(Pictured: a shock-rock summit. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, front left, hangs with Marilyn Manson, behind Reznor, and the rest of Manson’s band, backstage at a 1995 TV taping.)

(A rare Saturday post, by request. If there’s a date you’d like to get the ODIYL treatment, get in touch.)

January 18, 1995, was a Wednesday. ABC and CBS lead their evening news broadcasts with the continued legal maneuverings in advance of O. J. Simpson’s trial for murder. He’s accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman last summer. NBC leads with stories about an earthquake in Kobe, Japan, that caused widespread damage and thousands of deaths, and a far smaller quake in Oklahoma City; the Simpson case is covered after the first commercial break. Controversy continues over the ethics of newly installed House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s $4.5 million book deal with Harper Collins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch. Gingrich is also under fire for comments he made about women being unfit to serve in combat: “females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get infections.” Volunteers in 71 countries are monitoring their various forms of news media to see what’s being reported and how, and to draw conclusions about media and gender. The first report of the Global Media Monitoring Project will be published in September. Studies will be done every five years; in 2020, over 100 countries will be involved.

Two graduate students at Stanford, who have maintained a directory of places that can be visited by computers connected to the World Wide Web, formally register the domain name Yahoo.com. In New Orleans, Celeste Keys is born, three months after her twin brother Timothy, who arrived prematurely last October. Ninety-five days between twins is the longest span on record. Also born today is future NFL running back Leonard Fournette. Colorful major league umpire Ron Luciano, who retired in 1980, dies at age 57. Charles Baskerville, a member of the R&B trio Shep and the Limelites, dies at age 59.

Eight games are played in the National Basketball Association. The league’s top team, the Orlando Magic, runs its record to 31-and-7 with a 108-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Shaquille O’Neal scores 42 for the Magic. David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs also scores 42 tonight in a 111-110 loss to Charlotte. Play will resume in the National Hockey League on Friday following the settlement of the labor dispute that led owners to lock out the Players Association last October. NHL teams will play a 48-game regular season.

Among the choices for midweek moviegoers are Legends of the Fall starring Brad Pitt, Nobody’s Fool starrring Bruce Willis and Paul Newman, and Dumb and Dumber. ABC wins the TV ratings race tonight with episodes of Sister Sister, All-American Girl (starring Margaret Cho), Roseanne, Ellen, and the news magazine Prime Time Live. NBC airs episodes of The Cosby Mysteries, Dateline NBC, and Law and Order. CBS starts the night with the Designing Women spinoff Women of the House and Hearts Afire, both set in Washington D.C. and produced by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason. They’re followed by two sitcoms from Murphy Brown creator Diane English, Double Rush and Love and War. CBS ends its night with an episode of Northern Exposure. FOX has episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Party of Five.

The Eagles play Sacramento on the Hell Freezes Over tour. R.E.M. plays Sydney, Australia, and Nine Inch Nails plays Milwaukee. A Nine Inch Nails show scheduled for Moline, Illinois, tomorrow night will be cancelled due to a 15-inch snowstorm. There’s been controversy about the show since it was announced last December. Religious groups object to the band’s songs and images, and to the fact that Nine Inch Nails refers to those used for the crucifixion of Jesus. Later this week, a local Baptist preacher will tell the local newspaper, “We have had several people pray that the Lord do something to stop it, and I feel that he has done what he has done.” One newspaper story about the cancellation is headlined, “Blizzard Hammers Nails.” The show is not rescheduled.

Perspective From the Present: We were living in Davenport, Iowa, across the Mississippi River from Moline at this time, although I don’t remember the Nine Inch Nails controversy at all. I had other stuff on my mind: this day would have been my second day back in college at the University of Iowa, pursuing a teaching certificate. (I seem to recall that I got there and back, an hour commute on the interstate, on the blizzard day.) I wrote about the music of this week back in 2015; that post is here.