How's the boss treating you these days?

Remember puppy love?

I do. The year was 1987, the musical venue was the Met Center in Bloomington, Minn., and the show was Bruce Springsteen's "Tunnel of Love'' tour. The Boss had it bad, not me. But I forgive him.

How else to explain that album and that tour, which represented a strange time in Springsteen's life and career. The show was, like, weird. Surreal. The props, the music, the whole night just seemed so out of character for Springsteen. No doubt I had been spoiled three years earlier by two smoking back-to-back "Born in the U.S.A.'' concerts at the Omni in Atlanta -- possibly the best live shows I will ever hear and see.

Hard to imagine that "Tunnel of Love'' made it to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. But there it was, on this date in 1987. A commercial success. Artistic? Not so much. And it took Springsteen time to cleanse himself. After five years without another album he would release "Human Touch'' and "Lucky Town'' in 1992.

People were beginning to wonder. Not diehard fans, whose devotion is admirable but also blinding, but others who wondered what the big fuss had been about. And within that camp are some who claim he has never returned to his "Born in the U.S.A.'' form.

Record sales and rankings really don't mean that much (what do record buyers and critics know anyway?) But it's interesting to view the numbers. If you believe them, you have to say the Boss -- while veering in different musical directions -- eventually got his game back. You might even claim he never lost it.

A chronological list of his albums and their respective Billboard ranking:

1973: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. #60
1973: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle #59
1975: Born to Run #3
1978: Darkness on the Edge of Town #5
1980: The River #1
1982: Nebraska #3
1984: Born in the U.S.A. #1
1987: Tunnel of Love #1
1992: Human Touch #2
1992: Lucky Town #3
1995: The Ghost of Tom Joad #11
2002: The Rising #1
2005: Devils & Dust #1
2006: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions #3
2007: Magic #1
2009: Working on a Dream #1

The point of this? Gee, I don't know. Puppy love sucks?

A souvenir from the Fifties

See the pyramids along the Nile
Watch the sunrise from a tropic isle
Just remember darling all the while
You belong to me

One of the greatest songs ever recorded reached No. 1 at this time in 1952. At least "You Belong to Me" is one of my favorites. I even suggested it be played at a niece's wedding, but it seems the kids never heard of it. Not even Patsy Cline's cover, much less the Sue Thompson original.

See the market place in old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
Just remember when a dream appears
You belong to me

Cline had a fabulous version, and Patti Page covered it as well, but I don't think either topped Jo Stafford's classic, which became the first song by a female vocalist to go No. 1 in the UK. Dean Martin also recorded it in 1952, and that record made it No. 12. Obviously songwriters Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart and Chilton Price had a winner on their hands.

Fly the ocean in a silver plane
See the jungle when it's wet with rain
Just remember till you're home again
You belong to me

Taylor Swift had the audacity to write her own song with that title. I haven't heard it, but I suppose that's more likely to be played at a wedding these days than anything from the tired old Fifties, from which I can't seem to escape.

My luck.

Happy birthday to them

They were born on this day, November 5, so they are Scorpios all. And if you could have put them together in the recording studio with Billy Sherrill -- a birthday boy himself -- you probably would have had something.

What, I'm not exactly sure. But something.

Yes, it's time again to play Birthday Band, an occasional SSS feature that is mindless but also quite harmless. We hope you've been paying attention because there might be a quiz at the end of the year.

THE LINEUP
Roy Rogers (1911): Cowboy guitar, backup vocals
Ike Turner (1931): Electric guitar, piano
Art Garfunkel (1941): Vocals
Gram Parsons (1946): Guitar, vocals
Peter Noone (1947): Vocals
Bryan Adams (1959): Guitar, vocals

SET LIST
"Rocket 88"
"Cuts Like a Knife"
"Sin City"
"I'm Into Something Good"
"There'll Never Be Another Pecos Bill"
"Feelin' Groovy"
"Six Days on the Road"
"Can't You Hear My Heartbeat"
"My Chickasay Gal"
"Lonely Nights"
"I Want to Take You Higher"
"Burrito #1"

ENCORE
(medley) "Ooh Las Vegas", "In My Hour of Darkness'', "Hickory Wind"
"There's a Kind of Hush"
"Happy Trails to You"

No question about it

You, too, can have a No. 1 song. It can happen to anyone. It really can.

Write a catchy riff for a Vox Continental, create a bit of mystery with a band name, and back it up with sunglasses you never take off. I wouldn't think it necessary to shave the hair off your chest. Your call.

On this date in 1966, ? (Question Mark) & the Mysterians of Flint, Mich., by way of Mexico, took "96 Tears'' to the top of the charts. Some call them the original punk band, but that's just foolish talk. See for yourself:



You shouldn't need any more inspiration than that. If you do, check out the rest of Billboard's Top 5:

1. 96 Tears, ? & the Mysterians
2. Last Train to Clarksville, Monkees
3. Reach Out I'll be There, Four Tops
4. Poor Side of Town, Johnny Rivers
5. Walk Away Renee, Left Banke

Fresh signs of the apocalypse

A local radio station on Monday night asked listeners to name their favorite song of all-time. A non-commercial, listener-supported station, mind you. Here are some of the honest-to-goodness responses:

Today, Smashing Pumpkins
Father and Son, Cat Stevens
Going to California, Led Zeppelin
Tie the Rope, The Format

Your single favorite song of all time, folks! Try harder!

The Gardner, The Tallest Man on Earth
Walk, Pantera
Me'Shell, Ndegeocello
Peace Train, Cat Stevens
Mayonnaise, Smashing Pumpkins

Milwaukee, I beg of you!

Because, Dave Clark Five
Complete Control, The Clash
What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
Many Rivers to Cross, Jimmy Cliff

Well, at least I've heard those...

Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division
The Underdog, Spoon

Never mind...

A presidential beg your pardon

Jimmy Carter was elected President on this day in 1976.

Well he said 'I'd never lie to you' and what's more he never did
Though the times grew mighty tough he never flipped his lid
So shake the hand of the man with a hand full of love
The one and only Jimmy Carter

It's one of those hidden gems. Blue Mountain's album Dog Days is a beautiful patchwork quilt of Americana music, with rollicking made-for-the-road tunes like "Mountain Girl'' and "Blue Canoe'' and "Soul Sister.''

And the first time you hear "Jimmy Carter'' you might very well go ... huh? I know I did. Maybe the first few listens. But it grows on you. It certainly wasn't fashionable to write anything positive about Jimmy Carter while he was President of these United States. Sing his praises? I don't think so.

But the man became a cool cat once he was run out of office. I remember running into him outside the Omni in Atlanta. This would have been about 1989 -- nearly a decade after his one and lonely term in the White House. And he looked so good, you know? Tan skin, hair in place, happy smile. A true ambassador to the world.

And all I could think of saying to the 39th President of the United States, was: "Hey Jimmy!''

And he said "Hello!'' back. And there wasn't a Secret Service agent in sight.
I believe I could have stood there and had a conversation with him, but it just happened so fast, and before you knew it I was inside and he had caught his ride.

I never shook the hand of the man with a hand full of love.

Sacrilege in Cheeseland

Game face on? I've got my game heart on -- right on my green shirt sleeve, where you can always find it on football Sundays.

Robert: Tell me they aren't hyping the Vikings-Packers in Abu Dhabi, where the game must kick off at, what, 11:15 p.m.? Is it even being televised in the Middle East?

Psycho: Vikings fans don't really LIKE Brett Favre, do they? How is that possible, after hating him all these years? They've got Adrian Peterson, the best back on the planet, yet they're parading around in purple No. 4 jerseys -- worshipping the biggest nemesis they've ever known. There's something wrong with that mentality. Something we learned in Sunday school about worshipping false idols...

Charles: Since when is a game from the NFC's North Division bigger than the Giants-Eagles on the East Coast?

Matt: What's your Bear-blooded take on this one? You want Favre to punk the Packers, right? But then the Vikings will be on a runaway train to the Super Bowl, won't they? I don't think you can win this one.

No matter where you are, you have not been able to escape the endless chatter and buildup surrounding Favre's return to Lambeau Field. Imagine being right here in Wisconsin, close to Ground Zero. To write any more would be to contribute to the hype. Thanks for that extra hour, though. The media has been taking full advantage.

I just wanted to make sure you to know where I stand on this...