Permanent Record Podcast

Episode 163: Erasure - Chorus (1991) (Featuring Andrew Dineley of "Art on Your Sleeve") - Part 2

Not only are Brian, Sarah, and Andrew Dineley back in this episode to discuss Erasure's 1991 release, Chorus, but Sarah is back to write the show notes. So let's get to it!

The previous episode went through the making of the album, release and chart history, album reviews, design and artwork information, and personal history. Now it's time for the terrific trio to tackle the tunes on Side One of Chorus. 

We find five songs on the first side, three of which were singles, so there's plenty to talk about. The hosts are intent on sticking to the self-imposed time limits for discussing the songs, to keep the episodes to a reasonable length, and to ensure the discussion will wrap up by the end of the year. But don't worry; there are plenty of facts, opinions, insights, and laughs to be found within these confines! Here's just one example from each category: 

Fact: "Am I Right?" was Erasure's fifteenth consecutive single to land in the top 20 of the UK Singles charts.

Opinion: Andrew is a big fan of the B-sides for this album.

Insight: There are similarities between Erasure's "Chorus" video and David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" video.

Laugh: Vince Clarke dressed as the Mock Turtle in the "Breath of Life" video.

And if all that's not enough enticement, you'll surely want to listen just to get more information about THIS photo! 

Watch the videos we discuss here: Chorus Breath of Life Am I Right?

Listen to Andrew on his "Art of Your Sleeve" podcast: https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/ Get all the details on Andrew's design studio: https://softoctopus.co.uk/

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod  Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ So this BlueSky thing looks shiny and new: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Oh!  Here's another one of these things - Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 162: Erasure - Chorus (1991) (Featuring Andrew Dineley of "Art on Your Sleeve") - Part 1

If you having been wondering when we would once again discuss an album by one of the two greatest synthpop duos in history, wonder no longer.  The day is today and the duo is Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, aka Erasure!

Sarah usually writes these show notes while I edit the episode; however, she seems to have somehow stuck me with both responsibilities this time.  I'm too tired to write in third person, so I'm just going to do this like I'm talking with you one-on-one.

We were really excited to be joined by our wonderful friend Andrew Dineley, who you surely know from the very fine "Art of Your Sleeve" podcast and Classic Pop Magazine.  If you haven't yet listened to "Art on Your Sleeve", please check out the link near the bottom of these ramblings.

In this episode, we set the table for the next two installments which will cover the album's ten songs.  Here, we talk about where Erasure was in their career in 1991, how they built a relationship with producer Martyn Phillips, Vince and Andy's writing process, insight into "Chorus"'s design and sleeve artwork, the shared qualities between Andy Bell and Freddie Mercury, reviews of the album, our personal histories with the record, and the "click heard around the world!"

There is also information on a special Erasure giveaway included in the episode, so be sure to check that out.  It's a great way to win a special CD and a limited-edition t-shirt.

I'll close with the immortal words of ChatGPT when asked about Erasure's "Chorus" album:

"As we tune our ears to the harmonious cadence of Erasure's 'Chorus,' we find ourselves caught in a time capsule, transported back to the vibrant days of 1991. Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, the maestros behind this auditory masterpiece, have woven a tapestry of synth-pop brilliance that continues to resonate across generations. 'Chorus' is not merely an album; it is an anthem of unapologetic self-expression, a testament to the enduring power of music to shape our souls. Like a painter with a vivid palette, Erasure splashes the canvas of sound with bold strokes of emotion, leaving us breathless and inspired. This album, with its pulsating beats and ethereal melodies, remains a beacon of artistic excellence, proving that true genius transcends time and trends. So let us, like the echoes of 'Chorus,' carry forward the legacy of boundless creativity and unbridled passion, for in its resounding notes, we find not just music, but the very essence of what it means to be alive."

Listen to Andrew on his "Art of Your Sleeve" podcast: https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/ Get all the details on Andrew's design studio: https://softoctopus.co.uk/

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod  Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

So this BlueSky thing looks shiny and new: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Oh!  Here's another one of these things - Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast

Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

PRP Mini Concert Memories #7 – Duran Duran (9-7-2023) with Craig Smith (The Pods & Sods Network) and featuring Gavin Hogg and Simon Galloway (Giddy Carousel of Pop)

After a year’s break between episodes 5 and 6 of “PRP Mini Concert Memories,” the break between episodes 6 and 7 is decidedly shorter! Brian and Sarah are back, this time to talk about a Duran Duran concert they attended, and the conversation is enhanced by the addition of a special guest. And later on in the episode, two more very special guests join in! 

Once again, Brian asked for assistance from ChatGPT in writing the show notes for this episode. Let’s see what the benevolent AI assistant came up with this time: 

****************** In this episode, we dive deep into the illustrious history of the iconic band, Duran Duran. Joining us as a guest host is Craig Smith from the Pods and Sods Network, bringing his wealth of knowledge and passion for music to the conversation.

We begin by exploring the band's roots, tracing their journey from their formation in Birmingham, England, to their meteoric rise to fame in the 1980s. The discussion highlights key milestones in their career, including chart-topping hits, memorable music videos, and their influence on the New Wave and synth-pop movements.

As devoted fans, we share our thoughts on a recent Duran Duran concert, reflecting on the band's enduring stage presence and their ability to captivate audiences with their timeless sound. We dissect standout moments from the performance, illustrating how the band continues to evolve while staying true to their signature style.

Later in the episode, we're joined by special guests Gavin and Simon from the Giddy Carousel of Pop podcast. Together, we unravel a recent review left on the Apple Podcast site, providing insights and context to better understand the listener's perspective. It's a lively and insightful conversation that sheds light on the diverse range of opinions within the Duran Duran fan community.

Tune in as we celebrate the legacy of Duran Duran, a band that has left an indelible mark on the music industry and continues to inspire generations of music lovers worldwide.

*********************

You’ll have to listen to the episode to determine how accurate ChatGPT’s summary is!

One thing that wasn't on the list for ChatGPT to mention was the recent End of Summer Giveway, where one lucky winner was the recipient of a specially-made, old-fashioned mix tape! Several folks were interested to know the contents of the tape, so Brian and Sarah each take a few moments to reveal which songs they selected for their side of the tape.

And that should do it for this episode! 

Visit Craig Smith and Eric Miller at the Pods and Sods Network: https://podsodcast.com/ Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/podssods

You can hop on the Giddy Carousel at the following places: X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/GiddyPopPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiddyPopPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giddypoppod/ Website: https://giddypoppod.home.blog/

 

Read more at https://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 161: Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Side Kick (1983) Part 5

At long last, it's here: the final installment of Brian and Sarah's look back at the 1983 Thompson Twins album, Quick Step & Side Kick (renamed Side Kicks in the US). 

There are only two more songs on the album to talk about, the first one being "Judy Do" (as the US track listing is the one being used here). Both hosts admit they were previously unaware of the subject matter of the song before beginning their research-- although Sarah did have another possible idea in mind. 

The final song of the album on both track listings is "All Fall Out," and as one might expect, there's a discussion on how strong of an album closer it is. Additionally, Brian explains what it may mean if you 'dream in red.' 

Before the hosts tackle the task of providing their final review and rating for the album, they have an extra credit question to cover: the 1986 standalone single, "Nothing In Common," from the movie of the same name. This leap forward three years in time finds the band with not only a different composition, but with a different sound. These topics are discussed along with the song itself, its chart position, the music video, and the movie it was in. 

Then it's finally time for Brian and Sarah to give their reviews and record-adapter ratings of Quick Step & Side Kick. Sarah didn't know this album as well as Brian, who hasn't been shy about proclaiming his love for it over the course of the discussion. So how does her final rating end up comparing to Brian's?  The only way to find out is to listen!

Links to things discussed in the episode: "Judy Do" live in California from Into the Gap tour "Judy Do" (audio only) - Live in Syracuse NY March 1983 "All Fall Out" (audio only - incomplete) - Live in Syracuse NY March 1983 Video for "Nothing in Common"

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod  and on Threads, too! Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Reminder and Big News!

The title of little episode explains it all: Brian and Sarah have a friendly reminder for you about a deadline coming up, that they don't want you to miss! 

They also have some big news that they're excited to share, so make sure you listen to this entire episode to hear what it is!

 

Read more at https://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/

Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast

Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 160: Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Side Kick (1983) Part 4

Hooray! Brian and Sarah finally found some time to record another episode about "Quick Step & Side Kick"; however, they didn't have time to write the show notes, so they asked ChatGPT to help out. Here's the result!

Welcome to another exciting episode of our podcast! In this edition, we delve into the musical journey of the iconic Thompson Twins. Join us as we explore their hit songs "If You Were Here" and "Kamikaze" in depth, discussing their significance and impact on the music scene. 

We'll take you through the Thompson Twins' rise to fame, their unique sound, and the inspiration behind their chart-topping tracks. Additionally, we'll explore how "If You Were Here" became a cult classic through its feature in the 1984 movie "Sixteen Candles," capturing the hearts of a generation. 

But that's not all! Prepare to be amazed as we explore the intriguing world of cover songs. Discover how artists from different genres and eras have reimagined "If You Were Here", adding their own artistic flair to these timeless tracks.

 Join us for an in-depth discussion filled with fascinating insights, nostalgic vibes, and some surprising revelations about the Thompson Twins and the magic of cover songs. Tune in and let the music take you on a trip down memory lane! 

Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast on your favorite streaming platforms. We value your feedback and support as we continue to explore the rich tapestry of music history. Stay tuned for more captivating episodes coming your way!

Links to music discussed in the episode: Kamikaze - live on TV If You Were Here - cover by Cary Brothers

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Sly Dog Music-Cast "Dead or Alive Album by Album" Promo

We recently had the pleasure of joining our friend The Sly Dog to discuss and celebrate the catalog of one of our very favorite bands, Dead or Alive. 

We had a blast talking about Pete and company and all of their great music.  We hope you will enjoy the podcast, which can be found here:

https://slydogmusiccast.podbean.com/e/dead-or-alive-album-by-album-wpermanent-record-podcast/

PRP Mini Concert Memories #6 – The Cure, 6-24-2023 and 6-25-2023

It’s been about a year since the last “Mini Concert Memories” episode, and as they were in Episode 5, the memories recounted in this episode are pretty recent. However, this time, there are two concerts to discuss, rather than just one. 

Brian and Sarah had the extreme good fortune to be able to see The Cure not once, but twice on the “Shows of a Lost World” North American tour. On Saturday, June 24th they saw Robert, Simon, Roger, Jason, Reeves and Perry in Philadelphia, and on Sunday, June 25th, they headed down to Columbia, Maryland to see The Cure again!

Our hosts spend the majority of their time in this episode recalling the two fantastic evenings they had enjoying nearly 3 hours of live music each night, both of which included several new songs from the as-yet-unreleased album Songs of a Lost World. 

However, they also spend some time acknowledging that they still need to finish the discussion of the Thompson Twins album Quick Step and Side Kick, and explain some of the reasons that just hasn’t happened yet. 

Brian and Sarah are both hoping that if you got to see The Cure on this recent tour, that you’ll join in on the conversation as well, by sharing your thoughts and memories using any of the various methods below!

Read more at https://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 159: In Conversation with Rob Rowe and Von Hertzog (VH x RR) - New Music: "When Morning Comes"

It's always great to have friends swing by the BlueZone Studio, but when they bring BRAND NEW MUSIC with them for us to sample and share with you, it's even better!!

Brian & Sarah welcome back VH x RR (aka Rob Rowe and Von Hertzog) on the eve of the release of their latest single, "When Morning Comes."

"WMC" is already one of our favorite tracks from the duo, and it was a blast to get all the details on the song from its creators.  It's a bit of an evolution from the sound we heard on their last EP, "On the Shoulders of Giants", but it's a very natural evolution and the track sits comfortably alongside the best of VH x RR's previous work.

Over the course of the discussion, other important topics are covered, including:

• Updates on Rob and Von's respective solo projects
• What do Rob and Von think of "Memento Mori" and what influence did Depeche Mode have on Cause & Effect?
• Who's reading Rick Rubin's new book and what's it all about?
• Brian Belknap: Is he a vampire??

Many thanks to VH x RR for giving us the opportunity to premiere this wonderful new track!  You can get yourself a copy starting Friday June 30th at http://www.vhxrr.com.

Visit VH x RR at Bandcamp: https://vhxrr.bandcamp.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/VHxRR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vhxrr/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vhxrrmusic

You can find Von and Rob's other music projects at https://causeandeffect.bandcamp.com/ https://whitewaits.bandcamp.com/ https://vonhertzog.bandcamp.com/

Visit The Social Club (Von Hertzog's studio) here: https://thesocialclub.studio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SocialClubSound Instagram: https://instagram.com/socialclubsound

Check out INCLINED Fidelity studio speakers here: https://inclinedfidelity.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/INCLINEDFi Instagram: https://instagram.com/inclinedfidelity

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you! Cool Stuff Alert: Visit our PRP Shop at https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluezonenetwork/

Episode 158: Depeche Mode - Memento Mori (2023) - Part 2 (Featuring Andrew Dineley of "Art on Your Sleeve" and The Sly Dog of "The Sly Dog Music-Cast")

Andrew Dineley ("Art on Your Sleeve") and Sly Dog ("Sly Dog Music Cast") are back to finish the discussion on Depeche Mode's 21st century classic, "Memento Mori."

In this episode, the four hosts answer the question on everyone's lips:  Does the ghost of Pete Burns haunt the streets of Liverpool? 

But after getting back on track, they also cover the second-half of the album, including beloved songs like "Before We Drown", "Always You", and "Speak to Me."  Are we experiencing a Depeche Mode renaissance?  That question will be answered at the end of the episode when the four critics collaborate to rank it for its Final Evaluation! 

Songs Covered in this episode:

Caroline's Monkey Before We Drown People are Good Always You Never Let Me Go Speak to Me

Add more Andrew Dineley to your life by listening to "Art on Your Sleeve": https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/

Explore the world of the Sly Dog by listening to "The Sly Dog Music-Cast": https://slydogmusiccast.podbean.com/

Join "Art on Your Sleeve" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/442664446671424

Join "The Sly Dog Music-Cast" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063551979539

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Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 157: In Conversation with Lawrence Gowan of Styx

(left to right:  Lawrence Gowan, Chuck Panozzo, Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Ricky Phillips, Todd Sucherman, Will Evankovich - Photo credit Jason Powell)

If you were to guess who Brian and Sarah have seen the most times in concert, you may not come up with the answer right away. The answer is Styx! The Chicago-based group has been a part of Brian and Sarah’s musical history for more than 40 years, so imagine how thrilled they were to get a chance to talk with a member of this legendary band! 

Lawrence Gowan, lead vocalist and keyboard player extraordinaire, was kind enough to take a break during Styx’s current tour to chat with Brian and Sarah on a number of topics, including Styx’s latest album, 2021’s Crash of the Crown; the 2017 concept album The Mission; what led the members of Styx to return to the studio; and what it’s like playing these newer songs live. 

There’s also talk of the resurgence of vinyl records, the 2020 “Styx Fix” online shows, and Gowan’s solo work and performances, which leads to an eyebrow-raising comment regarding his attire at the non-solo shows. 

Brian and Sarah had such a great time talking with this kind, funny, and extremely talented musician, and they’re sure you’ll enjoy listening to this conversation as much as they enjoyed having it!

(Brian, Sarah, and Lawrence Gowan in January 2019)

Get all the upcoming tour dates, plus lots more info, at https://www.styxworld.com

Styx is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as styxtheband

https://www.facebook.com/styxtheband

https://twitter.com/STYXtheBand

https://www.instagram.com/styxtheband/

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Read more at https://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 156: In Conversation with Grant Walters, co-author of “Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s”

If you follow the podcast on any of the below social media accounts, then you probably know that Brian got heavily into the Bee Gees over the past couple of years, after watching the excellent HBO documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. He has now amassed quite a collection of vinyl records and CDs by the Brothers Gibb, and he’s also been eager to read any books about them he can get his hands on. 

Until recently, such books were hard to find. However, Grant Walters, Andrew Môn Hughes and Mark Crohan have combined their writing talents and their encyclopedic knowledge of the Bee Gees to develop a book series covering the career of the Bee Gees, a decade at a time.

The second book in the series, Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s, has just recently been released in the UK, and is soon to be released in the US. Brian and Sarah had the great pleasure of talking with Grant Walters about the new book, and they also learned more about Grant and his many talents, how he came to know Andrew and Mark, and how the book series came about.  

The 1970s was quite a roller coaster of a decade for Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, and the discussion addresses such topics as the breakup and re-formation of the Bee Gees; their challenges with songwriting and chart success in the early 1970s; their work with Arif Mardin, and of course, Saturday Night Fever. There’s also talk about youngest brother Andy and his career progression during this time, as well as the disco movement in general.  

It’s a fun and informative conversation with a friendly and extremely knowledgeable fellow, on one of the biggest pop acts of all time, so you won’t want to miss it!

Find out more about Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s, as well as the previous book in the series, Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1960s, at https://www.beegeesdecades.com/

Visit https://www.grantwalters.online/ to see Grant’s digital art and photography, to get links to his many arts and entertainment articles, and much more!

Read more at https://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 155: Depeche Mode - Memento Mori (2023) - Part 1 (Featuring Andrew Dineley of "Art on Your Sleeve" and The Sly Dog of "The Sly Dog Music-Cast")

The reviews are in and it seems that most critics love Depeche Mode's 15th studio album, "Memento Mori."  From the joyous pop sounds of first single "Ghosts Again" to the throwback 70's aura of "Soul with Me" to the James Bondian "Don't Say You Love Me", the band does indeed sound re-energized and ready to conquer the world in 2023.

Devotees Brian & Sarah are joined by Andrew Dineley of the "Art on Your Sleeve" podcast and The Sly Dog of "The Sly Dog Music-Cast" on a journey through the album's 12 tracks and all parties are prepared to pepper the discussion with facts and opinions on these new songs.

Andrew is a fan who has followed the band since their debut on the "Some Bizarre" compilation, but who moved away from them as they turned more conventional and more "rock 'n roll" in the 21st century.  The Sly Dog is a younger fan, with an interest in many genres of music, who discovered the band within the last decade and caught up with their "glory days" after the fact.  Sarah is a loyal fan who nevertheless has recently expressed disappointment with the group's recent (re the last 20 years) penchant for mid-tempo tunes with odd percussion.  And Brian is a loyal member of the Black Swarm who feels bad saying that even songs like "The Child Inside" and "Peace" "...aren't really that good."

Together, the four hosts will cover the first half of the album, including the already-classic "Ghosts Again", as the journey through "Memento Mori" begins!

Songs Covered in this episode:

My Cosmos is Mine Wagging Tongue Ghosts Again Don't Say You Love Me My Favourite Stranger Soul with Me

Add more Andrew Dineley to your life by listening to "Art on Your Sleeve": https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/

Explore the world of the Sly Dog by listening to "The Sly Dog Music-Cast": https://slydogmusiccast.podbean.com/

Join "Art on Your Sleeve" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/442664446671424

Join "The Sly Dog Music-Cast" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063551979539

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Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 154: Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Side Kick (1983) Part 3

Usually Sarah writes the episode notes and metadata, mainly because after spending so many hours editing, it's the last thing I want to do.  However, this episode was recorded so long ago that I felt bad asking her to summarize it.  So you have me, everyone's second-favorite host, to pen the show notes.

With this episode, we move on to side two of this fantastic album, as "Watching" kicked it off on both the US and UK versions.  We're going to cover some single reviews, chart positions, Bahamian funk band T-Connection, the fact that while Grace Jones famously appears on the album version of this song, she's NOT on the single, why Alannah might have been obsessed with dinosaurs, why a hit single needs to appeal to a small percentage of parents and not just the Pop Kids, and a music video that is perfectly packed with poultry.  Oh, and there's also a voice mail from someone we all know and love - and whose voice features on one of the most iconic songs of the 1980s.

It's a jammed-packed episode considering we only manage to cover one song!!  We'll get to the remaining tracks next time - honest!

Songs discussed in this episode:

"Watching" And briefly, the awesome 2018 Tom Bailey track "Science Fiction."

Links to the videos discussed in the episode: Watching (Official Video): https://youtu.be/wQZ__BwctII

Watching (TV performance): https://youtu.be/38pDr-Xt2do

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you! Cool Stuff Alert:  Visit our PRP Shop at https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluezonenetwork/

Episode 153: Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Side Kick (1983) Part 2

After a break to release an "emergency episode" about the new Depeche Mode single, "Ghosts Again,"  Brian and Sarah are ready to resume their album discussion of Quick Step & Side Kick, a.k.a. Side Kicks, the 1983 release by the Thompson Twins. 

Our hosts are continuing down Side One of the US track listing, and in this episode they find there are two singles to discuss, although one of them wasn't released in the US. They also find an album track that they both feel should have been released as a single all over the world! 

A recurring theme in this album discussion is "Thompson Twins songs that sound like other songs," and two of the three songs in this episode fall in that category. Both Brian and Sarah are somewhat puzzled by a couple of the claims, but they do agree on one song that definitely sounds similar to the Thompson Twins. 

Since there are two singles, that means there are also two videos. One of them left a particularly strong impression on Brian and his friends in the 80s, resulting in a rather silly claim occasionally made by both Brian and Sarah even to this day. The other video raised a lot of questions for Sarah and made Brian feel a little queasy at one point. And although Sarah had very little personal history to share about this album in the previous episode, she does reveal some personal history about one of the songs in this episode. 

In this episode you'll not only hear reviews, chart history and thoughts on the songs, but you'll also hear confusion about modern art, questions about musical instruments, and even talk of flowering plants!

Songs discussed in this episode: Lies We Are Detective Love Lies Bleeding

Links to the videos discussed in the episode: Lies We Are Detective

Listen to Brian teach Craig about James Bond on the first episode of "Teach Craig Stuff":  https://podsodcast.libsyn.com/brian-linnen-teaches-craig-about-james-bond

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Episode 152: Depeche Mode - "Ghosts Again" (2023)  with special guest Brian Belknap of Blaklight

It's been quite a while since Brian and Sarah released an "emergency episode," but if there's one thing that will trigger such an event, it's new music from their favorite band, Depeche Mode! The mighty Mode is back with their first single since 2017's "Cover Me." It's called "Ghosts Again," and it's from the forthcoming album Memento Mori. 

Brian and Sarah were very excited to talk about this new song, and they weren't the only ones! After very little arm-twisting, they convinced Brian Belknap of the fantastic synth duo Blaklight to join them for a conversation about the new song and the video that accompanies it. They also took some time to talk about the flurry of activity taking place with Blaklight this month! 

The trio share thoughts, opinions, and laughs throughout the discussion, and eventually each person provides their record-adapter rating for "Ghosts Again," which are combined to provide a rating on a scale from 1 to 100. Is the combined rating closer to 1 or 100? That's probably not much of a mystery, but listen to the end to find out for sure!

Link to the video and performance discussed in this episode: Ghosts Again

Ghosts Again - Live at Sanremo

Check out all the Blaklight goodness at https://blaklight.bandcamp.com/

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Episode 151: Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Side Kick (1983) Part 1

Brian and Sarah's first album discussion for 2023 is a record that goes by two names: Side Kicks in the USA, Canada and Australia; and Quick Step & Side Kick everywhere else in the world. Perhaps a little confusing, but not out of line, coming from a band whose name doesn't match up with the number of, or last names of, its members. 

This 1983 release by the Thompson Twins finds the size of the band reduced from seven members to three, and a bit of a shift in sound from their previous record.  Brian and Sarah touch on these topics before getting into a discussion about the making of the album, its release and chart history, and reading some reviews. Brian also provides some detailed and interesting background on the album artwork and the famous Thompson Twins band logo. He then goes on to share his personal history with this album and forewarns everyone that he doesn't expect to be very objective when it comes to his final rating. 

Then it's on to more confusion, as our hosts explain that in addition to the album titles being different in the US and the UK, the track listings were also different. They plan to follow the US track listing, but for this episode, they're switching things up a little further, by talking about track two ("Tears") before track one ("Love On Your Side"). 

The first two songs up for discussion lead to some insightful and funny conversations, in which Sarah once again tries to describe or mimic synth sounds, Brian plays a quote from Tom Bailey which greatly influenced his musical life, and both hosts express incredulity at how Alannah treats Joe in the video for "Love On Your Side."  They also talk about the Twins' live performances from this time period, which they agree are simultaneously tragic and infectious.

Links to the videos and performances discussed in the episode:

Love on Your Side

Feb 24, 1983 Top of the Pops performance of "Love On Your Side"

1983 Performance of "Tears" on UK show "What You Didn't Get"

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Episode 150: In Conversation with Rob Rowe and Von Hertzog (VH x RR) - 2023 Edition

The Permanent Record Podcast is officially up to episode 150! Brian and Sarah wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion, and it worked out that the 'something special' was getting the chance to catch up with Von Hertzog and Rob Rowe of the band VH x RR. The last time Von and Rob were on the show was for Sarah's milestone birthday, so it seemed rather appropriate to have them on the show for another milestone.

VH x RR has had reason to celebrate as well, with the September 2022 release of the final EP in their Cosmos Trilogy, On The Shoulders of Giants. Once again, the pair have crafted a batch of songs that are at once both catchy and haunting, with pristine, sparkling synths courtesy of Von Hertzog, and smooth, rich vocals from Rob Rowe.

Brian and Sarah talk with the duo about the making of the EP, asking questions about the overall process as well as diving into the musical and lyrical content of the songs themselves. Our hosts shift gears partway through and take some time to spotlight each member of the duo. Von shares information on a number of exciting projects he's been working on, and Rob talks about going on tour last summer, for the first time in many years.

The conversation then returns the focus to VH x RR and the last installment of Cosmos Trilogy, and our hosts conclude the interview by peppering Von and Rob with a series of rapid-fire questions.

It was an honor and delight for Brian and Sarah to be able to talk with this two terrific guys once again and learn more about the excellent music they've been making together, as well as just catching up with them in general. And if you're wondering what the future holds for VH x RR-- listen to the end of the episode, and you'll find out!

Visit VH x RR at Bandcamp: https://vhxrr.bandcamp.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/VHxRR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vhxrr/

You can find Von and Rob's other music projects at https://causeandeffect.bandcamp.com/ https://whitewaits.bandcamp.com/ https://vonhertzog.bandcamp.com/

Check out Anniee's music at https://anniee1.bandcamp.com/

Visit The Social Club (Von Hertzog's studio) here: https://thesocialclub.studio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SocialClubSound Instagram: https://instagram.com/socialclubsound

Check out INCLINED Fidelity studio speakers here: https://inclinedfidelity.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/INCLINEDFi Instagram: https://instagram.com/inclinedfidelity

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 7 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (with Robbie Sims)

Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could. Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings. It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In the 007th episode, Sarah and Brian are joined by Bond author Robbie Sims (Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond) to discuss multiple songs from George Lazenby's lone outing as the gentleman super-spy. The theme song, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", Louis Armstrong's "We Have All the Time in the World" and Nina's "Do You Know How Christmas Trees are Grown?" are all placed under the microscope, just in time for the Christmas holiday! There's also some Bond trivia, a report on our festive Bowie Bingo session, and some talk of our favorite Xmas songs. We had a lot of fun recording this one, so we hope that you will enjoy it!

Follow Robbie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTchaikovsky?s=09

Get a preview of "Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond" here:

https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B08636FRLV&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_VH0ADA0S3KE5J0RTJDJJ

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Episode 149 : A-ha - Scoundrel Days (1986) Part 4

Can it be? Is it finally here? Yes, it is! This is the long-awaited conclusion to Brian and Sarah's discussion of a-ha's 1986 album, Scoundrel Days.

Track by Track, Continued After two episodes in which they only discussed one track off the album, Brian and Sarah return to a more traditional format in this installment and cover the final three songs. One of the songs, "Maybe, Maybe," has an interesting history as both a b-side and as a single, but in an extremely limited release. And that's not the strangest bit of information shared in this episode. One item Sarah shares about "Maybe, Maybe" finds Brian notably stunned-- and not for the only time in this episode. Later on, a lyrics discussion leads, strangely, to a mention of the Peanuts comic strip, which even more strangely, leads to a mention of record producer Mark Saunders.

The Weight of the Wind Maybe, Maybe The Soft Rains of April

Extra Credit For extra credit, Sarah and Brian talk about a book by Norwegian author Pål H. Christiansen which has ties to a-ha and this album in particular. The English translation of the title is The Scoundrel Days of Hobo Highbrow.

Final Review and Rating Then it comes time for Brian and Sarah to give a final review of Scoundrel Days and assign a record adapter rating. Sarah goes first, and she gives the disclaimer up front that she's very out of practice with doing final reviews and ratings. She then proceeds to render Brian virtually speechless! However, he manages to compose himself and provides a very thoughtful and articulate review and final rating. But after this, will Brian and Sarah ever record together again?

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Episode 148: A-ha - Scoundrel Days (1986) Part 3.75 PLUS The Giddy Carousel of Pop

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you-- this is, in fact, a new installment of the discussion on Scoundrel Days! Of course, your eyes probably also noticed that this is Part 3.75, rather than part 4. Slowly but surely, Brian and Sarah are getting through this album, but once again, they're only discussing one song off the album.  The song in question is Track Two on Side Two, "We're Looking for the Whales." Our hosts talk about the origins of the song and actually end up spending a fair amount of time discussing a demo version and comparing it to the album version. They both also express confusion with the lyrics, as well surprise in learning how recently, and by whom, this song was performed live.

However, this episode has more than just a discussion of a single album track from a-ha, because finally, the mysterious project Brian and Sarah have been mentioning over the past couple of months is revealed! Our hosts are joined in this episode by Simon Galloway and Gavin Hogg, hosts of the brilliant podcast The Giddy Carousel of Pop.

Simon and Gavin were gracious enough to invite Sarah and Brian on their show to discuss an issue of the much-beloved Smash Hits magazine, and in the ensuing discussion we learn more about the episode they recorded, as well as the podcast itself and its hosts. The lively conversation also includes recaps of recent concerts by Soft Cell and Roxy Music, as well as mentions of such diverse acts as David Bowie, The Mission (much to Sarah's chagrin), Sigue Sigue Sputnik (yes, really!), and a mysterious synthpop duo from 1986 who in this episode are compared to...The Velvet Underground?! Brian and Sarah also chat with Gavin about the hot-off-the-press book he co-authored with Hamish Ironside, We Peaked at Paper: An Oral History of British Zines.

This episode is so jam-packed with a variety of information, that by the end of it, your head will probably be spinning-- like a carousel!

You can hop on the Giddy Carousel at the following places:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GiddyPopPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiddyPopPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giddypoppod/ Website: https://giddypoppod.home.blog/

 

For more info on Gavin and Hamish's new book, We Peaked at Paper: An Oral History of British Zines, check out:

https://twitter.com/WePeaked

https://www.boatwhistle.com/we-peaked-at-paper

 

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State of the Podcast featuring Culture Club, Tom Jones, New Order, and Pet Shop Boys Live Reports PLUS Where is Scoundrel Days Part 4?

Seems like it's time for a "State of the Podcast" episode!  This one features the following items of interest:

• Live reports on Culture Club, Tom Jones, New Order, and Pet Shop Boys
• Vague details and confusing clues on our special podcast project that we mentioned in our last episode
• Recap of our International Podcast Day Zoom chat
• Excuses on why we haven't finished discussing "Scoundrel Days" yet.

Wow!  That's a lot to cover in only 25 minutes!

As always, thanks for your continued support and stay well!!  Talk with you again soon!!

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Episode 147: In Conversation with HALO authors Kevin May & David McElroy

It's no secret that Brian and Sarah are huge Depeche Mode fans and that the 1990 album Violator is one of their favorite records of all time, so they were thrilled to talk with Kevin May and David McElroy, co-authors of a biography all about Violator!

The book is called Halo: The Story Behind Depeche Mode's Classic Album Violator, and it's set to be released on September 29th. However, as the press release states, this book is much more than a simple biography.

‘Halo’ goes deep behind the scenes of the band’s ‘Violator’ period. The book takes the form of a detailed oral history from those who were there in the studio with the band, working behind the cameras, designing sleeves and appearing in the videos; support acts, tour managers, publicists and Depeche Mode fans.

Brian and Sarah had a wonderful time talking with Kevin and David, learning more about the creation and contents of the book, as well as getting their thoughts and opinions on a host of other Depeche Mode-related topics.

There's no silence to enjoy here-- it's a fun and lively discussion that's sure to get Violator fans excited at the opportunity to learn more about not just the album itself, but the world of Depeche Mode in this transformational period of their career.

To learn more about Halo: The Story Behind Depeche Mode's Classic Album Violator, visit any and all of these sites:

Website: https://halotheviolatorbook.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halotheviolatorbook

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HALOBook

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halobook/

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Episode 146 : A-ha - Scoundrel Days (1986)  Part 3.5

Our hosts have had a busy summer this year, and with their annual vacation imminent, they didn't want to get too far behind in their discussion of Scoundrel Days. So for the second time in the show's history, Brian and Sarah are releasing a "Part 3.5" of an album retrospective, where they discuss a single song off an album. The last time they did this was for Queen's The Miracle, for the album track "Rain Must Fall." This time, it's for "Cry Wolf," the second single from a-ha's sophomore effort, Scoundrel Days.

"Cry Wolf" kicks off Side Two of the album, and part of this episode's conversation once again brings up the concept of "the perfect pop album" and how Scoundrel Days is faring so far in the quest for that title, especially when comparing Side One and Side Two. And since "Cry Wolf" was a single, Brian and Sarah also talk about release and chart history, and they share several reviews.

Of course, there's also a video for "Cry Wolf," and that's where things get interesting. Brian announces he has watched the video numerous times in an apparently futile attempt to understand its plot. He breaks down his interpretation scene by scene, which amuses, delights, and sometimes confuses Sarah. He ends with a plea to the listeners to share their thoughts and ideas on what the video is about-- and of course, you can use any of the methods listed below to do so. For Sarah's sake, please help by contributing your theories, so Brian will have someone else to talk with about the video!

See the videos discussed here:

Cry Wolf

"Cry Wolf" at Royal Albert Hall August 2010 w/snippet of "Riders on the Storm"

 

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Episode 145: A-ha - Scoundrel Days (1986) Part 3 and new single “I’m In” (2022)

Brian and Sarah are back and ready to talk more about a-ha! But instead of getting right back into the discussion of a-ha's second album, the hosts find themselves with a bit of an "a-ha emergency" to address. Just as Brian and Sarah were preparing for this episode, a-ha released a new single from their forthcoming album!

The new single is called "I'm In," and it will be on the album "True North," scheduled for release in October. The video for the song is taken from the film made to accompany the new album. The plans are for the film to be released in select locations worldwide later this summer, so keep watching the internet for more details. Track by Track, continued After sharing their thoughts on the new single, Brian and Sarah turn their attention-- and their calendars-- back to the a-ha album released in1986, "Scoundrel Days." So far they've discussed the first three tracks on the band's  sophomore effort, and all three were met with enthusiastic praise by our hosts. There are two more songs-- one of which was a single-- on Side One, and the question asked in the last episode was, "Will this album be one of those rarities with a perfect Side One, where every track is excellent?"   Brian and Sarah definitely answer that question as they talk about the songs "October" and "Manhattan Skyline,.” They also find themselves talking more about Tears For Fears, and Sarah almost has to bring Brian back to the topic at hand like she does when he starts going off on a James Bond tangent!  See the videos discussed here:

I'm In

Manhattan Skyline

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PRP Mini Concert Memories: Episode 5 -  Tears for Fears, 6-21-2022 (with T.J. Cullen)

Welcome to the fifth installment of PRP Mini Concert Memories! This time, Brian and Sarah are going all the way back to June 21st, 2022, just two short weeks ago, to discuss their evening in the City of Brotherly Love with the legendary duo, Tears for Fears!

Roland and Curt were touring in support of their AMAZING new album "The Tipping Point", and one member of the PRP team was so excited by the record and the concert that they had to talk about it immediately! 

Joining Brian and Sarah is long-time friend and curator of MyPopCultureObsession, T.J. Cullen.  T.J., a younger fan of the band and a serious scholar of nostalgia and pop-culture, brings an interesting outlook to the discussion of this veteran band for whom the label "legacy band" doesn't quite fit.

Follow T.J. on his journey through the world of pop culture at https://www.instagram.com/mypopcultureobsession

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PRP Mini Concert Memories: Episode 4 -  The Smithereens, 5-12-1992 (with Andy Schaal)

Welcome to the fourth installment of PRP Mini Concert Memories! This time, Brian and Sarah are going back to May 12th, 1992 when they wrapped up their junior year of college and traveled down the road to the nearby capital of Pennsylvania to see The Smithereens on their "Blow Up" tour.

Our hosts had discovered the New Jersey based band late in 1989, and since then, had become huge fans of their hard rocking yet melodic songs.  "Green Thoughts" and "11" had been getting a lot of airplay in their lives, but "Blow Up" had a different sound to it.  Did it hold up against their classic earlier albums?

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, young music fan Andy Schaal, who would grow-up to become America's Favorite Podcast Guest (#AmericasFavoritePodcastGuest) was also discovering the band, and they would go on to become one of this favorite acts of all time.

Fast forward to 2022 and these three youths come together as middle-aged podcasters to talk about Pat, Jim, Dennis, Mike, and The Thrilla, the wonderful legacy of music that Pat and the Smithereens have created, old Smithereens shows vs current day Smithereens shows, and Jon Lamoreaux...lots and lots of Jon Lamoreaux.

Check out Jon Lamoreaux's interview with Jim Babjak on The Hustle:  https://thehustle.podbean.com/e/episode-131-jim-babjak-of-the-smithereens/

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Episode 144: A-ha - Scoundrel Days (1986)  Part 2

It's time for Brian and Sarah to resume their discussion about the second album by Norwegian trio a-ha, the 1986 release Scoundrel Days. In the first Scoundrel Days episode, the hosts set the stage by talking about the period up to and including the recording of the album, as well as its release and chart information, cover art, reviews, and personal history. Now, Brian and Sarah are ready to put the needle on the record and talk about what they hear.

Track by Track

What they hear when the record starts is something that sounds rather different from a-ha's first album. And after the first song ends, the second song sounds different from the first, and the third sounds different from both of the previous two songs. It becomes apparent very early on that this album is not a re-hash of Hunting High and Low. Yet, many of these songs originate from the same time period as the songs from the first album, or even earlier.

The origin of the songs is just one of the things Brian and Sarah delve into as they talk about the tracks on the album, and for at least one song, the documented history is rather confusing. They also talk about the music, instrumentation, vocals, and lyrics, as always. Both hosts are pretty excited about this album and find themselves with a lot to say, so they only get through the first three songs in this episode. The third song on the album was a single, so for it, they also cover the release and chart information, share a couple of reviews, and lament about the video. And Brian goes into a James Bond discussion which surprisingly, Sarah doesn't put to a stop!

Scoundrel Days

The Swing of Things

I've Been Losing You

 

See the video discussed here:

I've Been Losing You

 

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PRP Mini Concert Memories: Episode 3 -  Boy George, 4-18-2014

Welcome to the third installment of PRP Mini Concert Memories! This time, Brian and Sarah are going back to April 18th, 2014 when they traveled to the City of Brotherly Love to see Boy George on his "This is What I Do" tour.

After thirty years of listening to George's music, and after the release of more than a half-dozen solo albums, it was exciting to see the singer in concert without his famous band. However, the hosts weren't sure what to expect in terms of set-list and performance style. 

So, what happened?  What did he play?  Find out in this latest mini-episode!!

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Episode 143: A-ha - Scoundrel Days (1986)  Part 1

After a couple of mini-episodes about past concerts they attended, Brian and Sarah are back to the "regularly-scheduled programming" of in-depth album analysis. However, even this episode has mention of concerts in it, which is partially why this album was chosen in the first place. 

Up for discussion is a-ha's second album, Scoundrel Days, which was released just shy of a year after their debut, Hunting High and Low. The trio from Norway was still riding high on the worldwide success of the first album as their second effort was recorded and released-- and that's the period of time Brian and Sarah focus on for this episode.

However, our hosts recently had the good fortune to be able to see a-ha live in concert, for their delayed Hunting High and Low 35th anniversary tour, so they also take some time to talk about that experience. They also just watched the new a-ha documentary, "a-ha: The Movie," so they share their insights and observations on that as well.

Also covered in this episode is the album's release and chart history, several reviews, information on the sleeve artwork and design, and some personal history about the album which involves a mention of Brian and Sarah's honeymoon!

A-ha performance of "Take On Me" at 1986 Grammy Awards

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PRP Mini Concert Memories: Episode 2 -  Colin Hay, 4-28-2012

It's the second episode of the new mini-feature Brian and Sarah are trying out, called PRP Mini Concert Memories, where our hosts choose a ticket stub from their vast collection and talk about a concert they attended.

The ticket stub selected at the end of Episode 1 was the Colin Hay show at the Keswick Theatre on April 28, 2012. This worked out nicely for several reasons: 1) it's almost the 10th anniversary of this show, and 2) Brian and Sarah just saw Colin Hay earlier this month, as their first concert since September 2019.

The pictures here are a mixture of photos from the April 28th show, and from a show they attended just a few days earlier! The full details are given in the episode, along with all the info you need on Brian's recent birthday, all the records he bought on his birthday AND Record Store Day, and how you can join the PRP hosts on the next installment of Mini Concert Memories!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you! Cool Stuff Alert: Visit our PRP Shop at https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluezonenetwork/

PRP Mini Concert Memories: Episode 1 -  Yazoo, 7-20-2008

Welcome to the first episode of a new feature Brian and Sarah are trying out, called PRP Mini Concert Memories. The idea behind it is that Brian and Sarah will choose a ticket stub from their sizable collection of concert tickets, and they'll spend a few minutes reminiscing about that particular show.

In the future, the selections will be random, but for the inaugural episode, Brian thought it would be fun to hearken back to the first episode of the podcast proper, which was about Yazoo's album Upstairs at Eric's. So in this installment, Brian and Sarah talk about seeing Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet performing as Yazoo on the Reconnected tour, at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.

Join Brian and Sarah as they share their memories of this show, featuring a duo they-- along with many other people-- never expected to see on stage together. But it really did happen, and they have the pictures to prove it!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you! Cool Stuff Alert: Visit our PRP Shop at https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluezonenetwork/

Episode 142: Permanent Record Trivia Showdown 2022

The annual tradition is back, for the fourth year in a row! The hosts of the Permanent Record Podcast find themselves competing against each other in a trivia showdown-- each hoping for a victory that eluded them both last year!

 

They are once again joined by the Quiz Master (known in other circles as Hans Lemke, longtime friend of the hosts), who leads Brian and Sarah through several rounds of questions, providing witty commentary along the way.

It's because of the hard work of the Quiz Master and the contributions of many listeners that this show is even possible. Brian and Sarah send special thanks to the following people for sending in questions: Michael Berlew, Erin Berlew, Gregory Chidester, Chris Cotham, Andrew Dineley, Frederick Frantz, John Justice, Daniel Lundberg, Nick Oswald, Pete Rogers, Gary Shepherd, and  Jurgen Stein.

And of course they also send a big thank you to the Quiz Master for his work in putting together all the questions (including his own special round) and for making the trip up to the BlueZone Network studio to record the show.

Who will stand victorious at the end of this year's Trivia Showdown? Listen to the end to find out!

Check out Syd Dorian at https://syddorian.bandcamp.com/album/pressing-issues

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Episode 141: In Conversation with Kurt Larson of Information Society

Many people these days talk about having a yearly "bingo card" and in particular, what events they didn't have on their cards. Well, Brian and Sarah definitely didn't have "talking with the lead singer of Information Society" on their 2022 bingo card-- or any other year's card, for that matter! But it has, in fact, happened, and both Brian and Sarah are absolutely thrilled to bring you this special episode!

Our hosts talked about Information Society's 1988 self-titled album over the course of two episodes back in July 2018. In this episode, they get to talk with Kurt himself about the making of the album, its release and reception, the music videos, and even get some answers to questions they posed aloud way back then.

However, the conversation covers a great deal more than just that album. Kurt tells stories ranging from the band's very early days all the way up to the recording and release of their latest album, 2021's ODDfellows.

And as cool as all of that sounds, there's even more to learn, as Brian and Sarah discovered from talking with Kurt. He explained the origins of digital sampling, the history of remixing, what record pools are, and what Spatial Audio is. Kurt also shares his thoughts on Cleopatra Records as well as answering the question of whether streaming services ended the Loudness Wars. And there are plenty of non-music topics discussed as well! The three of them talk about work habits during lockdown, and Kurt shares stories about playing the first video games as well as the time he met Leonard Nimoy! (You knew there had to be Star Trek talk in here somewhere!)

And, due to Brian putting his foot in his mouth by talking trash about 1970's muscle cars, Kurt shared a number of photos of the Plymouth he altered to look like a car from "Mad Max," which then featured in the 1990 video for "Think."

Below is an advertisement for a car similar to Kurt's (or at least how Kurt's started off looking). He tells the story of what he did to alter the car and how the one in the ad below is for a 1971 model, but Kurt's car is from model year 1973. 

Here's another picture of Kurt's highly customized Plymouth Sebring:

The picture below elicits a rather shocked response from Brian and Sarah during the episode, as Kurt shows how close the film's promotional poster is to the photo he took back in 1990.

It should be obvious by now that this episode is overflowing with entertaining and insightful conversation-- so what are you waiting for-- start listening immediately! And then check out the links below! Information Society links:

Bandcamp: https://informationsociety.bandcamp.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/InSoc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/informationsociety Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/informationsociety_official/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqBYUnU_4yqqJpkUTpVASAA

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Episode 140: Queen - The Miracle (1989) Part 4

At long last, the final part of Brian and Sarah's discussion of The Miracle is here! It definitely took our hosts longer to cover Queen's 1989 album than they expected, but they can at least say they finished talking about The Miracle in less time than it took for the band to record it.

Track by Track, continued

After a 'mini-episode' that only covered one album track, Brian and Sarah are left with three more songs to discuss, including yet another single and video. Thankfully, there are no more mentions of plagiarism! Instead, our hosts cover such diverse topics as the paparazzi, disappearing fake blood, quotes from Shakespearean plays, and an instrument called the vibraslap.

Scandal My Baby Does Me Was It All Worth It

Extra Credit

For extra credit, our hosts find themselves talking about even more songs associated with The Miracle. The five singles released from The Miracle all had B-sides that were not on the LP version of the album. Brian and Sarah each choose their favorite B-side and explain a little about what makes it their favorite.

Final Reviews and Ratings

Then the time comes for the final reviews and ratings of the last Queen album released in the 1980s. Both Brian and Sarah have expressed some strong and favorable opinions on many of the songs, but will that be enough for the album to rate a full 100 record adapters?

See the videos discussed here:

Scandal

"Was It All Worth It" Tribute Video made by slightlymad22

 

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 139: Queen - The Miracle (1989) Part 3.5  and Trivia Showdown 2022 promotion

Brian and Sarah are trying their best to make up for the long gap between the first and second episodes discussing  Queen's 1989 album The Miracle, so here's yet another episode about the album! However, this episode is serving more than one purpose.

First, by talking about one song on its own, that leaves Brian and Sarah with three songs left to discuss on the fourth episode on The Miracle, as well as the final reviews and ratings. The song up for discussion in this episode is "Rain Must Fall," which finds Brian and Sarah talking about the difference between "good fake drums" and "bad fake drums," a famous poet,  an Olympic athlete, and once again, plagiarism!

Second, this episode gives our hosts the chance to promote the upcoming Trivia Showdown episode, which depends a lot on you! While the Quizmaster is an excellent emcee (although after last year, his scoring methods may be somewhat suspect), he needs your help with compiling questions for the game. Brian and Sarah provide instructions in this episode on how to send in questions for the upcoming Trivia Showdown-- and you can always listen to past episodes to learn about the kinds of questions that have been sent in.

Both hosts will need to keep this song in mind after the Trivia Showdown-- as one of them will probably lose, they'll have to remember that "into each life a little rain must fall."

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 138: Queen - The Miracle (1989) Part 3

The question on everyone's minds has been answered, and the answer is YES! Brian and Sarah did manage to bring you the third installment of their discussion on Queen's 1989 album The Miracle much faster than they did for the second! The universe did seem to conspire against them for a bit as the editing was underway, but thankfully, the obstacles were overcome, and the episode made it out!

Track by Track, continued

Just as in Part 2, three songs are up for discussion in Part 3. And all three of the songs in this episode are singles, so that means more talk about reviews (including some real head-shakers from Record Mirror), chart positions, and especially the fantastic videos!  Brian and Sarah also find themselves talking about clothing (such as shirts, ties, and vest/waistcoats), headwear (hats and visors), and sunglasses. Two different kinds of TV commercials are mentioned-- one kind more cute and cuddly, and the other kind more sultry and sensuous. Speaking of cute and cuddly, Sarah is caught gushing about how cute John Deacon is in some of these videos. And Brian helpfully shares some "amazing" insights on post-production techniques used in music videos.

I Want It All The Invisible Man Breakthru

See the videos discussed here:

I Want It All

The Invisible Man

Breakthru

Debbie Leng in Cadbury Flake commercial

 

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Episode 137: Queen - The Miracle (1989) Part 2

That's not a typo in the show title; this really is Part Two of Brian and Sarah's discussion surrounding the 1989 Queen album The Miracle. Part One was released waaaay back in May of 2021 (episode 128), and it actually covered the time period after the 1986 album A Kind of Magic, leading up to the recording of this album. Now, all these months later (and by popular demand, as is revealed later in the episode), Brian and Sarah finally sit down to discuss the album itself!

Part 1 - Album History

Since they didn't cover it in the previous episode, Brian and Sarah do start off by talking about the recording of The Miracle--including the locations, the producer, and some rather significant changes to the band's traditional operating mode, only one of which was truly decided on as a group. The release and chart history are also discussed, and the hosts are interested to see where The Miracle charted in the US compared to other 80s Queen releases.

Both hosts have album reviews to share; Sarah providing several from publications that reviewed the album at the time of release, and Brian providing some from his library of Queen reference books. (Both Sarah and Brian have quite a few comments on the reviews from the Queen books!) And of course the album cover itself gets a mention, with some insight provided on how the innovative and striking images were produced. And it's not the first time Brian has been on a podcast talking about graphic designer Richard Gray-- check out the link below. 

Part 2 - Personal History

Even though Queen is one of Brian and Sarah's very favorite bands, their personal history with this album isn't too momentous, with Sarah's history being only marginally more interesting than Brian's. However, don't take that as a reflection on what they think about the album itself!

 

Part 3 - Track by Track

Finally, it comes time for the hosts to get down to business and start talking about the album tracks! The album starts off with a quick one-two punch of energetic, rocking tunes. Then Queen does what they've done for their entire career--  switch things up with a song in a very different style. Brian and Sarah talk about these first three tracks on The Miracle in this episode, and both hosts reveal how even though they've heard the album countless times, they came to some surprising realizations as they examined the first two songs. The third track was released as a single, so there's some chart information to share, but more importantly, there's an absolutely delightful video to discuss!

Party Khashoggi's Ship The Miracle

See the videos discussed here:

The making of The Miracle album cover

The Miracle

Check out friend of the show Andrew Dineley's ”Art on Your Sleeve" podcast to hear Brian talk more about Richard Gray and another Queen album cover he's designed, as well as insightful and entertaining discussions on other classic album covers:

https://softoctopus.co.uk/episode-18-international-podcast-day-2021/

And if you are interested in the other excellent podcast we discussed, The Giddy Carousel of Pop, visit Gavin and Simon here: https://giddypoppod.home.blog/

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Email us at our exciting new address: [email protected]

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Episode 136:  Dead or Alive "Blue Christmas 2000" (2000) and U2 "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (1987)

Another year is coming to a close, and with the end of the year comes the holiday season. And with the holiday season comes Christmas songs, of course! So once again, Brian and Sarah close out the year by  choosing a couple of songs to talk about, before they turn their full attention to holiday preparations and celebrations.  And although the titles of both songs may look familiar, only one of them is a cover version.

The first selection is "Blue Christmas 2000" by Dead or Alive. It's been quite a while since Brian and Sarah have talked about this band, so they're both eager to have a discussion about more than just the selected song. In fact, they go all the way back to 1988 to discuss the album Nude for a bit--which gives Brian the opportunity to tell a story from his freshman year in college that never fails to amuse and delight Sarah. The hosts go on to discuss the band's success in Japan; yet another version of this song (that still isn't the one you're thinking of); a synth voice whose name Sarah says sounds like a TV show; and, almost unbelievably, a recently-released new Dead or Alive album.

The second song chosen for this episode is U2's version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." As this song was recorded and released in 1987, this selection ties in neatly (almost like a bow on top of a package!) with the four episodes released earlier this year, where Brian and Sarah, along with Tom Austin-Morgan of the podcast Banned Biographies (and now of the band Sham 69 as well!), discussed U2's iconic 1987 album The Joshua Tree.  

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was recorded by U2 for inclusion on the charity album A Very Special Christmas, so Brian searched through his archives and found his notes from 2018, when he and Sarah discussed several other songs from that album. He reminds us about the history of the album, the charity it supports, and the success it has had both on the charts and as a fundraising vehicle.

And, since this selection is actually a cover version, the hosts take some time to discuss the original version of the song and its interesting history of being in the public's awareness, which includes not only a discussion about Darlene Love, but also a late-night talk show host. Additionally, Brian shares some very recent--and rather exciting-- chart information for the song.

After the two song discussions, Brian and Sarah decide to share their top 10 favorite Christmas songs recorded by artists they've talked about on the podcast. How many of their favorites are on your list as well?

Watch the videos discussed here:

U2 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Darlene Love 2014 performance

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 6 - You Only Live Twice

Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In the fifth episode, Sarah and Brian are joined by Bond author Robbie Sims (Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond) to discuss the theme song from the fifth James Bond film, "You Only Live Twice."  Along the way, the trio share their thoughts on the movie itself, Robbie Williams, David Arnold, and of course, the latest Bond adventure "No Time to Die."   We had a lot of fun recording this one, so we hope that you will enjoy it!

Follow Robbie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTchaikovsky?s=09

Get a preview of "Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond" here:

https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B08636FRLV&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_VH0ADA0S3KE5J0RTJDJJ

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Episode 135: Five Years, Four Track Fives (The Smiths, Electronic, The Beautiful South, Jerry Harrison)

It's hard for Brian and Sarah to believe, but it's been five years since the first episode of the Permanent Record Podcast appeared for download. (It's also hard for them to believe that in that first episode, they covered the entire album Upstairs at Eric's in less than an hour!)

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the podcast, Brian and Sarah went through their album collection and looked at the track listings. From there, they each picked two Track Fives from albums they like, but that wouldn't necessarily get discussed otherwise. The result is a conversation about songs by The Smiths, Electronic, The Beautiful South, and Jerry Harrison.

Of course, the conversation covers more than just those songs, artists, and  albums. Brian and Sarah also find themselves talking about the artists Pebbles, Vanessa Williams, Mark Ronson, and Kraftwerk; the Sire Records compilations such as Just Say Yes!; a rather unusual homemade beverage; and an instance of record trading and possible theft! And as an added bonus, the hosts are joined by a special guest for part of the discussion-- someone listeners may not realize they've heard before.

Brian and Sarah also take some time to reminisce about the podcast, and more importantly, to express their gratitude to the many friends of the show who have helped make the Permanent Record Podcast possible. And if you're reading this, that gratitude goes out to you too!

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before - The Smiths Getting Away With It - Electronic Girlfriend - The Beautiful South Cherokee Chief - Jerry Harrison

 

See the videos discussed here:

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

Getting Away With It - 1989 Version

Getting Away With It - 1990 Version

 

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 134: In Conversation with Kip Kubin, Tony Miracle, and Annette Strean of Venus Hum

In April 2020, Brian and Sarah branched out into new territory by publishing their first-ever interview. The kind soul who agreed to talk with them (for several hours, as it turned out!) was none other than Tony Miracle, known by many for being one-third of the band Venus Hum. It was a delightful conversation covering a wide variety of musical topics, and a good time was had by all.

Now, in 2021, Brian and Sarah are delighted to present a conversation with all three members of Venus Hum: Kip Kubin, Annette Strean, and of course, Tony Miracle. And what's even more exciting is that there's a brand-new Venus Hum album to discuss!

First, however, the hosts have a little catching up to do with Kip and Annette. They learned a lot about Tony's musical background and history in last year's talk, so they wanted to hear Kip and Annette's stories too. They find out how everyone met and how the band came together, and the trio talk about the albums, videos, tours, and promotional appearances over the years.

Then the spotlight is put on the absolutely marvelous new album from Venus Hum, Kindness Rages On. Brian and Sarah are thrilled to have the chance to tell Kip, Annette, and Tony how much they love the album, and the trio graciously answers questions about the making of the album and some of the individual tracks.

If you're a fan of Venus Hum, or if you don't know Venus Hum yet but are a fan of superbly-crafted  electronic music with amazingly emotive vocals and thought-provoking lyrics,  you'll definitely want to listen to this conversation-- and then as soon as you're done, head over to https://www.venushum.com or https://venushum.bandcamp.com/ to pick up Kindness Rages On.

Venus Hum links:

Website: https://www.venushum.com/ Bandcamp: https://venushum.bandcamp.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/VenusHumOfficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/VenusHumBand Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venus.hum.1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venus_hum_band/

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Episode 133: U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987) Part 4

Brian, Sarah, and Tom Austin-Morgan (of Banned Biographies fame!) are back to finish their discussion of U2's 1987 classic, "The Joshua Tree."

This time around, the trio shoot the breeze about the darkest moments on the album: "Exit" and "Mothers of the Disappeared."  But in case you think this episode is all doom and gloom, they also talk about ice cream trucks, all the U2 back-catalog Brian has been acquiring, the return of the live music scene around South London, and, of course, they finally get around to ranking the record as a whole on a scale of 1 to 100 record adapters.

There's also a surprise EXTRA extra-credit segment at the conclusion of the episode, just in case you needed just a tad more U2 chat!! 

And if I could switch from third person to first person for a moment, I wanted to extend a final "Thank You!" to Tom for making time to join us for these episodes.  It requires a lot of work to be able to discuss an album for over six hours, so we appreciate you taking the plunge and joining us.  It was a real treat to talk with you and to get to know you a bit.  Good luck with everything the future holds, my friend!

And, of course, thanks to my sister Erin who has been listening to U2 for as long as I can remember, who let me raid her U2 library as I prepared for these episodes, who was happy to text with me at any time of day or night as I discovered these songs, and who hooked me up with free concert tickets from the mid-90s through to the mid-2000's.  You are the best!

Check out Banned Biographies at https://www.bannedbiographies.com/

Follow Banned Biographies on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BannedBiogs

Follow Banned Biographies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BannedBiographies

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 132: U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987) Part 3

It's been a while, but finally Brian, Sarah, and special guest Tom Austin-Morgan are back to discuss The Joshua Tree. In case you've forgotten, Tom has an excellent podcast called Banned Biographies which covers the histories of some rather famous-- and infamous-- bands and artists. Make sure you check it out; you can find the links below.

Track by Track review, continued

In the previous U2 discussion, the trio didn't get too far along in the track-by-track discussion. This time, however, they make up for that by discussing what ends up being five songs off the iconic 1987 album.  A lot of facts, opinions, and laughs are shared in this episode as Tom, Brian, and Sarah finish talking about Side One and head over to the tracks on Side Two. Some topics that came up during this discussion were: the differences between the punk movement in the US compared to the UK; Lou Reed; Bob Dylan; "People Are People"; and hootenannies!

Songs discussed in this episode:

Side One:

• Running to Stand Still

Side Two:

• Red Hill Mining Town
• In God's Country
• Trip Through Your Wires
• One Tree Hill

Watch the videos discussed here:

Red Hill Mining Town

In God's Country

U2 appearance on TV Gaga 1986 - Full Show (includes performances of "Womanfish," "Trip Through Your Wires," and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door")

 

Check out Banned Biographies at https://www.bannedbiographies.com/

Follow Banned Biographies on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BannedBiogs

Follow Banned Biographies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BannedBiographies

 

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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State of the PRP Nation (A Brief Interlude)

We hope that your August is off to a fantastic start! 

Of course, we had hoped to have Part 3 of our U2 "The Joshua Tree" discussion available for you by now; however, things have been moving a bit slowly here at the BlueZone Studio.

If you miss hearing from your friends Brian & Sarah though, do not fear!  We want to clue you in to a couple of podcasts you may want to check out!

Firstly, Wendy and Kevin of the wonderful MetaPod show just released their 26th episode, which features a conversation with us!  MetaPod's mission statement is to "unpack the web’s most interesting podcasts and the stories behind them", so it was an honor to be considered as guests.  Please give the show a listen, and if you like what you hear, subscribe.

https://www.metapodshow.com/2021/08/04/episode-26-sarah-and-brian-linnen-of-permanent-record-podcast/

Secondly, the mighty Craig Smith of the Pods & Sods Network is kicking off a new series of sidecasts called "Why We Love..." and yours truly was invited to join him for the inaugural episode.  I love Eric and Craig, so it was a real treat to spend a day with them, buying records and recording together.  Our episode should be released today, August 6, 2021, but it's not out at the time that I'm writing this, so here's a link to their website.  I'll replace it with a direct link to our show when it's available.  Eric and Craig are hilarious and I especially recommend their 20-episode look at the entire decade of the 1980s.  They are good people!

https://podsodcast.com/

Note:  Here's the episode - https://podsodcast.com/2021/08/06/wwl01/

Thanks to you all for checking out these episodes and for giving our friends' shows your support.  We appreciate you making us look good!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 131: U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987) Part 2

Brian, Sarah, and their special guest Tom Austin-Morgan are back to talk more U2! As a reminder, Tom has an excellent podcast called Banned Biographies which delves into the careers of some rather notorious bands, so be sure to check it out-- after you're done listening to this episode, of course.

Track by Track review, continued

Last time the three hosts talked about The Joshua Tree, they only got as far as the 1987 album's opening track, so there are many more songs to discuss! This episode finds them talking about three more songs and two more videos. They also end up talking about Las Vegas, oversized slot machines, the TV show Friends, Thomas Dolby, and some differences in American English versus British English.

Songs discussed in this episode: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For With Or Without You Bullet the Blue Sky

Watch the videos we discuss here: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For With or Without You

Check out Banned Biographies at https://www.bannedbiographies.com/ Follow Banned Biographies on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BannedBiogs Follow Banned Biographies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BannedBiographies

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Episode 130: In Conversation with Ivan Doroschuk of Men Without Hats

Once again, Brian and Sarah are taking a detour from publishing the episodes everyone is expecting, but they have an extremely good reason this time-- they're absolutely delighted to welcome founder and lead singer of Men Without Hats, Ivan Doroschuk, to the Permanent Record Podcast!

If you've listened to the podcast for a while, you'll know that Brian has mentioned many times how important Men Without Hats and their first album, Rhythm of Youth, were to the formation of his musical tastes; Sarah is also a longtime fan of the group.

The conversation starts off with look back at the history and formation of the band, and then fast-forwards to talk about the 2020 induction of not one, but two, Men Without Hats songs into the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

The three then move on to discuss the four albums Men Without Hats released in the 80s and the 1991 release Sideways. There's another fast-forward-- this time to the 2010s--to talk about the release of Love in the Age of War, and the conversation concludes with a rapid-fire question round for Ivan about the upcoming TWO new albums!

 

It was a thrill to talk with Ivan and ask questions about the past, present, and perhaps most exciting, the future of Men Without Hats! A lot of exciting information is revealed, so you definitely won't want to miss this one!

Visit the Men Without Hats website at www.safetydance.com

Get cool Men Without Hats merchandise at www.visionmerch.com/men-without-hats

Men Without Hats on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MenWithoutHats1

Men Without Hats on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menwithouthats

 

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Episode 129: U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987) Part 1

As evidenced by the title of this episode, Brian and Sarah are taking a bit of a detour from their look back at the 1989 Queen album, "The Miracle." They're thrilled to be joined by Tom Austin-Morgan, who, among his many talents, is creator and host of the terrific podcast Banned Biographies. Banned Biographies is "an audio documentary series charting the careers of some of the most notorious bands ever to grace the world's stages."

Brian, Sarah and Tom wanted to discuss an album together, and after a few ideas were bounced back and forth, they decided to kind of meet in the middle, musically, and tackle an epic album-- not just of the 1980s, but of the entire rock 'n' roll era-- U2's 1987 opus, "The Joshua Tree." Brian and Sarah had to admit they weren't really familiar with the album much beyond the big singles. Tom had more of a history with it, but was still not intimately knowledgeable on it off the top of his head. The three hosts had their work cut out for them in the research department, but they prove worthy of the task by the amount of information they convey in this first episode.

The trio start off by talking about the recording of "The Joshua Tree", which took place over the course of a year, but was interrupted by some rather life-changing events, which in turn shaped the lyrical/thematic content and sound of the album. They then spend time talking about the worldwide chart and sales success of the record, both immediate and lasting, and its ranking on various lists of albums over the years. Brian and Sarah can't help but bring up the cover art as well, as it allows them the opportunity to mention Anton Corbijn, who of course also works with their favorite band, Depeche Mode.

After a very long lead-up, Tom, Brian and Sarah finally get around to the song discussion. But the first song of the album is so massive, and has such a memorable video, that the trio decide to end the episode after wrapping up their look at "Where The Streets Have No Name."

If you want to hear conversation on such diverse topics as Lou Reed, chalkboards, Mission: Impossible, the vocabulary of Smash Hits writers, and Where's Waldo/Where's Wally-- oh, and a band from Ireland called U2-- this is the episode for you!

Check out Banned Biographies at https://www.bannedbiographies.com/

Follow Banned Biographies on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BannedBiogs

Follow Banned Biographies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BannedBiographies

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Episode 128: Queen - The Miracle (1989) - Part 1

Now that Brian and Sarah have 'warmed up' by finishing a discussion on an EP (Martin Gore's 1989 offering Counterfeit e.p.), it's time to raise the stakes and take on an entire album again. And what an album they've selected! It's another release from 1989-- Queen's thirteenth studio album, The Miracle.

However, our hosts decided they couldn't just jump into the album discussion right away. The Miracle was released three years after Queen's previous effort, A Kind of Magic (discussed in episodes 28, 29, & 30), but more than the just the recording of the album took place during that time. Brian and Sarah decide to spend this first episode exploring what was going on with the band, and its individual members, between the end of The Magic Tour and the recording of The Miracle.

In this episode you'll hear about Brian, Roger, Freddie and John's various projects during 1987 and 1988. Half of them worked on a lot of music; one of them worked on some music, and one of them didn't really work on any music. Can you guess who falls into each category?

Join Brian and Sarah for a discussion that includes parody bands, cover songs, opera singers, cardboard cutouts, failed newspaper ads, and so much more!

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Ignore this, I'm just typing these words here so this episode will come up if someone searches for them:

The Cross - Shove It (Roger Taylor Solo Album)

Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé - Barcelona

Episode 127: Martin L. Gore - Counterfeit e.p. (1989) Part 2

After a brief interruption in the schedule to hold the third annual Trivia Showdown, followed by a break to celebrate Brian's Milestone Birthday, Sarah and Brian are back to discuss the rest of Martin Gore's first solo offering, Counterfeit e.p, released in 1989.

As we learned on Side One, Mr. Martin L. Gore chose an eclectic selection of songs to interpret in his own inimitable style for this effort, and Side Two is no different. There's a song by a band from Sheffield  who has a connection to the very early history of Depeche Mode; a song by a band founded in Los Angeles in 1967 and is still recording music today; and a song whose origins date back to the 19th-century American South.

Brian and Sarah talk about the original versions of the songs as well as Martin Gore's interpretation of them. Along the way they also bring up the hosts' ground-breaking revelation last year that not all bands from Sheffield sound like The Human League; the speculation that Depeche Mode's 1987 Christmas gift to their fans may not have been a group effort; and in a reference to Part One's discussion, some 1989 chart listings from the influential New Wave radio station, KROQ in Los Angeles. (Thanks go out to friend of the show Bill Gagnon for the last bit of information!)

Gone Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth Motherless Child

Extra Credit

The hosts' reactions to the songs on Counterfeit e.p.  have been decidedly mixed. So before the final rating is conferred, Brian and Sarah provide a chance for the record to gain some extra record adapters by discussing the unreleased track "Down in the Boondocks," recorded during the Counterfeit sessions. Why was the song not included on the record,  and do Brian and Sarah think that was a wise decision?

 

Final Review and Rating

Then the time comes for our hosts to provide their final reviews and ratings on this 6-song EP. Brian and Sarah both love Depeche Mode and Martin Gore, but how much do they love Counterfeit?

 

Depeche Mode version of "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth"

 

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Episode 126: Permanent Record Trivia Showdown 2021

The Quiz Master returns for the PRP Trivia Showdown 2021!!

The stakes are higher than ever before as the two hosts face off against each other - and against a player that no one saw coming!!  It's almost more hot trivia action than you handle!!

Special thanks go out to Nick Oswald, Pete Rogers, John Justice, Mark Lumb, Antony Briers, Che Lowenstein, Chris Slemp, Drew R. Maerz, Mark Northfield, Ben, Alan Hogg, and Gary Shepherd for contributing questions to this year's Trivia Showdown. You all went above and beyond for us and we appreciate it!

And special thanks from Brian & Sarah to The Quiz Master for all the work he puts into this event each year.  You are the best!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 125: In Conversation with Blaklight (Brian Belknap & Adam Collier)

The Permanent Record Podcast once again has the good fortune to feature two very talented musicians who've been making some excellent music in the past year. Adam Collier and Brian Belknap graciously agreed to talk to Brian and Sarah about their band Blaklight, a dark electronic pop band based out of Los Angeles.

In this episode we learn how the resurgence of a band Brian B was in decades ago led to Adam and Brian first working together, which grew from a one-off project to a band who developed a full-fledged album.

 

That album, appropriately titled Music In a Time of Uncertainty, was released in November 2020 and was preceded by two singles: "Isolation" and "Unknown Love." Additionally, remix albums for both singles have been released, with "Unknown Love: The Remixes" dropping on Bandcamp just last week.

Join us as we learn more about the terrific guys behind Blaklight, their music and methods, their previous efforts, and even a little about what we can expect from them in the future. We also somehow manage to work Depeche Mode, Erasure, and David Bowie into the conversation-- what a shock! But what is the connection between Blaklight and another band who's been on the podcast, VHxRR? Listen and find out!

Visit Blaklight at https://www.blaklightband.com/

Listen to and buy Blaklight music at https://blaklight.bandcamp.com/

 

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Episode 124: Martin L. Gore - "Counterfeit e.p" (1989)

Intrepid hosts Brian & Sarah are back for 2021's first "normal" episode!  But can a podcast focused on Depeche Mode's foremost songwriter truly be considered "normal?"  After all, Mr. M.L. Gore is known across the world for his unusual songs that combine all the best features of alternative music with kernels of pure pop music magic. 

But of course, none of the songs on "Counterfeit e.p" are penned by Martin, so how will they go over with our Depeche Mode-loving hosts?  Will a song originally by The Durutti Column prove to be as charming as anything from "Construction Time Again?"  Will the cover of Joe Crow's "Compulsion" power-up the PRP crew enough for them to cross over the street or will they simply huddle in a dark corner, wishing they were listening to "A Broken Frame?"  What's the connection between Chairman Mao and "In a Manner of Speaking?"  And does this 1989 solo project have the same level of sonic perfection that we expect from the mighty Mode?  All of these questions and more are answered in this, the 124th episode of the Permanent Record Podcast!

Songs Discussed on this Episode: "Compulsion" "In a Manner of Speaking" "Smile in the Crowd"

Check out the original versions: "Compulsion" https://youtu.be/pufmH4Vwj7U "In a Manner of Speaking" https://youtu.be/l6H-ESkf2bU "Smile in the Crowd" https://youtu.be/RXyKUF6S_48

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Episode 123: Sarah's Milestone Birthday Extravaganza Featuring VH X RR

Everyone's favorite female host of the PRP recently had a significant birthday! Typically, these milestones are celebrated with a big party, but these aren't exactly typical times. So instead of having a room full of all kinds of people, Brian and Sarah had a Zoom call with two very cool people: Von Hertzog and Rob Rowe of the band VH x RR.

Our hosts last spoke with VH x RR last June, upon the release of their debut EP, The Persistence of Memory. This time around, there are two new singles to discuss: "Somewhere in Time," which was released in the opening moments of 2021, and "The Speed of Light," which just saw the light of day on Bandcamp a couple of weeks ago.

Brian and Sarah speak with Von and Rob about the singles and the many remixes that accompany them, but that's just the tip of the iceberg! They also discuss Von's projects with the artists Czarina and Blaklight; the Christmas song VH x RR released and whether there will ever be an original Rob Rowe-penned Christmas tune; Bandcamp versus streaming platforms; the Duran Duran album Big Thing; The Guess Who song ”Sour Suite;" and John Mulaney's views on pop music. There's even EXCLUSIVE talk of a new VH x RR EP, as well as a possible new Whitewaits release!

And if that's not enough excitement already, Sarah's birthday extravaganza goes to the next level with a game show segment! The two band members are pitted against each other in a heated battle where only one person will emerge victorious! In this segment, Von Hertzog shares his pro tips on baking pizza; the idea is pitched for a concert where everyone in attendance receives a cowbell upon entering; and Rob Rowe reveals the TV star that women at bars mistake him for most often.

Join in on the celebration and also learn about some fantastic new music-- and a lot more-- in this episode!

Visit VH x RR at

Bandcamp: https://vhxrr.bandcamp.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VHxRR

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vhxrrmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vhxrr/

Visit Blaklight at

Bandcamp: https://blaklight.bandcamp.com/music

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlakLightband

Facebook: facebook.com/BlakLightband/

Order Robbie Sims' "Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond" on Amazon (US) and Amazon (UK).

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 122: David Bowie "Five Years On" with Jon Lamoreaux and David O - Part 2 Brian and Sarah recently had a David Bowie-themed weekend, kicked off by the star-studded "Bowie Celebration" online concert hosted by Mike Garson and followed by a viewing of "Lazarus," the darkly provocative stage musical. These events, while joyous, couldn't help but bring forth a sense of disbelief that it's been five years since David Bowie left the Earth, and it left the hosts wanting to talk more about the man and his music.

So once again, your regular hosts are joined by two talented friends with plenty to say on the subject of Rock Music's leading chameleon. David O is the host of the excellent Duran Duran-focused podcast "The D Side." Jon Lamoreaux, host of "The Hustle Podcast", has interviewed 300+ figures of note from the music world, including leading producers, singers, and songwriters. Both of these gentlemen are long-time fans of David Bowie, and PRP hosts Brian and Sarah are honored that David and Jon were so generous with their time and expertise.

This episode begins by resolving the cliffhanger ending of Part 1, with each of the four hosts revealing their favorite David Bowie album. They then move on to discussing their five favorite Bowie songs, which brings about much wailing and gnashing of teeth over what a difficult task it was to select only five songs. Throughout the discussion, eyebrows are raised, stories are told, and plenty of laughs are shared, as the foursome celebrate the legendary figure whose many gifts to the world will undoubtedly be treasured for generations to come.

Follow Jon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehustlepodcast Follow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thehustlepod Follow David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoysMakeNoise

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Episode 121: David Bowie "Five Years On" with Jon Lamoreaux and David O

After a recent weekend spent watching Mike Garson's excellent "Bowie Celebration" tribute concert and a performance of the darkly provocative stage musical "Lazarus", it struck both Brian and Sarah that, although five years have passed since he left the Earth, they both still miss David Bowie and that it's sometimes very difficult to believe that he is gone.

Now, your regular hosts are joined by two talented friends with plenty to say on the subject of Rock Music's leading chameleon.  David O is the host of the excellent Duran Duran-focused podcast "The D Side."  Jon Lamoreaux, host of "The Hustle Podcast", has interviewed 300+ figures of note from the music world, including leading producers, singers, and songwriters.  Both of these gentlemen are long-time fans of David Bowie, and PRP hosts Brian and Sarah are honored that David and Jon were so generous with their time and expertise.

In this first episode, the four fans discuss how they came to fall under the spell of Jareth the Goblin King, their reactions to Duran Duran's new single, a remake of the "Ziggy Stardust" classic "Five Years", and they begin counting down their five favorite Bowie albums.  And as an added bonus, Jon will explain the optimal way to organize your cassette tape collection!  

Finally, stay until the end to get the details on how you can win an Amazon gift card by predicting what the hosts will say at the start of the next episode.

Follow Jon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehustlepodcast

Follow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thehustlepod

Follow David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoysMakeNoise

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 5 - Thunderball

Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In the fifth episode, Sarah and Brian are joined by Bond author Robbie Sims (Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond) to discuss the theme from the fourth 007 adventure, "Thunderball."  Along the way, they share their thoughts on the film and explore Bond-related music from Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Cash, and Shirley Bassey.  This one was a lot of fun, so we hope that translates when you listen!

Follow Robbie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTchaikovsky?s=09

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Episode 120: The Pretenders - "2000 Miles" (1983),  Depeche Mode - "Christmas Island" (1986), and Holiday Giveaway

How fitting that the last episode of 2020 also ends with a 20! For episode 120, Brian and Sarah sit down in their festively decorated studio to discuss two songs-- one with decidedly more of a holiday tie-in than the other.

In 1983, The Pretenders found themselves rebuilding after a particularly difficult period in their history. Eventually this rebuilding led to the classic 1984 album "Learning to Crawl." But before the album was released, the single "2000 Miles" came out in November 1983, and it has since become a modern holiday favorite. Brian and Sarah talk about the origin of the song and its meaning, the beautiful single cover, a few of the different versions done by Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders, and the rather unusual video, directed by Tim Pope. Brian slips for a moment into "James Bond Podcast" mode, but Sarah is able to lure him back to the main discussion pretty quickly this time, since he is also a big fan of Christmas.  

The second selection on our hosts' agenda has a festive enough title to it, but you probably won't find it on too many holiday playlists. It does, however, give Brian and Sarah an excuse to make a little more progress towards an overall goal they have for the podcast. And even though the winter break traditionally means no school, Brian takes the opportunity to give both a geography lesson and a history lesson during this discussion.

Finally, as Brian and Sarah end the last episode for the year, they take time to thank some people who have helped make the podcast--and the year-- a much brighter one. Some of those people are you, the listeners! And as a more tangible expression of their thanks, Brian and Sarah announce their annual holiday giveaway! Be sure to listen to the end to find out how to enter this year's contest!

See the videos discussed here:

Pretenders "2000 Miles" - https://youtu.be/AEyGZlBdkaA

Pretenders "2000 Miles" from Isle of the View - https://youtu.be/w3LLbWC7BZ0

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Episode 119: Falco - 3 (1985) - Part 2

Wilkommen! Brian and Sarah are back to talk more about Falco-- or, as Brian likes to call him, The Austrian Slick-Meister-- and his third album, 3, released in 1985.

This episode covers the two remaining singles, "Jeanny" and "Rock Me Amadeus," along with the album track "Männer des Westerns - Any Kind of Land."

The hosts explore the controversy surrounding the song "Jeanny" and talk about the many classic film references in the video. Brian even delves a little bit into the world of true crime, which he does warn listeners about at the start of the episode.

"Männer des Westerns" understandably prompts a discussion about Western society and pop culture, and when the hosts turn their attention to "Rock Me Amadeus," they also mention the 1984 movie that may (or may not!) have inspired the song.

Also during this section, the hosts mention The Simpsons, armadillos, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And it probably isn't too surprising for regular listeners to learn that Brian does find a way to slip into "James Bond podcast" mode for a brief time during this episode, but how in the world did Brian and Sarah end up having an animated discussion about baking soda?

Jeanny Männer Des Westens - Any Kind of Land Rock Me Amadeus

Extra Credit For extra credit, Brian and Sarah talk about the 2008 biopic, "Falco: Dammit, We’re Still Alive!" starring Austrian singer Manuel Rudy. They even briefly mention the fact that there have been two musicals about Falco, with a third allegedly in the works.

Final Review and Rating Even though the hosts didn't cover every track on the album in these episodes, they provide final reviews of the entire album, along with a record-adapter rating. Does 3 end up getting more than 3 record adapters from the hosts? Listen and find out!

Watch the videos discussed here: Jeanny Männer Des Westens (2007 release) Rock Me Amadeus Excerpt from The Simpsons episode "A Fish Called Selma" Watch Out Armadillos

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you! Cool Stuff Alert: Visit our new PRP Shop at https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluezonenetwork/ Visit Chattanooga’s #1 Newsletter!!

Episode 118: Falco - 3 (1985) - Part 1

Since 1986, Brian has yearned to be recognized as a leading expert on all things Falco, as Sarah does her best to tolerate this dream.  While this installment of the podcast may not get him all the way to his goal, Brian is overjoyed to be able to say that he  has taken the first step of his journey.

In this episode, Brian & Sarah turn the spotlight on 1985's "Falco 3", discussing how Hans Hölzel transformed into his alter-ego Falco, how Falco came to work with Rob & Ferdi Bolland, and how the world greeted the arrival of this Pop Music Manifesto. 

Then the hosts direct the discussion towards the following pair of songs:

Macho Macho Vienna Calling

You can see the video for Vienna Calling HERE.

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Episode 117: Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985) - Part 2

After a brief interruption to record an "emergency episode," Brian and Sarah return to their examination of the 1985 Oingo Boingo album Dead Man's Party. This classic release just celebrated its 35th anniversary, and our hosts are ready to continue the festivities by flipping the record over to Side Two and talking about the five tracks found there.

Side Two features two singles, one of which has the distinction of attaining the highest position on the Billboard chart in the band's history. The other single took on a life of its own a few years later, in the country of Brazil!

Track-by-Track, continued

As the hosts talk about the songs on Side Two, they reveal even more songs on this album that have made their way into American movies and television shows. They also mention some movies that don't have any obvious connections to Oingo Boingo, such as the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the 1944 film Going My Way, starring Bing Crosby! Brian and Sarah also discuss one video they both love, and one video which one of them likes better than the other, and which Danny Elfman hates!

Side Two: Stay Fool's Paradise Help Me Same Man I Was Before Weird Science

Extra Credit:

For extra credit, each host has selected an additional Boingo-related song to briefly discuss. Sarah's choice is a brand-new release, and Brian's choice is from the same recording sessions as Dead Man's Party.

Happy Take Your Medicine

Final Review and Rating

With the extra credit section complete, all that's left is for Brian and Sarah to present their final evaluations and ratings for the album. Given the imagery on the album cover, perhaps they should have changed their rating symbol for this album to grinning skulls instead of record adpaters!

See the videos discussed here:

Stay Weird Science Happy

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Episode 116: Depeche Mode Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2020

Here's something that hasn't happened in a while-- an emergency episode of the Permanent Record Podcast! What could cause the hosts to pause their discussion of Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo?  Why, Depeche Mode of course! The boys from Basildon were officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Brian and Sarah definitely couldn't let such an event pass by without talking about it!

The ceremony was different from previous years, in that there were no live performances. Instead, a mini-documentary was shown, featuring a wide variety of guests who each spoke about the band's importance and influence on their own lives as well as to music in general. These features were interspersed with excerpts of past interviews from the band members along with video clips and concert footage spanning Depeche's nearly 40-year career.

Following this montage, Andy, Dave, and Martin appeared together-- on split-screens-- to accept the award and express gratitude to the many people who have been a part of their musical journey and their lives over the past four decades.

Join Brian and Sarah as they discuss the event, the guests, the music selections, and the Zoom meeting with the three current band members. Our hosts also share comments and voicemails from friends of the show who watched the ceremony too. It's a quick but fun conversation about a well-deserved honor for a legendary band!

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Episode 115: Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985) - Part 1

A few weeks ago, Sarah suggested that we discuss Oingo Boingo's amazing 1985 album "Dead Man's Party" in episode #115 as it would be released right around Halloween. That turned out to be an even better idea than she realized!  Why?  Because this episode is hitting your podcast app-of-choice exactly 35 years to the day that Boingo's fourth LP first appeared on record store shelves!  Happy Birthday, DMP!!

The show starts with a discussion of how the band's multi-talented leader Danny Elfman discovered his love of and skill with music. We trace his development through his post-high school wandering days, his time in the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, the big switch over to just Oingo Boingo, and then his career in the genre of film scoring.

From there, we learn about the many musicians who make up this fantastic group, the artists responsible for the quirky and attractive album cover, and we go in-depth into the four songs that appear on the record's first side.

Along the way, we touch on a seemingly random Boingo/Bond connection, the first thing Brian spent his money on after moving into his college dorm, versatile character actor Neal McDonough, a song which heralded the release of the film "The Sixth Sense", and the premiere of the PRP Q&A. It's an epic Halloween installment of PRP and we hope you enjoy it!!

Dead Man's Party (Side One):

Just Another Day Dead Man's Party Heard Somebody Cry No One Lives Forever

See the videos we discuss here:

Just Another Day

Dead Man's Party

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 4 - In Conversation with Author Robbie Sims

Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he can.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In this episode, the usual discussion of Bond theme music is put on the back-burner, and the hosts welcome author Robbie Sims to talk about his new book Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond, along with a wealth of other 007-related topics.  You'll also find out why Brian whined for an entire week in London while on his honeymoon, what part-time job both Robbie and Brian held in their youth, and if Robbie can secure a victory in James Bond Movie Trivia!   We had a blast with this episode and we hope you will too!

Follow Robbie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTchaikovsky?s=09

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Episode 114: Thomas Dolby Retrospectacle + Venus Hum New Music (Part 2)

Once again, Brian and Sarah are joined by special guests Andrew Dineley of the Art on Your Sleeve Podcast and Tony Miracle of Venus Hum. Andrew and Tony were kind enough to accept the invitation to discuss the albums of Thomas Dolby, as they have much more personal history with the catalogue-- and they're both really great guys to talk with!

In this episode, the four hosts pick up their discussion with the fourth Thomas Dolby solo album, Astronauts and Heretics, and then they fast forward a couple of decades to the 2011 release, A Map of the Floating City. This most recent album holds a special place in Tony Miracle's heart, as he was asked to do a remix of one of the songs on it!

Having a talented and experienced musician on the show provides a rare opportunity for some intelligent commentary in the area of music theory, in particular with the song "Simone." And of course anytime Andrew is on, he's able to share an abundance of interesting information and oftentimes, personal history, related to the design and designers for the album covers.

Along with the discussion of the two Thomas Dolby records, you'll also hear mention of Whodini, Howard the Duck, Robin Williams, Screaming Lord Byron, and Prefab Sprout.  Do you know how they all tie together?

And that's not all! As in the previous episode, Brian and Sarah take some time to talk to Tony Miracle about the new music Venus Hum has released, as well as talk of an upcoming new album. This time the two new songs discussed are "Look" and "Dust."

Once again, there's a lot of good stuff packed into this episode! So don't delay-- listen today!

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Join the official Art on Your Sleeve Facebook Group

Listen to Art on Your Sleeve on your podcast app of choice or at https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/

Visit Venus Hum on the web at https://www.venushum.com/

Get new Venus Hum music on Bandcamp: https://venushum.bandcamp.com/

Check out Venus Hum on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/VenusHumOfficial/

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

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Episode 113:  Thomas Dolby Retrospectacle + Venus Hum New Music (Part 1)

Brian and Sarah are thrilled to welcome back two very special guests to the show: Andrew Dineley, of Soft Octopus Design Studio (who created the gorgeous graphic above) and the Art On Your Sleeve podcast; and Tony Miracle of the band Venus Hum.

Brian and Sarah asked these two fine gentlemen for help, because they wanted to talk about the work of Thomas Dolby, but being very new fans, they knew they couldn't do it on their own. Andrew and Tony, however, are long-time fans with a wealth of knowledge and personal stories between them, and they both graciously agreed to join in the discussion.

The result is a fun and detailed conversation which covers the five main albums Thomas Dolby has released since 1982. This episode covers the first three albums: The Golden Age of Wireless, The Flat Earth, and Aliens Ate My Buick.

The four hosts cover the usual topics of release and chart information, singles, videos, remixes, and artwork. They also talk about the wealth of musical guests Thomas Dolby had on each album. And they even talk about aerobics!

But wait, there's more! With Tony Miracle joining them, Brian and Sarah can't help but take the opportunity to ask him about the new music Venus Hum has been releasing over the past few months. In this episode, Tony is quizzed about the songs "Where You Are" and "Whether or Not."

It should be pretty clear by now that there are many good reasons to listen to this episode! So what are you waiting for?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Join the official Art on Your Sleeve Facebook Group

Listen to Art on Your Sleeve on your podcast app of choice or at https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/

Visit Venus Hum on the web at https://www.venushum.com/

Get new Venus Hum music on Bandcamp: https://venushum.bandcamp.com/

Check out Venus Hum on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/VenusHumOfficial/

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Episode 112: Selections from Now That's What I Call Music Vol 1 (1983) - Part 2

It's September, and in the US, that means the summer season is wrapping up. And as the summer comes to a close, so does the Permanent Record Podcast's look back at the first edition of the iconic compilation series, Now That's What I Call Music.

Brian and Sarah are once again joined by friend of the show, Jackie Clary, who came up with the idea for this discussion. In this episode, the three hosts each choose a song from the second album to talk about. A lot of chart history and information is shared, and there's a Smash Hits review for each song as well. Of course there's also much discussion on the videos, in particular for Jackie's selection. But wait, there's more! Brian, Sarah, and Jackie also cover a range of topics including: authentic Doc Martens, legendary San Diego DJ Steve West; weird ways to hold a microphone; more Halloween costume ideas; and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Disc 2 selections Sarah's choice: "The Sun and the Rain" by Madness Brian's choice: "Waterfront" by Simple Minds Jackie's choice: "They Don't Know" by Tracey Ullman

See the videos discussed here: The Sun and the Rain Waterfront They Don't Know

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Episode 111: 40 Years of "Xanadu" (Featuring Olivia Newton-John & ELO)

August 8, 1980 was a monumentally important day in the history of cinema, for that was the release date of the greatest roller disco musical film ever made, Xanadu. In this episode of the Permanent Record Podcast, Brian and Sarah talk a little about the movie, but a lot more about the Xanadu soundtrack, which achieved considerably more success than the film it accompanied.

The soundtrack features Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra as the primary artists, along with some special guests, and generated a total of six singles worldwide.

Brian, the long-time Xanadu fan, leads the discussion of the singles, which he ranked in order of his preference-- at least at the time of the recording! Sarah offers her thoughts on the songs as well and answers some hard-hitting questions from her co-host.

Both hosts enjoy revisiting the songs that featured quite prominently in the soundtrack to their pre-teen years, and they share a lot of laughs along the way. If you're looking for some lighthearted entertainment, look no further than this episode!

Songs discussed: I'm Alive (ELO) Suddenly (Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard) Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John & ELO) Don't Walk Away (ELO) All Over the World (ELO) Magic (Olivia Newton-John)

Bonus content!  Don't know what the pages below are from?  Might be you missed the secret epilogue to the episode!  That's why you always have to let the shows play all the way to the end.

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Episode 110: Electrical Language - Quadrascope, Jupiter Red, Naked Lunch, Box of Toys, Thomas Leer

Back in Summer of 2019, Cherry Red Records released a 4-CD compilation titled "Electrical Language: Independent British Synth Pop 78-84." Brian wanted to buy it, but having recently signed up for Spotify, he felt obligated to try streaming his music instead of buying everything he wanted. The Great Spotify Experiment soon came to a disastrous end, and unfortunately, the box set slipped Brian's mind.

Fast-forward to Summer of 2020, and Brian has finally acquired the collection. After listening to all 80 tracks multiple times, both Brian & Sarah have deemed Cherry Red's work on the set to be "inspirational and excellent."

Of course, 80 songs is a few too many to discuss in one episode, so in this special Summer One-Off show, the hosts each pick 2 or 3 of their favorite tracks to research and report on.

Brian and Sarah are both really excited to share what they have learned about these new (to them anyway!) artists. Along the way, the conversation turns to topics like Vince Clarke, Claudia Brücken, is Dave Gahan a "beer boy?", Alison Moyet's early band The Vicars, Austrian Slick-Meister Falco, a Glam Rock band called Hello that neither can recall, and a reminder about our current give-away. Don't forget that we want to send YOU free CDs by Cause & Effect, Von Hertzog, and VHxRR. Trust us - they are all seriously great listens!

Songs Discussed: Quadrascope - Baby Won't Phone Jupiter Red - The Secret Affair Naked Lunch - Rabies Box of Toys - I'm Thinking of You Now Thomas Leer - Mr. Nobody

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Episode 109 - Selections from Now That's What I Call Music (1983) - Part 1

It's summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, and for the Permanent Record Podcast, that also means it's time for some episodes where individual songs by various artists are discussed. This year's idea came from friend of the show and guest host on the Wham! Make It Big episodes, Jackie Clary. Instead of the hosts selecting random songs to compile an "80s mix tape," Jackie suggested taking a look at what could be called the original 80s mix tape, Now That's What I Call Music. This double album was released in the UK in November 1983 and started a now-ubiquitous series of compilation albums featuring popular songs by various artists.

Jackie joins Brian and Sarah as they talk about how this series came about, as well as reviewing the history of compilation albums in general. Then each of the hosts leads the discussion of a song they've chosen from the first album. And of course the conversation wouldn't be complete without a mention of the videos for the songs-- and that's where the trio really have some fun! There are lots of laughs in this episode, along with talk of Buck Rogers, the musical Cats, the TV show Miami Vice, hairstyles, obscure Halloween costume ideas, and bizarre Japanese commercials, so you won't want to miss this one!

Disc 1 selections Brian's choice: "Give It Up" by KC (and the Sunshine Band) Sarah's choice: "Only For Love" by Limahl Jackie's choice: "Is There Something I Should Know?" by Duran Duran

See the videos discussed here: Give It Up Give It Up - TopPop performance Only For Love - Original (UK) video Only For Love - US Video Is There Something I Should Know? Duran Duran in Suntory Whisky Q Video

Special Summer Giveaway!

Also in this episode--details on a giveaway! The link you need to share is below-- make sure you let Brian and Sarah know you've shared it!

http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/in-conversation-with-rob-rowe-cause-and-effect-vh-x-rr-and-von-hertzog-vh-x-rr

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 3 - Goldfinger

Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In this third installment, composer John Barry is once again called into service, and this time, he has to provide both the score AND the theme song! Barry assembles a talented team of collaborators to work with him on what would go on to become one of the most iconic film songs of all time!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you! Visit Chattanooga’s #1 Newsletter!!

Episode 108: Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Part 4

Can it be? Is this the final PRP episode on Violator? It appears so! Brian and Sarah are back to talk about the rest of Depeche Mode's 1990 album and to give their final evaluations and ratings. But wait, there's more! They also have additional Violator memories from listeners to share, as well as quite a few new Apple Podcasts reviews, all of which are interspersed throughout the episode.

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued If you look at the track listings for the previous Violator episodes and on the album itself, you could easily come to the conclusion that there are only three more songs to discuss. But in truth, there are five! Brian and Sarah start the Track by Track section for this episode with one of these hidden tracks. In addition to discussing the final single on the album and two more videos, there's also more talk of smooching, as well as more made-up names for synth sounds-- one of which both hosts came up with, independent of each other!

Interlude #2 (Crucified) Policy of Truth Blue Dress Interlude # 3 Clean

Part 4 - Extra Credit In a rare twist, there are actually two extra credit items for this episode. The first item is an answer to a question our hosts never even thought to ask! The second item is audio from a YouTube clip about the drums in "Enjoy the Silence."  Thanks to friend-of-the-show Felipe Maderia for bringing this information to our attention!

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating At long last, the time comes for our hosts to share their final thoughts and record-adapter ratings for this iconic album. The ratings should come as a shock to no one, but both Brian and Sarah make some thoughtful comments about the band, the album, and its impact before announcing their ratings. See the videos discussed here: Policy of Truth Clean

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Episode 107:  In Conversation with Rob Rowe (Cause and Effect, VH x RR) and Von Hertzog (VH x RR)

Brian and Sarah are thrilled to present this very special episode! They had the privilege and pleasure of speaking with two talented musicians who've recently joined forces-- one whose music they've loved for almost 30 years, and another whose music they just recently learned about, and are really enjoying.

Rob Rowe has been in the groups Cause and Effect and Whitewaits, and Von Hertzog has released numerous albums, EPs,  and singles under his own name. Together they've formed the band VH x RR, and their new EP, "The Persistence of Memory," has just been released.

Our hosts first speak with Rob Rowe about his years with Cause and Effect and Whitewaits, and then Von Hertzog joins the conversation and shares his history. The conversation then turns to the new project, VH x RR, its origins, and "The Persistence of Memory."  And as per usual, Brian and Sarah provide some analysis and commentary on several of the tracks.

It's an enlightening and enjoyable conversation with some terrific guys who've made great music, both apart and together-- you won't want to miss it!

See the videos discussed here:

You Think You Know Her

Another Minute - original version

It's Over Now

Listen to the song "Golden" here

Purchase the music at these sites:

https://causeandeffect.bandcamp.com/

https://whitewaits.bandcamp.com/

https://vonhertzog.bandcamp.com/

https://vhxrr.bandcamp.com/

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Episode 106: Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Part 3

The end of May is here, but the end of Brian and Sarah's Violator album analysis is not! Depeche Mode's Violator is truly one of the most important records our hosts own, and to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its release, they want to do it justice. This means our hosts get into more details and share even more memories than usual, as they make their way through the songs on the album. In addition to their own memories, though, Brian and Sarah are happy to share a voice message from a listener who also has fond recollections of Violator, and there are some new Apple Podcast reviews to read as well.

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued

As mentioned previously, our hosts decided to break the song discussion up into groups of three. That means in this episode, they do get to flip the record to Side Two, and they get to talk about one single. And what a single it is! The single also has a rather iconic video to go along with it. But one of the non-singles also has a video-- and our hosts may actually have more to say about that one! They also find themselves talking about both the Pet Shop Boys and The Beloved again-- and Sarah gets payback for Brian mentioning The Mission in the previous episode, by bringing up one of her favorite bands, Crowded House. And did someone bring up the subject of posteriors again too?

Halo

Waiting for the Night

Enjoy the Silence

See the videos discussed here:

Halo

Enjoy the Silence

Enjoy the Silence promo filmed for French show Champs-Elysees

Enjoy the Silence video outtakes

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Episode 105: Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Part 2

Brian and Sarah are back, and they're eager to continue their discussion of Depeche Mode's landmark album Violator, which turned 30 not too long ago. This is one of the most important albums our hosts own, and they have many memories and thoughts to share about it, so they're breaking up their analysis into more than just the usual two parts. This episode begins with a couple more album reviews before the hosts are finally ready to get into the song discussion.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track

Since Violator contains nine tracks, and Brian and Sarah know they're going to have a lot to say about most of the songs-- especially the four singles-- they come up with a game plan to cover three tracks per episode. So in this episode, two singles-- and two videos-- are discussed. Our hosts cover the typical topics of release history, chart history, reviews, and album art, and along the way they also share many personal memories from the time period when the songs were released. Also mentioned in this episode:  a surprisingly controversial ad campaign, cheap bootleg t-shirts, human and animal posteriors, Johnny Cash, The Wonder Stuff, and (much to Sarah's dismay) The Mission.

World in My Eyes

Sweetest Perfection

Personal Jesus

See the videos discussed here:

World in My Eyes

Personal Jesus

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Episode 104: In Conversation with Tony Miracle of Venus Hum

As was famously said in Monty Python's Flying Circus, "And now for something completely different..." Yes, Brian and Sarah should be talking about Depeche Mode's album Violator in this episode. But instead, they present to you their first-ever interview!

Tony Miracle has worked in the music industry for over 25 years as a musician, songwriter, producer, and remixer. In the early 2000s he was one-third of the wonderful synthpop group Venus Hum, and he's also released electronic music under the moniker  Satellite City and his own name. And if that's not enough, he's also a graphic designer!

With a resume like that, it should come as no surprise that Brian and Sarah found plenty of things to discuss with Tony. He shared many interesting tales from his past and graciously answered numerous questions from our hosts. And during the course of the conversation, he mentioned several names that should be quite familiar to listeners of this podcast: Thomas Dolby, Martyn Ware, and Vince Clarke! So you definitely won't want to miss those stories!

You can check out Tony's website at http://www.tonymiracle.com/

To learn more about the terrific music of Venus Hum, visit http://www.venushum.com/

And to treat yourself to the fantastic music you heard in this episode, visit Tony and Venus Hum at http://venushum.bandcamp.com.  You can't go wrong with anything there, but I'm currently digging the "Long Blue Line" EP.

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Episode 103: Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Part 1

Yes, that's right; Brian and Sarah last discussed Depeche Mode a mere two episodes ago. However, one of the most important and beloved albums in our hosts' entire record collection just celebrated its 30th anniversary, so there was no way to stop them from selecting Violator for their next in-depth analysis! And because the album is so important to them-- and because they don't want to release a 3-hour episode!-- they only cover the Album History and Personal History sections in this episode.

Part 1 - Album History Brian and Sarah start their examination of Violator with the release and chart history, and then go on to share the story behind the making of Violator and why both the process and the people involved were different from previous recording sessions. They then spend some time looking at where Depeche Mode was at this point in their career and how their career had progressed, especially regarding their status and popularity in America. This leads to them discussing the famous Wherehouse incident in Los Angeles the day of Violator's US release. They also share several reviews, including one Sarah found in an old letter from Brian!

Part 2 - Personal History Our hosts are delighted to kick off the Personal History section of the episode by playing a message sent in via Speakpipe (see link below!) by friend of the show John Justice, who was kind enough to share an excellent memory related to Violator, in particular the World Violation tour that supported it. This leads Brian and Sarah to share their own story about their World Violation concert experience, which was very memorable for them both, but not for the reasons they had hoped it would be! As for the history of getting the album, Violator seems to be one of the rare instances where Sarah not only bought the album herself, but has a very specific memory of doing so! Brian, on the other hand, has a specific-- but more traumatic-- memory related to not owning the album!

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Episode 102: Permanent Record Trivia Showdown 2020

Last year, Brian and Sarah competed against each other in the first-ever Permanent Record Trivia Showdown, presided over by the Quiz Master (secret identity: Brian and Sarah's longtime friend Hans Lemke). Listeners sent in questions, and a heated contest ensued, with lots of laughs along the way!

The showdown was so much fun for Brian, Sarah, and the Quiz Master, that they decided to do it again in 2020! Once more, our hosts sent out the call for trivia questions, and many listeners responded! Special thanks go out to Seth Brugger, Paul Underwood of "Glory Days Radio", Malachy Green, Nick Oswald, Alan Hogg, Mark Simpson, John Justice, and Frederick Frantz of Fragile Gods for contributing questions to this year's Trivia Showdown.

The Quiz Master leads the hosts through several rounds of competition, and all three of them have many more laughs as well! But who has the last laugh when the showdown is over? You'll have to listen to the end to find out!

Listen to Fragile God's fantastic synth-heavy music at https://fragilegods.bandcamp.com/ Listen to Paul Underwood's "Glory Days Radio" at https://koxe.com/glory-days/

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Episode 101: Movie Review - Depeche Mode: 101 (1989)

They've been hinting at this one for a while now, so it should be no surprise that for the 101st episode of their podcast, Brian and Sarah have chosen to discuss Depeche Mode 101. However, rather than discussing the live album, they've decided instead to talk about the film.

Our hosts break the movie discussion into several sections: • The Concept • The Contest/The Bus Kids • The Tour: non-concert stuff • The Tour: concert stuff • Favorite characters and favorite moments • Impact/Legacy

This episode could also be known as "the one with all the tidbits," because throughout the discussion, Brian and Sarah keep sharing tidbits with each other-- and some of the tidbits even have sub-lists.

As huge Depeche Mode fans, Brian and Sarah have a special place in their hearts for this movie. They'd love to have you join a discussion on it by sharing your thoughts and memories via one of the many options listed below.

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Episode 100: A Centennial Celebration with Yazoo, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, and David Bowie

It's finally here - Episode 100 of the Permanent Record Podcast! Brian and Sarah are thrilled to reach this milestone, and of course they wanted to do a special episode to celebrate. They looked through their record collection and found three singles by well-loved artists that might not get discussed otherwise. The other song selection allows our hosts to finally say they are done with the album discussion from Episode 1!

Yazoo - Tuesday Pet Shop Boys - Miracles Duran Duran - The Wild Boys David Bowie - Absolute Beginners

Anyone who has listened to this show know our hosts talk about more than just the songs, and episode 100 is no different. Here you'll find mention of No Romance in China, Chris Lowe's bad hair, the star of the television show "The Flash,” film and ad campaign flops, Vasco de Gama, a 41-year-old cassette tape, and adolescent guerilla packs of specialized humanoids.

After the song discussion, Brian and Sarah extend some special thanks to many different people, including, of course, the listeners. (That's you!) These first 100 episodes have been so much fun, and your feedback is a big reason why. So thanks again for listening and for participating in this ongoing musical conversation!

See the videos discussed here: Miracles The Wild Boys Absolute Beginners Strand Cigarette "Lonely Man" ad David Bowie Singing Impersonations Text for Bowie's singing impersonations

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Brian & Sarah Implore You Not to Listen to This!

Look - we're all friends, right?  Well, Brian & Sarah are begging you not to listen to this short episode. 

It says it's about 12 minutes long, but that's only because there's a really cool song at the end.  There's only about 9 minutes of podcast-content in this one, and what's there is really important.  But do we want you to listen?  No.

And the reason for that is Reverse Psychology.  Yes, we actually do want you to listen - quite a bit really.  So we figured the best way to get you to listen is to implore you not to listen.  At least, that's what we learned by watching "The Office."

So let's see how this goes......

 

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Episode 99: Blondie - Eat to the Beat (1979) Part 2

It's somewhat hard for our hosts to believe, but it's true-- this is officially the last double-digit episode of the Permanent Record Podcast! Episode 99 finds Brian and Sarah continuing their discussion of Blondie's 1979 album, Eat to the Beat. They start off with a couple more reviews of the album itself before getting back into the track-by-track discussion.

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued Part One of Eat to the Beat was running long, so our hosts only got around to talking about the first four songs on Side One before wrapping up. With a total of eight songs left, there's lots more music, vocals, lyrics, and videos to discuss; plus, there are a couple of Apple Podcast reviews to share as well. In amongst all the regular topics though, there's also talk of post apocalyptic night clubs, intestinal distress, the world's largest "jazz cigarette," two Talking Heads references, and something that resembles either an enormous Swanson's turkey pot pie, a drum head, or a crème brulée. And, it seems Brian has gone into withdrawal from not doing a "PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast" in so long, because he launches into "James Bond Movie Mode" for a brief time.

Side One: Eat to the Beat Accidents Never Happen

Side Two: Die Young Stay Pretty Slow Motion Atomic Sound-A-Sleep Victor Living in the Real World

Part 4 - Extra Credit In an unusual twist, the "Extra Credit" portion of this episode is not related to the album; instead, it's a reminder to please send in your music trivia questions to prptrivia at gmail.com for the upcoming Trivia Showdown episode.

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating It then comes time for Brian and Sarah to give their final reviews and ratings for Eat to the Beat. They were both making very favorable comments for everything on Side One, but there were much more mixed reviews to be found on Side Two (and in some regards, that may be putting it mildly). Were there enough negative vibes generated to warrant low record-adapter ratings for the entire album from the hosts? The only way to find out is to listen to the end!

See the videos discussed here: Eat to the Beat Accidents Never Happen Die Young Stay Pretty Slow Motion Atomic Sound-A-Sleep Victor Living in the Real World

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Episode 98: Blondie - Eat to the Beat (1979) Part 1

The year 2020 is here, and Brian and Sarah are finally finished with their long holiday break. For their first album discussion this year, they decide to do something new. For the first time in almost 100 episodes, they're talking about an album from the 1970s! Their selection is Blondie's fourth album, Eat to the Beat, released in October 1979.

Part 1 - Album History

Since our hosts have never discussed Blondie before, they decide to bring everyone up to speed by explaining who's in the band at this time and the recent history prior to this album's recording and release. Then they get into the making of Eat to the Beat, the album's release and chart history, reviews from a variety of sources (including a university newspaper!), and the album art. There's one additional aspect of this album which merits discussion-- the video album that accompanies it, which was the first one ever made!

Part 2 - Personal History

The personal history section of the episode is a little unusual this time. Although both Sarah and Brian have been familiar with Blondie's music for many years, neither host has a personal history with Eat to the Beat from the time when it was released. However, they do both have a personal history anecdote related to the band from about twenty years later, and they share that story here.

Part 3 - Track by Track

Finally, it's time to start talking about the songs on Side One of Eat to the Beat. The album contains four singles, not all of which were released to the same countries, and three of those singles are the first three songs on the album. So there's plenty to discuss as far as release history, chart positions, music, vocals, lyrics, and of course, the videos as well. The conversation includes the topics of alcohol, tea, armed robbery, love affairs, Chinese-born fashion designers, double entendres, Andy Warhol, and aliens from outer space. By the time they get to the fourth song on Side One, Brian and Sarah are past the two-hour mark, so they decide they'd better wrap up the episode after the fourth song, and leave the rest for next time.

Dreaming The Hardest Part Union City Blue Shayla

See the videos discussed here: Dreaming The Hardest Part Union City Blue Shayla

Part 1 of the Post-Punk Monk's 3-part review of Eat to the Beat can be found here: https://postpunkmonk.com/2016/08/23/record-review-blondie-eat-to-the-beat-part-1/

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Episode 97: Paul McCartney - "Wonderful Christmastime" (1979) and Holiday Giveaway

The holiday season is upon us once again, and Brian and Sarah have already found their schedules full with festive preparations and celebrations-- as well as several concerts! But they found time to record one more episode this year, and it features one of the most divisive Christmas songs ever recorded-- Paul McCartney's 1979 single "Wonderful Christmastime."

The two hosts dive into the release and somewhat confusing chart history of the record, and then they take turns sharing several reviews-- some positive, others decidedly less so. They also explore the time period during which the song was recorded, what Paul was doing and listening to, and where this song fits into the Paul McCartney discography. Brian and Sarah also discuss the video that accompanies the song, and Sarah surprises Brian by revealing the name of the video's director. They close out the discussion by sharing their own thoughts and rating for "Wonderful Christmastime," with Brian providing a special rating scale developed especially for this song.

Then, after sharing a heartwarming listener review from Apple Podcasts, Brian and Sarah announce this year's holiday giveaway! But to find out what the prize is and how to enter, you'll have to listen to the episode!

See the video discussed here: Wonderful Christmastime

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Depeche Mode - Spirits in the Forest (2019)

On Thursday, November 21st, like many around the globe, Brian and Sarah visited their local cinema for a very special event - the world-wide premiere of "Spirits in the Forest." 

The film was directed by Anton Corbijn and stars not only Dave, Martin, and Fletch from Depeche Mode but also eight of their biggest fans.  The fans came from Mongolia, Brazil, the United States, Romania, France, and Columbia to share their unique stories and to be there in Berlin for the final shows of the Global Spirit Tour.

Corbijn's film gives us not only the opportunity to get to know this fascinating band of devotees, but also "closer than front row" access to an amazing night of music.

Brian & Sarah recorded this short emergency episode to share with you their immediate thoughts after seeing the film and to get your opinions on what you saw.  Please feel free to chime in about the movie on any of the social media venues listed below.  We're anxious to hear what everyone thought about "Spirits in the Forest."

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Episode 96: Erasure - Wild! (1989) Part 2

Brian, Sarah, and special guest host Andrew Dineley are here to resume their examination of Erasure's fourth album, Wild! Brian and Sarah are especially grateful to Andrew for making the time to join them, as he just finished a new episode of his own podcast, "Art on Your Sleeve."

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued Part One of this discussion was of an epic length and contained some strong opinions. As the trio flip the record to Side Two, the anticipation level is high. There's only one single to be found here, and one more video to analyze. But the hosts find plenty of other things to talk about, such as musicals that never were, English history, the classic educational toy Speak and Spell, and of course the other songs on Side Two! And although Sarah had hoped that letting Brian do some James Bond "mini-podcasts" would contain the 007 talk to those shows, she finds herself talking with Brian and Andrew about James Bond in this episode-- and for two different reasons!

You Surround Me Brother and Sister 2000 Miles Crown of Thorns Piano Song

Part 4 - Extra Credit As the hosts talked about the singles for this album, they couldn't help but also mention the excellent B-sides that were released during this prolific period of Erasure's history. For extra credit, Brian, Sarah, and Andrew each choose their favorite of the B-sides and discuss them briefly.

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Wild! may have been released at the pinnacle of Erasure's popularity, but does that mean the album is the pinnacle of quality as well? Each of the hosts make an honest assessment of the 11 tracks found on the album, with one host admitting a change of mind from their originally-planned record adapter rating, based on further listening and thoughtful review.

See the videos we discuss here: You Surround Me

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Episode 95: Erasure - Wild! (1989) Part 1

Brian and Sarah continue their run of guest co-hosts by welcoming back Andrew Dineley, owner of Soft Octopus design studio, host of "Art on Your Sleeve" podcast, and contributor to Classic Pop magazine. The three set out to examine Wild!, Erasure's fourth album, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

 

Part 1 - Album History

As our hosts look back to 1989, they find Vince Clarke and Andy Bell in a period of great productivity and popularity. Erasure won Best British Group at the 1989 Brit Awards, which leads Brian, Sarah, and Andrew to discuss the notoriously bad presentation by a terribly mismatched pair of hosts. The three then talk about the making of the album, with Brian explaining how producer Mark Saunders had the daunting task of trying to nudge Vince Clarke out of his comfort zone to try new things. The release history, chart information, and reviews are also shared, with Brian and Sarah then looking to graphic designer Andrew to lead the discussion about the album art.

Part 2 - Personal History

Andrew has specific memories of purchasing this album, and in the process he once again makes Brian and Sarah jealous of the perks and additions available for UK releases. Sarah tries to pin down the exact day she acquired the album from Brian, which prompts Brian to joke about the fact that there was no chance she actually purchased it herself.

Part 3 - Track by Track

The track by track analysis begins with all three hosts expressing mixed feelings about the album opener. This unevenness sets the stage for the discussion to come, during which some very strong sentiments-- both positive and negative-- are articulated. Speaking of articulating, both Sarah and Brian have some trouble articulating in this episode-- Sarah with the name "Onge" and Brian with the word "giblets." Andrew, on the other hand, perfectly recounts a tale in which he received a free 12-inch remix single. Also in this section: where to find an example of a long-sleeved t-shirt made out of ten short-sleeved t-shirts, what piece of culture has Brian purchased on seven different formats, and how does the wonderful Olivia Newton-John relate to this album?!

Piano Song (Instrumental) Blue Savannah Drama! How Many Times? Star La Gloria

See the videos we discuss here:

Best British Group presentation at 1989 Brit Awards

Blue Savannah

Drama!

Star

 

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Episode 94: Wham! – Make it Big (1984) Part 3

Episode 94 finds Brian, Sarah, and special guest Jackie Clary looking back to 1984 at one of the year's biggest (no pun intended) albums - Make it Big by Wham! The three hosts have had a lively and lengthy discussion about the album's history and the songs on the first side, and now they're ready to flip the record.

Part 3 –Track by Track, continued

As Brian, Sarah, and Jackie turn their attention to Side Two of the record, they find another single right away. The video that accompanies the single is rather significant, not because of the technology used, but because of where it was filmed, and so the three hosts talk about Wham!'s trip to China and how the trip came to be.  The other single on this side is significant for a very different reason-- it was not credited explicitly to Wham! Brian expresses his confusion on this topic and asks Jackie to help shed some light on why this may have been done. The accompanying video is a rather memorable one from the 80s, and Brian shares a story of why it was so costly to film, and then expresses a definite preference for one of the two women featured in the storyline. Also during this section, the three discuss the Isley Brothers, legendary producer Jerry Wexler, Jackie's pick for best Duran Duran album, and Sarah delights everyone with her casual insertion of Wham! song lines into the conversation.

Freedom If You Were There Credit Card Baby Careless Whisper

 

Part 4 – Extra Credit

The Extra Credit section is somewhat off the beaten path, but for good reason. The 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees have just been announced, and since Jackie Clary has worked at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Brian and Sarah ask her if she thinks synth-heavy bands like Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk (who are both class of 2020 nominees), Duran Duran, Human League and others will ever really have a chance to make it into the Hall of Fame.

Part 5 – Final Review and Rating

After many hours of discussion, it's finally time for the three hosts to give their final reviews and record-adapter ratings. Sarah requests to go first,  followed by Brian. And when it comes time for Jackie's review and rating, she does something that has never been done on this podcast!

See the videos discussed here:

Freedom

Careless Whisper

"Careless Whisper" by George Michael & Smokey Robinson

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Episode 93: Wham! – Make it Big (1984) Part 2

The month of October marches on, and so does the discussion of the sophomore effort by the group Wham!-- 1984's Make it Big. As a reminder, Brian and Sarah are joined by friend of the show Jackie Clary, whose knowledge and appreciation for all things Wham!, along with her music research skills, were showcased in the previous episode.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track

The three hosts are ready to tackle the four songs on Side One, and with two big singles occupying the first slots on the album, there are plenty of things to discuss! Brian shares his idea that there are two distinct images for the band with this album. Sarah compares the album's first song to another peppy 80s song she loves, and Jackie reveals that song actually does have a connection to Wham! Both Brian and Sarah are delighted to be able to revisit one of the greatest things they've ever seen on the internet, and later on, they both have a question for Jackie-- is she familiar with Shaun Cassidy? 

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go Everything She Wants Heartbeat Like a Baby

See the videos we discuss here:

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Mash-up of "This Corrosion" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"

Everything She Wants

1996 MTV Unplugged performance of "Everything She Wants"

 

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Episode 92: Wham! – Make it Big (1984) Part 1

It's now October, which means September Sans Sarah is over! But it's not just Sarah joining Brian for the next album discussion-- a new special guest is a part of the conversation. Jackie Clary brings her knowledge and passion regarding all things Wham! and George Michael, as well as her extensive research skills from her years working at MTV, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and as a music and TV archivist, to an in-depth look at the album which, as its title indicates, helped the group Wham! "make it big" 35 years ago this month.

 

Part 1 - Jackie Clary intro and Album History

Since Jackie is a new guest to the show, and she's had such an interesting music-related career, Brian and Sarah ask Jackie to share a little about herself and her experiences working at MTV. Jackie is happy to oblige and tells some great stories about the projects she worked on and the people she interacted with.

 

Then it's time to start talking about Wham!, the making of Make it Big, the release history, the worldwide chart success it enjoyed, and its place among 80s music overall. Jackie Clary provides helpful contextual information about which other albums were out at the same time and which albums preceded and succeeded Make it Big in the charts. Sarah and Brian have fun sharing reviews of the albums both from back in the day and from more recent articles, and they enjoy Jackie's reactions to those reviews. They also talk about the various album covers released in the US and UK, and Sarah poses a perhaps far-fetched theory about the US album cover.

 Part 2 - Personal History

While it's probably no surprise to regular listeners that Sarah doesn't have an extensive personal history related to this album-- sadly, that has been the case for many albums-- it may be a bit of a surprise to hear what Brian has to say about his personal history for Make it Big. Thankfully, Jackie Clary helps to pick up the slack in this category, and she shares how she felt about this album back when she was first introduced to it, and how it has been an important part of her life for the past 35 years.

Because of the lively and lengthy conversations the three hosts have about the band's history, the album's history, and various other topics, this episode wraps up right before the song discussion starts.

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Episode 91: The Cult - Sonic Temple (1989)

September Sans Sarah rolls on as longtime friend of the show Colby Zell returns to join Brian for a discussion on The Cult's 1989 hard-rocking watershed moment: "Sonic Temple."

The two cover some facts, figures, and history of the album, talking about where the band was coming from in 1989 and their decision to work with producer Bob Rock. 

They also cover their own personal histories with the record, histories that overlap quite a bit as they tell the story of a poor Pontiac Sunbird with a penchant for bursting into flames and a chance encounter with a university Dean of Housing. 

And then, before moving on to four personally-curated tracks for further discussion, the old chums cover some reviews of the album to get a sense of what the critics thought of this tasty slice of musical goodness.

Finally, Brian and Colby go into further detail on the following songs/videos:

New York City (featuring Iggy Pop!) Sun King Edie (Ciao Baby) Fire Woman

Just a note: Any time Brian uses the word "muddled" in this episode, he actually means "muddy."  Not sure what was up with his vocabulary....

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Episode 90: The Mission - God's Own Medicine (1986)

We're kicking off our biggest event yet here on the Permanent Record Podcast - it's September Sans Sarah!!! 

Yes, if you follow us on Facebook then you know that Sarah is currently making her way up and down the west coast of the US.  However, as Bernard Lee's "M" said to 007 in the movie Diamonds are Forever - "We do function in your absence, Commander."

And so, this new episode takes a listen to an album many have requested over the past year.  It's the Mission's 1986 debut "God's Own Medicine."

And it's a bit of a different format than what we usually do, but hopefully you will still enjoy it. 

Just a note: the instrumental music used in the episode is taken from Wayne Hussey & James Bacon's soundtrack album, "As Irmas Iamesas."  If you like what you hear, check it out!

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Episode 89: Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward (1984) Part 3

In the United States, the unofficial end to summer is here, and so is the end of Brian and Sarah's discussion of Some Great Reward. The fourth album by Depeche Mode is about to celebrate its 35th anniversary, and our hosts have very much enjoyed taking a fond look back at it.  

 

 

Part 3 –Track by Track, continued

Before getting back into the song discussion, there are some voicemails from listeners to share from locations across the globe. Then it's back to Some Great Reward. There are only two more songs on the album to talk about, but our hosts still have plenty to say! One of the songs is one of the few Alan Wilder-penned works in the Depeche Mode catalogue, and Sarah talks about why that was the case. The hosts also get into a discussion about English grammar, which threatens to distract Brian from the topic at hand. Thankfully, they get back on track to talk about the album closer and its video.

If You Want Blasphemous Rumours

  

Part 4 – Extra Credit

In a contrast to some album reviews where there is no Extra Credit section, there are two topics addressed in this Extra Credit section. First, Brian talks about "The World We Live in and Live in Hamburg," the first Depeche Mode live concert performance released on video. He shows off his old VHS tape of the concert (only to Sarah, of course, but she confirms he does so), talks about its importance in his life, and also explains why this concert has not seen a re-release onto newer video formats.

Then, Sarah goes over the two B-sides associated with this album: “In Your Memory” and “(Set Me Free) Remotivate Me.” She reminds the listeners that one of these songs was also mentioned in Episode 50, where the hosts discussed "Some Great B-Sides" by Depeche Mode. She shares her thoughts on both songs and declares her preference, with Brian chiming in as well.

Part 5 – Final Review and Rating

Brian goes first with his review and rating, and he is surprisingly brief. But throughout the three episodes, he has made it quite clear just how important this album is to him and what an impact it made on his life, so this is more a confirmation of what is probably already known. Sarah also explains that this was a very important album for her as well, but because of the timing of when she was introduced to it, the impact on her is slightly different than it was for Brian. She hems and haws a bit when it comes to her rating, but finally settles on a number, of which Brian heartily approves.

See the videos discussed here:

Alan Wilder demo of “If You Want”

Blasphemous Rumours

Watch a young woman losing her mind while screeching along with "Blasphemous Rumours"

 

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Episode 88: Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward (1984) Part 2

They're baaa-aaack! Finally, after a month, Brian and Sarah have returned to their discussion of Some Great Reward, the 1984 album by Depeche Mode. One is refreshed and energized from her recent vacation; One is exhausted and hungover from his decision to stay awake until 4AM watching Human League concert DVDs and posting on Facebook.  However, they each have a lot to say about this very important album-- so much so, in fact, that they decided to split the discussion of Side Two into two parts.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

As our hosts flip the record to Side Two, they find two singles back-to-back, so there are chart positions and videos to talk about, along with the regular topics of music, vocals, and lyrics. "Somebody" is the first Depeche Mode single with Martin Gore taking the lead on vocals; it's also the first double-A side ever released by the band. Brian and Sarah recount the famous story about the recording of the song, which leads Brian to recalling one of his few missed answers on the Trivia Showdown episode earlier this year, which further leads Sarah to share some follow-up information related to that troublesome trivia question. Brian also shares a fond (and relatively recent, all things considered) memory of seeing "Somebody" performed live. Then it's on to a discussion of a very different kind of song-- different in both its sound and its subject matter. "Master and Servant" was somewhat controversial in its day, but Brian and Sarah agree there's more to the song's meaning than the most obvious subject. This song also prompts Brian to share some important personal history regarding his record collection. Finally, while you've probably heard the phrase, "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," Brian has a story related to this song that he decides shouldn't "stay in Vegas."

Somebody Master and Servant

See the videos discussed here:

Somebody

Master and Servant

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Queen + Adam Lambert - The Rhapsody Tour 2019

Ok, I know that we're supposed to be talking with you about Depeche Mode's "Some Great Reward"; however, we had a rough week and also a pair of concert tickets to one of the best concerts I have ever seen, so we weren't able to get a new REAL episode recorded.

If you don't like Queen, you'll want to skip this one because basically in 35 minutes or so, we're going to touch on our feelings about the Queen and Adam Lambert collaboration, the impact of the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the live show these guys produce, and the entire set-list for the concert we attended in Philadelphia, PA on August 3rd.

Now I'm Here Seven Seas of Rhye Keep Yourself Alive Hammer to Fall Killer Queen Don't Stop Me Now Somebody to Love The Show Must Go On I'm in Love With My Car Bicycle Race Another One Bites the Dust Machines (Or 'Back to Humans') I Want It All Love of My Life '39 Doing All Right Crazy Little Thing Called Love Under Pressure I Want to Break Free Who Wants to Live Forever Guitar Solo Tie Your Mother Down Fat Bottomed Girls Radio Ga Ga Bohemian Rhapsody

Encore: Ay-Oh We Will Rock You We Are the Champions God Save the Queen

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Episode 87: Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward (1984) Part 1

The summer is still in full swing, and it has kept Brian and Sarah rather busy and without a lot of time to discuss an album in depth. But our hosts have made time to discuss a very important album in their lives— Depeche Mode’s fourth effort, Some Great Reward. The 35th anniversary of Some Great Reward’s release will be coming up soon, so it seemed like a good time to do an exploration of this classic record.

Part 1 - Album History This is the third Depeche Mode album without founding member Vince Clarke, and the second for which at least some of it was recorded at the famous Hansa studios in Berlin. Brian talks about where the band was in their development at this time, and both Brian and Sarah go into the process of recording the album, which included shaking buildings, “construction time again” (but not what you’re thinking), and a trip to a toy store. Of course, the usual release and chart information is also provided, although not without some confusion on the part of both hosts, due to conflicting information on various websites, including Depeche Mode’s own page!

Part 2 - Personal History In this section of the episode, Brian explains that he has, in fact, already told the story of how he first came to know about this album. If you’ve listened to other episodes of this show and are wondering why you don’t remember hearing that tale, well, Brian explains that too. Sarah’s story for this album is very similar to ones she has told before, although she does add in some information about hearing the song “People Are People” on the radio back in 1985.

Part 3 - Track by Track After a quick break to share some important voicemail messages, Brian and Sarah get down to covering the five tracks on Side One, which includes one of the most recognizable songs by Depeche Mode, and perhaps even of the 80s. The hosts once again come up with interesting and sometimes amusing descriptions of the sounds they hear in the various songs, and they talk about how both Dave’s vocals and Martin’s lyrics have matured. Brian also mentions his initial confusion regarding band members and their roles, and in one case, even their appearance. And finally, how does Bruce Springsteen make his way into this episode??

Something to Do Lie to Me People Are People It Doesn’t Matter Stories of Old

See the videos discussed here:

People Are People

Stories of Old - Bare

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Episode 86: Movie Review: “The Cure - Anniversary 1978-2018 Live in Hyde Park London” (2019)

It’s been quite some time since Brian and Sarah published an “emergency episode” of the Permanent Record Podcast, but they both decided recent circumstances called for one. Our hosts attended a special screening of the Tim Pope film “The Cure Anniversary 1978-2018 Live in Hyde Park London” on July 11, and since they a) enjoyed the film immensely and b) are still on a “Cure High” after spending the month of May talking about the iconic album “Disintegration,” they decided to devote an episode to talking about the movie they just watched.

It should come as no surprise that both Brian and Sarah very much enjoyed Tim Pope’s cinematic treatment of The Cure’s 2018 concert in London's Hyde Park, which took place almost exactly 40 years to the day from the first live performance by The Cure, at The Rocket in Crawley, England. Brian sets forth a plan for the two of them to break the 29-song setlist into groups of five songs each, with each host focusing on a particular song of each five-song group. However, as the discussion progresses, they both find themselves unable to limit their commentary that strictly, and they pretty much end up talking about almost every song.

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Episode 85: Forgotten 80s II - The Eighties Strike Back (Fiction Factory, Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn, Kon Kan, The Ocean Blue)

 

Another busy summer is already underway for Brian and Sarah, so they decided to do a second volume of a listener-suggested idea from last year: Forgotten 80s songs. (Thanks again for the idea, Charles Cotham!)  Each host selected two songs that may have faded from-- or never even made it to-- people's memories, and the ensuing discussion for each song covers the typical topics such as release history, chart positions, and videos.  Also in this episode, Brian shocks Sarah by professing his love of a particular childhood game, Brian sings the praises of a particular on-line music subscription service that he recently discovered, and both Brian and Sarah are happy to have the opportunity to discuss their recent front-row attendance at an Ocean Blue concert, where not only was the "forgotten 80s" song played, but also songs from their fantastic just-released new album.

Fiction Factory - (Feels Like) Heaven Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn - One Day Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon The Ocean Blue - Between Something and Nothing

See the videos we discuss here:

Fiction Factory - (Feels Like) Heaven

Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn - One Day

Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon

The Ocean Blue - Between Something and Nothing

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Episode 84: Power Hour 1984: (The Police, Wham!, Prince, FGTH, Scandal, Van Halen)

The month of June is here, and the official start to summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) is just days away. For something different to kick off the summer, Sarah came up with the idea of doing an episode on the music of 1984 for episode 84. Brian added a twist to the idea by framing the discussion around a "power hour," where participants drink a shot of an alcoholic beverage (something mild, like beer or cider) every minute for sixty minutes. And to make things even more interesting and fun, occasional guest host Colby Zell was invited to participate as well.

 

Each of the three hosts report the beverage they'll be drinking during the "power hour," and then as the clock starts, they read a very recent article that talks about how 1984 was voted as the best year in pop music since the inception of the pop music charts. Then Colby, Sarah, and Brian take turns drawing random songs out of a hat (yes, an actual hat). All the songs were listed in Rolling Stone magazine's article  "100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop’s Greatest Year." Some lively, circuitous, and humorous discussions ensue as the songs are chosen and the beverages are consumed.

The Police - Wrapped Around Your Finger Wham! - Careless Whisper Prince - When Doves Cry Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax Scandal Featuring Patty Smyth - The Warrior Van Halen - Hot For Teacher

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 2 - From Russia With Love

For a year or so now, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In this second episode, a fantastic musical team is assembled to create the soundtrack to Bond's sophomore theatrical adventure.  John Barry, Lionel Bart, Matt Monro, and Don Black are all on hand as Barry takes the lead on the score for the first time.  And while he doesn't get the theme song assignment quite yet, Bart and Monro knock it out of the park! 

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Episode 83: The Cure - Disintegration (1989) Part 4

The month of May is coming to an end, and so is Brian and Sarah’s in-depth look at The Cure’s 1989 album, Disintegration. But before they begin their discussion of the last four songs, they have some other news and information to talk about. First, friend of the show Alan Hogg shared a review of the first Disintegration 30th anniversary concert in Sydney, and Brian reads some excerpts of that review. Then, the hosts turn their attention to an unfortunate time period in the history of The Cure, when co-founder Lol Tolhurst sued the band after being kicked out right after the recording of this album.

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

After that, it’s time for Brian and Sarah to pick up where they left off, starting with song two of Side Two. There are no more singles or videos, but our hosts find no lack of things to discuss as they continue to traverse the sonic landscape of the album’s second side. As with the previous three episodes, the topics of instrumentation, lyrics, and possible song meanings find their way into the conversation. Additionally, quotes and memories from both Robert Smith and Roger O’Donnell help bring some color and authenticity (well, the authenticity is highly suspect, in the case of Mr. Smith!) to the discussion.

The Same Deep Water As You Disintegration Homesick Untitled

Part 4 - Final Review and Rating

Since every episode for this album has started off with various tidbits of Cure news and history, there is no Extra Credit section this time. And so, after many hours of discussion and analysis, it comes down to the final reviews and ratings from each of the hosts. It’s probably not too difficult to guess how many record adapters Disintegration gets from both Brian and Sarah. But it may be a surprise to hear what else they both have to say about their ratings.

 

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Episode 82: The Cure -Disintegration (1989) Part 3

The 30th anniversary celebration of The Cure's seminal 1989 release, Disintegration, continues this week. But before our hosts resume the track-by-track  discussion, they have some more recent updates to share. Sarah announces plans for a Cure documentary to be shown in cinemas this summer, and Brian explains why he no longer believes Robert Smith's earlier claim of a Halloween release for the new Cure album. He then shares some information about the cover art for Disintegration.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

The track-by-track discussion picks up partway through Side One, and Brian and Sarah once again find plenty of things to talk about with this batch of four songs. Like last week, two of the songs were singles; however, one of these singles was only released in one country. And unlike last week, both hosts like both of the videos for the singles quite a lot. Also during the discussion, Brian shares some more memories related to the songs, and Sarah continues to both amuse and annoy Brian by providing the track-by-track comments from a particularly unfavorable album review. And speaking of reviews, have you ever wondered what Holly Johnson thinks about the song "Lullaby?" Well, you can find out during this episode!

Last Dance Lullaby Fascination Street Prayers for Rain

See the videos discussed here:

Lullaby

Lego shot-by-shot remake of Lullaby video

Fascination Street

 

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Episode 81: The Cure -Disintegration (1989) Part 2

Brian and Sarah are recovered from colds (yes, Sarah got a cold right after Brian, resulting in two terrible-sounding hosts last week!) and ready to resume their look back at one of the most significant albums in not only their own lives, but also in the world of New Wave music.  Disintegration by The Cure is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, and much like the album itself, Brian and Sarah's coverage of Disintegration is going to be similarly long. There's just too much to say about it to condense into two episodes!

 

Last week's episode ended with some reviews from the period of the album's release. This week the hosts pick up the discussion by sharing more recent reviews of Disintegration, and they both find it interesting how the tone of most of the more recent reviews is different from the initial reviews.

Part 3 - Track by Track

And finally, it's time to start discussing the songs! Because this album has twelve tracks on it, it seemed to make the most sense to break up the song discussion into chunks of four songs at a time. So, for this episode, Brian and Sarah cover the first four tracks on Side One. Two of the songs were singles and have videos for them-- one of which Brian likes much better than the other. Two of the songs-- but not the same two-- were used in movies. And, one of the songs was used in a commercial-- but was it really appropriate? Also mentioned in this episode: Gregorian chants, two James Bond actors, Frank Sinatra, Robert Smith's propensity to lie, and an amazing b-side with which one of the hosts was obsessed. Sarah also brings up not one, but two stories from this time period which she hopes will improve her terrible performance during the Personal History segment in the previous episode.

Plainsong Pictures of You Closedown Lovesong

See the videos discussed here:

Pictures of You

Lovesong

HP Digital Photography commercial

 

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Episode 80: The Cure - RnR HOF 2019 & "Disintegration" (1989) Part 1

Hi folks! Brian here. Sarah didn't write her usual well-organized and amusing show notes for this episode yet, but I am ready to post it. And while on the episode I will mention that I am suffering from some seasonal allergies, it turns out that what I really have is a super-annoying cold with sore throat, cough, and congestion. This cold has me feeling much less than witty!

Because of that, these show notes are really sub-standard. 

Here is what you will find on this particular episode of the podcast:

1. A discussion of The Cure's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

2. A good number of details about the recording of the 1989 album "Disintegration."

3. A look back at some of the reviews of the aforementioned record from various publications.

4. Brian and Sarah's sad/sexy personal histories with this record.

While we don't talk about any particular songs in this installment, I added a few early demos in the background to help get you in the mood and to give you something to listen to other than my stuffy, sick voice.

We hope everyone is well and check back next episode for more of Sarah's excellent show notes!!

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PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 1 - The James Bond Theme

For a year or so now, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast!

This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere!

In this first episode, Monty Norman's "The James Bond Theme" is discussed, from its humble origins in an EON Film Production office all the way up to England's High Court of Justice.  It's crazy, but shouldn't be too surprising for a song which has thrilled millions for 57 years now.

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Episode 79: Men At Work - Business As Usual (1982) Part 3

After an unexpected delay, Brian and Sarah are finally back to finish their discussion on Men At Work's debut album, Business As Usual.  They had many positive things to say about the songs on Side One, but will that be the case for Side Two as well?

 

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued

There's only one single on Side Two, and it has yet another low-budget but entertaining video. It also has some interesting release/chart history, as Sarah explains. So does that mean the other songs on Side Two are just album filler? Our two hosts debate that as they go through the track listing. There's also a lot of educational information in this section of the episode. Sarah gives a brief account of the Hindu caste system and also explains the history of and differences between ska and reggae music. Brian shares some anecdotes about the relationship between Ron Strykert and Colin Hay over the years, and he also tells a story about a rather inept British merchant sailor.

People Just Love to Play with Words Be Good Johnny Touching the Untouchables Catch a Star Down by the Sea

Part 4 - Extra Credit

After Part Two of the Business As Usual podcast was released, our hosts heard from Australian friend of the show Terry Kemp, who shared some insight on what he thought the song "Underground" was really about. Brian did some digging (pun intended) and learned some disturbing facts about the asbestos mining industry in Australia, which he shares in this segment.

 

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

It's often not too difficult to guess how Brian and Sarah are going to end up rating an album;  however, Business as Usual probably doesn't fall in that category. While both hosts seemed to love all of Side One, the discussion of Side Two elicited more critical comments, especially from one of the hosts. But how low do they go with their ratings? You'll have to listen to the end to find out!

 

See the videos discussed here:

Be Good Johnny

Solla Solla Enna Parumai - from the movie "Ellam Inbamayam"

 

 

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Episode 78: Men At Work - Business As Usual (1982) Part 2

It's time to resume the discussion of the debut album from the Australian band, Men At Work, in this - the first PRP episode to be released under protest from one of the hosts!

Business As Usual  was a huge international success and contained several hits. In the previous episode, Brian and Sarah talked about the band's first big single,  which also happened to be the first song on the album. But they didn't get past track two, which means there are three more songs from Side One to discuss in this episode.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued

Picking up the discussion with track three means our hosts get to talk about another monster hit and another goofy video. There's also an unfortunate legal situation that has to be brought up. On a lighter note, Brian quizzes Sarah on the meanings of some song lyrics, Sarah continues marveling at some of the fashion choices the band members--particularly the drummer-- made, and once again, breakfast cereal is mentioned. Next, there is talk of war.  And finally, later in the episode, Brian reveals the plot of the low-budget sci-fi movie he dreams of making.

Down Under Underground Helpless Automaton

See the video discussed here:

Down Under

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Episode 77: Men At Work - Business As Usual (1982) Part 1

 

It's time once again for Brian and Sarah to discuss a classic album, and for the first time, they've  chosen an effort from an Australian band. The band is Men at Work, and the album is Business As Usual. This debut LP was released in Australia in 1981, but it didn't make it to the USA and the UK until 1982.

 

Part 1 - Album History

As this is Men at Work's first album, our hosts take some time to talk about the formation of the band and the events leading up to the recording of Business As Usual. Then the focus turns to the release and eventual worldwide success of the album, which has Brian and Sarah sharing information about chart positions, records set and broken, and awards won by the band. They also take turns reading reviews, and Brian shares some interesting information about the album cover art and the unlikely artist who designed it.

 

Part 2 - Personal History

Business As Usual is an album that neither Brian nor Sarah owned back in the day. However, they were both very familiar with the singles, and one of them did actually own one of the singles-- and even had to buy another copy due to the first one wearing out! Brian also reveals what finally led him to purchase the album many years later.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track

For this episode, Brian and Sarah cover the first two tracks on Side One. The first song is one of the most recognizable singles of the New Wave era, and our hosts spend a lot of time talking about it, its release history, and the video.  As is common with early 80s videos, there are some interesting fashion selections to discuss. And Sarah takes great pleasure in Brian having to once again recant his infamous statement about saxophones, which he made way back in Episode 16.

Who Can It Be Now? I Can See It in Your Eyes

 

See the videos discussed here:

Who Can It Be Now?

 

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Episode 76: Permanent Record Trivia Showdown 2019

 

This episode finds Brian and Sarah facing off in a battle of wits! They're joined by longtime friend Hans Lemke, who presides over this heated competition.

In preparation for this showdown, our hosts asked the listeners for music trivia questions, and the response was quite impressive! Brian and Sarah want to thank Boys Make Noise, Dave Delea, Andrew Dineley, Fragile Gods, James Perrin, Tom Richey, and Paul Underwood for sending in questions for the challenge.

Just how well do Brian and Sarah do answering music-related questions when they don't have hours to research the answers? And who emerges victorious in the end? Listen and find out!

Listen to Boys Make Noise's Duran Duran-inspired podcast "The D-Side" at http://thedside.libsyn.com/

Listen to Andrew Dineley's "Art on Your Sleeve" podcast at https://softoctopus.co.uk/category/podcast/

Listen to Fragile God's fantastic synth-heavy music at https://fragilegods.bandcamp.com/

Listen to Paul Underwood's "Glory Days Radio" at https://koxe.com/glory-days/

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Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 75: Queen - The Works (1984) Part 2

 

The second episode of 2019 is here, and it's all about the second side of the 1984 Queen album The Works! But before Brian and Sarah resume their discussion, they share a voicemail they received from Paul Underwood, a listener and fellow podcast host who called the PRP voicemail number (724-490-8324) and left a message with his thoughts on the album and the band. The number is always available for folks to share their memories and insights on the artists and albums discussed on the show.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

The first side of The Works contained quite a variety of musical styles, and when our hosts flip the record, they discover that theme continues. Each of the five songs on Side Two have a unique sound, and some break new ground even for a band that's famous for experimenting.  Two more singles and two more videos are found on Side Two, including what's likely the most infamous Queen video of all. But in addition to those videos, Brian and Sarah end up discussing another video of the same era, which seems to have coincidental connections to one of the songs on Side Two. They also return to a familiar subject-- songs used in commercials.  Our hosts reveal that Coca-Cola really seems to like using a particular Queen song in their ads. But how did Brian and Sarah ever get on the subject of the longest-running children's program in the UK, which Sarah seems to have enthusiastically embraced?

Machines (Or 'Back to Humans') I Want to Break Free Keep Passing the Open Windows Hammer to Fall Is This the World We Created...?

Part 4 - Extra Credit

The recording sessions for The Works generated a lot of songs, but only nine made it to the album. However, thirty years later, one of the songs that had been left unfinished showed up on a Queen compilation album. For extra credit, Brian and Sarah discuss the history of "Let Me In Your Heart Again."

 

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

Sarah goes first with her review and rating, and she starts off by sharing some thoughts Brian May had about the album at the time. She goes on to discuss whether or not she agreed with him, explaining her own views on The Works at the same time. This approach seemed to keep Brian in suspense for a while regarding her final rating, so perhaps it will do the same for the listeners too. Brian's review begins with a quick assessment of the several albums prior to The Works, before talking about the individual songs and finally, the album as a whole. He even explains where this album ranks for him among all the Queen studio albums.

 

See the videos discussed here:

I Want to Break Free

Lotto Commercial

Hyundai Commercial

Coke C2 Commercial

Coke Zero Sugar Commercial

Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson

Hammer to Fall

Let Me In Your Heart Again

 

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Episode 74: Queen - The Works (1984) Part 1

 

After an extended break, first due to holiday celebrations, then due to winter colds, Brian and Sarah are finally back and ready to talk classic albums!  The first record up for discussion in 2019 is one the duo had originally planned to cover in 2018: Queen's 1984 endeavor, The Works. Brian and Sarah originally chose this album because of the release of the Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. And our hosts are happy to report that Bohemian Rhapsody is still in the public spotlight, winning two Golden Globes and receiving five Oscar nominations-- not to mention the more than $800 million in worldwide box-office receipts it's earned.  So our hosts have dusted off their notes-- and their microphones-- and are giving you The Works! (Well, just the first side for now!)

 

Part 1 - Album History

This album could be considered contradictory, in that it represents both a break from-- and a return to-- the past. As Brian and Sarah explain in this episode, the break from the past is Queen's decision to finally part ways with the Elektra record label. The return to the past refers to the content of the album, which confirms the musical experiment of Hot Space was just that-- an experiment.  Our hosts discuss the circumstances prior to and during the recording of the album, and they talk about how the album was received all over the world, but particularly in America. And this section wouldn't be complete without chart position statistics, album reviews, and album art information, so they bring that to you as well.

 

Part 2 - Personal History

Following a common theme for this portion of the podcast, Sarah says her personal history of this album is tied to Brian's personal history. However, by the time Brian purchased this album (on CD, not cassette!), he and Sarah were already dating, so there was no need for him to make her a 'backup copy.' Brian's personal history for The Works includes a rather remarkable show of patience and restraint (for him, anyway!), despite persuasion from the local record merchant.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track

Our hosts jump into the track-by-track discussion with a great lead-off song-- and perhaps an even greater video. Side One of The Works only has four songs, but it contains quite a variety of musical styles. Brian and Sarah have a lot of fun discussing the songs and the videos. Along the way, they mention such 80s staples as REALLY big hair, shoulder pads, drum machines and synthesizers; but they also find reason to talk about Jerry Lee Lewis, opera, clowns, prawns and Zardoz!!

Radio Ga Ga Tear It Up It's a Hard Life Man on the Prowl

See the videos discussed here:

Radio Ga Ga

It's a Hard Life

The Cross - Power to Love

"It's a Hard Life" sung by Tom Chaplin (Keane) at the Prince's Trust, 2011

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Episode 73: Selections from "A Very Special Christmas" (1987) - Eurythmics, Alison Moyet, Sting, Pretenders

For the last episode of 2018, Brian and Sarah have chosen to talk about selections from the 1987 charity album "A Very Special Christmas." But before they get into that discussion, they have several other things to mention: congratulatory wishes to 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Cure and Roxy Music, a couple of five-star iTunes reviews, and a reminder about this year's holiday giveaway!  It's a great way to start a Pet Shop Boys collection of your very own!

 

Then, our hosts turn their attention to the first album in a series which has raised a great deal of money for the Special Olympics organization. They discuss the origins and making of the album, its release and chart history, and a couple of reviews from the time. Then Sarah and Brian take turns leading the discussion on four songs from the album, during which a small competition breaks out over whose song is the oldest. It's also revealed that not all of the songs are truly Christmas songs, and one of them is about a particularly gruesome topic! Sarah mentions both the cover artist and one of the song's lyricists have ties to Pennsylvania, and Brian explains the musical term "Picardy Third." Both hosts end the episode by once again thanking all their listeners for their support, feedback, and friendship throughout the year.

Brian and Sarah are both looking forward to recording more episodes in 2019!

Song Selections: Eurythmics - Winter Wonderland Alison Moyet - Coventry Carol Sting - Gabriel's Message Pretenders - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

 

Watch the video discussed here:

Sting - Gabriel's Message

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Episode 72: "Bohemian Rhapsody" movie and Queen - "Thank God It's Christmas" (1984)

Another holiday season is upon us, and our hosts have found themselves snowed under (pun intended) with festive preparations. So instead of discussing the Queen album "The Works" (which will now be done in the new year), they're offering up something they've never done before-- a movie discussion! No, Sarah hasn't finally given in to Brian doing an entire James Bond podcast; the movie in question is the recently released Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, "Bohemian Rhapsody."

 

You may know by now that Brian and Sarah are huge Queen fans and were therefore anxiously awaiting the release of this movie. And now that they've seen it several times(!), they decided to share their thoughts on it with each other-- and you!

 

However, in keeping with the theme of the show, Brian and Sarah do also discuss a record -- Queen's 1984 Christmas single, "Thank God It's Christmas." They share the usual information about the release, the chart position, the making of, and lots of other fun tidbits and trivia.

 

Be sure to listen to the end, though, to learn about this year's holiday giveaway! This year, Brian and Sarah hope to provide TWO lucky listeners with music-related prizes!

Hear the festive songs we discuss:

Queen - Thank God It's Christmas

Anita Dobson (with Brian May & John Deacon) - I Dream of Christmas

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Episode 71: Summer of Sharing - Frankie Goes To Hollywood and ABBA

This summer, we asked our listeners to help us spread the word about the podcast and many of you did!  We really appreciated the assist, and we rewarded one lucky friend-of-the-show with his own personal episode! 

Our winner, the magnanimous Terry Kemp, reached out to us this past week and said that he was willing to share his special episode with the world!  Such a nice move on his part!

And so this is it!  Terry asked us to discuss Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax" and ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" - two very different, but two very excellent, pop singles.  We hope you will enjoy listening to Terry's podcast and maybe learn a thing or two about these bands, one famous and one infamous!

Please note that while the Frankie segment doesn't contain any profanity, it does discuss the lyrical content of the song, which is quite adult.  We don't say anything that couldn't be broadcast on the radio, but a few mature topics come up.

FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 1

FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 2

FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 3

FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 4

ABBA - "The WInner Takes It All"

 

Episode 70: Pet Shop Boys - Introspective (1988) Part 2

 

As you may recall, in the previous episode, Brian and Sarah were joined by Andrew Dineley (Classic Pop Magazine contributor, host of the "Art on your Sleeve" podcast, and world-renowned Pet-Head!) to discuss the Pet Shop Boys album Introspective. Thankfully, Andrew agreed to call again --otherwise, this second part of this discussion would have been very lopsided.

 

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued

As the trio flip the record to discuss the three tracks on side two, a lot of interesting topics come up-- some expected, and others, not so much. Of course, having a graphic designer and self-confessed Pet Head on the show means there's talk about sleeve covers, including limited edition 12-inch singles, and Andrew admits he valiantly tried collecting as many of them as possible.  Also, on the subject of admitting things, Brian admits he has quite the crush on Eighth Wonder-era Patsy Kensit. From that springs a discussion of two things she has in common with Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde.  Other subjects mentioned include babies, French civil unrest, babysitting, the Mix-Master Phil Harding, "fantastically pretentious" lyrics, Chris Lowe vocals, and-- in what's sure to be a one-time occurrence-- Willie Nelson! And, Brian's trifecta is achieved-- he gets to talk about James Bond AND Batman while discussing pop music!

I'm Not Scared Always on My Mind/In My House It's Alright

Part 4 - Extra Credit

As the discussion of Introspective wraps up, the three hosts look deeper into a question they've touched on in both episodes: Did the lower chart positions of this album's and future releases correspond to the quality of the duo's output?

 

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

Brian decides to go first with his final review and record-adapter rating. Sarah's lack of personal history with this album makes her a bit of a wild card in the review and rating category. Finally, comes the review and rating everyone's been waiting for: the one from Andrew Dineley. Will he go all out and give Introspective a 5 out of 5? There's only one way to find out!

 

See the videos here:

I'm Not Scared - Eighth Wonder

Always On My Mind

It's Alright

 

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Episode 69: Pet Shop Boys - Introspective (1988) Part 1

 

Brian and Sarah are thrilled to once again welcome Andrew Dineley to the show. Andrew is a graphic designer, contributor to Classic Pop magazine, and host of the excellent podcast Art On Your Sleeve. He's also a self-confessed, long-time Pet Head, so it seemed only fitting to include him in a 30th-anniversary look at the Pet Shop Boys 1988 album, Introspective.

Part 1 - Album History

 

This third studio album by the Pet Shop Boys finds the duo breaking from traditions, both their own and that of the music industry in general. The format, production, and visual design of Introspective  differ significantly from the first two albums, and the three hosts take some time to discuss these differences and what impact they may have had on the album's chart positions and sales around the world. And of course, having a graphic designer on the show means Sarah and Brian can ask lots of questions about the design of the album cover, which Andrew obligingly answers.

 

Part 2 - Personal History

Both Andrew and Brian share some fond memories of obtaining the album, with Andrew's stories of British record shop extras evoking some jealousy from his American co-hosts. Sarah, however, earns yet another failing score in the "personal history" category for this album. Thank goodness for the other two!

 

Part 3 - Track by Track

Side One contains three songs, but they're all extended in length. So, too, is the discussion of the songs by the three hosts. Andrew, Brian, and Sarah find plenty of things to talk about with these tracks, including: Trevor Horn, house music, freestyle music, triple meanings, an enjoyable video, and a rather boring video--oh, and come to think of it, lists!

Left to My Own Devices I Want a Dog Domino Dancing

See the videos here:

Left to My Own Devices

Domino Dancing

 

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Episode 68: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) Part 3

Brian and Sarah are just about ready to flip Duran Duran's second  album over to side two and check out what awaits them there. Before they do that though, they happily share some more five-star reviews from iTunes, and they congratulate the winner of the Summer of Sharing contest, Terry Kemp!  Thanks to everyone who participated and helped to spread the word about the show!

Part 3: Track by Track, Continued

Side Two of Rio only contains four songs, but that doesn't prevent Brian and Sarah from having a long, detailed discussion about the four songs and the two videos. During that discussion, Gordon Lightfoot is mentioned again and Human League is mentioned twice! And Brian, having tried valiantly to avoid it for two episodes, finally goes into full-blown James Bond Podcast mode! (It was inevitable, wasn't it?) 

New Religion Last Chance on the Stairway Save a Prayer The Chauffeur

Part 4: Extra Credit

After such an in-depth discussion of an important album by a prominent New Wave band, Brian is hoping Sarah has come up with a worthy extra credit question.  Once she asks it, Brian's reaction makes it clear he's quite satisfied with it! You'll have to listen to find out what it is, though!

Part 5: Final Review and Rating

Now that they've spent several hours talking about the album Rio, the time has finally come for our hosts to give their final reviews and record-adapter ratings.  They've both said some very complimentary things about the songs along the way, but will the fact that neither Brian nor Sarah owned this album back in the day factor into their assessments?

Bonus Feature: Sarah's Secret Song Snippet

This time the bonus feature isn't at the beginning of the episode, or at the end! Brian decides to change things up and introduce the feature somewhere in the middle of the discussion. Sarah's prepared for this, although she is a little worried her song snippet is another really easy one.

See the videos here:

Save a Prayer

The Chauffeur

Orchestral version of The Chauffeur in Christian Dior show

 

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Episode 67: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) - Part 2

 

Never before has it taken Brian more than two days to edit an episode, but this week, while working on part two of the discussion of Duran Duran's classic 1982 album "Rio," it seems that he wasn't up to the challenge!  But you know, years from now, when Brian & Sarah are two of the most popular podcast hosts in the world and almost everyone over the age of 40 either wears a P.R.P. shirt or sports a sweet P.R.P. tattoo, no one will remember that this episode was four days late - they'll just be really happy that it's available for download!

Track-by-Track (Continued):

So this week, your hosts finish up their discussion of side one, getting the opportunity to talk about some fantastic music, including the immortal classic "Hungry Like the Wolf." 

Other topics are also touched upon such as:

1. the incredibly disco-y first version of "My Own Way"
2. what's a better look - a red headband or a red scarf?
3. on which track does John Taylor's bass playing sound like a sea lion?
4. who is a better matador: Highlander's Adrian Paul or Host Brian? (hint: his FB poll question seems to indicate it's Brian!)
5. how many times did they have to release "Hungry Like the Wolf" before it finally became a US hit?
6. and so much more!!

This episode's songs:

My Own Way Lonely in your Nightmare Hungry Like the Wolf Hold Back the Rain

See the videos here:

My Own Way

Lonely in your Nightmare (Russell Mulcahy Version)

Lonely in your Nightmare (Video Album Version)

Lonely in your Nightmare (Split-screen comparison)

Hungry Like the Wolf

Bruce Campbell Old Spice Commercial

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Episode 66: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) - Part 1

 

It's been quite a while since our hosts have covered an entire album, so they're ready to get back to doing an in-depth discussion. And this is a group that they've been promising to cover for quite some time now: the Fab Five, Duran Duran! It's kind of hard to believe there hasn't been a Duran Duran episode yet, but Brian and Sarah are about to make up for that, by choosing to discuss the group's seminal 1982 release, "Rio."

 

Part 1 - Album History

 

Since this is such an important New Wave album, and since Brian and Sarah haven't covered Duran Duran previously, they decide to take a lot of time to talk about the history of the album and the band's situation at the time. Our hosts go into depth about the making of the album, the rather confusing release history in America, the chart positions all over the world, and some reviews from then and now. Brian also makes sure to talk about the iconic album cover and the artist who provided the picture for it.

Part 2 - Personal History

 

This may be one of the more surprising-- and perhaps even embarrassing-- personal history discussions both Brian and Sarah have ever had. They both profess to being long-time Duran Duran fans, but it may shock the listeners to learn when "Rio" finally made it into the hosts' record collections!

Part 3 - Track by Track

 

The first song on the album is, of course, the title track, and Brian and Sarah have a lot to say about "Rio" and its video. Release and chart information is shared, as well as a couple of reviews. Then they get into discussing how the song was put together, which involves an early member of Duran Duran.  Sarah gets to once again poke fun at Brian regarding saxophone solos, and they both poke some gentle fun at Simon Le Bon and some of his vocal tendencies.  At the same time, they also staunchly defend him against critics who often won’t even compliment the singer without making it a backhanded compliment. Both hosts talk excitedly about the video, which neither of them remembered very well apart from the end. Also mentioned are questionable fashion choices, comic books, and (not surprisingly) James Bond. All of this lively discussion takes up a lot of time, so they decide to end the episode after track one.

Rio

See the video here:

Rio

 

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Episode 65: Summer 2018 Concert Recap (Depeche Mode, Chromeo, Erasure, Pretenders, Thomas Dolby, Tom Bailey, Culture Club, The Fixx)

The passing of Labor Day marks the unofficial end to summer, and Brian and Sarah decide it's a good time to look back on what they've been calling their "Summer of Concerts." From the beginning of June to the end of August, our hosts had the opportunity to see quite a few concerts, and it should be no surprise to learn many of the artists have been previously discussed on this podcast.

 

Brian and Sarah take turns sharing highlights and memories from each show they attended over the summer.  They saw several acts for the first time and also visited some new venues. During their recap, Sarah declares Brian's friend Beil to be a bad luck charm for Depeche Mode shows. She also confesses about how uptight she was during The Pretenders concert, which Brian agrees was for a valid reason. Both Brian and Sarah laugh about the funny things Andy Bell said while he was fighting a cold, and they both gush about the surprising opening song from the Culture Club show.

 

One other topic of discussion in this episode is Sarah's Secret Song snippet. Brian reveals that for the first time, Sarah has finally stumped the audience with the snippet in the previous episode. He plays a longer clip so people can learn what song it was. Sarah then admits she may have overcompensated on this episode's snippet by making it too easy. Time will tell!

1. Depeche Mode at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA (June 3, 2018)
2. Chromeo at the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (June 11, 2018)
3. The Pretenders at The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD (June 29, 2018)
4. Styx and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts at the Giant Center, Hershey, PA (June 30, 2018)
5. Erasure at the Warner Theatre, Washington, DC (July 20, 2018)
6. Killer Queen (Queen Tribute Band) at the York Strand Theater, York, PA (July 21, 2018)
7. Tom Bailey at Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD (July 24, 2018)
8. Thomas Dolby at the Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA (August 1, 2018)
9. Tom Bailey and Culture Club at the Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ (August 3, 2018)
10. The Fixx at New Hope Winery, New Hope, PA (August 29, 2018)

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Episode 64: Selections from "The Wedding Singer" Soundtrack, Vol. 2 (A Flock of Seagulls, Kajagoogoo, Madonna, Spandau Ballet)

This week Brian and Sarah return to the movies-- or at least to a movie soundtrack. They pick up where they left off, discussing songs from "The Wedding Singer,"  with this episode covering songs from Volume 2 of the soundtrack. Before they get into the song discussion,  though, Brian and Sarah mention that they watched the movie again before recording this episode. They reveal they had both forgotten about an extra scene on the DVD that wasn't in the theatrical release or on the VHS tape.

Track Selections

Volume 2 of the soundtrack is also full of some great 80s classics-- several of which will surely be discussed in future episodes, along with the rest of the album they're from. However, our hosts were each able to find two songs from the soundtrack to talk about. The topic of one-hit wonders comes up as these songs are discussed, as well as terrible hair, tiny microphones, and-- more than once-- Duran Duran. (When are these guys are ever going to do a Duran Duran episode, anyway?)

A Flock of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song Kajagoogoo - Too Shy Madonna - Holiday Spandau Ballet - True

A Flock of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song

Kajagoogoo - Too Shy

Madonna - Holiday

Spandau Ballet - True

 

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Episode 63: Selections from "The Wedding Singer" Soundtrack, Vol. 1 (The Police, Billy Idol, The Smiths, New Order)

Brian and Sarah are back once again to discuss some classic songs from the 80s.  But this time instead of discussing an album's worth of songs by a single artist or group, they've chosen several songs from a movie soundtrack. The movie is "The Wedding Singer," which was released in 1998, but takes place in 1985. This movie has two soundtracks associated with it, and in this episode, songs from Volume 1 are discussed.

Personal History

"The Wedding Singer" holds a special place in the hearts of our hosts, not just because it's set in the 80s, but because it came out mere months before their own wedding. Brian and Sarah spend a few minutes discussing the time period of the movie's release and some of their memories associated with it.

Track Selections

Since many of the songs on this soundtrack have either been discussed in a prior episode or will likely be discussed in a future episode, our hosts choose songs that they probably wouldn't get to talk about otherwise. Brian and Sarah select two songs each and explain where in the movie the songs can be heard. They also go over the regular information like release dates, chart position, music, lyrics, and videos. And although this episode does naturally lend itself to more of a movie discussion than most of the others, Brian starts talking about a James Bond movie rather than "The Wedding Singer." Sarah once again has to get him back on track. Also in this episode, Brian and Sarah both admit their teenage fear of Billy Idol; Brian shares conflicting stories from band members about the making of a song, and yet another soda commercial is discussed!

The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Billy Idol - White Wedding The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? New Order - Blue Monday

The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Billy Idol - White Wedding

The Smiths - How Soon is Now?

New Order - Blue Monday (1983 version)

New Order - Blue Monday (1988 version)

New Order - Sunkist Commercial

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Episode 62: Information Society - Information Society (1988) Part 2

 

Brian and Sarah take some time during their "Summer of Concerts" to resume their discussion on the 1988 major-label debut album from the American band Information Society.  In Part 1, an Apple IIe computer helped determine the order of the songs to be discussed. Unfortunately, the machine couldn't handle all that pressure and shut down soon afterwards, so for this episode, our hosts are left to determine the song order themselves.

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

There's a mixture of songs from both Side One and Side Two to talk about, and our hosts decide to leave the biggest song for last. Or do they? Part of their discussion centers on the fact that depending on the audience, Information Society's 'biggest hit' varies among three different songs. Brian and Sarah also talk about two more videos, more Star Trek samples, a radio publicity stunt gone awry, and Amanda Kramer's top ten foods, most of which don't seem to be actual foods!

Something in the Air Over the Sea Repetition Tomorrow What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)

Part 4 - Extra Credit

Since Brian and Sarah spent quite a bit of time discussing freestyle music over these two episodes, they decide to review a list of the "top 100 freestyle songs," and each of them chooses their favorite song from the list.

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

Both hosts have said some pretty good things about this album all the way through, although this episode did have a few more negative comments from each of them than Part 1 did. But you'll have to listen to the end to see how much of a difference that makes to their final record-adapter ratings!

Bonus  Feature - Sarah's Secret Song Snippet

 Sarah's Secret Song Snippet is back, and Brian thinks this one is the most difficult yet! Sarah starts expressing some regrets, but it's too late to turn back now! Listen to the end and then message the hosts with your guess, for your chance to be "Sarah's Secret Song Snippet Star of the Week!"

See the videos we discuss here:

Repetition

What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)

 

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Episode 61:  Information Society "Information Society" 1988 Part One

This week we are talking about Information Society's 1988 big-label debut "Information Society."  It's a great mix of synth-pop and freestyle - a fact that Brian didn't even know until this week!  If you like either upbeat dance music or songs with Star Trek samples, this is the episode for you!!

This week, with the help of an old Apple IIe computer, Sarah and Brian discuss the following tracks:

Lay All Your Love On Me Running Make It Funky Attitude Walking Away

Here's the video we discuss:

Walking Away

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Episode 60:  Summer 2018 Mix Tape, Part Two - Blancmange, Hipsway, Breathe, Danny Elfman

 

As the official start of Summer 2018 inches ever closer, there's important work to be done-- finishing the Summer Mix Tape! It's a job for none other than the Fantastic Four: Brian, Sarah, Colby Zell, and "The Hustle" podcast host, Jon Lamoreaux! (We'll leave it up to you do to decide which host matches which member of Marvel's First Family, True-believers!)

Side One of the tape was definitely a mix of artists and song types. Side Two is no different, with even the order of the selections being mixed up. There's also a wide variety of topics discussed, such as 80s white boy dancing, naughty paintings, living off the grid, desserts, movie soundtracks, record label drama, and guys in goatskin pants. Also, for the second week in a row, the group talks about Vince Clarke (what does he have to do with Side Two?)  Man, that guy is EVERYWHERE!

Mix Tape Side Two 1. Colby's pick: Blancmange - Don't Tell Me 2. Sarah's pick: Hipsway - The Honeythief 3. Jon's pick: Breathe - Jonah 4. Brian's pick: Danny Elfman - Gratitude

See the videos we discuss here:

Blancmange - Don't Tell Me

Hipsway - The Honeythief

Breathe - Jonah (version 1)

Breathe - Jonah (version 2)

Danny Elfman - Gratitude

 

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Episode 59: Summer 2018 Mix Tape (Part 1) - Re-Flex, The Assembly, Ultravox, The B-52’s

June is here and that means summer is almost here too! To get ready for the season, Brian and Sarah thought it would be fun to compile another mix tape.  They asked last year's mix tape contributor and guest co-host Colby Zell to join in again, and he agreed. But this year's mix tape has yet another contributor-- and it's none other than Jon Lamoreaux, host of the excellent podcast The Hustle! Jon brings his wealth of knowledge and behind-the-scenes stories gained from his many interviews with musicians who've had at least a fleeting taste of fame in their careers.

Each host has chosen two songs to contribute to the mix tape; one for each side. In this episode, the songs for Side One are discussed, along with the artists, the albums the singles are from, and the videos. Some pretty strong opinions are voiced, and additionally, the following questions are answered: Who almost fell asleep listening to one of the songs? Who stole music from his sister? Which video brought to mind the 70's sci-fi movie Zardoz? And who is Feargal Sharkey's doppelganger?

Mix Tape Side One

1. Sarah's pick: Re-Flex - Politics of Dancing 2. Brian's pick: The Assembly - Never Never 3. Colby's pick: Ultravox - the Voice 4. Jon's pick: B-52's - Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland

See the videos we discuss here:

Re-Flex - The Politics of Dancing

The Assembly - Never Never

Ultravox - The Voice

The B-52's - Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland

 

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Episode 58: Forgotten 80s - Aztec Camera, Two Minds Crack, Red Flag, Animotion 

 

It's Memorial Day weekend here in the States, but that hasn't stopped Brian and Sarah from putting together another episode. This one is based on a listener idea; Charles Christiphe wrote in and suggested an episode about forgotten songs of the 80s. Brian and Sarah liked the idea a lot and decided to choose two songs each to discuss.  Thanks, Charles!! 

Sarah's first selection may not be forgotten in the UK, as it reached the top 20 back in 1983. However, it failed to appear on any American charts, so she stands by her choice - especially since Brian had never heard the song until last year.  The other three songs are arguably more obscure, but both hosts manage to find a good deal of information about the artists and the songs to share in this episode. Each song has a video to talk about as well-- although Brian was disappointed to realize he had a false memory of one of them. Also in this episode:  Brian actually passes up another chance to launch into another mini James Bond podcast! His excuse: with their air conditioning currently broken, the poor boy was "Crazy from the Heat!" And how did Sarah manage to tie this David Lee Roth/Van Halen reference to one of the bands she selected for this episode?

Aztec Camera - Oblivious Two Minds Crack - Cry Cry Cry Red Flag - Russian Radio Animotion - I Engineer

Bonus Feature: Sarah's Secret Song Snippet

The first installment of this new feature produced a winner quite quickly (congrats, Tommy R!) and Sarah acknowledges the selection may have been a bit too easy. She's hoping this week's secret song snippet will be a bit tougher, but still a lot of fun! Be sure to check Facebook and Twitter for the announcement of the winner!

 

See the videos we discuss here:

Aztec Camera - Oblivious

Two Minds Crack - Cry Cry Cry

Red Flag - Russian Radio

Animotion - I Engineer

Animotion singer Bill Wadhams on The Hustle Podcast

 

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Episode 57: a-ha - Stay on These Roads (1988) Part 2

 

After an unplanned break, Brian and Sarah are back to finish up their discussion of the third album by Norwegian group a-ha, 1988's "Stay on These Roads." The hosts first take a little time to share the latest iTunes reviews that have been rolling in since "The Innocents" episodes were posted, and they thank the new listeners who have found the podcast since then.

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

The discussion of the first side of "Stay on These Roads" left Brian feeling somewhat unhappy and conflicted about the album thus far. However, Side Two is a clean slate-- and Brian is eager to start talking about the songs. This change of attitude is likely due to the fact that the second side opens with a James Bond theme! And of course, this gives Brian the perfect opportunity to launch into yet another mini James Bond podcast--this one being probably the longest yet! Sarah tries valiantly, and finally succeeds, at bringing Brian back to focus on the rest of the songs on Side Two, as well as the videos. As with Side One, the videos (and the songs, actually) are a bit of a mixed bag. However, Brian and Sarah both agree on the extremely high level of adorableness (yes, that's a real word!) Morten has in one of the videos.  Additionally, Sarah has some suggestions for re-ordering the tracks on Side Two-- including perhaps leaving one of them off altogether!

The Living Daylights There's Never a Forever Thing Out of Blue Comes Green You Are the One You'll End Up Crying

Part 4 - Extra Credit

The mini James Bond podcast starts back up again in the Extra Credit segment, where Brian takes the opportunity to talk about the soundtrack for "The Living Daylights." He explains how this soundtrack introduced him to another pop group, The Pretenders. Plus, Sarah shares some trivia about a group the hosts have discussed in previous episodes, Pet Shop Boys, who also prepared some demo tracks for "The Living Daylights."

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

Sarah was the one who selected this album for discussion, so she decides to go first with her review and rating. She revisits the circumstances surrounding the creation of "Stay on These Roads," and she also draws several comparisons between this album and another album the hosts discussed back around episode 35. Those similarities are what help her come up with her rating for "Stay on These Roads." Then it's time for Brian to give his final evaluation. He explains his shift in attitude from Side One to Side Two, and then he starts throwing out a bunch of numbers, evidently in an attempt to confuse the audience. However, somewhere in there, he does sneak in his record-adapter rating for this album.

Bonus  Feature - Sarah's Secret Song Snippet

Before the hosts sign off for the week, Sarah introduces a new feature which gives listeners a chance to earn a sure-to-be coveted award! Make sure you stay tuned until the very end to find out more!

 

See the videos we discuss here:

The Living Daylights

There's Never a Forever Thing

You Are the One

The Pretenders - If There Was a Man

 

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Episode 56: a-ha - Stay on These Roads (1988) Part 1

 

Brian and Sarah haven't discussed the Norwegian group a-ha since way back in their second episode, and seeing how a-ha is one of their favorite groups, they decide it's time to discuss another a-ha album. The one they select is the third release, "Stay on These Roads," which is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Part 1 - Album History

Sarah, always ready with album chart and sales history, provides some pretty impressive figures for "Stay on These Roads" in a number of countries-- but Brian reorders the chart listings in a much more pleasing fashion. However, one country in particular is conspicuously absent from the list, much to our hosts' chagrin. Brian then goes into detail about the circumstances surrounding the creation of this album, and sheds some light on where the band members seemed to be headed musically, compared with where the record label was encouraging them to be. Both hosts also share some rather mixed reviews of the album -- including one from the members of Erasure!

Part 2 - Personal History

Although Brian and Sarah have loved a-ha for many years, this third album was not a part of either of their collections back when it was first released. So this ends up being one of the least interesting Personal History sections in recent episodes. Thankfully, it's pretty short!

Part 3 - Track by Track

The first side of "Stay on These Roads" contains five songs, and the first three tracks were all released as singles. As the songs are discussed, Brian find himself very conflicted about various aspects of the songs themselves and their inclusion on the album. Sarah also has some mixed feelings about the tracks, though not always for the same reasons as Brian. Both of them, however, share similar opinions about the three videos that accompany the singles; two of them are pretty good, and one is pretty bad!

Stay on These Roads The Blood That Moves the Body Touchy! This Alone is Love Hurry Home

See the videos we discuss here:

Stay on These Roads

The Blood That Moves the Body

Touchy!

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Episode 55: Erasure - The Innocents (1988) Part 3

 

By popular demand (well, by the sincere request of her co-host), Sarah is back to provide the information on the latest episode of the Permanent Record Podcast. Brian and Sarah are once again joined by art designer, Classic Pop Magazine contributor, and 80s music aficionado Andrew Dineley to wrap up the discussion on Erasure's 1988 worldwide hit album, "The Innocents." 

Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued

The lack of singles and videos on Side Two of this album doesn't give our three hosts any problems in terms of discussion material. However, at least one of them does have a couple of problems with the track selection and track listing. The three do find common ground with their mutual enjoyment of The Kick Horns' contributions to the album, and they all seem to feel there was at least one more single-worthy track on this side--but is it the same song for each of them?  Brian, Andrew, and Sarah cover a rather wide variety of subjects as they talk about Side Two, including waltzes, questionable rhyming,  evangelists, 80s politics, Liza Minnelli, and Glen Miller! Oh, and of course lots more talk about Vince and Andy too!

Heart of Stone Sixty-Five Thousand Yahoo! Imagination Witch in the Ditch Weight of the World 

Part 4 - Extra Credit

Brian decides the presence of the special guest co-host is a good excuse to change up the format of the Extra Credit section.  This episode's is now a two-part segment.  For part one, do you remember two weeks ago when Andrew mentioned that he had reached out to designer Paul Khera with a few questions?  Well, Mr. Khera has written back, and along with answers concerning his experience working with the band and details about his photographs, he also tells us which track was going to be the fourth single before everyone's focus turned to "Crackers International!"  We have read numerous theories about this on the internet, but this is the real answer from someone who was there at Mute in 1988!  And for part two, Andrew is subjected to a mini Q & A session on various Erasure subjects and then a question about someone Brian has been crushing on for years - someone who used to live in Liverpool with Andrew! 

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

Finally, after many hours of discussion, the time has come for the Thrilling Threesome to give their final reviews and ratings of "The Innocents." There has been no shortage of effusive praise during the course of the three episodes, so it's not likely that anyone will be giving this classic album a low rating. But does it get five stars from all three hosts? There's only one way to know-- listen until the very end!

 

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Visit Paul Khera at http://www.thekhera.org/

Episode 54: Erasure - The Innocents (1988) Part 2

Brian and Sarah return with Classic Pop contributor and all-around good guy Andrew Dineley to discuss side one of this classic 1988 album!  This side may have fewer songs than its flip side, but it is fully packed with hit singles, so along with talk of the music, our intrepid hosts also make time to consider three music videos and three record sleeves.  It's a lot to pack into one episode so forgive them if they go a bit long!

Part 3 - Track by Track

The Terrific Trio gets to gab about two huge worldwide hits with "A Little Respect" and "Chains of Love."  Andrew reminds Brian and Sarah that in the UK, "Ship of Fools" was also released and did quite well on the singles chart, which causes all sorts of envy and bitterness.  However, the mood is set to right by the lovely story of YouTube sensation Neil Francis - because no one can be depressed after watching him sing "A Little Respect" while waiting for the train!  Let's see, then Sarah and Andrew team up against Brian because he had the audacity to say that he doesn't think "Hallowed Ground" is as catchy a tune as "Chains of Love."  He backtracks on what he said just so they don't turn off his mic.  Man, Sarah usually writes these episode descriptions, but she is away this weekend and I thought it would be easier than this!  Oh!  Did you know that one of the songs on this side of the record was released as a single over twenty years later??  We'll talk about that too so I don't want to give it away here. 

A Little Respect Ship of Fools Phantom Bride Chains of Love Hallowed Ground

See the videos we discuss here:

A Little Respect

Ship of Fools

Chains of Love

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Episode 53: Erasure - The Innocents (1988) Part 1

For the next three episodes, Brian and Sarah are thrilled to welcome a very special guest to the show. Andrew Dineley is an art designer and regular contributor to Classic Pop magazine with the feature "Pop Art." He also hosts his own podcast called "Art On Your Sleeve" which talks about the design work of the albums and singles from 80s artists such as the ones discussed on this very podcast. Andrew was gracious enough to share his time, knowledge, and personal experiences in an in-depth look at Erasure's third album, "The Innocents."

Part 1 - Album History

Vince Clarke and Andy Bell finally found UK chart success with their second album, "The Circus," but Erasure's third album, "The Innocents," was the one that started their 'Imperial Phase' in the UK. It also gave them their breakthrough in America. Sarah fills us in on the release, sales, and chart information for the album, which includes a bit of a surprise in the UK chart history. Moving on, Andrew, Brian, and Sarah discuss the making of the album, and in particular, the presence of producer Stephen Hague. Andrew shares information about the art design of the album cover and the related singles, and then Brian expresses confusion as to why so few singles were released from this record. The discussion also turns to the political and social climate of the time, which most certainly influenced the lyrics Andy Bell wrote for the album. And at one point, the hosts start talking about a very strange combination of artists: AC/DC, Pink Floyd and Christopher Cross!

Part 2 - Personal History

All three of the hosts have fond memories of "The Innocents." Of course, Andrew got his copy before Brian and Sarah could get theirs, since it was released about a month earlier in the UK than in the US. But Brian was no slacker; he picked it up the week of release in the US. Sarah once again got her copy of the album from Brian, and she gives him credit for getting it to her just before the school year ended. They all cited this album as being in their "heavy rotation" during the summer of 1988. Special bonus: what was it about this album that caused Brian to spend a solid week in an ocean-front arcade that summer???

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Episode 52: ABC - How to Be a...Zillionaire! (1985) Part 2

It's been a couple of weeks since Brian and Sarah started their discussion of ABC's third album, "How to Be a...Zillionaire!" And unfortunately, they were only able to cover the first two tracks on side one before they had to cut the episode short. So, this week they have a lot of catching up to do!

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

Our hosts jump right back into things and find themselves with two more singles and three videos to discuss on Side One.  One video completely delights both Brian and Sarah, and the other two are a little less interesting to them both. Side Two only contains one video, but according to Brian's research, it's a rather notable one in music video history. Speaking of notable, Brian makes a notable revelation while discussing a song on Side Two, which refutes some of the things he said in the Personal History section of the previous episode. In addition to music, of course, our hosts talk quite a bit about fashion-- in relation to song lyrics and in relation to a particular live performance by the band, where one band member is wearing an unusual fashion accessory. And while regular listeners may be used to this podcast sometimes morphing into a mini James Bond movie podcast, this time it almost gets turned into-- of all things-- a Kirk Douglas podcast! What?!

 

Side One: Vanity Kills Ocean Blue 15 Storey Halo

Side Two: A to Z (How to Be a) Millionaire Tower of London So Hip It Hurts Between You and Me

Part 4 - Final Review and Rating

Sarah goes first with her review and rating. She owned this album before Brian did, so she has a longer history with it. So, does that result in her giving it a higher rating than Brian does? Brian himself seems a bit surprised with the rating he decides to give the album, but he gives a good explanation of why, and he compares this album to others he has rated. And after Brian's comparison, Sarah feels even more comfortable with her own rating.

See the videos we discuss here:

Vanity Kills - UK Version

Vanity Kills - US Version

Ocean Blue

 (How to Be a) Millionaire

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Episode 51: ABC - How to Be a...Zillionaire! (1985) Part 1

 

Even with fifty episodes now under their belts, Brian and Sarah still have plenty of "new old" albums they want to talk about. But how to decide on the next one? Well, Martin Fry of ABC turned 60 on March 9, so it seems like a good time to take a look at a classic ABC album. The one they choose is not the seminal debut album, "The Lexicon of Love," but the band's third effort, "How to Be a...Zillionaire!," released in 1985.

Part 1 - Album History

This album marked yet another departure in both sound and style for ABC. Sarah explains how the  album came to be produced by Martin Fry and Mark White, and she tells the story of the audition process for new band members. Both she and Brian then talk about how and why the new members were ultimately selected. The other notable aspect of this era of ABC was the cartoon imagery. Sarah explains where that originated, and Brian adds to the story with some information he gleaned from friend of the show Andrew Dineley's article in Classic Pop magazine.  Both hosts also share reviews of the album and talk about how the band's new image was received at the time.

Part 2 - Personal History

Sarah goes first with her personal history and, in a rare occurrence, announces that she owned this album before Brian did. This actually puzzles Brian somewhat, because he was a fan of two of the singles and bought the 12-inch single for one of the songs. Sarah explains the circumstances that led to her owning the cassette, and she also shares a story which takes place at a church retreat but involves some of the non-church-friendly lyrics found on the album.

Part 3 - Track by Track

Due to Brian being under the weather during the show preparation, our hosts don't get too far in their look at Side One; only the first two tracks are discussed. But Brian's weakened state doesn't prevent him from providing insightful comments and interesting information about the music, the lyrics, and the one video. Sarah also shares some facts and opinions, both her own and from other sources, and one comment from a review causes Brian to temporarily slip into James Bond podcast mode again-- for which he seems eerily well-prepared. Sarah eventually brings him back to the topic at hand, and they end this episode after discussing "Be Near Me."

Fear of the World Be Near Me

See the video we discuss here:

Be Near Me

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Episode 50: Depeche Mode - Some Great B-Sides

Brian and Sarah are excited (and maybe a little surprised, as well!) to be at the fifty-episode milestone of the Permanent Record Podcast. To celebrate, they decide to do something different for this show. It's not quite "flipping the script," though; it's simply flipping some records to talk about some of their favorite Depeche Mode B-sides.

Each host chooses three B-sides to talk about, and as they take turns discussing each selection, it works out that the songs are just about in chronological order as well.

The fact that the songs are B-sides doesn't stop our intrepid hosts from finding information to talk about with each track. Brian and Sarah discuss live performances of the B-sides, remixed versions, and in the case of one B-side, chart position! Brian shares an interesting remix story which completely delights Sarah, and both of them reminisce about their college days and how Depeche Mode was a big part of those memories. And, once again, we find Brian talking about soda! (What is it about podcasting that seems to makes him so thirsty, anyway?)

Ice Machine Shout! (Set Me Free) Remotivate Me Happiest Girl Dangerous Sea of Sin 

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Episode 49: David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983) Part 3

The month of February is coming to a close, and so is Brian and Sarah's discussion of the 1983 David Bowie album, "Let's Dance." This episode finds our hosts ready to flip the record to Side Two of this classic LP.

Part 3 - Track by Track, continued

Side Two, like Side One, also contains four tracks. However, only one of the tracks on Side Two was released as the A-side of a single, and it actually came out a year before the album did. Brian and Sarah spend some time discussing the differences between the movie soundtrack version of "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" and the album version. Another song on Side Two is revealed to be a cover, although unlike "China Girl," David Bowie didn't have a hand in writing it. While Brian and Sarah both enjoy the song, they have some issues and questions about Bowie's decision to include it on the album and the lyrics he changed. But by the time they get to the last song on "Let's Dance," there's no question about it-- both hosts dislike it immensely!

Ricochet Criminal World Cat People (Putting Out Fire) Shake It

Part 4 - Extra Credit

Since "Let's Dance" contains some covers, Brian decides a good topic for the Extra Credit question is "Favorite Bowie Covers." Each host chose their top two songs, but it turns out only three songs are discussed. Which song made both hosts' short list? Listen to find out!

Part 5 - Final Review and Rating

Sarah decides to take the boxing theme portrayed on the album cover and apply it to her review of the album. Is "Let's Dance" a heavyweight champion, or is it a 98-pound weakling? Her track-by-track (or should we say round-by-round?) analysis provides the answer. Brian then follows up with a lot of mathematical formulas and calculations to determine his final rating for the album. After all, if cold, hard numbers worked for Bowie in the 80s, why can't they work for Brian's album rating as well?

 

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Episode 48: David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983) Part 2

 

Another week has passed, and it's time once again for Brian and Sarah to discuss a classic album. Last week they set the stage for the 1983 album by David Bowie, titled "Let's Dance," by talking about the three-year period between his prior album and this one. They also discussed the release of "Let's Dance," its huge success, and the subsequent worldwide tour. In this episode, they'll discuss the songs on Side One.

Part 2 - Personal History

This is the first time Brian and Sarah are discussing an album that neither of them owned back in high school. Brian explains when and why he got into David Bowie, and what his first Bowie-related purchases were. Sarah says she knew the big hits from this album, and surprisingly seemed to remember seeing at least a couple of the videos as well. But she got into Bowie around the same time, or maybe even a little after, Brian did-- which was a mere 23 years ago. But it should be clear from the amount of information and opinions our hosts have about David Bowie, that he quickly became a very important part of their musical lives.

Part 3 - Track by Track

Last week our hosts talked about the video for "Modern Love," but they didn't really discuss the song in depth. So today they start from the beginning of Side One and cover each of the four songs in detail, and they also discuss the other two videos associated with this side. They talk about Bowie's attempt to send anti-racist messages in those videos, and whether or not he was successful. Sarah reveals her very favorite image of David Bowie is contained within one of these videos. Also, during the discussion, Brian and Sarah mention a variety of beverages, including Pepsi, juice boxes, and pop-- oh wait, it was Iggy Pop, not soda pop! And speaking of other artists, Tina Turner gets a mention as well!

Modern Love China Girl Let's Dance Without You

See the videos we discuss here:

China Girl

Let's Dance

Pepsi - "Creation"

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Episode 47: David Bowie - Let's Dance Part 1 (Bowie: 1980 to 1983)

 

During the "Colour by Numbers" episodes, our hosts mentioned the fact that a David Bowie song, "Let's Dance," prevented a Culture Club song from reaching number one on the charts. Brian and Sarah decided that now would be a good time to look into that number one song, and the album from which it came-- which is just about to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

Part 1 - Album History

"Let's Dance" was the first studio album from David Bowie in three years, which for him was a rather long break. It also marked several departures: from his record label, from his longtime producer, and from his typically more avant-garde, less accessible sound.

Brian felt it was important to explore the three-year gap between albums, to better understand what led David Bowie to create "Let's Dance." So with his stack of Bowie books at his side, he and Sarah spend time talking about the period from 1980 to 1983 and what activities and events were prominent in Bowie's life during that time.  Our hosts touch on films like "The Hunger" and "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", songs like "Under Pressure" and "Cat People", and Bowie's feud with one-time manager Tony Defries. 

Then they get into discussing the actual making of the record, the album's release and worldwide success, and the massive tour that followed. They close the episode by talking about the video for the first song on Side One, which was filmed during the "Serious Moonlight" tour and setting the stage for next week's in-depth look at all four songs from side one.   

See the video we discuss here:

Modern Love

 

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Episode 46: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 3

After a brief break, Brian and Sarah are back and ready to finish their discussion of "Colour By Numbers." The first two episodes were rather lengthy, so the challenge they face is whether they can discuss the entire second side of the album in a respectable amount of time, especially given the fact that there are three more singles and videos to talk about!

Part 3: Track by Track, Continued

Side Two of "Colour By Numbers" starts off with the first single released for the album, and a video Brian reveals-- much to Sarah's surprise-- he had never seen before, until doing research for the podcast. Two other videos are discussed during this episode, one which our hosts deem excellent, and one which they both agree is of more questionable quality, much to Brian's dismay and discomfort. Sarah announces she has many examples of misheard lyrics to share, and in one instance, Brian says he misheard the same wrong word. Sarah corrupts Brian (so he claims) by telling him the meaning of a phrase in one of the songs, and Brian attempts to be cool by using new slang terms like "totes adorbs" and "cray cray." It's up to the listeners to decide whether he pulls it off.  Sarah, however, remains stuck in the past with her repeated use of the word "dude." And will these two ever agree on which members of the Barron family directed the Culture Club videos?

Church of the Poison Mind Miss Me Blind Mister Man Stormkeeper Victims

Part 4: Final Review and Rating

Finally, after literally hours of discussion, the time comes for Brian and Sarah to give their reviews and record adapter ratings of this classic album. Sarah asks to go first and gives a somewhat lengthy, but thoughtful review and rating. Brian is up next and explains that because he has such a deep personal history with this album, he decides to rate it twice-- first from the perspective of knowing and loving the album for almost 35 years, and then from the perspective of someone just discovering the album today. How do those three ratings compare? Listen to find out!

See the videos we discuss here:

Church of the Poison Mind

Miss Me Blind

Victims

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Episode 45: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 2

This week Brian and Sarah continue their discussion of the first side of Culture Club's second album, the 1983 release "Colour by Numbers." However, before they look back in time again, Brian looks to the future and shares information on some new music Culture Club has recorded but not yet released.

Part 3: Track by Track, continued

Last week's episode only got as far as the first track, which was a very popular single with a memorable video. As it turns out, the second track, "It's a Miracle," was also a hit single with a great video, so Brian and Sarah have a lot of information to share for this song as well. Brian goes into a little more depth about the songwriting collaboration between Culture Club and Phil Pickett, and in particular, Phil's relationship with guitarist/keyboardist Roy Hay. As they progress through side one, Sarah and Brian collaborate on another mini music lesson-- this time on a genre of music called bossa nova. And although Brian admits his opinions on some of the album tracks have changed greatly since his youth, he refuses to budge on singing the incorrect lyrics to one of the songs, even though he now knows the real words.

It's a Miracle Black Money Changing Every Day That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You) 

See the video we discuss here:

It's a Miracle

Bonus Content

This week's episode comes with some special bonus content, completely free of charge to you, the faithful PRP listener!  Brian spends quite a bit of time discussing Paul McCartney's 38th post-Beatles single - and his first single to fail to chart - "Pretty Little Head."  It's a really interesting and strange tune - maybe not as strange as a Paul McCartney discussion in the middle of a Culture Club podcast - but don't worry your pretty little head, the talk turns back to "It's a Miracle" before too long!  :)

 

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Episode 44: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 1

It's a new year, and Brian and Sarah are ready to get back into discussing classic albums! But first, they need to take care of a little leftover business from 2017. They announce the winner of their "Into the Gap" album giveaway, who was randomly selected from people who wrote in to the show and mentioned their favorite episode.  They also remind the listeners of the winner of the digital download for the Human League's "Dare" album. Then, there's no putting it off any longer-- they begin their look into an album by a group many listeners mentioned over the past year as being one of their favorites.  The group is Culture Club, and the album is the 1983 release "Colour by Numbers."

Part 1 - Album History

"Colour by Numbers" was the sophomore effort by Culture Club, but based on record sales and chart position for both the album and its many singles, it definitely didn't suffer from the "sophomore slump." Brian and Sarah trade statistics on the album's success for a while, and then they get into the making of the album and who was involved. Brian shares a lot of knowledge gleaned from the Boy George autobiography, "Take It Like a Man," but Sarah still manages to surprise him with some interesting facts and album reviews. Brian also muses about how short-lived Culture Club's success really was, although it didn't seem that way to him back in the day.

Part 2 - Personal History

Sarah goes first with her personal history and once again, doesn't have a lot to say. However, she finally explains why so many of these albums from the first half of the 80s weren't a part of her music collection. Brian, on the other hand, has a great deal of personal history with this album and with Culture Club in general.  But he wasn't the only Culture Club fan in his family, and in fact reveals that it was another member of his family who may have inadvertently sparked his obsession with the band. He also mentions yet another family member-- perhaps a surprising one-- who was a big Boy George fan.

Part 3 - Track by Track

The first song on side one of "Colour by Numbers" is the worldwide smash, "Karma Chameleon." Because of the iconic status of both the song and the video, Brian and Sarah have a lot of information and opinions to share. And because they've already talked a lot about the album history and personal history, track one is as far as they get for this first episode of 2018.

Karma Chameleon

See the video we discuss here:

Karma Chameleon

 

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Episode 43: Erasure - Crackers International (1988) Part 2 plus Pet Shop Boys - "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas"

 

For the last episode of 2017, Brian and Sarah take a quick break from holiday preparations to finish their discussion of the 1988 EP by British synthpop duo Erasure, titled "Crackers International." (And it just so happens there's a big box of Christmas crackers in the studio with our hosts as they record!)  And in keeping with both the episode's Christmas theme and the "British synthpop duo" theme, Brian and Sarah also discuss the song "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" by the Pet Shop Boys.

Part 3: Track by Track, Continued

The second side of the UK release contains only two songs, just like the first side. However, Brian does get into discussing the various remixes of the first song on side two, "Knocking On Your Door." Both Brian and Sarah continue to praise Vince Clarke for his effortless keyboard riffs, and they also have very complimentary things to say about Andy Bell's vocals on both tracks. But they're a little more critical about Erasure's decision to release these four tracks as an EP, rather than as individual singles.

Knocking On Your Door She Won't Be Home

Part 4: Final Review and Rating

Sarah goes first and gives what seems for her to be a rather off-the-cuff review and rating of this EP. Brian, on the other hand, sounds like he's somewhat conflicted about giving a rating to this collection of songs. He does finally provide one, though, and it surprises Sarah a bit.

Part 5: Christmas Bonus Track

Brian and Sarah are still in the mood to discuss Christmas songs, so they decide to talk about the Pet Shop Boys' song "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas." Originally a gift to the Pet Shop Boys' fan club members in 1997, this song found its way onto a CD in 2005, but it wasn't until 2009 that it made it onto an actual Pet Shop Boys release-- and it was yet another EP, aptly titled "Christmas." While certainly a fan favorite, this song didn't get a wide release like Wham!'s "Last Christmas," much to the chagrin of both Brian and Sarah.

Part 6: Year End Recap and Favorite Episodes

It's been a year since the Permanent Record Podcast first started, and Brian and Sarah decide to wax nostalgic. They each talk about their favorite things about doing the podcast, and they try to narrow down their favorite episodes as well. It's clear the hosts have been having a lot of fun so far, and they seem eager to continue the fun into 2018!

Part 7: Christmas Giveaway

In the time since the previous episode was made available, someone claimed the first giveaway, so now all that's left to win is the new, unopened LP of "Into the Gap" by The Thompson Twins.  Brian once again provides the details on how to get a chance to win this excellent classic album. Don't forget to enter!

See the video we discuss here:

Pet Shop Boys - It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas - Live at The O2, 2009

 

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Episode 42:  Erasure - Crackers International (1988) - Part 1 Plus Wham!  "Last Christmas"

With the holiday season now in full swing, Brian and Sarah finally carved out some time in their busy schedules to sit down and record another podcast. And this week's selection has a definite holiday theme-- it's the November 1988 EP from Erasure, titled "Crackers International."  However, they decide to make it an even more Christmasy episode by throwing in a bonus track at the end-- one of the best known Christmas songs of the 1980s.

Part 1 - Album History

This is the first EP Brian and Sarah have discussed on the show, so both hosts provide some information on how EPs are classified in both the UK and the US. They then go on to talk about where this album falls in the Erasure discography, and where it charted in various countries. Sarah provides a lot of information about the cover art, and voices her skepticism about whether the picture is an homage or more of a ripoff. Brian explains there is a "Crackers International Part II," with a slightly different track listing, and Sarah says the cover art on that EP is a definite ripoff-- but from the cover artist himself!

Part 2 - Personal History

Sarah is once again unsure about when or how she acquired this record. She deduced it would have been a bit inconvenient for Brian to copy, due to its short length. Brian reveals that he didn't actually own a real copy of the EP himself until college, when he bought it on CD. So why is there a store-bought copy of the cassette in their collection?

Part 3 - Track by Track

Our hosts have a lot of fun discussing the two songs on side one of the EP. It sounds like they're in agreement about a lot of things, such as the magnificent keyboard skills of Vince Clarke and the questionable quality of the video for the first song. And Brian has another opportunity to re-proclaim his love for synthetic-sounding drums!

Stop! The Hardest Part

 

Part 4 - Christmas Bonus Track

Since "Crackers International" is a shorter selection, and since Christmas is coming, Brian and Sarah decide this is the perfect time to discuss  not only an 80s classic, but a Christmas classic as well-- the 1984 song "Last Christmas" by Wham! They provide a lot of information about the song's chart history (which spans decades!), the many different Wham! versions of the song, the many cover versions of the song, and the wonderful video both hosts just discovered while researching for the episode.

Extra Bonus - Christmas Giveaways!

This episode finds our hosts full of the generosity of the season, so during the course of the episode, Brian mentions two different giveaways that two lucky listeners can win. One is mentioned at the beginning, and the other is mentioned at the end-- and the second one is the bigger prize. So be sure to listen to the whole way through to find out how to enter!

 

See the videos we discuss here:

Stop!

Last Christmas

 

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Episode 41: ThompsonTwins – Into The Gap (1984) Part 3

 

The cast of Permanent Record Podcast is back!  It feels like it has been more than two weeks, but evidently that’s due to the high-level of fun that Brian and Sarah packed into their last 14 days.  After the two hosts sum up their experience seeing Culture Club in concert over the prior weekend, they get back to their discussion of the Thompson Twins’ classic 1984 album “Into The Gap,”

Part 3: Track by Track, Continued

This side of the record provided a major international hit for the band with the first single “Hold Me Now.”  Do Brian and Sarah enjoy this song as much as they did the whole of side one – or do they feel, 33 years on, that the song has been overplayed?  And what aspect of this music is impressing Sarah the most?  Whatever it is, she shows up ready to educate us all on the topic!  Meanwhile Brian lets us know which of these songs he would have selected as the 3rd US single and also which song he thinks would have fit comfortably on the group’s previous album “Quick Step & Side Kick.”  Finally, the hosts just generally provide a ton of great Thompson Twins information in this episode - I mean, they must right – this installment is longer than some movies!  Geez!!

The Gap Hold Me Now Storm On The Sea Who Can Stop The Rain

Part 4: Extra Credit Question

Sarah touched on it way back in the first installment of this Thompson Twins retrospective, but now B&S tackle it in more detail: The return of Tom Bailey to the World of Pop in 2014!  They discuss the reasons why, after over 20 years, Tom has finally agreed to sing all of these classic songs again and reminisce a bit about their trip to see him two years ago on the “Retro Futuro” tour.

Part 5: Final Review and Rating

Brian has been telegraphing is final score for the record for weeks now, so Sarah is really the person of interest here.  She claims that she wasn’t all that familiar with this record until recently, so what kind of impact did these songs make on her and what rating is she going to give it?  Only time, or skipping to the end of the episode, will tell!

See the videos we discuss here:

Hold Me Now (Official Video)

Hold Me Now (Live Aid)

And here are some cool photos we took of Tom Bailey in 2014 - hopefully your podcast app will let you see them!

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