A (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make?

It's been quite a year here at What Difference Does It Make. I mean, just look at the cover photo of us at an intimate rehearsal with Neil Finn from Crowded House, and you know we had a memorable year. While we didn't have Neil on the podcast, we did manage to get some of our other favorite musicians and music nerds to talk about 80s music and more. We've condensed some of our favorite clips from 2024 for a greatest hits episode.

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We talk turkey....and pie...and candy and occasionally about songs that make us think about Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving episode from 2018 reminds us of how fortunate we are to have food, friends and music in our lives. We talk about Golden Girls, hippies throwing away trash and learn about the word "mondegreen". We are also very thankful to you for listening.

Be thankful for three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make. 

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If you know the Earth, Wind & Fire songs September and Boogie Wonderland, The Pointer Sisters Neutron Dance or I'll Be There For You, aka the opening theme from Friends, then you're familiar with some of the songwriting work of Allee Willis. But that's only half the story. Director Alexis Spraic and Producer Prudence Fenton join the What Difference Does It Make Podcast to tell us about The World According To Allee Willis, a documentary about the multi-layered life of a multi-layered personality. It's a fascinating documentary about a fascinating individual that personally documented most every moment of her life since 1978.

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Mindy Smith made quite an impression on Dolly Parton with her take on Dolly's iconic song, "Jolene". She followed that up with her beautiful debut album, One Moment More. Now twenty years into her career, she releases another gorgeous album entitled "Quiet Town". Mindy joins us in the virtual studio to talk about her inspirations and ideas behind the music.

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Robert Hilburn, former LA Times Music Editor/Critic, has become one of the preeminent music biographers for the singer-songwriter. Known for his deep dives into the lives of legendary artists, Robert has penned insightful biographies on Johnny Cash and Paul Simon. Now, he joins us to discuss his latest work, A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country: The Biography Of Randy Newman. We’ll explore Newman’s unique songwriting craft, as Robert shares some of his own unique stories along the way. Robert has been a favorite of ours since we first became music fans, so it’s a true honor to have him on the show. Let’s dive in!

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It's not a repeat if you haven't heard it before, so this is the perfect time to revisit Dave's favorite holiday and the one Holly tolerates because candy is involved. We talk about our favorite Halloween songs and movies that Holly has yet to see…Dave is still waiting to discuss Ed Wood with her. Plus, Holly thinks Echo & The Bunnymen's "Killing Moon" is a love song until she learns the terrifying truth. It's a dead man's party, so who can ask for more! 

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Iain Matthews’ 53rd-ish solo album is entitled "How Much Is Enough". He joins the podcast and we learn all about the start of his career, from selling shoes on Carnaby Street in mid-60s Swingin' London, to where he is today. It's a good insight into Iain's mindset about where he sees himself as a working musician/songwriter after nearly 60 years.

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We celebrate Punk For A Day Day on October 25 by recognizing one of our favorite Punks. One wouldn't blame Steve Diggle if he decided to pack up The Buzzcocks name after the death of vocalist Pete Shelley back in 2018. But Steve is carrying on, with the same fervor that powered the band back in Manchester, England in 1978. 

When we talked back in 2022 The Buzzcock's latest album, Sonics In The Soul had just been released.

Steve now has a memoir coming out on October 29 entitled Autonomy: Portrait of A Buzzcock.

Steve talks all about the band, the ,loss of Pete, and the new album on this episode of the What Difference Does It Make podcast. 

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What does music documentarian Denny Tedesco do for an encore, after beautifully capturing the family of musicians known as The Wrecking Crew? How about find another family? That’s exactly what Denny did, with his latest film, entitled Immediate Family. You may not know the Immediate Family, or the names Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, or Steve Postell, but you know the music. This band of brothers has helped create the iconic music of Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Phil Collins, and Don Henley, just to name a few. Denny's film helps illuminate what makes these musicians so special as he steps into the What Difference Does It Make garage to share some stories of both The Wrecking Crew and The Immediate Family.

Immediate Family is now streaming on Hulu.

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Moon Unit Zappa has led quite a unique life. The daughter of Frank and Gail, she always called her parents by their first names. Moon was gifted a journal every year since she was five, and now she details many of the crazy stories in her book: Earth To Moon: A Memoir. She also shares some of her secrets on our podcast, including her fake name whenever this famed Valley Girl entered the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

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Did you know September 25th is National One-Hit Wonder Day? Well, neither did we, but since we now know it's a thing, we created this episode. Did we invite friend of the show, Craig Rosen onto the podcast because Steve Rosen, the creator of One-Hit Wonder Day was unavailable? Possibly, but Craig does give us his unique perspective on the songs. What constitutes a one-hit wonder artist? We don't know, but we do know a hit when we hear it, so please enjoy our salute to 80s one-hit wonders!

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It's been quite a year for the brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald of Redd Kross. They’re currently in the middle of a tour in support of their eponymous double album, their oral history memoir, Now You're One Of Us: The Story Of Redd Kross comes out in October, and before the year is up, we’ll see the release of their documentary, Born Innocent. Somehow they boys found time to chat with us about the important things like K-Pop Band, Blackpink, the Chuck Connors show Thrill Seekers, and Sonny Bono.

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Most people believe the year they graduated high school was the greatest year in pop music history. We put that theory to the test as we match up the year Dave graduated high school, 1984, against 2017, the year his daughter, Emma, graduated. It's quite a battle, and you may be surprised to find, like Holly, that you might like the songs from 2017 a bit more than those from 1984. This is not a "grody to the max (1984) episode nor is there any "clapback" or "facepalms" #2017, just a gnarly (1984) chat and some banging #2017 tunes.

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Even though it's Labor Day, we think every day is a Manic Monday. We're Takin' Care of Business over here at What Difference Does It Make, so we say, Let's Work!, as we recognize songs that salute the Working Class Hero. What a way to make a livin'!

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Warren Zanes' recent career trajectory has landed him in Nebraska…specifically, Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album, Nebraska. Warren’s book, Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. Warren also hosts the concert performance of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska: A Celebration in Words and Music. It's currently airing on PBS and features performances by Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, Noah Kahan, The Lumineers, Lucinda Williams, and Lyle Lovett. Last, but definitely not least, there will be a film version of Warren's book, directed by Scott Cooper and starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen. Warren Zanes joins us on the podcast to give us his insight into Bruce Springsteen's masterwork.

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Robyn Hitchcock has had quite the musical career. So much so that two movies have been made about him: The documentary Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death...and Insects, and the Jonathan Demme-directed performance film, Storefront Hitchcock. However, when Robyn decided to write his own story, he centered it on a particularly meaningful point in his life: When he was 14 years old. The memoir is 1967: How I Got There And Why I Never Left. Robyn joins the podcast to tell us all about this magical year.

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August 10th is Duran Duran Appreciation Day. As it turns out, not only are we self-proclaimed Duranies, but our guests love the Fab 5 as well. So for this episode, we've compiled comments and observations from our past guests (and ourselves) about the music we love so much by Simon, John, Nick, Andy, and Roger. Happy Duran Duran Appreciation Day!

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Susan Seidelman has directed films with Meryl Streep, John Malkovich, and Madonna, but how does a humble girl from the suburbs of Philadelphia get to such a point? It's all documented in her new book, Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls. Susan joins the podcast to talk about movies, music, mothers, and more.

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Matt Pinfield would probably consider himself "just a music fan from New Jersey". But fans of his radio and club shows, as well as music artists like David Bowie and Depeche Mode immediately recognized the passion and knowledge that Matt possessed. This led to the distinction of being THE spokesperson for rock music fans when he first began hosting the Alternative Music show 120 Minutes on MTV in 1995. It's all documented in his memoir, All These Things That I've Done: My Insane, Improbable Rock Life.  We’re lucky to have Matt on the podcast to discuss his life, as well as the Top Ten songs from the 1987 KROQ year-end playlist.

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Music Journalist Lyndsey Parker is a fixture on the Los Angeles music scene. For more than two decades, she served as the Music Editor for Yahoo Entertainment, interviewing all our favorite music artists, including 80s icons like The Cure, Duran Duran, and Cyndi Lauper. You've seen her as a correspondent on AXS TV and Fox 11 News in Los Angeles, and as a moderator at the Grammy Museum. You can learn all about Lyndsey on her website, Lyndsanity! First and foremost, she is a music fan, and also a Valley Girl, which makes her the perfect guest to discuss the 80s and songs 20 to 11 from the 1987 year-end chart as featured on The World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles.

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We first heard Swedish Egil at KROQ in Los Angeles, where for ten years he played his favorite dance, ska, and electronic music, introducing us to bands like New Order and Kraftwerk. From there, he became Music Director of MARS-FM, and introduced us to techno and rave artists like The Orb and Moby. And for the past three decades, Egil spearheaded Groove Radio, first in Los Angeles, then in syndication, and now globally through his website Groove Radio. You can also hear him still spinning 80s music on SiriusXM’s First Wave. So after we learn how a Swedish boy found his way onto the LA airwaves, we discuss songs 30 to 21 from the 1987 KROQ year-end chart.

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In this classic episode, we welcome special guest Chelsea Cantos into our What Difference Does It Make studio. Holly's daughter just wanted to tag along and see how the "magic" happens, so she happily strapped on the "cans" and became a big part of our show, offering up her unique perspective as we present some of our favorite 80s summertime favorites.

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Alan Hunter was the first person we saw for the debut of MTV on August 1, 1981 (just don't remind Mark Goodman of this fact). Alan has maintained a passion for the 80s music that defined our youth. This, naturally, makes him the perfect guest for our podcast, as we discuss his career, his newfound love of cruises, and songs 40 to 31 from the KROQ 1987 year-end chart.

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Paige Stark is a multi-hyphenated artist. She's a Director-Writer-Actor-Producer, but she joins our podcast because we’re fans of her music. Her just- released EP is entitled Good At Love, and we get into all the interesting insights from the start of her career, her impressive list of friends, and the crazy story of how she became associated with Clementine Creevy from the band, Cherry Glazerr. Stay until the end of the episode, as Paige treats us to two in-studio performances, "Zombie Brain Drain", and a cover of Roxy Music's "Take A Chance With Me".

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We love our Dads. We wouldn't be who we are without their constant presence in our lives. Naturally, that also means we've incorporated their music into our lives. We have quite a few songs that remind us of our Dads, and we share our memories with you in our special Father's Day episode.

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Music Industry executive Rob Tonkin has been a fixture in the business for over four decades. He's accumulated quite a few stories, so much so that he’ll be releasing his own memoir in very the near future (tentatively called "Rockin' Robbie"). Meanwhile, Rob joins us in our What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to share some of his stories, and to discuss some 80s music; specifically the year 1987, and songs 50 to 41 from the KROQ year-end chart.

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Exciting news for fans of power pop, as the dB's are releasing a reissue of their excellent debut LP, Stands for deciBels. Formed in New York City by four North Carolinians, The dB’s consist of singers-guitarists-songwriters Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple, bassist Gene Holder, and drummer Will Rigby. Amazingly, this remastered edition is the first time the set has been released on vinyl in the United States.

We're fortunate to have Peter and Will in the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to discuss the joys and frustrations of being in an indie rock band in the early 80s.

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Friend of the show, Craig Rosen, keeps us on our toes as we ping-pong back and forth from proms to fashion to movies. We try to stay on target as we discuss our favorite summer songs from the 70s and 80s.

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Hey! Did you know there are other 80s music podcasts? It's true! Joe Christopher and Kari Race host a podcast called Hey! Remember The 80s? We‘re happy to have them as our guests this week to talk about their podcast, their love of 80s music, and to hear their opinions on songs 60 to 51 from the 1987 year-end KROQ playlist.

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Whether we like it or not, our moms shape who we are, and influence how we feel about so much in our lives. This episode is devoted to the music that is embedded in our DNA, thanks to our mothers, or in Holly's case, for her children. Dave goes to showtunes, movie musicals, and one-hit wonders from the 60s and 70s. Holly's mom is all Classic Rock and 90s Alternative. It's an emotional episode filled with bad singing, dancing, and Seinfeld clips.

Happy Mother's Day!

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Marco Collins may be best known as the Music Director at KNDD/The End in Seattle during the height of the grunge era. His career actually started at 91X in San Diego, but he had to commute to the station, located in Tijuana, Mexico, to get to his overnight shift. It's part glamour and part squalor. The Glamour & The Squalor also happens to be the name of his own documentary. We’re treated to a look into the life of Marco Collins, and we give him a chance to share his love of 80s music, as we discuss songs from the 1987 KROQ year-end chart.

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The breadth of the Midge Ure music catalogue is one to behold. His career started in the 1970’s with the boy band, Slik, followed by Rich Kids through to Visage and Ultravox and a thriving solo career. That's even without mentioning the historic work he's done for Band Aid & Live Aid in the 80’s. We are thrilled Midge Ure can join us on the podcast.

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Founding member of The Cure and Rock Hall Inductee, Lol Tolhurst, joins the podcast to chat about his second book, entitled GOTH. It's a deep dive into the dark Romanticism of Goth music.

Of course, since we like to keep things upbeat, we also discuss the eclipse, family, sunny California, and his new album, Los Angeles, with his old friend Budgie, drummer from Siouxsie & The Banshees, and Jacknife Lee, producer of records by U2, REM, and Taylor Swift. Yes, we are mentioning Taylor Swift in our episode about Goth.

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Dylan Chambers is one soulful dude, as a listen to his EP For Your Listening Pleasure! will prove. His first single, "High (When I'm Low)," featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Dave Koz, will immediately put a smile on your face. Dylan steps into our studio to discuss his beginnings in Arlington, Texas, and his many collaborations with artists from Mark Ballas, (of Dancing With The Stars fame), to Aldae, co-songwriter of “Flowers", by Miley Cyrus. To top off our episode, Dylan plays an acoustic set for us that culminates with Hall & Oates "Sara Smile". 

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Foreigner is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records, but they are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yet. Rick Wills, bassist for the band, joins the podcast not only to push for Foreigner's entry into the Rock Hall, but to chat with us about his renowned career, including stints playing with David Gilmour, and discovering he was owed a lot of money as the co-writer of Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do".

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Pearl Harbour has a deep love of Rockabilly music. So much so that instead of recording another album on a major label with Pearl Harbor and The Explosions, she left the band to record a solo record. The result was the 1980 release, Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost Too. Unfortunately, the album was slightly ahead of its time, missing out on the 80s rockabilly revival from bands like The Stray Cats and The Blasters. Fortunately, we now have this re-release. Pearl joins the podcast to relive those times including stories about contributions from members of The Clash and Ian Dury & The Blockheads.

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Dave Tarnowski, like everyone, has voices in his head, confirming and/or denying his worst fears. Unlike everyone, Dave has created an Instagram Account around the concept, with 2.2 million followers and counting. He has now turned that social media success into a book, entitled Disappointing Affirmations: Unfollow your dreams!  However, for this episode, Dave talks about his true loves, Nick Cave, The Cure, and 80s teen sensation, Tiffany. We do manage to talk about the book as well, and Dave gives us the scoop on how he created the idea behind the memes. 

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Dave Beasing joins the podcast this week. Dave is the CEO of Sound That BRANDS, a company that helps Brands tell their stories through audio-based marketing content…aka PODCASTS! Dave also has his own stories to share about growing up in Omaha, and his long career in radio. After the stories, Dave adds his thoughts about a ten-song chunk of music played on The World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles back in 1987, specifically #80-71 from the year-end chart.

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Ireland native and radio geek, Enda Caldwell, has been heard on Atlantic 252, Radio Luxembourg, Today FM and Radio Nova in Ireland, Kiss in The UK, and many other radio stations worldwide, like 106.5 Rivera Radio in Monaco. He’s currently the afternoon drive host at New York's EDM station, Pulse 87. However, in this episode, Enda steps into the way-back machine to talk about his career, and to review some of the music played on The World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles from the year 1987.

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Karen Glauber is the President of HITS Magazine. She started her career with the legendary label, A&M Records, back in the 80s. She's also got strong opinions about the music. This makes her the perfect guest for our look at the music the World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles played back in 1987. This week we look at songs 100 to 91, based on their year-end chart.

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We at What Difference Does It Make love love and what better way to say it, than with a song from the 80s? We discuss a number of our favorites that make us feel all warm inside. Happy Valentine's (and Gal-entine's) Day!

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The What Difference Does It Make Podcast begins our 1987 musical journey with an analysis of songs 106.7 to 101 from the World Famous KROQ 1987 year-end chart. The bottom of the chart includes novelty songs (Swinging Erudites, Mojo Nixon), cover songs (Ball Of Confusion), and bands that have been forgotten over time (The Silencers). We're here to bring them back to life, and to determine whether they shall be deemed worthy to remember, or sent back into the ether.

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It was quite a year, from U2 and The Beastie Boys, to Spuds McKenzie and 21 Jump Street. While we can't cover it all, we start off a new season of What Difference Does It Make with a look back at some of those iconic moments from 1987.

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Veteran music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor steps into our virtual studio to tell the tales of 20 badass musicians that she documented in her book, She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism. The book features candid conversations about Feminism with Twenty Inspiring Female Artists including Ann Wilson (Heart), Exene Cervenka (X), Gina Schock (The Go-Go’s), Suzi Quatro, Suzanne Vega, Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, Belly), Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Orianthi, Amanda Palmer, and more.

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In this episode, we take you to the edge...as in the Western Edge exhibit currently featured at the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville. Western Edge examines the close-knit community of Los Angeles-based singers, songwriters, and musicians who, from the 1960s through the 1980s, embraced country music, frequented local nightclubs, and created and shaped the musical fusion known as “country-rock”. We get into that and a whole lot more with Michael Gray, VP of Museum Services, and Michael McCall, Senior Writer and Editor of the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

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Well, the saying goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.", but as Holly says, "I would be happy if we could have another year like this year." So we now look back at 2023 with a few highlights from our chats with many memorable guests. If you're new to What Difference Does It Make, this might very well be a good place to start, or simply a good place to catch up on what you've been missing.

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What Difference Does It Make, the 80s music podcast, celebrates our favorite 80s Christmas songs. Holly tells us how she wooed her future husband with some skiing lessons and we also do a wrap on a couple old school rap classics.

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Ilana Kaplan uses her superpower ability to read the 1000 page Barbara Streisand memoir, My Name Is Barbra, in only three days! Ilana wrote the book review for the Los Angeles Times, and now joins us not only to discuss Babs, but Britney Spears, Sophia Coppola, and a preview of her own upcoming biography on Nora Ephron.

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Friend of the show, Annie Zaleski, joins us this week to talk about the stories behind 100 beloved Christmas songs. It's also the title of her new book, This Is Christmas, Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits. We can’t get through all 100 songs, but we hit on many of our favorites. It's the episode to get you into the spirit of the season!

Are you now in the mood for some Christmas Music? Check out this Amazon Music playlist

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If you thought you were an obsessive music fan, we'd like to direct your attention to Peter Jesperson. He's known for establishing the Minneapolis-based Twin/Tone Records, initial home to bands like The Replacements and Soul Asylum, but he also had his hand in everything related to the Twin Cities music scene. From record stores to music clubs to radio, Peter was practically everywhere, and now he's released his memoir entitled, Euphoric Recall: A Half Century as a Music Fan, Producer, DJ, Record Executive, and Tastemaker. Peter steps into our virtual studio to talk about his lengthy career in the music biz.

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It's the most wonderful time of the year...at least for those allowed to grow a moustache in the month of November, aka Movember. The reason for this moustache celebration is because two Aussies (Travis Garone and Luke Slattery) wanted to create awareness for men's health issues. Cut to twenty years later, and the movement is bigger than ever. To celebrate the month, we invited Max Skinner, Community Development Manager representing Movember. We talk about the history, the ideas, and the causes they support. Of course, we also talk about our favorite musicians and songs that best represent the 'mo.

Dave has a page set up for Movember donations.

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Jason Thomas Gordon came up with a brilliant idea. Why don't I talk to some of the best- loved singers, and ask them about their voices? Seven years later, we have The Singers Talk, a mind-blowing book featuring interviews with 75 iconic artists, from Bryan Adams to Thom Yorke. Jason asks the same set of questions to each singer, to understand the various ways they approach the same subject. Now, JTG enters our virtual studio and allows US to ask HIM the same type of questions.

All proceeds from the sales of this book go towards Music Gives To St. Jude's Kids.

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Music icon and social activist Joan Baez has clearly made a difference for the better in our lives, through her songs and by her bravery in standing up for her beliefs. Directors Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, and Maeve O’Boyle have made the documentary Joan Baez: I Am A Noise. In it, Joan takes an honest look back, and a deep look inward, as she tries to make sense of her large, history-making life, and the personal struggles she's kept private. We talk with the Directors about how they were able to properly represent Joan's career and life issues, and through our chat, WE learn much more about Joan.

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Howard Jones is celebrating his 40th anniversary creating the music we love in a very big way. First is the release of Celebrate It Together: The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023, a 4 CD set of his music, broken down into four categories — Popular Hits, Electro, Chill, and Curiosities. Second is the release of his “fanthology” book, entitled Howard Jones – We’re In This Together, comprised of over 350 contributions from fans sharing their favorite memories and anecdotes about his concerts, music, personal encounters, and more. Last, but certainly not least, Howard steps into our virtual studio to reflect back on his 40 years of creating music. We do have a special bonus, as superfan Dorit joins us to talk about her entry in Howard Jones' book.

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Barry Manilow may write the songs that make the Boomers sing, but when it comes to Gen X, look no further than Holly Knight. This member of the Songwriters Hall Of Fame has written smash hits for Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, Heart, KISS, Rod Stewart, and she is most noted for her collaboration with Tina Turner on nine songs, including "The Best" and "Better Be Good To Me". Holly steps into our virtual studio to talk about her memoir, I Am The Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing The Hits and Rocking The MTV Eighties.

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Jock Bartley, co-founder of the band Firefall, steps into our virtual studio to share stories about the friends and family that helped shape the sound of the band. Friends & Family also just happens to be the album title of Firefall's new album, a collection of cover songs inspired by the artists with whom they've played in the past.

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Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson, aka The 80s TV Ladies, guest star on a very special episode of What Difference Does It Make. We remember our favorite TV theme songs, debate sides when Ross and Rachel were on a break, and pay homage to Mike Post. Spoiler alert! Our talk continues when WE are the very special guests on The 80s TV Ladies podcast. Stay tuned!

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It all started back at The Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip when Steve Rosen, an up and coming music journalist met a young up and coming guitarist by the name of Edward Van Halen. The two hit it off immediately and Steve documented the rise of Edward's band for the next 26 years through numerous interviews . The result is Steve's book, Tonechaser, a detailed look into the life of Edward Van Halen. Steve steps into our virtual studio to give us the details and how this all came together.

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Our previous episode with Denny Tedesco discussing The Immediate Family documentary gives us a great opportunity to revisit our talk from October 2020 with Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel and Steve Postell. If those names are not familiar, just know that they are the musicians that play with Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, James Taylor, Phil Collins, Keith Richards, and Carole King, to name just a few. The Immediate Family not only have their debut self-titled album out now but the documentary will soon be released at the end of 2023.

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Author Mick Wall used to live life in the fast lane, back when he was a music publicist in the 70s for Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and Dire Straits among many others. Nowadays he writes books about artists like Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin and Metallica. Life In The Fast Lane: The Eagles' Reckless Ride Down The Rock & Roll Highway is his latest book. Mick takes us into the Laurel Canyon music scene, the egos and in-fighting, and of course, the songs that helped launch one of the most iconic American bands of all time.

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Music Industry veteran Lynn McDonnell answers to many names, "Gunga Din Lynn", "Gungolla The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla", "Lynner, Lynner What's for Dinner" or just plain "Nails". She enters the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to take us on her career journey, from Doctor's assistant to Life Coach. Oh yeah, in between, she has been one of the most passionate music industry professionals in the business. Lynn shares stories of mall shopping with Gwen Stefani, waiting for Marilyn Manson to apply his makeup, living on Snoop Dog time when you're trying to make an 8AM morning show, and many others. Lynn is currently the Triple A editor for the soon-to-be shuttering All Access, an influential and beloved online radio and music industry source, so we get the inside scoop on what it takes to put out a daily publication.

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Annie Zaleski returns to What Difference Does It Make to discuss her latest book, P!NK: Raise Your Glass. Besides being an enormously talented writer, Annie is just a big ol' music nerd at heart. With that in mind, she's more than happy to talk about Chrissie Hynde's jacket, the location of Nate Ruess, and why she has yet to see a P!NK concert.

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Dean Sabatino aka Dean Clean drummer for The Dead Milkmen steps into our virtual studio to virtually show us around the Quaker City aka Philadelphia. Quaker City Quiet Pills is the latest album from the band and Dean talks us through the process of creating new songs and lets us in on stories behind some of the band's best known songs.

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"They're here", "Ellll-eeeee-ooooot", "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!". If you're like us, you immediately recognize these are quotes from Poltergeist, E.T. and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.  And they all arrived in the year 1982.  Mark Altman is so aware of what a magical time this was for movies, that he produced a 4-part series entitled Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982. Mark was all too happy to step inside our virtual studio to elaborate on the films that helped shape who he is today. Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 is currently showing on The CW and is available for viewing on the app.

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Emiel Spoelder fell under The Dream Syndicate spell almost by accident. He went to see a Ryan Adams concert and the opening band was Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3. He fell in love with the band immediately, in particular, singer Steve Wynn. He met Steve and his mother, and she “suggests" Emiel make a documentary about her son. And that's exactly what he did! Of course, it wasn't that simple. Emiel lays out all the ins and outs of making an independent film on our podcast. It's a fascinating listen and the good news is, The Dream Syndicate: How Did We Find Ourselves Here? is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

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The old saying goes, “We eventually become our parents", but is that really true? Fortunately, we have Ally Probst and Joel Willis to put in print the mandatory laws all Dads must obey when they encounter a certain situation. Their book is entitled Dad Law: The Definitive Reference for All Things Dad. In the book, they answer all our burning questions.

Should I really threaten to turn this car around? Should I let my kids beat me at Mario Kart? Should I mention how much cooler music was back in my day? 

All will be revealed in this informative episode.

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Congratulations are in order for Richard Blade. Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez will introduce a resolution declaring June 9, 2023, “RICHARD BLADE DAY," with the award presented on JUNE 6th for the best-selling author, world-renowned on-air personality and radio show host. 

It turns out Richard Blade may just be an "Imposter". Los Angelenos know him as the voice that introduced a generation to 80s music bands like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, INXS, and The Cure. In fact, you can still hear him seven days a week on SiriusXM's 1st Wave channel. However, the truth is that Richard Blade is ALSO a writer...and a good one at that. His latest book is Imposters, based on the true story of Mike Evans and John "JT" Thomas". Mike was one half of the morning show at KROQ in the early 80s. It was Mike that sat Richard down and told him this incredible story that Richard felt compelled to share with the world. It was a real treat to have Richard enter our virtual studios and we discovered so much more than we expected of his own unique story. As Richard might say, "It's gonna be great!"

Check out the audible version of Richard Blade's memoir "World In My Eyes" with a free month subscription courtesy of your friends at What Difference Does It Make.

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Scott Aukerman is first and foremost an amazingly funny and creative comedian. You know him as the creator and host of Comedy Bang! Bang!, and he's also one of the co-creators of "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Galifianakis.

Scott is also a huge music fan, as you can hear on his comedic podcasts dedicated to U2, REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Talking Heads. And he has just released a book dedicated to the cast of characters created for Comedy Bang! Bang!

We seized this opportunity to invite Scott to step into our virtual studios to give his hot takes and personal anecdotes on the top 10 songs from the 1986 year-end chart from The World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles.

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Michael Halloran heard XTC's "Radios In Motion" and took the lyrics to heart: "And all my kids are complaining, that there's nowhere to go." He gave the kids somewhere to go, first in Detroit with his own Radios In Motion show on WDET. Then he really created a stir at 91X in San Diego with his evening show, before rising to the rank of Program Director. Mike's got opinions and plenty of stories to tell, as we look back at another one of his former stations, KROQ, and songs #20 to #11 from their 1986 year-end playlist.

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Depending on your age, you either initially loved or hated disco. No matter your age now, you love songs like "I Was Made For Lovin' You" by KISS and "Shakedown Street" by The Grateful Dead and don't even think twice that they were once considered taboo by their fanbase.

Author Steven Blush covers this era in his new book, "When Rock Met Disco". In it, he covers the good, "Call Me" by Blondie, the bad, an actual disco version of "Stairway To Heaven", and the ugly, The Chicago White Sox Disco Demolition Day. It's a great chat, so put on your boogie shoes...or air buds, as Steven Blush takes us back to that Saturday Night Fever era.

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We love friend-of-the-show, Craig Rosen, and we love his passion for music. This makes him the perfect guest to look at songs 30 to 21 from the 1986 KROQ year-end playlist. Does he like the Fine Young Cannibals reworking of his beloved Buzzcock's song, "Ever Fallen In Love?" Does he prefer Frente's "Bizarre Love Triangle" over New Order’s? All will be revealed as Craig steps into our virtual studio.

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Glen Matlock has seen a lot, and he pours it all out on his new solo album, Consequences Coming. Glen steps into our virtual studio to discuss his solo career and the amazing band he's assembled. But no chat with Glen would be complete without us asking about The Sex Pistols, what life was like working with Vivienne Westwood at her shop, SEX, and what his favorite song is to play as the touring bass man in Blondie.

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There is no doubt that Debora Iyall, lead singer of the band Romeo Void, knows her way around a memorable lyric. "A Girl In Trouble Is A Temporary Thing", "Talk Dirty To Me”, and of course, "I Might Like You Better If We Slept Together" from the song "Never Say Never", all came from the mind…and experience...of Debora. Her band made a name for itself in the San Francisco scene in the early 80s, and now a recording, Live From The Mabuhay Gardens, November 14, 1980 has surfaced, and captures the band as they were first establishing themselves. The recording from that night will be released on Record Store Day on galaxy-blue colored vinyl. We happily welcome Debora into our virtual studios to bring us up to speed on her life, her side projects, plus everything you may want to know about Romeo Void.

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Sam Zniber knew he wanted to be on the radio. So at the tender age of 14, he stepped into the office of his local top 40 radio station and let the Manager know exactly what he was doing wrong. To the Manager's credit, he listened to this brash kid and offered him an airshift. And so began Sam's radio journey, and what a journey it's been! Sam has programmed radio stations from Sydney, Australia to Miami, Florida to Paris, France. Currently heard on Radio Nostalgie, he also runs MusicDatak, his own music research company. Today Sam steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to discuss his career, and to offer his opinion on the music played back in 1986 from the World-Famous KROQ in Los Angeles.

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Benji McPhail is the Program Director and Morning Show host at KXT 91.7 in Dallas. He's been leading the charge of music discovery since his days at the legendary KBCO in Boulder, Colorado. Today, Benji accepts our challenge of discovering music from the year 1986, based on the year-end playlist from the World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles. As Love & Rockets might say, "All aboard the Express Kundalini"!

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Max Tolkoff has an opinion or two on the state of Alternative radio. This is the man responsible for The Edge format which eventually wound up on over 30 Alternative radio stations by the mid 90’s. Max tells tales on how his love of skiing, biking, and bad gambling decisions led to his career in the 80’s as the Program Director for 91X in San Diego, followed by stints at WFNX in Boston, and Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles. After all that, we analyze a ten song chunk of music played on KROQ in 1986.

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Lynn Goldsmith is an artist of many hats, painter of conceptional images, film director, even co-manager at one point for Grand Funk Railroad. But the reason we are thrilled to talk with Lynn today are the images she has created with her camera. There is not enough space to list the hundreds of museums, galleries and magazines that have featured her work, but let's just say that if you are a music fan, you have had the honor of viewing her artistry. She has fourteen published photography books, featuring artists like Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, KISS, and The Police. Her latest book is called Music In The 80s, so we are thrilled to welcome Lynn Goldsmith into our virtual studio.

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Steve Kilbey of The Church does not have a stop button. He's been releasing music for over 40 years, that's 26 albums with The Church, 7 solo albums and a plethora of collaborations with his musical friends. He's also a writer, a poet and an artist. Somehow this ARIA (Australian) Hall of Fame Inductee found time to sit down with us and talk about the band's latest album, The Hypnogogue.

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Dennis Constantine is a radio visionary. Finding himself at a new radio station, he saw a niche in a market filled with rock radio stations. Instead of cutting down the music library to a small playlist of songs, he focused on introducing new music and deeper cuts by well-loved artists. Yes, this was rock music for adults. Dennis built KBCO from a low-power Boulder station to the number one station in the Denver market, with a unique mix of music and personalities attuned to the Colorado audience. Soon he was using his skills to create radio stations nationwide.

You can hear him currently on Arizona's Adult Alternative KVNA, as he continues to consult radio stations around the country. Today, Dennis enters our virtual studio to discuss his career, and to offer his opinion on songs 70 to 61 from the 1986 KROQ year-end playlist.

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Simply put, Jake Rudh is an old soul in the best of ways. He stayed indoors as a child to watch MTV. When grunge took hold in the early 90s, he was working at a swing era radio station. He even named his dog Harry. Not after Styles, but Connick Jr. He proudly represents the 80s music era with his Transmission radio show every Thursday evening on The Current in Minneapolis. He is also the founder of Transmission dance nights at the legendary First Avenue music club. He now joins our podcast to discuss his career, and to offer his opinion on a ten song chunk of music from the 1986 KROQ year-end playlist.

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Rita Wilde is simply put, a radio legend, having spent over 25 years as a DJ, Music Director and Program Director at 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles. She epitomizes the rock fan's dream of playing and talking about the music and actually getting to meet and talk with your rock idols. Rita represents all of us, which is why we love to hear her enthusiasm whenever she flips on a mic. She shares our joy in the music. So, of course it was our joy to invite Rita into our virtual studio to talk about her career and the music she continues to love with "no surrender" (shoutout to Springsteen) in site. Afterwards, we discuss a station to the extreme right of 95.5, 106.7 to be exact, as we get to songs 90 to 81 from the 1986 KROQ year end playlist.

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Usually you can hear Buzz Knight "Takin' A Walk" as he does on his own podcast but today we "have a sit" with this radio executive. We find out about how he got his start in the business and what he has learned over the decades of a storied career. We then get into our look at songs 100 to 91 from the KROQ 1986 year end playlist.

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The year is 1986, and the music on the radio for the kids of LA is going through some changes. KROQ has a new next-door neighbor on the dial, called Power 106. The music KROQ is playing has a little more rhythm in its step. I guess you could say, “the dream team is in the house" as we start our look at the top 106.7 songs played on The World Famous KROQ. This week, it's songs 106.7 to 101.

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1986 was quite a year for collaborations: Aerosmith and Run DMC, Siskel & Ebert, Tom Cruise and his need for speed. It all adds up to another year to remember. And let's not fail to acknowledge it was the year of Hands Across America, and that guy who's not a doctor but plays one on TV. It all happened in 1986. We dive into many of our favorite touchstone moments that helped define the year.

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We welcome back music journalist and friend-of-the-show, Craig Rosen, into the What Difference Does It Make garage with a toast to the new year. Craig is hitting a milestone year, so we ask the author of The Billboard Book of Number One Albums, "What was the number one album the year you were born?”. Craig guides us through his top albums of 2022, and we also remember the extraordinary work of Terry Hall. And what would a visit by Craig be without talk about Costco? What could possibly be Craig's "Pick Of The Year" at his favorite warehouse club store?

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David Wild steps out of his comfy zone writing for The Grammy Awards and the upcoming TV salute to Paul Simon (airing on CBS on December 21), and enters into the wild of our studio/garage. David faces the hard-hitting questions, like "Which rock stars are shorter than he is?" and tries to understand why we can't remember the host of last year's Grammys (Spoiler: it's Trevor Noah. He's also hosting next year.).  We also pay tribute to Christine McVie, salute the brilliance of Paul Simon, and try to understand why the ladies love LL Cool J, but LL seems to love David Wild.

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Mark Thompson grew up loving radio, comedy, and with an appreciation for the absurd. These qualities made Mark uniquely qualified to create one of the most iconic morning radio shows in history. The Mark & Brian show started out in Birmingham, Alabama, but within a year, made its way to Los Angeles and 95.5 KLOS. It quickly became the #1 morning show in the #2 market. Mark & Brian were inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame in 2020. Mark's memoir, Don't Bump The Record, Kid: My Adventures with Mark & Brian is out now, and he steps into our virtual studio to regale us with some of his (mis)adventures.

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If you're still "high as a kite" from watching Elton John's final US show at Dodger Stadium, we just might have the podcast episode for you. Gillian Gaar has authored a beautiful coffee table book, Elton John @75, examining Sir Elton through the lens of 75 career accomplishments and life events. Gillian steps into our virtual studios to say so much about Sad Songs and much more related to the Rocket Man. 

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Michael Lockwood has lived a full musician's life. Starting out with the band Lions & Ghosts, he lived the dream of getting signed to a major label, and releasing two albums in the 80s. Following the dissolution of the band came work on movie soundtracks and collaborations with Aimee Mann, Carly Simon and Fiona Apple. He now runs Sparkle Plenty Records, and one of the first orders of business is to finally give a proper re-release of Lions & Ghosts debut album, Velvet Kiss, Lick Of The Lime. We get deep into Michael’s history, and the ins-and-outs of the music business as we welcome Michael to the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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Steve Rapport's camera has taken him on quite a journey, from the very beginning, shooting Robert Plant's Honeydrippers while he was at University, to being in the camera well at Live Aid, getting shots of Freddie Mercury and Bono. His journey continues now in New Orleans where he has the good fortune to capture Amy Schumer and Arcade Fire in action. And WE have the good fortune to talk with Steve about his life and career today on the podcast.  

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We continue our two-part look at Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets with two guys from the band. One guy is Guy Pratt. He's played with Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Madonna, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen, Tears For Fears, and the list goes on. We also have a friend of the show, Gary Kemp. You know him as the guitarist and principal songwriter for Spandau Ballet. Currently, they are spending their time with Nick Mason, recreating the music of Pink Floyd circa 1967-1972. We get into all the secrets this week on the What Difference Does It Make podcast. 

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Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason is bringing early Pink Floyd music back to life by taking it on the road with his band, Saucerful of Secrets. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member steps into our virtual studios to talk about the music he created with Pink Floyd from 1967 to 1972, and the all-star band he assembled to recreate these iconic songs.

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There is no denying that Stevie Nicks has captivated audiences since she first burst onto the music scene in the mid 70s. It is a combination of a uniquely gifted rock and roll voice, songwriting chops, and a distinctive look that led to her musical journey. Author Simon Morrison explores these elements and so much more in his latest book, Mirror in the Sky: The Life and Music of Stevie Nicks. Simon steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studios to further cement the case as to why Stevie is the first woman to be twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. 

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The Smithereens dominated modern rock radio in the early 80s to mid 90s with songs like "Only A Memory" and "A Girl Like You". Despite the tragic loss of their lead singer, Pat DiNizio, the band soldiers on with guest vocalists Marshall Crenshaw and The Gin Blossoms Robin Wilson taking the vocals. Guitarist Jim Babjak and drummer Dennis Diken visit the What Difference Does It Make virtual studios and talk up their passion for 60s pop songs, the road to success, and this mysterious lost album from the 90s, strangely enough, called The Lost Album. 

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Thanks to Rob Juarez, founder of the Lost 80s Live concerts, this is quite possibly our most 80s music episode ever. We went down to San Diego to learn why the artists and fans keep coming back to these shows. We talk with members of Wang Chung, Animotion, and The Untouchables. We also talk to some passionate fans that still love the music that shaped their lives. We wrap it all up by talking with the man himself, Rob Juarez.

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Director Andy Fickman has brought Heathers back to life. Yes, the beloved dark comedy classic, Heathers, is now a movie musical and it is so "very". Andy takes us through the ten year process of making this daydream a reality. And Andy may be so crazy, you'd swear he had a "brain tumor for breakfast". 

After you listen to our podcast, watch the movie, now a musical, and streaming on Roku.

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This year, David Bowie would have turned 75. To recognize this occasion, Rock Historian/Author/Podcaster Martin Popoff has authored a coffee table book, simply called Bowie @75. One might think Martin would love everything about Bowie, but being the contrarian he is, Martin makes his opinion known as we touch on a number of the significant landmark moments in Bowie's storied career.  

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Twin brothers Adam and David Moss have been harmonizing together since their days as kids trapped in their parents car, forced to listen to 60s folk and show tunes. As it turns out, they actually love this music, and now we benefit from it, courtesy of The Brother Brothers latest album, Cover to Cover. It's a love letter of sorts, dedicated to the music that has inspired them throughout their lives. Adam and David talk with What Difference Does It Make to detail the journey that led them to cover these classic pop and folk songs.  

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Rob Juarez is the mastermind behind the Lost 80s Live shows. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the concert series that features so many of your favorite 80s bands like Devo, ABC, and A Flock of Seagulls. We get into Rob's story on how he came to create the brand, and all the hard work that goes into putting on a show. It's all on The What Difference Does It Make podcast.

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We continue our look at the first songs played on MTV by reviewing videos 16 to 25. In this episode, we agree that Iron Maiden segueing into REO Speedwagon is a horrible idea. Holly learns about Mr. Briefcase, AND she teaches Dave about the real meaning behind Phil Collins, "In The Air Tonight". After all this excitement, we test ourselves with a little MTV trivia quiz. It'll make you demand, "I want my MTV podcast!" 

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It was the early days of MTV, and it was also the early days of our podcast, circa 2018, when we dissected the videos played on August 1, 1981, the day MTV was launched. This day was so important, we made it a two-part episode. In the first part, we debate our way through the first 15 videos played on MTV. We discover that one of our favorite Pat Benatar songs is, in fact a cover. We question the musical direction of Styx. And, Holly learns the definition of brass when it's in one's pocket.

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Simon Morrison is a Professor of Music at Princeton University, with an emphasis on the musical, cultural, and political histories of the Soviet Union, Russia, the United States, and France. With all that said, he's also a fan of pop music, in particular a band from the UK called Roxy Music, their lead singer Bryan Ferry. He wrote a 33 1/3 book on the band's 1982 album, Avalon. His Princeton homepage quotes him saying "I can explain why and how music matters then as now." and that's exactly what we do this week on What Difference Does It Make podcast.

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Carla Olson is a true musician. She might be best known to our listeners for her work with the Textones, but she has had and is continuing to have quite a full career. Carla played guitar in Bob Dylan's first music video, she was the first woman to sing with John Fogerty, and she now has a compilation album comprised of many of her musical friends playing train-themed songs, called Americana Railroad. Carla has an endless supply of stories, so hop aboard!  

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Our summer got off to a great start with an invitation from the good folks at Podopolo to hang out at the Feast It Forward house in Napa, California. As it happens, it was also the week of BottleRock, so we had the opportunity to talk to Ron Artis II, Mama Said, Kosha Dillz, and Chef Roy Choi. Special thanks goes out to Amanda Morck of My Rock Moment podcastand Al Mancini of the Food and Loathing in Las Vegas podcast.

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John Easdale of Dramarama has quite an origin story. Local Jersey kid and his high school friends work at a record store and dream of being in a band, they make a record that gets picked up by a French DJ. The record makes its way to Los Angeles and is mistaken by a famous DJ for a French band. 

Yes, "Anything, Anything" can happen when it comes to rock and roll. We then segue to 1985, the year Dramarama's Cinéma Vérité was released and look at the top 10 year-end songs from KROQ, the radio station that first played "Anything, Anything".  

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Paul Myers is many things: Artist, Author, Producer, Podcaster, but above all else, he is a music and comedy fan. You can currently hear Paul as host of The Record Store Day Podcast. He is also a producer of the just-released documentary, Kids In The Hall: Comedy Punks. We touch on all the hot topics: Beatles vs. Stones, comedy troupes, and donuts. 

Get a month of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make. 

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Hans Everling is the owner of SOB Audio Imaging in Amsterdam, and this week he takes on the challenge of giving his professional and honest opinion of songs #20 to #11 from the 1985 KROQ year-end playlist. Can any of these tunes possibly compare to his beloved favorite band, Earth, Wind & Fire?

Hear your favorite 80s songs with a free month of Amazon Music, courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make podcast. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast

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Hear at Home is an artist interview segment hosted by Andy Chanley on 885FM, but today we switch roles with Andy and WE talk to HIM about his radio career. Andy also helps us dive into songs from the 1985 KROQ year end list. In this episode, it’s songs #30 to #21.

Get a month of Amazon Music for free courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make.

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David Wild has many friends, including us. He has just released a podcast with his good friend, Phil Rosenthal, entitled Naked Lunch. Fortunately, it's audio so we don't know if there's any actual nudity involved but there is definitely food and friends. David steps into our virtual studio to talk to us about the podcast, the friends, and the food, all on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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Ann Wilson, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Heart vocalist, isn't one to rest on her laurels during a hiatus with the band. Finding inspiration through her songwriting, and creating thrilling new arrangements of cover songs with her band "The Amazing Dawgs", we have an Ann Wilson solo album called Fierce Bliss. We talk about the past, present, and future with Ann, including 2023 plans for a 50th Anniversary Celebration of Heart. It's all on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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Suzi Quatro has been rockin' for over half a century and is showing no signs of slowing down. As the recent documentary, Suzi Q, shows, she is still as passionate today about her music as the day she strapped on her bass guitar at the age of 14. We get into all of it, from her beginnings with the Quatro family band, The Pleasure Seekers, all the way to her latest album, The Devil In Me, playing and producing with her son, Richard Tuckey.

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How does Martha Wainwright survive growing up in the shadow of not only her father, Loudon Wainwright III, and her mother, Kate McGarrigle, but also her beautiful and extremely talented brother, Rufus Wainwright? It's all described in Martha's memoir, Stories I Might Regret Telling You. Martha steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to discuss her childhood, and finding her own way in her artistic family.

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Thomas Robsahm, Director of the just-released documentary, a-ha THE MOVIE, is our guest this week. Depending on where you live in the world, the band a-ha may be considered an 80s one-hit wonder band, but that is simply not the case. a-ha is still one of the best-selling live bands in the world. They've released ten albums, and eight of them hit number one in their home country of Norway, and sold nearly 100 million copies. Thomas is also the Producer of The Worst Person in The World, a surprise breakout movie that received two Oscar nominations this year; one for Best International Feature, and one for Best Original Screenplay. It's a lot to discuss as Thomas Robsahm steps into the What Difference Does It Make Podcast virtual studio.

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Palle Bo is a radio legend in Denmark. He's been in the game since the 80s, and now this "Radio Guru" is taking his act on the road, traveling the world and sharing his exploits in a podcast called The Radio Vagabond. Palle took a break from his hectic schedule to talk to us about his early days in Danish radio, and to discuss songs #40 to #31 from the KROQ Los Angles 1985 year-end chart.

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Bob Waugh's radio career brought him to the best of the best radio stations at the perfect time. When the excitement of New Wave first struck New York in the 80s, Bob was spinning records at "Dare To Be Different" WLIR on Long Island, just outside New York City. In the early 90s, when Alternative music became pop music, Bob was in charge at WHFS in Washington DC. He recently wrapped up the "first leg" of his career at WRNR in Annapolis, where he was able to play his favorite classic songs while still letting listeners in on new music discovery. Bob steps into our virtual studio to talk about the crazy turns his career has taken, and then we all settle in to talk about the year 1985, and songs #50 to #41 on the KROQ year-end chart.

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Keith Coes was destined for radio ever since he "won" a shift on the Vanderbilt University radio station, without ever actually attending the school. And he even became the Music Director! This metal-loving dude has now been the Music Director for WRLT Lightning 100 in Nashville for nearly 30 years. This makes him a great guest to discuss songs #60 to #51 on the 1985 year-end chart from KROQ in Los Angeles.

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Self-Proclaimed "Hippie, Rocker, Seeker", Zeb Norris, enters the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio. Zeb was a K-Pop star long before any member of BTS was even born. In Zeb's case, KPOP was a radio station in Sacramento spinning rock of the 80s. After that, he departed the West Coast, making his way across the country to WNCS in northern Vermont. He now happily resides as the Program Director/Morning Guy at WCVT in Plattsburgh/Burlington, Vermont. CVT stands for Classic Hits Vermont. This makes him the perfect guest to discuss songs #70 to #61 from the 1985 World Famous KROQ year-end chart.

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In 1985, Tami Heide was a host on WBCN, Boston's #1 rock radio station at the time. Today, Tami steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to discuss her career trajectory from Boston to Los Angeles, where she became a host on KROQ in 1991. In between Tami's fart jokes, we're given some insight into her life as a music fan and radio talent. We also manage to discuss songs #80 to #71 from the 1985 KROQ year-end chart!

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Brad Savage is a self-described radio nerd, traversing the United States sharing his love of music via his love of radio. He's been with REV105 and KTCZ in the Twin Cities. Moved to Columbia, Missouri to program The Buzz and 102.3 KBXR. This led to Madison, Wisconsin and WMAD, when it was an Alternative rock station, and then on to WQKL "107one" in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He launched The Corner 106.1 WCNR in Charlottesville, Virginia, before finally landing at The Summit in Akron. He's always said "It's all about the music", so now Brad faces his toughest challenge, which is reviewing songs #90 - #81 on the 1985 year-end chart from KROQ in Los Angeles.

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Larry "The Duck" Dunn steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to provide some insight into the New York 80s music scene. Larry started his career at 92.7 WLIR, where he became the Music Director and helped shape the sound of this influential New York radio station. In between our banter about WLIR, Larry's personal experiences with the artists, and his time in the clubs, we look to Los Angeles and the 1985 year-end chart from KROQ. This episode, we look at songs #100 to #91. There are a few lost classics, as well as some songs from classic rockers in this ten-song-chunk. You can also hear Larry on SiriusXM's 1st Wave channel and also streaming on WDARE.

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It's a new year in more ways than one for the What Difference Does It Make podcast, as we go "back to the future" and begin our look at the songs KROQ in Los Angeles played in the year 1985. In this episode, we look at 6.7 songs. We start at the bottom, with song #106.7, and for the first time since we started this look back at each year of the 80s, we actually have access to this earworm of a song. If you're ready to relive the music from 1985, you've come to the right place.

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1985 was a year filled with incredible highs: LIVE AID!, The Breakfast Club, Eddie Murphy, and some soul-crushing lows: New Coke, the Super Bowl halftime show, the film Gymkata. It's all worth revisiting, so join us as we celebrate some of the most unforgettable moments in pop culture from 1985.

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Welcome to our greatest hits episode! First time to What Difference Does It Make? This is the perfect start to discovering our 80s music podcast. We look back at the highlights from 2021, as we talk with some of our favorite music artists and other creators.

New episodes every Friday!

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Fans of Tom Scharpling might think they know him well. After all, he's hosted his own radio show/podcast, The Best Show for 20 years. Turns out, we only knew about a small portion of his life. It Never Ends is an appropriate title for Tom's memoir. In it, he talks about his issues, big and small, and how he's managed to rise above it all. And sometimes, he didn't. Tom is normally the guy asking the questions, so this is a unique opportunity for us to switch it up a little and dig into his life stories on the What Difference Does It Make podcast.

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Friend of the show, David Wild, returns, and he wanted to bring along his bestie, Phil Rosenthal. Phil is the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, and Somebody Feed Phil, so first thing we do is throw him a food question. Phil retorts with a "What kind of podcast is this?!?", and we are off and running! Turns out, Phil wants to talk about Bruce Springsteen, and we're more than happy to indulge him! Our talk centers around what makes Bruce so unique, personal memories and encounters with The Boss, and eventually we get to some food-talk. Specifically, Phil taking Jack Nicholson to a pizza parlor in Phoenix. It's so crazy, it has to be true. It's all on the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, love-making, earth-quaking What Difference Does It Make podcast!

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John Illsley knew he wanted more out of life than a safe career working in the logging industry. His life took a major turn when he met the Knopfler brothers; Mark and David. With John taking the bass, and Pick Withers on drums, the band Dire Straits was formed. Through various lineup changes, John Illsley and Mark Knopfler remained the core members throughout the band's career. Dire Straits went on to win four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, and two MTV Video Music Awards. They've sold an estimated 100 million units worldwide, making them one of the biggest bands of the 80s. John documents it all in his memoir, My Life In Dire Straits. We cover it all, including their awkward entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

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Michaelangelo Matos realized at the age of 9 how magical the year 1984 was by simply listening to the radio, and loving each and every song he heard. His latest book, Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year, documents how this came to be by focusing on key moments. We talk about a few of our favorites from the Britain Rocks America-Again Newsweek cover in January, to the debut of Graffiti Rock in June, to the MTV Awards, and the recording of Band Aid. Of course, there was also Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Bruce Springsteen. 1984 truly was a year like no other.

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Gina Schock, drummer for The Go-Go's, may have been "Made in Hollywood", as the title of her new book suggests, but she was without a doubt, born in Baltimore. Her accent rings as loud as her drumming, loud and clear. It turns out Gina was also the unofficial photographer of the band during their heyday in the early 80s. Using her Canon camera, Gina snapped many candid and posed shots of her bandmates, many of which made it into the book. We chat all about Gina's start as a musician, which leads to her cross-country journey to Hollywood, and finally to her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this year.

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We care about the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, but not nearly as much as Joe Kwaczala and Kristen Studard, hosts of the Who Cares About The Rock Hall? podcast. We learn all about the ins and outs of who gets in to the Rock Hall, and who is on the outs. We also learn why the actual music fan is the least important factor regarding the induction process.

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To tell you the truth, David Wild knows everyone in Hollywood. Because it was our first time talking with him, it felt like a first date. David laid out his career resume, from interviewing his Tenafly neighbor, George Benson when David was 9 years old, to his recent Emmy loss to Stephen Colbert in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category. He was also in a nostalgic mood, as the day we recorded this episode, was the 20th anniversary of his Emmy-nominated work for America: A Tribute to Heroes. He also fills our head with stories about The Grammys and The Beatles, to his friendship with Brad Paisley and his passion for the Dodgers. The good news is he has agreed to a second date with us, so please enjoy our first of hopefully many talks with David Wild on the What Difference Does It Make podcast.

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The coup de main, or surprise attack, for Jude Cole, is that after 21 years, he's released two records in 2021. Coup De Main is an album of originals, and Coolerator, showcases his love of 50s music with all cover songs. His early career took off when Moon Martin (the guy responsible for writing "Bad Case Of Loving You") plucked a 19 year old Jude Cole to play in his band, but Jude is best known as a solo artist in the 80s and 90s, with a top ten hit "Baby It's Tonight". His career has experienced many highs and lows, and we get into it all on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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Alec Wightman may call himself a corporate lawyer, but he's also a huge music fan. He's chronicled his personal journey of fandom into a memoir entitled Music In My Life: Notes From a Longtime Fan. The book details Alec's discovery of rock and roll through the music of Dion's The Wanderer, to his side gig booking shows for his favorite artists in his hometown of Columbus, OH, to his involvement with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where he served as board chair. It's a unique rock and roll story from a fan's perspective, and we get into all of it on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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Jay Jay French may be best known as the guitarist in Twisted Sister, but he's used all the experience he's acquired throughout the course of his life to become a columnist, author, and motivational speaker. Jay Jay, along with his business partner Steve Farber--a leadership and management expert himself, has written a "bizoir": part memoir, part business advice. It's called Twisted Business: Lessons From My Life In Rock and Roll. Both Jay Jay and Steve join us as we learn all about the (mis)adventures and the lessons learned along the way.

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Journalist and author Paul Rees has previously written about Robert Plant and The Who's John Entwistle; two rock stars that kept a low personal profile. Paul completes his rock star trilogy with a biography on John Mellencamp. We talk a lot about John's grit and determination, which helps in no small part to make his artistic dreams come true. Paul immerses himself into John Mellencamp's life, and we come to really understand what continues to drive this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist.

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Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes takes us on his musical journey as the band moves from cult status to striking it big, after landing producer David Foster for their classic album, The Completion Backward Principle. His solo album, Fee Waybill Rides Again was produced by his best friend, Richard Marx. Fee has appeared in many cult film classics, from Xanadu to The Fabulous Stains to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. His next dream is to play King George in Hamilton, so he can sing "You'll Be Back". It's all true, and it's all on the What Difference Does It Make podcast.

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This week, we step back from the task of asking questions, and instead let Bob Bland of the Bend & Scoop podcast inquire into our record collection with a segment he calls, "Is That Your Vinyl Answer".

Here is your friendly reminder to subscribe to our podcast as we release new episodes every Friday. Reviews are also appreciated!

Video clips from each episode can be found on the What Difference Does It Make YouTube page.

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You might know Lawrence Gowan as the keyboardist and songwriter for Styx for the past 20 years. Canadians know Lawrence Gowan as the artist with two top-ten albums from the 80s, Strange Animal (1985) and Great Dirty World (1987), as well as numerous top ten singles, including "Criminal Mind", Juno award winner for best video of the year in 1985. Needless to say, we dig into his entire career, up to and including his latest album with Styx, Crash Of The Crown.

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Gary Myrick has had quite an adventurous musical journey. This Texas native left for greener pastures in Los Angeles and formed Gary Myrick & The Figures. Any fan of the film Valley Girl will remember their 80s song, "She Talks In Stereo". From there, it was on to London to meet up with former Clash bassist, Paul Simonon, and Nigel Dixon to make up the band Havana 3AM. Today, Myrick's adventures include motorcycles, his dogs, his 12 string guitars, and his love of the blues. This brings us to Gary Myrick's latest album, Forever (Adventures In 12 String) . The album covers the songs that inspired him, the songs he created with The Figures and Havana 3AM, as well as some originals all played on the 12 string guitar. You'll hear all about Gary's (mis)adventures in this episode of What Difference Does It Make.

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Kurt Larson, lead singer of Information Society, is quite an interesting guy. First of all, he's only a part-time rock star, as he spends most of his days composing music for video games. We learn all about video games, the forgotten 80s music format CD +G, and of course, we get the 4-1-1 on their 1988 top ten hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)", and the hoops they had to jump through to get Paramount's permission to use Leonard Nimoy's voice. And, oh yeah, they have a new album out now called, "ODDfellows".

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If you're a fan of 80s music like we are, you might say some of your favorite bands are The Police, REM, Squeeze, The Go-Gos, The Alarm, The English Beat and The Bangles. First of all, we would say you've got great taste in music. We'd also say it was artist manager and music executive Miles Copeland that helped usher in this 80s music renaissance. Miles documents his successes and failures in his book, Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: My Life In The Music Business. He shares his insights and some of the crazy cast of characters he's managed in his legendary career.

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Most of us initially learned about Gary Kemp though his work as the musical architect for the 80s band, Spandau Ballet so naturally we wanted to touch on everything surrounding the band. But first things first, as we launch into a talk about the creation of his cool new album, INSOLO, his work stepping into David Gilmour's spot in Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets and his excellent podcast, Rockonteurs. Gary also gave us a history lesson on all that went into the Blitz Kids club scene in the late 70s to early 80s.

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Grammy-nominated folk singer and songwriter, Mary Gauthier, steps into the virtual What Difference Does It Make podcast studio and gives us inspiring insight into the process and healing nature in the creation of songs. Mary's book, Saved By A Song, touches on the songs that inspire her, as well as the songs she's written, to provide insight into her transformation from a restauranteur battling addiction into a beloved songwriter.

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Midge Trubey has quite a story. Back in the 70s, Midge found an opportunity to create a business by providing Rock Stars everything they need when they come into town. Turns out stars like Lionel Ritchie and Kenny Rogers like it when they can have a freshly prepared meal while on tour! Rock Doesn't Roll on an Empty Stomach: Stories and Recipes from a Rockin' Cook's Journey Fueling America's Biggest Touring Bands of the 70's And 80's is the book, which is part memoir, part cookbook. It was a delicious treat to hear about some of Midge's encounters along her amazing journey.

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What do you do when the creative juices are still flowing twenty years after your band breaks up? Well, in the case of The Jenny Thing, you get the band back together and release a new album. Lead singer/songwriter Matt Easton joins the What Difference Does It Make Podcast to talk about what led to creation of their new album, American Canyon. Matt gets into the details of the music, the videos, and that time the band appeared on Star Search.

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Kristin Hersh might be best known as the singer-songwriter in the band 80s music band, Throwing Muses, but she is also an acclaimed author. Her latest book, Seeing Sideways, takes us on an emotional journey as she reflects on thirty years of creating music, raising kids, and maneuvering her way around the trauma she has faced in balancing the two. Kristin is a true independent spirit. We were delighted to welcome her into the virtual What Difference Does It Make studio to share her thoughts on life as an artist.

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Darren Brady-Harris gained fame as nerdy Cliff in the iconic 80s teen movie, 16 Candles. He's also one of the most passionate music fans we've ever met. Darren loves to talk 80s music, and he calls it like he sees it. This makes him the perfect guest, as we count down songs 10 to 1 from the KROQ 1984 year- end chart. Darren is also the former music director for the student-run radio station at UCLA, and as such, has many opinions, which he is very willing to share with us. Could Echo & The Bunnymen possibly be a better band than U2? Who's better: English Beat or General Public? 1984 brought us Purple Rain, but is it possible that Welcome to The Pleasure Dome by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, and Run-DMC's debut were better albums? All will be revealed, as well as how a kid sitting in the front row of a movie screening was selected to be the best friend to John Cusack and Anthony Michael Hall in a John Hughes film.

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Singer/songwriter Kat Goldman has a unique insight into the music industry, and writes about it in her book Off The Charts. Like anyone who has stepped onto a stage to entertain for a living, Kat has experienced many highs and lows. She shares it all with a charming sense of humor and awareness, which makes her a great guest for our podcast.

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Her name is Annie and she dances on the sand...whenever she hears the album Rio by Duran Duran! Writer Annie Zaleski joins us in the virtual What Difference Does It Make podcast studio to talk about her 33 1/3 book, Rio. Like us, Annie is a self-described 80s music nerd, so were thrilled to nerd out together over all the details that made this band, and in particular, this album. It gave us a "cherry ice cream smile".

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Simply put, Dan McGrath is a huge Depeche Mode fan, I mean his initials are DM. The Creative Director of No Sheet Music and soon to be member of the duo cover band "Master and Servant", that plays only music by duos, steps into our virtual studios. We discuss songs 20 to 11 based off radio station KROQ in Los Angeles' year end chart from 1984. We let Dan chose this ten song chunk because it not only contains two Depeche Mode songs, but also the song the What Difference Does It Make podcast team thinks should have been the number one song for that year.

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Many of you know Jose Perez Navarro as the original anchor of Contacto Deportivo or as the play by play announcer for World Cup games since 2002. What you may not know, is his career started in radio back in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. He is particularly passionate about music from the 80s which is why we happily invited Jorge Perez Navarro into our virtual What Difference Does It Make studios. The original idea was to talk about songs 30 to 21 from the 1984 year end chart from radio station KROQ in Los Angeles. We manage to do that but we mainly touch on Jorge's love of Air Supply, Elton John and music from the late, great Jim Steinman.

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People listening to KROQ in the mid 80s got the good fortune to hear "Mega-mixes", a medley of songs from artists like Duran Duran and Pet Shop Boys that stretched out into one ten minute jam. The man responsible for these mixes is Christer Modig, aka Swedish Chris. Chris steps into our What Difference Does It Make virtual studios and discusses exactly how a high school kid from Sweden landed at KROQ in Los Angeles. In between stories, we discuss songs from the 1984 KROQ year end chart. This week we look at songs 40 to 31.

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Our favorite Los Angeles radio station is 885FM, so it was very cool to get Marc "Mookie" Kaczor into our virtual What Difference Does It Make studios. Mookie has turned us on to so many new artists that it was great to return the favor and introduce him to some of our favorites as we look at the songs KROQ played back in 1984. This week we focus in on songs 50 to 41 which covers everything from Prince to Killing Joke. Oh, and if you know Dave Grohl, please put him in touch with Mookie. He needs a favor.

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JC Douglas, steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studios to discuss songs 60 to 51 from the 1984 KROQ year end list. This ten song chunk of songs really encapsulates why the music was so influential to our burgeoning musical taste. In this episode, we cover artists from Lou Reed to The Time to R.E.M. and our titular song from The Smiths shows up as well. J.C. the "Hyperactive" Canadian can be heard afternoons on 89.9 The Wave in Halifax, Nova Scotia,

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We continue our celebration of March Metal Madness with Nöthin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. Authors Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock did an intensive dig into the musicians and insiders involved in the scene that launched the careers of Mötley Crüe and Poison on the west coast and Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot on the east. Our talk with Tom and Richard gets into the highs and lows of so many of the bands that many first saw on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.

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We all miss the connection of live music, and that's why we're so happy a movie like Long Live Rock has been released. This rock documentary pays tribute to the many factors that explain our passion for rock music AND rock festivals. The film features many of the musicians, the people working behind the scenes, and of course, the fans. AreJay Hale, drummer for Halestorm, director Jonathan McHugh, and producer Gary Spivack step into the virtual What Difference Does It Make studio to discuss everything that went into making this film. They are passionate rock fans, one and all!

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Russ Borris, Music Director at WFUV in New York enters our virtual studios and immediately throws down some knowledge. 1) "Duran Duran is Life" 2) Flight of The Conchords are Hall & Oates 3) When it comes to Masters of The Universe, Leech is so much cooler than Moss Man. He also asks the important questions like, "What is the difference between an Alligator and a Crocodile and "Why was Poison a bigger band than Warrant?" The world may never know, but what we do know is that in-between all the shenanigans we manage to discuss songs 70 to 61 on the 1984 KROQ in Los Angeles year end chart.

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Kyle Meredith, Music Director at WFPK in Louisville and host of his own podcast Kyle Meredith with... is ready to step in the ring with Holly and Dave and offer up his opinion on the year that was 1984. In this episode we look at songs 80 to 71 from radio station KROQ in Los Angeles' year end chart. Kyle may have been a young child in the 80s but he has strong opinions on the music played during this time and because of his love of the decade, we welcome Kyle as an unofficial member of Gen X. The music countdown on the countdown can be heard on our music playlist page.

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Carmel Holt, creator and host of Sheroes Radio, steps into the virtual What Difference Does It Make studios. We dig into Carmel's musical origin's and lessons learned as Music Director at WDST in Woodstock and WFUV in New York. We also discuss why her intense love of music discovery led to her creation of Sheroes. Always the pro, she learned early on to "always prep" and so Carmel is ready to give her opinion on songs 90 to 81 from the 1984 KROQ in Los Angeles year end chart.

To hear all the songs discussed, check out our Spotify playlist. You can also find all songs at WDDIMPodcast.com on our playlist page.

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Dave knew he had found a new friend when he saw Joel ...clad in a Wilco t-shirt...at his daughter's soccer game. They bonded easily over music and sports. Dave was also happy to discover another good friend, in Joel's wife, Melissa Gould. She is warm, with a great sense of humor. While learning to live with his MS diagnosis, tragedy struck when Joel passed away in 2013 at the age of fifty. Melissa then found herself alone, a young widow with a young daughter. She chronicles her journey in her memoir, Widowish. While it is a heartbreaking story, Melissa uses her experience as a writer for TV and film to bring lightness and humor into her story. Widowish is beautifully crafted, and both Holly and Dave found that Melissa was a perfect guest for the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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You might know Mike Marrone as the guy that created and hosted The Loft for SiriusXM for 17 years. He first established a name for himself in 1984 at Your Rock Alternative FM 106.3 WHTG, a free form rock station in New Jersey. And so, Mike is the perfect guest as we analyze the top 106.7 songs played on KROQ in Los Angeles back in 1984. This week we take apart songs 100 to 91. Mike says there are two types of songs, "Stuff you like and stuff you don't". As you would expect, he holds nothing back. We have a great time talking about Mike's early days and now you can listen to him on his internet radio show, FROM THE BASEMENT at mikemarrone.com

You can hear the songs as they are slowly revealed on our Spotify playlist.

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Our cover photo boy this week is Swedish Egil The jock from KROQ in Los Angeles kicks off our countdown with a song that time has forgotten, 'Erotic Egil'. Time has forgotten it because it is nowhere to be found. Fortunately, most of the songs played back then are still around and ready to be dissected. We jump right in to the year that was 1984 and discover many lost classics. We strive/strove/are striven (Holly and Dave and decide which is the proper word) to create a great show so welcome to 1984 as we countdown the top 106.7 songs.

Follow along as we slowly reveal the songs on our Spotify playlist.

This will also be posted on our website WDDIMPodcast.com/music-playlists.

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Season Premiere! In anticipation of our upcoming dissection of the songs played on KROQ in 1984, we wanted to set the table so to speak, and take you back to what we might have been doing back in the day. Dave was probably driving his Dodge Turbo Colt and wearing his sunglasses at night on his way to see Beverly Hills Cop....again. When not working at Camp Beverly Hills, Holly was sitting at home with her newly purchased answering machine, watching night time dramas and waiting for her yellow Corvette driving, mustachioed lothario to call. All this and more on our 1984 Pop Culture episode.

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If bands can have greatest hits albums why can't podcasts have a greatest hits episode? We talked with so many talented artists in 2020 so this is a look back at what the year was like for What Difference Does It Make, your 80s music podcast. If this is your first time visiting our show, it's the perfect introduction to our podcast.

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We couldn't be more delighted to talk with self-described "Big 80s Icon", Mark Goodman. Of course, we all know him as an MTV VJ, but his roots are in radio and so we dig into his start working small town markets, and moving on to free-form radio and what it was like to be in the eye of the hurricane during the beginning of MTV. You can currently hear Mark on the SiriusXM show "Debatable" which can be found on their Volume channel as well as 80s on 8.

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Like many significant moments in our lives, we remember where we were when we heard the devastating news about John Lennon. We tell our stories and then turn it over to a couple people that surrounded the event of December 8. Mark Goodman was on the air on New York radio station WPLJ on the evening of December 8, 1980 and photographer Bob Gruen was a family photographer for the Lennon family, capturing John and Yoko during the recording of Double Fantasy. We also talk with author Tim English. His new book "John Lennon: 1980 Playlist" does a deep dive into the music that captured John's attention in the year he created his new album after a five year self-imposed hiatus.

If you'd like to hear the music that inspired John we have a Spotify playlist for you.

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Jules Shear created a name for himself as a pop songwriter in the 80s writing Top 40 hits like "All Through The Night" for Cyndi Lauper and "If She Knew What She Wants" by The Bangles. He's also the originator of MTV's Unplugged series hosting and playing on the show in its first season back in 1989. He's been releasing his own classic material for nearly 40 years now. His just released album is entitled "Slower" and we sat down with Jules to discuss his songwriting process, Unplugged and of course, "Slower".

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November 6, 1970 marked the first ever gig for the band Aerosmith. It was played at Nipmuc Regional High School Gymnasium in Mendon, Massachusetts. To paraphrase "Walk This Way", we can easily imagine there were definitely at least "three young ladies in the school gym locker" that were staring at the band. The band continues to capture our attention so we talked with author Richard Bienstock to touch on just a few of the reasons on why we love this band. Richard is the author of "Aerosmith: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Bad Boys From Boston". The book which came out ten years ago has recently been updated with additional material to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

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What Difference Does It Make celebrates the release of Strum and Thrum by talking with members of the Bangtails, The Ferrets, Great Plains, and The Darrows as well as Captured Tracks label head, Mike Sniper. The Strum & Thrum compilation includes an 80+ page booklet with an extensive oral history of the ‘80s indie scene and tons of archival images and ephemera. If you're wondering what "strum and thrum" means well so are most of the bands on this compilation. All we can say is that if you loved college rock from the 80s, this might just be the music you never knew you loved.

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Bob Gruen has snapped so many iconic photos of our rock and roll heroes from Tina Turner to John Lennon to Led Zeppelin to Green Day. His memoir is called "Right Place, Right Time". As Bob tells us, it's a matter of anticipation, patience and skill as well as being in the right place at the right time.. We touch on just a few of the amazing stories in his book including how he created a magical photo of Tina Turner, getting on the bus with the Sex Pistols and why he thinks Bob Dylan hates him.

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Dylan Jones new book "Sweet Dreams: The Story Of The New Romantics" covers our sweet spot of music fandom 1975-1985 and so we have many questions. The book is not only an oral history of the music scene in the UK but a personal one for Dylan as he shares his experience as a clubbing "Blitz Kid". We start with Bowie and Roxy Music and and go up to Boy George and Live Aid. Dylan Jones has amassed hundreds of interviews and it's great to hear his insight into a music scene that has not received the recognition it so richly deserves.

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You don't need to know anything about the guitar to know that what Eddie Van Halen did when he placed his fingers on those strings was something totally unique. Holly and Dave do their best to unpack the impact he had on popular culture with his guitar playing. When they run out of words they call in their friends, SiriusXM personality, Mark Goodman and journalist Craig Rosen to give their perspective.

We made a Spotify playlist of some of our favorite Eddie Van Halen solos. You can hear it from our website

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Singer-Songwriter Peter Himmelman takes us on the journey that led to his latest album "Press On". We talk about the songwriting process and the discipline that Peter needs to keep pushing himself to become a better songwriter. We also touch on how his move to the east coast has affected his creation of new work, the frustration in his the inability to play in front of a live audience and his desire to one day start up a band again. Peter has his guitar with him and that makes for some fun improv songs. It's a great episode so press on and enjoy!

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As we continue our talk with BrownMark, we get into his complex relationship with Prince, There are good and bad times in the studio and concert stage. BrownMark learns some valuable lessons about the music industry when he tries to create his own band, Mazarati, whom he believes could have been the black Guns 'n Roses.

We also talk about the future as BrownMark is already planning a sequel to his current book "My Life In The Purple Kingdom" published by the University of Minnesota Press and available now from your favorite independent bookstore.

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BrownMark, bassist for Prince and the Revolution joins us to talk about his book, My Life In The Purple Kingdom. We get into the influence his mother, lovingly nicknamed Mama Vader had on his development, how Prince had to "break" him when he first joined the band and his infamous first gig with the Revolution opening up for the Rolling Stones in 1981.

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David Freiberg, Donny Baldwin, Cathy Richardson, Chris Smith and Jude Gold known collectively as Jefferson Starship join us again for the final part in our two part interview.. We talk about the difference between Starship and Jefferson Starship, the difference between Janis Joplin and Grace Slick and get into the making of their first new music in 12 years that led to "Mother Of The Sun". So "What Are We Waiting For?", let's get started!

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It's Part 1 in our two part chat with all five members of Jefferson Starship. In on our Zoom call is David Freiberg, Donny Baldwin, Cathy Richardson, Chris Smith and Jude Gold. We talk about the creation of their new EP, Mother Of The Sun. It's been twelve years since we last got new music from the band and we get into what factors were involved that started to inspire the band to create new songs.

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Josie Cotton's iconic 80s record is Convertible Music but she is much more than just that one album. We get into her Russian send up song "Ukrainian Cowboy", recording songs in her studio, "Kitten Robot" and why she relates to the B-Movies of Russ Meyers and Nunsploitation films.   We also get into the creation of her image and her infamous appearance on the Merv Griffin Show. It's easy to love everything about Josie so dig right in!

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This week's talk is with Josie Cotton, best known for the songs "Johnny, Are You Queer" and "He Could Be The One" which appeared in the movie Valley Girl. She now owns the rights to her own music so she happily discusses all the fun, frustration and excitement surrounding the songs on her 1982 Convertible Music album. And good news, since she owns the rights, she gave us permission to actually play some of her songs on this podcast. 

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Joel Graves: musician, recording studio owner and most importantly, composer of the What Difference Does It Make theme, virtually steps into our studios. Joel has spent his career with the bands Earlimart and Everest. He not only worked for Neil Young's label Vapor but got various opportunities to play alongside him including at Madison Square Garden. He's also a co-owner of Elliott Smith's recording facility, New Monkey Studio. We get into all of it in this episode.

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Our talk with Chris Frantz continues as we get into why Talking Heads initially passed on signing a record contract, the genesis of Tom Tom Club and the making of the 80s music classic concert film, Stop Making Sense. 

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We are so thrilled to talk with a member of Talking Heads, drummer Chris Frantz. Chris' book "Remain In Love" is out and we get into the details of how a guy growing up in Pittsburgh puts down his artistic paintbrush, picks up some drum sticks and ends up forming one of the most iconic rock bands coming out from the 1970s New York music club scene. This is part one in our talk with Chris Frantz.

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Craig Rosen, journalist and friend of the show, returns with more stories involving Pete Buck and a beer, keeping Johnny Cash off of a speaker phone and refusing a collect call from Lou Reed. Good stuff!

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Melanie Vammen, Karen Basset and Sheri Kaplan Weinstein are back to talk all things Pandoras and what happens when a band that created a loyal following in the 80s, breaks up and creates new opportunities. These musicians have formed a bond that continues to inspire.

We encourage you to donate to ALS and Team Shattuck 

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Melanie Vammen, Karen Basset and Sheri Kaplan Weinstein join us for a talk about their band, The Pandoras. They share their experiences as a young Southern Californian band coming of age in the 80s music scene and keep the memories of Paula Pierce and Kim Shattuck alive. These women are still the best of friends and it certainly shows in this episode.

We made a Spotify playlist of some of our favorites.

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Sure he's directed videos for Kylie Minogue and Bon Jovi (just don't tell Thom Yorke) but Nick Egan takes a punk rock approach to his videos. This leads to some clashes (pun intended) with Oasis and memorably Alanis Morissette; Nick dives deep into what went down which makes for a great listen.

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Self-proclaimed "creative vandal" Nick Egan has created some of the most iconic 80s album artwork from The Clash and Bow Wow Wow to INXS and Duran Duran. In part one of our two part interview, we discuss how Nick got his start, all the way to working with Bob Dylan for his Biograph retrospective. 

Great stories are told and Nick made us this amazing Spotify playlist.Enjoy!

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We talk with director Alison Ellwood to discuss her latest documentary centered around the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 60s and 70s. Alison provides some great insight into what it takes to bring a documentary such as this to life. It's a really great film that is now available to view on the EPIX channel 

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Our conversation with Kathy Valentine continues as she looks to the future as a Mother, Musician and Go-Go. We start off talking about the music she composed for her book "All I Ever Wanted", which leads to family life and the future of the Go-Gos.  

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Anyone that has listened to our podcast for even a short period of time would probably recognize that we are huge fans of 80s music icons: The Go-Gos. You can imagine how much of a thrill it is to talk to Kathy Valentine, bassist of The Go-Gos. Kathy co-wrote "Can't Stop The World" and "Vacation", two songs that are easily in our top ten Go-Go favorites. Kathy's memoir is "All I Ever Wanted". It covers her childhood up to the early 90s and we try to cover as much as we can in our two-part interview.  

By the way, the music in this episode is composed by Kathy and you can hear the album on Spotify

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Doug Clifford joins us at What Difference Does It Make.  Our discussion starts with the Golliwogs, the band that eventually morphed into Creedence Clearwater Revival and leads into Doug's solo album, Magic Window, an album created from recently located tracks and recorded back in 1985.

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It's another great talk on What Difference Does It Make as Glen Sobel tells us the secret to getting into Alice Cooper's Band, his experience on a major label with Beautiful Creatures and we go way back to Glen's high school days to hear how he won the talent show with his percussive unit Offbeat.

We highly suggest you check out Glen Sobel's Spotify Influence playlist

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Glen Sobel, drummer extraordinaire for Alice Cooper and Hollywood Vampires tells us about his start in the business and the prep that needs to be done to make a show seamless. We had some much fun talking with Glen, so enjoy part one of this two part journey with one of the finest rock drummers working today.

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We got the opportunity to talk with Producer Steven Wolfe and Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg for the just released re-imagining of the 80s film, Valley Girl.

This jukebox musical version is set in the present and Alicia Silverstone plays the grown up character of Julie originally played by Deborah Foreman. Her daughter is Jessica Rothe and her Randy, originally played by Nicolas Cage, is now played by Josh Whitehouse.

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Our talk continues as Leslie Kogan Gold tells us all the exciting ideas she has to keep Andrew Gold's music fresh and exciting. Besides the new album "Something New" out now via Omnivore Recordings, Leslie discusses the possibility collaborations, a Broadway musical and of course the viral sensation that is Spooky, Scary Skeletons. We also try to figure out which Golden Girl would be Andrew's favorite. 

Thanks to Leslie and Omnivore Recordings for giving us permission to play Andrew's amazing music on this episode

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To celebrate the release of "Something New: Unreleased Gold" by Andrew Gold, we got the opportunity to talk with Leslie Kogan Gold. It was a real treat to learn all about this amazing musician Sure, he had hits with "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You for Being A Friend" but he also was able to steer Linda Ronstadt's musical direction from Country/Folk to Rock.. He has composed music with 10CC, Leo Sayer, Juice Newton, Nicolette Larson and the list goes on and on..

Thanks to Leslie and Omnivore Recordings for letting us play his music on this episode. 

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We talk to Craig Rosen, the man literally wrote the book on Number One Albums and R.E.M. We dig into Craig's origin story as a Valley Boy Hebrew School rebel cruising around in his Karmann Ghia. Craig not only loved The Clash and The Buzzcocks, but wanted to write about them. Hear how he got to do this and all his exploits on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast.

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If you've listened to our show at all you know that Holly and Dave ask each other music trivia questions at the end of each episode. JC Douglas from C100 in Nova Scotia wanted to be a part of the fun, so we drilled him on some questions. Turns out, each question was just another excuse to go into more stories about the artists he has met...just don't ask him about Bryan Adams. We also learned how to tell the difference between an accent from Nova Scotia and one from Maine. 

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We are thrilled to get the opportunity to talk to Nova Scotia radio legend, JC Douglas. We talk about all things radio including first jobs, favorite Canadian bands and a few 80s hijinks involving David Letterman and another with Tom Snyder. Of course we talk music and apparently JC is not afraid to bust out a tune or two. . JC made a Spotify playlist for us. It contains at least 35% Canadian content. It's all great fun. Enjoy!

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Please, please tell me now! What was the number 1 song on the World Famous KROQ's, Roq of the 80s 1983 countdown? Well you'll just have to listen to the podcast because I think it is something you should know, but I'll say no more. In this episode we count down the top ten songs as determined by Los Angeles radio station KROQ from 1983. We talk about two different dances, "Safety" and "Let's" and the crazy dance attached to Tears For Fears "Mad World" video. We also talk creepy songs from "Every Breath You Take" to "Nights on Broadway", yes the BeeGees classic is super creepy. 

Listen to it all and check out all the songs and some special videos on our website

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Well in this time of social distancing we heed the words of David Bowie, "I don't want to go out. I want to say in. And get things done". We do our best by consuming bagels and talking about haircuts, the German language and Weird Al. It's Madness from these two Talking Heads! Yes, both these bands are also on this ten song chunk of songs played in 1983 on KROQ Roq of the 80s. 

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Did you see the video? Holly continually swats away the question. Okay maybe she didn't see the videos, but she knows the songs. We discuss the most popular songs played on 106.7 KROQ in the year 1983. This episode we discuss songs 30 to 21 on the countdown.  We discover some high school wordplay from The English Beat's "Save It For Later", the awkward publicity photos Tears for Fears seem to embrace and recognize the concern of the parents in the song "Institutionalized". 

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This week's episode feels just like the video for "The One Thing by INXS as we devour Randy's donuts and try to figure out how to pronounce the dessert known as blancmange. In between donuts, there's talk of South Park's Randy Marsh, the proliferation of lingerie wearing models and Paul Anka. Listen up as we carefully dissect songs 40 to 31 from the KROQ Roq of the 80s playlist of 1983.

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This episode includes talk of cover songs, alcohol and break-ups. No we have not switched formats to country music but each song we discuss this week seems to be centered around those topics. It's a fun talk and Holly and I are proud to be associated with it. Alan Smithee will not be a part of this podcast, although he is discussed. 

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Counting down the hits from 1983 as played on radio station KROQ in Los Angeles entails more rabbits holes to go down. We end up analyzing the number one dance songs from 1983. This segues into stalking rock stars and bands that we thought were going to be arena rocks stars (Big Country) and songs we thought should have been ranked way higher (Blue Monday). 

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This episode is dominated by Austrian superstar, Falco. We try to talk German, Alles klar? Der Kommissar and fail miserably. Falco talk naturally leads to After The Fire and Laura Branigan. Our favorite bands from Athens are also on this list and then there's Pat Wilson and Jimmy The Hoover?!? As Roman Holiday might say "Don't Try To Stop it!" We got a great ep from the year 1983 based on the ROQ of the 80s music charts from the World Famous KROQ. 

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This episode we debate the significance of the age seventeen and the importance of the marimba. We wonder if Peter Garrett is 8 feet tall (he's actually 6 foot 4) and if "Doot Doot" is the ultimate make out song (It is). Yes, it's another deep dive in which we count down the top 106.7 songs in 1983 from the World Famous KROQ ROQ of the 80s. This episode features songs 80 to 71. 

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This week we talk about songs we totally love like Aztec Camera and songs we that left us oblivious. Plus more parenthesis talk! However, instead of being positive like (Keep Feeling) and (Go For It!), the directions are negative (Don't Do It) and wistful (If I Had A Photograph Of You). And we get to talk about 2020 being the year of Sparks. 

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From haircuts (A Flock of Seagulls vs. Kajagoogoo) to TV and Film actors (Spandau Ballet) to literally parenthesis telling you to (Go For it!) and (Keep Feeling) we discuss it all. We're talking about the top songs from the World Famous KROQ, Roq of the 80s in Los Angeles. 

These are the most played songs from numbers 100 to 91 in the year 1983. Follow along on our What Difference Does It Make Podcast Spotify playlist. 

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We start off our KROQ countdown of 1983 by talking about mullets and the Love Boat. Don't worry it all makes sense. There are some lost classics contained at the bottom of this list including a B-Side from A Flock of Seagulls and one from Australian band Machinations. 

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The "olds" try not to be poseurs and stay woke in this Part 2 special looking back at Pop Culture of 1983. We are primed and ready as continue to talk about fashion and television and for some reason we talk about promise rings and Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pebbles. 

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We kick off a new season of What Difference Does It Make by diving into the year 1983. Before we do our deep dive into the music we go down the rabbit hole (as we mention that phrase too many time to mention) and talk movies and fashion. Actually, Dave talks movies and Holly talks fashion. It was a good year for pop culture but I'm betting Holly will not like this 1983 movie soundtrack playlist featuring Frank Stallone, Barbra Streisand and Tangerine Dream. 

The one song she would like "Spring Break" by Cheap Trick is unfortunately not on Spotify however you can hear it on YouTube.

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Holly and Dave continue their lively talk with Dan McGrath, composer of The Strictly Come Dancing series in the UK and self-proclaimed 80s music nerd. Dan talks about how he was fortunate enough to witness an early performance of Depeche Mode at his school, we learn when it's the best time to interview Trevor Horn, we allow Dan to nerd up a little bit about his love of Roland and Moog Source Keyboards and we also learn a few new British phrases. 

Dan was not only kind enough to share his time with us but he created his own What Difference Does It Make Spotify playlist.

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The week we talk to Dan McGrath, composer of The Strictly Come Dancing series in the UK and self-proclaimed 80s music nerd. Dan talks about his love of Depeche Mode, Gary Numan and Yazoo and shares a few encounters he's had with Annie Lennox and his ultimate favorite, David Bowie. 

You can listen to a few of Dan's favorite songs on our What Difference Does It Make Podcast playlist. 

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In part two of our interview with Record Promotions Guy, Nick Bedding, we talk about how Nick learned his chops from some of the best promo people around like Phil Costello, Jeffrey Naumann and Claire Parr.  It's a fun listen as Nick takes us through his career arc and offers up his take on the future of record promotion. We also get to hear the story of how Nick eats edamame. 

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In the first part of our interview, Nick Bedding talks about his first exposure to music in his hometown of Croydon which is South of London to his move to Valencia, California which is north of nowhere. We'll hear about first music. first shows, first fashion mistakes and first jobs. It's quite a journey and and all began with The Specials "Gangsters". 

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Holly and Dave celebrate the music of Eddie Money and Ric Ocasek. Two artists that knew how to exhibit their own brand of cool and were able to create some of the most memorable mainstream pop hits that somehow still rocked. Both men had a keen sense of humor and seemed to be devoted family men. We talk about their music and what it meant to us. 

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We are very happy to welcome Trevor Steel of The Escape Club into our studios. Trevor was happy to share band stories including where he was when he found out "Wild, Wild West" had hit number one, the terror he faced trying to make the underwater video for "I'll Be There" and to talk about some new music from The Escape Club "We Can't Go Wrong". 

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Dave and Holly venture outside the studio to experience an actual concert going experience. The Pasadena Daydream Festival curated by Robert Smith of The Cure. Here all about our strategy to experience as much of the the music as possible while still being able to consume tacos and donuts and beer. 

Don't forget to enhance your experience by listening to the What Difference Does It Make podcast Spotify playlist. We feature two songs from each artist. The first track is the first song they played at the Festival. The second song is our personal pick. Enjoy!

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For part 2 of our Pasadena Daydream Festival Preshow tailgate party, Dave lays down his rules for preparing for a concert. Holly provides the opposing viewpoint. Based on the Part 1 lottery picks, Holly takes the lead in discussing most of the larger font bands. Dave gets Mogwai while Holly provides some insight into Throwing Muses, Deftones, Pixies and The Cure. And we both wonder how much dancing there will be at the show. 

Listen to a selected song from each band on our What Difference Does It Make Spotfiy playlist.

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Dave and Holly have a drawing to determine which 5 of the 10 bands that each will discuss for the Pasadena Daydream Festival curated by Robert Smith of The Cure. Dave picks 4 of the 5 smaller font bands for part 1 and drops some knowledge about KælanMikla, Emma Ruth Rundle, The Twilight Sad and The Joy Formidable. Holly shares her insights on Chelsea Wolfe. 

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It's the final part of our  "What Difference Does It Make Podcast" interview with Nick Longo of Longo Designs. Nick lets us know that sometimes fonts work for bands like NWA and Pink Floyd, most hair metal fonts had a similar look and never, ever. ever use Hobo, Papyrus or Comic Sans fonts!  We also can't like Nick leave without taking our 80s trivia quiz. 

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What makes an iconic Artist Logo? It's a lot to consider but sometimes simplicity is best. Branding Specialist Nick Longo of Longo Designs breaks it down for us and lets us know why KISS, AC/DC and Aerosmith, among many others were able to tap into something iconic and help define the band. 

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In part 2 of our interview with Nick Longo of Longo Designs, we dissect the two iconic Rush album covers, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures and discuss why the Pretenders debut and The Talking Heads Remain In Light album covers were so effective. Nick brings great insight into our talk. So give a listen!

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In part 1 of our extensive interview with Brand Builder Nick Longo, we discuss why the What Difference Does It Podcast logo works so well, after all he is the person that created it. We also talk about what defines 80s artwork. why Van Halen's 1984 cover perfectly defined the band and why The Police's 1983 album Synchronicity is a perfect example of how do do it right with just colors and font. Learn more about Nick through his Deeply Graphic podcast and on his Longo Designs website.

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In our season 3 finale, we wrap up the year that was 1982 on the KROQ charts. The Go-Gos take a vacation, Sparks make some predictions and Foster Farms gives a unique twist to Human League's "Don't You Want Me". Plus Dave goes on Urban Dictionary and learns all about a Sex Dwarf. It's  a great send off to the year that was 1982. 

Our theme music is provided by Joel Graves of New Monkey Studio. 

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You can also hear the entire 106.7 songs on our What Difference Does It Make Spotify playlist.  

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Dave and Holly discuss going to a Go-Go with The Rolling Stones, Aidan Quinn and Darryl Hannah dancing to Romeo Void and Toni Basil strutting her stuff with the Monkees Davey Jones. Plus Adam Ant pays tribute to Monty Python. All this and more as we make our way down the KROQ, Roq of the 80s 1982 countdown. This episode features songs number 20 to 11. 

Hear all the music discussed on the What Difference Does It Make Spotify playlist. 

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Summer is here so Holly and Dave start imagining going on a Duran Duran type tour and heading to Sri Lanka or hanging out to the beach and listening to Haircut 100. However you may enjoy the change in season, come back with us to 1982 and give the What Difference Does It Make podcast a listen.

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In our "bits and chunks" episode of What Difference Does It Make, we discuss a couple Levis commercials, Principal Vernon from The Breakfast Club and the love affair between Gloria Jones and Marc Bolan. In between the discussions, we manage to talk about songs 40 to 31 that KROQ listed on their year end chart from 1982. 

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A lot to unravel in this episode. Tattoos on Jews, John Cusack or Adam Levine, Stan Ridgway singing inside a pot full of beans and we learn about King Cotton and Roscoe's Rap. It's all inside our KROQ countdown from 1982 as we discuss song 50 to 41. 

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Holly and Dave try to get water? milk? blood? from a turnip in this episode and discuss Inglorious Bastards, Area Codes, prank phone calls and Simon, Holly's WAZE guy. We also manage to discuss songs 60 to 51 from KROQ's original 1982 year end list. 

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Dave and Holly have an "interesting" episode. They begin by wondering if the word "interesting" is an effective word to describe something of interest. Holly gives a shout out to her most interesting high school teacher, Holly quizzes Dave on interesting Australian colloquialisms and we also manage to talk about music and the interesting songs that came out of KROQ in 1982. 

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In this episode Holly and Dave discuss how nice it would be to be Nick Lowe and unexpectedly receive a million dollar check for a song you wrote 20 years ago. Dave worries about parking on the dance floor while hanging out at the record machine. He also annoys Holly by putting "The" in front of every band name like "The Adam and The Ants". 

Give a listen to all songs discussed on the What Difference Does It Make Spotify playlist.

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Holly and Dave are back at it going back to 1982 and talking about the songs we heard back in 1982 on KROQ Roq of The 80s in Los Angeles. In this episode we go through songs 90 to 80. We realize that the Translator's "Everywhere That I'm Not" would not be as effective in the social media era, Dave learns that Mink Deville, much like Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull is a band name and not an actual person in the band, Holly does her Joey Tribbiani impersonation and Dave destroys the studio. 

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In anticipation of the 2019 Inductees, Dave and Holly spend most of their time talking about wanting to see Janet and Def Leppard in Vegas and The Cure in Australia. Dave struggles with the spelling of Leppard and Holly struggles with trying to guess the individual's that will induct each artist into the Rock Hall. Dave also gets to fanboy on Radiohead and Holly gets to fangirl on The Cure. 

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Dave and Holly talk about the the seven Inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2019. In this episode, we start off our conversation with Winger(?!?) and ending it with MTV's Real World. In between, we do manage to talk about our love for Stevie Nicks, The Zombies and Roxy Music. Holly desperately tries to guess which artist(s) have been assigned to officially do the induction speech for the ceremony. 

You can listen to some of our favorite songs from the artists on our Spotify playlist.

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