DAILY DIRT: Thirty years ago, we were all listening to the Gin Blossoms, Cranberries and Four Non-Blondes

Daily Dirt for Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023

The first three songs on today’s list should all be considered classics … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 805 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Today we start another three-part feature, this one about pop songs turning 30, 35 and 40 years old in 2023.

Here’s our top five songs that enjoyed their biggest success 30 years ago in 1993:

1. “Hey Jealousy,” by the Gin Blossoms: Surprisingly, the song got no higher than No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at No. 20 in Iceland.

2. “Linger,” by the Cranberries: Lead singer Dolores O’Riordan was found dead by drowning in a London hotel room in January 2018.

 The Cranberries confirmed in September 2018 that they would not continue as a band., Their final album was released in April 2019 and they disbanded afterward.

3. “What’s Up?” by Four Non-Blondes: Sara Gilbert (Darlene from “Roseanne”) is married to the lead singer of Four Non-Blondes, Linda Perry. The video for this song is one of my all-time favoriotes.

4. “Crazy,” by Aerosmith: For those wondering, lead singer Steven Tyler is now 75, which is younger than most of the Rolling Stones.

5. “Whoomp! (There It Is)” by Tag Team: Can you say one and done?

2. For inquiring minds who want to know, these are the top 10 states having the longest and hardest winters, according to shareably.net:

• 1. Minnesota: The winner for the worst winters is Minnesota, hands down. There are states with more annual snowfall, but the sheer brutality is what makes Minnesota winters so horrible. This state receives low-pressure fronts called Alberta clippers coming in from the north, including panhandle hooks coming from the south. The temperatures go as low as minus-60 degrees Fahrenheit, not to mention the accompanying icy winds.
• 2. Michigan: Michigan winters are long, drizzly and snowy with a constant mix of snow and rain for up to six months. The state receives up to 202 inches of annual snowfall.
• 3. Alaska: The town of Barrow has a winter stretch where it doesn’t get any sunlight for 67 days. Oh, and did we mention the Arctic-like weather and snow?
• 4. North Dakota: Along with well-below-freezing temperature, deadly blizzards are also commonplace
• 5. Maine: Winter can begin as early as October and last all the way to April. 
• 6. South Dakota: The western region of South Dakota can get up to 198 inches of winter snow. 
• 7. Wisconsin: Wisconsin winters cause around 167.5 inches of annual snowfall.
• 8. Idaho: In the town of Stanley, Idaho they can experience an average of 292 days a year below freezing.
• 9. Montana: The state capital of Helena holds the national record for the lowest temperature ever observed in the lower 48 states. The thermometer there once hit negative 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 10. Masssachusetts: Yeah, it gets cold here, too. Real cold.

3. Here are some celebrities you may have have either forgotten about being in jail, or were unaware:

Remember Joe Exotic, “The Tiger King”? The 2020 Netflix documentary about the rise and fall of his big-cat collection and his infamous relationship with Carol Baskin was must-see TV. It was alleged that Joe had hired two people to take her life, and he was subsequently arrested and sentenced to 22 years behind bars for the “almost crime” and various animal abuse charges. Lawyers have been arguing that Joe’s sentence was too harsh, and he is currently hoping to be granted a re-sentencing trial.

Remember Gary Glitter, who was one of the biggest names in the recording industry in parts of the 1970s and 1980s? In the late 1990s he was convicted on child pornography charges and in 2015 was sentenced on similar charges to another 16 years behind bars.

Remember Jared Fogle, the one-time spokesman for Subway sandwiches? His claim to commercial fame was losing 200 pounds by eating two Subway sandwiches a day. He all but disappeared in 2015 after pleading guilty a plethora of offenses involving minors. Fogle was sentenced to 15 years in prison and will have to serve at least 13 before he’s even eligible for parole.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – I’m also younger than most of the Rolling Stones — barely.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He wants Shohei Ohtani money.