Listen to this man. Seven years of college, you know. Trying to reason with 2020 and, now, 2022.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

The 20 Funniest Country Songs-- Part 2: 'Thank God and Greyhound'

Continued from April 18.

11.  BUBBA SHOT THE JUKEBOX--  Mark Chesnutt

12.  IT'S ALL GOING TO POT--  Willlie Nelson & Merle Haggard

13.  SHE GOT THE GOLD MINE, I GOT THE SHAFT--  Jerry Reed

14.  PICKUP MAN--  Joe Diffie

15.  IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE--  Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett

16.  TEN ROUNDS WITH JOSE CUERVO--  Tracy Byrd

17.  MISSISSIPPI SQUIRREL REVIVAL--  Ray Stevens

18.  ONE PIECE AT A TIME--  Johnny Cash

19.  THANK GOD AND GREYHOUND--  Roy Clark

20.  I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME--  Alan Jackson

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Pour Me Somethin' Tall and Strong."  Answer below.  --RoadDog



"It's Five O'clock Somewhere"


Monday, April 29, 2024

Every Blooming THing, Late April

 The daffodils and hyacinths are pretty well spent.  As are the Bradford pear trees.

But, the tulips, creeping phlox, a yellow perennial and the five crabapple trees are blooming.

I have another bumper crop of dandelions. No cicadas yet.  We're supposed to have both the 13-year and 17-year cicadas soon.

Grass is growing well.

I have the yard crew coming over Wednesday, weather permitting, to finish trimming trees and getting rid of weed trees.

--RoadFlower


Saturday, April 27, 2024

WLS Top Ten for Week of April 27, 1974: 'T S O P'

1.  BENNIE AND THE JETS--  Elton John  (Third week at Number 1.)

2.  THE LORD'S PRAYER--  Sister Janet Mead    (Imagine this song on a Top Ten today.)

3.  COME AND GET YOUR LOVE--  Redbone

4.  THE LOCO-MOTION--  Grand Funk

5.  HOOKED ON A FEELING--  Blue Swede

6.  TUBULAR BELLS--  Mike Oldfield

7.  ERES TU--  Mocedades

8.  SPIDERS AND SNAKES--  Jim Stafford

9.  T S O P (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA)--  MFSB & The 3 Degrees

10.  I'D HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN A SONG--  Jim Croce

*******************************

DEBUTS

13.  THE ENTERTAINER (MUSIC FROM THE STING)--   Marvin Hamlisch

16.  LOOKING FOR A LOVE--  Bobby Womack

17.  OH MY MY--  Ringo Starr

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Well, I Know It's Kind Of Late.  I Hope I Didn't Wake You."  Answer below.  --RoadDog



"I'd Have To Say I Love You In A Song"


Thursday, April 25, 2024

Record Store Day Booty

This past Saturday was Record Store Day across the nation.  Mom and Pop Record Stores are one of the few places I feel like I'm home anymore.  In other words, I understand most anything in it.

As such, I visited my favorite Mom and Pop Record Store, The Vinyl Frontier, in McHenry, Illinois.  There were quite a few others also paying respects and buying albums and CDs.

I bought ten CDs and three albums.

ALBUMS:

The Best of Herman's Hermits Volume 2

The Box Tops: The Letter / Neon Rainbow

Beau Brummels:  You Tell Me Why / Don't Talk to Strangers

*****************************

CDs: 

These next six all had 22 songs apiece.

AM Gold 1966

AM Gold 1967

AM Gold 1968

AM Gold 1969

AM Gold: The 60s Generation

AM Gold: The Mid-60s

*****************************

Retro 70s  (two discs with 15 tracks each)

The Vogues Greatest Hits

Swing Time--  Wayne Hancock

House of Blues Swings!

--Love Those Mom and Pops.  --RoadRecord


Wednesday, April 24, 2024

2024 Movie Scratches: Aquaman-- Mean-- I.S.S.-- Wonka

Movies I saw at the theater in 2024.

5.  AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM--  1-18--  Fox Lake-- $7--  Brotherly love knows no bounds and all the colors you could ever want.

6.  MEAN GIRLS--  1-23--  Fox Lake--  $5--  Grease updated to today.  The Queen Bee gets hers.

7.  I.S.S.--  1-23--  Fox Lake--  $5--  International Space Station in case you're wondering.  With a Russian/American crew.  What would happen if the two countries went to war.

8.  WONKA--  1-25--  Fox Lake-- $7--  For some reason I was hungry when  left the theater.  One cool Oompah Lumpa but sure would have loved to have seen more of them.

--RoadDog


Monday, April 22, 2024

Earth Day 2024: 'Nature's Way'

From Bob Stroud's April 22, 2024, Ten at Ten on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM.  If you missed it at 10 a.m., it will be rebroadcast at 10 p.m..  It streams

GET TOGETHER--  Youngbloods

MY CITY WAS GONE--  Pretenders

THE TREES--  Rush

AFTER THE GOLD RUSH--  Neil Young

MERCY MERCY ME--  Marvin Gaye

INVISIBLE SUN--  Police

I'D LOVE TO CHANGE THE WORLD--  Ten 

ROCK ME ON THE WATER--  Jackson Browne

NATURE'S WAY--  Spirit

BIG YELLOW TAXI--  Joni Mitchell

Name That Tune (from the above songs:  "Love Is But A Song We Sing Fears The Way We Die."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Get Together"


Saturday, April 20, 2024

WLS Top Ten for Week of April 20, 1974: 'Spiders and Snakes'

Just a mere fifty years ago.  WLS was that big AM wattage station out of Chicago.

1.  BENNIE AND THE JETS--  Elton John

2.  HOOKED ON A FEELING--  Blue Swede

3.  THE  LORD'S PRAYER--  Sister Margaret Mead (Imagine this song on a young people's playlist today.)

4.  SPIDERS AND SNAKES--  Jim Stafford

5.  TUBULAR BELLS (THEME FROM THE 'EXORCIST')--    Mike Oldfield

6.  ERES TU--  Mocedades

7.  THE LOCO-MOTION--  Grand Funk

8.  SEASONS IN THE SUN--  Terry Jacks

9.  MOCKINGBIRD--  Carly Simon & James Taylor

10.  JET--  Paul McCartney & Wings

***********************

DEBUTS

14.  BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME--  Gladys Knight & the Pips

15.  JUST DON'T WANT TO BE LONELY--  Main Ingredient

Name That Tune (from the above list):  "Everybody's Doing a Brand New Dance."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Loco-Motion"


Record Store Day Today

Today marks the 17th anniversary of Record Store Day in the United States and in several other world countries.

This is a day to show our appreciation for independently-owned record stores, those great Mom and Pop stores.  

And, I am fortunate to have a lot of record stores in the area, starting with my favorite one and another one in McHenry, Illinois.  My favorite one also has one great name for this kind of place, The Vinyl Frontier at 4720 W. Elm Street (Illinois Highway 120).  Kind of tells it all.  Especially with the near extinction of vinyl records, you know, vinyl.

The other record store is Siren Records at 3902 Main Street in McHenry.  Then we have two more places called Reef Records in Antioch and Lakemoor.

I'm sure going to The Vinyl Frontier and plan on buying at least one LP and several CDs.  I actually like CDs better than LPs now.

I Good Day for the Cause.  --RoadRecord


Thursday, April 18, 2024

The 20 Funniest Country Songs: 'Boy Named Sue'

 From Yardbarker by Amy McCarthy.

Who says country music has no sense of humor?

1.  DID I SHAVE MY LEGS FOR THIS--  Deana Carter

2.  YOU'RE THE REASON OUR KIDS ARE UGLY--  Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty

3.  I'M GONNA MISS HER--  Brad Paisley

4.  SHUT UP AND FISH--  Maddie & Tae

5.  TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF--  Joe Nichols

6.  I'M GONNA HIRE A WINO TO DECORATE OUR HOME--  David Frizzel and Shelly West

7.  BOY NAMED SUE--  Johnny Cash

8.  SOME BEACH--  Blake Shelton

9.  WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS--  Luke COMBS

10.  GOODBYE EARL--  Dixie Chicks

And, There Are Ten More to Go.  --RoadHaHA  Continued on April 30.

Name That Tune (from the above tunes):  "Well, My Daddy Left Home When I Was Only Three."  Answer below.  --RoadDog



"Boy Named Sue"


Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Every Blooming THing-- Mid April

April showers (well, and snow on the 3rd) and flowers are blooming.  Especially the dear old dandelions.  What would spring be without the dandies.  Since I haven't used fertilizer or weedkiller in twenty years, I have a bumper crop.

In addition, I must have several hundred daffodills blooming and a hundred hyacinths.  The Bradford pear trees are in their brilliant white bloom as well.  The creeping phlox are in several hues around the yard.  I always try to have something blooming year round.  Here we go again.

Right now I am busy raking leaves out of flower beds and cutting down dead plants.

But, by far, my biggest challenge is the huge burn pile on the southwest corner of the lot.  I hired people to come over and cut down weed trees and clear overgrowth out last summer and that pile is huge.  Way too big to attempt a straight pile burn for fear it will get away from me.

So, I pull things off the pile and burn smaller fires.  This is a very tiring work.  And believe me at age 72 these first days of working out in the yard are getting rougher and rougher.  I am one sore lad indeed.

I Didn't Know You Could Hurt So Many Ways.  --RoadPain


Monday, April 15, 2024

NCAA Tournaments Are Over

By far, my favorite part of the sporting year.  And this year's edition did not disappoint. We had some upsets and a lot of close games.  As usual, I pulled mostly for the Little Guys even if they were playing favorite Big Guys teams of mine.

And, this year, I was even paying attention to the women's games more because, of course, of the Kaitlyn Clark hoopla.  Sure enjoyed the University of Iowa women's games.  Hopefully all this will carry over to the future college womens games and the WNBA.

I do think CBS made a major mistake in only offering the Final Four mens games on cable stations TBS and TNT.  They should have been on CBS.  And, even worse, the championship game last Monday came on at 9:15 pm in the Eastern Time Zone.  Another mistake.

I was pulling for Iowa to win in the womens tournament and Purdue in the mens.  However, it was not to be.  Both Iowa and Purdue gave good games in the first half, but were destroyed in the second half.  UConn and South Carolina were just too good.

Congratulations to UConn and South Carolina.

--RoadDog


Saturday, April 13, 2024

WLS Top 10 for Week of April 13, 1974: 'Hooked On a Feeling'

Hard to believe, half a century ago.

1.  HOOKED ON A FEELING--  Blue Swede

2.  BENNIE AND THE JETS--  Elton John

3.  THE LORD'S PRAYER--  Sister Janet Mead

4.  SPIDERS AND SNAKES--  Jim Stafford

5.  ERES TU--  Mocedades

6.  SEASONS IN THE SUN--  Terry Jacks

7.  LAST KISS--  Wednesday

8.  TUBULAR BELLS (THEME FROM THE EXORCIST)--  Mike Oldfield

9.  MOCKINGBIRD--  Carly Simon & James Taylor

10.  SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS--  John Denver

****************************

DEBUTS

15.  COME AND GET YOUR LOVE--  Redbone

16.  OH MY MY--  Ringo Starr

17.  TSOP (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA)--  MFSB & the 3 Degrees

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "And I Shook It At Her."  Answer below.  --RoadDog



"Spiders and Snakes"


Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Tournament Time: CB&C and B-Ball

MARCH 21--  THURSDAY

I should mention that I got my third corned beef and cabbage dinner at the Fox Lake (Illinois) seniors luncheon earlier and were entertained by an Irish performer.  Good Irish food and entertainment.  

I am also glad now that we have complete choice as to what games we see since they are all shown from beginning to end on four different channels:  CBS, TBS, TNT and True TV.  That used to drive me crazy when we had to watch Duke blowing out some #15 or #16 team when we could see that there was a close one or upset in the offing on another channel.

With me, it is all about close games and upsets.

And, I still remember when they experimented with the triple screen (they showed three games at once).  That made it impossible to figure out what was going on.

Highlight of the day was Kentucky getting upset by  Oakland. Oakland?  Had to look it up.  It  is in Michigan.  I am not a fan of Kentucky in any way.  It was one of the original one-and-doner schools.  Then, I ended up staying awake until nearly midnight when Samford took Kansas down to the wire in what would also have been a major upset.  They lost by four.  I am a Kansas fan, but Samford is a major Little Guy school.

By the way, Samford is in Alabama.

--RoadB-Ball