The word "earworm" gets thrown a lot to describe pieces of music that stick in your head. I am terribly susceptible to these. The worst kind for me are advertising jingles, especially from my childhood. You have no idea how much restraint it takes for me not to share every damned jingle that pops … Continue reading Canadian content: Kon Kan, “I Beg Your Pardon” (1989)
1980s
Now here’s something we hope you’ll REALLY like: Boris Badenough, “Hey Rocky” (1986)
(Above: Take that, moose and squirrel.) Oh, where to begin with this one.... Further to the subject of mixtapes from the other day: for every one that was completed, I probably came up with ideas for another three. One that was started and abandoned - for reasons that shall become clear - was called "Obnoxious … Continue reading Now here’s something we hope you’ll REALLY like: Boris Badenough, “Hey Rocky” (1986)
Mixtape Review: “Music Tape, Summer 1988”
(Above: That's an awfully cute cassette tape.) In a post last week I suggested that the summer of 1988 was my last carefree summer. There's really no way for me to argue with that. The summer between my first (and last) year as a traditional undergraduate student can best be described as being free of … Continue reading Mixtape Review: “Music Tape, Summer 1988”
Toro toro, taxi: Dire Straits, “Skateaway” (1980)
Last week's post about Revolver being one of my Top Five albums got me spiraling into a sort of High Fidelity argument with myself about what would be in that Top Five list. The album that I keep going back and forth on is Dire Straits' Making Movies from 1980. Is it simply good or … Continue reading Toro toro, taxi: Dire Straits, “Skateaway” (1980)
Self-help music: Will Powers, “Adventures in Success” (1983)
(Above: What a Friday night at home looked like, 1984.) If you lived in a place without cable television in the early 80s, you weren't a part of the revolution that MTV was bringing to music distribution, at least not directly. The success of music video led other networks and even local stations to offer … Continue reading Self-help music: Will Powers, “Adventures in Success” (1983)
Summer’s over: Breathe, “Hands To Heaven” (1988)
(Above: Quite possibly, the world's shortest album.) There are usually a few signs that summer - and with it, summer vacation - is coming to a close. The main ones that I noticed each year were the intensity of annual cicadas each August and the first broadcast of exhibition football on television. Hearing both … Continue reading Summer’s over: Breathe, “Hands To Heaven” (1988)
Greatest Misses: The Producers, “She Sheila” (1982)
In early 1990 I was, in a radio sense, homeless. My first full-time gig at KRVR flamed out very quickly. (Lesson learned: sometimes you're hired to be fired. The PD was planning to bring in his friends and fire the rest of the staff. I quit before he got the chance.) Being largely unwilling to … Continue reading Greatest Misses: The Producers, “She Sheila” (1982)
Car tunes: The Grateful Dead, “Touch of Grey” (1987)
(Pictured: My 1987 Nissan 300 ZX on a day when I drove around and gave away concert tickets. Find me and win. I'd never play this game today.) Quick now: name all of the Grateful Dead songs to make the Billboard Top 40. I'll wait. That's correct - there is only one, and it's the … Continue reading Car tunes: The Grateful Dead, “Touch of Grey” (1987)
College Radio Redux: U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)
(Above: Me in the WLRA studios, sometime in the Miami Vice era.) In yesterday's post I waxed poetic (wax on, wax off...) about college radio and my time at Lewis University's WLRA. My time in college was far from traditional. In my fourth semester at Lewis, I decided to forego my college eligibility and turn … Continue reading College Radio Redux: U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)
Greatest misses: The Insiders, “Ghost On the Beach” (1987)
Sometimes, the difference between a hit and a miss is merely a matter of timing. In the fall of 1987 I started classes at Lewis University. It was there that I began my college radio career as a DJ on WLRA-FM. (A word of warning: this blog will often mention college radio. It is something … Continue reading Greatest misses: The Insiders, “Ghost On the Beach” (1987)
45 Ruminations Per Megabyte 