(Above: This sort of rain calls for a forecast of drama and commitment.) Another weekend, another opportunity to catch the VJ Big 40 Countdown on Sirius XM's 80s on 8 Channel. This weekend they chose to go back to 1984 - my junior year of high school. It would have been right around Homecoming time … Continue reading Songs of sock hops: The Billboard Hot 100: October 6, 1984
highschool
Rest in peace, Tom Petty: “Don’t Come Around Here No More” (1985)
(Above: Tom Petty from the coolest video of 1985.) This one's going to be hard to write. I have a list of them in my head: the musical obits that will be tricky ones for me, because the music that the people who will be featured in them meant so much to my formative years. … Continue reading Rest in peace, Tom Petty: “Don’t Come Around Here No More” (1985)
Fall, football, and forgetting: U2, “A Sort of Homecoming” (1985)
(Above: My senior picture, Fall 1985. You'd think someone would have said "Do you want a comb?") The past week has been Homecoming Week at my high school. I was at Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park for four years. I haven't been back to it in twenty, or five times as long … Continue reading Fall, football, and forgetting: U2, “A Sort of Homecoming” (1985)
Soundtrack for the first day of school (Various)
(Above: First day of school, 1974.) Today is the first day of school for Grand Valley State University (and for many other colleges, high schools, grade schools, etc.) Many schools have started already: you've no doubt noticed your time line filling up with pictures of kids heading off for school as relieved parents plan to … Continue reading Soundtrack for the first day of school (Various)
Dark of moon on the 6th of June: C.W. McCall, “Convoy” (1975)
(Above: the sort of thing that might be in your grandparents' cupboard.) In the mid-1970s in America it was hard to escape the citizens band (CB) radio craze. A simple hobby allowing ordinary people to communicate back-and-forth with each other wirelessly (this was a pre-cellphone time, after all) became a national obsession almost overnight. T-shirts … Continue reading Dark of moon on the 6th of June: C.W. McCall, “Convoy” (1975)
Car tunes: The Rolling Stones, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1967)
(Above: My 1969 Chevrolet Impala, nicknamed "The Chariot of Death.") April 4, 1985 was a Thursday. The end of my junior year of high school was in sight. While many of my classmates were making plans for the junior prom, I had no such prospects. Instead, I made a rather questionable investment of about $700 … Continue reading Car tunes: The Rolling Stones, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1967)
“Who own the Chiefs?” Maxine Nightingale, “Right Back Where We Started From” (1976)
(Above: Jim Carr, about to be schooled on various hockey penalties.) Forty years ago this weekend one of my favorite films of all time made its premiere. Slap Shot is, in a variety of ways, offensive. It's also hilarious. Director George Roy Hill took a cast of legit stars (Paul Newman, Strother Martin) and unknowns … Continue reading “Who own the Chiefs?” Maxine Nightingale, “Right Back Where We Started From” (1976)
Car mixtape review: 60’s Cruising Tape (1986)
(Above: The 1969 Buick Electra I bought for $400 in February of 1986.) In the last post I referred to buying a '69 Buick and driving around listening to mixtapes put together full of Oldies music. I was a constant anachronism in high school: whatever was in, I wanted no part of, instead choosing to … Continue reading Car mixtape review: 60’s Cruising Tape (1986)
Rest in peace, John Wetton: Asia, “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” (1983)
(Above: And now you find yourself in '82.) Among the first stories that I read this morning was the sad news of the death of John Wetton at the age of 67. Wetton was a part of a group that isn't often referred to as a "supergroup" anymore, Asia - although they definitely count as … Continue reading Rest in peace, John Wetton: Asia, “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” (1983)
50 years of happiness: The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations” (1966)
(Above: Two copies of the same song, released 50 years apart.) This week marked the 50th anniversary of, what was at the time of its production, the most expensive rock and roll single ever made. "Good Vibrations" cost a cool $75,000 to produce in 1966 - about a half a million bucks in today's cash. … Continue reading 50 years of happiness: The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations” (1966)
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