I don’t know what gave me the idea of creating this post for songs with days of the week in the title, but it’s been percolating around in my head for a while, and no better time than the present to get it done, so here we go! Most of the days will just get one song, but sometimes it’s a long day and you need more than one. In order to keep this from going on too long, I’m breaking it into two sections: Sunday – Wednesday and Thursday back to Sunday.
Sunday
“Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground. I think this is the perfect song for a lazy Sunday morning. Whether you’re sleeping in for a late start or getting up at your usual weekday time to enjoy some peace and quiet while you drink your coffee and welcome the new day. The refrain, “Watch out, the world’s behind you. There’s always someone around you who will call. It’s nothing at all.” falls into a lazy-day kind of feel.
Monday
“Monday Morning” by Fleetwood Mac. I do love me some Lindsey Buckingham songs! “Monday morning, you sure look fine, but Friday I’ve got travelin’ on my mind…” Lindsey’s got “nothing but love” for Stevie, we can only assume, and regardless of the fact that first, she loves him, but then she “gets on down the line.” That would drive most people crazy, but Lindsey Buckingham might already be crazy because he responds with, “I don’t mind.” He just wants to get some peace in his mind.
Tuesday
“Groovy Tuesday” by The Smithereens. “Woke up on a groovy Tuesday…” It’s not Monday anymore, you’re not stuck right at the very beginning of the week, right? You’re one day closer to the weekend, but then the closing line hits, “Now I know that nothing lasts, nothing lasts, nothing lasts…”
“Tuesday’s Gone” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’m not sure that there’s a scene in a movie that I love more right now than the one in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. The epic party is winding down, the keg’s run dry, Wooderson’s talking up the smart red-haired girl (judges love naturally curly hair), Floyd and his crew take Slater’s suggestion to go smoke up on the 50-yard line of the football field. Unrelated, but the fact that Lynyrd Skynyrd has this and “Freebird” on their debut album speaks volumes to me about the gravity of that band.
Wednesday
“Wednesday Morning, 3 AM” by Simon and Garfunkel. You know how sometimes you find yourself in the middle of the week and you’re just feeling that malaise? Well, apparently, sometimes you just rob a liquor store, “a hard liquor store” for 25 bucks and a piece of silver. What’s up with the silver? Was it in the register for a reason? I don’t know and neither does our narrator, who certainly cannot be that sweet, little Paul Simon. Maybe Artie’s the criminal? Anyway, it’s the middle of the night and you know you’re probably going to jail later that day, so why not just enjoy the peace and quiet of watching the girl you love sleep soundly?
That does it for the first half of this little exercise. Tomorrow will be part two where we’ll circle our way back to Sunday. I’ll include a Spotify playlist in the second installment that will have no musical coherence or continuity, just the days bleeding together.
Turning 16 is undoubtedly one of the highlights of a teen’s life. The freedom that came with getting your driver’s license after being in the purgatory of a learner’s permit!! Getting to listen to YOUR music as you drove around doing nothing. Freedom! There were two worlds of music for me; what was on the radio that I listened to sometimes, and what I was listening to most of the time on my car tape deck, my boombox at home, or through my headphones so I could try to keep everyone away (it never worked though, did it?)
I originally culled my list from the Billboard Top 100 from 1986, but then realized that of those hundred there are only sixteen I liked, and of those sixteen, there are only ten I REALLY like (3 get an honorable mention), and almost all them fall into the category of what was known as “alternative.” I was just excited that bands I thought were really cool were being played on the radio! I would have to say that the thing that probably made them alternative is mostly that they were British. Two of the other three were already established mainstream American acts that were undeniably cool, and the one outlier was a brand new band that, like so many, shined brightly on their first release but the world at large never heard from them after that.
The Radio Songs
“King for a Day” by The Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were the perfect New Wave band. A little edgy, a lot pop. They made some really radio-friendly music and this song was one of them. It’s funny how they were considered alternative because they looked a little strange. Tom Bailey was a talented songwriter and a really good lead singer.
“Election Day” byDuran Duran offshoot band, Arcadia
Anything by D2 was pretty much guaranteed to be popular at this time, so when Simon and Nick went off to do their side project it basically sounded like D2, unlike Roger & Andy Taylor’s Power Station. “Election Day” really wasn’t very different from your average D2 song; danceable, atmospheric, and guaranteed to get on the charts.
“Life in a Northern Town” by The Dream Academy
Another band deemed alternative that was really pretty much middle-of-the-road pop music. Nonetheless, the sounds of this song were fresh and new, using tympanis, strings, and an oboe along with an instantly catchy chorus. The album is really good and they should have been more than a one-hit-wonder.
“What You Need” by INXS
INXS had arrived and was knocking on the door to superstardom. Listen Like Thieves is a great album, incorporating all of INXS’ trademark sounds. It of course didn’t hurt to have Michael Hutchence as the lead singer. Those on the fringe who were already into INXS knew that they were about to be huge; although like so many bands that were much loved by the fringe, we kind of wished they could stay our secret.
“Something About You” by Level 42
Another British band that snuck into the American Top 40. I loved the song, and the video (NOT the music) reminded me of Madness, so I loved that, too. That the lead singer was also the bass player struck me as kind of cool. It’s just a sweet love song that as a day-dreaming 16-year old, there’s always room for more sweet love songs.
“If You Leave” by OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: you don’t get much more of a British name for a band than that! Also, another British band with a bass playing lead singer! This song closes out the John Hughes movie, Pretty in Pink, in an epic scene: Duckie, Andie, Blane (“That’s not a name, that’s a, a, an appliance!”), and Steff in a sea of dancing teens, setting up expectations of what high school prom should be. I don’t know about your prom, but Bone Holmes and Friends did not include British synthpop in their setlists at mine.
“Alive and Kicking” by Simple Minds
Scottish alt band sneaking up on U2 as a band with a big sound, Christian beliefs, and the ability to craft a catchy anthem. As a hyper 16-year-old, I broke my nose slam-dancing (with my friend Bill, who will figure prominently in the second half of this piece) in protest at the local dance club because the DJ was playing Michael Jackson. Blood everywhere. As I’m laid out waiting for my mom to pick me up, I requested this song, just to let everyone know I was okay (no one cared).
“Kiss” by Prince
It’s Prince. The video is Prince dancing and Wendy on guitar. I mean, really, enough said.
“Tonight She Comes” by The Cars
The Cars had been one of my favorite bands already; everything about them was cool. Gangly Ric Ocasek’s ever-present Wayfarers and Elliot Easton’s distinct guitar riffs and solos struck me the most about them. They reminded me of summer and I turned 16 in the summer of ‘86. We hadn’t heard anything from them since 1984’s Heartbreak City, and this song was added to their Greatest Hits compilation. I would have loved a whole new album from The Cars, but that was not to be. This song has all the trademark sounds that made me love The Cars from the first time I heard, “Let’s Go.”
“Your Love” by The Outfield
“Josie’s on a vacation far away…” belted out in falsetto with a sparsely strummed guitar. The Outfield and their album, Play Deep is such strange baseball things from a British band. It’s really good power pop from a really talented three-piece; although listening closely to the lyrics now I’m a little skeeved out by them. How old is the woman who is the focal point? “You know I like my girls a little bit older…” Who’s he talking to? “As you’re leaving please won’t you close the door?” The guy doesn’t even take her to breakfast? Parents, warn your daughters about guys like this.
Honorable Mentions are “Conga” by Miami Sound Machine, “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora, and “I’m Your Man” by Wham. Technically, “Tarzan Boy” and “I’m Your Man ” charted first in 1985, but apparently had enough momentum to carry over into 1986. I have a special place in my mind for these tracks because they were songs that played as David T. manically danced the conga every time I saw him, all of my friends would raise our hands to our mouths as we did the Tarzan call, and I mean, really, is there a more upbeat and fun song that “I’m Your Man”? The answer, in case you’re wondering, is no, there is not a more upbeat and fun song. Some cool kids might consider these songs as guilty pleasures, but you know what? I don’t have any guilt in admitting love for these songs at all. I wouldn’t trade the memories and laughter that came as a result of hearing these songs on the radio for anything.
WAIT WAIT WAIT!!! This is what was on the radio, not what I was listening to on my own in my car, bedroom, and on my Panasonic stand-in for a Sony Walkman. And while there were some alternative songs that made it onto the radio, the songs that I spent hours and hours listening to are really what my sixteenth year is about. These songs were not going to be played on mainstream radio, and they weren’t really played on the college radio station in Atlanta. I had to seek this music out or have it introduced to me, and I think that’s what really made it alternative.
[Aside – when I say album, 85% of the time I mean cassette. It was a different time, folks]
“Swan Swan H”/”Superman” by R.E.M.
Life’s Rich Pageant was the first R.E.M. album I bought. The aforementioned Bill introduced them to me, as well as many, many others. The songs on Pageant were easier to understand than a lot of their earlier releases. They were also pretty easy to play on guitar and so these two songs made it into the setlist of the band I was in at the time.
“Rise” by Public Image Ltd.
“I could be wrong, I could be right…” John Lydon expressed a lot of what goes on in a 16-year-old’s head. Admittedly, I got this album because I thought it was hilarious that PiL took the whole generic trend (pics for context) and applied it to this; album and cassette (eventually compact disc) and I loved John Lydon’s screechy British yowl, especially at the end of this song when he repeats the phrase, “Anger is an ener-GEE, anger is an ener-GEE, anger is an ener-GEE…” (picture source)
“Kundalini Express” by Love and Rockets
The first of several entries from Friend Bill. He’s two years older than me and at the time was away at Wake Forest DJ’ing at their station, so he brought me all kinds of new music I probably wouldn’t have heard any other way. The only alternative station we had in Atlanta was Georgia State University’s WRAS 88.5, and while they played alternative music, seldom was I taken with the songs they played. Love & Rockets just exuded coolness, and their album, Express, was in the tape deck of my car frequently.
“Don’t Let’s Start” by They Might Be Giants
As I mentioned, I was a hyper 16-year-old, and They Might Be Giants opened up a whole world of absurdity to me that absolutely made sense. Their debut album was such a breath of fresh air, even among all the alternative music I was listening to, but especially compared to the boring stuff on the radio at the time.
The whole Pretty in Pink Soundtrack
I think this was the first soundtrack that really spoke to me as a collection. I spent hours making mixtapes for myself and my friends and here was one already put together for me! John Hughes seemed to understand what being an on-the-fringe teen was all about, and a lot of that was the music. This soundtrack features “If You Leave” by OMD, but that’s just the surface. Another track by INXS and songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, The Smiths, and more!
“Special” – The Violent Femmes
A manic, fast-paced love song that has, if I’m not mistaken, a theremin solo! I’d heard a few of their songs, including the one with the F-Bomb, and thought they were pretty cool. I ordered this actual vinyl album from my dad’s Columbia House Record Club (CRC). I might have even gotten it free since they allowed you to choose a record free for every three or four you bought at regular Club prices. My dad was a really good sport and would let me get the free ones. I remember the day this album came in the mail. I had been out doing something with my church youth group and when I got home the Columbia House cardboard mailer was waiting for me on the garage steps. YES!
“You Make Me Feel So Good” by Book of Love
Another Bill selection! This band was kind of a female-led Depeche Mode, 100% a synth band that made good music to dance to. This is just a fun love song.
“Cemetery Gates” by The Smiths
I first heard The Smiths with their ultra-cool song, “How Soon is Now.” Imagine how very surprised I was when I got this album, another CRC purchase, that there were no songs on it that sounded like that one at all! Instead, it was jangly guitar music with Sir Mopes-A-Lot as the singer and it was fantastic. The juxtaposition of such upbeat guitar pop with Morrissey’s voice and lyrics was unlike anything I’d heard before. This song ended up on every mixtape I made for about three years running.
“That’s Really Super Supergirl” by XTC
Yes, another Bill song! Spring of 1986. My church was having a Spring Fling. Bill pulled up in his maroon Honda Prelude with Skylarking in the tape deck. “LISTEN TO THIS!!!” he exclaimed. It was this song and it was amazing. Bill made me a copy of this, backed with Love & Rockets’ 7th Dream of Teenage Heaven. I’d play this cassette on repeat over and over and over. I still have it in my drawer of cassettes.
The whole collection of Standing on a Beachby The Cure
How cool were you if you liked The Cure? Well, to the general population you were not cool for liking The Cure, but to the small group of on-the-fringe teens at my high school, you were definitely cool if you liked The Cure. The cassette of this came with a collection of B-sides. Who puts out B-side collections? British bands, that’s who. When the CD came out years later I was bitterly disappointed that it did not contain the B-sides.
Bill and I getting ready to go pick up our dates for the Sadie Hawkins Dance Photo from author’s personal collection
Man! What a joy this has been going through these songs and replaying these memories and then creating this playlist! Bill and I are still great friends but musical introductions are more of a two-way street now. What were YOU listening to the year you turned 16?
I love Christmas music. It’s a little point of contention with my family that as soon as Thanksgiving is over my Pandora or Spotify stations and playlists are pretty much dedicated to Christmas music. As the Girls have gotten older, they are not as into as they were as little ones. That’s okay, it’s to be expected. Surly teen years and all.
My tastes in Christmas music are pretty broad. If you know me this isn’t surprising. I love the classics. I think I still have my Gene Autry Sings, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” album that I listed to as a little boy. My parents had a few Time-Life Christmas Collections that Dad would pull out every year for the turntable. Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, the different orchestras that recorded standards, Burl Ives. Then there was The New Christy Minstrels (I’m still not even sure about this enormous group of very happy looking sweater-wearing, sleigh-riding folks. I honestly don’t think that album ever got played in our house. It looks like it’d be a fun album, but again, I have no memory of ever actually hearing it to make a judgment on the music.
As I was entering my teen years in the early 80’s, I was introduced to some new classics. The world before the Internet was not an easy time to hear new, interesting Christmas music. Maybe 96 Rock would play The Kinks, “Father Christmas” every once in awhile, and that was pretty exciting. Of course, one of the greatest musical moments in my life, and so many other people a certain age now, happened the magical year of 1984. Band Aid’s, “Do They Know it’s Christmas?“. I could not get enough of this. So many of my favorite bands and singers were on this. The video made me so happy! Seeing all those stars together having such a good time, playing and singing together. That they raised money to try to send relief to Ethiopia was fantastic. Sadly, there’s speculation on where the money actually ended up.
I’ve heard, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” countless times. Great song. For my ears, it’s hard to beat Andy Williams’ version. I am a bit confused though by a line in the song: “There’ll be scary ghost stories…” Why? Why are we telling ghost stories at Christmastime? Is that an allusion to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? I’ve always wondered how that line ended up in there.
The other classic that raises a question in my mind is from “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. There are lots of good versions of this one, pick your favorite. My question is what kind of disturbed individual includes the line, “Oh what a laugh it would have been, if Daddy had only seen Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night!” Now, obviously, the sly wink and nod is that of course it’s Daddy in the first place that’s kissing Mommy. That’s all good and fine, but here’s the problem – this song is told from the perspective of a little kid. They are a little disturbed, maybe, that their mom is kissing some other guy, even if that guy is Santa, but beyond that they’re thinking how funny it’d be if their dad saw this kiss. In the Jackson 5’s version you hear young Michael trying to get his brothers to believe him. “I did! I did see Mommy kissing Santa and I’m gonna tell my daddy!” What do people think is going to happen when Daddy hears that Mommy’s been kissing another dude? Cue up The Ramones, “Merry Christmas, I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight”
I’ll wrap this up with some of my more recent favorites. Obviously Mariah ends up here. You’d have to be a pretty serious Scrooge to not love this song. I’m not even going to put the title because it’s just so obvious. I will include this video though because it makes me pretty happy every time I see it. Also, the piano player on Mariah’s album is phenomenal. His playing absolutely takes the songs up at least 5 notches. Kelly Clarkson has gifted us with her fantastic, “Underneath the Tree” that I somehow just heard for the first time this year. The Shins covered another one of my favorites a few years ago and put a very Beach Boys’ spin to “Wonderful Christmastime.” Some people can’t stand Macca’s song and those people are wrong. The cover brings three things I love together, Paul McCartney, Beach Boys’ song structure/harmony, and The Shins. I’ll leave off with a song that I’m thankful I never had to relate to, but I look forward to hearing it every year, Dropkick Murphys “The Season’s Upon Us”
Christmas songs are gifts bestowed upon us this time of year. Like all gifts, they illicit different responses from us. For the most part, they are given with love; although there are a few that I think were written, recorded, and released just to put a plant a horrible earworm. My gift to you is not including any of the ones of those that make my Naughty List, feel free to leave them in the comments if you want. Something to remember when you’re listening to these songs is that the majority of them were recorded in the summer or fall, a very un-Christmasy time of year. I read that Frank Sinatra had the recording studio decorated for Christmas and got them to crank up the AC so there’d be a bit of chill in the air.
I’ll leave you with a teen favorite, Billy Squier & the classic MTV crew reminding us that “Christmas is a time to say, ‘I Love You.'” Merry Christmas to all and to all some great tunes
In social studies right now my students are working through the 50s and 60s. Three of the things invented during the 50s and 60s were Barbie dolls, calculators, and cassette players. For a homework assignment, I had my students talk to their parents about these things. I included G.I. Joe for the dads. I told them they could write down their answers if they wanted, but did not have to. Two of them are pure gold and two are just kind of amusing.
Claire B’s mom, Laura, said, “My biggest memories of the Barbie doll are that I played with them in my pool. I had the inflatable pool and slide. We had the Barbies in their bathing suits and we would swim with them all day. I had maybe 5 dolls. I played with them with my friends in the neighborhood, I think.”
“Cassette tapes were how we listened to music. You would put your cassette in your boom box and turn on Kasey Kasem’s Top 40 Countdown. As soon as your favorite songs came on you would press the Record button really fast so you could replay the song later.” Claire also said, “My parents used cassette tapes to record our voices in conversations we had to send in the mail to our grandparents! And our grandparents would do the same thing and send them back to us.” Laura emailed me later to tell me more, “I got my first boom box for Christmas when I was 10. I spent hours on that thing recording songs from the radio and replaying them. I still have a somewhat large cassette collection bc I can’t bring myself to get rid of them!! Mix tapes – remember those? I had a few boyfriends who were big into music and would make the best mix tapes for me. Totally still have a few – ha ha ha!!!”
“I don’t have too many memories about my calculators. But I do have a funny story. Once in college, I took my remote control to my exam instead of my calculator.”
Katrina R’s mom, Judith, said, “I played with Barbies when I was younger. I played with them with my friends about once a week or so. I had the Barbie Dreamhouse. My brother had G.I. Joes.”
“My mom had an 8-track player in 2nd-3rd grade. Then she got a Steed [sic] Miller band for Christmas in 4th-5th grade. she then got a Sony Walkman in 6th-7th grade. My mom used her tapes almost daily from 2nd grade to college plus. She would sometimes make tapes for her friends as gifts.”
“My mom used calculators throughout school. In high school she used a graphing calculator about once a week. She got a calculator watch in late elementary school (she had to earn it).
Some of the other responses, “Record off radio on cassette tapes. Bring in car to listen to music. Had to buy tapes in a store if you wanted to listen to music.” “My dad had 600 cassette tapes. He used it twice a day.” “My dad had 1 calculator. He used it twice a week.” Fascinating recollection right there!
Two parents sent in some of their old cassette tapes to the classroom and I was SO EXCITED! Luckily, I have a boom box with dual cassette deck to play them on! I played Duran Duran’s Rio cassette for the students that morning. I told my students about making mixed tapes for friends myself and my girlfriend (now wife – GQ was the recipient of many, many mixed tapes from me). It’s not exactly the one in the picture, but it’s close.
Anytime I can be a part of students and parents sharing like this is always fun. What about you? What were your experiences with Barbies, cassettes, and calculators?
I love music things like this. I also kind of hate music things like this. I have VERY eclectic music tastes. When I got my first iPod I made a decision that it was a purely selfish purchase, so that I would always keep some music of all the family on there. Mostly music for the Girls. They were much younger then so that means there was a lot of The Wiggles on there. I still have a very soft spot in my heart for Them Wiggles.
The idea here is that I list the three first songs on my iPod and write the thoughts that come to mind about them. I’m always a little nervous about what will come up. This shuffle is pretty interesting.
“Walking on the Moon” The Police – I love The Police. Absolutely love them. They are an amazing band. The chemistry between the three of them apparently is quite toxic when they aren’t balanced exactly the right way, and from what I have read was pretty often. I had the first four albums on cassettes that an early crush of mine made for me. I, well, my brother, bought Synchronicity on cassette. Listening to them always makes me think of being 16 and listening to The Police in my car on a bad tape player.
“Tongue” – R.E.M. Interesting one here. I like when singers take on the role of the opposite gender which I think Michael Stipe does in this song. I don’t go into the meanings of songs very often. I listen to a song as a whole, or as parts. I don’t analyze them. There are a couple of different theories on this one. I’m not going to talk about either of them. I love R.E.M. more than I love The Police. They’re from Georgia, they were outsiders that made it super huge without ever sacrificing what they wanted to do.
“Kiss” – Prince. Prince doesn’t let his official stuff live Online for very long, therefore, “Kiss”, the official video isn’t there on those InterWebz, and that’s too bad because it’s a great video. The best part is when Wendy rolls her eyes at Prince at one of his lines. What’s not to love about Prince? Well, the fact that he doesn’t let his stuff live Online for very long, but hey man, that’s his prerogative, right? (that’s how you spell ‘prerogative’? Weird).
What are the first 3 songs on YOUR music player, hmmm? Let’s see ’em!
Ugh, this is something I can talk easily about. Since I started working at Trinity I have been subjected to something that I have been able to avoid my entire working life – Interstate Commuting. I know, a lot of people have been commuting on the Interstate for a long, long time. Well, it’s still new for me, and it’s still taking me some getting used to.
I have gone a couple of different routes, and they pretty much take the same time, 30 minutes on the way to school, 45 minutes on the way home. Both of these are subject to change with the slightest shift in the wind.
The drive is made better with good music. Usually, that’s a CD, but sometimes it comes from 1690AMWMLB . This is the most eclectic radio station in Atlanta. I’ll hear all kinds of music on my ride and that makes it better.
The things that make it bad are the bad drivers. And there are LOTS and LOTS of bad drivers. People coming off of 400 south that try to get over to the HOV lane immediately so they either slow down to dangerous speeds or completely stop. When one person does this it causes others to do it, too.
Another aggravating thing is slowing down going around a corner. Not the super sharp corner where 85 N splits off from 75 S. Just going around the corner. “OH! OH! It’s a corner, there might be something around it! I better stop!”
I would say that the traffic radio helps know what’s ahead, but my part of the drive isn’t the part of Atlanta traffic that causes the most jam-ups, so very rarely are the parts that I’m on given traffic updates.
I say all of this, but in all honesty, I know my commute isn’t that bad. I have heard friends say they have done 90-minute commutes both ways. BOTH WAYS! Holy schnikes! The other thing is that I have a job that I love that I go to Monday – Friday. It’s not like I’m making this drive to a place I can’t stand doing something that I loathe. It’s a wonderful place with amazing people doing something I love. So, in the end, I’ll take it.
So this guy, this cyclist, goes whizzing between two lanes of cars today as I’m on my way to the doctor and it made me kind of mad really pissed me off. I wanted to yell, “You’re the reason so many of us motorists hate cyclists!” but he was gone, and I’m trying to keep my fits of rage down to one a month, and there’s still a whole half of August left. So I have decided to do a Grumpy Man Post and give you a Top Ten Some Things Currently Annoying Me. [On a positive note, I couldn’t even come up with 10, so that’s good, right?]
1. Cyclists who think that the road is for their sole use. I have friends who bike and I understand their desire/need to have space on the road. There have been countless biking tragedies, and I don’t want that to happen to anyone else, but inevitably it will. I’ve written already about the thing cyclists do when they go through stop signs (“can’t break our momentum!”), but then there’s the move this ass did today: biking through two lanes of traffic. Honestly, when they pass me on the right it kind of frustrates me because they’re moving and I’m sitting still, but it really comes down to the school rule of “No Cutting!” Of course after this guy goes between the cars, and we’re on Ponce de Leon heading toward Decatur by the way! After he goes between the cars he totally slows traffic down having to pedal up a hill. The driver behind him was much more patient than many people would have been. Again, I will restate my claim that cyclists wearing their Cyclists Outfits are closer to Super Villains than Logo Sporting Bike Enthusiasts.
2. Imbecilic higher ups that are in charge of running things that are incapable of doing an even slightly good job because, well, because they’re imbeciles. Gah! I’d go on about this, but I don’t want to bring any trouble.
3. Puppy Pee & Poop. We got a puppy recently. No, not Marley who made my good Top 10 list this Spring, but a puppy. Padfoot is her name, and she is not on my bad list. Her waste; however, is. Dammit, man, I don’t like cleaning up pee and poop in the house and apparently this is going to go on for 9 more months. 9 MORE MONTHS!!!!!
4. These damn mosquitoes! I can’t step outside with the puppy to keep number three from happening without coming away with three or more bites. We pay a monthly service for our yard to be sprayed. I can’t imagine what it would be like if we weren’t getting the yard sprayed. Stinking blood sucking parasitic nuisances is what they are.
5. Presidential Election Politics. Both parties are in the pockets of special interest groups that don’t have the best interests of the Country. Regardless of your political bent, the presidential election typically brings out people’s inner asshole, and quite frankly, it’s an inner thing because it’s not supposed to see the light of day. Cartoon Credit
6. Dave FM changing its format from whatever it’s classified as to a Sports Talk station. Great. Less options in the already crappy ATL radio market. Here’s another plug for WMLB 1690 AM. I wish the DJs would completely abandon their format and just spend their remaining time on the air playing what they want to hear, perhaps with a good healthy dose of listener requests. I guess they can’t because they want to make sure that another Corporate Radio Station hires them to be the mouthpiece for the crappy format that they take on.
7. That I’m thinking about going off Facebook for a time so that I can get some art done. I think I’ve already mentioned my robot painting. Well, it’s still there with no new progress yet, and I can’t think of another way, other than greatly reducing the amount of time I spend on FB. Some people don’t get why I’m on there as much as I am anyway, and that’s all right. When it’s On, it’s really a whole bunch of fun, but when it’s just Meh, then it’s just a time sucker. So, I’m annoyed on two counts: 1. That I’m going to have to limit myself to get something done that I should want to do. 2. That FB’s been more Meh than On lately.
So, there you go. These things are pissing me off recently. Now, on a scale of 1 – 10, none of them are really even a 10; although that cyclist came awfully close to scoring an 8. What’s eating you these days?
I find it extremely disturbing that oftentimes when I am trying to find a song that came out before 2005 I have to go to 98.5 to hear it. I find it more disturbing that on the weekends almost every radio station in Atlanta decides to have an 80s-90s Weekend.
source – wsbradio.com
YerLifeguard - Always on duty 
