Happy birthday to my favorite writer Anne Tyler, born 64 years ago in Minneapolis.

And on a different note:

. . . the process of canon formation is inevitably “partial,” in the sense that it does not (and does not attempt to) retrieve the past “as it really was.”

Michael Berube discusses Oldies Radio and the songs we actually listened to. Lots of songs in the comments as well that'll infiltrate your mind and suck the minerals from your soul (because mixed metaphors rule in pop songs).

Songs I loathed then and now:
Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)
Reunited by Peaches and Herb (I swear this was the only record the gals in the dorm room below me owned)
Heartbeat, It's a Love Beat

Songs I still kinda like to hear on occasion:
It's So Nice to Be With You
In the Year 2525 (my cousins and I played the heck out of this one one summer)
The Joker (Some people call me the space cowboy. . . )