TA Inskeep (they/them)

Pop Top 40: Hot 100, week ending 8/5/89 LAY! YOUR! HANDS! ON! ME!

I wish I could stop, and switch off the clock: 1989 isn't exactly a banner year for music, but the top 40 from this week is pretty hot nonetheless. And yes, that's my beloved Winger in the link photo, because their hit in this countdown is magnificent.

Play with me some more: the best of Mariah Carey 19 Hot 100 #1s. NINETEEN.

35 years ago this week, "Vision of Love" topped the US singles chart, and the world was never the same. An appreciation of a diva in every sense of the word, Mariah Carey.

R.E.M.: Talking about the passion The best American rock band of my lifetime

HBD to superb on-the-one drummer Bill Berry of R.E.M. They're one of my all-timers.

You Can't Draw a Bad Cat A tongue-in-cheek drawing game where terrible art meets absurd cat scenarios. 60-second sketches, endless laughter. No artistic talent required nor desired!

The campaign for my friend Quinn's card game launches today! It's scientifically proven: you CAN'T draw a bad cat! If you love kitties, &/or gaming, &/or supporting independent creatives &/or folx in the trans community, PLEASE consider backing!

Saw them in '95 opening for My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult!

YouTube video by Chris Housman Chris Housman - Hidin' Something (Official Music Video)

If you thought that Chris Housman couldn't get any better, YOU'RE WRONG. DAMN! #queercountry

Straight to the heart: David Sanborn, RIP A Smooth Jazz icon, but so much more

Today's the late David Sanborn's birthday; the great saxman is known as an icon of Smooth Jazz but did a lot more than that (Aretha! Bowie! Steely Dan!). You've probably heard his distinctive tone out in the wild.

That would def be my suggestion!

Pop Top 40: Top [AOR] Tracks, week ending 8/1/81 The early years of AOR as a singles-oriented format, just in time for MTV

Journey, Billy Squier, Tom Petty, and Moody Blues each had a pair of singles in the top 20 AOR tracks this week in 1981. And what's that peaking around the corner, ready to disrupt the music industry? It's MTV.

Rolling Stones: Dirty Work, 1986 Yeah, it's my favorite Stones album

I love birthday boy Mick Jagger on DIRTY WORK, and here's why.

“Somewhere” peaked at #41! 😯

Barbra Streisand: The Broadway Album, 1985 Subtle as a sledgehammer, marvelous all the same

Streisand's best album, and I say that as a strong GUILTY partisan. But this is just... perfection.

Depeche Mode: "Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)," 1987 Their single finest single

HBD to the kinky one in Depeche Mode, writer of the bulk of their catalog, Martin Gore. On his and DM’s crowning achievement.

Pour some sugar: the best of hair metal The best hair metal rules.

It's the birthday of one of the greatest guitarists of the 1980s and beyond, Slash. I saw GNR on their first "reunion" tour (aka Axl + Slash + Duff) and he and they RIPPED IT UP. And yeah, some of their catalog definitely qualifies as hair metal.

AMEN!

The Singles Jukebox, 2024: Steve Albini, RIP The legen-fuckin-dary artist, engineer, producer Steve Albini died this past May, and TSJ tributed him with many of our writers picking an individual record and writing on it.

Steve Albini was one of the greatest to ever touch a mixing board, and today's his birthday. Here's a few words I wrote upon his death last year.

going deep. 🪩💿💿✨

I gasped. One of my favorite deep house mixes of all time. The turn he took into DJing was stunning.

Wrote this almost 20 years ago and stand by it.

WHOA! I literally just heard the title track for the first time several hours ago, and: where have I even been? 🤯

The Weeknd: Dawn FM, 2022 His best, most listenable album

Because I'm enjoying being a source of surprises this week, here's some thoughts on an album from 2022 that I only discovered this year but fairly like.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHY BRUCE

YouTube video by Ignazio Deddu S'Express - Theme From S'Express

The fact that the S'Express album is unavailable on streaming in the U.S. is *incredibly* homophobic.

YouTube video by Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails - As Alive As You Need Me To Be (Official Lyric Video)

NEW NIN THIS IS NOT A DRILL AND ALSO IT'S GREAT

If print qualifies, I'd say MOJO as well.

Pop Top 40: Hot 100, week ending 7/20/74 As crazy-quilt as the pop charts got

1974 was a TIME in the U.S. charts. You wanna talk about something for everyone?

As I say in the opening of the post.

LOVE this! And thank you, Bill -- praise from you is never received lightly.

The Queer Roots of Punk Rock On Rebellion

Another great piece by @songsthatsavedyou.bsky.social, this one on punk's queer beginnings.

Elvis Presley: Promised Land, 1975 The King's 21st studio album is one of his best

Don't mention my name: Elvis in 1975 was still firing on most, if not all, cylinders. I love this album.