I just walked outside my apartment and the *first* person I saw was a young guy who was also wearing a Mary Tyler Moore T-shirt(!). When I smiled and pointed it out, he was more blasé than Penny Marshall as Miss Richards's nurse neighbor, then begrudgingly agreed to a photo. And I was led to believe love is all around!
HBO: "Being Mary Tyler Moore" is worth a watch. The documentary did a good job of finding the person who truly was neither Mary Richards nor Beth Jarrett -- the star's Oscar-nominated character in "Ordinary People" -- and charitably left out some of her late-in-life missteps. The rare photos and footage were a revelation -- I also want to be best friends with Beverly Sanders! -- although I'm still reeling at just how awful David Susskind was to her on his chat show back in the day. (WTF?)
I'm working my day job today (and taking a break from blogging), but hope everyone is having a pleasant long weekend -- and spending a moment or two remembering all of those who gave their lives for (what's left of) our democracy.
Having to work isn't ideal, but at least I can tune in to Roland Garros.
This fun Billboard list of Madonna's 40 biggest Hot 100 hits popped up on social media the other day and I'm obsessing over it like I'm 15. I'm not entirely sure how it works -- I'd always heard "Take a Bow" was her "biggest" single -- but the column saying "adjusted points" explains what makes this list slightly different.
Of note: "Take a Bow" was on the Hot 100 the longest (a whopping 30 weeks) while "Rescue Me" was her shortest (just eight weeks). If you had asked me to rattle off what I thought were her 10 biggest hits, this list sounds about right. (As much as I adore "Live to Tell," I love that even after all these years, "Crazy for You" is still such a popular ballad, because it takes me back to high school.)
"Papa Don't Preach" is still my least favorite of her biggies, although I've come to appreciate it a bit over the years, especially when Roger did a gender-flipped cover on "American Dad."
Also a tad disappointing to not see "Beautiful Stranger" on the list -- apparently it wasn't officially released in the U.S., only charting because of airplay -- which is far and away better than several of these, most notably "Hanky Panky," "Oh Father" and the dreaded "La Isla Bonita." (Not even sure why that one sticks in my craw the way it does, along with another fan favorite: "Human Nature"!) The advent of the "airplay only" chart and death of the single were the beginning of the end of Billboard charts for me, and "Beautiful Stranger" might have been the canary in the coal mine … all of which is to say it should have been No. 1 and is a million times better than all 150 of Drake’s No. 1 “hits.”
Knowing how Madonna allegedly feels about "Causing a Commotion" makes its placement at No. 14 sort of amusing. And since I'm just riffing, I'll add that if it were up to me, "Borderline" would be Top 10. (That it was my brother Bill's favorite Madonna song only adds to my love of it.) And "Angel," "Ray of Light," "Cherish" and its fraternal twin, "True Blue," would also all have been even more popular than they were.
UPDATE: I was just pointed to Billboard's "Chart History" feature, which puts "Borderline" at the top. (Is my brother Bill editing from that newsroom in the sky?) The rankings seem to use total number of weeks on the Hot 100 as the only criteria, which technically would make it a tie with "Take a Bow" ... but I can take yes for an answer!
Click to revisit the heyday of Chelsea's 8th Avenue
My blog is featured in Susan Olsen's tell-all about the ill-fated "Brady Bunch Variety Hour"!
Growing up in Madison Heights, Mich.
The Web leads to an unexpected return to a house I grew up in.
Carlsbad, Calif. (2008)
Go Behind the Music of my high-school band, A La Plage
Little Larry left us too soon.
With Debbie Harry
With Robert Buckley
With Roger Federer
With Ed Burns
With Thomas Roberts
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