90's Fest

The 90s are when I became a big music fan. Actually, let's take a step back. I enjoyed listening to 80s music and probably watched more MTV than I was allowed during that decade. However, it was the 90s when I started going to concerts (not including Neil Diamond in the early 80s and Debbie Gibson in the late 80s). When I started buying cassettes (thanks BMG for the 10 tapes for a penny or dollar deal!). It was in college in the 90s when I discovered new bands and musicians from friends, people playing music in their residence halls rooms, and college radio. So I was excited when my Facebook feed showed me information about 90's Fest. Seemed perfect for me. And then I looked at the lineup.

90's Fest, scheduled in July in Sheffield (Go Wednesday! WAWAW!) is apparently the largest 90s music festival in the UK featuring over 100 artists. And based on the list of artists, not many had much of an impact in the United States. UB40 is the notable exception having several monster hits such as "Red Red Wine," "Here I Come (Come and Take Me)," and (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You." UB40 may also be the only act at the festival with more than one American hit. I mean, look at the performers. How many can you name?

Let's go through some of the other artists. I'm a big fan of 2 Unlimited's Get Ready for This, which features lines "Get ready for this, Mind your own biz" and "Feelin' kind of better, Put on a sweater." 

I really need to use the phrase "mind your own biz" more. Anyway, I think that was their only big song in America.  Same goes with Vengaboys. Of course, we all know "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" from the Six Flags commercials.

I went to England in the summer of 2000 and wrote about the songs from my time there including by Five and Sonique. Love "It Feels So Good" by Sonique! Other than that, I have no idea who these people are. Is Darren Styles related to Harry Styles? I'm guessing Fergie isn't the Fergie from Black Eyed Peas. If it is, good on the festival for having one American from the 2000s at the event. I hope that Lange is a tribute band for the late Pittsburgh Penguins' announcer Mike Lange.

Charlie B might be related to Cardi B or Mel B. Actually, why are Mel B and the other Spice Girls not playing at this festival? That would be a huge headliner! In the meantime, it's nice to see that there is a group dedicated to steak sauce in A1. I also think the Tidyboys make the litter that I use for my cat!

Look, I understand that this is probably a 90s festival for UK and European artists, and Oasis, Radiohead, Spice Girls, and Blur are probably too big to attend. Still, how about Bush or Garbage? Why not The Verve, Jesus Jones, EMF, PJ Harvey, Dido, David Gray, Republica, Soul II Soul, Sneaker Pimps, and/or The Corrs? I'm missing dozens of others too.

That's it. I'm going to create my own UK 90s festival!

Friday Video: Current Songs That Would Fit In The 80s

I've mentioned several times that my kids only seem to want to listen to current pop music. Sirius XM's Hits One station ends up being played much of the time when we're in the car. There are two current songs by major artists that could easily fit into FM radio in the 1980s. The first is Music for a Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles.

If you go to just after the 1:00 minute mark, the horns could easily be in a Phil Collins song. I'm thinking Sussudio.

The second is 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo.

The chorus sounds like a song that The Pointer Sisters could sing. Maybe on the next track after I'm So Excited.

There might be more, but the drive from the school to my home is rather quick, so I'm turning off the car and turning the music off. Get out of the car!

Saturday Video: Golden

I'm convinced that the song "Golden" by Harry Styles was written in the hopes that it would be used frequently during the Tokyo Olympics. It's a catchy song, and you could definitely see NBC and other networks around the world playing this song constantly.

Old Spice?

When driving last week, the song "Dreams" by The Cranberries came on the radio. My 10 year old (The Moose) asked me to change the station because he hates when we listen to old songs. (The actual quote was "I hate when you listen to old songs.") A few months ago, I wrote that we started dancing to Just Dance songs on YouTube for exercise on cold and rainy days. I recently played "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, and The Moose again criticized it for being an old song. He then asked if the members of the Spice Girls are still alive. After I replied yes, he asked how old are they? In their 70s?

To be fair to The Moose, both Dreams and Wannabe are about 25 years old. That is old to him. Plus, he really doesn't comprehend the age of songs or anything else. In his mind, the Spice Girls, Rolling Stones, and even Mozart could all be contemporaries. 

Still, I have failed as a parent in teaching The Moose and my other kids about music. I rarely play music in the house. I don't use Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, or any other streaming services. I never had an iPod, and I don't have any songs on my phone. This might be surprising, but I have never downloaded any music either. Sure, I bought tapes and CDs in the past, but I don't think I've bought a new CD since The Moose was born. So much of the music The Moose listens to is from the radio when he's in the car. Therefore, he knows your Dua Lipas and Harry Styleses (Stylesi?), but I don't think he's very familiar with Prince or Tom Petty or The Beatles or really anyone from before 2010. 

This is the part of the blog post where I ask for advice. How do I get The Moose and his brothers to appreciate and listen to more music other than what's currently playing on pop radio? 

Photo by Getty Images.

My Health Report

I recently went to the doctor for my annual physical. A few days after the appointment, the office posted lab results and the doctor's comments on a patient portal. This is what my doctor wrote:

EXCELLENT LABS LIPIDS VIT D NO DM OR ANEMIA SUGAR 87 CHOL 192 WITH HDL 52

GREAT HE IS AGAIN IN VERY GOOD HEALTH F/U ROUTINE IN ONE YR NL VIT D 33

Several thoughts about this. FIRST, WHY ALL CAPS? THIS ISN'T TWITTER!

There's probably a good lesson here that I should not send any direct messages.

While my sugar is 87, what is my watermelon sugar?

I thought my doctor and I had a good relationship, so it's a little rude that he wrote F/U in the summary.

Overall, this report seems good. My LYM% and LYM# are low and my GRAN% is high whatever all of this means. My LDL cholesterol number is high too. However, the doctor didn't seem at all concerned about this. 

As the weather has gotten colder over the last few weeks, I'm becoming less and less active. Even sloth-like. Therefore, I was a little surprised that my weight stayed pretty much the same. Actually, my weight is up 0.022 pounds from last year. That's right, not 2 pounds or even .2 pounds, but 0.02 pounds. The difference might be that I wore a heavier shirt on the scale this year!

The doctor seemed tired. It's clearly been a tough year for him because of COVID. 

Oh, thinking about Chadwick Boseman's passing, I asked whether I needed a colonoscopy. Traditionally, this isn't done until you are 50, but there have been some reports suggesting that this should be done at 45. I'm 45. He said that as long as the blood labs came back well (which they did), I should wait to do this until around 47.5 (to "split the difference") and definitely after COVID ends.

So that's my health report. Tune in soon for my annual Hanukkah post, and please check out and like the Pickles at Chanukah Facebook page. You'll be surprised to see how this tradition is growing!