Pop quiz (courtesy of Good Eats)

I watch a show that has been running since 1998, locally and then nationally, called “Good Eats”, hosted by chef Alton Brown. I just discovered the show this year. It runs in half-hour episodes, and while I don’t look to it for recipes, I do find it useful for cooking and grilling tips, and general information (like the difference between baking powder and baking soda). Brown has a delightful screen presence, so it’s been a pleasure to watch him age over time, to gain weight and then go back to svelte using diet tips I would throw out the window, but by which he lost 50 pounds. (Hint: Smoothies are not my thing.)

I tend to watch every episode, even as artichokes, beets and turnips are not of great interest.  But watching as I do early each evening (there are perhaps two hundred shows available by my count), I notice they occasionally (and subtly) toss in a movie or music reference, leaving it to the viewer to decide where it came from. Below are three I’ve picked up on, and I leave it to you to provide the reference. (It helps to have been born in the 20th Century.)

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1980s Starry Awards

I haven’t been around much lately because, well… life. Also, much like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, I have spent my time working through the musical jungle of the 1980s—900 albums, give or take a few synthesizers. Ay Caramba!

In my infinite wisdom (or questionable judgment), I have decided to rank my Top 80 Songs of the 80s—a truly Herculean, thankless endeavor. And since I’m still wading through the final albums of 1989 I figured, why not make things even more ridiculous? Thus, I present my own makeshift version of the Grammy Awards, which I have oh-so-cleverly named… The Starrys. (Insert collective groan here.)

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Marianne Un-Faithfull (d. 1/30/25)

This is a celebrity I have Faithfully (heh) avoided for the entirety of my life. A feat I managed despite so-called “professional” music critics showering me with their enlightened opinion. But here I am, listening to her Greatest Hits for the first time, and two songs in, I’m experiencing full-body tremors and the early onset of musical PTSD.

Her full name? Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull. Which means if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know exactly where this is going.
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AlphaBest Songs of 1980

This post offers something simple yet ambitious: a playlist that I believe encapsulates the music of 1980. Let me start with a disclaimer—I’m not claiming to be the ultimate authority on music, nor do I consider myself a musicologist (whatever that is).

To create this playlist, I compiled a list of the year’s top-selling albums—gold and platinum hits—and set out to listen to every single track. Yes, every single one. How many people do you know with both the time and determination to undertake such a project? My plan is to continue this endeavor year by year, compiling playlists that capture the spirit of each year.

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Puff the Magic Pardon

You might only recognize one face in this trio of photos: a young girl named Barbara Winter from the 1960s, Peter Yarrow of the iconic folk group Peter, Paul & Mary, and former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29, coincidentally just a week before Yarrow’s death on January 7. The connection between them is not immediately obvious, but their shared history reveals a disturbing and largely forgotten story.

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1971-1979: 100 Best of the Best-Selling Albums (The First 50)

After completing my deep dive into the best-selling albums from 1971 to 1979, I’m here to share my personal picks for the 100 most satisfying listens of the decade. Nobody asked for this, but here it is anyway! Keep in mind, these aren’t necessarily the best albums of the era—just the best of the best-sellers. And yes, the list leans heavily toward white male-centric releases. That’s partly because, well, I’m a white male, and also because the 1970s were undeniably a white-male-dominated decade in music.

Selecting the first 50 albums was fairly straightforward, and for anyone over 40, there won’t be many surprises. The second half of the list has been trickier to finalize, but I’m working on it. After spending so much time exploring this musical landscape, I felt compelled to share my findings.

Under each selection, I’ve included a “CliffsNotes” review courtesy of AllMusic. While I typically don’t hold professional critics in high regard—they often feel like industry insiders with unreliable takes—I found myself agreeing with their assessments. Plus, it saved me a lot of effort!

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The Curious Case of Xmas Albums

When I was a kid, my parents rented half our duplex to a lesbian schoolteacher. That arrangement went smoothly until her girlfriend’s “overnight tutoring sessions” became a bit too frequent, and she got the boot. I bring this up because this teacher once threatened to wring my neck if I didn’t stop playing the Chipmunks’ Christmas classic “Christmas Don’t Be Late” on an endless loop. Yep, I was obsessed with that song. In hindsight, I get it. Listening to Alvin and the gang whine about hula hoops 50 times in a row could push anyone to the brink.

Fortunately, I grew out of it—no more Chipmunks. In fact, I can’t remember ever buying a Christmas album, for myself or anyone else.

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Right in the Nuts

As I continue to trudge through the musical gold and platinum mines of 1971-1980, I can’t help but wonder: did people actually listen to this stuff? The sheer volume of mediocre music churned out during this time could only be explained by three quintessentially American tendencies:

  1. Questionable taste (let’s call it “poor discernment” to be polite).
  2. A suspiciously robust ability to spend money we don’t have.
  3. An insatiable hunger for entertainment, no matter how mind-numbing.
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Investigating Social Engineering in Music: Alice Cooper

After the dissolution of The Doors in 1971, another band emerged to fill the void of dark, theatrical rock: the Alice Cooper Band. That year, they released two albums, Love It to Death and Killer, both of which showcased impressive musicality. However, their true standout feature was their bold embrace of taboo themes, including manic insanity, necrophilia, and the infamous “Dead Babies.” Such provocative subject matter inevitably drew criticism and sparked debates about artistic intent, with defenders dismissing objections as either prudish overreaction or a failure to appreciate the dark humor and performance art inherent in the work.

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Manipulative Melodies: Investigating Social Engineering in Music

I’ve been taking a stroll down memory lane with the top-selling albums of the 1970s, a sort of personal farewell tour. But don’t worry, this isn’t one of those “farewell” tours that music acts like The Who or Cher love to milk for decades. No, this is more like revisiting old haunts, savoring the bitter and the sweet, and offering a proper “so long” to the soundtrack of my youth. During the golden years of 1971 to 1980, I went from nine to eighteen—a stretch of time that perfectly bookended my high school era. Naturally, the music of this decade made a massive impression on me. But, like that friend who overstays their welcome, a lot of these songs have been played to death. My old kit bag will carry only a few carefully chosen relics as most of the overexposed hits are being gently but firmly shown the door.

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