KJLS-FM 103.3 10am Sundays

April 28, 2024

“Better”

Part 1

Hello, Central Kansas and around the world, thank you for joining us this last Sunday of April Spring morning, and welcome to Mix 103’s unique top 10 show, “Message at the Top”. I hope your day is a good one today. I am Fr. Mike Scully, your host. Get ready for the top 10 songs of our area as determined by our own research here at Mix 103 as well as the survey of Mediabase 24-7. We here at Mix 103 continue to give you only the very best in radio entertainment, / and that includes not only the songs that we play, but their messages as well. In fact, our motto that we work with is very simply to enjoy the music that we play here on Mix 103 and our show, but also to listen to the message because the message can actually help our lives. This morning we have top 10 music from such artists as Taylor Swift, Adele and Selena Gomez and many more.

A song that came into the top 10 last week and is at number 5 this week is from Benson Boone. He is an interesting artist in that his popularity began with music that he released on the social platform TikToc. And his latest song is a song about a man in a relationship who has discovered a person that he really likes. “For a while there, it was rough,” he sings, “but lately I’ve been doing better than the last four Decembers I recall. And I see my family every month and I found a girl my parents love. She’ll come and stay the night and I think I might have it all, and I thank God every day for the girl He sent my way. But I know the things He gives me, He can take away, and I hold you every night and that’s a feeling I wanna get used to. But there’s no man as terrified as the man who stands to lose you. I hope I don’t lose you. Please stay. I want you, I need you. God, don’t take these beautiful things that I’ve got.”

A couple of things that I want to say about the song. First of all, he seems to be making some progress in his life, saying that things are “better” which we will use as our theme during the show. He also seems to be a person who has made a connection with God since he is speaking to God as a friend, asking God to be with him and his girlfriend. And he seems to realize that God is in control, which to my mind anyway is pretty good theology.

But as I say, let’s spend some time this morning with the word “better” asking each of our songs about what can make us better or finding ways that we can be better. To start us off, this is from his album “Fireworks and Rollerblades,” at number 5, Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things” on MATT.

(double) 5 BEAUTIFUL THINGS / Benson Boone

BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES / Maroon 5 f/ Megan Thee Stallion

Part 2

Another “beautiful” song, that is, a song with beautiful in its title, and we will have our section 10 dedicated to three more of those songs, this one from Maroon 5 along with Megan Jovon Ruth Pete better known as Megan Thee Stallion and their song “Beautiful Mistakes” number 5 of all the songs of 2021. The mistake that they sing about is living in the past and remembering a relationship that the man wants back again. “It’s beautiful, it’s bittersweet. You’re like a broken home to me, I take a shot of memories and black out like an empty street. I fill my days with the way you walk, and fill my nights with broken dreams. I make up lies inside my head like one day you’ll come back to me. Now I’m not holding on. I’m just depressed that you’re gone. Beautiful mistakes, I wouldn’t take them back. I’m in love with the past.” And there’s the mistake, I believe. The way for the person to be better, our theme today, is to begin living in the present.

Let’s begin our first triple play of the day and begin it with a song about compromise, or as they call it, meeting in the middle. “Take a seat,” they sing, “Right over there, sat on the stairs, stay or leave. The cabinets are bare and I’m unaware of just how we got into this mess. Got so aggressive. I know we meant all good intentions. So, pull me closer, come on over. I can’t let you go. Why don’t you just meet me in the middle?” Looks like one of them made a mistake, and now he or she is seeking some type of “making up” and they are doing the right thing—they are seeking a compromise to the mess they are in. The way to be better in any relationship, our theme today, is to take the time to always work with the idea of compromise. Good song. This is Anton Zaslavski better known as Zedd, singing with American singer Maren Morris and the American duo known as Grey, and their song from 2018, “The Middle” on MATT.

(triple) THE MIDDLE / Zedd f/ Grey & Maren Morris

WHO WILL SAVE YOUR SOUL / Jewel

7 CALM DOWN / Rema & Selena Gomez

Part 3

Number 7 right now, former number 1 from Nigerian artist Rema from his album “Rave and Roses” and singing with him, Selena Gomez, and their song “Calm Down” on MATT. It is a song about a relationship that started at a party, the man in the relationship says, where he saw a girl who stood out from other girls in his mind, but her friends didn’t approve of him dating her, and finally after a while they did get together. He begins the song “Baby, calm down, girl, your body is put in my heart for lockdown. You sweet like Fanta. If I tell you, say, ‘I love you’, you know they tell me ‘no.’ Finally, I find way to talk to the girl but her friends gum up the meeting like chewing gum.” And she says, “Yeah, I know I look shy but for you I get down.” It is a story of an early relationship, and it sounds as though both are trying to make it work which is a must for any relationship if it is to last. And both trying to make it work will a better and better relationship, “better” being our theme today.

Before them, we heard from Jewel’s album “Pieces of You”, and the song “Who Will Save Your Soul” from 1996. Her complete name is Jewel Kilcher and that song from her is a 10+ song of meaning, the highest we get when it comes to meaning, one of the top 10 of the whole year of 1996. Of all things, she is singing about the subject of one’s salvation, and advises that everyone must question everything they do in light of the salvation of their own souls. She sings of “another doctor’s bill, a lawyer’s will” and people trying to “hustle, bustle, and cuss.” She sings of poor people with insufficient social security benefits, and “addictions to feed.” It is an unhappy life that borders on making bargains with the devil. But her response to all this is a challenge: “But who will save your souls,” she sings, “when it comes to the powers. Who will save your souls if you won’t save your own?” Placing the thoughts into the modern American mind, we discover some serious challenges. Is temporary happiness worth losing your soul permanently? As we talk about being better, the thought of eternal salvation for our souls, is a great one, because it will no doubt make us better people. Great song.

The thought that we are working with today came from Benson Boone and his song “Beautiful Things.” Let me take you to break with a thought about love, and there are literally thousands of them on the internet quote books. Here’s one from the Mahatma Gandhi: “Love never claims / it ever gives.” Giving to another is such an important element and a person who learns to give to another completely will be choosing something that is better than a lot of other things. In our next segment, we have in order of appearance: Adele, Justin Timberlake, Dua Lipa, Sheryl Crow and Sting together and Jelly Roll. I hope you don’t even think of touching that dial. It is set for the Mix and this is MATT.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 4

You are in tune with “Message at the Top,” your top 10 show on today’s best music Mix 103. Welcome back to the songs that have been the most popular in this area during this week that ends today, the last Sunday of April, 2024. We are giving you the top 10 of today and some of yesterday along with their meanings, and then we call our show MATT. I’m your host, Fr. Mike. It’s great to have you here. We have taken our theme from a song from Benson Boone and his song “Beautiful Things.”

This next song was a song popular over two years’ time and is all about pain after a breakup. She sings, “There ain’t no gold in this river that I’ve been washing my hands in forever. I know there is hope in these waters, but I can’t bring myself to swim. When I am drowning in this silence, let me in. Go easy on me, I was still a child, didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me. I had no time to choose what I chose to do, so, go easy on me. There ain’t no room for things to change when we are both so deeply stuck in our ways. You can’t deny how hard I have tried. I changed who I was to put you first, but now I give up, go easy on me.” It is an excellent song for anyone who is thinking of marriage because it shows how difficult marriage can be if we have not given ourselves completely to each other. The only way to be better in life, our theme today, is to understand completely what you are undertaking. From her album “30”, a song inspired according to her by her divorce, “Easy on Me,” Adele, from 2022 on MATT.

(double) EASY ON ME / Adele

3 SELFISH / Justin Timberlake

Part 5

Number 3 right now, from his yet-to-come album “Everything I Thought It Was,” Justin Timberlake and his song “Selfish” on MATT. It is a song about a particular relationship, and the man in the relationship feels strongly that he wants the relationship, and therefore he calls himself selfish. “If they saw what I saw,” the man in the relationship begins the song, “They would fall the way I fell, but they don’t know what you want, and I would never tell. If they knew what I know, they would never let you go. So guess what: I ain’t never lettin’ you go ‘cause your lips were made for mine, and my heart would go flatline if it wasn’t beatin’ for you all the time. So, if I get jealous, I can’t help it. I want every bit of you; I guess I’m selfish. It’s bad for my mental, but I can’t fight it.” The man in the relationship has a lot of hope that things will work out, but he always has to be prepared that it won’t. But with that kind of hope, his life will be a lot better, “better” being our theme today.

Let’s stay in our top 10 right now and go to a song that speaks of the fact that the lady in the relationship deserves the respect of another and if she doesn’t get it, she will disappear or as she says, “go Houdini.” “I come and I go,” she sings, “Tell me all the ways you need me. I’m not here for long. Catch me or I go Houdini. Prove you got the right to please me. Time is passin’ like a solar eclipse, see you watchin’ and you blow me a kiss. It’s your moment, don’t let it slip. Come in closer, are you readin’ my lips.” She said of the song that its underlying message is that of understanding yourself deeply and having no guilt about knowing your self-worth. And the more a person understands her/his self and works at recognizing their self-worth, the better they are going to be, “better” being our theme today. It will be on her album “Radical Optimism”, English and Albanian singer Ms. Dua Lipa, and her song “Houdini” number 9 on MATT.

(triple) 9 HOUDINI / Dua Lipa

ALWAYS ON YOUR SIDE / Sheryl Crow & Sting

10 SAVE ME / Jelly Roll f/ Lainey Wilson

Part 6

From his album “Whitsitt Chapel” that was Jason Bradley DeFord better known as Jelly Roll and singing with him, American singer Lainey Wilson at number 10 this morning, “Save Me” on MATT. It is a song of someone in deep despair, “Save Me” the name of it. He explained the song as saying that it came from a really dark place in his life, and there’s no doubt about that as you listen to the words. “Somebody save me from myself; I’ve spent so long living in hell. They say my lifestyle is bad for my health; it's the only thing that seems to help. All of this drinking and smoking is hopeless but feel like it’s all that I need. Something inside of me’s broken; I hold on to anything that sets me free. I’m a lost cause.” In terms of our theme, that is, being better in life, to be better, he must face the negativity that is there and change his attitude.

Before them, we heard Sheryl Crow singing with Gordon Matthew Sumner better known as Sting, a song from Sheryl Crow’s album “Wildflower,” and their song “Always on Your Side”. I think it is a beautiful song: “Well, they say that love is in the air,” they sing, “but never is it clear, how to pull it close and make it stay. Butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away, and I’m left to carry on and wonder why. Even through it all, I’m always on your side. But is there some place far away, some place where all is clear, easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear, or are we left to wonder, all alone, eternally, but is this how it’s really meant to be. No it isn’t how it’s really meant to be.” The person in the relationship is wondering why it didn’t work out, and at the same time saying that the love is still present in one way or another. They seem to be in a relationship that is up and down, and it would be better, our theme today, it would be better to make a decision and stick to it.

That indeed is our theme this morning, the theme of making things better, the theme having come from Benson Boone and his song “Beautiful Things.” We are exploring the idea of what each of the songs of our show today say about that. Still to come on MATT during the beginning of our next hour together is music from Noah Kahan and 3 Doors Down among many others. Let me take you to break with this thought about true love. It comes from one of the people responsible for the moral thinking of the founders of America, Francois de la Rochefoucauld: “True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about / but few have seen.” Think about that! That’s a pretty negative statement, but unfortunately, it could be true! There’s a challenge for seeking love for all of us. It is great to have you with us on 100,000 watts of power, Mix 103, and MATT.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 7

We are back for “Message at the Top” on today’s best music Mix 103. Thank you for giving a little of your Sunday to us, as we are well into the wonderful season of Spring in the Heartland and in the beautiful state of Kansas where our show originates. I’m Fr. Mike, ready to lead you through the second hour of our show this last Sunday of April Sunday morning. We urge you to keep enjoying the music but to listen to the message because that message may even help you a little just as it helps me.

Like the message here at number 2 of our top 10. The lady in the relationship is singing about her boyfriend who doesn’t understand her at all, but she does understand who she is. “He says, ‘Are you serious,’” she begins her song speaking about the man in the relationship, “I’ve tried, but I can’t figure out; I’ve been next to you all night and still don’t know what you’re about.” But she says, “I would want myself. Please believe me. I’ll put you through hell just to know me, so sure of yourself, don’t get greedy—that stuff won’t end well.” I changed the words a little. She said of the song that it is about confidence and about female empowerment. Understood in that light, she is saying that the other person in the relationship should not be too quick, that is, greedy, to pursue entering some type of commitment. She is not ready yet, and she is telling him to give her the time that is needed for her to be sure of a permanent commitment. In terms of our theme this week, one of the ways to make our lives better is to be truly prepared to make any permanent commitment. Canadian singer, Ms. Tate McRae here from her album “Think Later,” and her song “Greedy”, number 2 on MATT today.

(triple) 2 GREEDY / Tate McRae

BACK TO YOU / Selena Gomez

8 STICK SEASON / Noah Kahan

Part 8

Number 8 this week, the song “Stick Season” from the album of the same name, from American singer/songwriter Noah Kahan on MATT. It is another song of loneliness which the artist cleverly took from a season in New England which is called the “stick season,” a time that describes the time when the leaves have fallen and the trees are bare before the snow covers the ground, that is, when the days are short and the nights are long, and therefore lonely. He sings of his lover: “As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined, you must have had yourself a change of heart like halfway through the drive because your voice trailed off exactly as you passed my exit sign, kept on driving straight and left our future to the right. Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can’t face. And I love Ver

mont, but it’s the season of the sticks and I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed, and it’s half my fault but I just like to play the victim. I’ll drink alcohol ‘til my friends come home for Christmas and I’ll dream each night of some version of y0u.” He is definitely lonely and I think it is significant that he recognizes that part of it is his fault, important for everyone of us who feel lonely. He will have to get out of that feeling somehow if he wants to feel better, our theme today.

Before him, we heard from Selena Gomez and a song that comes from the TV show “13 Reasons Why” soundtrack. It comes from the album which make up the music of the TV show. And is the story of a girl who seems to want an old relationship to re-appear and it speaks of what could happen if they get back together. “Took you like a shot,” she begins, “Thought I could chase you with the cold evening, let a couple years water down how I’m feeling about you. And every time we talk, every single word builds up to this moment, and I gotta convince myself I don’t want it, even though I do. You could break my heart in two, but when it heals, it beats for you. I know it’s forward but it’s true. I wanna hold you when I’m not supposed to, when I’m lying close to someone else. You’re stuck in my head, and I can’t get you out of it. If I could do it all again, I know I’d go back to you.” What is better, our theme today, for the lady in this relationship is to make a decision about her situation, and make it soon.

As promised, let’s go to a band that was founded in 1996 in Mississippi and are still on the music scene. Here, they sing about some specific people: “He spends his nights in California, watching the stars on the big screen. Then he lies awake and wonders, why can’t that be me? ‘Cause in his life he’s filled with all these good intentions. He’s felt a lot of things he’d rather not mention right now. But just before he says goodnight, he looks up with a little smile at me and he says: if I could be like that, I’d give anything just to live one day in those shoes. She spends her days up in the north park, watching the people as they pass. And all she wants is just a little piece of this dream; is that too much to ask? If I could be like that…” The person in the song is studying the situation he/she is in right at that moment, and says: I can be better than I have it right now, and be like another situation that I want. It is exactly what our theme is today—the person is looking to be better. The name of the band is 3 Doors Down; the album is “The Better Life” and their song from the year 2001, “Be Like That” on MATT.

(triple) BE LIKE THAT / 3 Doors Down

WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T GO HOME / Bon Jovi f/ Jennifer Nettles

6 FLOWERS / Miley Cyrus

Part 9

A song that has been in our top 10 a long time, t+he best popular recording of the year at the Grammys this year, the number 1 song from last year, from her album “Endless Summer Vacation”, and her song “Flowers”, Ms. Miley Cyrus at number 6 this morning on MATT. It is a song about how to get over a love relationship after a breakup. “We were good, we were gold,” she sings, “we were right till we weren’t, built a home and watched it burn. I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna lie, started to cry but then remembered I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand. I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand. Yeah, I can love me better than you can.” I have said that you can look at what the lyrics say as a selfish attitude, but I prefer to talk about it as a song encouraging self-worth or feeling good about ourselves legitimately, and if we study it from that point of view, you can bet that such a person is finding a way that will make her better off, our theme today.

Before her, we heard a song from Bon Jovi’s album “Have a Nice Day” and their song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” from 2006. Country singer Jennifer Nettles is singing with Bon Jovi here, and she is part of the duo Sugarland in the country world. They sing: “Who says you can’t go home. “There’s only one place they call me one of their own,” they sing, “just a hometown boy, born a rolling stone, who says you can’t go home. Who says you can’t go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact, there’s only one place left I want to go, who says you can’t go home. It’s alright. I been there, done that, I ain’t lookin’ back. Who says you can’t go home.” Going back to the roots, the person in the song sings, is really a way to enjoy your life. That’s not a bad thought, and tying it into our theme, we can often make better people of ourselves simply by going back to our roots. The song has a great video by the way and a good tribute to Habitat for Humanity.

We are studying the top songs of this week ending today, April 28, 2024. And we have our last segment to go yet, when we’ll hear among other people, Teddy Swims and Madonna. Taking us to break is this thought from Ms. Lilly Tomlin: “I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain.” Now, that is a unique perspective, and my guess is that complaining does not lead one to better times. Well, maybe sometimes. I’m Fr. Mike, and you’re listening to “Message at the Top” on the Mix. I hope you stay right there.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 10

Every song has a message, and our belief is that the message can help us in one way or another. This is the MATT music network on today’s best music, Mix 103, your music station in Central Kansas. I’m Fr. Mike, ready to give you the final segment of our show, this last Sunday of April, 2024. It is great to have you with us once again as we are developing a theme that Benson Boone gave us with his song “Beautiful Things,” namely the theme of making things better.

As promised at the beginning of our show, we’ll give you three more “beautiful” songs on our top 10 playlist since 1980. Incidentally, there are 12 top 10 songs with that word in their title. Let’s begin this 3-pack “beautiful” songs with one of our older artists, although she probably wouldn’t appreciate that statement, but she is 55 years old. Her song here is a love song basically extolling the beauty of a young lady. “Hop on the back of my bike,” the man in the relationship sings, “Let the good wind blow through your hair. Ride on through the middle of the night, let the moonlight kiss your skin. You’re beautiful, and your mind is beautiful. And I can’t pretend that that doesn’t mean a thing to me. I like when you run red lights, don’t stop ‘til you thrill me. Take me anywhere ‘cause it’s beautiful.” Strong emotions caused by the feelings of the people involved. As we think with our theme of “Better” with the song, good feelings make a person act and think better, to be sure, but we have to remember, as I say often, true love is more than simply feelings. From super artist Mariah Carey singing along with American rapper Miguel, whose real name is Miguel Jontel Pimentel, and their song from her album “American Idol”, “#Beautiful” on MATT.

(triple) BEAUTIFUL / Mariah Carey

STAY BEAUTIFUL / The Last Goodnight

BEAUTIFUL STRANGER / Madonna

Part 11

The one and only Madonna on MATT from her album “Ray Of Light” and her song “Beautiful Stranger” from 1999. In her song, she sang of a situation where the person in the song had taken a chance on a relationship with someone, and unfortunately for her, it wasn’t the way it should have been. “If I’m smart,” she sings, “then I’ll run away. But I’m not, so I guess I’ll stay. I looked into your eyes, and my world came tumbling down. You’re the devil in disguise.” It seems as though she is singing about a relationship that she wishes she could get out of, but now she can’t, and she is trapped. She should have been a lot more careful than she was. That is a lesson that she should learn and will make her life a lot better, our theme today.

Before her, we heard a former top 10 from the year 2008, a song from the group The Last Goodnight, from their album “Poison Kiss” and their “beautiful” song “Stay Beautiful.” It is a song of love, asking the other in the relationship to continue to be part of it. “Don’t stop, don’t change, stay beautiful,” they sing, “one life, today, you’re irresistible, get up, get out, stay wonderful. All this time is waiting for you. I will run to you, I will come to you.” It is a love song, urging the one loved to stay the way she is. In terms of our theme today, one of the things that will make us better people if we are spending a significant amount of time encouraging the other in the relationship.

Our final double play begins with a song of hope and a song on my website for today. “Youngblood thinks there’s always tomorrow,” Justin Bieber sings, “I miss your touch on nights when I’m hollow; I know you crossed a bridge that I can’t follow. Since the love that you left is all that I get, I want you to know that if I can’t be close to you, I settle for the ghost of you. I miss you more than life. Your memory is ecstasy.” The situation is one of hope because the man in the relationship is rejoicing that he has the memory of his girlfriend which somehow gives him the feeling of good times in the future. And in terms of our theme, the more hope we have, the better off we will be. This is from his album “Justice,” Justin Bieber from 2022 and his song “Ghost,” on MATT.

(double) GHOST / Justin Bieber

4 CRUEL SUMMER / Taylor Swift

Part 12

Time’s person of the year last year, Ms. Taylor Swift, and a song from her album “Lovers”, and the song “Cruel Summer”, number 4 this week on MATT. The lady in the relationship sings: “Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. You know that I caught it. Bad boy, killing me slow, out the window, I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below. Devils roll the dice; angels roll their eyes. What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more. I’m drunk in the back of the car and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar; said, ‘I’m fine,’ but it wasn’t true; I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you. Oh, it’s a cruel summer. He looks up grinning like the devil.” That relationship is just beginning, and there is a lot of selfishness that must be controlled in these early relationships and if it isn’t, there will be little chance of being better in the way we live.

And our number 1 song this last Sunday of April once again comes from Jaten Collin Dimsdale better known as Teddy Swims from his album with the title of “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, part 1”, his song “Lose Control”. He has held that number 1 position for five weeks now. “Something’s got a hold of me lately,” the man in the relationship sings, “no, I don’t know myself anymore, feels like the walls are all closing in and the devil’s knocking at my door. Outta my mind, how many times did I tell you I’m no good at being alone? It’s taking a toll on me, trying my best to keep from tearing the skin off my bones. Don’t you know I lose control when you’re not next to me. I’m falling apart right in front of you. You’re breaking my heart. You make a mess of me.” So, the one special person is no longer there for him, and he wants it. It is an early relationship again, and one can easily see how much selfishness is taking over his mind, and ultimately, as we said before, selfishness has a way of taking away any hope of getting better in the way we live, “better” being our theme today.

Our theme today has been that thought of making us better people. It came from the song “Beautiful Things” from Benson Boone. My prayer for you and me is that we will always strive to be better than we are. My thanks to our producers, and our sponsors, especially Holy Family Elementary School and Thomas More Prep-Marian Junior and Senior High School, both in Hays, and to Hays Car and Truck Alignment, those who know best how to treat your car and truck. If you would like to request a song to be studied or want to comment on any of my comments, feel free to write me here at KJLS-FM, Hays, America 67601 or e-mail me at frmikescully@yahoo.com. My website is www.frmikescully.com where you will find meditations on these songs, and some great movies, and a transcript of the show. As I mentioned a couple minutes ago, the meditation for today is on the song “Ghost” from Justin Bieber. I hope you join us again next week at 10 am CDT on Sunday morning as we listen to the top 10 of today and yesterday along with their messages. And remember that you can join us on the web at www.hayspost.com and choosing Mix 103 at 10 am CDT on Sunday mornings. One final thought from Mr. John Lennon: “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” Ah, yes. As you listen to the number 1 song in Central Kansas—Teddy Swims and “Lose Control”, may I remind you that you are listening to today’s best music Mix 103 and our advice to you among the other things we have said is to hold a good thought. From downtown Lawrence, KS my name is Fr. Mike Scully. Be safe, peace to you, and be good!

1 LOSE CONTROL / Teddy Swims

April 21, 2024

“Hope”

Part 1

Hello, Central Kansas and around the world; thank you for joining us this second last Sunday of the month of April Spring morning, and welcome to Mix 103’s unique top 10 show, “Message at the Top”. I am Fr. Mike Scully, your host; get ready for the top 10 songs of our area as determined by our own research here at Mix 103 as well as the survey of Mediabase 24-7. Our motto that we work with is very simply to enjoy the music that we play here on Mix 103 and our show, but also to listen to the message because the message can actually help our lives. This morning besides our top 10 which makes our show unique, we will ask the songs of our show not only about their meanings, but the reasoning behind those meanings, and see how they fit in with the thought of hope.

I say “hope” not only because of the opening song but because of the occasion that I had to use the song. MATT lost a close friend a couple of days ago, a person that gave me a lot of direction as I worked with this show, and someone who could criticize as well as compliment. She died suddenly and I had the occasion to say something at her funeral. It made sense to me that I should use a song which she had talked about and that she loved, and a song which gives a lot of hope to our lives. I didn’t sing it, and the people were quite thankful about that, but I used it as a statement that she would say if she were with us then.

The song is about the subject of our lives. I call it an incredible song for the popular music charts. She begins her song: “I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up. Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low? Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know. You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. You say I am held when I am falling short. When I don’t belong, You say that I am Yours. And I believe You say of me, I believe the only thing that matters now is everything You think of me. In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity.” So, a prayer actually full of hope in what our Higher Power can do.

The idea of confidence and hope is necessary in all walks of life, and let’s reflect on that a bit this morning, and call our show “What Should We Hope For?” To start us off, this is “You Say”, Lauren Daigle from her album “Look Up Child”, from the songs of meaning of 2018 on MATT.

(double) YOU SAY / Lauren Daigle

SAY / John Mayer

Part 2

Another song with the word “Say” in its title, in fact the whole title from John Mayer, from the year 2008 and his song “Say” from the soundtrack of the excellent movie “The Bucket List”. “If you could only say what you need to say,” he sings. “Take all of your wasted honor, every little past frustration, take all of your so-called problems, better put them in quotations, say what you need to say. Walking like a one man army, fighting with the shadows in your head, living out the same old moment, knowing you’d be better off instead if you could only say what you need to say.” His thought is that of the movie, namely we must look at the problems that we have, and we must work with them in such a way that we actually can solve them if we say and do what is necessary. I love the message because it is a statement about what we must do in life and love, namely talk things out, and it is exactly what we need to do in order to find hope in our lives, our theme today.

Let’s give you the top 10 in countdown fashion this morning, and at number 10 is a song new to our countdown from Jason Bradley DeFord better known as Jelly Roll, and his very negative song “Save Me.” He explained the song as saying that it came from a really dark place in his life, and there’s no doubt about that as you listen to the words. “Somebody save me from myself; I’ve spent so long living in hell. They say my lifestyle is bad for my health; it's the only thing that seems to help. All of this drinking and smoking is hopeless but feel like it’s all that I need. Something inside of me’s broken; I hold on to anything that sets me free. I’m a lost cause.” In terms of our theme, there is very little hope in the song. It sounds like the person in the song has hit rock bottom and the only place to go is up, and I guess there is a little hope in that. From his album “Whitsitt Chapel” this is Jelly Roll and singing with him, Lainey Wilson at number 10 this morning, “Save Me” on MATT.

(triple) 10 SAVE ME / Jelly Roll f/ Lainey Wilson

SAVE YOUR TEARS / The Weeknd

TEENAGE DREAM / Katy Perry

Part 3

A selfish song in my humble opinion—a song that is considering how to satisfy ourselves only. It came from Miss Katherine Elizabeth Hudson, Katy Perry, and her song from 2010 from the album named after the song, “Teenage Dream”. It is a song about what many teenagers want with nothing to restrict behaviors. "No regrets, just love,” she sings. “We can dance, until we die—you and I will be young forever. You make me feel like I'm livin’ a teenage dream; the way you turn me on, I can’t sleep." In the song, she sings about enjoying life, having physical pleasures, drinking too much, and basically doing what she wants. The person in the song wants to feel good all the time. It is a guiding thought for many young people, but the reality is that everyone must grow up--no one can remain young forever. We must grow up physically, and we must grow spiritually as well. And when we do, we will discover that we need hope in order to live well, hope that comes because of love in our lives, “hope” being our theme today.

Before her, we heard a song that was in the top 21 songs of both 2022 and 2021, from Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd from his album “After Hours”, and his song “Save Your Tears”. It is the story in song of a breakup that happened and he would like the relationship back. “I saw you dancing in a crowded room,” he begins, “You look so happy when I’m not with you. But then you saw me, caught you by surprise, a single teardrop falling from your eye. I don’t know why I run away, I’ll make you cry when I run away. Take me back ‘cause I wanna stay. Save your tears for another day. So, I made you think that I would always stay, I said some things that I should never say. Yeah, I broke your heart like someone did to mine, and now you won’t love me for a second time.” He said that he said some things that he should never have said, and of course, that is one of the principal problems in any relationship. The thing that gives us hope, our theme today, as you listen to the song is that perhaps he learned a lesson, and a lesson that we can learn from.

We have taken that theme of hope as our theme today and we will pursue it in just a couple of minutes with music from the the next three songs in our countdown from numbers 9 through 7 as well as music from The Calling and Ed Sheeran. First, a thought from John Bunyan, English author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress” who died in 1688, and this can be looked at as a truth that is helpful or harmful, I believe: “He that is down / need fear no fall.” If you are already down, you need not worry about falling, and you can accomplish great things because you would be willing to try them—that’s hopeful. If you are pessimistic, and you’re down, you can’t fall any lower, and you might as well feel sorry for yourself all the more. Hopefully we accept the former and not the latter. I’m Fr. Mike, this show is “Message at the Top”, this radio station is Mix 103, and we’ll be right back.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 4

We are back for “Message at the Top” on Mix 103 and we welcome you back to the top 10 songs of today and yesterday as determined by our research and your requests. We call our show MATT because we take those top 10 songs and analyze their meanings in the light of how we can live better in this complicated world. I am Fr. Mike, your host for the top 10 show of the best mix of music, and we are pursuing a theme from a song that inspired a friend of mine who passed away recently, namely “Hope.”

What does the number 9 song in our countdown say about hope? Well, it is a statement by the lady in the relationship that she deserves the respect of another and if she doesn’t get it, she will disappear or as she says, “go Houdini.” “I come and I go,” she sings, “Tell me all the ways you need me. I’m not here for long. Catch me or I go Houdini. Prove you got the right to please me. Time is passin’ like a solar eclipse, see you watchin’ and you blow me a kiss. It’s your moment, don’t let it slip. Come in closer, are you readin’ my lips.” She said of the song that its underlying message is that of understanding yourself deeply and having no guilt about knowing your self-worth. And the more a person understands her/his self and works at recognizing their self-worth, the more hope they will have in life, “hope” being our theme today. It will be on her album “Radical Optimism”, English and Albanian singer Ms. Dua Lipa, and her song “Houdini” number 9 on MATT.

(double) 9 HOUDINI / Dua Lipa

THE A TEAM / Ed Sheeran

Part 5

From his album “+”, Ed Sheeran and the song “The A Team” on MATT. It is a song about a girl who has problems, and she won’t get out of them for a while because she is choosing not to / or can’t, maybe. She has problems with drugs and struggling to make ends meet. The refrain is: “And they say she’s in the class A team, stuck in her daydream, been this way since 18, but lately her face seems slowly sinking, wasting, crumbling like pastries. And they scream: the worst things in life come free to us ‘cause we’re just under the upper hand and go mad for a couple of grams, and she don’t want to go outside tonight, and in a pipe she flies to the Motherland or sells love to another man. It’s too cold outside for angels to fly.” And that thought of being too cold outside for angels says to me that it is a hopeless life for her. The lady he is singing about is hopelessly on drugs and committed to a life of prostitution. As we consider the theme of hope, well, there is very little hope for the lady in the song, and it should lead us to try to help those who are so hopelessly down.

Back to our countdown, and we are at number 8 this morning, a song of loneliness which the artist took from a season in New England which is called the “stick season,” a time when the days are short and the nights are long, and therefore lonely. He sings of his lover: “As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined, you must have had yourself a change of heart like halfway through the drive because your voice trailed off exactly as you passed my exit sign, kept on driving straight and left our future to the right. Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can’t face. And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks and I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed, and it’s half my fault but I just like to play the victim. I’ll drink alcohol ‘til my friends come home for Christmas and I’ll dream each night of some version of y0u.” He is definitely lonely and I think it is significant that he recognizes that part of it is his fault, important for everyone of us who feel lonely. He will have to get out of that feeling somehow if he wants to put any hope in his life, our theme today. This is number 8 this week, the song “Stick Season” from the album of the same name, Noah Kahan on MATT.

(triple) 8 STICK SEASON / Noah Kahan

WHEREVER YOU WILL GO / The Calling

7 CALM DOWN / Rema & Selena Gomez

Part 6

Number 7 right now, former number 1 from Nigerian artist Rema from his album “Rave and Roses” and singing with him, Selena Gomez, and their song “Calm Down” on MATT. It is a song about a relationship that started at a party, the man in the relationship says, where he saw a girl who stood out from other girls in his mind, but her friends didn’t approve of him dating her, and finally after a while they did get together. He begins the song “Baby, calm down, girl, your body is put in my heart for lockdown. You sweet like Fanta. If I tell you, say, ‘I love you’, you know they tell me ‘no.’ Finally, I find way to talk to the girl but her friends gum up the meeting like chewing gum.” And she says, “Yeah, I know I look shy but for you I get down.” It is a story of an early relationship, and it sounds as though both are trying to make it work which is a must for any relationship if it is to last. And both trying to make it work will mean real hope for the relationship, our theme today.

Before them, we heard the number 4 song of meaning of all the songs of meaning of 2002 from the group The Calling, “Wherever You Will Go”. The person in the song is saying that he will go wherever she will go. The problem is that she doesn’t necessarily want him, it would seem. The man in the relationship sings: “Maybe I’ll find out the way to make it back someday to watch you, to guide you through the darkest of your days. Well, I hope there’s someone out there who can bring me back to you. If I could turn back time, I’ll go wherever you will go.” A sad song, it would seem, and it may be a lot sadder because he doesn’t seem to realize what is happening. One of the things that we should hope for in our lives, our theme today, is to have a clear understanding of what is happening in a relationship, and sometimes that is difficult.

We will continue our presentation of songs from the top 10’s of the present and past after these messages. Get ready for a second hour that will give you the songs of people like Lil Nas X and Miley Cyrus. May I take you to break with this thought from a friend of mine: “We have happier days when we give others a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.” And when we speak from the heart, we will show that we have hope in the relationship. Your dial is set for “Message at the Top”; may I implore you to keep it there. As MacArthur, we will return.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 7

Every song has a message, and most of the time that message can make us do some serious thinking about life. Such is our hope here. Hi again, everyone. And happy second last Sunday of April to all of you. You are in tune with “Message at the Top,” your top 10 show that plays the top 10 songs in our land right now, and we also play great songs of meaning from past 10’s. Welcome back to the songs that can make us truly think in a serious way. We take the top 10 of today and yesterday, study their messages, and then call our show MATT. I’m your host, Fr. Mike. It’s great to have you here. We’re concentrating on a theme from a song from Lauren Daigle and her inspiring song “You Say”, that theme being the thought of hope.

At number 6 in our countdown is a song about how to get over a love relationship after a breakup. “We were good, we were gold,” she sings, “we were right till we weren’t, built a home and watched it burn. I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna lie, started to cry but then remembered I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand. I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand. Yeah, I can love me better than you can.” I have said that you can look at what the lyrics say as a selfish attitude, but I prefer to talk about it as a song encouraging self-worth or feeling good about ourselves legitimately, and if we study it from that point of view, you can bet that such a person will be able to bring about hope in his/her life, our theme today. The best popular recording of the year at the Grammys this year, the number 1 song from last year, from her album “Endless Summer Vacation”, and her song “Flowers”, Ms. Miley Cyrus at number 6 this morning on MATT.

(triple) 6 FLOWERS / Miley Cyrus

WHO KNEW / Pink

THAT’S WHAT I WANT / Lil Nas X

Part 8

Number 1 for a number of weeks in 2022, Montero Lamar Hill better known as rapper Lil Nas X from the great state of Georgia, and his song “That’s What I Want” from his album “Montero”. It is a song of excessive loneliness. “These days I’m way too lonely, I’m missing out, I know these days I’m way too alone, and I’m known for giving love away but I want someone to love me, I need someone who needs me, cause it don’t feel right when it’s late at night and it’s just me in my dreams, so I want someone to love, that’s what I really want.” I cleaned up the language a little. Loneliness is one of those realities that must be experienced before it can really be understood, and Lil Nas X’s song tells of a person who has experienced it, and it has not been pretty. There is little doubt that loneliness can take away all hope, our theme today, and one of our resolutions in life is to work at getting away from being too lonely by doing something with our lives.

Before him, we heard from Alecia Beth Moore Hart better known as Pink, and one of the top songs of meaning of 2007 from her album “I’m Not Dead”, and the name of her song “Who Knew”. It is a high song of meaning for me—because it makes us think about what we say. Primarily, it is a song of pain, and someone dwelling on a relationship which she should probably give up. “You took my hand,” she sings, “you showed me how you promised me you’d be around. I took your words and I believe in everything you said to me. You said forever and ever. Who knew.” He lied to her—he said forever, and didn’t mean it at all. This is one of the great lessons of early life—there are many people who say forever, and really have no idea what they are saying. If we are going to be people of hope, our theme today, we will learn to mean what we say.

We are up to the top 5 songs in our countdown this week, and let’s study the song at number 5 right now. Benson Boone is the singer, and he says of the song that it is about the meaning of life. “For a while there, it was rough, but lately I’ve been doing better than the last four Decembers I recall. And I see my family every month and I found a girl my parents love. She’ll come and stay the night and I think I might have it all, and I thank God every day for the girl He sent my way. But I know the things He gives me, He can take away, and I hold you every night and that’s a feeling I wanna get used to. But there’s no man as terrified as the man who stands to lose you. I hope I don’t lose you. Please stay. I want you, I need you. God, don’t take these beautiful things that I’ve got.” The man in the relationship seems to realize that things can change, but as of right then, he has hope that things will work out, “hope” being our theme today. New to our top 10, this is Benson Boone, our theme next week, from his album “Fireworks and Rollerblades,” at number 5, “Beautiful Things” on MATT.

(triple) 5 BEAUTIFUL THINGS / Benson Boone

7 YEARS / Lukas Graham

4 CRUEL SUMMER / Taylor Swift

Part 9

Time’s person of the year last year, Ms. Taylor Swift, and a song from her album “Lovers”, and the song “Cruel Summer”, number 4 this week on MATT. The lady in the relationship sings: “Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. You know that I caught it. Bad boy, killing me slow, out the window, I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below. Devils roll the dice; angels roll their eyes. What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more. I’m drunk in the back of the car and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar; said, ‘I’m fine,’ but it wasn’t true; I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you. Oh, it’s a cruel summer. He looks up grinning like the devil.” That relationship is just beginning, and there is a lot of selfishness that must be controlled in these early relationships and if it isn’t, there will be no hope for the future, “hope” being our theme today.

Before her, we heard the number 2 song of meaning of 2016 according to MATT. It is from the album named after them, Lukas Graham and their song “7 Years”. Lukas Forchhammer, their leader, explained the song this way: "It's a song about growing older. I'm also coming to a realization that being a father is the most important thing.” The group goes through the years starting at 7, talking about life. “I always had that dream like my daddy before me,” they sing, “So I started writing songs. Something about that glory. I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure ‘cause I know the smallest voices. They can make it major. I'm still learning about life. My woman brought children for me so I can sing them all my songs. And I can tell them stories.” So, the song is the story of a man and his songs. And the songs are all about living a good life, and part of that good life is learning to look with hope at what we can accomplish, “hope” being our theme today.

Which brings us to our final break of the day. Our final session will include three from the group Fun. as well as the top 3 songs in our countdown today. To break with this thought from Golda Meir, Israel’s third prime minister who died in 1978, and a quote I have used before because it is so good: “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” Isn’t that a great quote? There are a number of situations in our country right now to whom it should be said. This is MATT on the Mix and we’ll be right back.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 10

We welcome you back to MATT on Mix 103 as we celebrate the second last Sunday of the interesting weather month of April. It’s great to have you with us. This show plays the top 10 songs of America, as well as some of the top 10 of the past, and we talk about their meanings, and how they can make us be a little better than we are already. I’m Fr. Mike, and we are ready to pursue our final portion of MATT together as we consider the theme of hope. It came from a song from Lauren Daigle and a lady who was inspiring to me.

Our segment 10 presentation right now is dedicated to the group Fun.. They were formed in New York City in 2008, and are best known for the three songs that we have for us during this segment. They have taken a break from their music and are pursuing other interests right now. This first song is the title song from their last album. It is a song that seems to be talking about a hoped-for love situation that did not work out, and the man in the relationship is remembering it and dreaming that he had it. “Some nights,” they sing, “I stay up cashing in my bad luck. Some nights I call it a draw. Some nights I wish that my lips could build a castle. Some nights, I wish they’d just fall off. But I still wake up, I still see your ghost. Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for. What do I stand for? Most nights, I don’t know anymore. Some nights I wish that this all would end ‘cause I could use some friends for a change, and some nights I’m scared you’ll forget me again. Some nights I always win.” So the man is hurting, hoping for a love it seems. As we think about what we can hope for—working on love and really trying is one of them. Great video to study as well. This is a former number 1 from their album “Some Nights,” and the name of their song is “Some Nights” on MATT.

(triple) SOME NIGHTS / Fun.

WE ARE YOUNG / Fun.

CARRY ON / Fun.

Part 11

Closing off a triple play from them, the group Fun. also from their album “Some Nights,” and their song “Carry On” on MATT. It is a great song of meaning in that it begins with despair, and ends with happiness. “Well, I woke up to the sound of silence and cries were cutting like knives in a fist fight,” they sing, “and I found you with a bottle of wine. You swore and said, ‘We are not, we are not shining stars.’ This I know, I never said we are. Though I’ve never been through hell like that, I’ve closed enough windows to know you can never look back. / If you’re lost and alone or you’re sinking like a stone, carry on. May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground. Carry on.” And they go on to sing just the opposite of the way they began: “We are shining stars, we are invincible, we are who we are on our darkest day when we’re miles away. Sun will come. We will find our way home.” As we think ab0ut hope, real hope is convincing ourselves that things will always work out for the good in one way or another—the sun will come. Good song.

Before that song from them, we heard Fun.’s extremely popular song “We Are Young,” a grammy award winning Song of the Year and number 1 for a long time. They sing it with Ms. Janelle Monae, American R&B singer/songwriter from right here in the Kansas City area, also from Fun.’s album “Some Nights”. The song is a story of a couple who have had rough times. He was physically abusive to her in the past, and now he’s trying to make up for it. “I’m trying hard to take it back,” the man in the relationship sings, “so, if by the time the bar closes and you feel like falling down, I’ll carry you home. Tonight, we are young, so let’s set the world on fire. We can burn brighter than the sun. Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart.” And the lady in the relationship finally agrees, saying, “Carry me home tonight.” Therefore, the two in the relationship are making up and want to try again. In terms of our theme, there is hope in the fact that the two are making up, but as I have done in the past with these types of songs, if there is physical abuse, a future relationship should be planned only very carefully.

And we have the top 3 songs on our top 10 playlist today for us as we close our show today. At number 3 is a song about a particular relationship, and the man in the relationship feels strongly that he wants the relationship, and therefore he calls himself selfish. “If they saw what I saw,” the man in the relationship begins the song, “They would fall the way I fell, but they don’t know what you want, and I would never tell. If they knew what I know, they would never let you go. So guess what: I ain’t never lettin’ you go ‘cause your lips were made for mine, and my heart would go flatline if it wasn’t beatin’ for you all the time. So, if I get jealous, I can’t help it. I want every bit of you; I guess I’m selfish. It’s bad for my mental, but I can’t fight it.” The man in the relationship has a lot of hope, our theme today, that things will work out, but he always has to be prepared that it won’t. Number 3 right now, from his yet-to-come album “Everything I Thought It Was,” Justin Timberlake and his song “Selfish” on MATT.

(double) 3 SELFISH / Justin Timberlake

2 GREEDY / Tate McRae

Part 12

Canadian singer, Ms. Tate McRae from her album “Think Later,” and her song “Greedy”, number 2 on MATT today. The lady in the relationship is singing about her boyfriend who doesn’t understand her at all, but she does understand who she is. “He says, ‘Are you serious,’” she begins her song speaking about the man in the relationship, “I’ve tried, but I can’t figure out; I’ve been next to you all night and still don’t know what you’re about.” But she says, “I would want myself. Please believe me. I’ll put you through hell just to know me, so sure of yourself, don’t get greedy—that stuff won’t end well.” I changed the words a little. She said of the song that it is about confidence and about female empowerment. Understood in that light, she is saying that the other person in the relationship should not be too quick, that is, greedy, to pursue entering some type of commitment. She is not ready yet, and she is telling him to give her the time that is needed for her to be sure of a permanent commitment. In terms of our theme this week, the lady in the relationship is pretty sure of herself, and therefore will be able to approach the relationship with a lot of hope, our theme today.

And our number 1 song once again making it four weeks all together, is from Jaten Collin Dimsdale better known as Teddy Swims from his album with the title of “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, part 1”, his song “Lose Control”. “Something’s got a hold of me lately,” the man in the relationship sings, “no, I don’t know myself anymore, feels like the walls are all closing in and the devil’s knocking at my door. Outta my mind, how many times did I tell you I’m no good at being alone? It’s taking a toll on me, trying my best to keep from tearing the skin off my bones. Don’t you know I lose control when you’re not next to me. I’m falling apart right in front of you. You’re breaking my heart. You make a mess of me.” So, the one special person is no longer there for him, and he wants it. It is an early relationship again, and one can easily see how much selfishness is taking over his mind, and ultimately, as we said before, selfishness has a way of taking away the hope of a good relationship, “Hope” being our theme today.

That has been our theme today—finding a situation that can give us hope. My prayer for you and for me is that we will be people of hope as we live our complicated lives. My thanks to our producers and to our sponsors, especially Holy Family Elementary School in Hays, Hays Car and Truck Alignment, and Thomas More Prep-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays. If you would like to request a song to be studied or want to comment on any of my comments, feel free to write me here at KJLS-FM, Hays, America 67601 or e-mail me at frmikescully@yahoo.com. My website is www.frmikescully.com where you will find a transcript of the show and some meditations on the Gospels, on these songs and some great movies. The meditation for today is on the close of the movie “Divirgent.” I hope you join us next week, same time, same place. Remember that you can join us on the web every Sunday morning at our usual time of 10 am CDT by choosing www.hayspost.com and clicking on Mix 103. Thank you for the privilege of your time today. One final thought from an author by the name of Bernard Meltzer, one I’ve used before because it says something so well: “A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” Yes, indeed. And true friends will always be people that will hope for good things with us. As you listen to Teddy Swims and his number 1 song “Lose Control”, may I remind you that you are listening to today’s best music Mix 103 and our advice among the other advice of our show is to hold a good thought. My name is Fr. Mike Scully. Be safe, peace to you, and be good!

1 LOSE CONTROL / Teddy Swims

April 14, 2024

“Pursuing Love”

Part 1

Hello Central Kansas and around the world! Thank you for joining us this second Sunday of April of 2024. I hope your April has begun in a beautiful way and that the Spring weather is good to you. Thank you for joining us and welcome to MATT on today’s best music, Mix 103, the number 1 popular music station in central Kansas. It’s great to have you with us this Sunday morning as we study the top 10 of today and yesterday, not only listening to the music, but studying their meanings as well. I am Fr. Mike Scully, your host for MATT and it’s my pleasure to give you some great songs and some great messages. Get ready to listen to some songs from Taylor Swift, Marshmello, The Weeknd and many others.

Our lead song today should have an introduction, I believe. And so to Wikipedia I go. “Texas hold ‘em” is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages. The stages consist of a series of three cards, and later two additional cards. Each player seeks the best five-card poker hand from any combination of the seven cards. Players have betting options to check, call, raise or hold. Rounds of betting take place during the dealing of the community cards.

Now, I didn’t know any of that, but admittedly, I am not a regular poker player, but it sounds like an interesting game. And the latest song from super star Beyonce uses the background of the game to speak of a love relationship. She is using the song to bring country music to its black roots, she says. It is a love song based on the poker game that Wikipedia described and basically the song says that the lady in the relationship wants the love of the man. “This ain’t Texas,” she begins the song, “ain’t no hold ‘em, So lay your cards down, so park your Lexus and throw your keys up, stick around, and I’ll be damned if I can’t slow dance with you. Come, pour some sugar on me, honey too. It’s a real life boogie and a real life hoedown; don’t be negative, come take it to the floor now.” I used some different words there. Like I say a love song and a country song by a popular black artist. Well, that country song is on the pop charts as well.

And it can spark a theme for us, I believe. That theme coming from the song might read “Pursuing Love,” and we’ll ask each of the songs of our show to say something about pursuing a love relationship.

To begin our show, this is from her latest album, “Cowboy Carter,” Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter, number 10 here on popular radio, a country song “Texas Hold ‘Em” on MATT.

(double) 10 TEXAS HOLD ‘EM / Beyonce

DRUNK IN LOVE / Beyonce f/ Jay Z

Part 2

From her album named after her, Beyonce along with her husband and their song “Drunk in Love” on MATT. Her husband is Shawn Corey Carter better known as Jay Z. The song is probably best described as a very sensual song. “We woke up in the kitchen,” the girl in the relationship sings, “saying ‘how did this happen?’ Drunk in love we be all night, and everything alright.” It is a song that extols the beauty of being together in a sensual way. Sometimes being too involved in a sensual way is a mistake and can lead to further problems, but when two are married—as they are—it is good. In fact, one can say with our theme, if the two are committed to each other, they should be pursuing their love in every way possible.

Our first triple play of the day begins with Justin Bieber, and a song with very good advice. It is a song whose title suggests a good personality trait, namely loving ourselves in order to really understand love, but the song is not that at all. It is a statement to a girlfriend that all she does is love herself selfishly, and therefore it is the end of any love relationship. “For all the times that you rain on my parade,” he sings, “And all the clubs you get in using my name, you think you broke my heart, you think I'm crying on my own. Well, I ain't, and I didn't wanna write a song 'cause I didn't want anyone thinking I still care. I don't. But now I know. You should go and love yourself.” That last phrase says it all—she really should love herself, the proper way, that is, with no selfishness at all since true love of self is part of love of God and love of others—she should spend time thinking about that and less time of purely selfish thinking. The song lends itself to understanding the difference between love of self as a virtue and love of self as selfishness. The virtue of true love of self is necessary as we pursue true love, our theme today. This is Justin Bieber from his album “Purpose”, the number 3 song of meaning of 2016, and his song “Love Yourself” on MATT.

(triple) LOVE YOURSELF / Justin Bieber

PARADISE / Coldplay

7 HOUDINI / Dua Lipa

Part 3

At number 7 in our top 10 is a song from English and Albanian singer Ms. Dua Lipa. It will be on her album “Radical Optimism”, Ms. Dua Lipa, and her song “Houdini” on MATT. It is a statement by the lady in the relationship that she deserves the respect of another and if she doesn’t get it, she will disappear or as she says, “go Houdini.” “I come and I go,” she sings, “Tell me all the ways you need me. I’m not here for long. Catch me or I go Houdini. Prove you got the right to please me. Time is passin’ like a solar eclipse, see you watchin’ and you blow me a kiss. It’s your moment, don’t let it slip. Come in closer, are you readin’ my lips.” She said of the song that its underlying message is that of understanding yourself deeply and having no guilt about knowing your self-worth. And the more a person understands her/his self and works at recognizing their self-worth, the more they will be able to pursue love the proper way, “pursuing love” being our theme today.

Before her, we heard a 10+ category of meaning song, the highest I get because of its statement about the possibility that paradise begins right here—this group really have some great songs of meaning: Coldplay, from their album “Mylo Xyloto”, and their song “Paradise” from the year 2011, and an interesting video by the way. The song tells the story of a girl who seems to be lost, and then she finds herself. “When she was just a girl,” they begin the song, “she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep, dreamed of paradise every time she closed her eyes.” And, as I mentioned, she seems to find that this world really is paradise. They sing, “So, lying underneath those stormy skies, she said ‘I know the sun must set to rise. This could be paradise.’” It is a great message, I believe, which says not to run away from the problems and say that life is better someplace else when it really is better right here. Such an attitude can always make us feel better about life and an attitude that will help anyone as they pursue love, our theme today.

We have more of MATT in just a second or two—well, maybe a little longer. In our next segment, we will be able to hear the current top 10 songs of Noah Kahan, Justin Timberlake and Tate McRae as well as music from Marshmello and Black Eyed Peas. / As we lead out of this segment, here’s a thought from Sara Teasdale: “No one worth possessing can be quite possessed.” Good thought and if people pursue love properly, they will recognize their independence as well as the right of others to be themselves. Our show is “Message at the Top”, I am Fr. Mike Scully, and I hope your Spring Sunday morning is a good one. Don’t go way; “Message at the Top” on the Mix will be right back.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 4

It is great to have you back with us; this is MATT on Mix 103. Thank you for joining us this Spring Sunday morning, and we welcome you back to the top 10 songs of the present and the past. I’m Fr. Mike, your host for the only top 10 show of its kind in this area, the show that takes the top songs and explains their messages, and then we call the show “Message at the Top.” Our continual plea to you is to enjoy the music and listen to the message because that message can actually help us change our lives for the better. The topic of our show this morning was given to us by Beyonce and her song “Texas Hold ‘Em”, and that topic is “Pursuing Love.”

We begin our second half-hour with a song about what’s happening in the world. "What's wrong with the world, mama?” they begin the song, “People livin' like they ain't got no mamas. I think the whole world is addicted to the drama, only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma. Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism, but we still got terrorists here livin' in the USA. But if you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate, and to discriminate only generates hate, and when you hate then you're bound to get irate. Madness is what you demonstrate, and that's exactly how anger works and operates. Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight. Take control of your mind and meditate. Let your soul gravitate to the love. People killin’, people dyin’, children hurt and you hear them cryin’. Can you practice what you preach, and would you turn the other cheek. Father help us. Send some guidance from above ‘cause people got me questionin’ where is the love, where is the love.” Which says in a general way that we have to work at fixing the world so that we can pursue love. This is another 10+ category song from their album “Elephunk”, a super song from 2003, the group Black Eyed Peas, “Where Is the Love” on MATT.

(double) WHERE IS THE LOVE / Black Eyed Peas

8 STICK SEASON / Noah Kahan

Part 5

Our theme last week when we spoke of loneliness, number 8 this week, Noah Kahan and his song “Stick Season” from the album of the same name. It is a song of loneliness which he took from a season in New England which is called the “stick season,” a time when the days are short and the nights are long, and therefore lonely. He sings of his lover: “As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined, you must have had yourself a change of heart like halfway through the drive because your voice trailed off exactly as you passed my exit sign, kept on driving straight and left our future to the right. Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can’t face. And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks and I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed, and it’s half my fault but I just like to play the victim. I’ll drink alcohol ‘til my friends come home for Christmas and I’ll dream each night of some version of y0u.” He is definitely lonely and I think it is significant that he recognizes that part of it is his fault, important for everyone of us who feel lonely. He will have to get out of that feeling somehow if he wants to pursue love, our theme today.

We have a new number 1 as this song now is a former number 1 and is at number 3. The lady in the relationship is singing about her boyfriend who doesn’t understand her at all, but she does understand who she is. “He says, ‘Are you serious,’” she begins her song speaking about the man in the relationship, “I’ve tried, but I can’t figure out; I’ve been next to you all night and still don’t know what you’re about.” But she says, “I would want myself. Please believe me. I’ll put you through hell just to know me, so sure of yourself, don’t get greedy—that stuff won’t end well.” I changed the words a little. She said of the song that it is about confidence and about female empowerment. Understood in that light, she is saying that the other person in the relationship should not be too quick, that is, greedy, to pursue entering some type of commitment. She is not ready yet, and she is telling him to give her the time that is needed for her to be sure of a permanent commitment. In terms of our theme this week, the lady in the relationship is pretty sure of herself, and therefore will have a pretty good foundation to pursue love, our theme today. This is from Canadian singer, Ms. Tate McRae from her album “Think Later,” and her song “Greedy”, number 3 on MATT.

(triple) 3 GREEDY / Tate McRae

LEAVE BEFORE YOU LOVE ME / Marshmello f/ The Jonas Brothers

2 SELFISH / Justin Timberlake

Part 6

Moving up the chart to number 2 right now from his yet-to-come album “Everything I Thought It Was,” Justin Timberlake and his song “Selfish” on MATT. It is a song about a particular relationship, and he feels strongly that he wants the relationship, and therefore he calls himself selfish. “If they saw what I saw,” the man in the relationship begins the song, “They would fall the way I fell, but they don’t know what you want, and I would never tell. If they knew what I know, they would never let you go. So guess what: I ain’t never lettin’ you go ‘cause your lips- were made for mine, and my heart would go flatline if it wasn’t beatin’ for you all the time. So, if I get jealous, I can’t help it. I want every bit of you; I guess I’m selfish. It’s bad for my mental, but I can’t fight it.” As he sings about being selfish in this individual instance, it is simply a statement of desire and if it doesn’t happen, he will have to adjust, and how he works with that adjustment will determine whether he can pursue that love or not, our theme today.

Before him, we heard from producer Christopher Comstock better known as Marshmello and featuring the Jonas Brothers, “Leave Before You Love Me,” from 2021. It is a song that speaks of a person who left the love relationship in a unique but not very good way. “I see you calling,” they sing, “I didn’t wanna leave you like that. It’s five in the morning, a hundred on the dash ‘cause my wheels are rolling.” The man in the relationship must have seen that their relationship was just not going to work out, and so he left. He sings: “It only took the one night to see the end of the line, staring deep in your eyes. It’s messing with my head how I mess with your heart. I’m sorry, gotta leave before you love me.” It is indeed a messed up relationship and in my opinion, it’s good that they didn’t pursue it, but he should have ended it in a lot better way. In terms of our theme, when we pursue love, we must always have the utmost respect for the person we are loving.

“Pursuing Love” is the title of MATT this morning. The latest song from Beyonce gave us the idea with her song “Texas Hold ‘Em”. Our next segment of music and message will explore that theme with top 10 music from Rema, Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish, as well as music from the past in the persons of MAX, Machine Gun Kelly and Bruno Mars. Let me close this segment with a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist who died in 1894: “Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.” Great thought--unfortunately. I’m Fr. Mike, listen to these great thoughts, and then I hope you come back for more … great thoughts.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 7

Good morning, everyone. This is “Message at the Top”, on Mix 103. Thank you for joining us again on 100,000 watts of power. I am Fr. Mike, and our show gives you the top 10 songs of our area, as well as some top 10 of the past. And what is amazing about them is that with a little bit of help, those songs can actually teach us something about ourselves and about our behavior. The topic of our show today is the thought of pursuing love in our relationships.

Let’s go to a song that speaks of a relationship that began rather suddenly, then fell apart and then finding the consequences of such a falling out. “You know my ex,” they begin the song, “and that makes it all feel complicated. I swear to God I never fall in love, then you showed up and I can’t get enough of it.” But then it fell apart, with the man in the relationship saying, “First off, I’m not sorry, I won’t apologize. You play like I’m invisible. Girl, don’t act like you ain’t saw me. Go our separate ways, but look at this damage you did to me.” He used the word “complicated,” and that’s what happens when people try to rebuild a relationship. Apparently neither person in the song is being very honest and she in his opinion is someone who changes according to the circumstances, and is into playing games. “Look at the damage you did to me.” He is blaming everything on her, and my guess is that he was as much to blame as she was. This is obviously not a way to pursue love, our theme today—in pursuing love, both people in the relationship have to be totally honest with each other. This is Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly and Matthew Tyler Musto, better known as blackbear from Machine Gun Kelly’s album “Tickets to My Downfall” from 2021 and their song “My Ex’s Best Friend” on MATT.

(triple) MY EX’S BEST FRIEND / Machine Gun Kelly f/ blackbear

WHEN I WAS YOUR MAN / Bruno Mars

4 FLOWERS / Miley Cyrus

Part 8

The best popular recording of the year at the Grammys this year, the number 1 song from last year, from her album “Endless Summer Vacation”, Ms. Miley Cyrus and her song “Flowers” at number 4 this morning on MATT. It speaks of how to get over a love relationship after a breakup. “We were good, we were gold,” she sings, “we were right till we weren’t, built a home and watched it burn. I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna lie, started to cry but then remembered I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand. I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand. Yeah, I can love me better than you can.” I have said that you can look at what the lyrics say as a selfish attitude, but I prefer to talk about it as a song encouraging self-worth or feeling good about ourselves legitimately, and if we study it from that point of view, you can bet that such a person will be able to pursue love the proper way, our theme today.

Before her, we heard a song that MATT called the number 5 song of the songs with the most meaning in 2013—Peter Gene Hernandez better known as Bruno Mars, and the song from his album “Unorthodox Jukebox”, “When I Was Your Man”. It is an excellent song to study especially for any young man who is dating at the present time. He begins the song by acknowledging that the man in the relationship has lost his girlfriend, and then talks about why. He says that he was too young, too dumb to realize: “I should have bought you flowers and held your hand, should have gave you all my hours when I had the chance, take you to every party ‘cause all you wanted to do was dance. Now my baby’s dancing, but she’s dancing with another man. Although it hurts, I’ll be the first to say I was wrong. Oh, I know I’m probably much too late to try to apologize for my mistakes, but I just want you to know that I hope he buys you flowers…” and he mentions all the things that he should have done. When we pursue love, our theme today, no matter where, we must always learn from past mistakes. Really a good song.

Let’s see what our- number 9 song this morning says about pursuing love in a relationship. It is another 10+ category, the highest we get. The song, and the video which she directed, is the thought of a person growing up in a world that sometimes is too complicated. “I used to float,” the person who is maturing sings, “now I just fall down. I used to know, but I’m not sure now. What was I made for? Takin’ a drive, I was an ideal, looked so alive, turns out I’m not real. I don’t know how to feel, but I wanna try. Someday I might.” And she closes the song in a hopeful manner: “Think I forgot how to be happy, something I’m not, but something I can be, something I’m made for.” So, her answer to the question of her song: what was I made for?—is “to be happy.” If she has this attitude in her life, you can bet that she will be able to pursue love as she should, our theme today. Great song here from Billie Eilish, former number 1, now at number 9 from the movie “Barbie,” “What Was I Made For?” on MATT.

(triple) 9 WHAT WAS I MADE FOR / Billie Eilish

LIGHTS DOWN LOW / MAX f/ gnash

6 CALM DOWN / Rema & Selena Gomez

Part 9

Number 6 right now, former number 1 from Nigerian artist Rema from his album “Rave and Roses” and singing with him, Selena Gomez, and their song “Calm Down” on MATT. It is a song about a relationship that started at a party, the man in the relationship says, where he saw a girl who stood out from other girls in his mind, but her friends didn’t approve of him dating her, and finally after a while they did get together. He begins the song “Baby, calm down, girl, your body is put in my heart for lockdown. You sweet like Fanta. If I tell you, say, ‘I love you’, you know they tell me ‘no.’ Finally, I find way to talk to the girl but her friends gum up the meeting like chewing gum.” And she says, “Yeah, I know I look shy but for you I get down.” It is a story of an early relationship, and it sounds as though both are trying to make it work which is a must for any relationship if it is to last. Finding the right romantic relationship with both really working at it is exactly the way to pursue romantic love, our theme today.

Before them we heard from Maxwell George Schneider, better known simply as MAX, and singing with him Garret Charles Nash better known as gnash and the song “Lights Down Low”. It comes from MAX’s album “Hell’s Kitchen Angel”. The song is an infatuation song. “Can I stop the flow of time?” they sing, “Can I swim in your divine?  ‘Cause I don’t think I’d ever leave this place.  Turn the lights down low.  I’m feeling you breathing slow.  ‘Cause, we’re just reckless kids trying to find an island in the flood.”  They are both searching for love as they discover their love for each other and in life, and as we think of pursuing love, they are both doing it, and perhaps they should take plenty of time as they do it.

And once again, we have played our way to a brief pause. In our next segment, get ready for music from the two top tens we haven’t played yet as well as music from The Weekmd and the person that may be the most popular singer of our day. Our quotation for this segment comes from Mark Twain, and a good statement about real romantic love, and no sarcasm here: “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” You know, he said good stuff as well as sarcasm, and if you do that…bait with your heart, you are pursuing love the way you should. Don’t go way. I’m Fr. Mike, and this is “Message at the Top” on Mix 103.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Part 10

My name is Fr. Mike and this is “Message at the Top” on 100,000 watts of power, today’s best music Mix 103, our only top 10 show that gives you the music of the 2000’s, some 90’s and even 80’s along with all of their messages. And we make the statement: enjoy the music and listen to the messages because the messages probably will help your lives. The title of our show this morning is “Pursuing Love.” It came from Beyonce.

Let’s go now to a segment 10 presentation of the only musical artist to be called a Person of the Year by Time magazine. We have three in a row from her and we begin with an interesting song about a relationship that seems to be good at the moment, but the lady in the relationship realizes that their time together is for the wrong reasons. She sings, “I like you; this ain’t for the best. My reputation’s never been worse, so you must like me for me. Yeah, I want you. We can’t make any promises now, but you can make me a drink. I know that it’s delicate, isn’t it?” She wants the feeling of the man’s presence, but she wants it to be for the right reason—"you must like me for me.” That’s a great thought, and the way to pursue love relationships, our theme today, is to build relationships with the right reasons—that is, real love. This is triple Taylor Swift, and we have one more from her a little later as well, but here, from her album “Reputation,” her song from 2018, “Delicate” on MATT.

(triple) DELICATE / Taylor Swift

STYLE / Taylor Swift

YOU BELONG WITH ME / Taylor Swift

Part 11

Time’s Person of the Year last year, Ms. Taylor Swift, this time from her album “Fearless,” and her song “You Belong with Me” on MATT. It is a song of desire for another, but the other is with someone else: “If you could see,” the lady in the relationship sings, “that I’m the one who understands you, been here all along, so why can’t you see you belong with me.” One of the pains of life comes early on when young people are trying to pursue a love relationship, our theme today, and something to learn from that time is that we have to put up with the feelings of disappointment that come with it.

Before her, her again from her album “1989” this time, Taylor Swift and her song “Style”. The lady and the man in the relationship described in the song are still beginning a love relationship. They have dated in the past, and both of them discovered that there were other people in their lives with whom they could have a relationship. Their own relationship was one that had magic moments in which they thought that they had found the perfect match for themselves. But there were other times when just the opposite was true, when they were going "round and round" trying to discover how their relationship together would be. Her words: “Midnight. You come and pick me up, no headlights, long drive, could end in burning flames or paradise. It’s been a while since I have even heard from you. I should just tell you to leave 'cause I know exactly where it leads but I watch us go 'round and 'round each time. When we go crashing down, we come back every time 'cause we never go out of style.  He's taking off his coat. I say, ‘I heard that you've been out and about with some other girl’. He says, ‘What you've heard is true but I can't stop thinking about you,’ and I said, ‘I've been there too a few times.’” They are pursuing love, our theme today, but they are taking their time making the commitment which should indeed happen.

Next, still another love song, this time from The Weeknd. It is a song of deep love commitment to another. “You make it look like it’s magic”, he sings, “'cause I see nobody but you. I'm never confused. I'm so used to being used. So I love when you call unexpected; 'cause I hate when the moment's expected. So I'ma care for you, 'cause, girl, you're perfect, you're always worth it, and you deserve it. The way you work it 'cause, girl, you earned it.” The girl in the relationship has earned the commitment that he is giving her, and he is saying it to her, something that we should turn to often in our lives. When we do, we’ll discover very soon that this type of communication is necessary as they pursue love, our theme today. This is Grammy award winning Canadian singer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye better known as The Weeknd from the soundtrack of the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the song featured today on my website, his song “Earned It” on MATT.

(double) EARNED IT / The Weeknd

5 CRUEL SUMMER / Taylor Swift

Part 12

Our featured artist on segment 10 today, Ms. Taylor Swift again, and a song in our current top 10 from her album “Lovers”, and the song “Cruel Summer”, number 5 this week on MATT. The lady in the relationship sings: “Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. You know that I caught it. Bad boy, killing me slow, out the window, I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below. Devils roll the dice; angels roll their eyes. What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more. I’m drunk in the back of the car and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar; said, ‘I’m fine,’ but it wasn’t true; I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you. Oh, it’s a cruel summer. He looks up grinning like the devil.” That relationship is just beginning, and there is a lot of selfishness that must be controlled in these early relationships and if it isn’t, they will have a difficult time pursuing their love, our theme today.

And our number 1 song once again as it comes back into the number 1 spotlight, is from Jaten Collin Dimsdale better known as Teddy Swims from his album with the title of “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, part 1”, his song “Lose Control”. “Something’s got a hold of me lately,” the man in the relationship sings, “no, I don’t know myself anymore, feels like the walls are all closing in and the devil’s knocking at my door. Outta my mind, how many times did I tell you I’m no good at being alone? It’s taking a toll on me, trying my best to keep from tearing the skin off my bones. Don’t you know I lose control when you’re not next to me. I’m falling apart right in front of you. You’re breaking my heart. You make a mess of me.” So, the one special person is no longer there for him, and he wants it. It is an early relationship again, and one can easily see how much selfishness is taking over his mind, and ultimately, as we said before, selfishness will wreck havoc as one tries to pursue love, our theme today.

Our thought today has revolved around that idea of pursuing love in relationships and in our world. We heard a number of good ideas, I believe, and as I close the show, my prayer for you and for me is that we will work at pursuing true love either in romantic relationships or any of our relationships in life. Thank you for the privilege of your time today. My thanks also to the producers of “Message at the Top,” to the staff here at Mix 103, and to our sponsors, Hays Car and Truck Alignment, a great place for your car or truck, my friends at TMP-Marian Junior and Senior High School in Hays, a great high school, and at Holy Family Elementary School in Hays, a great elementary school. If you have any suggestions for me, or if you want to comment on anything I have said, feel free to write me here at KJLS-FM, Hays, America, KS 67601 or e-mail me at frmikescully@yahoo.com. My website is www.frmikescully.com where you will find meditations on the Gospels, on these songs and some great movies and a transcript of the show. The meditation today as I mentioned is on The Weeknd’s “Earned It” which you heard a couple minutes ago. Remember that you can catch us on the web every Sunday morning at www.hayspost.com at 10 CDT and choosing Mix 103. One final thought before we leave. It comes from Andy Rooney: “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” Ah, yes. As the song “Lose Control” and Teddy Swims lead us out, may I remind you that you are listening to today’s best music, Mix 103 and our advice to you, among all the other things we have said is to hold a good thought. Be safe out there. My name is Fr. Mike Scully. Peace to you, and be good!

1 LOSE CONTROL / Teddy Swims