of 1977 is one that I always look back upon fondly. There was nothing more complicated in life at time than getting up, riding our bikes … Continue reading Great lost hit: Dean Friedman, “Ariel” (1977)
Ten Albums: Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run (1975)
(Above: This is not the version of the LP that I own, but I've been looking for one of these for years. It's the promo release.) We're getting to the top of the list of my favorite LPs. The list will become more predictable from this point, but I've got stories for each of them. … Continue reading Ten Albums: Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run (1975)
Rest in peace, Aretha Franklin: “Respect” (1967)
After a variety of media reports of ill health that swirled this week, it can be confirmed that Aretha Franklin, known as "The Queen of Soul," passed away at her Detroit home this morning at the age of 76. There are far better writers than can do a far better job of telling her life … Continue reading Rest in peace, Aretha Franklin: “Respect” (1967)
Ten Albums: The Who, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971)
Ordinarily. I wouldn't allow a Greatest Hits compilation on a list like this. This isn't an ordinary LP, though, nor is the story of how it got here. #5. The Who - Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971) There were several groups that I'd call myself "late to the party" in discovering. Led Zeppelin was … Continue reading Ten Albums: The Who, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971)
Mixtape review: “WJTW Backs Of the Racks” (1989)
(Above: You really shouldn't store your cassettes in the middle like that, especially not for almost thirty years.) I was digging through a box of cassettes at home this week and found a cassette that I have alluded to in the past, said that "I should write about," and never did - until now. … Continue reading Mixtape review: “WJTW Backs Of the Racks” (1989)
45 Ruminations Per Megabyte 