And here we are, the finale of this most meaningful countdown to ever hit the blogosphere. (Is that still a thing? I've been out of the game for awhile. I don't know what that blog slang is anymore.) The shocking: There's no Bruce! Or MJ! Or Madonna! The not-so shocking: There IS Kool and the Gang. Always.
10. Drive, The Cars - I will sometimes sing this, sarcastically, when the Yankees leave runners on base (Who's gonna drive you home tonight, Miguel Andujar, all stranded there on second base?), but it's one of the most lovely "sad" songs of the 80s, and therefore I like it un-sarcastically too.
9. Let's Dance, David Bowie - If you guessed that this made it onto the list because it's a - wait for it - summer song, you're right! It's actually one of the first songs I associate with summer, probably because in 1983 I'd just finished that back-breaking effort that is kindergarten and appreciated having some much deserved "me time," and thus helped me distinguish the awesomeness of summer vs. the slog of the school year.
8. Separate Ways, Worlds Apart, Journey - My biggest, far-out-there wish would be to do a shot-by-shot recreation of this video...with the Yankee Chicken and his friends. This would likely take months and, oh, alienate me from a lot of people (I can picture many of you slooowwwwwly stepping away from the crazy lady and stuffed chicken with a fake mullet). Anyway, say what you will about the video (and there's lots to be said since it is epic in ALL ways), but this song is bad-ass.
7. Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House - Melancholy never sounded so good. I am also physically incapable of getting sick of this song.
6. I Melt With You, Modern English - How this only peaked at 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 is mind-boggling. But this was in a time when there was some really odd soft-rock stuff going on - a post-disco hangover, I guess - and maybe America wasn't really ready for it yet.
5. Fresh, Kool and the Gang - You're probably like, "KB, you only put this song this high because they're from Jersey City," and I'm like, "Uh, do you have ears? This song is freaking good." (It's a particularly good walking song, if you're into those. And even better when you're walking through Jersey City!)
4. Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Tears for Fears - I feel like Shout was the inescapable TFF song in 1985, but this one still holds up so well. "Welcome to your life, there's no turning back" is a most evergreen opening statement that there could be.
3. Kyrie, Mr. Mister
1980s KB: I don't know what this song means but I think it's religious and it hit number one right before I'm receiving my first communion, so I'm taking this as a personal shoutout.
21st Century KB: The key change toward the end is basically life-affirming and everything that's great about 80s music.
2. Your Love, The Outfield - Before this was co-opted by 20something frat boys - who weren't even alive when this was released - on drunken nights out, this was, yep, an EXCELLENT summer song. If space aliens who have the technology to come to Jersey City but not to, like, research our history were to land on my roof and be like, "What did the 80s sound like?" I'd play them this. And then try to explain to them why summer songs are usually >>>> than songs from any other time of year.
1. Easy Lover, Philip Bailey and Phil Collins - Yes, this is THE best song of the entire decade. In my mind. You can air-guitar AND air-drum to it. You've got the EWF/Genesis crossover. The harmonies are killer and it's sung with complete conviction (this lady is going to ruin your damn life if you don't heed the warning of Philip and Phil, guys). The video is a goofy "behind-the-scenes" jaunt that I distinctly remember being riveted by as a kid (I'd post it but the song is weirdly sped up, so sad trombone on that). Like, this song is an EVENT. Nay, this song is a motherf***ing GIFT. Got a hold on you, believe it INDEED.
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Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Friday, August 24, 2018
KB's Top 80s Songs Pt. 3
Because I don't know how to count down properly, here we have No. 19-11. Oh, and I have very strong feelings about power ballads, guys, and I won't apologize for them. So nyeah.
19. Faith, George Michael - I loved how peppy this song was when I was a kid, but as an adult I appreciate the "don't stay with someone who treats you like crap just because they're hot - there's someone better out there" message. Also, I'm still really not quite over George Michael dying so young. And, uh, speaking of...
18. So Emotional, Whitney Houston
1980s KB: I make my Barbie and the Rockers play this song! Whitney Houston is so great! She's from New Jersey!
21st Century KB: *is sad*
17. Something About You, Level 42 - Another one of my many "this is a summer song and seemingly played endlessly at the beach circa June/July 1986, and therefore it's a good song" songs.
16. Heaven, Bryan Adams - Ah, one of the 80s' more perfect power ballads, resplendent in all its "I was the prom theme AT SO MANY HIGH SCHOOLS glory." Sidebar: Let's talk about how people drag power ballads and it's like, "Yeah, man, how dumb that a song incorporates longing and earnest feelings and big production?" The condescending undertone of that is "Chicks like this stuff, so how could it possibly be taken seriously? Even though I'll listen to some beanie-clad emo guy with a creaky voice sing creakily about lost love with just his acoustic guitar and it was recorded while standing in his cat's litter box AND IT'S ART." *side eye* /sidebar. Anyway, it's great. But I can't rank it higher than number 15 because...
15. Faithfully, Journey ...it was literally inspired by this song. Maybe the granddaddy of 80s power ballads, and I will fight anyone who 1) ranks the great but done-to-death Don't Stop Believin' ahead of this and/or 2) doesn't have Steve Perry in their top vocalist lists. (You're just very, very wrong if you don't, is all I'm saying. *cracks knuckles*).
14. You're The One For Me, D Train - My mom had this album, complete with amazing cover - an album that's now in my possession since I'm the one with a record player - and it might be the best still-hanging-onto-disco-even-in-1981 song out there. I will also never not think of it when taking the subway to and from Yankee games.
13. Everything She Wants, Wham! - Another spring 85 song, but I actually associate this with late spring 86, returning from a third grade field trip on a school bus, it being one of the first really warm days of the year, this song playing on the bus driver's radio. We got home before the end of the school day and rather than bring us inside, the teachers let us spend the rest of the afternoon on the playground. I guess I associate Wham! with soon-to-be-summer playground feelings and putting the teachers in a good enough mood to let that happen.
12. Tempted, Squeeze - This might be one of most-played songs on my iPod (yes, I still have one) and yet I only recently discovered it's Paul Carrack singing lead. And also singing lead on Mike and the Mechanics' Silent Running and The Living Years. And Ace's How Long, another never-skip song. (I knew Don't Shed a Tear for me, at least). Like, where the hell have I been?
11. Give Me the Night, George Benson - This is one of the first songs I ever remember hearing on the radio, a song I associate with, like, my mom watching Donahue and Sasson jeans commercials. Basically, it just sounds like 1980 to me, and love it.
19. Faith, George Michael - I loved how peppy this song was when I was a kid, but as an adult I appreciate the "don't stay with someone who treats you like crap just because they're hot - there's someone better out there" message. Also, I'm still really not quite over George Michael dying so young. And, uh, speaking of...
18. So Emotional, Whitney Houston
1980s KB: I make my Barbie and the Rockers play this song! Whitney Houston is so great! She's from New Jersey!
21st Century KB: *is sad*
17. Something About You, Level 42 - Another one of my many "this is a summer song and seemingly played endlessly at the beach circa June/July 1986, and therefore it's a good song" songs.
16. Heaven, Bryan Adams - Ah, one of the 80s' more perfect power ballads, resplendent in all its "I was the prom theme AT SO MANY HIGH SCHOOLS glory." Sidebar: Let's talk about how people drag power ballads and it's like, "Yeah, man, how dumb that a song incorporates longing and earnest feelings and big production?" The condescending undertone of that is "Chicks like this stuff, so how could it possibly be taken seriously? Even though I'll listen to some beanie-clad emo guy with a creaky voice sing creakily about lost love with just his acoustic guitar and it was recorded while standing in his cat's litter box AND IT'S ART." *side eye* /sidebar. Anyway, it's great. But I can't rank it higher than number 15 because...
15. Faithfully, Journey ...it was literally inspired by this song. Maybe the granddaddy of 80s power ballads, and I will fight anyone who 1) ranks the great but done-to-death Don't Stop Believin' ahead of this and/or 2) doesn't have Steve Perry in their top vocalist lists. (You're just very, very wrong if you don't, is all I'm saying. *cracks knuckles*).
14. You're The One For Me, D Train - My mom had this album, complete with amazing cover - an album that's now in my possession since I'm the one with a record player - and it might be the best still-hanging-onto-disco-even-in-1981 song out there. I will also never not think of it when taking the subway to and from Yankee games.
13. Everything She Wants, Wham! - Another spring 85 song, but I actually associate this with late spring 86, returning from a third grade field trip on a school bus, it being one of the first really warm days of the year, this song playing on the bus driver's radio. We got home before the end of the school day and rather than bring us inside, the teachers let us spend the rest of the afternoon on the playground. I guess I associate Wham! with soon-to-be-summer playground feelings and putting the teachers in a good enough mood to let that happen.
12. Tempted, Squeeze - This might be one of most-played songs on my iPod (yes, I still have one) and yet I only recently discovered it's Paul Carrack singing lead. And also singing lead on Mike and the Mechanics' Silent Running and The Living Years. And Ace's How Long, another never-skip song. (I knew Don't Shed a Tear for me, at least). Like, where the hell have I been?
11. Give Me the Night, George Benson - This is one of the first songs I ever remember hearing on the radio, a song I associate with, like, my mom watching Donahue and Sasson jeans commercials. Basically, it just sounds like 1980 to me, and love it.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
KB's Top 40 80s Songs, Pt. 2
In which we continue with 29-20, and learn that I am most definitely not a music snob.
29. You'll Accompany Me, Bob Seger - I remember when my parents upgraded our stereo system in 1982 or 1983 to one lacking an eight-track player (boooooooo) and my dad playing Bob Seger on the new turntable. This song will always remind me of the smell of new speakers (it's a good smell, I promise)...and all the really awesome Smurf toys my parents bought me that day. This is the important content you guys come here for, I know.
28. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown - My go-to karaoke song. No, really.
27. Dancing With Myself, Billy Idol - This is basically the equivalent of musical caffeine. Also known as a waker-upper.
26. Crazy For You, Madonna - This is one of six songs on this list from spring 1985 (five were in the May 25, 1985 countdown, maybe my most favorite AT40 ever - it includes the crazy "I dated a firefighter who was secretly married while he was dating me, but I married him anyway" Long Distance Dedication), which pretty much rivals only summer 1984 for "greatest musical season of the 80s" in my mind. It's my favorite Madonna song, and my wish for, like, the past five years was to use this song in a YA book I envisioned set in the 80s when one character realizes she has feelings for another...and then GLOW (you know, that show you should all be watching) went and did preeeeeetty much the same thing, and I can't even be mad, because it was perfect (every music cue on that show is perfect, but I digress).
25. Dancing In the Dark, Bruce Springsteen - Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone thinks this is one of Bruce's weakest songs, but it's summer 84, you're 7, this song is on the radio all the time (along with When Doves Cry and Ghostbusters), and Bruce lives two towns over (seriously, a celebrity you've known about since basically birth thinking your area is cool enough to live in is really exciting to a kid), and you sometimes pass his house on the way to the beach. This song, therefore, IS summer and I can never hate on it. Especially since as an adult, "I'm sick of sittin' 'round here tryin' to write this book" has become one of my go-to lines when fed up with trying to, uh, write any book.
24. Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant - I remember watching this video when I was like, 6, and being like "I don't know what's going on, but being a grown-up in England seems fun?" This is also one of the best walking songs, which I'm sure is exactly what Adam Ant was going for.
23. And We Danced, the Hooters - This song is the musical version of a natural high. Also known as instant-good-mood-putter.
22. Alone, Heart - One of the definitive 80s power ballads, one of the "never skip" songs when it comes up on shuffle. Ann Wilson's voice is just SICK.
21. Dance Hall Days, Wang Chung - Another song from summer 1984, and another "no-skip" song. I prefer it vastly to Everybody Have Fun Tonight, so there.
20. Tonight, Kool and the Gang
1980s KB: SOLID GOLD RULES! THIS SONG RULES!
21st Century KB: Just wait till you're living in the same city Kool and the Gang originated! And yes to everything above.
29. You'll Accompany Me, Bob Seger - I remember when my parents upgraded our stereo system in 1982 or 1983 to one lacking an eight-track player (boooooooo) and my dad playing Bob Seger on the new turntable. This song will always remind me of the smell of new speakers (it's a good smell, I promise)...and all the really awesome Smurf toys my parents bought me that day. This is the important content you guys come here for, I know.
28. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown - My go-to karaoke song. No, really.
27. Dancing With Myself, Billy Idol - This is basically the equivalent of musical caffeine. Also known as a waker-upper.
26. Crazy For You, Madonna - This is one of six songs on this list from spring 1985 (five were in the May 25, 1985 countdown, maybe my most favorite AT40 ever - it includes the crazy "I dated a firefighter who was secretly married while he was dating me, but I married him anyway" Long Distance Dedication), which pretty much rivals only summer 1984 for "greatest musical season of the 80s" in my mind. It's my favorite Madonna song, and my wish for, like, the past five years was to use this song in a YA book I envisioned set in the 80s when one character realizes she has feelings for another...and then GLOW (you know, that show you should all be watching) went and did preeeeeetty much the same thing, and I can't even be mad, because it was perfect (every music cue on that show is perfect, but I digress).
25. Dancing In the Dark, Bruce Springsteen - Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone thinks this is one of Bruce's weakest songs, but it's summer 84, you're 7, this song is on the radio all the time (along with When Doves Cry and Ghostbusters), and Bruce lives two towns over (seriously, a celebrity you've known about since basically birth thinking your area is cool enough to live in is really exciting to a kid), and you sometimes pass his house on the way to the beach. This song, therefore, IS summer and I can never hate on it. Especially since as an adult, "I'm sick of sittin' 'round here tryin' to write this book" has become one of my go-to lines when fed up with trying to, uh, write any book.
24. Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant - I remember watching this video when I was like, 6, and being like "I don't know what's going on, but being a grown-up in England seems fun?" This is also one of the best walking songs, which I'm sure is exactly what Adam Ant was going for.
23. And We Danced, the Hooters - This song is the musical version of a natural high. Also known as instant-good-mood-putter.
22. Alone, Heart - One of the definitive 80s power ballads, one of the "never skip" songs when it comes up on shuffle. Ann Wilson's voice is just SICK.
21. Dance Hall Days, Wang Chung - Another song from summer 1984, and another "no-skip" song. I prefer it vastly to Everybody Have Fun Tonight, so there.
20. Tonight, Kool and the Gang
1980s KB: SOLID GOLD RULES! THIS SONG RULES!
21st Century KB: Just wait till you're living in the same city Kool and the Gang originated! And yes to everything above.
Friday, August 17, 2018
KB's Top 40 80s Songs, Pt. 1
You know what I've never done before on my blog? Ranked my favorite 80s songs. This is ridiculous, considering I once ranked my top songs of all time (which has shifted slightly in the past fourteen years), when really, my wheelhouse is and always will be 80s music. Before you get your undies in a bunch over my choices, no, I don't think these are the definitive songs of the decade. They are merely my favorites. I'm not going to apologize for its pop slant, so you can miss me with your "but you didn't use the B side of this obscure, depressing British band's limited-release from the winter solstice of 1982 and therefore you're basic" arguments too. I was a child in the 80s, so everything was basically summer vacation, snow days and Christmas, and these songs were the soundtrack to that awesomeness and I can't look at them cynically as a result. Don't expect me to ever look at them that way...except I've Never Been to Me. That song can eff right off.
ANYWAY. Before this starts getting too defensive, I give you - with a hat tip to my beloved American Top 40 minus the Long Distance Dedications and general Casey Kasem charm - my No. 40-30.
40. New York, New York, Frank Sinatra - Yes, the Sinatra version was released in 1980 and since it got to No. 32, it's actually been featured in a legit American Top 40 countdown (Casey Kasem and the music of Old Blue Eyes is the crossover you never knew you needed -- if you're a Yankees fan obsessed with 80s music, anyway). It is, for obvious Yankee Stadium-related reasons, very close to my heart and I would not make ANY top 40 list without it.
39. Take My Heart, Kool and the Gang - The day I closed on my condo -- which did not come easy, complete with getting laid off five days before my closing but getting saved by my old job taking me back. I probably would've lost the condo otherwise, and given that I'd been close with another unit that fell through near the finish line a few months earlier, I was, well...edgy -- I walked home from the lawyer's office very carefully over sheets of ice and through pelting sleet, got home to my rental where the heat wasn't working, and cranked this up by Jersey City's finest production, Kool and the Gang.
38. Caught Up In You, .38 Special - This song just radiates joy.
37. Endless Summer Nights, Richard Marx - You're like "Oh god, spare me the cheese, KB," and I'm all "Screw you, this is AWESOME."
36. Let's Groove, Earth Wind and Fire - I don't trust people who don't like EWF. Tonya and I had the pleasure of seeing them in concert a couple of years ago and they are STILL incredible. This song is the very definition of delightful and if you don't even merely tap your foot or bop your head to it (I prefer chair dancing, TBH), I think you might be missing a soul.
35. One Step Up, Bruce Springsteen - I've never been divorced or on the verge of it, but this song makes me feel like I have. In a good way! If there can be a good way via empathy!
34. Save a Prayer, Duran Duran
1980s child KB: This song is boring.
21st century adult KB: Shut up, and go watch The Get Along Gang or something, pipsqueak.
33. We Are the World, USA For Africa - Guys. GUYS. This song. If you weren't alive and an impressionable age in 1985, I don't know that it carries the same weight but let me tell you, as an 8-year-old, this song with all its MTV heavyweights being earnest as all get-out, was the end all be all. I remember leaving school late one day because our principal was awesome enough to roll out the old AV club TV/VCR combo and let us kids watch it in the hallway. And I know exactly where I was (the traffic light where Sycamore Ave. meets Hwy. 35 in Shrewsbury NJ, with my equally-captivated-by-the-song BFF Brian in the backseat of his mom's car as she drove us around that day), when the worldwide simulcast happened on Good Friday 1985. In present-day, this has become a large-group karaoke birthday party staple (I'm from Monmouth County and therefore get to be Bruce by default, just to FYI).
32. PYT, Michael Jackson - If you were a child in the 80s, Thriller can basically do no wrong, especially because it's probably the first MAJOR pop culture thing in your memory (at least, in mine) and also because the entire album is iconic. "Thriller" will always be the gold standard for music videos in my book and I still can't believe the song never got past No. 4 in the Hot 100 (WHAT), but this is my favorite track off the album.
31. I Can't Wait, Nu Shooz - This is one of those songs I don't actually have downloaded anywhere, but whenever it comes on, I crank it up.
30. Out in the Street, Bruce Springsteen - If there's a better 80s song that encapsulates a summer Friday, well, you can keep it.
ANYWAY. Before this starts getting too defensive, I give you - with a hat tip to my beloved American Top 40 minus the Long Distance Dedications and general Casey Kasem charm - my No. 40-30.
40. New York, New York, Frank Sinatra - Yes, the Sinatra version was released in 1980 and since it got to No. 32, it's actually been featured in a legit American Top 40 countdown (Casey Kasem and the music of Old Blue Eyes is the crossover you never knew you needed -- if you're a Yankees fan obsessed with 80s music, anyway). It is, for obvious Yankee Stadium-related reasons, very close to my heart and I would not make ANY top 40 list without it.
39. Take My Heart, Kool and the Gang - The day I closed on my condo -- which did not come easy, complete with getting laid off five days before my closing but getting saved by my old job taking me back. I probably would've lost the condo otherwise, and given that I'd been close with another unit that fell through near the finish line a few months earlier, I was, well...edgy -- I walked home from the lawyer's office very carefully over sheets of ice and through pelting sleet, got home to my rental where the heat wasn't working, and cranked this up by Jersey City's finest production, Kool and the Gang.
38. Caught Up In You, .38 Special - This song just radiates joy.
37. Endless Summer Nights, Richard Marx - You're like "Oh god, spare me the cheese, KB," and I'm all "Screw you, this is AWESOME."
36. Let's Groove, Earth Wind and Fire - I don't trust people who don't like EWF. Tonya and I had the pleasure of seeing them in concert a couple of years ago and they are STILL incredible. This song is the very definition of delightful and if you don't even merely tap your foot or bop your head to it (I prefer chair dancing, TBH), I think you might be missing a soul.
35. One Step Up, Bruce Springsteen - I've never been divorced or on the verge of it, but this song makes me feel like I have. In a good way! If there can be a good way via empathy!
34. Save a Prayer, Duran Duran
1980s child KB: This song is boring.
21st century adult KB: Shut up, and go watch The Get Along Gang or something, pipsqueak.
33. We Are the World, USA For Africa - Guys. GUYS. This song. If you weren't alive and an impressionable age in 1985, I don't know that it carries the same weight but let me tell you, as an 8-year-old, this song with all its MTV heavyweights being earnest as all get-out, was the end all be all. I remember leaving school late one day because our principal was awesome enough to roll out the old AV club TV/VCR combo and let us kids watch it in the hallway. And I know exactly where I was (the traffic light where Sycamore Ave. meets Hwy. 35 in Shrewsbury NJ, with my equally-captivated-by-the-song BFF Brian in the backseat of his mom's car as she drove us around that day), when the worldwide simulcast happened on Good Friday 1985. In present-day, this has become a large-group karaoke birthday party staple (I'm from Monmouth County and therefore get to be Bruce by default, just to FYI).
32. PYT, Michael Jackson - If you were a child in the 80s, Thriller can basically do no wrong, especially because it's probably the first MAJOR pop culture thing in your memory (at least, in mine) and also because the entire album is iconic. "Thriller" will always be the gold standard for music videos in my book and I still can't believe the song never got past No. 4 in the Hot 100 (WHAT), but this is my favorite track off the album.
31. I Can't Wait, Nu Shooz - This is one of those songs I don't actually have downloaded anywhere, but whenever it comes on, I crank it up.
30. Out in the Street, Bruce Springsteen - If there's a better 80s song that encapsulates a summer Friday, well, you can keep it.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Musings While Watching an ESPN Game
This might be the most on-brand thing I've ever texted. (Self-preservation is key when 1. ESPN games are 2. in Fenway.)
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
*Dusts Off Keyboard* *Flexes Fingers* *Tries To Remember How to Write About Game Experience*
So, at last night's game, I FINALLY got a pic of my new, most favorite Yankee Stadium graphic of all time...
No, really, there's not much that tops this. (And since we're playing blog catch-up, just want to mention we were there for young Gleyber's first home run back in May, which was also a game they won on a walk-off Andujar single, and also Aaron Judge Jedi bobblehead/Star Wars night and therefore might be the most eventful game this season.)
(FLASHBACK: May the Fourth was with Gleyber, y'all)
It was nice to see the Yanks 1) actually beat the Orioles, because COME ON and 2) do well offensively with Judge and Sanchez down. This is a potent lineup when it's on, and an absolute joy to watch when the switch is flipped. I still have reservations about some of the pitching, however, but we'll see.
We were also still trying to wrap our heads around all the trade deadline stuff, including Austin's exit, which led to Quote of the Night honors for Erica (who was "bleeding internally" from her deep-tissue massage): "He had anger issues, yes. He just needed more hugs."
Unrelated to on-the-field play, one of my favorite additions to the "game experience" is 80s in the 8th, where an 80s tune is played and I feel very seen and understood by the Yankee scoreboard operators. Last night was Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon, which is great, but I'll fight anyone with my hot take that Take It On the Run is the superior REO song. But not as superior as El DeBarge's Rhythm of the Night, which was the choice a few weeks ago and Steph and I basically karaoke'd our way through the entire thing (okay, we karaoke to a lot of songs. Keep that up, Yankee Stadium scoreboard operators. We like you.)
No, really, there's not much that tops this. (And since we're playing blog catch-up, just want to mention we were there for young Gleyber's first home run back in May, which was also a game they won on a walk-off Andujar single, and also Aaron Judge Jedi bobblehead/Star Wars night and therefore might be the most eventful game this season.)
(FLASHBACK: May the Fourth was with Gleyber, y'all)
It was nice to see the Yanks 1) actually beat the Orioles, because COME ON and 2) do well offensively with Judge and Sanchez down. This is a potent lineup when it's on, and an absolute joy to watch when the switch is flipped. I still have reservations about some of the pitching, however, but we'll see.
We were also still trying to wrap our heads around all the trade deadline stuff, including Austin's exit, which led to Quote of the Night honors for Erica (who was "bleeding internally" from her deep-tissue massage): "He had anger issues, yes. He just needed more hugs."
Unrelated to on-the-field play, one of my favorite additions to the "game experience" is 80s in the 8th, where an 80s tune is played and I feel very seen and understood by the Yankee scoreboard operators. Last night was Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon, which is great, but I'll fight anyone with my hot take that Take It On the Run is the superior REO song. But not as superior as El DeBarge's Rhythm of the Night, which was the choice a few weeks ago and Steph and I basically karaoke'd our way through the entire thing (okay, we karaoke to a lot of songs. Keep that up, Yankee Stadium scoreboard operators. We like you.)
"Bring-the-Blog-Back Clap-Clap Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap."
Hey! I don't know how you start the first post of a blog you've ignored for four years, but Hey! seems close. So.
This post is dedicated to my season ticket crew, who have been asking for the blog to be reopened, and actually started chanting the title of this post at last night's game.
A few updates, since last we met, it was, a, uh, different time.
This post is dedicated to my season ticket crew, who have been asking for the blog to be reopened, and actually started chanting the title of this post at last night's game.
A few updates, since last we met, it was, a, uh, different time.
IN GENERAL:
I'm now a home owner. After feeling discouraged (see the last post I - er, the Yankee Chicken - ever did here), I managed to find a place in my price range that I didn't need a six-figure salary or a husband to afford. Props to my accountant who planted the seed of homeownership - I lived for years thinking I could never do it on a copy editor's salary and he was all, "Hey, as a first-time home-buyer, you can take up to $10K from your 401K or IRA to buy a place." And since first-time homebuyers don't need to put down 20 percent, well, hell, yeah, I wanted in! Thankfully, I got into my neighborhood while it was still "cheap." I don't think I could afford it now.
(Ken is also now a condo owner in my nabe and we take long-ass walks around town whenever we want and get Starbucks and super good cookies and reminisce about the time we saved a tree that was engulfed in flames...with the help of a firefighter and his Diet Coke)
I couldn't really blog much the past few years because I've been perpetually working on novels...that end up not going anywhere. But still, my time was eaten up pretty mightily, and still might be because I literally have TWENTY THREE ideas I want to work on. If I can't write, I can't breathe, so there's that. And if you're interested in reading something of mine, I've got my book Home Ick on Swoon Reads. It's free, if you want to leave comments/feedback/help a gal get published.
YANKEE STUFF:
I'm now a home owner. After feeling discouraged (see the last post I - er, the Yankee Chicken - ever did here), I managed to find a place in my price range that I didn't need a six-figure salary or a husband to afford. Props to my accountant who planted the seed of homeownership - I lived for years thinking I could never do it on a copy editor's salary and he was all, "Hey, as a first-time home-buyer, you can take up to $10K from your 401K or IRA to buy a place." And since first-time homebuyers don't need to put down 20 percent, well, hell, yeah, I wanted in! Thankfully, I got into my neighborhood while it was still "cheap." I don't think I could afford it now.
I couldn't really blog much the past few years because I've been perpetually working on novels...that end up not going anywhere. But still, my time was eaten up pretty mightily, and still might be because I literally have TWENTY THREE ideas I want to work on. If I can't write, I can't breathe, so there's that. And if you're interested in reading something of mine, I've got my book Home Ick on Swoon Reads. It's free, if you want to leave comments/feedback/help a gal get published.
YANKEE STUFF:
Most important: The Yankee Chicken is still luck-bringing and making Christmas cards of which he is the hero. His current favorite Yankee is "all of them. It would not be fair for me, a good-luck bringing Yankee Chicken, to play favorites, even if there is a player with a last name that is LITERALLY BIRD."
(Mine's Didi. Post-game Tweets = self-explanatory)
(Mine's Didi. Post-game Tweets = self-explanatory)
I'm in year 15 with the season tickets. Steph, Erica - YES, ERICA HAS RETURNED!!! - and I made a bold move...and switched sides of the Stadium. This not only gives us a new view, and new tourists to hang with (it's always tourists), but has positioned us so we can get out before the first post-game playing of New York, New York is over. (We were out by "Theeeeeese liittle town bluuuuues" last night. This is super great.)
2017 was one of the best years for games I've attended. Not only did I get to see the 9-1 comeback in April, I got to be at three playoff games, one being the Wild Card game, in which the Stadium energy was off-the-charts bat shit. I've never been at a playoff game where the fans were just basically coursing with this manic, fierce glee and ready to explode for all nine innings. Didi's home run to tie the game at 3 was unreal. The whole thing was incredible.
2017 was one of the best years for games I've attended. Not only did I get to see the 9-1 comeback in April, I got to be at three playoff games, one being the Wild Card game, in which the Stadium energy was off-the-charts bat shit. I've never been at a playoff game where the fans were just basically coursing with this manic, fierce glee and ready to explode for all nine innings. Didi's home run to tie the game at 3 was unreal. The whole thing was incredible.
PETS:
Sweet Pea the cat sadly passed away at 17 last year. She had some kidney issues, which required me TO GIVE HER AN IV every other day, which was AWESOME for a needlephobe, but, hey, this is pet ownership. She was a good cat.
The new addition is Clarence the cat. He likes to take things out of the bathroom trash and play with them, and also has his own Instagram account. He thinks he's a model. He might be?
ENTERTAINMENT:
I thank whatever god made it so that retro American Top 40 countdowns are still happening on weekends (so Tonya and I can commiserate on our 80s favorites AND insane Long Distance Dedications, like when the woman was dating the firefighter against her father's wishes, only to find out like a year into the relationship that THE FIREFIGHTER IS MARRIED AND YET THEY STILL END UP TOGETHER AND KENNY ROGERS' THROUGH THE YEARS IS SOMEHOW THE SONG SHE WANTS TO DEDICATE TO HIM. WHAT.) and that there's a 24/7 iHeart Radio channel devoted to it. I also broke down and got a SiriusXm subscription and OMG, it's the best thing I "buy" every month.
My TV show diet has weirdly flipped and I'm barely watching any dramas right now (Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones and Poldark are about it. I MISS YOU MAD MEN), and it's mostly all comedies. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Dear White People, Younger, One Day at a Time and GLOW (if you aren't watching this WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GET ON THAT) are my current faves. I've adjusted to the phenomenon of binge-watching, just because I want to avoid spoilers, but I deep down wish every show could be parceled out the old-school way of once a week. But I'm just an old ass, what do I know?
Sweet Pea the cat sadly passed away at 17 last year. She had some kidney issues, which required me TO GIVE HER AN IV every other day, which was AWESOME for a needlephobe, but, hey, this is pet ownership. She was a good cat.
The new addition is Clarence the cat. He likes to take things out of the bathroom trash and play with them, and also has his own Instagram account. He thinks he's a model. He might be?
I thank whatever god made it so that retro American Top 40 countdowns are still happening on weekends (so Tonya and I can commiserate on our 80s favorites AND insane Long Distance Dedications, like when the woman was dating the firefighter against her father's wishes, only to find out like a year into the relationship that THE FIREFIGHTER IS MARRIED AND YET THEY STILL END UP TOGETHER AND KENNY ROGERS' THROUGH THE YEARS IS SOMEHOW THE SONG SHE WANTS TO DEDICATE TO HIM. WHAT.) and that there's a 24/7 iHeart Radio channel devoted to it. I also broke down and got a SiriusXm subscription and OMG, it's the best thing I "buy" every month.
My TV show diet has weirdly flipped and I'm barely watching any dramas right now (Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones and Poldark are about it. I MISS YOU MAD MEN), and it's mostly all comedies. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Dear White People, Younger, One Day at a Time and GLOW (if you aren't watching this WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GET ON THAT) are my current faves. I've adjusted to the phenomenon of binge-watching, just because I want to avoid spoilers, but I deep down wish every show could be parceled out the old-school way of once a week. But I'm just an old ass, what do I know?
Anyway, that's just a minor recap. I'll see if I can keep this up on a semi-regular basis, but, you know those TWENTY THREE other story ideas ain't going to write themselves (but, then, neither are my Yankee game recaps, so, hmmm...)
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