PAST TENS: A Top 10 Time Machine
PAST TENS: A Top 10 Time Machine! The podcast that looks back at a past list of top 10 hits and breaks down the winners, losers and WTF moments. With Michael "Milt" Wolfe and David Yas (david@pod617.com)
Recent Episodes
324
Aug. 27, 2026
The Touchy-Feely Tunes of 1973
Dave and Milt riff on Taco Bell shtick, Dolly Parton’s legacy, a listener spat sparked by Professor David Gallant’s harsh Rock Hall takes, and Dave’s front-row Squeeze concert (plus a grim Adam Ant review). The time machine lands on the Billboard Top 10 for August 18, 1973, with context on Nixon’s first televised Watergate address, DJ Kool Herc’s early hip-hop party, a Soap Box Derby cheating scandal, and the blaxploitation film Coffy. They run through the Top 10—pick winners (Croce and McCartne
323
Aug. 21, 2026
The ‘80s: Our Listeners Punch the HOF Ballot
Dave and Milt reveal the listeners’ survey-driven top 10 forgotten ’80s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-worthy artists, noting the oddly neat result that—like the ’70s episode—about 10 acts clear a “put them in” majority threshold. The B-52s brought the beehives, The camp, the kitsch, the fun, But was weirdness enough when all was said and done? Steve Winwood had that golden voice, From Traffic to MTV, “Higher Love” was cool but twice-inducted? Must he be? Then Mötley Crüe came crashing in, With h
322
Aug. 14, 2026
Snubbed? Which ’70s Acts Belong in the Rock Hall?
Dave and Milt reveal results from a listener poll rating which ’70s artists deserve Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, after briefly sharing comments on last week’s 1983 substitution episode (including an Ally McBeal/Robert Downey Jr. “Every Breath You Take” clip). Using a 1–5 scoring system, they count down the top 10 Hall “snubs” and also-rans. Topics 00:37 Sticks Snack Debate 02:15 Survey Results Setup 02:43 Listener Comments Roundup 10:59 How The Voting Worked 13:54 Countdown Begins B
321
Aug. 6, 2026
Re-Doing the Top 10 of July 1983
Dave and Milt introduce an episode built around listener survey results rewriting the Billboard Top 10 for July 30, 1983, after voters overwhelmingly chose to boot Sergio Mendes’ “Never Gonna Let You Go.” They preview covering survey comments next week, plug pod617.com, and detour into Dave interviewing Battle of the Network Stars captain Greg Evigan on a Beatles podcast. The listener-created countdown replaces the original Top 10 with your choices, with anecdotes about ads, lyrics, MTV videos,
320
July 30, 2026
Top TV of '83: Boobs on the Tube
Dave and Milt detour from Billboard to TV, counting down the top 10 shows for a week in July 1983 while arguing about pie, cheesecake calories, and why Five Guys “small” fries aren’t small. They plug a survey to rewrite the July ’83 Hot 100 top 10 using songs that never made the real top 10 (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GFG7SWG) The TV list includes Simon & Simon, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, Newhart, Cagney & Lacey, 60 Minutes, The Jeffersons, Trapper John, M.D., Hart to Hart, and the #1 “
319
July 24, 2026
Hits of ‘83: Can You Say Mama Sa Mama Coosa?
Dave and Milt celebrate seven years of Past 10s the only way they know how: by embarrassing themselves with old stories, reading listener shout-outs, and convincing everyone to fill out another substitution poll (vote here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GFG7SWG) for an upcoming listener-driven episode. Then it's into the Past Tens time machine for the Billboard Top 10 from the week ending July 30, 1983—a summer that gave us the Pine Tar Game, the debut of Friday Night Videos, National Lampoon's
318
July 17, 2026
‘86 Flicks: Ferris! Ripley! Rodney! Goose?
If you thought we were done talking about 1976… think again. Dave and Milt kick things off by emptying the mailbag from our "all substitutions" listener episode, reading your comments, handing out a few well-deserved shout-outs, and revealing the song listeners were most eager to kick to the curb: "Misty Blue." That officially closes the book on one of our favorite summer experiments. Then it's off to the movies as the guys head back to July 1986 and count down the biggest box office hits light
317
July 10, 2026
‘76 Hits: Our Listeners Re-Write the Top 10
ave and Milt revisit the week ending July 10, 1976, letting listeners vote on a replacement Billboard Top 10 drawn from 25 Hot 100 songs that never reached the top 10. They count down the survey results including the majesty of Steely Dan; the funk of Parliament; the whimsy of ABBA; and a poppy Queen. Once and for all, what were the Doobies doing dancing with Rerun on TV? Why is Milt talking about his hot buns? Did Billie Joe and Bobbie Sue get away with it or die in a hail of bullets? WHAT WILL
316
July 2, 2026
Rock Bottom! Lowest Hits of ‘76
Dave and Milt announce a listener survey to vote on a new “substitution” Top 10 for the July 10, 1976 chart as part of their bicentennial-week trilogy, sharing shout-outs (including a Spotify playlist by Jason Hedman) and an email from Richard Holmes in Hawaii. For this episode they instead count up the Billboard Hot 100 “bottom 10” (positions 91–100) for that week, discussing each track’s background: Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.’s “I Hope We Get to Love in Time,” John Handy’s jazz crossover
315
June 25, 2026
The Hits of 1976: USA! USA!
This week on Past Tens, we celebrate America's 200th birthday the only way we know how—by firing up the musical time machine and heading back to the Billboard Top 10 for Bicentennial week, ending July 10, 1976. But first, there are pressing matters to address. Why has Burger King effectively been outlawed in Milt's house? Did Thelma the bird finally convince her babies to leave the nest? And perhaps most importantly, was Milt secretly replaced by AI on last week's episode? Listener feedback pour
314
June 19, 2026
The Most Underrated 70s Tunes
Buckle up. Weird episode. But ultimately a great list of underrated 70s tunes.
313
June 12, 2026
Hits of ‘86: Nu Shooz, Sad Songs, Bad Proms
Dave and Milt hop into the Past 10s time machine and travel back to the Billboard Top 10 for the week ending June 14, 1986. But before they even hit the charts, they celebrate the emotional madness of the Knicks’ incredible Finals comeback, debate why sports are better when you suffer and celebrate with others, and give some love to the loyal Past 10s listeners. Once the time machine lands in 1986, Dave and Milt set the scene: the nation is still processing the Challenger disaster report, a rol
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Recent Blog Posts
April 8, 2020
You Need This Link
I don't care what Seth Rogen's charachter from Knocked Up says, Steely Dan does not gargle balls. And if you're looking for a perfect 10 minute diversion, look no further than the Twitter feed called People Dancing To Steely Dan. Seriously. Click…
April 6, 2020
We've Got A Website
Dave and Milt here. We're the humble co-hosts of Past Tens: A Top 10 Time Machine, the podcast that travels back in time to revisit the songs that topped the music charts. And we don't hold back on our opinions on what holds up what doesn't, and w…