I was the president of the Michael McDonald Lack of Appreciation Society for a long time. My association with that association cannot be discussed in a public forum, as it may incriminate me in several non-violent crimes.

Jenny OTM, of course.

He looks a little like Billy Corgan there. Remember when he was also cute?

My unironic love of AM Gold is no joke, people.

OK what about this crooner:

My friend 3van was trying to convince me that Michael McDonald has got some serious soul. He’s an unironic yacht rocker, I think.

“Sailing” is a really pretty song. There’s no way around that.

Dude, I love it too. But I cannot stomach the soulless sounds of Michael McDonald.

Gerry Rafferty?

Oh, 3van.

McDonald is a great backup vocalist, or with the Doobies. A songwriter, he ain’t.

Gerry Rafferty?

I don’t think so. And it’s not Gordon Lightfoot, either. The annals of lite rock beardos are to vast to take wild guesses like that.

KarlNemetski (1 week ago)

Badass track by my man Christopher Cross. If you play close attention... this song is actually about espionage. Can someone say “Swordfish” or “Keyser Soze” from the “Usual Suspects” ? Nothing is what it seems. Scope the lyrics reeeeeeeallll close... LOL

(Reply)

Kenan OTM.

I’m stumped!

*shame*

Bob Welch?

Yeah, I think that one may be a little too hard... I’m trying to think of a hint that doesn’t totally give it away.

SUCH A LONG WAY TO GOOOOOOOOOOO

Bob Welch?

The former Oakland A who won the 1990 Cy Young Award and the last major-league pitcher to amass more than 25 wins in a single season?

See also: Robbie Dupree

I love that video for two reasons:

1. I love the song.

2. He is rocking the quintessential Yacht Rock look, right down to the non-aggressive sweater and white pants combo.

xpost—no ding dong. Bob Welch.

How about... he’s only really known for one pop song, and he also wrote a Tony-winning musical.

Rupert Holmes!

dingdingdingdingdingding!

Marvin Hamlisch?

Who the eff is Rupert Holmes?

He wrote the Pina Colada Song.

I’ve heard the title. Listening to it on YouTube now, don’t think I know the song.

Gerry Rafferty wins. His perm was more awesome.

Man, you were better off that way. xpost

I can play Baker Street on the saxophone. Or at least I could the last time I tried, which admittedly was about 8 years ago.

I used to play “Jump” by Kris Kross on the clarinet, much to the delight of the African American girls in my 8th-grade band class.

The best part of the Steal Away video is when he gets DOWN toward the end and like, bends his knees a little bit.

Rupert Holmes was much more than the Pina Colada Song. Oh will the inoffensive white men of AM Gold ever get their due?

The far superior Rupert Holmes song “Him.”

OMG listening to “Baker Street” right now — didn’t know this song had a name!! Or ... a verse. Weird: I’ve heard that sax riff a million times out of context, apparently.

Him! Him! Him!

Me! Me! Me!

xpost—See John? First “Africa” and now “Baker Street.” Let me be your tour guide on our soft rock odyssey.

We’ll return changed. Softer. Mellower. Wearing crew-neck sweaters and white pants.

The far superior Rupert Holmes song “Him.”

See, your knowledge of the man far exceeds my own. There was some googling involved in my answer. But I did remember that the guy who wrote Pina Colada also wrote a musical.

xpost: i bought a ringtone. i bought the theme to ‘the people’s court’ (when i had been drinking some wine) for when leaf calls me. i thought it was hilarious. it’s actually kind of a funky tune.

You’re right, having just heard both for the first time, “Him” > “Escape.”

LOL at “The People’s Court” ringtone.

Oooh, I looooove “Africa.”

It’s on the jukebox at Richochet’s.

The video for Africa is crying out for a feminist/critical race deconstruction. There’s dissertation material there, I am sure.

Also, so many glasses and mustaches...

Do you think it’s at the Hidden Cove? I’ve been practicing just in case...that song totally reminds me of driving around with my mom so I listen to it in the car (more frequently than I would like to admit).

It’s on the jukebox at Richochet’s.

Is that where we heard it? I was trying to figure that out.

Also the lead singer of Toto looks a little like John.

xpost—Man, I hope so! Also, my AM Gold love I am almost sure stems directly from driving around with my mom in her orange VW Rabbit, listening to the radio through one little dashboard speaker.

xp — me too me too me too re: speaker, only ours was a ragtop caprice classic

Although I have my heart set on Asia.

HA

HA

ha

Chicagoist covered the karaoke scene last week.

I wish I’d driven around with my mom listening to AM Gold! But I was probably a born a couple years too late. My mom did listen to smooth-jazz radio (WNUA) in the late ’80s, though, so I’m familiar with Double’s “Captain of Your Heart” and Donald Fagen’s “New Frontier” and Go West’s “What You Won’t Do for Love” and the collected works of Sade.

Sade is mah girl.

wow, that “Africa” video. I’d never seen it before.

I love Captain of Your Heart.

You know how crazy old ladies tend to wear huge amounts of blush? (or rouge, if they prefer)

That’s what I look like right now! I look like I woke up in the morning and said “Yes, this would be a good day to apply clown makeup. Today.” That’s how red my face is.

is Sade AM Gold? I love Sade.

Does your face hurt like it’s been burned?

Yes my face hurts like it has been burned.

Sade is after AM gold as far as I’m concerned. BUT My bff and I made up a song called “Smooth Toilet Paper” in her honor.

Coast to coast and into the Acme,

go down theeeee

aisles and there is no Charmin left,

I think I’ll die...

so I buy the

smooth toilet papaaaah

smoooth...toilet paaapaaaaah

I think Sade is post-AM Gold, but could be classified within the more inclusive “Soft Rock” category.

[note: Acme was our local grocery store]

I used to get terrible wind burn/dryness while skiing. I’d have an outline of the space between where my mask stopped and my goggles began. It was like a little chevron across my cheeks.

That’s me! We are vewwy sensitive.

i SHOULD NOTE that we made up that song when we were 7 or 8 years old, not recently.

Woah woah woah John, do you mean “What You Won’t Do For Love” as in the Bobby Caldwell song?

omg LOVE “smooth toilet paper”!!! Amanda, you have made me very, very happy.

You can thank my 7 year old self for that gem. We also penned “Mr. Toilet Bowl Man” in the “style of New Edition.”

I’m heading to the train in a minute, see some of ya’ll later this evening!

Woah woah woah John, do you mean “What You Won’t Do For Love” as in the Bobby Caldwell song?

Apparently so. Didn’t know it was cover. (Man, YouTube is great.)

I forgot to share a gem from today’s papers:

“...picturing a girl playing the foamy game.”

Guess what the foamy game is.

Come on, I know you have all played the foamy game.

Based on a sampling of “What You Won’t Do For Love” performances on YouTube:

Go West > Bobby Caldwell >>> Dionne Warwick (live) >>>>> Boyz II Men

Nope, it was a small child. She was blowing bubbles.

I want to go to a foam party with a Christian youth group.

Ok, Tom Wolfe.

Haha! I almost spit my apple out.

See you all in approximately 2 hours, give or take 15 min. I am hungry and will come bearing cookies. Someone should call Kevin to make sure he’s not frozen.

Go West > Bobby Caldwell >>> Dionne Warwick (live) >>>>> Boyz II Men

I have to check some of those out! Digd0wn has talked about doing that tune.

What’s with people leaving work early to go drink? Is that a valid reason? I’ve never tried it.

behind on this thread...

but, omg baker street.

i am mad at my computer for being all slow with the youtube africa video.

eric’s interview on 848 is up:

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio_library/848_radec06.asp

Kr is coming to TT, yay.

CONFESSION:

i was in a bluegrass band back in CO that did a cover of Africa. I was the singer :-/

“I write a new verse of ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ every few years. Right now, I’m up to — ‘A-Rod, Ipod, Jacko’s Free, There’s No God.’”

Someone should call Kevin to make sure he’s not frozen.

I neglected to mention this at Old Timer’s, but I sent him a txt on my way up from work and he responded saying he was sick and had just woken up. Sick >>>>>>> Frozen

Depends on what kind of sick.

I just listened to Eric’s interview! He’s so cool.

yeah, Eric’s interview was great.

Surely Kev is sick partially because he is frozen. I feel like we should take up a collection. To what end, I’m not sure. But damnit, I feel almost like in Kevin, I have my first homeless friend. YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT HEAT IN THIS TOWN. SOMEONE HAS TO DO SOMETHING.

Why doesn’t Kevin have heat? I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal in this town. I’ve got a pal over at MAP—should I give him a call?

YES! By his reports, he has no heat. And as we can plainly see on night like this, that’s really fucking criminal.

Unless he’s squatting.

Heat would be known as an “essential service”—http://www.tenants-rights.org/index.php?page=heat#q1.

Ok, I called Kevin a while ago, and I feel like a dick again. (Again, you say? Yes, again.) This is none of my fucking business.

I did not go to TT. Nor did Courtney. This is because we made some big mistakes last night. We were going to go to see For Your Consideration but wound up futzing around with her iTunes for too long, so we just went to the Beuna bar where we drank 2 bottles of wine and something else. Then I walked home and got a bite to eat at Crew and had a beer. I wound up hanging out at my house with a friend I made there. Today sucked.

Did you know that Carhartt jeans are considered pretty fashionable? They are popular amongst gay men. Maybe because they flatter the booty like no pant ever has before. They’re like the Wonder Bra for butts.

Kevin—I put Kenan up to calling you. Plz don’t think he was a dick—I was the dick.

Nobody was actually a dick. I just shouldn’t be worrying about people’s business, is all.

Kenan, if you find out we don’t have heat and the temp drops to single digits outside, please call and worry about our business. I will do the same for you.

i don’t think anyone’s a dick, i appreciate the concern but no one needs to be worrying about me.

unrelated: i have taken more cabs in the past week than i have in probably the last two years. took one home from delilah’s the other night because it was too cold to walk to ashland, took one home from the holiday club last night because i just wanted to be home as fast as possible, took one to work today because i was running behind and the next bus wasn’t due to arrive for another 15 minutes. i forget how handy having an auto can be. it took me almost 90 minutes to get from the ukie village to uptown last night, the trip home was completed in less than 20.

Yeah, Kenan, it’s called CARING. It’s all the rage with the kids these days.

I don’t feel like doing work today! I have more Christmas shopping to do.

My tree looks beautiful. I finished decorating it last night. I used strands of the huge colorful bulbs that blink AND tiny white lights that cascade in strings. I also managed to work in every single ornament we own, except for these tiny bows that Nick nixed, or Nicked if you will.

I listened to Eazy’s radio dingus this morning as well, pretty great. I had no idea about the freakish guitar playing style.

i’m supposed to be going this show tomorrow but i’m not sure, getting out of town for a night (even if it is just to milwaukee) would be fun but i should probably do some xmas shopping or something.

Yeah, Kenan, it’s called CARING. It’s all the rage with the kids these days.

This is new and strange to me. I want to know more.

anyone up for this? i’m giving it some thought.

that would be awesome

but i have no santa gear