October 2022 Vinyl Challenge: Chart Watcher's Edition

Day 24: “Smooth”

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Miss Sharon Jones!

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Released her first full-length album at 46!
Nominated for a Grammy at 58!
Featured in a full-length documentary at 59!
Just a few of what Miss Sharon Jones achieved in the last quarter of her life. Truly an inspiration!
 
Day 25: “Try Again”

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By the end of the 90s, physical singles as a whole were on their way out as labels wanted to focus more on album sales, yet despite how gradual that shift was, it took Billboard until the end of ‘98 to implement airplay-only tracks onto the Hot 100. On June 17th 2000, Aaliyah’s “Try Again”, her only #1 pop hit, became the first #1 to hit its peak solely on radio airplay; it’d not yet had a physical release in the States on any format, something Billboard begrudgingly acknowledged in a couple of articles from that week:

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Day 25: “Try Again”
play a record or artist you found through the radio

Led Zeppelin "IV" (1971 Atlantic; 1976 Japanese pressing)
This one could be tough for young folks. It wasn't too easy for me, since I was getting into music during the late 70's and 80's. Most of my music discovery in those days was via music video programs or countdown shows like Solid Gold. Plus there's the memory issue. These days, most of my music discovery is done either on the internet or via streaming platforms, and it's been that way since the late 1990's. But I do remember hearing both of Led Zeppelin's Rock & Roll and Stairway To Heaven on the car radio the first times I heard them.

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Day 25: “Try Again”
play a record or artist you found through the radio

Blondie - Autoamerican

Like @Turbo I also grew up in the 70's and 80's and it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what I was gleaning from the radio, variety shows, the kids at summer camp, my friends older brothers, or just the general environment. It certainly wasn't my parents, who were trapped in some 1940's fever-dream of musical taste. But I do clearly remember walking down the hallway in 4th grade near the end of the school year when one of the teachers was playing the radio and "The Tide Is High" came on and captured my imagination.

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Day 25: “Try Again”
play a record or artist you found through the radio

Count me in on the 70's / 80's as the formative radio years. I've been very lucky to live in some areas that had great stations. Growing up in LA in the 70's you had the powerhouses of KMET and KLOS, and then KROQ joining the fold. I lived in Chicago for a few years with WXRT, and then when I was in Minneapolis I had the late, great REV 105 (who introduced me to Soul Coughing - would have chosen that but I don't have any on vinyl).

College years I was able to catch the signal from 91x from a distance in Riverside, CA, and now that I live in San Diego it's easily my go to station, especially now that they've gone more free form with the selections. They continue to introduce me to new music, but I'm going with this album as Fascination Street and Lovesong showed up on the top 91 of 1989 which was right in the middle of my college years and prime radio listening.

The Cure ~ Disentegration

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www.91x.com

Top 91 of 1989 - 91X FM

| 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | […]
www.91x.com www.91x.com
 
Day 25: “Try Again”
play a record or artist you found through the radio

Florence + the Machine - KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic

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I haven't owned a car in over 10 years and can't remember the last time I actually listened to the radio BUT I do know I discovered Florence + the Machine on tv - I saw their first performance on Jools Holland and fell instantly for her voice. Plus this little 10" is taken from a radio show - that's got to count for something, right?
 
Day 25: “Try Again”

The Korgis - “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime”

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This song really stood out to me when I was listening to an American Top 40 rerun from 1980 nearly two years ago. When I saw this 45 out in the wild, I grabbed it immediately, mostly because the song itself sadly isn’t on AM or Spotify (last I checked).
 
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skipping ahead 19 years bcuz why not…

Day 26: “Old Unholy Road”

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During “Old Town Road”’s record-breaking 19-week run at #1, Lil Nas X became the first (and so far) only artist to come out as gay while having a #1 record! To add to that, just this week (as in yesterday), Sam Smith & Kim Petras became the first open non-binary & transgender artists to score a #1 hit with their collaboration “Unholy”!

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Day 25 - Try Again

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Lorde - Pure Heroine

I still remember when I first heard “Royals” on the alternative station in Philly and I was blown away by it! It’s mix of pop and alt radio sounds with killer and relatable lyrics all done by someone who was the same age as I was was one of the most exciting things I’ve heard up until that point of my life. The song and album still hold up incredibly well!
 
Day 25: “Try Again”
play a record or artist you found through the radio

Everclear - Sparkle and Fade

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Listening to Marco Collins’s top requested countdown on KNDD while doing homework every night was part of my routine in junior high. I made my own compilations by recording songs from the radio. They played “Heroin Girl” as the first single from this record one night and from the opening line, I was sure the station was in big trouble. The song ended up being the #1 requested song every night for several weeks
 
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