It's not my fault Harvey is such a little boy!!!!
Monday, August 01, 2022
Weekend Tennis Roundup
Titles for Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur, Roberto Bautista Agut, Caroline Garcia and Marie Bouzkova; plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post in my full tennis report BELOW.
Song of the Day: 'Rhiannon' by Fleetwood Mac
If you're anything like me, the closest you ever came to Bible study as a child was Billboard magazine, where each week you would religiously look through the charts to see the placement of your favorite artists' singles and albums -- an experience that for reasons that are still not clear to me somehow felt deeply personal. (How could "French Kissin' in the USA" peak at just No. 57? I can recall asking myself at Tower Records as I tried to compose myself in the singles department.)
A few years ago I took my friend Tim (pictured up top) to see Go-Go's bassist Kathy Valentine's side band, the Bluebonnets, in concert, and I'll never forget how afterward as we were leaving the venue, he told her that "Head Over Heels" -- which she wrote with Charlotte Caffey -- was his favorite Go-Go's song. She thanked him, and then he asked -- clearly expecting (as was I) her to agree with him -- if its stalling at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 had been as devastating for her as it had been to his 12-year-old self back in 1984. Without missing a beat -- and looking rather confused -- Kathy turned to him and said: "Not really," at which point I realized maybe superfans like us take these things to heart more than the artists do. So in honor of this catechism, today I am starting an ongoing series of Songs of the Day that peaked at No. 11 on the singles chart but clearly deserved better. The composers may get compensated either way. But the only reward fans get when a song stalls at No. 11 is a lifetime of pain and regret!
Before we get going, here is a Top 10 list of No. 11s that have already been featured as Song of the Day.:
1. "Head Over Heels" by the Go-Go's
2. "Jesse" by Carly Simon
3. "Tired of Being Alone" by Al Green
4. "Her Town Too" by James Taylor and JD Souther
5. "You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive
6. "Promises, Promises" by Naked Eyes
7. "Baby Hold On" by Eddie Money
8. "Last Christmas" by Wham!
9. "Walking Down Your Street" by the Bangles
10. "A Love Bizarre" by Sheila E
Obviously the Go-Go’s and Carly cut the deepest, especially remembering the latter’s nonstop airplay the summer of 1980. Dead or Alive was also robbed given that “You Spin Me” created an entirely new production style, perhaps the most distinctive since Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. (At least Stock Aitken Waterman were later rewarded with three U.S. No. 1s courtesy of Bananarama and Rick Astley.)
My pick for today was a surprise to me. Imagine being Stevie Nicks, who was only accepted into this establish British band because her guitarist boyfriend they were trying to recruit said "If you want me, you also have to take her." You write arguably one of the best songs of all time -- Rolling Stone includes "Rhiannon" on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time -- but they opt to release "Warm Ways" as the first single in the U.K. and "Over My Head" in the U.S. Fine. Christine McVie is the band's remaining established vocalist. But then you finally get your shot and how does the record-buying public reward you? No. 46 in the U.K. and No. 11 in the U.S. (WTF?) Sure, this became the band's highest-ranked single in the U.S. to that point -- "Over My Head" peaked at No. 20 and their only charting pre-Buckingham/Nicks U.S. single, Peter Green's "Oh Well Part 1 and 2," peaked at No. 55 -- but everyone knows a No. 1 hit when they hear it, and "Rhiannon" is it.
Note to my inner Tim: A million bucks -- which she's probably made off the song -- says Stevie doesn't even remember how high "Rhiannon" got on the charts!
P.S. Best Coast's cover of "Rhiannon" was Song of the Day in 2014.
Page 1 Roundup (08/01)
Daily News: Man with AK-47-type rifle caught outside Brooklyn home of Iranian dissident journalist Masih Alinejad
Matthew's Island: 13 muscular models
New York Post: Debra Winger is re-listing her Upper West Side abode
The Randy Report: The gays are coming for your girlfriend
The WoW Report: Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura on ‘Star Trek,’ dies at 89
Washington Blade: Highlights from the Mr. Nice Jewish Boy pageant
The New York Times: A lawsuit claims Skittles are unfit for consumption. Experts weigh in.
How did a two-time killer get out to be charged again at age 83? Marceline Harvey is accused of dismembering a woman in Brooklyn. Her life was defined by a tormented relationship with women and herself -- and a simmering anger. (Note: She transitioned at some point after her release from prison in 2019 but is now being held in the men's section at Rikers, something this article curiously doesn't mention.)
The Washington Post: Prosecutors allege plot by one family to kill 8 members of another
The Wall Street Journal: Key lime pie fans whipped up over dessert snub
Hot Cat of the Day: Meet Furgus [sic], Harvey's newest cousin. He joins the extended family at a tender moment as Harv's Arizona cousin, Snowy, died over the weekend, leaving a huge hole in my sister's family.
RIP, pretty girl.
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