1983 in Music

TK has posted about the Year of Your Birth/Current Hit week on American Idol next week.
In a replay of a former post she lists the top 100 songs of 1978, her high school graduation year. I actually like many of the songs from '78 better than those from 1983, my year, but it was interesting that I can sing a large portion of the songs that were popular from 1978-1982. Many of my favorites: Queen, Boston, Rush, Kansas, ELO, & the Eagles weren't much in favor in 1983. Styx & Journey had hit albums, but I liked previous songs better. I was never a fan of the Culture Club/Eurythmics/Human League kind of music. I'm actually more into the current music than I was the music of the mid-'80's.

SO here are the top hits of 1983 with my faves in bold:

1. Every Breath You Take, Police
2. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
3. Flashdance... What A Feelin, Irene Cara
4. Down Under, Men At Work
5. Beat It, Michael Jackson
6. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Bonnie Tyler
7. Maneater, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8. Baby Come To Me, Patti Austin and James Ingram
9. Maniac, Michael Sembello
10. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Eurythmics
11. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, Culture Club
12. You And I, Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle
13. Come On Eileen, Dexy's Midnight Runners
14. Shame On The Moon, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
15. She Works Hard For The Money, Donna Summer
16. Never Gonna Let You Go, Sergio Mendes
17. Hungry Like The Wolf, Duran Duran
18. Let's Dance, David Bowie
19. Twilight Zone, Golden Earring
20. I Know There's Something Going On, Frida
21. Jeopardy, Greg Kihn Band
22. Electric Avenue, Eddy Grant
23. She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby
24. Africa, Toto
25. Little Red Corvette, Prince
26. Back On The Chain Gang, Pretenders
27. Up Where We Belong, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
28. Mr. Roboto, Styx
29. You Are, Lionel Richie
30. Der Kommissar, After The Fire
31. Puttin' On The Ritz, Taco
32. Sexual Healing, Marvin Gaye
33. (Keep Feeling) Fascination, Human League
34. Time (Clock Of The Heart), Culture Club
35. The Safety Dance, Men Without Hats
36. Mickey, Toni Basil
37. You Can't Hurry Love, Phil Collins
38. Separate Ways, Journey
39. One On One, Daryl Hall and John Oates
40. We've Got Tonight, Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
41. 1999, Prince
42. Stray Cat Strut, Stray Cats
43. Allentown, Billy Joel
44. Stand Back, Stevie Nicks
45. Tell Her About It, Billy Joel
46. Always Somethmg There To Remind Me, Naked Eyes
47. Truly, Lionel Richie
48. Dirty Laundry, Don Henley
49. The Girl Is Mine, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
50. Too Shy, Kajagoogoo
51. Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant
52. Rock The Casbah, Clash
53. Our House, Madness
54. Overkill, Men At Work
55. Is There Something I Should Know, Duran Duran
56. Gloria, Laura Branigan
57. Affair Of The Heart, Rick Springfield
58. She's A Beauty, Tubes
59. Solitaire, Laura Branigan
60. Don't Let It End, Styx
61. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, Laura Branigan
62. China Girl, David Bowie
63. Come Dancing, Kinks
64. Promises, Promises, Naked Eyes
65. The Other Guy, Little River Band
66. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All, Air Supply
67. Family Man, Daryl Hall and John Oates
68. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Michael Jackson
69. I Won't Hold You Back, Toto
70. All Right, Christopher Cross
71. Straight From The Heart, Bryan Adams
72. Heart To Heart, Kenny Loggins
73. My Love, Lionel Richie
74. I'm Still Standing, Elton John
75. Hot Girls In Love, Loverboy
76. It's A Mistake, Men At Work
77. I'll Tumble 4 Ya, Culture Club
78. All This Love, Debarge
79. Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy, Sammy Hagar
80. Heartbreaker, Dionne Warwick
81. Faithfully, Journey
82. Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson
83. Take Me To Heart, Quarterflash
84. (She's) Sexy + 17, Stray Cats
85. Try Again, Champaign
86. Dead Giveaway, Shalamar
87. Lawyers In Love, Jackson Browne
88. What About Me, Moving Pictures
89. Human Nature, Michael Jackson
90. Photograph, Def Leppard
91. Pass The Dutchie, Musical Youth
92. True, Spandau Ballet
93. Far From Over, Frank Stallone
94. I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart, Eric Clapton
95. It Might Be You, Stephen Bishop
96. Tonight I Celebrate My Love, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
97. You Got Lucky, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
98. Don't Cry, Asia
99. Breaking Us In Two, Joe Jackson
100. Fall In Love With Me, Earth, Wind and Fire

Brief Idol Chatter

I was so pleased with the outcome of American Idol this week!
My life has been moving at such a pace that I hardly even had time to watch it, but I Tivo'd it and then watched it without the commercials. What a time savings that was!

Chris did quite well, and I continue to believe that I would be very likely to buy his CD. (What can I say? I've always been a rocker. :) ) Kellie was, quite deservedly, voted off.

My mom is here visiting this week, and, after a trip she and I made to Chicago over the weekend, I've decided to commit to really working hard and moving my business forward. So we've been working. A lot.

Bach Ball

Tonight is the Bach Ball. Last year we had a great time with our friends, but I went home with toes sore and swollen from repeated contact with the soles of my husband's shoes.

This year should be much improved. We decided after last year's experience that, if we were going to try to dance, we needed to take dance lessons. It took us seven months to get around to doing it. We took five lessons from one studio in November and December, then we did some looking around and changed studios. We have had five more private lessons since then and gone to some group lessons and dances, and although we aren't good, we can at least dance to several styles of music now without stepping on each other.

That is a good thing.

Tolerance, Free Speech, and the University

I had not been a student at one of our state's large public universities for more than a couple of weeks before I butted up against the liberal orthodoxy. I was unprepared for it and had a lot of difficulty during the two years that I spent at that university because of the pervasive liberalism.

There are two stories in the media right now that each show the lack of tolerance for certain opinions in our nation's universities. (Just ask Lawrence Summers!) The first story (HT: Balaam's Ass) is out of northern Kentucky, not one of the places that I usually think of as a bastion of liberalism. A professor encouraged her students to exercise their freedom of speech by destroying a pro-life display on the campus. She also took part in the destruction. This isn't surprising; but it is very illustrative of the double standard many liberals hold about free speech and tolerance.

The second story is from a regional campus of Ohio State University. A librarian who was part of a group choosing books for incoming freshman was charged with sexual harassment for recommending several conservative books, including The Marketing of Evil. Never mind that the other professors had suggested books written by liberals including Jimmy Carter, intellectual freedom and the discussion of ideas apparently doesn't stretch to conservative ideas.

Aced Out!

I've had a really busy week, so I didn't get to post my review of American Idol this week, but this post at Territorial Bloggings pretty well sums it up. I have to mention how happy I was with Chris's performance. He proved that he can do more than rock, if necessary.

And Ace is gone. Yippee!!

What a weekend!

I have always loved Easter, but in the last several years it has been even more wonderful! Starting with the Tre Ore on Good Friday. We heard a wonderful sermon and also had the Bach Collegium perform the Shutz St. John Passion.

Friday night we went dancing with our friends at the dance studio where we are members. We were trying to decide whether to go or not since it was Good Friday, so we just followed our pastor's lead.

Saturday our youngest son was being confirmed at the Easter Vigil so we had family coming from out of town. We spent the morning cleaning and working on dinner, and the late afternoon enjoying our family and friends. The boys had to leave at 6:00 to go get ready for the vigil, the older two to acolyte and the younger because he was a confirmand. The Easter Vigil is really a magnificent service, and has joined Easter Sunday as a co-favorite for me. The boys were all excited because there was going to be incense. They would have incense all the time.

There was definitely incense! It was a beautiful, majestic, wonderful service, made doubly special for us watching Andrew be confirmed. Pastor picked the perfect confirmation verse for my little worrywart: Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yea, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

And of course, Sunday was Easter. I love Easter. It has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little kid everyone else at school liked Christmas for the presents, or Halloween for the candy. I was weird even then: I liked Easter for the hymns.

After church we waited while Bethany played the organ for our Spanish-language service, and then we took a drive through the country down to Decatur where we had lunch with our friends at the Back 40 Junction. Coincidentally, my mom and step-dad brought my grandparents to eat at the same time. It was my grandpa's 93rd birthday, so they were having a double celebration.

Dialect Maps

I am fascinated by words and the way people use them. Here is a dialect map that provides a look at how words are pronounced and the words and phrases that are used for things in different parts of the country. There are some words and phrases that show up almost everywhere and others that exist just in pockets. There are a few that show up in a pocket on the east coast, another pocket around Pennsylvaia/Ohio, and then again in Wisconsin or Minnesota. It would be fascinating to trace the groups that use those expressions and the westward migration that very likely resulted in that distribution. (This is the genealogist/historian talking.)

HT: Cyberbrethren

Calvin or Hobbes

Mostly Calvin You are 70% Calvin and 30% Hobbes

Your inner Calvin often prevails, but, as in the image below, you have a significant Hobbesian component. I'm going to try to stretch the visual metaphor here: you have a good head on your shoulders, but when you don't use it, your crazy body gets you in trouble? Does that work? Odds are you're impulsive and imaginative, but it's possible you've collected just enough wisdom to hold your most anti-social urges in check. Most of the time. It's a precarious balance, like a boy on one foot with a tiger head.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 91% on calvin You scored higher than 1% on hobbes

Link: The Calvin Or Hobbes Test written by gwendolynbooks on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

HT: Territorial Bloggings

Peeps

Peeps have long been one of my favorite Easter basket treats. It's not that they're my favorite in the taste department, but they're just so cute.

In celebration of the upcoming festival of the consumption of the peeps, here is a website that had my daughter and I in tears the first time we saw it.

Idols singing Queen, Part 2

Okay, so tonight wasn't as bad as I had feared. I've spent the last 15 minutes or so reading what various bloggers thought and it's interesting to see the variety of opinion.
Here are my opinions based on my love of Queen's music and my faithful watching of AI with my 19 yo daughter & 15yo son.

Bucky sang Fat Bottom Girls and did really well (for Bucky.) I'm hoping that this performance keeps him around another week, because I like him. He exudes nice.

A couple of performances gave me the nails on the chalkboard sensation. Speaking of which, Ace sang We Will Rock You. This was a blatant lie. Ace doesn't rock. Not even close.

Kellie singing Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't the train wreck it could've been, but I still don't comprehend chopping an almost-six minute song down to 90 seconds. It was just strange. And I don't comprehend that song choice. She's no Constantine.

Most of the blogs I read disagree here, but I liked Chris tonight, just as I have all along. (A large number of those bloggers had never heard Innuendo before, and didn't like the song.)

Elliott sang Somebody to Love. I have liked Elliot since the beginning. He has a great voice, but that song was painful.

Katherine sang Who Wants to Live Forever and was just completely forgettable. She was really forcing some of the big notes and her outfit was boring.

Taylor is the contestant that I change my mind about the most often. Crazy Little Thing Called Love was a perfect song for him. Tonight I liked him a lot!

Last we have Paris. Her rendition of The Show Must Go On was good. But the thing that bugs me about here is the fact that she tries to act and look like a worldly 30 yo.

What will the results be? I don't know, but I'll be happy if Ace or Katherine are gone. I hope that tonight didn't do Elliott in.

Idols Singing Queen

Tonight the remaining American Idol contestants will sing songs by the rock group Queen. I both look forward to this and dread it. I look forward to it because I love Queen's music. I dread it because I love Queen's music.

TK at Katie's beer has posted a bit of a spoiler, listing which songs each contestant will sing tonight. Am I the only one who thinks that Kellie Pickler might be overreaching a bit with Bohemian Rhapsody?

Yesterday was a good day...

(...Now I need to go break out a Journey CD.)


Back to the topic. Some days just stand out, and yesterday was one of those days. I was actually dreading the day because we'd had a busy Saturday with the questioning, and then a dance at the studio where we take lessons.

But we woke up to a beautiful sunny morning, and then got to enjoy the wonderful Palm Sunday hymns and the reading of the whole passion account from one of the Gospels, and an excellent sermon, as usual.

Yesterday afternoon we got to enjoy the wonderful music of the Bach Collegium performing Schutz's St. John Passion. Our enjoyment of the music was enhanced by the fact that our daughter has joined the choir and it was her first performance with them. (If you live in the Fort Wayne area, the next concert is May 7. You really need to hear them!)

After we finished there we drove out through the country and down to Decatur to see my sweet grandma and grandpa. Grandma celebrated her 89th birthday yesterday and my grandfather will celebrate his 93rd this week, God willing. Grandma recently got an electric wheelchair, which has given her a tremendous amount of freedom. She was zipping down the hall of the nursing home and one of the other ladies called out, "Helen, you're speeding!"
Colin and my grandpa played a couple games of checkers and grandma showed the kids and I all of the bird drawings that she's been doing. I thank God that he has allowed my children to have this wonderful time with their great-grandparents!

Confirmation

Our youngest son, Andrew, is going to be confirmed next Saturday night at the Easter Vigil. On Saturday morning we all attended the questioning of the confirmands. Watching and listening to the parents was almost as interesting as listening to the kids. Most of us walked in hoping that they wouldn't "mess up," and were probably more nervous than the kids.

At one point the dad sitting behind me muttered, "He knows this," as his son searched for an answer. I was trying to secretly signal my son to get his hands out of his pockets and spit out his gum. And one friend said that she felt like crawling under the seat while her daughter was answering.

But we all survived, parents and kids alike. And now, next Saturday night at Easter Vigil, our children will be sharing the Lord's Supper with us for the first time. I am so thankful to belong to a congregation and to have a pastor who doesn't make our children wait for some magical age to be confirmed. So often confirmation turns into a kind of "graduation." In my small confirmation class of three, I was the only one who continued attending church through my high school years, and I've seen the same thing many other times.

Being Aunt Jane

My niece, Kate, is on spring break this week, so she is staying with us. Her four year old sister wanted to come to the "Casey's house," too, so she is with us also.

I had forgotten how much work it is having a preschooler around! Everything takes a little longer. Everything takes a little more effort. And the decision about whether to wear Strawberry Shortcake or Dora underpants today was momentous!

She is sweet, though. Very huggy and cute. Every once in a while I wish that I had another little one, but this reminder is good for me. It makes me feel very satisfied with having only kids in double-digits. (Although having one approaching 20 is a bit of a bummer. In my mind, I'm not old enough for that!!)