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Post by Michael1973 on May 24, 2015 11:53:16 GMT -5
There are two errors in this week's 1989 show, one of which is beyond unacceptable.
First, Nina describes Coming Home as Cinderella's second top 20 hit. It was their 3rd, but I can let that slide since most people don't remember their songs.
But then, Alan introduces Donna Summer's song by stating that it was her first since 1979 and that she barely made it into the top 40 in the 1980's. Uh, really? Do the words She Works Hard For The Money mean anything to you? Or perhaps On The Radio? The Wanderer? Love Is In Control? Guess not...
It's really sad when the general public knows more about this stuff than the pseudo-celebrities who get paid huge money to pass along false information...
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Post by skuncle on May 25, 2015 16:57:06 GMT -5
What's sad is they are just reading the script prepared for them. If the script said that Mickey Mouse had a hit with his cover of Purple Rain, they would simply say "Hmmm, don't think I've heard it, but anyway...." The only info they contribute are personal stories, meeting so and so while at MTV etc.
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Post by mellongraig on Jun 29, 2015 0:19:39 GMT -5
Another error - They said that Coming Up was the biggest hit of the 80s as "just Paul". While that may be true on the A side, the B side had the live version of Paul McCartney & Wings as the hit song.
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Post by doofus67 on Jun 29, 2015 1:29:13 GMT -5
Another error - They said that Coming Up was the biggest hit of the 80s as "just Paul". While that may be true on the A side, the B side had the live version of Paul McCartney & Wings as the hit song. Martha is usually dead-on. She started out saying "Coming Up" was Paul's biggest hit in the '80s that wasn't a duet with another superstar, or something like that. Which is true. Then she confused the issue by saying it was by "just Paul." Which, as you say, is not true.
Actually, the B-side had two Wings songs: "Coming Up" live and a bonus track, "Lunch Box / Odd Sox." Here's a little more info on that: www.45cat.com/record/111263
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Post by tf1453 on Jul 3, 2015 17:11:32 GMT -5
Mark Goodman is the only VJ who actually sounds credible. The other three blatantly phone it in.
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Post by skuncle on Jul 4, 2015 15:46:22 GMT -5
Technically they all phone it in. All of their parts are recorded individually, Nina in New England, Martha in California, Mark in New York and Alan in Miami (I think that's where they all are). Then they put them altogether in post production. Martha and Nina most likely call in their stuff thru an ISDN line, the two guys are in studios I believe.
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Post by mellongraig on Jul 31, 2015 22:08:11 GMT -5
Casey lite is at it again and said that Cover was one of 8 Michael Damian's top 40 hits. Way off - 3 is the actual number.
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Post by skuncle on Aug 1, 2015 5:12:18 GMT -5
That's the sloppy WikiPedia research they do. He released eight singles total, but they didn't all hit the Top 40.
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Post by doofus67 on Aug 30, 2015 17:49:46 GMT -5
And here they go again! This weekend it's 8/30/80. I haven't even heard the whole show, but already I've counted three factual errors and one that could be.
At #38, there was Elton John, with "Little Jeannie." They said it was debuting, when in fact, it was in its 17th and final week in the top 40.
At #14, Billy Joel sang "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," which was cited as "the title song" of his current album at the time. That album was actually called "Glass Houses."
At #8, George Benson had "Give Me the Night." They said it was George's "first and only" top-ten hit on the pop chart. In fact, it was his third of four top-tens ("This Masquerade", "On Broadway," and "Turn Your Love Around" being the others).
At #3, Olivia Newton-John had "Magic." A bunch of Olivia's career stats were rattled off, including "ten #1 hits." This one is more ambiguous, because it's probably referring to her total on the Adult Contemporary chart, which, after a quick look at Wikipedia, turns out to be ten. On the Hot 100, she accumulated five #1's.
I won't single out which VJ said what, because, again, it's not necessarily their fault. I think what this countdown desperately needs is a copy editor, or at least a fact checker. Heck, I'll do it for free -- get a foot in the door at SiriusXM and get the info right! I'm going to get in touch with Lou Simon tonight on "Talk Talk" and bend his ear about this for once and for all. I'll let you all know what his response is...
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Post by doofus67 on Aug 31, 2015 12:36:51 GMT -5
I take back the one about Billy Joel. But I'm going to add two more: Hall & Oates moved up eight spots to #34, not eighteen spots, with "How Does It Feel to Be Back." Boz Scaggs' previous hit wasn't "Heartbreak Dead Ahead"; it was "Breakdown Dead Ahead."
Didn't call Lou tonight; he was swamped because he was unable to take any calls last week.
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Post by adam31 on Sept 3, 2015 10:35:47 GMT -5
Yes please call this "Lou" and say the show's research sucks. Many on this board could fact check this show without even looking stuff up. It makes you wonder whether these VJ's really know anything about the music they introduced back in the day, or are even 80s music fans by all the errors that slip by them every week. I would think one of them would read some of this crap copy and say, "Hey, wait a minute, this is wrong".
I would love one of the VJ's to do a Casey Kasem style "Dead Dog Dedication" rant on em! They need a wake up call!
"Is Lou on the phone?!"
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Post by skuncle on Sept 6, 2015 12:02:33 GMT -5
The VJs from MTV pretty much know the MTV era material, at least their era (1982-1985). Anything before or after that they seem to be lost. Even though MTV started in '81 it didn't really get going until the following year. The book they did about their days at MTV is very interesting on many levels. What o found most interesting was that they were very seldom ever live on MTV. They would each tape their segments in about a two hour stint each morning, then the production team would edit everything in. If there was some breaking news, one of them would go to the studio for a live break in. Also, they didn't usually see the videos until afterwards. If you remember when coming back from a video they would always be looking off to the side, as if they were watching it on a monitor. They weren't, there was nothing there. What amazes me is that they let so many obvious mistakes thru on the 80's countdowns. On their regular shows, they seem to be ok, but whoever writes the stuff for the countdowns makes them sound like a bunch of morons.
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Post by doofus67 on Sept 9, 2015 23:57:54 GMT -5
It's all about going through the proper channels, both literally and figuratively...
About once a month or so, I get on the air with Lou Simon on his Sunday night show, "Talk Talk." In addition to hosting this one-hour-a-week affair, Lou is host of the '60s Satellite Survey as well as program director of both the '60s and 6 and Siriusly Sinatra channels. So when I decided that enough was enough, that it was time to address the VJ Big 40 and the errors with someone who could really shed some light on the issue, I knew Lou would be the guy.
So, this past Sunday night, I made the call on my TracFone while at work. Imagine my disappointment when the "Talk Talk" screener answered the phone and informed me that Lou didn't like to discuss SiriusXM or its programming on the show. I fumbled for some secondary topics just to get past this guy, and waited on hold. Well, the ol' TracFone started to run out of minutes, so I gave up.
Back at home, I e-mailed Lou with all the same comments I would have presented on the air: the five errors in one show, a brief explanation of each one, and the questions, "Are the logistics of the show to blame? Is it because the VJ's are in far-flung locations, they're 'phoning in' their material, they have this remote voice-tracking arrangement, and there is no copy editor or fact checker to filter it through?"
Last night, Lou was nice enough, as usual, to e-mail me back. He explained, first of all, that he wants "Talk Talk" to focus more on the listeners, their favorite songs and artists, their memories, their chart trivia, and things like that -- not on SiriusXM. Then he graciously said that he is not involved in any way with the '80s channel in general, let alone with the VJ Big 40. He's not sure how the show is put together, who writes the script, etc. Therefore, he wouldn't be able to offer any comments of substance.
However...
I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Lou about two months ago, out here in Southern California. I found him to be every bit the same class act in person as he is on the radio.
We've never discussed how much input Lou has in the writing and editing of the Survey, but I can tell you from being a frequent listener that a lot of care is taken when it comes to getting information right.
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Post by doofus67 on Sept 11, 2015 1:34:39 GMT -5
(continuing with this post, picking up in paragraph 6)
However...
Lou did say that he would forward my e-mail to his fellow PD, Jim Ryan of '80s on 8, who also produces the VJ Big 40. He felt that Jim would like to know about these errors. So, between my astute listening and Lou's position of power within SiriusXM, perhaps the squeaky wheel will get the grease for once and for all!
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Post by purplerush on Sept 23, 2015 11:12:14 GMT -5
Perhaps something will be instituted by Jim Ryan. Kudos on your efforts.
Meanwhile....
This past weekend, Mark Goodman mentioned Urgent by Foreigner had Junior Walker on saxophone.
Junior only played the solo.
This would be akin to saying Eddie Van Halen played guitar on Beat It, when he too only did the solo
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