Was hoping we’d finally get some “new” Adele, rather than some “more” Adele.

I get that your aunt needs music too, but a third record of the same piano ballads is exhausting.

Considering we are all going to hear this non stop for the next 12 months, is it too much to ask for her to add one new element to the mix?

The premiere of Beverly Hills 90210, at nine pm on Thursday, October 4, 1990, no doubt has its place in the pop culture pantheon, but for most people I would guess it’s not up there with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or Star Wars as an “I’ll never forget where I was when…” story.  I’m the exception.  For all my obsession with high school drama, though, it’s not about the show.  I’d talked my husband into watching it with me because we were both pretty sluggish.  He was working long hours as a traveling electronics technician, I was nine months pregnant, our rented house had no air conditioning except for one bedroom unit, and northern New Jersey was having a heat wave.  

My official due date was in fact the next day, but I hadn’t yet prepared the labor bag recommended in all the books and articles, because everyone said first babies were never born on their due dates, and because having been early to my wedding I figured my lifetime quota for being on time was filled.  I remember noticing Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth’s hair, long and straight with side parts and bangs, and wondering if this style would ever trickle down to Guidette world, where hair had reached heights that made our early 80s big look small.  

About halfway through, I felt a completely new sensation.  That doesn’t happen all that often in life, and when it does it’s startling.  It felt as if a very large rubber band inside my abdomen had been pulled taut and then allowed to snap back, thrumming.  

Fifteen minutes later, it happened again.  

We did not sleep that night.  We moved from room to room, timing and observing.  I took a shower, drank tea, called my parents.  In the wee hours we spoke to my OBGYN, who was out of town, and to his covering doctors.  We packed the bag.  Early in the morning, we drove to the hospital.  

Certain memories remain very vivid, like my husband’s making the stuffed Velveteen Rabbit I’d brought as my Lamaze focal point dance to Van Morrison’s “Bright Side of the Road.”  I do NOT recall his own favorite moment:  how when he leaned slightly against the mattress after having been on his feet for several hours I practically levitated, spat pea soup, and rasped GET OFF THE BED in the voice of Mercedes McCambridge.  That was during what they call transition.  There were some issues, none of which rose to the level of official complications, but Kevin wasn’t born until a little after 4:30 that afternoon.  He was pale and angry;  they put him in a warmer, naked except for a hat, and you could see the affront on his tiny face.  I remember exactly how it felt to be lifted from the delivery table onto a stretcher- the most heavenly softness.

I hadn’t eaten in almost 24 hours, and I asked my parents to bring me chicken oreganata, garlic bread, and salad with blue cheese from Our Italian Restaurant.  When they got to the hospital with Gramma, K’s godfather and his wife and daughter’s future godmother were already there.  They buzzed up on the room phone, and Mom said “Daddy says he’ll stay downstairs for now because it’s a lot of people for you.”  I said, “Tell my father to get his ass up here.” I loved that time in the hospital.  The nurses were lovely, the doctors were lovely.  Relatives came, kindergarten best friend and her mother, who had grabbed my arm and said “Have children!” at my wedding reception- she was twisting her hands together with emotion.   I had a private room, cool and quiet; on Saturday night I remember nursing watching “Get a Life” and Howie Mandel’s bizarre funeral-parlor sitcom and a show with Danny Noonan from Caddyshack as a lawyer, and on Sunday a TV movie with Rue McClanahan, just about the age I am now, as an elderly bride.  They’d wheel K in on a little cart, rear end up in the air the way they put babies to sleep back then;  the nurse’s aide would sing out “Time to feed the baby!” 

My grandmother couldn’t believe K had to be in a car seat for the five-minute ride home.  I remember talking to my cousin Mark, who had a two-year-old and a three-year-old, on that first day back;  he said,”It’s like the bomb dropped, isn’t it?  Except good.”

I don’t love “Love and Affection,” but I have affection for it.  It’s the kind of big goofy power-pop thing I’ve always had a weakness for. It reminds me of Giuffria’s “Call to the Heart,” and I liked that one too. (Both served as themes for characters in my lifelong imaginary multigenerational showbiz soap opera narrative;  they’re perfect for those misty montages.)  I can hear that Tom’s right about the production, but as an 80s chick I LIKE that production when a song is hooky enough, and this one is.  And it reminds me of those days.

Also, screaming pre-teens and moms often like the same things.  I was a mom now, and it never occurred to me to try to be a cool one-  cool never worked for me anyway.  I was happy to give up on it altogether.

PRODUCTION CREDITS FOR TODAY’S #1

“PRAYING FOR TIME” – George Michael (6th solo)
Songwriters: George Michael (8th) – It’s his 7th and last solo songwriting credit, which will put him tied for 2nd all time on that list.
Producers: George Michael (8th)
Label: Epic

((Select Personnel))
George Michael – Keyboards, drums, percussion
Deon Estus – Bass (5th)

RIP DEON ESTUS
As Tom mentioned…Today’s bassist died just 2 days ago on October 11th, 2021

His official Twitter @deonestus states: “It is with real sadness I post that Deon Estus passed away This Morning. Deon was mostly known as the third member of Wham! Deon was passionate about music and loved interacting with his loyal fans.”

George Michael’s Official sites says, “We’re sad to hear that our friend Deon Estus has passed away. Deon was not only an unbelievably talented bass player but also a much loved and treasured member of Wham! and of George’s musical family. His wonderful spirit & his talent will be greatly missed. Rest in peace Deon.”

https://ew.com/music/deon-estus-bassist-for-wham-and-george-michael-dead/
Growing up in Detroit also allowed Estus access to some of Motown’s most talented musicians. He befriended and later performed with Marvin Gaye and studied bass under James Jamerson, considered one of the most influential players in history. Estus also joined the Detroit R&B group Brainstorm as a teenager, recording two albums with them and touring alongside the Brothers Johnson, among other bands.
After settling in London in the early 1980s, Estus joined Wham!, the U.K. pop duo of Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael. He played bass on such hits as “Careless Whisper” and “I’m Your Man” before the group’s split in 1986, after which Estus continued collaborating with Michael. He performed on the singer’s solo albums Faith and Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 and opened for Michael on the 1988-89 Faith Tour.
Estus also recorded his only solo album, Spell, in 1989, yielding the hit single “Heaven Help Me” featuring Michael on background vocals, which reached no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Estus performed with various other musicians over the years, including Tina Turner, Elton John, George Clinton, and Annie Lennox. But he remained best known for his work with Michael, whom he called “a beautiful person and a great friend.” After the singer’s death in 2016, Estus told Billboard, “I’m still in shock. It hasn’t quite hit me yet, but it helps to talk about it and to think about all those fantastic tours, all those records, all the people he’s helped and all the things he’s done, which is a lot. I was blessed to have known him.”
https://youtu.be/8UEZdiJbBDs?list=OLAK5uy_m-Zd1ROBK6D2Cc4cEMbn3YsGKEjxjve9E
A minute of silence for Deon.
Praying for his family

Jason Isbell and Phoebe Bridgers are kind of annoying.

Three divorces over the course of several millennia ain’t that bad bloc.

Seeing movies by yourself is one of the great undervalued pleasures in life.

It wouldn’t be the first time, but I think I am going to end up being the contrarian here today. Usually that means that I’m resisting jumping on the bandwagon of a song that’s popular with the commentariat. But today, I think it’s going to be the opposite.
Let’s start with this. Nelson might be called hair metal, but I think that’s a misnomer. Yes, there are guitars. Yes, the Nelson brothers do have lots of hair. But there are too many pop underpinnings to really call this song anything “metal.” The hook and the sense of melody are too strong. It’s like Def Leppard in that way.
Whatever you choose to call it, I call “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” great. A guilty pleasure, perhaps. A riff, and a tune, I just can’t resist. The hooks just pile on, one after another, each one more ear candy than the last. These guys didn’t get credit for how well they sang. This thing just soars.
You can never argue taste with someone else. It’s not quantifiable. I’m risking the blowback of rotten fruit and vegetable being tossed at me, but, screw it, this damn thing is a 10/10.

One friggin divorce and these women all gots a sob story coming out. I’ve gone through 17 of ’em and ain’t released shit. Cuz I’m a fuckin man. Boom. Give me a Grammy.

social media is a toxic space that breeds all kinds of mental health problems. you too can walk away, life goes on just fine without it.

I thought this song was a delicious slice of white American cheese back in 1990, and I still feel that way today, but on re-listening, you can really hear how Nelson really synthesized the pop moment. They took the poppiest bits of hair metal and added in Wilson Phillips harmony. As if they put the last two #1’s in a blender and this is the smoothie that resulted.
I think it’s delightful.
It’s unfortunate that Nelson didn’t have much of a career after this. Maybe they were too pretty? I’m kind of surprised they never went country; I’d think you could turn a song like L&A into a two-step without much effort.
But I’m very happy that this song comes up on this day because: I’m getting married tomorrow! After a full year delay due to COVID, tomorrow it’s finally happening! It’s kind of surreal to get married for the first time at 52, especially since I spent so much of my life thinking it couldn’t or wouldn’t happen for me. I’m very excited, but we won’t be hearing Nelson on the wedding playlist (my fiancé didn’t veto all my cheesiest pop favorites, but this one didn’t make the cut). Let’s just say that today’s song is my special dance with the TNOCS crew! Having this song come up at this moment will always give it warm glow in the future. Thanks to this community for helping me get through the last couple of years. I’ll raise a glass to you all! 10/10’s all around!

Finally someone will tell the untold tale of this obscure 60’s band

Correction, it’s based to shakedown Festival organisers to fund abortions.

Brown Sugar is a great song! What makes it a racist statement, is the bigoted black & white listeners! Black is the new Whie, &, White is the new Black! This politically correct mentality is a joke, and God isn’t laughing!!

“After positive conversations between festival organizers and the artist about the situation, ACL Fest has made a donation to Texas Abortion Funds to show our support for Phoebe and an organization close to her heart.”

Donating to a cause you believe in is great, but shaking down festival organizers who made a mistake is pretty gross.

PinkPantheress is the definitive 2021 musical artist. The mostly anonymous 20-year-old university student from South London is drenched in nostalgia for Y2K-era dance music. And with the release of their debut mixtape they become the latest sensation to be swept up into the major-label machine.

Wow–your writing…. sucks. Even this… sucks.

Make the IDLES frontman the new Smash Mouth singer.