Comments on: CHART ATTACK! #10: 11/29/86 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/ The Music That Taste Forgot Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:49:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Pete http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-756 Pete Thu, 07 Dec 2006 04:45:43 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-756 I never liked Sam Kinson much either, and "Human" by the Human League is an underrated classic. I never liked Sam Kinson much either, and "Human" by the Human League is an underrated classic.

]]> By: Elaine http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-689 Elaine Sat, 02 Dec 2006 18:18:30 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-689 Thank you Robert, for saying what I was thinking.  Kinison never really appealed to me, either.  A screaming, mean ex-preacher huge guy with ridiculous hair and a beanie, is all I ever saw.  Huey, on the other hand, I did like.  Granted I was a whippersnapper, but so what.  (Though, Huey did kick the shark he jumped over once he released an album of duets with Gwyneth Paltrow and Babyface, but maybe that's just me.)  As for Larry Blackmon, it's fun to be able to point out that Thomas Dolby's "Hot Sauce," cowritten by George Clinton, refers to Larry thusly:  <em>"The brother in the codpiece, I seen him on the TV.  I think he likes his ladies all sweet and sugary.  I'm partial to her pudding, but that's for second course.  The main meal and the hors d'oeuvres must be smothered in hot sauce."</em>  So uh, George didn't think much of Larry's red codpiece, it appears. Thank you Robert, for saying what I was thinking.  Kinison never really appealed to me, either.  A screaming, mean ex-preacher huge guy with ridiculous hair and a beanie, is all I ever saw.  Huey, on the other hand, I did like.  Granted I was a whippersnapper, but so what.  (Though, Huey did kick the shark he jumped over once he released an album of duets with Gwyneth Paltrow and Babyface, but maybe that’s just me.)  As for Larry Blackmon, it’s fun to be able to point out that Thomas Dolby’s "Hot Sauce," cowritten by George Clinton, refers to Larry thusly:  "The brother in the codpiece, I seen him on the TV.  I think he likes his ladies all sweet and sugary.  I’m partial to her pudding, but that’s for second course.  The main meal and the hors d’oeuvres must be smothered in hot sauce."  So uh, George didn’t think much of Larry’s red codpiece, it appears.

]]> By: Robert http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-680 Robert Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:17:22 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-680 I recently saw a rerun of "SNL" from 1986 that was hosted by Sam Kinison.  I can't imagine his yell-every-punchline shtick being funny back then (I didn't laugh at his jokes in '86, but I was only 11 at the time), and it's certainly not funny 20 years later.  At least Huey Lewis and the News had some good songs in their prime that still hold up.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kinison is mostly remembered today as a screaming misogynist.  In his defense, however, he did have a pretty impressive comb-over (he certainly had more hair at 31 than I do).  But he didn't exactly scale the same comic heights as fellow Texas comedian Bill Hicks, did he?<br /><br />Hey, was that a tangent that just walked by?  I think it was.  Sorry about that.  Seriously, though, if there are any Kinison fans out there, I'm not trying to start an argument.  I just never found the guy that funny.  But if you can provide me with some good jokes of his, I'll listen.  I have to admit that one thing that bugged me about Kinison, through no fault of his own, was that he physically reminded me of my third-grade teacher Ms. Thrower, one of the meanest public-school teachers I ever had.<br /><br />Let's see, in the fall of '86 I was in fifth grade.  Of the ten songs listed here, "Love Will Conquer All" is probably my favorite.  I think 1986 was a great year for music ... but not the last four months.  Is that because I didn't like the first half of fifth grade but enjoyed the summer before fourth grade and then all of fourth grade and the summer after fourth grade (roughly June '85-August '86)?  Without a doubt.  I often have trouble separating songs from the times in my life when I first heard them.<br /><br />Didn't MTV have a contest in the fall of '86 for which viewers were asked to make their own video for "True Blue" and send it in?  I know the winning video was shown on MTV, but I wonder how often it was shown.<br /><br />This is off-topic as well -- "Glengarry Glen Ross" is a great movie, but it's one of those for which the director isn't given much credit, a la "Saturday Night Fever," which was directed by John Badham ("WarGames," "Short Circuit," "Bird on a Wire," "Nick of Time"), a fact that nobody seems to remember.  Maybe it's because directors like Foley and Badham don't have a distinct personal style, but aren't good directors supposed to give the story their primary focus above all else, not their fancy camerawork or editing trickery?  Then again, Foley and Badham have never really maintained consistent quality from movie to movie, so perhaps people think "Glengarry" was just a fluke for Foley.<br /><br />Okay, back on-topic -- one of my dad's college friends has lived in Atlanta for a long time.  (Wait, it gets better.)  Back in the late '80s the friend's children told my brother and me that they would occasionally see Larry Blackmon drive past their house, because by that time Cameo was based in Atlanta, and Blackmon lived somewhere in their neighborhood.  Did they recognize him by his tall haircut or by his red codpiece?  I'm not sure. I recently saw a rerun of "SNL" from 1986 that was hosted by Sam Kinison.  I can’t imagine his yell-every-punchline shtick being funny back then (I didn’t laugh at his jokes in ‘86, but I was only 11 at the time), and it’s certainly not funny 20 years later.  At least Huey Lewis and the News had some good songs in their prime that still hold up.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but Kinison is mostly remembered today as a screaming misogynist.  In his defense, however, he did have a pretty impressive comb-over (he certainly had more hair at 31 than I do).  But he didn’t exactly scale the same comic heights as fellow Texas comedian Bill Hicks, did he?

Hey, was that a tangent that just walked by?  I think it was.  Sorry about that.  Seriously, though, if there are any Kinison fans out there, I’m not trying to start an argument.  I just never found the guy that funny.  But if you can provide me with some good jokes of his, I’ll listen.  I have to admit that one thing that bugged me about Kinison, through no fault of his own, was that he physically reminded me of my third-grade teacher Ms. Thrower, one of the meanest public-school teachers I ever had.

Let’s see, in the fall of ‘86 I was in fifth grade.  Of the ten songs listed here, "Love Will Conquer All" is probably my favorite.  I think 1986 was a great year for music … but not the last four months.  Is that because I didn’t like the first half of fifth grade but enjoyed the summer before fourth grade and then all of fourth grade and the summer after fourth grade (roughly June ‘85-August ‘86)?  Without a doubt.  I often have trouble separating songs from the times in my life when I first heard them.

Didn’t MTV have a contest in the fall of ‘86 for which viewers were asked to make their own video for "True Blue" and send it in?  I know the winning video was shown on MTV, but I wonder how often it was shown.

This is off-topic as well — "Glengarry Glen Ross" is a great movie, but it’s one of those for which the director isn’t given much credit, a la "Saturday Night Fever," which was directed by John Badham ("WarGames," "Short Circuit," "Bird on a Wire," "Nick of Time"), a fact that nobody seems to remember.  Maybe it’s because directors like Foley and Badham don’t have a distinct personal style, but aren’t good directors supposed to give the story their primary focus above all else, not their fancy camerawork or editing trickery?  Then again, Foley and Badham have never really maintained consistent quality from movie to movie, so perhaps people think "Glengarry" was just a fluke for Foley.

Okay, back on-topic — one of my dad’s college friends has lived in Atlanta for a long time.  (Wait, it gets better.)  Back in the late ’80s the friend’s children told my brother and me that they would occasionally see Larry Blackmon drive past their house, because by that time Cameo was based in Atlanta, and Blackmon lived somewhere in their neighborhood.  Did they recognize him by his tall haircut or by his red codpiece?  I’m not sure.

]]> By: Carlos http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-678 Carlos Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:53:08 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-678 Desmond Child produced the latest BAT OUT OF HELL album for Meatloaf. It blows! Desmond Child produced the latest BAT OUT OF HELL album for Meatloaf. It blows!

]]> By: Michael http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-677 Michael Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:13:06 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-677 Jason had to know this story was coming. This is one of my top 5 favorite stories of all time.   I play music with a guy named Nick. Nick was seeing a lovely girl named Swati. One day, Swati told him that her ex-boyfriend wrote a song for her, called "Swati." Nick was perturbed by this, and was trying to decide whether he should also write a song for her, when she said "It's so beautiful, it goes 'I'm gonna take you be surprise, and make you realize, Oh Swati.'"   Nick, now as amused as all of you are, didn't immediately out the ex-bf. Instead, they returned to his Apt. where he downloaded Amanda off of P2P and played it without any commetary. A minute or so in Swati looks up from her magazine cocks her head and goes "HEY!"   For the rest of the summer, every time Swati came around, the whole lot of us would say "Swati, I wrote a song for you" and proceed to sing one of the following:   Swati, Swaaaaaaati, storms are brewing in your eyes...   All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes, Oh Swati...   (My personal favorite): Oh, Swaaaaaaaaaati. I, looooooooooove you. You're the one, the one for me. Oh yeah.   This never gets old. Jason had to know this story was coming. This is one of my top 5 favorite stories of all time.
 
I play music with a guy named Nick. Nick was seeing a lovely girl named Swati. One day, Swati told him that her ex-boyfriend wrote a song for her, called "Swati."
Nick was perturbed by this, and was trying to decide whether he should also write a song for her, when she said "It’s so beautiful, it goes ‘I’m gonna take you be surprise, and make you realize, Oh Swati.’"
 
Nick, now as amused as all of you are, didn’t immediately out the ex-bf. Instead, they returned to his Apt. where he downloaded Amanda off of P2P and played it without any commetary. A minute or so in Swati looks up from her magazine cocks her head and goes "HEY!"
 
For the rest of the summer, every time Swati came around, the whole lot of us would say "Swati, I wrote a song for you" and proceed to sing one of the following:
 
Swati, Swaaaaaaati, storms are brewing in your eyes…
 
All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes, Oh Swati…
 
(My personal favorite): Oh, Swaaaaaaaaaati. I, looooooooooove you. You’re the one, the one for me. Oh yeah.
 
This never gets old.

]]> By: Py Korry http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-676 Py Korry Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:44:25 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-676 Okay...you can add another name to the "Amanda" list.  My oldest brother (a HUGE Boston fan) named his first daughter after that song.  So, that's 11 now, right? Okay…you can add another name to the "Amanda" list.  My oldest brother (a HUGE Boston fan) named his first daughter after that song.  So, that’s 11 now, right?

]]> By: Jason http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-674 Jason Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:36:32 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-674 I can't believe that Sam Kinison saying bad things about Huey Lewis would have anything to do with a decrease in mainstream popularity...I personally just thought that <em>Small World</em> wasn't as good. I can’t believe that Sam Kinison saying bad things about Huey Lewis would have anything to do with a decrease in mainstream popularity…I personally just thought that Small World wasn’t as good.

]]> By: Matthew Bolin http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-673 Matthew Bolin Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:32:26 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-673 Duh, I forgot to mention that the Kinnison decimation specifically targeted "Hip to Be Square", and included an observation along the lines of "How are they popular? I haven't found one person who actually listens to them!" Duh, I forgot to mention that the Kinnison decimation specifically targeted "Hip to Be Square", and included an observation along the lines of "How are they popular? I haven’t found one person who actually listens to them!"

]]> By: Matthew Bolin http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-672 Matthew Bolin Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:27:46 +0000 http://jasonhare.com/2006/12/01/chart-attack-10/#comment-672 I remember four random things about "Hip to Be Square" that always come back into my brain everytime I hear or read about it:(1) A book that came out about 10-15 years ago on the 50 worst albums and songs of all time had it on the worst song list.(2) Sam Kinnison introducing Guns & Roses at the 1988 MTV VMAs and absolutely DECIMATING Huey Lewis & the News. As far as I was concerned, the fact that their mainstream popularity started tanking with the album that came out following this broadcast was no coincidence.(3) The "chant" at the end of the song ("Here, there, and everywhere...") was done by (among others) Joe Montana and a number of the San Francisco 49ers of the time.(4) Mr. Lewis himself revealing the true esoteric irony in the song in an interview: "Of course it's not hip to be square." Oh Huey...you had us all fooled! I remember four random things about "Hip to Be Square" that always come back into my brain everytime I hear or read about it:(1) A book that came out about 10-15 years ago on the 50 worst albums and songs of all time had it on the worst song list.(2) Sam Kinnison introducing Guns & Roses at the 1988 MTV VMAs and absolutely DECIMATING Huey Lewis & the News. As far as I was concerned, the fact that their mainstream popularity started tanking with the album that came out following this broadcast was no coincidence.(3) The "chant" at the end of the song ("Here, there, and everywhere…") was done by (among others) Joe Montana and a number of the San Francisco 49ers of the time.(4) Mr. Lewis himself revealing the true esoteric irony in the song in an interview: "Of course it’s not hip to be square." Oh Huey…you had us all fooled!

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