Awesome Old Song of the Week: "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy (brought to you by the return of Tom Brady)

The last time the Patriots played the first four games of a season without an appearance from Tom Brady?  In 2000, when they started 0-4.  Brady made his widely unheralded NFL debut on Thanksgiving day of that year, during a 34-9 loss in Detroit.  Tom was 1-3 for 6 yards (slightly less productive than the 28-40 for 406 yards he put up Sunday to kick off his 17th season in the league).

Climbing up the pop charts that week was Shaggy's It Wasn't Me:





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Awesome Strikeout Records of the Week: 1986 Roger Clemens, and the Red Sox on Sunday

On April 29, 1986, Roger Clemens struck out 20 Seattle Mariners, the most ever in a nine-inning game (a record tied by Clemens again in 1996, by Kerry Wood in 1998, and by Max Scherzer this year):



Sunday, Eduardo Rodriguez (13), Heath Hembree (5), Matt Barnes (1) and Joe Kelly (2) struck out a combined 21 batters through nine innings, something no MLB team had ever done before.  Kelly punched out two more Rays in the 10th, giving the Red Sox a major league record 23 Ks for a 10-inning contest.  Boston also struck out 11 consecutive hitters spanning the fourth through seventh innings, another all-time record.

Richie Shaffer's sac fly in the 2nd inning was the last ball Tampa put in play. In case you're not watching, we're now in the 8th inning.

— Mark Van Deusen (@LucidSportsFan) September 25, 2016

The Sox's 11th straight victory (which tied them with Texas for the best record in the American League) came in large part due to the most bizarre play at the plate that anyone has ever seen:

Pedroia is just on another level pic.twitter.com/h94yfYe88Y

— Roark Thomas (@RoarkMThomas) September 25, 2016

I think Dustin Pedroia was out (he was tagged by the glove before the ball came loose on the second contact with his leg), but I'm not complaining.  Neither was Mookie Betts, who did the Macarena postgame:

Mookie does the macarena
during #WinDanceRepeat
Let's go Red Sox!pic.twitter.com/Xi6paPV2FS

— Boston Sports News (@BostonSprtsNews) September 25, 2016

Mookie just did the Macarena like I told him too! (I guess it's possible some other people might've mentioned it as well...) https://t.co/t5ZOhaVblO

— Mark Van Deusen (@LucidSportsFan) September 25, 2016

@mookiebetts The Macarena! Little known fact, it was played at Fenway in the 8th inning back in 1996 before Sweet Caroline later took over.

— Mark Van Deusen (@LucidSportsFan) September 24, 2016

RELATED:
Can this video from the 1996 DNC actually be real? (Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Macarena")


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Sweat (a La La La La Long)" by Inner Circle

Before I even figured that I had an affinity for reggae music, I was a big fan of 1993's Bad Boys album by Inner Circle.  The song Bad Boys, made super famous by the TV show Cops, was actually one of my least favorite tracks on the disc.  I bought the CD for Sweat (a La La La La Long), but soon grew to enjoy many of it's other offerings as well.





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Awesome Old TV Clips of the Week: Jon Stewart and David Letterman post 9/11

Fifteen years ago this morning, I was cutting limes at the Navigator Restaurant in Edgartown when my boss said "Turn on the TV, a plane just crashed into a building in New York City."

It was the strangest day I've ever had behind the bar.  The place was packed, but nobody was eating or drinking.  Everyone was just standing there, staring at the televisions in a state of shock and horror.  In particular, I remember three men from New York who worked in the towers but had taken a few days off to come to Martha's Vineyard.







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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "High Enough" by Damn Yankees

Sticking with the theme of hair-metal power ballads that were also mainstream pop hits (following last week's 1989 Skid Row smash), here's High Enough from Damn Yankees, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts in 1990.

Until checking their Wikipedia page just now, I had no idea that Damn Yankees was a "super group" that included Ted Nugent and Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw.  I remember seeing the High Enough video when it came out, but clearly I didn't know who Nugent was back then.




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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "I Remember You" by Skid Row

I Remember You was the third single off of Skid Row's self-titled debut album, released in 1989.  That was also the year that I started listening to the radio on a regular basis.  I Remember You was one of the first songs I recall hearing get major airplay on my station of choice, 94.5, WZOU (when it switched to Jam'n in 1993, I switched to Kiss 108).

Skid Row is from Tom's River, New Jersey, home of the 1998 Little League World Series champions and (according to Wikipedia) the second-largest Halloween parade in the world.



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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus

"He lives on my block, and drives an I-Roc."

I don't remember when exactly I discovered Wheatus' Teenage Dirtbag, but I think it was long after the song's release in 2000.  Regardless, I find its lyrics quite entertaining.

Until I looked up the video just now I had no idea that it was featured in the Jason Biggs/Mena Suvari movie Loser from the same year (a "loser" itself that attempted to ride the coattails of 1999's American Pie, which also starred the same two actors).

I can't say I've ever heard another song by Wheatus, but I assume some do exist.   

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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "How Does a Duck Know?" by the Crash Test Dummies

The Crash Test Dummies are best known for their 1993 smash MMM MMM MMM MMM (yeah, it was kind of weird) off the album God Shuffled His Feet.  However, they also had a relatively big hit single two years earlier called Superman's Song.

God Shuffled His Feet was among my favorite CDs in high school.  In my mind, the best song on the album was one that was never even released as a single--How Does a Duck Know?  There's no video for it, but I found this 1995 clip from the Late Show with David Letterman:



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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Leave the Biker" by Fountains of Wayne

Fountains of Wayne is best known for their 2003 hit, Stacy's Mom.  However, they did some great (and fairly popular) stuff much earlier than that.  Their 1996 self-titled album (pictured) featured Sink to the Bottom, which put them on the map, and also included my favorite of their songs, Leave the Biker.

The live clip below begins with Sink and ends with Biker at the 7:43 mark (in between is another single from their debut, Radiation Vibe).  Random Fountains of Wayne fact: The same year they released their first album, their bassist, Adam Schlesinger, also wrote That Thing You Do for the Tom Hanks movie of the same name.




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Can this video from the 1996 DNC actually be real? (Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Macarena")

This clip from the 1996 Democratic National Convention can't possibly be real.  Yet somehow, it is.  I had to watch it twice just to make sure that really is Hillary Clinton and not Jan Hooks playing Hillary in Saturday Night Live skit:

Ok but the 1996 DNC was lit pic.twitter.com/nuHp1lBND8

— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) July 29, 2016

And just in case you still don't believe people were actually dancing the Macarena at the 1996 DNC, here's four minutes of footage from C-SPAN.  Below, the original video from Los del Rio:



Sidebar--Before the Red Sox started playing Sweet Caroline halfway through the eighth inning of every game at Fenway, they tried out some other things.  I remember doing the Macarena in the bleachers mid-eighth one afternoon that summer.


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Push" by Matchbox 20

My favorite Matchbox 20 song is actually Unwell, but it didn't come out until 2003, and that's just not old enough.  Push is a close second, off of their 1996 album Yourself or Someone Like You.

I have nothing even the slightest bit interesting to say about Matchbox 20, other than I enjoyed some of their music.  I mean really, nothing--they have maybe the most boring Wikipedia page I've ever seen for a rock band.




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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

It was just over 20 years ago, from mid-May through early July of 1996, that the Tha Crossroads spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts.  According to Wikipedia, it was the highest-debut ever for a rap single when it entered the charts at No. 2 on May 11, 1996.

Tha Crossroads was the second hit single for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, following 1st of the Month, which peaked at No. 14.

The song begins at the 52-second mark of the video:




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Awesome (not very) Old Song of the Week: "O.N.E." by Yeasayer

I noticed this song in the second episodes of Roadies, which appears to be Cameron Crowe's extended modern-day version of Almost Famous.  I knew I'd heard it before, but I wasn't exactly sure when or where.  I just assumed it was an '80s hit I never learned the name of, but upon further research I've learned that Yeasayer released O.N.E. in 2010:



I guess these guys nailed the "make a new song that sounds like it's from the '80s" concept five years before Walk the Moon did.



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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "The Ballroom Blitz" by the Sweet (and Cassandra)

The Ballroom Blitz was originally released by the Sweet in 1973.  However, I'm partial to the Wayne's World Tia Carrere version from 1992:



The song is currently featured in advertisements for the film Suicide Squad:



And the weird thing is, some other ads for the movie include Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which was also from Wayne's World.

I'm not a comic book guy, so the fact that Batman is in this film is really messing with me.


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Terrible (or is it?) Current Song of the Week: "The Power to Turn Back Time" by Jon Bon Jovi

As far as I know, pretty much everybody is disgusted by the fact that Jon Bon Jovi has sunk so low to as to use his musical talents in DirecTV ads:





Maybe they are funny, maybe they're kind of stupid, but I will say this: Now that I've heard Bon Jovi sing the line "That's the power to turn back time" about 400 times, it's definitely stuck in my my head--and I don't hate it.

Is it possible that if there was a real version of this song on the radio we might actually enjoy it?  Scary thought...


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies

I was watching the movie The Walk (better than I expected) yesterday and noticed it used a French version of this tune.  However, I was never actually aware of what the title was or who sang it--I only knew some of the lyrics.

My first attempted google search was Candy Girl, which I immediately remembered is a New Edition song--strangely enough the group I wrote about last week.

Attempt No. 2, Sugar, Sugar, nailed it.  By the Archies, from 1969:




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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "If It Isn't Love" by New Edition

New Edition's If It Isn't Love was released as as single 28 years ago, in June of 1988.  It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard pop charts later that year (at the same time, former band member Bobby Brown also hit it big with Don't Be Cruel).

Something I just learned about New Edition from Wikipedia--the Roxbury, MA group got its name from their manager, who expected them to be a new edition of the Jackson 5.




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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Summer Girls" by LFO

It was 17 years ago, in June of 1999, that LFO (from New Bedford, MA) burst onto the scene with Summer Girls.

In all honesty, I'm not actually sure it's my favorite of their super-cheesy pop songs.  I was a big fan of the Girl on TV video that featured Jennifer Love Hewitt, as well as Every Other Time.

But Summer Girls was the hit that put them on the map, and its ridiculously amusing lyrics are impossible to forget.




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Awesome Old TV Show Theme Song of the Week: "My Two Dads"

My Two Dads aired on NBC from 1987 until 1990.  The 11-year-old me had a big crush on Nicole, played by Staci Keanan (who went on to become Dana on Step by Step).

I totally forgot that Dick Butkis was on the show though, and I had no idea that Giovanni Ribisi was in it (check him out at the 35-second mark of the second clip and pictured below).

Here's the into and theme song, You Can Count on Me, from various seasons:

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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Lucky Man" by The Verve

The Verve is best known for either A) not being The Verve Pipe, or B) their hit Bittersweet Symphony off of 1997's Urban Hymns album.  However, I think Lucky Man (from that same disc) is a much better song.

It also gets extra points in my book for being the background music in the For Love of the Game trailer (pictured).  Even though For Love of the Game is Kevin Costner's third-best baseball movie, it's still got some great moments.





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