The Mecca 100 - #70-66

[littlebeast13]

<<< #75-71


#70. "8th of November" - Big & Rich (2006)

A heart-wrenching song about a real life Vietnam War soldier who was one of the few survivors from his group during a battle on the title day in 1965, I almost feel embarrassed to admit that I had no idea what the subject of this song was until I finally got around to looking it up after hearing it quite a bit in the late 2000's at work. What caught my ear was the harmonies...





#69. "So Very Hard To Go" - Tower of Power (1973)

Smooth, jazzy, soulful.... so utterly 70's. This didn't get played much, and I had to wait a long time after hearing it the first time to hear it again so I could catch enough of a lyrics sample to look it up. Another embarrassing moment, pointed out by TBone when I noted this story in an LSWE game, he'd included it as part of his Boney 500 in 2016...





#68. "Dreaming" - Smallpools (2013)

An awesome power pop song from an obscure indie band that made the Mecca CD, like so many other lost indie songs. This was their debut single...





#67. "All 4 Love" - Color Me Badd (1991)

I am pretty sure this is the only Billboard pop chart #1 song you will see in this countdown. The early 90's boy band peaked during my radio boycott days, and though I knew of their existence, had never heard this song until it got played incessantly during my early days at Mecca in the late 90's. Do I like it? Not really.... but this song just takes me back to an interesting time, and serves as one of the first songs I ever associated with Mecca Radio.





#66. "Can't Behave" - Courtney Jaye (2005)

From the soundtrack to the 2006 teen mermaid movie Aquamarine, this is another Mecca CD fave of mine. Very laid back ocean vibe to it, making it perfect for such a film...




#65-61 >>>

[BackInTex]

I am pretty sure this is the only Billboard pop chart #1 song you will see in this countdown. The early 90's boy band peaked during my radio boycott days, and though I knew of their existence, had never heard this song until it got played incessantly during my early days at Mecca in the late 90's. Do I like it? Not really.... but this song just takes me back to an interesting time, and serves as one of the first songs I ever associated with Mecca Radio.

This reminded me of a couple of "memory worms" (is that a term?) from when I started working at Kroger in October 1974. I was promoted from bagger to utility clerk pretty quickly, maybe two weeks or after starting Oct 12. I was in a good place getting a raise from $2.35/hr to maybe $3.25 (the store was union so I was paid union wages, though not part of the union).

One of my new duties was to sweep the entire store with a push broom/dust mop thing. The store was huge, about the size of a Super Target, a it has a full sized grogery store on one side, a clothing section in the middle, and a full hardware/automotive section on the far side, with a full deli-bakery up front and a pharmacy. Probably one of the first of it's kind super-stores.

Anyway, as I would spend the two hours it took to sweep the full store I heard the music of the day, so now anytime I hear "When Wiill I See You Again?" by the Three Degrees or "Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka it reminds me of my sweeping. Not sure why those two songs out of all the others trigger that, but maybe the others trigger memories of other things.

[littlebeast13]

Anyway, as I would spend the two hours it took to sweep the full store I heard the music of the day, so now anytime I hear "When Wiill I See You Again?" by the Three Degrees or "Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka it reminds me of my sweeping. Not sure why those two songs out of all the others trigger that, but maybe the others trigger memories of other things.

It is literally memories like that which a lot of the songs in this countdown have for me (though I filtered out the songs I already knew). I've been through four remodels now in my time at Mecca, and just about everything has been moved around, changed up, shuffled around countless times already. It's funny how almost each and every song here can remind me of just how things were at the time it became an earworm. The Color Me Badd song (and one that will be much higher) conjures up the backroom as it was my first few years there, and the speaker blaring it out that hung just above the fire door near the Pets bins...

lb13