Musical Monday - Down Under by Men at Work

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: January 15, 1983 through January 29, 1983 and the week of February 12, 1983.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: January 22, 1983 through February 19, 1983.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: January 29, 1983 through February 12, 1983.

Americans love Australian music. The Bee Gees. Olivia Newton-John. The Little River Band. And so on and so forth. There probably isn't a musical act that shouts "AUSTRALIA" more clearly than Men at Work, and this song is their loudest assertion of that fact.

The song is also kind of nonsense, and the video is even more so, but it is the most entertaining glorious kind of nonsense one can find. Very few songs reached the top of all three charts I am tracking. A fair number reached the top of two, and of course, all got to the top of at least one. This is one of the songs that hit the top spot in all three. But for the sea change that is coming barreling down the pike (which will hit this list in just a few weeks), Men at Work might have set the musical tone for the entire remainder of the decade.

Due to the oddities of how music distribution worked, despite the fact that this song (and Business as Usual, the album it appeared on) were released in Australia in 1981, it didn't reach U.S. shores until late 1982, and of course, didn't peak until 1983. By 1983, Men at Work had recorded and released a second album - Cargo - which also produced a couple of hits, but none could match Down Under's success. The band disintegrated over the next few years, falling apart entirely about the time their third album was ready for release. In a sense, Down Under was simultaneously the band's greatest success and their harbinger of doom.

On a side note, this song was the subject of some legal controversy. The flute solo was found to have been pretty much lifted from an older Australian song from the 1930s, and the band's label was legally compelled to give a portion of royalties over the the songwriter's heirs. In short, one of the iconic songs of the 1980s was partially plagiarized from a song of the 1930s. I'm not sure what that means, but it is kind of depressing.

Previous Musical Monday: You Can't Hurry Love by Phil Collins

Subsequent Musical Monday: Africa by Toto

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Maneater by Hall and Oates

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Africa by Toto

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Maneater by Hall and Oates

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? by Culture Club

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: You Can't Hurry Love by Phil Collins

Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: Too Shy by Kajagoogoo

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Men at Work     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home

Running - Weekly Log for June 21, 2020 through June 27, 2020

Last Week's Mileage Goal: 20 miles
Actual Miles Last Week: 5 miles
Run/Walk Miles: 0 miles
Cumulative Mileage: 553.5 miles.
This Week's Mileage Goal: 10 miles
Current Weigh-In: Not done

Well, this is getting depressing. At the beginning of this year, I was recovering from a dog bite and then getting myself back into shape. I was pushing my weekly mileage on a regular basis, and was gearing up to run a couple of half-marathons and marathons this year. That's all gone now. The races have been canceled and now I struggle to even put in miles on the road. I was describing how my shoulders feel to someone and the best way I could come convey the feeling was to say that it feels like I moved a van load of furniture yesterday. And I feel like that every day. And I'm coming around to the fact that I am likely to feel like that every day from now on.

Needless to say, this has sapped my energy for running. By the end of the day, after spending my time working through having shoulders that just don't work right any more, I don't have the motivation to run. I keep setting running goals for the week, and then letting the days slip by without running. I've got to break this cycle of malaise, but I'm not sure how.

Previous Weekly Running Log: June 14, 2020 through June 20, 2020
Subsequent Weekly Running Log: June 28, 2020 through July 4, 2020

Running     Home

Book Blogger Hop - June 26th - July 2nd: Route 358 Is a Road and a Band in Arkansas

Jen at Crazy for Books restarted her weekly Book Blogger Hop to help book bloggers connect with one another, but then couldn't continue, so she handed the hosting responsibilities off to Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The only requirements to participate in the Hop are to write and link a post answering the weekly question and then visit other blogs that are also participating to see if you like their blog and would like to follow them.

This week Billy asks: When you run out of bookshelf space, what do you do?

With just over 12,000 books in my collection, space is often hard to find. When I run out of bookshelf space, I mostly start making stacks of books. Because I live with the Littlest Starship Captain, I can't stack books on the floor. In some cases, I can't keep books on shelves, since she likes to take them off the shelves and walk around with them. Thus far, she's only really been interested in my collection of foreign language dictionaries, although I don't know why she has focused on those books in particular. They have ended up scattered all over the house as a result. Every now and then, I collect them and reshelve them, but it is a quixotic battle at this point.

In any event, when I run out of shelf space, my first step is usually to start stacking books, usually stacking them on top of the books that are on the shelves. Sometimes, if a shelf is deep enough, I will double-shelve books. I also have a lot of books that are currently boxed up, waiting for a spot to be available for them to be placed into. My ultimate solution to having more books than shelves is to acquire more shelves for books, either by buying them or building them. When I ran out of room for more shelves, I moved to a larger place.

Speaking of shelves, I need to go and order some supplies so I can build more shelves in the Littlest Starship Captain's room.

Previous Book Blogger Hop: If You Do a Google Search for "357", the First Couple of Pages of Results Will Be About a Gun

Subsequent Book Blogger Hop: The Battle of Wolf 359 Pitted the Federation Against the Borg

Book Blogger Hop     Home

2020 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: CoNZealand, Wellington, New Zealand

Comments: As has been so often the case in the last couple of years, the Hugo finalists are dominated by female and minority authors. I don't think this is a mistake and I think it is a development that is well past due.

I have noted elsewhere that historically the Hugos have been biased against women (a statement to which I will add that they seem to have been even more biased against minority authors), but that on those relatively infrequent occasions when women were elevated to a finalist slot, they had a remarkably good winning percentage. In short, it seems to have been very difficult for a woman to get on the final ballot, but once there, a work by a woman seems to have had a better than average chance of winning.

There reason, I believe, is because the women and minority authors who did get nominated had produced work that was of such superior quality that they simply could not be ignored, while white male authors were benefiting from the general institutionalized racism and sexism of society and were able to get nominated with merely good pieces of work. What this means is that women and minorities have been continually upping their game over the years while many white male authors seem to have become complacent. Their work was good enough to get nominated. Why should they strive for better?

And now that the gates have been opened, there is a tidal wave of great work by women and minority authors flooding through, which makes the award better, to our benefit. It was always there, but now the doors to the Hugos have been opened, at least more than they were before.

Best Novel

Winner:
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Finalists:
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Best Novella

Winner:

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Finalists:
Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiang

The Deep by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Best Novelette

Winner:

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

Finalists:
The Archronology of Love by Caroline M. Yoachim
Away With the Wolves by Sarah Gailey
The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker
For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll
Omphalos by Ted Chiang

Best Short Story

Winner:

As the Last I May Know by S.L. Huang

Finalists:
And Now His Lordship Is Laughing by Shiv Ramdas
Blood Is Another Word for Hunger by Rivers Solomon
A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde
Do Not Look Back, My Lion by Alix E. Harrow

Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen

Best Related Work

Winner:

2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech by Jeannette Ng

Finalists:

Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski

Joanna Russ by Gwyneth Jones

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara

The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein by Farah Mendlesohn

Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin

Best Graphic Story

Winner:

LaGuardia written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colors by James Devlin

Finalists:

Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles

Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, letters by Joamette Gil

Paper Girls, Volume 6 written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Cliff Chiang, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher

The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: Okay by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles

Best Dramatic Presentation: Long Form

Winner:
Good Omens

Finalists:
Avengers: Endgame
Captain Marvel
Russian Doll (Season One)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Us

Best Dramatic Presentation: Short Form

Winner:

The Good Place: The Answer

Finalists:
Doctor Who: Resolution
The Expanse: Cibola Burn
The Mandalorian: Redemption
Watchmen: A God Walks into a Bar
Watchmen: This Extraordinary Being
Best Professional Editor: Short Form

Winner:
Ellen Datlow

Finalists:
Neil Clarke
C.C. Finlay
Jonathan Strahan
Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
Sheila Williams

Best Professional Editor: Long Form

Winner:
Navah Wolfe

Finalists:
Sheila E. Gilbert
Brit Hvide
Diana M. Pho
Devi Pillai
Miriam Weinberg

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
John Picacio

Finalists:
Tommy Arnold
Rovina Cai
Galen Dara
Yuko Shimizu
Alyssa Winans

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Uncanny Magazine editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Finalists:

Beneath Ceaseless Skies edited by Scott H. Andrews

Escape Pod edited by Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, audio producers Adam Pracht and Summer Brooks, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart

Fireside Magazine editor Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, publisher and art director Pablo Defendini, founding editor Brian White

FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction executive editor Troy L. Wiggins, edited by Eboni Dunbar, Brent Lambert, L.D. Lewis, Danny Lore, Brandon O’Brien and Kaleb Russell

Strange Horizons edited by Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff

Best Fanzine

Winner:

The Book Smugglers edited by Ana Grilo and Thea James

Finalists:

Galactic Journey founded by Gideon Marcus, edited by Janice Marcus, senior writers Rosemary Benton, Lorelei Marcus, and Victoria Silverwolf

Journey Planet edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Ann Gry, Chuck Serface, John Coxon, and Steven H Silver

nerds of a feather, flock together edited by Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G

Quick Sip Reviews edited by Charles Payseur
The Rec Center edited by Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Bogi Takács

Finalists:
Cora Buhlert
James Davis Nicoll
Alasdair Stuart
Paul Weimer
Adam Whitehead

Best Fan Artist

Winner:
Elise Matthesen

Finalists:

Iain Clark

Sara Felix
Grace P. Fong
Meg Frank
Ariela Housman

Best Fancast

Winner:

Our Opinions Are Correct presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders

Finalists:
Be The Serpent presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
Claire Rousseau’s YouTube Channel, produced and presented by Claire Rousseau
The Coode Street Podcast presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe

Galactic Suburbia presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch

The Skiffy and Fanty Show presented by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke

Best Series

Winner:

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey

Finalists:
InCryptid by Seanan McGuire
Luna by Ian McDonald
Planetfall series by Emma Newman
Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
The Wormwood Trilogy by Tade Thompson

Astounding Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
R.F. Kuang

Finalists:
Sam Hawke
Jenn Lyons
Nibedita Sen
Tasha Suri
Emily Tesh

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

Winner:
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

Finalists:
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher
Riverland by Fran Wilde
The Wicked King by Holly Black

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 2019
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2021

2020 Hugo Award Longlist     Book Award Reviews     Home

Musical Monday - You Can't Hurry Love by Phil Collins

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Never.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Never.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: January 15, 1983 through January 22, 1983.

To be perfectly honest, about 90% of what makes this version of You Can't Hurry Love interesting is the video featuring Phil Collins as essentially all three of the Supremes. The other 10% is that Phil does a fairly creditable job covering the song.

There's not much else to say about this version of You Cant Hurry Love. The song is a Motown classic, originally released by the Supremes in 1966 and covered by Phil Collins in 1982. Phil's performance is solid, but he's not Diana Ross. He's not Florence Ballard of Mary Wilson either. Other than the gimmick of having Phil perform all three parts in the video, there's almost no reason to listen to this version rather than the Supremes' version.

Previous Musical Monday: Maneater by Hall and Oates

Subsequent Musical Monday: Down Under by Men at Work

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: Save Your Love by Renée and Renato

Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: Down Under by Men at Work

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Phil Collins     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home

Running - Weekly Log for June 14, 2020 through June 20, 2020

Last Week's Mileage Goal: 20 miles
Actual Miles Last Week: No miles
Run/Walk Miles: 0 miles
Cumulative Mileage: 548.5 miles.
This Week's Mileage Goal: 20 miles
Current Weigh-In: Not done

I had planned to run 20 miles last week. Instead, I ran no miles. The combination of the rainy weather doing a number on my sinuses and just a general lack of motivation meant that I didn't end up running at all. Even so, I am going to be optimistic once again this week and plan on running twenty miles. At that distance, I can build in three days off, which I might start needing on a regular basis as my shoulders seem to need a day of recovery after a run of any real length.

Previous Weekly Running Log: June 7, 2020 through June 13, 2020
Subsequent Weekly Running Log: June 21, 2020 through June 27, 2020

Running     Home

Book Blogger Hop: June 19th - June 25th: If You Do a Google Search for "357", the First Couple of Pages of Results Will Be About a Gun

Jen at Crazy for Books restarted her weekly Book Blogger Hop to help book bloggers connect with one another, but then couldn't continue, so she handed the hosting responsibilities off to Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The only requirements to participate in the Hop are to write and link a post answering the weekly question and then visit other blogs that are also participating to see if you like their blog and would like to follow them.

This week Billy asks: Do you visit indie and/or used bookstores? Also, have you ever worked in any?

I try to visit indie bookstores and used bookstores as much as possible. I prefer to get my books from smaller venues rather than big booksellers like Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

In normal times, I buy most of my books from four sources: (1) used bookstores, (2) small, independent bookstores, (3) booksellers such as Larry Smith Books at conventions, and (4) authors at conventions. I have about twelve thousand books, and I estimate that I bought about 90% of them from these types of venues. I am kind of lucky in that I have some very good used bookstores quite nearby, and I usually have a couple of nice local science fiction conventions that fill in the gaps between. There aren't as many good local bookstores nearby, and the situation is only slightly better as far as comic books shops go, but I can get to them if I need to.

That said, I am not really patronizing many of those places these days. With conventions being cancelled for the foreseeable future, those last two categories of booksellers aren't really viable options. With most businesses being closed to foot traffic (or only allowing extremely limited foot traffic), the first two options are also kind of off the table right now. Whenever possible, I have been trying to place delivery orders from those local bookstores that will ship orders, but I have had to break down a couple of times and order from the larger retailers when I have been unable to find what I needed via smaller venues.

On a side note, I predict that the retailers who either had preexisting online ordering and shipping systems or who have been agile enough to develop them on the fly during this pandemic will be the ones who come out of this mess in the best condition. Sadly, some of my favorite places to buy books don't seem to be in that category. Some have, but I'm thinking there will be fewer options left when we emerge from the whole pandemic lockdown situation.

Previous Book Blogger Hop: xkcd 356 describes the Game of Nerd Sniping

Subsequent Book Blogger Hop: Route 358 Is a Road and a Band in Arkansas

Book Blogger Hop     Home

Musical Monday - Maneater by Hall and Oates

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: December 18, 1982 through January 8, 1983.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: December 18, 1982 through January 15, 1983.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: Never.

Following on the heels of Mickey's run at the to spot on the charts, Hall and Oates deliver another one of the signature songs of the 1980s with Maneater. This is also probably Hall and Oates most recognizable song, their most successful song in terms of chart performance, and possibly their best song. The odd thing is that it does not really sound all that much like the rest of Hall and Oates' oeuvre, though I suppose that might be why it did better than the rest of their musical output.

In any event, this song is pretty much the apotheosis of the early 1980s smooth jazzy-influenced soft rock sound. The music has no hard edges, with a silky bass line and a sultry saxophone riff, but all of this is set off with some pretty dark and moody lyrics - which are supposedly about New York City, but everyone (including the music video) interprets as being about a woman. Hall and Oates have several songs with some biting lyrics, but none that are quite as dark and moody as the lyrics to this song. It is that combination - a smooth and almost seductive tune accompanied by biting and almost harsh lyrics - that goes a long way towards making this such an iconic song.

Hall and Oates would have other hits after this one, and even reach the number one spot on the charts again, but the would never be able to match this song in the future. This was the high point of their career, and it was a long downhill slide from here.

Previous Musical Monday: Save Your Love by Renée and Renato

Subsequent Musical Monday: You Can't Hurry Love by Phil Collins

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Mickey by Toni Basil

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Down Under by Men at Work

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Truly by Lionel Richie

Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Down Under by Men at Work

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Hall and Oates     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home

Running - Weekly Log for June 7, 2020 through June 13, 2020

Last Week's Mileage Goal: No miles
Actual Miles Last Week: No miles
Run/Walk Miles: 0 miles
Cumulative Mileage: 548.5 miles.
This Week's Mileage Goal: 20 miles
Current Weigh-In: Not done

Well, this week could have gone better. Due to my continuing shoulder issues, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor and now have a preliminary diagnosis: I have arthritis in both shoulders. I still need to have some x-rays done to confirm this diagnosis, but he didn't seem to think the issues I've been having could be anything else. This is both good new and bad news. The bad is that there isn't much that can be done to fix the underlying problem, although the symptoms can be mitigated. The good news is that there isn't really anything I can do to make things better or worse than they are now, so I may as well start running again.

With that in mind, I'm going to try to run 20 miles this week. We'll see how this goes.

Previous Weekly Running Log: May 31, 2020 through June 6, 2020
Subsequent Weekly Running Log: June 14, 2020 through June 20, 2020

Running     Home

Book Blogger Hop: June 12th - June 18th: xkcd 356 describes the Game of Nerd Sniping

Jen at Crazy for Books restarted her weekly Book Blogger Hop to help book bloggers connect with one another, but then couldn't continue, so she handed the hosting responsibilities off to Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The only requirements to participate in the Hop are to write and link a post answering the weekly question and then visit other blogs that are also participating to see if you like their blog and would like to follow them.

This week Billy asks: How do you keep track of your books you will be reviewing or reading?

I use LibraryThing to catalog my books, and also to keep track of which books I have read and not read. I also use LibraryThing to keep track of which books I have that are review copies and which books are in my various categorized to-be-read piles. I also use a kind of informal shelving system to keep track of which books are in my upcoming to-read pile, but that is kind of chaotic and not particularly well organized and without my LibraryThing back-up, it would become entirely useless in short order.

Just for reference, here is xkcd 356.

Previous Book Blogger Hop: Agent 355 Was the First Female Spy for the United States, and No One Knows Who She Really Was

Subsequent Book Blogger Hop: If You Do a Google Search for "357", the First Couple of Pages of Results Will Be About a Gun

Book Blogger Hop     Home

Musical Monday - Save Your Love by Renée and Renato

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Never.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Never.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: December 18, 1982 through January 8, 1983.

Save Your Love is an odd song. The song sounds like it should be from some off-Broadway musical, and the video presentation of the song even looks like it is from some dinner theater performance. Despite the look and feel of the song, it wasn't actually attached to any musical theater production, and was just a song that sounded like it came from some minor Andrew Lloyd Weber musical.

This song is also an indie song, and by some measures, the first truly independent song to reach number one on the U.K. Charts, which is a fairly notable accomplishment.

None of this makes the song particularly good, just quirky and notable. The song itself is fairly generic and forgettable. I just listened to it again ten minutes ago, and I've already forgotten pretty much everything about it other than it is a duet.

Previous Musical Monday: Mickey by Toni Basil

Subsequent Musical Monday: Maneater by Hall and Oates

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: Beat Surrender by the Jam

Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: You Can't Hurry Love by Phil Collins

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Renée and Renato     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home

Running - Weekly Log for May 31, 2020 through June 6, 2020

Last Week's Mileage Goal: 20 miles
Actual Miles Last Week: 10 miles
Run/Walk Miles: 0 miles
Cumulative Mileage: 548.5 miles.
This Week's Mileage Goal: No miles
Current Weigh-In: Not done

So, my shoulder - actually both shoulders - has gotten really bad. I can't raise my arm straight over my head - I can only get it to about a sixty degree angle. I can't reach any part of my back. Reaching with one hand to touch the other shoulder across the front of my body is often painful. Trying to pull anything is often intensely painful. Sleeping has turned into an adventure, as I often wake myself up because I move in my sleep and the movement causes my shoulder to flare in pan. I've been spending so much mental energy each day trying to avoid movements that hurt that I just don't have the motivation to run, so I only got out on the roads twice this week.

I'm going to take the entire week off in the hope that this will help. I am not entirely optimistic, but its all I can do right now.

Previous Weekly Running Log: May 24, 2020 through May 30, 2020
Subsequent Weekly Running Log: June 7, 2020 through June 13, 2020

Running     Home

Musical Monday - Mickey by Toni Basil

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: The week of December 11, 1982.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Never.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: Never.

Mickey is one of the iconic songs of the 1980s. If one were to make a list of songs that exemplified the pop culture of the decade, this song would almost certainly be on it. The odd thing about it is just how limited its cultural impact seems to have been outside of becoming an earworm that has stuck around for decades after its release.

Despite becoming an emblematic marker of the era, Mickey only spent one week at the top of the Billboard charts. That's not a knock on the song - there are many great songs that never become number one hits, so even one week at the top of the charts is a major accomplishment - but for a song that became one of the iconic touchstone for the time period, that's not really much of a commercial splash. Unlike most other iconic songs, Mickey doesn't seem to have inspired many (or even any) imitators trying to replicate its sound and style. Finally, the song essentially constitutes Toni Basil's entire music career. She never had another particularly notable hit, although she did have a reasonably successful career as an actress and choreographer.

And that's the oddity of Mickey. it is undeniably one of the most significant songs of the 1980s, and yet it seems to have had no cultural impact beyond its own existence.

Previous Musical Monday: Beat Surrender by the Jam

Subsequent Musical Monday: Save Your Love by Renée and Renato

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Truly by Lionel Richie

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Maneater by Hall and Oates

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Toni Basil     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home