I learned about Jimmy Buffett’s death on Saturday morning and knew I had to call an audible for this week’s blog entries. I couldn’t let the passing of such an iconic performer go unrecognized.
I’m a casual Jimmy Buffett fan, which seems appropriate given the man’s laid-back vibe. I’ve never owned one of his 29 studio albums. My Buffett collection has always consisted of just one release: the 1985 greatest hits record Songs You Know By Heart.
The week of August 28, 1993, saw two songs I’ve already covered in the #1 and #2 spots of the Billboard Hot 100: UB40’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and Tag Team’s ‘Whoomp! (There it Is),’ respectively.
That brings us to #3, where Mariah Carey’s ‘Dreamlover’ sat on its way to a #1 berth the following week. This pop/R&B confection would be Carey’s seventh to top the charts, and ended up spending eight consecutive weeks at #1.
Throwing back to the week of August 27, 1983, we find two songs dominating the top of the chart that basically occupied that space all summer — The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ and Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).’
In the third spot was the second single from the Flashdance soundtrack. A couple of months earlier, the movie’s title track topped the charts, and now Michael Sembello’s ‘Maniac’ was on its way to the same accomplishment.
I’m closing out the week with another viral hit, this one refreshingly free of political baggage. Indeed, ‘Planet of the Bass’ has a more unifying idea: “World peace!”
This song started as a TikTok clip by comedian Kyle Gordon and “content creator” Audrey Trullinger, who embodied the characters DJ Crazy Times & Ms. Biljana Electronica for a short parody of a Eurodance song/video.
One of the more prominent critics of Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ was fellow country artist Jason Isbell, known for his brilliant songwriting chops, his outspoken leftist politics, and his Twitter clapback game.
Isbell opted to take a shot at Aldean for defending a song he didn’t even write. “Dare Aldean to write his next single himself. That’s what we try in my small town,” Isbell tweeted. Then, “Ok here ya go @Jason_Aldean I’m challenging you to write a song yourself. All alone. If you’re a recording artist, make some art. I want to hear it.” And, “Seriously how do you defend the content of a song you weren’t even in the room for? You just got it from your producer. If you’d been there when it was written, you’d be listed as a writer. We all know how this works.”
Meet Me In Montauk 