My Top 5 Hits RETRO – OMD

August 30, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 10, 15, 20, or 30 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 5TH Friday of the month, so it’s a SPECIAL this week.

Last night I was at the Broward Center For The Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale Florida for a nearly 4-hour concert event with Berlin, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD), and The B-52s.

When I was 19-years-young – and living, working, and playing in England – I saw both Berlin and OMD LIVE in concert. Berlin opened for Frankie Goes To Hollywood in Birmingham shortly after the peak of their worldwide success with “Take My Breath Away”. OMD headlined their own tour in support of their new album at the time “The Pacific Age”. I saw them in Oxford on October 28TH 1986. It was a wild a crazy night !

It was a fun night last night at the show – some 33 years later. I won’t write about Berlin and The B-52s. They both performed great sets of their hits of the past 40 years. But I was there to see one of my favorite pop-dance acts of all-time – OMD. I would’ve gone to a show with just them performing.

OMD

I was up on my feet singing and dancing for their entire 55-minute set. Here’s their setlist:

“Enola Gay” (1980)
“Secret” (1985)
“Tesla Girls” (1984)
“History Of Modern (Part 1)” (2010)
“(Forever) Live and Die” (1986)
“If You Leave” (1986)
“Joan Of Arc (Maid of Orleans)” (1982)
“Talking Loud And Clear” (1984)
“So In Love” (1985)
“Dreaming” (1988)
“Locomotion” (1984)
“Electricity” (1979)

There was definitely one dude who was singing and dancing louder than me at the show, and that was the lead singer / lead dancer of OMD – Andy McCluskey. The dude is 60, but he still dances like he’s 20 and it’s 1979. Andy is well known for dancing like a total new wave maniac. It almost appears as if he’s experiencing rapid-fire out-of-control arm and leg convulsions, but it’s pure art, and I think he pretty much invented the style some 40 years ago. At 60 he’s in great shape, and he still performs all of those manic dance moves with great precision.

I don’t go to clubs and dance anymore (because I’m 52 and fragile), but during my heyday I pretty much danced like Andy McCluskey. I pretty much learned how to dance like him – from him – at that original 1986 concert in Oxford. It was my 4TH-ever concert, and it was one of the greatest concert experiences of my entire lifetime. I’m glad that I got to relive just a little bit of my youth last night some 33 years later. My Fitbit shows that during the time that OMD was performing I was experiencing “very intense” action.

Here’s a song that they did not perform last night. I wish they had because I would have gone totally ballistic and taken over the small dance area that was right in front of my row that was up against the left-edge of the stage. Andy occasionally came over to that area to let us sing into the microphone. In return we showed him our dance moves. LOL.

Oh by the way – I’m in this music video from 1986:

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with 3 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday and your Labor Day holiday weekend here in the U.S.A. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Box Office Summer

August 29, 2019August 28, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

IN A YEAR – when I’ll see less movies at the box office than any previous year since 2010 – I’ve actually seen 5 movies this summer (up from 4 last summer). In previous years I’ve seen 8 movies (2017), 9 movies (2016), 12 movies (2015), and 14 movies (2014) during the summer months (June, July, and August). Clearly I’ve been too busy seeing and doing other things this summer (and last summer) than spending time in movie theatres.

This summer I saw (in order) “Ma“, “Crawl“, “Spider-Man: Far From Home“, “Yesterday“, and “The Art Of Racing In The Rain“.

IN A WORD – I can describe each movie respectively as – creepy, campy, cool, creative, and captivating. I rated all of them (aside from “Crawl”) as 4 stars (“A+”, “A”, or “A-“). “Crawl” was a bit too campy for me. Campy can be good, but this one just didn’t try hard enough. It was also utterly unrealistic.

I plan to add a 6TH movie to my list this Friday. I plan to see the current faith-based movie “Overcomer” – which is surprising pundits with its box office success thus far (over $10 million). I’m looking forward to its encouragement and inspiration at the box office. I’ll write about it this weekend on my “Sunday Scripture” blog post.

My Top 10 Hits – Week 132

August 26, 2019August 25, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday August 25TH 2019:

“Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West
[# 3 last week / 4TH week on chart]
“Fear No More” – Building 429 [4 / 4TH]
“Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music [1 / 12TH]
“Symphony” – Switch [2 / 12TH]
“I’m Gonna Let It Go” – Jason Gray [5 / 3RD]
“Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp [8 / 6TH]
“(Love Is The) Reason” – Unspoken [7 / 6TH]
“Resurrecting” – Elevation Worship [9 / 20TH]
“Yes I Will” – Vertical Worship [10 / 2ND]
“Power” – We Are Messengers [- / 1ST]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship

# 1 Two Years Ago This Week:
“Broken Things” – Matthew West

Casting Crowns score their 2ND # 1 smash in less than a year with “Nobody (But Jesus)”. It’s the 39TH # 1 smash during this era of my personal hit music chart. They also owned the 26TH # 1 smash – “Only Jesus” – as well as the 5TH # 1 smash in 2017 – “Oh My Soul”.

I love the 2ND verse of “Nobody (But Jesus)” sung by Matthew West:

Moses had stage fright
And David brought a rock to a sword fight
You picked twelve outsiders nobody would’ve chosen, and You changed the world
Well the moral of the story is
Everybody’s got a purpose
So when I hear that devil start talking to me saying, “Who do you think you are ?”

“Nobody (But Jesus)” was cowritten by Mark Hall (lead singer), Matthew West, and Bernie Herms (popular producer and songwriter – married to Natalie Grant).

I absolutely love this song. It’s a perfect pop song for the radio with a country feel to it. Its music video is fun to watch, and sing along with, and clap your hands to.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 5 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, and a special post on Tuesday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. Enjoy this week my friends. I’m on Twitter @ChrisMDay, and I’m also the man behind the tweets for my church @LivingWatersHFL. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. AMEN.

Sunday Scripture

August 25, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

Today is Day 4 of a bad cold that has had me bed and couch-ridden at home since last Thursday. I awoke on Thursday morning with a sore throat that got progressively worse as the day went on. I was actually convinced that I had strep throat because I had no other conditions. And then on Friday all of the other conditions of the common cold arrived.

It’s Day 4, and after 11 hours in bed I awoke in recovery mode. Today’s symptoms include leftover congestion (improving), mucus and phlegm, a weak voice, and excessive sweating. I’m missing my weekly celebration of Christ with my church family today for the first time in a long time (other than vacation time). As I write this blog post my church family is gathering for our 11 AM service.

Are any of you sick ? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you – anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins – you will be forgiven. (James 5:14-15 NLT)

Have true faith that our Lord will answer our prayers, and He will. Faith for healing is a gift from God. Trust Him !

The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. (1 Corinthians 12:9)

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1989

August 23, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

It’s the 4TH Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday August 27TH 1989:

“Hangin’ Tough” – New Kids On The Block
“Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind)” – New Kids On The Block
“I Like It” – Dino
“Batdance” – Prince
“So Alive” – Love And Rockets

This is the 30TH anniversary of a concert that I attended at the now defunct (1976-2002) Sunrise Musical Theatre (now a megachurch). It was the occasion of Y-100’s “Sweet 16” birthday celebration. Y-100 – the heritage Top 40 radio station here in South Florida – was celebrating their 16TH birthday. (They are still in the Top 40 business – after 46 continuous years !)

On the docket on that day – Sunday August 27TH 1989 – were (in this order) – Bandera, K.C. And The Sunshine Band, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Damian, and Buster Poindexter. According to my well-preserved notes from that concert K.C. And The Sunshine Band was my favorite act of the show. I rated them as “totally awesome man”. Cyndi Lauper was my 2ND favorite act of the show. I rated her as “pretty cool dude”. Obviously I talked like a 22-year-old dude back then – because that’s what I was. The show started at 2:15 PM, and it continued for 8 hours until 10:15 PM. I think all of the Y-100 deejays of the time were at the show – Bobby Mitchell & “Footy”, Al Chio, Doug Dunbar (now a news anchor on CBS-11 in Dallas Texas), Kid Kurry, and JJ Walker (now on SiriusXM’s ’70s On 7).

What a great show. It’s hard to believe that it was 30 years ago. My next concert is this upcoming week – in Fort Lauderdale. I’ll tell you all about it when I go RETRO next Friday.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with two more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Happy New Weekend !

August 22, 2019August 21, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

It’s the start of a brand new weekend of blog posts here at #CountUp, as weekends begin on Thursdays and end on Mondays. I’ll have my usual assortment of blog posts on Friday, Sunday, and Monday, so let’s kickoff this weekend with my Thursday blog post. This is a spontaneous “anything goes” blog post. I have no idea what I’ll be writing until I hit the keys on the keyboard.

So I’ve entered the 14TH year of my salvation. Lord may this new season of this journey bring me steadily closer to You through Your Word – reading and studying and understanding Your Way – the only Way forward towards Your light. May others hear about Your Good News through my writings – through my testimonies – through my sermons. May they too be brought to You, and be rescued and saved by You. In Your loving name I pray this to You – AMEN.

My next sermon is just about complete. I need to tighten the ending of it, as it’s running just a little bit long right now. My Lead Pastor wants our goal (for himself too) to preach sermons that are closer to 35 minutes in length rather than 45 minutes or more. Right now I’m too close to 45 minutes. My sermon has a new title too – “Neco & Nebuchadnezzar”. It’s all about the 23-year fall of the Kingdom of Judah from the day that King Josiah was killed at Megiddo to the day of the invasion and destruction of Jerusalem.

I’m also working on my next sermon after that – “Ways & Memes” – which will be a first-of-a-kind sermon for me that physically takes me away from the pulpit for the first time. I’ll share more details on that in a few weeks.

This will be another relaxing stay-at-home weekend for me (after work on Thursday and Friday). I’ll do Bible Study (includes sermon writing), and I’ll catch-up on DVR and Hulu watching. I’ll also update various Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. I’ll pay some bills too. Maybe even do some laundry.

So that’s where we are right now on this 22ND day of August of 2019. Go forth and enjoy this day, and come back here tomorrow for my normal Friday blog post that goes RETRO.

My Top 10 Hits – Week 131

August 19, 2019 ~ Chris M. Day

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday August 18TH 2019:

“Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music [# 1 last week / 11TH week on chart]
“Symphony” – Switch [3 / 11TH]
“Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West [6 / 3RD]
“Fear No More” – Building 429 [9 / 3RD]
“I’m Gonna Let It Go” – Jason Gray [10 / 2ND]
“Till I Found You” – Phil Wickham [2 / 11TH]
“(Love Is The) Reason” – Unspoken [7 / 5TH]
“Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp [8 / 5TH]
“Resurrecting” – Elevation Worship [4 / 19TH]
“Yes I Will” – Vertical Worship [- / 1ST]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship

# 1 Two Years Ago This Week:
“Hard Love” – NeedToBreathe

Bethel Music holds on at # 1 for the 4TH week in a row, but this could be it for the instant worship song at our Sunday morning church services.

3 songs I’m loving have broken out of the pack, and they’ve climbed into my Top 5:

Casting Crowns have another bonafide smash on their hands with a track that’s from the point-of-view of John The Baptist. Everyone wanted to know all about him, but he declared himself to be a “Nobody”. He said, “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness. Clear the way, for the Lord’s coming !” You want to know about Somebody ? Let me tell you all about Jesus. “Cause I’m just a nobody – trying to tell everybody – all about Somebody – who saved my soul.”

Building 429 out of Fayetteville North Carolina have been together for 20 years, and they’ve scored some big hits on the radio during this decade of the 2010s, but “Fear No More” is actually their debut smash here on my chart. It’s got a Skillet sound to it, and that makes sense, as I enjoyed Building 429 LIVE in concert as one of the opening acts for Skillet back in January 2018.

And finally Jason Gray scores his debut smash here on my chart with his “pop-meets-reggae” track, “I’m Gonna Let It Go”. It’s also Top 15 nationwide on Christian radio. It’s got the perfect feel for a late-Summer day at the beach, but more importantly it’s got powerful lyrics:

I’m gonna take You at Your word
I’m gonna lay down all my burdens
Oh – I’m gonna let it – I’m gonna let it go

Check out his official music video:

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.