Well, this is for the billions of people outside of North America who may not be aware of it, but tomorrow, there will be a total eclipse sweeping up through the continent with the Toronto area getting their look (not directly hopefully) at around 3:30 pm. Actually, though, I should say that Toronto will be receiving a partial eclipse (if the clouds don't invade and ruin things) and it's actually Niagara Falls across Lake Ontario which will be getting the 100% effect.
As a result, the Honeymoon Capital of the World has been the Total Eclipse Capital of the World for the past several weeks as folks have been inundating pretty much every hotel in the area with reservations. Supposedly, as many as a million people will crowd around the falls tomorrow necessitating a preemptive emergency declaration by the mayor to shore up resources to handle the eclipse-curious masses.
To be honest, I'm not all that enthused about the event and despite assurances from our provincial government that measures are in place to hold the electrical grid and Internet service together during the big eclipse, I will probably be offline during the relevant time. It ought to be interesting to see things darken dramatically though.
Of course, you ROY watchers have probably guessed correctly that for such an event, I just had to provide "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler as the special article. I was thinking of doing this on Eclipse Day Monday but just to be on the safe side, I'm gonna do it today.
Tyler's magnum opus was first unleashed on the world in February 1983 in the UK (June 1983 in the US) and I remember "Total Eclipse of the Heart" thanks to that weird video that probably had psychology majors analyzing it for years. It and the song were on radio and TV for weeks and months on end when I was a high school kid. It got to the point where I was getting tired of hearing "Bright Eyes" and seeing the Children of the Corn standing at that academy. Still, hearing it again after so many years brought some good feelings and I think it has gone down as one of the biggest power ballads of the 1980s, especially thanks to Tyler's growly voice.
Considering its overwhelming popularity back then, I'm not surprised that "Total Eclipse of the Heart" managed to hit No. 1 in a number of countries including Canada and the United States. Most likely, there will be folks playing the song on their smartphones and other devices while the eclipse happens. I've already seen multiple comments under the various YouTube videos for the song regarding April 8th 2024.
Now, what was at the top of the Oricon list when "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was getting its time in the sun? The Top 3 are:
1. Masahiko Kondo -- Midnight Station（ミッドナイト・ステーション）
2. Seiko Matsuda -- Himitsu no Hanazono （秘密の花園）
I remember Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart"! Throughout the 1990's it was still being played on the Radio!
ReplyDeleteMorning, Brian. It kinda disappeared from the local airwaves heading into the 90s but I figure that whenever a major eclipse is on the way, it gets dusted off for play again.
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