41 Going on 14?

Last Saturday evening my husband of 12 years looked me straight in the eye and said: "I think you need to sit down and have a drink because you're hysterical."

Let me backtrack and explain. I suddenly felt like I'd been sucked into a time warp. Either that, or I had finally lost my mind. And since I'd like to grasp onto whatever thread of sanity I have left, I prefer to believe the former.

Earlier in the day, I'd been radio channel surfing and settled on a station I don't usually listen to playing an old R&B song I hadn't heard in a while. This is cool, I thought and sang along as I continued with my domestic duties, surprised by my ability to remember every single word of the song despite not having heard it in 20 plus years.

But when the song ended things started getting freaky. A gentle voice from a long-time-ago place said "Coming in at number 38, that was Rufus and Chaka Khan, with the song, Ain't Nobody." Huh? That's strange, I thought. Could it be a new re-release of the original song?

"The hit's from coast to co-oast," rang out, conjuring up more ancient, forgotten memories. Oh My God - Casey Kasem! He's back? I couldn't even remember the last time I heard his radio show - we're talking years and years ago. But surely, they would have updated the jingle by now?

As I listened on, enjoying great old songs from my early teens, like Michael Jackson's PYT, Stevie Nicks and others, it was clear that I'd somehow been transported back to 1983. Just like Hot Tub Time Machine, only without the hot tub... or the time machine.

I grooved to the sounds of "35-year old David Bowie" (ha!) singing Modern Love, and belted out "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I grabbed Ciaran and spun him around to Prince's "Delerious" - which apparently I was. I even re-lived my head-banging days with a little Quiet Riot. Whoever said 80's music sucks was dead wrong - well besides Quiet Riot, that is. But, in one little Top 40 countdown there was something for everyone; a little funk, some pop, new wave, dance, metal and even country!

And in between all this multi-genre music awesomeness, was another forgotten feature of the program: The long-distance dedications. One in particular had me rolling on the floor in laughter - not the soldier based in Lebanon with a "lovely German wife at home in the U.S.A." but the song he dedicated to his pregnant wife. Are you ready for it? "Having my Baby." Yep. Pretty cheesy, but in defense of the 80's, I'll have you know that song came out in 1974.

Yes,  I'm all about reliving my childhood lately. Maybe it's a sign of senility, or simply getting older, but I had a blast hearing those old songs, and so did Ciaran. Especially as we boogied on down to the #1 song in the nation for the week ending November 12, 1983: Lionel Richie's "All Night Long".

Afterwards, I checked the radio station's schedule online (obviously it wasn't really 1983, or I wouldn't have been able to do that), and guess what? Casey Kasem's American Top 40 is a regular feature every Saturday afternoon! So you know where I'll be come Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Hanging out in front of the radio with my mop & bucket and thinking about those glory days...hmm, I wonder if Bruce Springsteen will make the countdown this week!

Monday Musings - The one that (almost) got away

Ever become so obsessed with a song that you just had to try and find it? Only problem is, you don't know who sings it, let alone the name of said song?

But it haunts you, sticks in your head and refuses to let go. And so you surf every radio station, trying in vain to hear it again. And then one night you finally do, but it's right at the tail end and wouldn't you know, the blasted announcer plays another song (one that you really don't like), and then another, and another and by the time the crappy-song marathon has finally come to an end, there's another DJ on the air and he's doing this gospel hour program and never bothers to mention the names of the previous hour's worth of music.

So then you go to the CD store to try to explain it to the blatantly uninterested, detached sales clerk who has no idea what you're talking about and does little to hide the look of sheer disdain on his/her face.

This happened to me when I returned from my honeymoon twelve years ago. We were in Ireland and we'd rented a car to travel along the beautiful countryside. After sorting ourselves out with the whole driving on the wrong side of the road thing (thankfully it was during the 1998 World Cup, so NO ONE was driving, or we likely would have gotten ourselves killed), my first order of business was to find a decent FM station to listen to.

It didn't take long before we found a hip station called Today FM. There was a particular song they played - a remix of an old Jackson's song, Can You Feel It. I know, I know, not the kind of Indie Rock stuff I usually go for. But it was funky and dance-y, reminded me of some part of my childhood, and there were these bells...I don't know what came over me. I just really dug the song.

But, I could never catch the name, what with our constantly getting out of the car to kiss ancient stones and traipse around crumbling castles.

I forgot all about it for the last few years. Having a child will do that to you. It wasn't until Michael Jackson died last June, that I started thinking about the song again. The search was back on!

So, with the Internet being that much more advanced and having YouTube on my side this time - I think I found it! I'm almost 99% certain this is it - at least it's the closest one to my recollection. There seem to be several remixes of this song.

Before I "show" you the video, just be warned, it reeks of cheese. And now I can totally admit, so does the song. But there's something about those bells - they get me every time!

And if I close my eyes I can picture the misty, Irish morning dew as we race down narrow, winding roads, (me) singing at the top of my lungs. Young and carefree and full of energy and adventure and not yet the tired parents of a four-year-old boy.