Another drive to the fishing hole provides yet another opportunity to ramble about tunes and my lifelong allegiance to the radio dial.

5. The Safety Dance – Men Without Hats (1982)
Music in the 80s was both weird and wonderful and encompassed my teenage years in their entirety. This tune and band are a perfect slice of 80s music. While not technically a one-hit wonder (see “Pop Goes the World), this smash reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A bit of research shows that “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Tell Her About It’ kept it from reaching the top. And as a bonus, it is the only song I know that includes the word “imbecile” in the lyrics.

4. Different Drum – The Stone Poneys (1967)
This tune is as old as I am, and it is still a winner fifty-eight years later. Lead vocalist, Linda Ronstadt, would go on to be one of the leading ladies of the 1970s but for my money, this cut was better than any of her memorable string of cover tunes (as was “Long Long Time” from 1970). A cool note on “Different Drum” is that it was written by the late Michael Nesmith of The Monkees.

3. Dreamer – Supertramp (1974)
Like many Supertramp tunes, there is a lot going on in this song. Multiple vocalists, multiple keyboards, call and response, ups and downs, and changes of pace. I have no clue on the musical technicalities so I will just call it “Far out” as some of the lyrics state. And speaking of “far out”, I think that slang should make a return to regular usage. Somewhere around here, I’ve got a DVD copy of a program called “The Old Grey Whistle Test” that features a fun 1974 rendition of this tune (the clip can also be found online). On a sad note, I learned of the passing of Supertramp’s Rick Davies a day prior to putting this post together.

2. Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen (1987)
You sure can’t take a trip through the soundtrack of the 80s on the big screen without a shout out to Dirty Dancing. While I am not a rabid fan of the film, you can’t deny its impact. And while “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from the soundtrack went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, I like this song better. Eric Carmen’s one-two punch of an 80s comeback with this tune and “Make Me Lose Control” still stop me on the radio dial every time.

1. Spirit of the Radio – Rush (1980)
As a guy who still digs his radio, this song sums up what it is all about.
“Begin the day with a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays that song that’s so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood.”
I have begun many days this way. And have ended many a night in the same fashion.
“Off on your way, hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the spirits ever lingers
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude.”
And that sums up the ride to the fishing hole, or anywhere else with the radio dial as my steady companion.

Talk to you later. Troy

It’s tough to stay caught up on my Trip Tunes but I have such a fun time listening and reminiscing that I take the better late than never approach.

5. Hot Child in the City – Nick Gilder (1978)
This one hit wonder took his pop tune all the way to the top of the Billboard charts in a year dominated by disco. Interestingly, it was preceded at #1 on the charts by Exile’s “Kiss You All Over” which could loosely be labelled disco and was followed by Ann Murray’s “You Needed Me”, not even close. All in all, a fun year on the Billboard chart and “Hot Child…” was certainly a highlight.

4. Sausalito Summernight – Diesel (1981)
Another one hit wonder, this song peaked at #25 on the Billboard chart in September 1981. While researching some information on this tune, I found that it received substantial airplay on Chicago’s WLS, which likely explains why I purchased the 45 pictured above. WLS was that king of the airwaves on my clock radio for many years but by 1981 it was sharing my allegiance with a Galesburg station WGBQ (aka Q93).

3. Elenore – The Turtles (1968)
What a tribute to your best gal when the lyrics refer to her as “swell”, “groovy”, and “et cetera.” And “groovy” rhymes with “movie” where “They’ll turn the lights way down low, maybe we won’t watch the show.” Timeless.

2. Break It Up – Foreigner (1982)
Among the tracks on Foreigner’s smash album “4”, this one is my favorite. It is a rare occasion when you hear it on the radio as “Urgent”, “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” overshadow this lost single that peaked at #26 on the Billboard chart.

1. Roll on Down the Highway – Bachman Turner Overdrive (1975)
Suppose that someone unfamiliar with the genre asked you to provide an example of “rock music.” Well, you would be right on target with this driving tune about driving. Gruff, powerful, occasionally incomprehensible vocals paired with musicians hitting on all cylinders is an absolute treat. And once I understood the lyrics, I must say that my favorites lines are “The time’s real short you know the distance is long, I’d like to have a jet but it’s not in the song.”

More hits on the way. Talk to you later. Troy

The hits keep coming…

5. Light My Fire – The Doors (1967)
I like lots of songs for lots of reasons and this one’s got plenty. Fun organ, powerful vocals, guitar gymnastics and “fire” becomes a two-syllable word. I have also done a word exercise with the family for years that resembles “see how many words you can rhyme with”, in this case “fire.” And The Doors do a weird and wonderful job with “no time to wallow in the mire” and “funeral pyre.”

4. The Weight – The Band (1968)
I’ve referenced artists flying under the radio radar a couple times during my earlier musical rambles. The Band fits that category and once again it’s been an enjoyable ride through their catalog as I put this post together. With the passing of Garth Hudson earlier this year, all the original members are gone. What a blend of voices on this one as they relate choices, consequences, and the resulting loads we bear. And what a hook for a chorus as it packs some heft, befitting of “The Weight.”

3. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry (1976)
This song was awesome for a nine-year old and it remains awesome close to fifty years later. And that’s my original 45 in the picture above. A brief bit of searching on the internet put the price of a 45 record at $1.49 in 1976. I suppose that was a fair amount of cash for a nine-year old kid that could have also been invested in quite a few packs of baseball cards. In this case, “dancing and singing and moving to the grooving” won out over a possible Willie Stargell, Johnny Bench or Nolan Ryan.

2. Summer Breeze – Seals & Croft (1972)
As I type this up, the days are getting longer, and summer is officially less than a month away. However, with Memorial Day in the rearview mirror and another year in the books for Julie and those we still have in school, isn’t it really summer already? And as far as summer songs go, this one is tops. While the lyrics don’t specifically reference any of the following, this song brings back memories of swimming pools, baseball games, cookouts, campouts, sleepovers, and “not a care in the world.”

1. Can’t Find My Way Home – Blind Faith (1969)
I’ve always dug this tune, and it is an example of how songs strike you in different ways in different moods or circumstances. During this listen on the ride to the fishing hole it brought back a funny fishing memory. Once upon a time, me, Brent, and a couple of the Junk brothers (John and Mark) were on our way to a Victoria area strip mine, Green Oaks, for the first time. We’d received directions from the Knox College baseball coach, Tim Heimann. Something like “take Fremont Road until it ends and take a right”. Well, that road has so many turns, and we took the wrong right, got lost and were nowhere in the neighborhood. Fast forward forty years and I can get to those strip mines on multiple roads from various directions, perhaps even with my eyes closed. But there was a time when I was in the situation of I “Can’t Find My Way to the Fishing Hole.”

Two more fishing reports and ten more trip tunes to go to get caught up. Talk to you later. Troy

The shorter drive to The Canal results in shorter lists and in this case a combination of two trips for the tunes. In addition, during baseball season, sometimes the Cubs pre-empt the cuts on the radio. For today’s list we have symbolism, metaphor, a mythical(?) monster, a “Holy” song, and a fishing lyric. Read on for the ramble.

5. Synchronicity II – The Police (1983)
Growing up, I was a fan of mysterious creatures, collectively referred to as “cryptids.” So, how cool was it to hear a hitmaker of the day incorporate the Loch Ness Monster into a tune. Grown up, I relate to the rest of the lyrics during those times when adulting has you teetering on the line “he knows that something somewhere has to break.” So far, so good, though.

4. Trampled Under Foot – Led Zeppelin (1975)
I’ve always had trouble getting these lyrics down in my head, so the internet is a wonderful thing. No matter that I continue to mumble most of my way through it, this pedal to the metal jam is still a treat. I’m not a car guy, never been much of a mechanic but I definitely buy the metaphors that these guys are selling. On a side note, it is fun as I listen to each of these songs several times as I compose these thoughts. And duh, we are talking Stevie Wonder here, I’d never registered that during the countless times that I’ve heard this tune.

3. Everything I Own – Bread (1972)
In the days before you could find most everything you wanted to know about artists and songs with a click, you were left to your own interpretations. And sure, that can still be the case as songs mean different things to different listeners. But somewhere in the last ten years or so I saw a conversation with David Gates that blew my perspective of this tune clean out of the water. He’d actually written the song about his late father.

2. Holy Diver – Dio (1983)
Big news last week with the selection of a new pope, and by strange coincidence I end up with a “Holy” song on the list. Anyway, the metal legend, Ronnie James Dio, rocks out as usual as this cut chugs along. And with the advent of music video, we also get to see him save the day in some sort of Conan the Barbarian fashion. Take it for what it’s worth as some of those guys would not be mistaken for polished actors or catalog models. Which is exactly the way it should be.

1. Don’t Ask Me No Questions – Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
What I do for a living is a far cry from this whole fishing escape and these southern rockers hit the nail on the head. Knowing that any second could feature a call, text, or email from some four hundred users with any of a thousand issues from those magical little boxes that comprise a modern network can get you a bit stressed. This song ranked #2 on my “Fishing Lines” series from August of 2021 and sums up my decompression time quite well.

“So don’t ask me no questions
And I won’t tell you no lies
So don’t ask me about my business
And I won’t tell you good-bye
I said, ‘Don’t ask no stupid questions
And I won’t send you away’
If you want to talk fishin’
I guess that would be okay.”

And that is most of what I do here on the blog. With the occasional tangent into music, of course. I have been back on the water since these early May outings so stay tuned for another fishing report (and the applicable tunes). Talk to you later. Troy

A longer drive to and from the fishing hole on this trip means an expanded batch of tunes.

10. YMCA – Village People (1978)
Raise your hand if you have ever been to a wedding reception where the DJ played this gem. Better yet, raise both your hands and, well, you know. As an eleven-year-old kid in the fall of 1978, this one was a winner whether on the radio or at Skate Palace. Over forty-five years later, I still get a kick out of hearing this song as it takes me back in time and I even sing (and sometimes dance) along. (Yes, that is my original 45 pictured above but need a record player)

9. So Into You – Atlanta Rhythm Section (1977)
This band always slips through the cracks for me, so it is cool when I hear one of their tunes on the radio. I recommend a listen through their catalog including “Imaginary Lover”, “I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight” and “Do It or Die” as well as some other hits. Also toss in their remake of “Spooky”, best known from the Classics IV (featuring members who would later found ARS).

8. Our House – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970)
CSN&Y doing what they did best. Harmonized vocals paired with a bouncy mesh of musical accompaniment, both of which start out basic, move to a peak, and fade to a finish. Sure, there are plenty of more heavy hitting tunes from this bunch, but how many of them were ever catchy enough to sell sausage and appliances?

7. Radioactive – The Firm (1985)
While this tune didn’t make a big splash on the charts (Billboard #28), it got plenty of play on MTV. This supergroup consisted of Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company), Jimmie Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band), and bassist, Tony Franklin. Although this tune was their lone Top 40 hit, “Satisfaction Guaranteed” is also a winner and was another MTV staple.

6. 18 and Life – Skid Row (1989)
I like story songs and this one about a troubled, rebellious youth fit perfectly with the booze infused, bad boy persona of hair metal. MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball was chock full of such stuff and provided a much-needed break from the bulk of Top 40 radio of the day. Some may poke fun at the garb, glam, and coiffure, but you can’t deny that many of those singers had some pipes. And Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach could get it done.

Well, that’s five down and five to go. Talk to you later. Troy