Once again, the good folks at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan have published their annual list of Banished Words. Each new year they take time to “reflect on the words and phrases that may have worn out their welcome.” This tradition goes all the way back to 1976.
Here are some of them:
Cringe.While “cringe” once packed a punch, it has now overstayed its welcome. Overuse has dulled its impact, and ironically, using it might now cause the very reaction it describes. “Saying someone ‘caused you to cringe’ or stating that ‘you cringed at something’ is a pretty easy and proper way to use the word,” writes Ash from Newton, Alabama. “Hearing someone say ‘someone is so cringe’ makes me cringe!”
Game Changer. “How many times can a game change before it is no longer recognizable? This phrase, often used to describe anything remotely innovative, is as tired as a well-worn cliché. “Nothing is a game changer if everything is a game changer,” writes Patrick of Washington, DC.”
Era. Unless you are Taylor Swift, it might be time to leave “era” behind. The term’s overuse has made every fleeting moment feel like it demands a historical marker. Leah of Holland, Michigan submits, “Thanks to the name of Taylor Swift’s tour, now there is an ‘era’ for everyone and everything! ‘He’s in his fatherhood era’, ‘She’s in her pottery-making era,’ etc., etc.. It’s overused and tiring.”
IYKYK (If You Know, You Know). Internet slang and texting abbreviations are often fan-favorites of Banished Word submitters each year. Cryptic and exclusionary, this phrase offers little clarity or substance. If you know, you might agree it is time to let this one go. Amy from Redford, MI feels this phrase should go for being both irritating and nonsensical.
Skibidi. This viral word may have resonated with a younger crowd, but for many it is just noise. Agatha from Denmark explains, “Nobody cares about a Skibidi toilet, Skibidi fizz, or Skibidi Ohio fanum tax. At this point, nobody even knows what it means and it just annoys people.”
Period. Yes, we understand your point—no need to verbally punctuate it. Overuse has turned this into a period we are ready to end. Theresa from Detroit, MI, recommends that we banish this word by putting it in a bottle and sending it out to sea.
Personally, I completely agree with that Skibidi word. I have seen it everywhere and have no clue what the heck it means!! It is SO annoying!!
I have never used IYKYK. I agree with the Taylor Swift/Era connection. Urgh!
How about you? Do you agree? What word or phrase do you feel needs to be banished from the English language? What is overused?
According to my Goodreads “Year in Books,” I read 60 books last year. I was a bit overzealous when I said I wanted to read 100.
Among those 60 were The Kind Worth Killing and The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson. They feature Lily Kintner and Henry Kimball. Two friends who become friends in a very odd way. No spoilers here. In June of 2024, he released A Talent For Murder. This is the third book to feature Henry and Lily.
It recently became available on the Libby or Hoopla app from my library. It is a book that you can easily read as a stand alone if you had to. Any reference as to what happened in the first two books, is brief and not rehashed. I have stopped many books in a series because the spend half the book retelling the previous book.
This book had plenty of suspense and I really enjoyed it. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
A newlywed librarian begins to suspect the man she married might be a murderer—in this spectacularly twisty and deviously clever novel by Peter Swanson, New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders.
Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her job as an archival librarian, constantly surrounded by thought-provoking ideas and the books she loved. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured divorcee with a job that took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger.
A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern—five unsolved cases of murdered women.
Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is . . . but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected.
Swanson is one of those writers that is creative and throws many surprises at you. I am already excited to see his next offering.
I spent the better part of New Year’s Day and yesterday thinking about 2024. It always amazes me at just how much stuff you do in a year! Sometimes I wish WordPress had a “memories” feature like Facebook. I’d love to be able to look back on a given day without having to search my entire list of blogs. (Max – Looks like we’re gonna have to work on that index)
The first thing I did was check my stats. I was surprised that last year I wrote 378 blog posts. That’s 104 more than the previous year. I have a theory on the increase. More on that in a minute.
The next stat that I saw was the number of views. In 2023 I had 31,000 views, while in 42,000 views (According to WordPress, that is up about 36%). I am humbled that my content would be something others would find interesting.
The most popular post of 2024 was my post from December of 2018 – My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters. It was also my most popular post in 2023. Six years later and it is still going strong!
There were, of course, plenty of highlights from 2024. Briefly, here are some of my favorites:
I participated and submitted a post for all 12 editions of Turntable Talk with Dave from A Sound Day. His monthly music topic is a favorite of many of the contributors and I love being a part of it.
According to Goodreads, I read 60 books last year. Can you believe I had hoped to read 100? It was hard enough to read those 60! All of my reading gave me opportunities to suggest books you might enjoy. It has also connected me with other avid readers. Their posts often lead me to my next book.
In February, I took my daughter and my niece to meet “Gabby” of the show Gabby’s Dollhouse. I still remember how in awe she was sitting next to her.
That same month, she turned 4 and her birthday fell on the date of the Daddy Daughter Dance.
Speaking of her birthday, we visited our favorite photographer quite a few times this year. We got Ella’s 4th birthday pictures, Andrew’s 3rd birthday pictures, Spring photos and our family Christmas photos. Smiles all around!
After an eye exam, we found out Ella needed glasses. She mainly needs them for reading and such.
March started off on a sad note as Sam’s grandma, the kid’s great grandma, passed away at age 94. She was such a wonderful lady and I loved getting the chance to go over for visits.
My blogging kicked up a notch in late April and early May. This is why I think my posts increased so much this year. I decided to bring back a couple features: Tune Tuesday & the Friday Photo Flashback. I had been doing these off and on for a while. On my birthday in May, I debuted a new feature. I thought it would be fun to focus on a different year of my life every week. I called it The Music of My Life and it should wrap up right around my birthday this year. Then, I added a Movie Music Monday feature. It focuses on a movie song every week. It’s a chance to play some rare tunes.
Mother’s Day we celebrated Sam! The kids painted her presents.
We did the Walk for Miracles at the Detroit Zoo. It is a great charity event and we were surrounded by many super heroes!
Ella was excited to start T-Ball this year. She had a great coach and she seemed to have a lot of fun. It’s always crazy to watch the little ones out on the field. Really, all they want to do is hit the ball!
Summer was a blast! Sam made sure of that! This year they had a HUGE home water slide
Summer got even more fun when we spent a weekend at Nana and Pa’s cabin. They LOVED riding on the four wheelers.
For Father’s day, my boys meet me and the kids for a picnic. We had pizza and played at the park. It was so fun to watch the older boys playing with the younger kids.
One of the biggest projects this year was tearing up and reseeding the front lawn. The construction crews really messed up my lawn.
Aunt Margaret called us and invited us to a day at the county fair. It was hot as blazes, but it was such a fun day. There were so many animals, plenty of rides, and the kids had a blast!
When summer came to a close, it was a BIG first. Ella started Preschool. She has excelled there. She LOVES school and I hope that is always the case.
The newest addition to the family was a little kitten named Bitsy. At the time, I was sure it was a mistake to bring in another animal, but she’s grown on me. She loves the kids, too.
Andrew is always on the go. His energy is insane. We had to get him doing something to give him an outlet for that energy. So we signed him up for soccer. Depending on the day, he loves it or hates it. Typical boy! It starts back up again in the spring.
In October, I did an experimental “topic” post. I called the feature Share Your Nostalgia. It was about the one toy that you remembered most from your childhood. Some fellow Turntable Talkers and a few other blogger friends participated. I have one almost ready to go, I may have to push it back to February. That is to be determined.
My son Andrew celebrated birthday number 3 with a poop cake! He had his choice of just about every character you could think of, and he chose the poop emoji! That’s my boy!
One memorable trip was to the pumpkin patch with our friend Miss Christa and her daughters. We spent the day riding rides, eating donuts, and picking our pumpkins. Andrew loved the apple cider slushi!
As Halloween approached , we attended many trunk or treat events. There was one in town, one at Nana’s church, and a few more. There was no shortage of candy!
The day after Thanksgiving, we all went to Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo. They do such a great job there every year. The kids were in awe of the Christmas lights!
As the year wound down, it stayed busy! Ella had joined dance earlier in the year and her first dance recital was at the beginning of December. It was so emotional for me to watch my precious little girl out there dancing her heart out. She loves dance so much. Aunt Margaret, Nana and Pa, Papa, Miss Christa and mom and dad were there to enjoy the show!
Shortly before Christmas, Ella was scheduled for surgery. She had her adenoids taken out. She was a trooper and pulled through like a champ!
On Christmas Eve, my sons came by and we had a great afternoon. They brought pizza and their younger siblings were SO happy they were there. I love spending time with all four of my kids. Even though the visit was short because Dimitri had to work, it was a wonderful day.
Christmas Eve continued with a visit from Nana and Pa followed by drive through lights down the road from us. Christmas morning was welcomed with Santa gifts, mom and dad gifts and homemade cinnamon rolls. A perfect day to be sure.
One of the biggest surprise of 2024 was a winning Detroit Lions season! And it isn’t over yet! For years, I’ve been a fan and nothing ever came together. This team and these coaches have turned our team into a contender and it is such a tremendous feeling!
I’m sure there was plenty more to rehash, but I will stop there. To quote Sinatra, “It was a very good year!”
As I close, I thank YOU. The fact that you read my blog and comment on them means so much to me. In no particular order (and completely off the top of my head), I want to thank some of the folks who interact almost daily:
Max, Dave, CJ, Beth, Nancy, Colin, Deke, Carla, John, Christian, Britta, Randy, Vic, Sadje, Phil, Keith, Grace, Ruth, Erin, Beth W, Chelia, Melissa, Mary Anne, Mary O, Victoria, Regina, Jill, Stewart, Cindy, Lisa, Jim, Jennie, Paul, Allen, Jeff, Gee, Gary, Matthew, Christopher, Debra, Lesley, Michael, Mike, Kalley, Rebecca …. and anyone who I may have missed. I appreciate all of you in my life.
Happy 2025! I hope it a a blessed one for each of us.
This being the first Friday Photo Flashback of the New Year, I went looking for a New Year’s Picture. It seems like I was always doing something for New Year’s Eve. Usually, we’d hang out at the VFW hall with my folks. There was always cheap drinks, good music and good people.
When I got married to my ex, I recall spending one NYE at a Mason Lodge. It was right downtown and they did fireworks at night. There were a few years where we’d get a block of 3-4 hotel rooms. My ex’s sisters would each get a room for their family. We’d all bring a dish to pass and play board games. When the hotel thing became too expensive, one of the sisters hosted. There were plenty of game nights as I recall.
One year, my best friend Jeff was dating a mutual friend of my sister-in-law. So he came over that NYE. Everyone was to wear one piece pajamas that night. It was ridiculous, but fun. They had this Can-Jam game that we played in their basement.
I had quite a few photos from those various events to choose from. However, I found one that I treasure, despite the way I look. The photo was probably taken NYE 1996 or 1997.
This photo of my mom and I was taken at the VFW Hall. I am sure that my dad was DJing the party. If I had to guess, my Uncle Tom was probably there, as well as many of the other veterans. These parties were so much fun.
I love this picture because we both look happy as ever! I see that my mom is wearing what we called a “Brooks and Dunn” shirt. My dad was probably wearing one, too. They were big into line dancing at the time. I’m sure there were plenty of those played that night. I have “gone country” in the picture, too. You can see that by the silly “tie” I am wearing.
The simple joy of being together is on both of our faces. This is how I always remember my mom. Healthy, laughing and smiling. It is a perfect capture!
I took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday. It was windy, but it was perfect to get the outdoor decorations down. This is the first year that I didn’t have to wait until spring to do it.
Our outdoor stuff isn’t too complicated. The most difficult thing is the archway we put up. For the most part, it is unwinding the strands of lights that were wrapped around the porch posts and railings. I had a couple inflatables to take down – no problems there. I also had some staked in lights that I had to get up. For the most part, it was a lot of bending over and boxing up to put back in the garage.
All in all, I think it took me 2 to 2 and a half hours to get it all down and put away. During that time, I never felt any pain in my back, neck or anywhere else. On Sunday, it became obvious that something happened. I just don’t know what.
Sunday afternoon, I got up from the couch and felt a little pain in my lower back. As the day progressed, I started to feel numbness in my hands. It was very strange. It was numbness in every finger except the pinkies. I took some ibuprofen and went to bed without giving it a second thought.
On Sunday night, I woke up with pain in my hands and swelling in both of them. It was awful. Once I got up to get a drink and walked for a bit, the pain started to fade a little. I went back to sleep only to wake up again with more pain, a bit more intense, in my hands. This time when I got up, I was feeling pain in my shoulders and elbows, too.
I went out to the living room and just sat. The pain began to ease in my hands. The numbness remained. I thought about trying to go back to bed, but wasn’t even sure that I could. I grabbed a blanket and tried to sleep on the couch sitting up with my feet on the footstool. I was uncomfortable and wound up waking up again.
This time when I got up from the couch, I felt pain at the top of my knees. I was literally shuffling to the kitchen. With weight on my feet, I could tell the swelling had made its way down to them. It hurt to stand on them. I was starting to get a bit concerned.
Monday morning, my wife had to take the kids to an appointment. We had pulled the car seat because Andrew had an accident in it and it needed to be washed. Before she could leave, I had to put the cover back on it and get the straps right. This was utter torture!
I’m not sure if you’ve ever had to put one of those things back together, but it is a pain. Factor in extremely swollen fingers and pain in every joint of your hand and wrist and the pain was just terrible. As I tried to get straps through slots, rubber rings around a hook that is 1/8 of an inch long, and such, I cried.
The kids were still asleep, but my yelping in pain and crying was enough to wake Ella. She came out and was scared. She didn’t know what was wrong. I told her I was okay, but my hands were hurting very bad. She asked if she could help being the sweetheart that she is.
Once I finally got the seat put back together, I worked on getting the kids breakfast and ready for the appointment. When every one left, I called my doctor and did a video visit. It’s never a good thing when the doc says, “It sounds like you pinched a nerve, but I really am not 100% sure. So we’ll treat it like it is and see what happens.”
She gave me some steroids and a muscle relaxer. I was told if I start to feel numbness in my legs with pain to go to the ER. If the numbness hasn’t gone away in seven days, I need to come into the office.
Three days later now and I can sleep. The pain in the joints has pretty much subsided, but the numbness in my hands and fingers is still there. A friend of mine said that it could be carpal tunnel, but that wouldn’t explain the rest of the pain in other places.
It is making it difficult to write, type, and basically do my job. I worked on Tuesday, and as I was scoring sleep studies I had to take many breaks. I felt like the more I clicked the mouse, the more numb my hands got.
I am hoping that the medication helps! I do too many things with my hands.
I tell you all of this to say that if I miss a featured post, or post later than normal, it may just be the after effects of all of this. I appreciate your understanding.
Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year.
This will post on January 1, 2025, so let me start off by saying Happy New Year! I am sure that I will be posting something of a New Year’s Wish as well today.
Off to the side of my 2003 list I wrote, “Difficult year!” This could mean that it was difficult to pick ten songs. It could also mean that it was difficult to narrow the list down to ten songs. With my life, it could mean that 2003 was a difficult year personally. I’m not sure. I know that as I got deeper into the 2000’s, there were fewer songs that I liked. Maybe that is it?
Anyway, let’s drift into 2003:
Drift Away was a top 5 hit for Dobie Gray in 1973. In 2002, Gray recorded this as a duet with Uncle Kracker. When the song reached the Billboard top 10 in 2003, 30 years later, it broke a record. Dobie broke the record for the biggest gap between top US top 10 appearances and held that record for 17 years.
How did Uncle Kracker come to record it? You can thank a radio DJ for that. Songfacts explains:
“Although Uncle Kracker liked this song, he only performed it out of necessity at first. He was making the rounds on the morning radio shows to promote his solo debut, Double Wide (2000), which was mostly rap-rock tracks except for the mellow hit single “Follow Me.” Because he was expected to perform a few songs during his appearance, he needed something else to sing in the same vein, and the DJ Scott Shannon suggested the Dobie Gray tune.“
Kracker said, “If it wasn’t for him, that song would have never gotten cut, he pretty much put the bug in my ear for that.”
I like the fact that the cover included the original singer. People liked it, too. It was #1 for 28 weeks in 2003-04 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It broke the record for the longest run atop the tally and held the record for 15 years.
Drift Away
I had my first child in 2002. Over that first year, it was amazing to see the changes in him. I never really understood how fast time flies, until having children.
I was working in country radio in 2003 and I remember hearing Then They Do for the first time. I knew that it would be a huge hit because any parent could relate to the lyrics. They are delivered perfectly by Trace Adkins.
The song begins and describes a typical morning where the singer’s children are causing trouble on the way to school. Naturally, he thinks things will be easier when the children grow up. In time, the children go off to college and get married. It is then that the parents realize that they have more time to themselves now. Their children have accomplished their dreams, but their house and lives feel a lot emptier nonetheless.
It’s sort of a “be careful what you wish for” kind of thing. Be present and enjoy the memories.
Then They Do
The next song is one that I really liked. I don’t necessarily pray to angels when I am down or when I am hurting, but I do pray. I pray to God and ask Him to give me guidance or comfort. I did an in depth study for Sunday School at our church about angels once. That is why I don’t pray to them.
That being said, I do understand that in certain situations, people will often pray. Some, pray to angels. I think in essence, they pray to heaven for help. That’s kind of what I got from Train’s Pat Monahan’s inspiration for the song.
From Songfacts:
The song was inspired by something his therapist, Judy Bell, told him. Monahan told Buzzfeed, she said: “Just remember that we are made up of angels and traitors, and the angel is the one that says, ‘You’re beautiful and you can do anything you want,’ and the traitor is the one that says, ‘You’re ugly and you can’t get anything right.'”
“That song just came from that conversation of, if we all called our angels, what a cool life this would be for all of us,” he said.
The song went to number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Calling All Angels
I have always loved Willie Nelson. Some of his duets are just fantastic. I loved Pancho and Lefty with Merle Haggard. I loved To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before and Spanish Eyes with Julio Iglesias. I loved Seven Spanish Angels with Ray Charles. Last week, I could have included Mendocino County Line, his duet with Lee Ann Womack. When he did his duet with Toby Keith, it was a monster country hit.
Toby posted the story behind Beer For My Horses on his website:
“When I was a kid I worked for a rodeo company,” says Toby. “The old timers who worked the stock and stuff in the back would carry a pint of whiskey in their pocket – they were just old cowboys. They would pull it out and say, ‘Here’s to me, here’s to you, we got screwed, so screw you, here’s to me.’ They always had some little toast. One was to hold up the bottle for a drink and say, ‘Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.’ I kept that in my head a long time thinking I’d write it some day.“
“We did finally, trying to say that maybe it’s time that justice gets back into the judicial system. The big posse goes out and catches the bad guys and everybody comes back to lick their wounds, remember the ones they lost and celebrate with the ones that made it back. You raise your glass and say, ‘Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses, bartender.’ One of those conceptual deals. Soon as we got done writing it I thought man, it’d be cool if we could talk Willie Nelson into singing the Texas verse on that. Obviously he went for it and I think it’s the biggest multi-week #1 either of us ever had.“
In 2008, Toby and Willie starred with Rodney Carrington in the movie of the same name.
Beer For My Horses
The next song was a top five hit for 3 Doors Down. Lead singer, Brad Arnold told Songfacts:
“The song’s just about being away from someone, or missing them,” he clarifies. “And it really doesn’t matter if you’re here without them for all day or all month. It’s just kind of about the lonely and missing of somebody, but people kind of take that sort of as a little bit of a sad song. And in a way, I kind of meant it as a happy song. And the reason being because it’s talking about being here without you, but she’s still with me in my dreams. ‘And tonight, it’s only you and me,’ so the song was really just about that dream. And being in a state of peace, because you’ve got that person there with you in your sleep. And in that way I kind of meant for it to be a little bit of a happy song.”
The song means a lot to many military personnel. Especially those who find themselves away from their loved ones with their lives in danger. At the same time, many think about someone who has passed away and that miss them. However you interpret it, it really is a great song.
Here Without You
Josh Turner is one of the nicest singers I’ve ever had the chance to meet. His voice can rattle things hanging on a wall it is so deep. I remember when his first single (Long Black Train) hit my desk. Personally, I loved it. I got it. I understood it. However, it had a Christian theme to it and I wondered how the listeners would like it.
I love hearing him tell the story of how the song came about. He told AOL Music:
“‘Long Black Train’ was inspired by a vision that I had of a long, black train running down this track way out in the middle of nowhere. I could see people standing out to the sides of this track watching this train go by. As I was walking, experiencing this vision, I kept asking myself, ‘What does this vision mean and what is this train?’ It dawned on me that this train was a physical metaphor for temptation. These people are caught up in the decision of whether or not to go on this train. And this came about in a time of my life where I was trying to figure out who I was as an artist and as a person… I was trying to learn how to deal with the freedom that I had away from home for the first time. ‘Long Black Train,’ the song and the album, are very special to me. It was just one of those things that I felt like God gave to me for a purpose, and I’ve been out here promoting that purpose.”
He wrote the song after listening to some old Hank Williams Sr. songs. He was a college senior. He said he started strumming the guitar and the verses came to him. He never had any intention of releasing the song and noted that when he wrote it, “I didn’t even have a record contract yet!”
Long Black Train
Next is song that has been covered a few times. The First Cut is the Deepest was written by Cat Stevens. He did a demo of the song in 1965. In 1967, it was a hit for P.P. Arnold in Britain reaching #18 in the charts.
In America, the first version to chart was by Keith Hampshire, who took it to #70 in 1973. Rod Stewart covered it in 1976, taking it to #21 US and #1 UK. Sheryl Crow released her version in 2003, which made #14 in the US and #37 in the UK.
Sheryl recorded it for her hits compilation, “The Very Best of Sheryl Crow.” It was one of her biggest radio hits. It also became her first solo top-40 country hit following the success of her duet with Kid Rock (“Picture”)
First Cut Is The Deepest
Next, the third duet on my 2003 list. This was another one of those songs that after hearing it, I knew it would be a hit. How could it NOT be with Jimmy Buffett on it?
The song came about when writer Don Rollins had with the line “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” It was written for another artist whose album wanted a Jimmy Buffett vibe to it. The artist passed on the song and eventually it came to Alan Jackson. Rollins explains,
“I got the call that it was on hold for Alan, which I thought was strange, because if you hear the demo it’s very island-ly. There are acoustic guitars and steel drum samples, very much Buffett. The idea that someone as country as Alan Jackson might be interested in that song never even occurred to me. Then I got wind that he was wanting to do a duet with Buffett, and it made a little bit more sense at that point.”
This song spent eight weeks at #1 on the Country charts, and won the 2003 Grammy for Best Country Song. It was the first #1 song on the Country chart for Jimmy Buffett.
It’s Five O’clock Somewhere
Last week I picked a remix of Elvis Presley’s A Little Less Conversation. In 2002, the remix had worldwide success. Because of that English record producer Paul Oakenfold took another Elvis song and did a remix of it. This time it was Rubberneckin’.
Rubberneckin’ was a song that Elvis sang in the movie A Change of Habit. It was released as the B-side of Don’t Cry Daddy. It was a top ten hit for him.
The remix only reached number 94 on the Hot 100 chart in the US, but it was big elsewhere. It peaked at number two in Canada, and number three in Australia. It also reached the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Some folks dislike these remixes. I can see where a bad remix would make me feel that way. I really thought these two Elvis remixes were great. I was loving how many people danced to them at parties.
Rubberneckin’
The final song of 2003 is probably the most bizarre. It just sticks out, and the band knew this! I’m talking about I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness. This was a song that was brought to my attention by my ex. I had never heard it before, but one time I was asked to play it at a party and the crowd went crazy!
From Songfacts:
The British magazine Classic Rock named this as their Greatest Rock Song of the ’00s. The band’s frontman Justin Hawkins commented: “All The Darkness ever tried to do was bring a little joy into the glorious realm of rock, but ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ crossed over big time and changed our lives forever. To have been awarded ‘Song Of The Decade’ is overwhelming and I’m very grateful to Classic Rock for everything.”
The band’s former guitarist, Dan Hawkins, told Classic Rock the story of the song: “‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ was such an important song for The Darkness, but when we wrote it I really wasn’t sure about it. The chorus is so stupidly catchy, I thought people were just gonna take it as a complete joke! Right from the start, this song stuck out like a sore thumb.
We started with the riff, which Justin came up with. It sounded really great right away. But when he sang the chorus for the first time, I just said, ‘No, you can’t do that – it sounds ridiculous!’ I really thought people would just laugh at us when they heard it. So for the rest of the song, I tried to make it sound cool, more ‘rock.’ The rest of the song is all in minor key.“
Songfacts also presents this very funny review:
The New York Times wrote that this song “sticks to the listener like hair gel.”
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
So there you have it. Did I miss one of your favorites from 2003? Make sure to tell me about it in the comments.
Next week, I’ll present my list from 2004. The list include one of the funniest group names to say on the radio, a monster debut song, movie music, a dance craze that is still going strong, and a song that still brings me to tears.
I hope that the new year has wonderful things in store for us.
To my readers and followers, thank you for being a part of the blog-o-sphere. Thank you for choosing to follow, read and comment on the content that I post. I appreciate you being here.
I will write a more detailed “Old year, new year” post shortly. For now, I wish you a new year that is full of adventures, family, friends, love, peace, blessings, and happiness.
Cheers to a new year!
To paraphrase a Brad Paisley quote: Today “is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.”
Donna Adrian Gaines was born today in 1948. You probably know her better by her stage name – Donna Summer. She was affectionately called the “Queen of Disco.”
She gained success in 1976 with Love To Love You, Baby. In 1978 she acted in the film, Thank God, It’s Friday where she sang, “Last Dance.” She had her first #1 song with MacArthur Park and 5 hits in 1979. Among them were Hot Stuff, Bad Girls, and No More Tears (with Barbra Streisand.
Her label (Casablanca) wanted her to record nothing but Disco. She wanted to do other types of songs. They wouldn’t budge and she parted ways with the label in 1980.
In 1983, she released the album, She Works Hard For The Money. The title track would go to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and hit #1 on the R&B chart.
With many Summer songs to pick from, I chose She Works Hard For the Money because there’s a great story behind it. From Songfacts.com:
This song was based on a true-to-life experience. After the Grammy Awards in 1983, Donna Summer was at an afterparty at Chasen’s restaurant, a Hollywood hotspot (it closed in 1995). She went to the bathroom and saw the attendant, Onetta Johnson, taking a nap with a small TV on. Summer startled her from her nap, and Onetta told Donna she worked two jobs and was really tired. Summer thought to herself, “Wow, she really works hard for her money.“
Knowing she had the makings of a hit, she grabbed some toilet paper and started writing her ideas. Later that night while at home thinking about Onetta, Summer wrote the song in about 20 minutes. The song became a tribute to hard-working women everywhere.
Onetta Johnson, the bathroom attendant from Chasen’s, appears on the back cover of the album. The first line of the song says her name: “Onetta there in the corner stands…”
Donna died of lung cancer on May 17, 2012. She was 63. She had an apartment near Ground Zero the day of the 9/11 attacks. She had quit smoking long before and many say the cancer was from the fumes in the area after the attacks.
Today we go back to 1988 to the film Sports Illustrated magazine called the Greatest Sports Movie of All Time – Bull Durham.
The romantic comedy starred Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins. The soundtrack for the movie includes some great songs from Joe Cocker, Los Lobos, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. It also includes some bluesy tracks from Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Stevie Ray Vaughn and George Thorogood. You can also find John Fogerty’s baseball anthem, Centerfield, on the soundtrack.
There is one thing about movie soundtracks that has always bugged me. I hate when a movie features a song and it never makes it on to the official soundtrack. That is the case with today’s Movie Music Monday song.
It was on this day in 1950 that Billy Ward and the Dominoes stepped into the National Studios recording studio. They recorded a song that is considered to be one of the earliest to shape and generate rock and roll. It was also one of the first R&B songs to cross over and become a pop hit. That song was Sixty Minute Man.
The song was written by group member Billy Ward and his collaborator/business partner Rose Marks. The song is rooted in Blues music, and the singer brags about his sexual prowess. (Hey, it fits a romantic comedy, right?) This song had more of an R&B sound and was an early influence on Rock music.
Songfacts says that this was one of the first ever double-entendre hits. Billy Ward and His Dominoes were a big deal in the 1950s. They were one of the best-selling acts of that decade. They had three Billboard Top-40 hits by the end of the decade.
It should be noted that the song is often referred to as a “dirty blues” song. Ok, it is. The content is pretty risque for 1950. However, songs of this type are known to go back as far as the 1930’s. There were plenty of them, but this one was important to rock and roll.
“Sixty Minute Man” was banned by many radio stations and was seen as more of a novelty record. (From Wiki) “In hindsight it was an important record in several respects: it crossed the boundaries between gospel and blues. The lyrics pushed the limits of what was deemed acceptable. It appealed to many white as well as black listeners, peaking at number 17 on the pop chart. Cover versions were made by several white artists. Bill Haley and the Comets sang the song in the mid-1950s during their live shows.”
Despite being banned, the song did very well. It was released in May of 1951. By the end of the month had reached number one on the R&B chart. It held that position for an almost unprecedented 14 weeks. The single also made it to number 17 on the pop singles chart and was voted “Song of the Year” for 1951.
I have a radio story about the song, but that will have to wait for another blog. For now, here are the Dominoes…
This year I read quite a few Christmas themed stories in December. One of them came up in a generic search on the Hoopla app. The author, Heather Redmond, was new to me. I’m a fan, as you know, of A Christmas Carol. So a murder mystery entitled A Christmas Carol Murder peaked my interest.
What I was unaware of at the time was that this is the third book in a series. I have to admit, the concept of this series is an interesting one. Each of the five books is part of “A Dickens of a Crime” series and feature – Charles Dickens.
The series takes place in 1835-1836 and follows a young Charles Dickens as a journalist for the Evening Chronicle. In the series, Charles and his fiancé, Kate, are amateur detectives who set out to solve crimes. Each of the book’s titles are a play on a Dickens classic. They are:
A Tale of Two Murders (A Tale of Two Cities)
Grave Expectations (Great Expectations)
A Christmas Carol Murder (A Christmas Carol)
The Pickwick Murders (The Pickwick Papers)
A Twist of Murder (Oliver Twist)
The characters in A Christmas Carol Murder all (purposely, I’m guessing) have names similar to characters in A Christmas Carol. Emmanuel Screws sounds a lot like Ebenezer Scrooge, while Jacob Harley (his partner) sounds like Jacob Marley. I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine the other books follow this same pattern.
Anyway, let me give you the Goodreads synopsis, in case you want to read it now or next Christmas.
The latest novel from Heather Redmond’s acclaimed mystery series finds young Charles Dickens suspecting a miser of pushing his partner out a window, but his fiancée Kate Hogarth takes a more charitable view of the old man’s innocence . . .
London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon learn the dead man at their feet, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws.
Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who’s behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley’s corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley’s ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination? He continues to suspect Emmanuel, the same penurious penny pincher who denied his father a loan years ago, but Kate insists the old man is too weak to heave a body out a window. Their mutual affection and admiration can accommodate a difference of opinion, but matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of an infant orphan. Charles must find the child a home while solving a murder, to ensure that the next one in chains is the guilty party . . .
Again, I thought this was a neat idea. It is fun to imagine that these characters and bits of the mystery itself might just influence Dickens. Perhaps influence him enough to use them in his Christmas Carol story.
The story was a fun read. I’m not sure that I will get the others in the series, but who knows. I’m not that familiar with the other Dickens books. I don’t know that I would get all the “tie ins” in them. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t, however. I’m sure that any Dickens fan will love the series and appreciate it more than me.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 