What do others think of your obsession?

[aTorridGustofSun]

January '04. I vowed to never reveal the source. I've promised to shut my mouth about anything that goes on with the show. I almost feel that I am toeing the line by posting this, but as I'm not actually revealing anything...

I also have an autographed copy of the AMFM show, and an autographed photo from Casey himself. I'll scan them in tomorrow (if I remember).

I was alive to hear Casey in the 1980s, I just would've been very young. My more vivid memories begin somewhere when I was 5.

I really enjoyed Shadoe Stevens a lot, and it's a shame that ABC killed off the show; Shadoe did a good job (though I understand that he was unhappy).

[Michael1973]

Gee, reading some of your stories makes my own childhood seem less weird! My family wasn't totally against our obsession with the countdown shows, but sometimes they'd get aggravated with how much time we'd spend on it. I suppose my parents wanted us to have "normal" hobbies!

I remember anytime we'd go on vacation, it would typically involve missing a week of our countdowns. Back when AT40 went by Billboard charts, we would try to buy that week's issue, then my brother or I would pretend to be Casey (or Shadoe) and do a mock broadcast. One summer I was trying to get through one of these and my father kept yelling "that's ENOUGH!" from down the hall. (You know, I can think of far worse hobbies I could have had!)

And yes, I too have those memories of going places during the shows and forcing relatives to keep the radio on (even though they disliked most of the music), and also of trying to tape shows when we couldn't be near a radio, even though the tapes only held 45 minutes and we'd be gone over an hour.

Ahh, good times...

[Matt Cameron]

I can remember taping the show as a kid using those 45 minute tapes. I'd practice my technique of flipping the tape over and pressing "play" and "record" together as fast as I could in my best possible effort to miss only a few seconds of the show if at all possible. Every once in a while you'd be lucky enough to get to flip the tape during a commercial, thereby not missing any of the show at all!!

[BrettVW]

I remember just this past New Years Eve my local Hot AC ran all of AT20's year end countdown from 10am-4pm, and this was the only opportunity I was going to have to hear the show. When my mom found out about this...she knew right then and there not to make any plans. She knows better now...but a few years ago it was quite trying when I had to explain to her that I just "couldn't go out yet."

Fortunately now in college, nothing is ever going on from 9am-Noon on Sunday.