#2 - Meet Dave

Title: The Supreme Yellow Brick Moon Edition

Show Release Date: April 28, 2021

Blog Written: February 22, 2023

Albums Covered:

• Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
• Al Green - Greatest Hits
• Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
• Run-DMC - Raising Hell

Welcome aboard, Dave!!!

At the start of the show, I ask Dave if he likes music and if he plays music, which is a callback to an interview I did of Scott.  It was one of those little things I was trying out, and if I wanted to be an interviewer, I have a long way to go.

The show really has no name here, and at the time of recording, it did not have a home either.  You may notice that the first three shows all release on the same day.  There was not some long marathon weekend of recording, there was just a period when I needed to find a place to put these recordings.

For a short time, I was trying to create my own site for them all, through that whole WQRZ thing, but going into this show, I dropped that pretext all together.  This show was going to be its own thing, and it was going to do it without a name.  (Note: when the name of the show starts to being used, I will share the big elaborate flowchart and brainstorming that went into the name.)  

Needless to say, with Dave on board, we immediately had a great vibe and dynamic going.  Of course, we were just discussing these albums, and would not be until the seventh show when we started to pit the albums against one another - and there will be more on that when we get to that episode.  Otherwise, we found that we had a nice little rhythm and ability to discuss these albums with some semblance of musical intelligence.

There is one aspect of the Top 500 that irked us all, and that was the use of "greatest hits."  Each time we stumble upon one of these, or a compilation album (later episodes with Elvis, Little Richard, and The Beatles), we say that these albums were thrown together and are not part of one cohesive endeavor for an artist.  In this show, we have Al Green with his Greatest Hits, and yet, he has two other albums in the Top 500 - so the spot, we feel, was wasted.

But walk away with this: we realized that we played well together and potentially had something.

The "Playlist Masters" commercial is a disaster.  I still say it is a good bit, but the execution was not very good.  Imagine if you will, K-Tel getting onto your computer, into your cassette and CD collection, and your browser history to curate the best musical playlist for you.  (For those of you unfamiliar with K-Tel, I point you down to the new reference section below.)  So, the victim in this commercial has three embarrassing songs played back that best befit what was gleaned from a deep dive search of all his media.  Where it fails is that the clips are too short.  The clips are as follows:  Wilson Phillips  - "Hold On", Air Supply - "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", and the last clip is a song called "The Money Shot" from a compilation album called "Sex-O-Rama 2", with the subtitle of "Classic Adult Film Music" - displaying that the victim of the commercial was obviously surfing recreational procreation.   As I said, the bit has merit, but I did not stick the landing.

References:

• When discussing Sleater-Kinney, we mention that drummers name is Janet Weiss, which is also the name of the character Susan Sarandon plays in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and just about every time someone says Janet, or Janet Weiss, the audience shouts out "SLUT!"  Now, if you are unfamiliar with the audience experience that is "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", I am very sad for you.  Here is a clip with what occurs in a screening of the show with local actors portraying the film in front of the screen.  

• In our discussion on Al Green, Dave makes mention of his cover of "Take Me to the River" and we are all surprised that his version was not included on the greatest hits album.  Seriously, check it out.

        

• We mentioned two songs by Liz Phair in the show, and at this point in time I am not playing clips.  Flower is an odd song, kind of her Revolution #9, and the song is below.  The other song we mention, that is not on the Exile in Guyville album is called Supernova, and you can check out the video here.

• When we were all digging on RUN-DMC, we mentioned the omnipresence of the song My Addidas back at the time it was released.  It still stands the test of the time and give the video a view.

• K-Tel Records - folks, if you can remember what a "Mix Tape" was - and not a short album release (see Drake in a future show) - this was the industry putting most of Kasey Kasem's American Top 40 (more like the top 10 of that year) or created themes and shoving all the popular songs onto one album or cassette for your listening pleasure.  So, if you were one of those that just liked the singles and did not want to own whole albums, this was the medium for you.  Ergo, the curated playlist was directly influenced by K-Tel.  Oh yeah, and their commercials were ridiculous!!  

                Commercial #1 - The Straight From the Heart Collection

            

    

            Commercial #2 - Songs of Joy Collection (the origins of Kidz Bop)

                     

            Commercial #3 - 26 Sing Along Honky Tonk Greats Collection (comes with songbook)

                

The albums, as defined by ChatGPT:

 

"Dig Me Out" is the third studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney. Released in 1997, the album is considered a landmark in feminist punk rock and indie rock. The band's signature sound of distorted guitars, intricate rhythms, and powerful vocals are showcased in songs such as "One More Hour," "Words and Guitar," and the title track "Dig Me Out." The album received critical acclaim upon its release and helped to establish Sleater-Kinney as one of the most important bands in the Pacific Northwest music scene.

"Greatest Hits" is a compilation album by the legendary soul singer Al Green. Released in 1975, the album features some of his most well-known and beloved songs, including "Let's Stay Together," "Tired of Being Alone," and "Love and Happiness." Green's smooth, silky voice and emotive delivery make these songs timeless classics, and his influence can be heard in countless soul and R&B artists that have followed in his footsteps.

"Exile in Guyville" is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair. Released in 1993, the album is a raw and unapologetic exploration of sexuality, relationships, and the experience of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. The album's lo-fi sound, combined with Phair's candid and confessional lyrics, created a sensation in the indie rock scene and has since been regarded as a groundbreaking album for women in rock.

"Raising Hell" is the third studio album by the influential hip-hop group Run-DMC. Released in 1986, the album helped to popularize hip-hop in mainstream music and solidified Run-DMC's place in music history. The album features hits such as "Walk This Way," a collaboration with Aerosmith, "It's Tricky," and "My Adidas." The group's signature style of stripped-down beats, booming basslines, and aggressive rhymes paved the way for future generations of hip-hop artists.