Melrose Place was the shit in the 90s. Me and Mrs. Plow were regular watchers; she for the outlandish plot twists and me for CT-S. I can't remember what caused us to stop watching, but it was a good ride for a while.
BGB - I'll give it a 9. It has stayed in the public consciousness longer than any novelty song I can think of.
Mr. Lonely - 6. It's pleasant in a 50s sort of way.
Ringo - 1. WTF is this shit? This, on a day we also have a lasting rap classic, is a joke.
8 8 9 2
Damn - I probably brought the average down with an 8
Chicago - Perfect example of why Chicago was so popular in the 70s. Not as high as Saturday In The Park or Feelin' Stonger Every day, but still an 8
Billy Preston - Most of his hits are great. this one is a 9
Marie (sans Donny) - Whitest White that ever Whited. Blander than mayo on white bread. The complete opposite of Billy Preston is a 2
8 1 9 9
Joe P - Perfectly cromulent early 90s R&B/Pop song.
Americans - Gag. 1.
Gladys - 9. Not a 10 like Midnight Train, but still great.
Todd R. - 9. Again not as good as I Saw The Light, but still great.
Can the greatness of a #1 song be judged by the quality of the singles it keeps from the #1 spot (peaking at #2)? Could this make Jump one of the greatest #1s of all time? I'd say all three songs that peak at #2 behind it are at least 9s. I wondered how many times has this happened and if another #1 has had more than three.
Going back to the beginning of the 'Rock era' (since 1955 - Rock Around The Clock), I looked at all of the #2 hits and highlighted what I thought were classics - at least a 9 or 10. Songs like Blueberry Hill (1957), Bye Bye Love, Chain Gang, Shop Around, Cryin', She's Not There, Chain of Fools, etc. The first #1 I found with two great #2s was Aquarius in 1969 (holding back You've Made Me So Very Happy and It's Your Thing). There were a couple more through the 1960s and 70s (Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet held back Bad Moon Rising & Spinning Wheel and Tonight's The Night held back The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald & The Rubberband Man). The 80s didn't have any like this (songs didn't stay at #1 long enough for the most part) until 1989, when Miss You Much had three great songs peak behind it (Cherish, Love Song, & Sowing The Seeds Of Love). TNOCS bane Byran Adams matched this in 1991 when his song-that-shall-not-be-named held back 5 songs at #2, three of those beloved enough here to be included (Right Here, Right Now & It Ain't Over Til It's Over & Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)).
That's where we are right now. With the rise of songs spending multiple months at #1, maybe we'll see one hold back 4 great songs.
Back in late 92, I had wished that someone would have taken a cue from all of the jumping (HOP & Kris Kross), humping (Bobby Brown) and rump-shaking (Wreckx-N-Effect) songs along with the big butts and Queen resurgence to make a rap song about humpin' jumpin' rumps set to a sample of "Fat Bottom Girls".
Alas, it never happened.
Ignoring anything that pre-dates the TNO time period and anything that didn't make the Top 40, we have the following:
Jump Over - Freddie Cannon (#28 - 1960)
Jumpin' Jack Flash - Stones (#3 - 1968)
Jump Into The Fire - Nilsson (#27 - 1972)
Jump To It - Aretha (#24 - 1982)
Jump - Van Halen (#1 - 1984)
Jump (For My Love) - Pointer Sisters (#3 - 1984)
Jumpin' Jack Flash - Aretha (#21 - 1986)
Jump Start - Natalie Cole (#13 - 1987)
Jump - Kris Kross (#1 - 1992)
Jump Around - House Of Pain (#3 - 1992)
Up Jumps Da Boogie - Magoo & Timbaland (#12 - 1997)
Jumper - Third Eye Blind (#5 - 1999)
Jumpin' Jumpin' - Destiny's Child (#3 - 2000)
The Jump Off - Lil' Kim (#17 - 2003)
Jump Then Fall - Taylor Swift (#10 - 2009)
Jumpman - Drake (#12 - 2015)
Where ya got 'em?
My Top 5
1) Pointers
2) Stones
3) Van Halen
4) Kriss Kross
5) House of Pain
Week 1: Love that Hammer song
Week 2: Seal
Week 3: I'm a fan of the Smithereens, even when it's with a very commercial song like this one. Although, part of me wants to hear the 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog song. Anybody got a link to Doo Doo Brown?
Week 4: Taking the leap here - MC Luscious with Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend
Week 5: Don't get to say this often enough, but I'm going with Ozzy this week.
It sounded too 'calculated' to me like they set out to make Hysteria II. They succeeded, but without any of the spark that album had. The only song that comes close to recapturing that was the last one, "Tear It Down", which is the only 10 on the album.
"The Lord's Prayer is an example of why the concept of "Christian rock" just doesn't work"
All the best bands are already affiliated with Satan anyway.
4 8 3 10
3DN - Annoying song with an annoying opening. 4
Ringo - A really good song from underrated Ringo. 8
SJM - Yawn. Boring. 3
Redbone - Classic. Come & Get Your 10.
Random Thoughts & Hot Takes:
We keep saying that it's 'unexpected' when a metal band has its biggest hit with a sappy ballad. It's not unexpected, it's the norm. I'm having trouble thinking of 5 hair metal bands (who had big hits) whose biggest hits were not ballads. GNR? No. DefLep? No. Whitesnake? No. White Lion? No. Winger? No. Warrant? No. Extreme, Mr. Big, or Nelson? No. Bon Jovi? Maybe. Motley Crue? Yes. Cinderella? No. Ratt? Yes. Poison? No. Scorpions? No. Who's left? Quiet Riot? Dio? Twisted Sister? They didn't have hits in the Hair Metal Era (86-92). Recap: Two Yesses & 1 Maybe. They're the outliers. The Ballads are a feature, not a bug. They're SOP: first, release a rocker to establish your rock cred, then a ballad to get that sweet crossover money.
In the battle of "Wild World' versions, Maxi Priest>Cat Stevens>>>>Mr. Big. Sorry Cat fans.
I can see why Mr. Big and Extreme are often compared. Both hit with wimpy, acoustic ballads, and both have shredding band members wasted in those songs (Nuno in Extreme and Paul & Billy in Mr. B). Both also had one additional hit and then promptly fucked off. Mr. Big gets bonus points because Eric Martin never recorded a shitty album with the members of Van Halen.
10 9 8 8 - All good today
Rikki - One of the best guitar solos ever - 10
On & On - Funky as hell - 9
Thankful - I didn't know this one but it's cool - 8
ONJ - Transitioning from country to rock - 8
9 9 4 8
Can't Get Enough isn't a 10 for me (that's Feel Like Makin' Love), but it's a 9
I like Beach Baby better than most Beach Boys songs, it's a 9
D&M are lucky to get a 4 here
8 for Loggins, but it just makes me want to listen to some Boston.
The Bonnie Raitt and Bryan Adams songs didn't hit the top 10 either. Adams' song didn't even hit the top 30 on Billboard. This is why I like to check out charts other than Billboard sometimes.
Good luck with that.
As someone who's seen a good number of new hires, I've only seen 2 get let go after the first day. One asked for examples of sexist jokes during the harassment training and the other fell asleep. "Compulsorily heterosexual" might also do the trick.
MCBYL and LJ are really good, underrated EJ songs from a fairly dry period for him. He wouldn't get his footing back until 1983's Too Low For Zero album.
Now I want to hear a Bolton cover of "My Ding-a-ling", just for the ensuing snark. I would even donate to a Stereogum fundraiser to get Tom to review it.
Top 5 Underappreciated Price songs:
5) The Morning Papers (Love Symbol)
4) Bambi (Prince)
3) Take Me With You (Purple Rain)
2) Anotherloverholeinyourhead (Parade
1) Hot Thang (Sign O The Times)
Not my favorite Van Halen song (not even close), and not even my favorite Van Hagar song (Hello "Dreams"), but still a good VH song. A 6 on the VH scale, but an 8 on the Hagar scale.
They'll have another Top 40 hit...
A pair of 10s, an 8, and a 4
Geddes - Melodramatic and yet dull at the same time - 4
Isleys - Who's gonna fight all the bullshit goin' down? - 10
Taylor - Marvin's version is a 10; this one is a nice, laidback version - 8
John - Easily my favorite Elton song, and a massive 10
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