9@9 - November 10th, 2009

I rarely do this two days in a row, but yesterday was so much fun...

[9:05:37 AM] MWD: A late start to the 9@9 today.

[9:05:53 AM] MWD: Here's hoping it's because they put more work into it this time.

[9:06:00 AM] MWD: The year - 1981.

[9:06:07 AM] MWD: right on the edge

[9:06:22 AM] MWD: #9: April Wine - "Just Between You and Me"

[9:06:42 AM] MWD: I shouldn't like that lead guitar tone, but I do.

[9:09:40 AM] MWD: #8: I told you yesterday that she was raging with jealousy.

[9:09:59 AM] MWD: Kim Carnes - "Bette Davis Eyes"

[9:10:16 AM] MWD: Here today to claim her spot and kick Bonnie Tyler's ass

[9:13:16 AM] MWD: #7: 38 Special - "Hold On Loosely"

[9:13:46 AM] MWD: I don't know how most bands are able to deal with 1 drummer.

[9:13:50 AM] MWD: These guys had 2.

[9:14:10 AM] MWD: I still have no idea why.

[9:15:05 AM] Shane Jones: let me know when they play the gap band

[9:15:32 AM] MWD: If they don't, do you want me to tip over your desk for you?

[9:15:40 AM] Shane Jones: please

[9:15:54 AM] MWD: stay tuned

[9:17:54 AM] MWD: #6: Kenny Rogers - "I Don't Need You"

[9:18:10 AM] MWD: They pulled this one off the scrap heap.

[9:18:28 AM] MWD: When I hear this song I think, "Stick to the chicken, Kenny."

[9:21:07 AM] MWD: #5: Rush - "Limelight"

[9:21:33 AM] MWD: BobFM is throwing quite a challenge at their casual listeners with those 2 back-to-back.

[9:21:45 AM] MWD: Hat tip for that!

[9:26:00 AM] MWD: #4: Steve Winwood - "While You See A Chance"

[9:26:13 AM] MWD: Against my better judgement, I like this song.

[9:26:46 AM] MWD: I forgive him for still dressing like a character on Miami Vice.

[9:29:32 AM] MWD: #3: Pat Benatar - "Treat Me Right"

[9:30:15 AM] MWD: Everyone knows that "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first video ever aired by MTV.

[9:30:23 AM] MWD: Know what the second video was?

[9:31:04 AM] MWD: Pat Benatar - "You Better Run"

[9:32:14 AM] MWD: #2: Blondie - "The Tide is High"

[9:32:42 AM] Shane Jones: bob, 1981 music choice sucks

[9:32:54 AM] MWD: Middle of the Road

[9:33:10 AM] MWD: the choices - not campaigning for the Pretenders

[9:33:45 AM] MWD: BTW - Debbie Harry *is* that kind of girl.

[9:35:52 AM] MWD: and #1 on this day in 1981...

[9:36:05 AM] MWD: Hall & Oates - "Private Eyes"

[9:36:20 AM] MWD: the song that got them kicked straight out of Philly.

[9:39:19 AM] MWD: Hall & Oates were on the Rachael Ray show yesterday.

[9:39:33 AM] MWD: Damn. I missed it. Now I'll have to kill myself.

[9:40:13 AM] MWD: Forgive me for that last comment. I rarely say anything so EMO.

[9:41:39 AM] MWD: Ugh. 0 for 2 start to the week. C'mon, Bob. Get your head in the game!

[9:41:15 AM] MWD: Post game report:

[9:41:34 AM] MWD: The first song that BobFM played after the 9@9?

[9:41:50 AM] MWD: April Wine - "Just Between You and Me"

[9:41:55 AM] MWD: WTF, Bob?

the 9@9 running commentary

At my day job, we use Skype for communication. A lot. Every once in a while, mostly to entertain myself, I'll post a running commentary of BobFM's 9@9. This morning I thought to myself, why create all of this marginal content just for my co-workers, when I can post it on my blog and, with any luck, amuse tens of others.

So here's BobFM's 9@9 for November 9th, 2009 along with my running commentary.

[9:02:53 AM] MWD: You guys ready for the 9@9 play-by-play?

[9:03:07 AM] MWD: Crap year - 1984. Gee, wonder if we'll hear any Van Halen?

[9:03:32 AM] MWD: Okay, here we go...

[9:03:48 AM] MWD: #9: Madonna - Borderline

[9:04:06 AM] MWD: Raise your hand if you shelled out the $50 for her Sex book.

[9:04:41 AM] MWD: The publisher put only two restrictions on her:

[9:04:48 AM] MWD: 1. No beastiality

[9:05:04 AM] MWD: 2. She could not insert a religious symbol into herself.

[9:05:46 AM] MWD: Some high standards they set for her.

[9:07:08 AM] MWD: This really is going to be a puke-fest.

[9:07:26 AM] MWD: #8: the Thompson Twins - "Hold Me Now"

[9:07:31 AM] MWD: (speechless)

[9:11:07 AM] MWD: #7: Dan Hartman - "I Can Dream About You"

[9:11:26 AM] MWD: Was this one of those Soap Opera/Rock Star guys?

[9:11:31 AM] MWD: Does anyone care?

[9:14:12 AM] MWD: Didn't know this - Dan Hartman was the bass player in the Edgar Winter Group and was the songwriter of "Free Ride"

[9:14:37 AM] MWD: #6 - I guessed correctly, but "one too early"

[9:14:53 AM] MWD: Rick Springfield - "Love Somebody"

[9:18:37 AM] MWD: #5: the Romantics - "Talking In Your Sleep"

[9:18:47 AM] MWD: Every cover band's dream.

[9:18:56 AM] MWD: Can the Stray Cats be far behind?

[9:22:01 AM] MWD: #4: Bonnie Tyler - "Holding Out For A Hero"

[9:22:13 AM] MWD: For those of you that thought she was a one-hit wonder.

[9:22:24 AM] MWD: The even rarer "two-hit wonder"

[9:22:38 AM] MWD: Kim Carnes is raging with jealousy.

[9:24:55 AM] MWD: Wow - this song has the most unnecessary drum solo ever.

[9:27:25 AM] MWD: #3: Phil Collins - "Against All Odds"

[9:27:47 AM] MWD: Perhaps the most maudlin song of his career. Which is really saying something.

[9:31:35 AM] MWD: #2: Laura Branigan - "Self Control"

[9:31:58 AM] MWD: I'm sensing a theme here.

[9:32:13 AM] MWD: Artists "other hits"

[9:32:53 AM] MWD: No Jessie's Girl, no Total Eclipse, no Gloria

[9:33:39 AM] MWD: BTW - If I don't hear Van Halen at number one, I'm going to lose it.

[9:34:35 AM] MWD: Last tune

[9:34:47 AM] MWD: #1 on this day in 1984...

[9:34:57 AM] MWD: And quite the capper to this load of crap

[9:35:16 AM] MWD: Billy Ocean - "Caribbean Queen"

[9:35:57 AM] MWD: No Van Halen.

[9:36:07 AM] MWD: I have tipped over Shane's desk in protest.

[9:36:43 AM] MWD: Not a good start to the week. BobFM has a case of the Mondays.

I review the reviewer

While browsing through last week's edition of the New Yorker online, I stumbled across a book review of two recent biographies of Ayn Rand. The reviewer tipped his hand early when he referred to Rand as a "crackpot" and compared her literary worth to L. Ron Hubbard. Maybe the title of the review should have given me a hint as to what lay ahead: "The cult of Ayn Rand".

Reading through the rest of the review revealed that this was a mere warmup. Thomas Mallon later refers to Rand as "the most totalitarian novelist ever to sit down at a desk" (I immediately thought to myself Mallon must be the most hyperbolic book reviewer ever in the history of the entire universe), and while acknowledging that her books "sold well", he refers to her success as a "crankish fame".

Reading the review, I began to feel sorry for Rand and her hollow notoriety. It's too bad she never wrote anything of significance. Something like a memoir of Dan Quayle, for example.

This is not Mallon's first attempt at tackling revered books. He's become a prolific polemic reviewer of books, having launched a firestorm with his dismissal of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. One begins to wonder if Mr. Mallon has a thing for female writers of note. Which I personally find interesting as Mallon continues his journey to becoming the Ann Coulter of book reviews.

Nice job, NewYorker. I guess you weren't going for objectivity. It's too late now, but in the same spirit you know who would have done a bang-up job on Bill Clinton's biography? Mallon's buddy, Dick Cheney. Maybe next time.