Show Biz: Thursday 06/18/09

*** Paul McCartney is turning 67 today. Did I need to put "Sir" in front of his name?

Oh well.

We delved a little deep into Macca's collection of hits for the birthday segment, and gave you "Listen To What The Man Said" from his days with Wings.





*** The Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was "Out Of My Head" from the group Fastball, who enjoyed success with several hits at the end of the decade, but then seemed to disappear.

They're still together, but, obviously haven't been able to recapture any of their original success.

Their debut album, which featured their three most popular songs, went platinum. The followup album? 85,000 copies sold.

Yikes.

Thhe Moosst Commmonly Misssspelled Worrds

Spelling isn't a priority in this age of texting and Twittering, but a new survey of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language reveals a list of terms that have probably never seen the light of day on a text or a tweet.

OnePoll.com recently surveyed five thousand people and found the top ten most misspelled words. They are:

1. Definitely
2. Sacrilegious
3. Indict
4. Maneuver
5. Bureaucracy
6. Broccoli
7. Phlegm
8. Prejudice
9. Consensus
10. Unnecessary

Now we need a list of the most commonly -- and purposely? -- mispronounced words. The one at the top of my list that makes me want to put my fist through a wall, or at least into a pillow, everytime I hear it...Supposably

Show Biz: Friday 06/12/09

*** Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick is having a birthday today, and with it being Flashback Friday, the tune "Surrender" was the perfect choice.

Just as it was for Conan O'Brien's cross-country run from New York to L.A. to get ready for the Tonight Show gig.

Show Biz: Tuesday 06/09/09

*** As you know by now, I'm back from my weekend with the boys in Ohio. Nobody got arrested, and everybody made it back safe and sound.

While most of the guys were eager to hit the night spots at Put-In-Bay each of our two evenings, the treat for me was having Friday night, and all day Saturday with no major responsibilities, other than helping to make sure the fridge or cooler of choice was properly stocked.

There were several guys on the trip -- out of the 18 total -- that are married with kids, and a lot of our enjoyment was just having the time, and freedom, to sit on the deck of our cabin and waste away a Saturday, reading a magazine, staring at ladies at the pool, playing bags, staring at ladies at the pool, and staring at ladies at the pool.

It was a fun weekend, but I'll admit, it was nice to get back home.



*** Jay's choice today for the Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was "Freshmen" by the Verve Pipe.

Back On Monday

Hey gang. Sorry, I'm a day or two behind on posting. It's been a bit crazy the last few days, so, my apologies.

Just a couple of things for ya...

*** Don't forget to tune in this weekend to the sister station, 103.1 FM, WCSJ for coverage of the Coal City Lady Coalers at state. This is the first time the softball team has made it this far.

Coverage begins today at about 4:15pm, with the first pitch at 4:30 against Stanford Olympia. We'll have more on today's game, and a preview of Saturday's game during Spotlight On Sports tomorrow at 9:00am.

I've had these two vacation days -- today and tomorrow -- set in stone for months now, so I won't be on the call. Jay will get the chance to bring home a champion.

With the way Kirsten Verdun is pitching, I wouldn't bet against them.

If betting on high school sports was legal, of course.



*** Yesterday's Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was the 1995 mega-hit from Oasis, "Wonderwall".





*** As for me this weekend, I'm headed off to a bachelor party for one of my best friends, Brian, who is getting married in July.

Here's the video of him proposing to his longtime girlfriend at the end of an ABC7 10pm newscast last spring.



I've known Brian since junior high, and the two of us have shared many a laugh over the years, poking fun at just about everything in the pop culture world, and spending a lot of our chats and conversations rehashing all the silly things we've done over the years.

When I play back my feeble attempts at play-by-play at Blackhawk games from my earlier years, Brian was usually right there next to me.

His is the voice yelling "Shoot it!" in one of the clips.

The bachelor party is in Ohio, and we leave this morning and get back Sunday. There will probably be between 15-20 guys in attendance. Hopefully, we all make it back.

Don't worry, I've left all of my auto-erotic asphyxiation equipment at home.

Not sure if Norm will think to play a little INXS for the 80's Escape in honor of the passing of David Carradine, who appears to have died the same way Michael Hutchence did.

At the very least, our first beverage of the trip should be a "Grasshopper".

Show Biz: Tuesday 06/02/09

*** Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones has a birthday today.

Watts is one of the only drummers I've seen that while playing a simple 4/4 beat, would not hit the hi-hat when hitting the snare drum.

Not sure the significance of that, just thought I'd share.

We featured a Stones' classic from the 70's at the end of the birthday segment, "Miss You."





*** The Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom debuted today -- it will air again Thursday morning at 7:50am -- and the first song chosen was "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum.





*** For the 80's Escape, we played something from The Bangles.

Their bass player -- Michael Steele -- turns 55 today, and our song of choice was their 1988 hit, "Hazy Shade Of Winter."

Nineties Nugget

We debut a new musical feature today, the Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom.

The segment -- in the tradition of the 80's Escape -- will feature a popular song from the nineties that you don't normally hear on WJDK.

Jay is choosing the songs, although that doesn't necessarily mean they are all favorites of his. So, if you hear "Achy, Breaky Heart", don't assume it's straight from Jay's personal mix tape. Not saying it didn't come from there...just sayin'.

Don't worry, you (most likely) won't be hearing Billy Ray, or Vanilla Ice, or the Spice Girls. There will (most likely) be no "Macarena", or "The Thong Song", or "Rico Suave".

The goal is to simply play a song that was popular when it came out, could pass as a regular song on the 'JDK playlist, and is entertaining to listen to - for you, and us.

We're going to do the segment two days a week: Tuesday at 7:20am, and Thursday at 7:50am.

If you have a suggestion for a song you'd like to hear, send it here.

Show Biz: Monday 06/01/09

*** Alanis Morissette turns 35 today. For some reason, we don't play any of her songs on WJDK - until today.

At the end of the birthday segment, we brought out her 1996 hit, "Head Over Feet."






*** It's always a treat when we have an excuse to play some Air Supply on the show -- if only because it reminds Jay and I of the hilarious infomercial that we always mimic while their songs are playing -- and for the 80's Escape today, we played "The One That You Love" on Graham Russell's (the blond one) birthday.



This video always makes me thirsty for some lemonade...

Show Biz: Thursday 05/29/09

*** The great John Fogerty celebrated a birthday on Thursday.

You gotta love the guy. He has a place in rock history with a string of classics with CCR, some big hits in the 80's, and he's still touring and making albums to this day.

He had a very catchy instrumental song a couple of years ago that nearly made it as the opening theme to the show.

During the birthday segment, we featured one of the simplest, yet memorable videos from the eighties: The seemingly never-ending extension cord that ends up in John's guitar during "The Old Man Down The Road."

John Fogerty - The Old Man Down The Road
Uploaded by jpdc11. - See the latest featured music videos.

*** It was hard to resist bringing out some Fogerty again during the 80's Escape, so I gave into temptation by playing "Centerfield"

John Fogerty - Centerfield
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*** Carlos Zambrano had one of his annual meltdowns at Wrigley Field this week, arguing a safe call at home plate -- which was the correct call -- and got tossed by the home plate umpire.

The umpire in question, Joliet's own Mark Carlson, who was a guest on Spotlight On Sports many moons ago after he had become a major league ump.

An incredibly nice guy, by the way.

Over the years, I had lost track of whether Mark was still calling games at the Major League level. I guess, that means he's been doing just fine. Umpires, in theory at least, don't really want to be recognized, or considered part of the game in any memorable way.

So, thanks, Mark for reminding me that you still are out there. And, feel free to eject as many Cubs as you feel fit.

Here's the meltdown in case you missed it...

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/27/09

*** The very underrated Neil Finn, singer from Crowded House and Split Enz, had a birthday on Wednesday.

One of the more infectious hits from Crowded House, "Something So Strong", was featured at the end of the birthday segment.



*** Did you catch Mr. T singing at Wrigley Field the other night? Quite a treat.

Jay and I had some fun with the audio during the show Wednesday, and you get to enjoy the audio AND video below.





*** For the 80's Escape, we went back to 1980 for Paul Simon's top ten hit, "Late In The Evening."

Jon and Kate Plus Hate?

This is Kate Gosselin, of the increasingly unwatchable TLC show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

If I never see this woman on my television again, I will be a happy man.

Alas, the odds on that happening are not good. Our oldest daughter, Megan LOVES the show. Luckily, all of the adult drama has passed right over her head, so on each episode that she watches, she focuses on the kids and what they do.

Kate should take note.

The picture above depicts her "working", and doing her "job" while ignoring her kids at home. She spends about 20 days a month traveling across the country for various speakign engagements (cha-ching) and book signing (cha-ching), leaving husband Jon to take care of the kids back at their mansion (thanks to the $75,000 per episode they receive from TLC. Cha-ching!).

Then, when she does show up at the house in the premiere, she takes the kids with her to help pickj out party favors for the sextuplets 5th birthday party. She's all too eager to point out that Jon is not around for that weekend, so she has to do everything by herself -- something she whined about multiple times last night -- and then spent the rest of the episode putting on phony displays of laughter and happiness, while the people around her -- including the kids -- had grim looks on their faces.

She's narcissistic, overbearing, a shrew, selfish, and demeaning. And those are her good qualities.

I won't go into all of the details on the show, or the fractured relationship between Jon and Kate -- who seem ready for a divorce, after watching last night's season premiere -- because there are countless articles and websites that recount the details, or at least the allegations much better than I could in this post.

Just suffice it to say that, as usual, the ones that will suffer are the kids. They might not know everything that's going on, but they know enough to realize that something is wrong. Dad's not around -- probably kicked out of the house -- and Kate is bound and determined to keep those cameras around, and keep her "career" of touring the country alive, instead of staying at home where she belongs and fixing her family.

Oh, but it's all Jon's fault according to her. When allegations of her indiscretions were brought up, Kate wanted to change the subject because it made her mad. It doesn't matter. After watching this show way more than I wanted to these last few months, it's obvious her heart belongs to Benjamin Franklin.

You know, I actually don't mind if Kate is on my television in the future.

The more Megan watches, the more she'll realize how good she has it.

And, really. Chop off the hair.

It looks ridiculous.

Hawks Win!

After blowing a 3-0 lead, the Blackhawks put away Detroit in overtime last night, 4-3 at United Center.

Let's hope Martin Havlat will be okay after the crushing hit leveled upon him early in the game.

For the first five seconds or so after this hit, I thought he was dead.

This is one of the reasons I play golf.

Show Biz: Friday 05/22/09

*** A fun birthday segment today, complete with references to Mr. Bean, the classic "Shirley (surely) you can't be serious" line that never gets old, plus the chance to drop the Smiths on you.

Lead singer Morrissey turns 50 today, and on a Flashback Friday, it seemed even more appropriate to play "How Soon Is Now"





*** Bernie Taupin is also celebrating a birthday today. There are dozens of songs that we could have played for the 80's Escape from the lyricist for Elton John.

In the end, I simply went with a song that had a good beat, and works well as we approach the busy weding season.

Here's "Kiss The Bride"

Show Biz: Thursday 05/21/09

*** Stan Lynch, the drummer from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had a birthday Thursday.

We had a double feature with Tom and the boys, with "Love Is A Long Road" up first during the birthday segment.





*** For the 80's Escape we featured "Runnin' Down A Dream". The actual video for the song which features Stan Lynch on drums is here.

The only video clips that I could embed into the blog feature Lynch's replacement on the skins, Steve Ferrone.

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/20/09

*** The immortal Cher turns 63 today. During the birthday segment -- which was filled with a lovely callback to Rusty the horse from Seinfeld -- we played her number one hit from 1973, "Half Breed".

That song is the opening part of this Cher medley from the same year.





*** Joe Cocker is 63 today. The 80's Escape this morning featured his 1989 hit, "When The Night Comes", which can be heard below.

For one of my favorite Joe Cocker related moments -- the classic clip of John Belushi imitating Cocker, with Cocker singing along on stage -- click here.

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/19/09

*** Pete Townshend had a birthday on Tuesday. For the 80's Escape, we featured one of Pete's hits as a solo artist -- he didn't have many -- "Let My Love Open The Door."

Here's a live version, complete with Phil Collins on drums.

Show Biz: Monday 05/18/09

*** Rick Wakeman, keyboard player with Yes, turns 60 today.

During the birthday segment, we played "Love Will Find A Way". Yes, "Roundabout" would have been a much more exciting choice, but I didn't have 8:29 available.





*** Martika turns 40 today, and the 80's Escape was the perfect venue to play her biggest -- and only -- hit, "Toy Soldiers".

Baseball Bets

Not sure if anyone remembers, or cares, but now that we're a little over a month into the season, I thought I'd update you on the progress of the season-long baseball bet going on between the Three Stooges (your truly, Jay, and Kevin).

It's a pretty tight race. We weighted the win total category, since the Cubs are picked by just about everyone to rack up more wins than the Phillies and White Sox. We just may not have weighted it enough.

Going off a Vegas gambling site, we had the Cubs slotted for 92 wins, the Phils for 88, and the Sox for 80. Well, Kev's just about caught me in that category (just one game behind heading into this weekend), and he's just seven behind the Sox (making up almost 50% of the deficit within the first six weeks of the year is not a good sign for Jay).

On the flip side, with the injury to Aramis Ramirez, and the slow start for Giovanny Soto, Kev is lagging behind in third place in the RBI category.

Our "goofy" stat is the Sunday winning percentage, and so far, Schramm's Cubs are a perfect 4-0.

That category was my idea.

Excuse me while I bang a baseball bat over my head.

The good thing is, the overall stats are very close for our bet, and it should make for a competitive season.

I'll update you again in a few weeks. Be sure to clear your schedule.

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/13/09

*** Stevie Wonder turns 59 today. He is one of the best -- and one of my favorite -- singers/artists of the past forty-plus years. There's no debate.

While it was tempting to reach deep into the Stevie archive during the birthday segment and bring out "I Wish", or "Living In The City", or the always satisfying "Superstition", I chose to go with one of his softer classics, the glorious "Overjoyed" from 1985.





*** One of the stories we discussed today was one that virtually all of us can relate to, the workplace refridgerator. More specifically, the food that gets left in that fridge, and the problems that arise.

We do a pretty good job here at the station of keeping our fridge pretty clean, and limiting the amount of food that sits in there for more than a few days.

Most of what's in our fridge consists of drinks and condiments, with the occasional lunch -- usually mine that I eat every day.

It's a far cry, thankfully, from the work fridge at the AT&T building in San Jose. There was so much moldy and spoiled food in there that the smell that came from that fridge when it was getting cleaned sent dozens of workers to the hospital.

A hazmat team had to be called out.

Now, there have been times here at the station that a hazmat team certainly could have been called out after some excursions in the bathroom, but never for anything in the fridge.




*** Adam Clayton of U2 is having a birthday today, so for the 80's Escape we played one of U2's hits, "New Year's Day".

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/12/09

*** Steve Winwood turned 61 on Tuesday. Always liked his stuff, whether it was with Traffic, Blind Faith, the Yardbirds, or his solo work.

I mentioned that he recently toured with Eric Clapton -- the two played together in the group Blind Faith -- and the 80's Escape song from Tuesday was Winwood's "Split Decision" from 1986.

The version below is with Clapton on guitar during their tour together from last year.

The studio version of the song features Joe Walsh on guitar, who also co-wrote the song.