Favorite links

I realize that some of these aren't too current. Whattaya gonna do?

Do you like podcasts? The good people at podcaststyle.com like podcasts, and they had the good sense to seek out Crap From The Past! They're the most relevant podcast directory on the internet. (Link added Feb 2006)

There's a podcast called "Coverville" that I particularly enjoy. It's just Brian Ibbott, putting the whole thing together at home, without the involvement of any radio station whatsoever. And three half-hour broadcasts a week! (Actually, they're quite similar to the internet-only broadcasts we did back in 1998-99, only with better themes and more charming production.) I wholeheartedly ("Hole Hearted"ly?) endorse www.coverville.com, "The Cover Song Podcast". Great stuff, put together by a music nut who has tastes eerily close to my own! (Link added Feb 2006)

Do you like the 1970s? Do you want to hear the best 1970s radio show in existence? You missed out, because Cosmic Slop: Forgotten Pop of the Seventies, aired in the Twin Cities from 1993 to 2004. At least their old playlists are posted.

Need to keep an eye on the pop charts? The charts that that Casey Kasem used (from January 1989 to October 2000) are from Radio and Records, and they're based strictly on airplay. I'm sure I've offended some purists by choosing the R&R charts over Billboard, but Billboard made the mistake of continuing to use the sales figures of singles, which have not been a useful format since the decline of the vinyl 45 in the late 1980s. So purists, you can check the Billboard charts if you like, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you check out Fred Bronson's music trivia contest on the Billboard site. The questions are mighty hard, and I've only won twice since I discovered the Billboard site in 1996. Just for the record, since October 2000, American Top 40 has been using charts published by its parent company, which are unavailable anywhere else, effectively rendering them useless. They closely mirror the R&R CHR/Pop charts, and I'm sticking with R&R for the recent chart data on CFTP.

And as of February 2003, when Casey Kasem stepped down as the host of American Top 40, does anyone really care about the pop charts?

Fondness for the days of the K-Tel compilation LP? Lisa, the K-Tel chick, has outdone us all in terms of obsessive fanaticism, and her website is a thing of beauty.

Do you have a healthy worship of American Top 40, like I do? Check out the unbelievable American Top 40 Celebration Site, which is an outstanding reference on the best syndicated radio in the world. To the best of my knowledge, there is no official AT40 site, but even if there was, how could it be any better than this one?

We here at CFTP salute pop songwriter Holly Knight, and she has her own website with nicer graphics and sound clips than I could put together. She's one of the 1980s' finest songwriters, and she should be a household name.

Sites with the good sense to link to Crap From The Past

Radio And Records - Program Suppliers - A huge index of links for production companies and syndicated shows. (Checked Apr 2002)

E-Crap's Internet Crap with home page - A haphazard collection of links to all things "e-". (Checked Apr 2002)

In The 80s - Eighties Nostalgia Shows and Clubs, Minnesota with home page - for hard-core '80s geeks. A fine site. (Checked Apr 2002)

Almost Paradise with home page - A graphics-intensive site dedicated to cover art. (Checked Apr 2002)

CFNY tribute site with home page - Dedicated to the memory of one of the finest commercial radio stations in history, Toronto's CFNY. (Checked Apr 2002)

Memory Lame with home page - "Where forgotten pop hits from the '70s and '80s live on!" The slogan sounds a lot like Chuck and Joel's slogan for Cosmic Slop. (Checked Apr 2002)

People who trade American Top 40 shows and Rob Durkee's AT40 home page - He's the guy who wrote the fine AT40 book, and he certainly knows his trivia. A good guy to have on YOUR side in those endless watercooler debates about pop music. (Checked Apr 2002)

About 80s Music - Local Radio and Shows and home page - Boy! That's obsessive! Dawn Marie hosts this insanely thorough '80s site. (Checked Apr 2002)

Past Forward - collection of links that "for those who lived it brings back memories, while for those who missed IT, brings the PAST FORWARD to experience!" Huh? (Checked Apr 2002)