(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)
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Days of future, past: The Dream Academy, “Life In a Northern Town” (1986)
Right about this time in 1986, a catchy song with a simple chorus that - on the whole - wasn't so simple was peaking on the Billboard charts. "Life In a Northern Town" appealed to me when I first saw it on MTV. I had never been to England, which is depicted in the video. Hell, … Continue reading Days of future, past: The Dream Academy, “Life In a Northern Town” (1986)
Glittering prizes and endless compromises: Rush, “The Spirit of Radio” (1981)
Sometimes a song has two distinct memories, and it's hard to decide which one is more powerful. Today is your lucky day, for you get both of them. In 1982 I was a freshman at Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. My formative years were spent between Tinley … Continue reading Glittering prizes and endless compromises: Rush, “The Spirit of Radio” (1981)
Forgoing your college eligibility: Stevie Wonder, “I Wish” (1976)
(Above: Me in a WJTW polo shirt. For some reason, this was taken in the production room of WCFL-FM/Morris.) 28 years ago tonight, I did my first professional radio show at WJTW-FM in Joliet. In an earlier post I discussed how I had applied for a job at the station in sales, but that my … Continue reading Forgoing your college eligibility: Stevie Wonder, “I Wish” (1976)
Great lost hit: David and David, “Welcome To the Boomtown” (1986)
In the summer of 1986 David Baerwald and David Ricketts paired up to record a series of stories set to music. At least that's how I describe the songs on Boomtown, an album that managed to get to number 39 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart despite little support on the singles chart. It's … Continue reading Great lost hit: David and David, “Welcome To the Boomtown” (1986)
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)
45 Ruminations Per Megabyte 