Rather than spend my time productively (like writing for this blog, earning a more robust living, or working to convince myself that my shirt collars are tightening because of laundry shrinkage rather than neck fat), I’ve done what any sensible human being with free time and a microphone is doing in the new millennium:  I’ve launched a podcast.

It’s called PAST TENS:  A TOP TEN TIME MACHINE. It’s a weekly humor and commentary show that focuses on music nostalgia. My co-host David Yas and I travel back in time, to a week sometime between 1964-2000, and revisit the top ten songs featured on that week’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.  We break down each individual song, sharing some fascinating facts and trivia on the way, and decide whether the song holds up well over time…or, as in many cases, doesn’t.  

I’ve always been addicted to pop music, and when I arrived in college I found a kindred spirit in Dave.  Now, almost 30 years later, we’ve developed a great outlet to wax poetic about one of our true passions, and foisted it upon the world for better or worse.  On PAST TENS, we’re opinionated, maybe a little crass at times, but listeners have told us that they love the nostalgic journey and the humor and energy that we bring to each week’s countdown.  You may not agree with everything we offer, but the trip always brings some nostalgia emotion back to the surface. Give it a listen, I promise that it’s worth a try. You can check out all of our episodes to date on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Adori interactive app, or by liking our Facebook page for updates on new episodes.

But spending so much time running through old songs over the last few months has put me in a reflective mood.  So go through an exercise with me for a moment, and allow me to ask you a few introspective, perhaps intrusive questions:

• What is your greatest interest or passion?  I don’t mean the people you’d thank in your Oscar speech (congratulations, by the way, on your richly deserved honor), but rather the hobby or subject that you love thinking about/talking about/reading about the most?
• Can you remember the person most responsible for triggering that interest in you?

And, since I’ve been thinking about gratitude a bit lately:

• Have you thanked that person for sparking one of your life’s passions?

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