"Favorite Waste of Time" by Bette Midler

Song#:  1661
Date:  10/22/1983
Debut:  90
Peak:  78
Weeks:  4
Genre:  Pop, Rock



Pop Bits:  Midler's sixth studio album, No Frills, got off to a lackluster start when its first single, "All I Need to Know," only got to #77 Pop and #39 AC. She was looking to do better with this next single, but it did almost exactly the same on the Pop chart and disappeared after a month. Midler filmed her first MTV-style music video for this song, but even that didn't help the single do any better.

ReduxReview:  There are two things I don't get about this song. First, it's a mystery to me why Crenshaw (see below) didn't record it for his debut album and release it as a single, and second, when Midler did, why did it not catch on? I love this song and it seemed like a solid chart contender. Maybe not Top 10, but certainly Top 40 at minimum. Maybe the sound wasn't right for the time period or maybe folks were not liking Midler as a rocker. Perhaps it needed a different arrangement. Whatever it was, everyone missed out on a gem.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  This is a remake of a song originally written and performed by Marshall Crenshaw. Although he did not include the song on his 1982 self-titled debut album, the demo version, titled "You're My Favorite Waste of Time," did become the b-side to his single "Someday, Someway" (#36 Pop/#25 Rock). Several other artists have recorded this song including Scottish singer Owen Paul. He hit #3 in the UK with his version in 1986. It was Paul's only hit and it got him tagged as a one-hit wonder there. Although the song and Paul are unfamiliar with US audiences, he did unwittingly play a role in a famous episode of a TV reality show. Anyone who watched or was even remotely familiar with the hit MTV reality show The Osbournes will certainly remember the episode when the family gets into a dispute with their neighbor over the loud music coming from the neighbor's backyard. It came to a head one evening when the neighbors began singing and playing songs outside in their backyard, which added fuel to the fire. It was at this point that Sharon Osbourne began launching food over the fence into their backyard including ham. The cops are called and come by, but after they leave Ozzy then throws a log over the fence, which smashes into something. And the cops return.. At the time no one knew who the neighbors were, but it was later revealed that it was Owen Paul, the Scottish one-hit wonder. Apparently his favorite waste of time was annoying the Osbournes and calling the cops.

_________________________________________________________________________________