Friday, December 21, 2018

Pointless Radio Reviews: Cruisin'

I decided to review what’s playing on retro pop radio. Because somebody had to. 

“Cruisin’,” Smokey Robinson, 1979

The next time you are at Karaoke Night and a couple start in on the cover version (itself a karaoke song), turn tail and run away until your ears find this. If Smokey is unavailable, D’Angelo’s version will do. 


If all are unavailable, turn to the dictionary and look up “sublime.”





Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Pointless Radio Reviews: Abacab

I decided to review what’s playing on retro pop radio. Because somebody had to. 

 “Abacab,” Genesis. 1981.

My cousin and I flipped our wigs when we dug this album out of her dad’s stack by the (very, very nice, why did he let two 11 year olds play it?) stereo. Uncle had...a song on the radio?! What if we’d found a copy of Freeze-Frame next? 

Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Pointless Radio Reviews: You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine

I decided to review what’s playing on retro pop radio. Because somebody had to.

“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” Lou Rawls. 1976.

Spoiler alert in the title. Superlative crescendo (“But there's no ifs and buts or MAY-bes!”). You need to be sitting pensively, then gesture with a Scotch-on-the-rocks from your leather seat in bar with a smoke mirror walls and dim lighting while this plays. Tell it.




Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Pointless Radio Reviews: They Don't Know

I decided to review what’s playing on retro pop radio. Because somebody had to. 

“They Don’t Know,” Tracey Ullman. 1984.

Tracey takes on Connie Francis (via Kisty MacColl), and wins, because she sits behind a personalized car windshield with Paul McCartney. A great hit and heavy MTV rotator that we can probably thank for The Simpsons.







Monday, August 20, 2018

Pointless Radio Reviews: Cool Change

I decided to review what’s playing on retro pop radio. Because somebody had to. 

“Cool Change,” Little River Band. 1980.

The albatross and the whales, they are my brothers. ‘Nuff said. 
 



Friday, August 17, 2018

Pointless Radio Reviews: Walking in Memphis


I decided to review what’s playing on retro pop radio. Because somebody had to.

“Walking in Memphis,” Marc Cohn. 1991.

Grunge era-worthy voice gravel with shiny 1990 production. This is what you would hear emanating from a small Emerson AM/FM perched on a cube divider while working at your Compaq at a homebuilders’ association office on Silver Spring Drive in Milwaukee in late 1991. 

Meaning, not by choice. Next.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

When there's less of it to waste

You know might be getting irretrievably nestled into middle age when you hear this song and suddenly and poignantly and really get the lyrics to the point that you are also crying.

You are also hormonal and middle aged.

And grateful.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Put expression in your eyes

React, respond, react all day long, and into the night, too. Click that, swipe here, peck and type and tell. It's no wonder all I want to do is push a needle and thread in and out of canvas. Those rote motions will make a picture, whereas my scroller finger scrolling daylong and thumb swiping "after hours" won't. It just won't.

Is a balanced diet possible? Maybe I need a restrictive diet.

Plant planting season can't come soon enough.


Thursday, March 15, 2018

I never wanna live without you babe

I don't know if I've ever thrown back or TBT-ed here but I don't want to take the time to go back and look because I gotta get down to the more immediate past: when I was hanging on a wooden structure over Tampa Bay with a mouth full of tart and creamy Key Lime pie and watching the lights on the water and hearing this.



It all just...belonged together.