Yeah… it’s definitely hot out there 😰

It’s a record day

Hell on earth??

It’s storming now. The satellite has been knocked off track so now I’m listening to some music via YouTube playlist.

Song that’s up is called All To You by Sabrina Claudio. A very ummm… provocative and sensual song.

Today… got me wondering, music wise, what song(s) were popular in 1988. I was 12 then, art, writing, radio, and MTV were life for me.

As a preteen, I was and still am in love with music. I remember Saturday mornings getting up to watch my favorite stuff on tv and then the rush to do the chores so I could have the rest of the day free. 

While cleaning up, we let the radio play on our favorite station, KMJM Majik 108. That station has been changed 72 plus some changes since then. That station was awesome … high school check-ins, radio roll calls, concert ticket contests, and the guest dj parties at the skate rink or the private party concerts… with limited guests. Loved it all.

The closest thing we have to that station now is Hot 104.1 and it’s nothing like it’s predecessor. Kinda over done and underwhelming. Like the same 4 songs play every hour …but that’s the curse of radio.

But back to 1988. I decided to look up the Billboard 100 from 1988 to see what songs were popular and to see if my memory served me correctly.

I did well with a few but after actually viewing the list, the memories flooded.

I highlighted the ones I remember hearing and know…. and I want to say this… The mind’s  myPod is awesome. How is it able to hold the lyrics of the thousands of songs…maybe a million that have accumulated in a lifetime…that we gravitate and latch on to then recall years later? Amazing.

I was sitting in my chair while the memory of George Michael’s Faith, which happened to be #1 on Billboard’s list, came to mind. INXS?? Yes please!

The Escape Club’s Wild, Wild West holds a particular memory of a Saturday spent dancing with my sister to the stuff that came on MTV. The landscape of my memory is a weird place. I know I heard and watched the video to that song on MTV but my mind keeps trying to convince me that it was in my grandmother’s small television when it was actually on the floor model we had, that was connected to American Cable. 

Robert Palmer owned the 80s like Def Leppard just in very different ways. Whenever I think of Robert Palmer, I associate him with Miami Vice. And Def Leppard with Girl Scouts camping trips.  We played what was popular in that time on our radio at Camp Tuckaho <– an actual camp.

I had a friend who used to sing me Don’t Worry, Be Happy whenever I was upset at school. It always made me laugh except for one occasion when I earned myself an after-school detention. My history teacher knee my mom. They attended high school together, a fact I didn’t know. He was convinced I was being a smart ass in his class when all I did was give thought to the question he posed and gave my answer.

That question: What we’ll known person helped change history and unify people?

Everyone answered Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. He got to me, and coming off the heels of learning more about slavery and abolitionists… I gave my answer.

Me: Us. We in some aspect saved ourselves by choosing to stand up and fight. We’re the famous people in history.

Mr. Henderson: Stay after class!

Then I got the I won’t allow you to disrupt my class with your nonsense because other kids laughed. Right. So I changed my answer to Malcom X. Lol I got detention because I named a person we hadn’t yet learned about. My uncle taught me about Malcolm Little and I absorbed all that information. He didn’t just teach me about him, I learned about MLK, Ghandi, Frederick Douglas, and Harriet Tubman as well as others and instances in history.

After watching the video to New Edition’s If It Isn’t Love, me and my cousins decided  to commit their dance routine to memory. A few of us still know it… a few.

Some how managed to leave this one out

I remember how Bobby Brown’s Don’t Be Cruel had one of my uncles in a chokehold. He sang that song every chance he got. It was both comical and very annoying.

Cross Keys Middle School, end of the year dance/talent show is where I flirted with boys, felt a bit more mature and came put of my shell. I never ever danced in front of others, thay year I did. Believe it or not Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Michael Jackson, Al B. Sure, and New Edition owned my heart in middle school.

1988 was a strange time. I turned 13 by the time school ended for the summer. I was almost a teenager and a very “developed” young lady artistically, and physically. Emotionally and mentally…we were still working on it. I still got into fights with my sister over the dumbest things and was…(am) … strong willed.

This heat has been doing numbers on my memory. 😆 And it’s not just me, my bestie has been taking these trips down memory lane with me as well. The conversations are awesome and hilarious.  I like still being able to learn new things about him.  He’s a natural comedian and a good sounding board.

The storm has ceased and now we’re stuck with humidity. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Oh well… it’s summer. Just hope it cools off a bit tomorrow.

I’ll try to write about something other than music and summer 😆 my mind has switched to vacation mode. Only I’m not actually on vacation.

Yeah… but it’s okay. One day I’ll have the swaying palm trees, sandy white beaches, and fruity umbrella drinks out of a pineapple.

Hmmm… might need to take a page from my grandmother’s book. Lol create my own vacation spot. I think Kai would like that too.

The coolest kid ever 😎

See yall later!

I hope you’re cooling off in style.

Be good humans! ❤️

💋