Singles: The Penguins, The Beatles, Pearl Jam

Welcome to the Single Nerds Podcast with your hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. Single Nerds? Hmm. Single Nerds Podcast, this beautiful day in the month of April. I am Vince Clortho, and I'm a level 20 dungeon master, tier 4, and I'm a nerd, so all you fair maidens out there, am I doing this right, guys? Wow, you definitely are a single nerd, man. We all were at one point, I think. So I'm Dude, and I got Andy and Don with me here, but what exactly are we doing? I think we're

talking about singles instead of albums. Oh, that makes more sense. This is not your dating club. Sorry. I mean, I'm taken, but I played the role very well. Very happily married, but I sold it, right, guys? Yeah, you'd be a great D &D master. Thank you, thank you. So, this is the single nerds podcast. We love singles and the single format. All things music. And we've got a great and slightly different show for you

today. We will each be bringing forth to the table a single and its B -sider sides to discuss in depth rather than an album. Don's going to ask us a shallow question. No, it'll be deep. It'll be deep. It's always deep at dawn. Can't help it. Yeah. Then we'll have some shout -outs to some other singles and single -related items that we're digging, and then we'll find out what we're doing next week. But for now, let's get to them singles. That's what I'm talking about!

Singles have long been a cornerstone of the music industry, showcasing both the chart -topping brilliance of A -sides and the hidden gems of B -sides. In this special episode, we will dive deep into the art of the single, exploring these compact musical statements. So today, we each present a single. Not an album, but a single. Thank you for making that clear. A very special episode. I hope nothing controversial happens to anyone here, so that everyone can learn a

lesson. Singles, yeah. I mean, they certainly serve a purpose, and more so in different eras. So besides the brilliant singles you guys settled on, what else did you think about before coming to a final decision? Yeah, I mean, there's just like abundance of great singles. A couple that I was considering were from the Monkees. They were kind of like a singles machine. They had a pretty good single with I'm a Believer and I'm Not Your Stepping Stone, A and B sides. The

one I almost picked was from Otis Redding. Sitting on the dock of the bay and Sweet Lorraine came out in 67, a couple days before he died. A couple of really good tracks. Sweet Lorraine is actually kind of an underrated song I was not super familiar with. Yeah, so I was kind of in that era of music, my singles selection. How about you, Don? Yeah, well, in, you know, in sort of the post -punk and new wave era of Britain, you actually, you know, there are a lot of, you know, big singles

with big B -sides. So one example is Joy Division. The single is actually given the title Licht und Blindheit. Oh, get some of that German in. Is that parental advisory? It's German for, I think, light and blindness or something. But even though the title is German, it was actually a French only or limited edition single. But it features the song Atmosphere, which is like one of their most known songs. And the B side was Dead Souls. Oh, well, it's kind of a banger.

It was typical of bands like Joy Division and The Smiths. I mean, their B -sides were just as important as their A -sides. In fact, the Smiths' How Soon Is Now was the B -side to William. It was really nothing. That's like the biggest Smith song ever. How about you, dude? Well, being a 90s guy, I had a lot of CD singles. And one of the things I remember searching for was Stone Temple Pilots' Plush. from their album core. And I found a version of it. You had to buy these

things. You couldn't go find them online or anything. It was a Japanese import. It was one of those mini discs CDs, the little ones. And it had the plush acoustic from the Headbangers Ball on MTV. But there's a break in it when people start applauding when they're not supposed to. It's too early. It's called Take One. And then the B side of that was Wicked Garden, but it's just a cool package. I paid like 12, this is like 93 or four. I paid like 12 or 15 bucks. Wow. For one freaking

song. Well, then I put it on a mixtape and driving around with my buddies. It's like, I have this and you don't. That's cool. All right. So enough about what we almost picked. What singles did we choo -choo -choo -choose? Choo -choo -choose me? All right. For my single selection, we are

talking about The Penguins and their 1954 single, Hacin' Rita Slash Earth Angel. This is the debut single for the Los Angeles -based doo -wop group. four -piece earth angel chart at number one on the billboard r &b chart and sold over four million copies in the next 10 years let's jump in and play the big cut this is the the b -side earth angel so it's on uh Very popular. Even today,

I think most people would recognize that. Famously recorded in a home garage on a single tape recorder, which is what the Duo Tune Record Studio consisted of, apparently. Just in someone's garage. Wowee. That's crazy. Well, to think that the recording process that I used as a kid making my own songs. was actually used professionally is crazy. Makes our podcast seem like a really high -tech outfit.

There's a great quote from one of the singers here, Curtis Williams, who said, every time the dog barked next to her, you have to go out and shut him up, and then we'd have to do another take. Wow. So funny. Well, I clicked the headline for the Penguins' Hey Senorita Earth Angel is, the Penguins remind us that all good things start in a garage. You definitely want your car to start. Yeah, that's true. I was conceived in

a garage. I think it was a basement. Okay. So this is a pretty interesting little snippet of time here. Definitely this record is credited as kind of bridging the gap between like R &B, doo -wop, and what would become rock in the next few years. The single itself really exploded in popularity. Some members of the group, Duncan and Williams, two of the vocalists here, were classmates in high school in Los Angeles at Fremont

High. Williams had previously belonged to another doo -wop group called the Hollywood Flames, who had rose to some notoriety. They formed this new group, quickly cut this demo, which really was just a rough demo of Earth Angel in this garage. Got played at a local record store by a DJ who favored the B -side. Just really overnight, the song blew up based on some listeners at the radio station. And they ended up cutting the track without any sort of additional instrumentation.

There was going to be a big orchestral accompaniment. It all got scrapped. Covered by a bunch of groups, including this all -white group called The Crew Cuts from Canada. Oh, God. Actually got a little bit more popularity out of it. That sounds made up. I had to double -check that, too. Also covered by The Temptation. Joan Diaz, Death Cab for Cutie, a bunch of other people, Elvis. Marvin Barry. Yes, Marvin Barry. Your cousin, Marvin Barry.

Great Scott. I just, I think what's so doo -woppy and cool about this is that it accidentally was stripped down and focused on the voices and the harmonies more than anything else. And I think that really helped shape this whole doo -wop thing, right? Where it was about the voices. Those harmonies were the most important part.

Yeah, I think. From what I'd read a lot, it was the sincerity of the delivery of the performance and how aching they were over this woman, this earth angel, that really sold people on on this whole idea. That's just a great two -word phrase to say a whole lot about somebody's personality and who they are. Yeah. It's just very powerful. It fits. I wonder if it was considered sacrilegious

or something. That's true. No, I don't think, I think if it had been an earth devil, people would have gotten all freaked out, but I think people were fine with calling people angels. All right, why don't we jump in here and play the A side on the record. So the song I thought was going to be a hit, it's called Hey Senorita. So as Andy said, this was actually the A -side of the Penguins' debut single, and it was recorded

in that same garage as Earth Angel. So the producer, Dootsie Williams, initially pressed Hey Senorita as the primary track, anticipating that it... It's like an up -tempo doo -wop style would resonate with audiences. But radio DJs quickly flipped it over and favored the more ballad -y Earth Angel, which became a huge hit and still sort of in our culture. For sure. I just think the whole A -B side thing with 45s, and we should probably explain this, it was a small record.

They had one song on one side and another song on the other side. And just because they said one or two or A or B, for DJs or anyone else, it's like you slap it on the record player and who's to say what really, it's the intention of the record label or artists for one to be an A, one to be a B, but leave it up to the listeners. They're the ones that choose what song is the good one or the better one. Yeah, they do. The song Hey Señorita is actually credited to Curtis

Williams of the band. But later, Carl Green, who was another person sort of on the doo -wop scene, received some songwriting contribution credit. So, you know, kind of novel in that it has sort of a Latin -tinged rhythm. And obviously, it's literally Spanish. It has like the call and response thing. You know, again, it's sort of an R &B staple. I mean, we're in this era where you have sort of black music and white music. And one of the first aspects of R &B really

to cross over was this doo -wop scene. And I'm not sure why that is. Maybe just something about the vibe. You know, I think the four freshmen and things like that, so the harmony groups were a thing. And I think this added a little bit of that R &B. a little bit of rock and roll to come swing to it. And so I think it was the kids, you know, the kids were driven by new sounds and things you could dance to and stuff like

that. And I think the doo -wop sound is certainly the foot in the door for the R &B and soul music to come. Well, my clickbait headline for the Hey Senorita single is, Hey Senorita, show us your backside. Wow. That's good, man. That's a good one. That was no bueno, sir. Yeah, so this is one of the rare but sort of famous examples of a B -side sort of overtaking the A -side in

significance. But, I mean, I'm glad that I got a chance to pay attention to Haseen Arita because, I mean, it seems like it's kind of a groundbreaking

track in its own way. But it's funny. you know going through their catalog i mean it's basically all compilations and pretty much all of them have earth angel but not all of them have hey seniorita so it just has a you know much more significant place in their in their history yeah they never really had a another hit so you kind of seem to want to recapture the magic of earth angel a few times but never really worked out for them so we only have two songs here so I

need to throw in my clickbait headline to describe this beautiful B -side. There's an A -side too. The Penguins may have been a one -hit wonder in commercial terms, but their role in doo -wop's golden age remains legend. Wait for it. Dairy. Legendary. So many of these groups got there, these doo -wop groups got there, start harmonizing

on street corners and being, you know. friends and that was the case here where it was two friends that kind of started it yeah the high schools seem to be a breeding ground for this music and they were discovered by small independent labels like chess and vj and imperial and but their cultural impact lasted longer beyond the era which was like the the 50s and early 60s and it started to kind of fade out some of the sounds carried on and evolved into that Motown's more

polished R &B sound. But, you know, the harmonies, four or five vocalists, high falsettos, lead and deep bass to provide contrast and nonsense syllables like doo -wop and shaboom and ooh -wah. We're a signature part of that sound, you know, adding to the rhythmic texture, but also making it easy to sing along to, remember, and enjoy. You know, it wasn't complicated. So, yeah, I think it was a great era, and the penguins are

a very important piece of that. Whether they're remembered or not, Earth Angel will be forever. Yes. Well said, well said. All right, we're looking for an enduring look back at the doo -wop era of the 50s. Earth Angel is kind of a cornerstone of that era. The single is a nice representation of what was going on. So seek out The Penguins. Hey, Senorita. Earth Angel. Before we continue.

on our journey of single exploration let's hear from our friends over at the six picks music club hey there i'm dave and i host six picks music club with my two buddies jeff rowe and russ we talk about six songs on a playlist that meet a theme to a topic that we've already decided on just real quick do you meet themes do you meet them Okay, no, I don't know. I guess that... What's the... Russ, can I get a ruling on the verbal phrase meet the theme? Jeff, I don't know.

I'm not fluent in the spoken word. People just don't say meet the theme. They say fit a theme. And every week we talk about six songs that fit a theme. All right. Okay, fit a theme. Guys, we're going to have to re -record this. Ah, f*** my d***. Okay, and Dave, don't forget, it's Six Picks Music Club, not your dark web pod, Sex Picks Booty Grub. Gotta check that one out, too. Thanks, guys. Well, the Beatles must have found

out we talked about Mavis Staples again. They need to catch up. All right. Well, my pick for a single comes from the Fab Four. They're double A side, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane. So this, as I said, this double A side, which basically means like on the actual disc, it doesn't identify a side one or two or a side A or side B. Sounds like there may have been a discussion about that between Paul, who wrote one of the songs, and John, who wrote the other, who gets

top billing. You're all special. I guess they had done the same thing with the previous single, which was Eleanor Rigby, Yellow Submarine. But, of course, the Beatles were formed in 1960 in Liverpool, England. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane were the first tracks recorded after they had retired from touring. They began working on their next album, Sgt.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. So these two tracks were originally intended for that album, but the record label really wanted a single. And so they released, you know, this is a double A side. And they basically followed their tradition of not putting previous singles on their albums. Until there was an album for the Magical Mystery Tour. Yeah, they threw those out. That seems more like a record label decision than a Beatles decision. Right, and that was just on the U .S.

version of Magical Mystery Tour. Right. All right, well, let's hear one of the cuts. This is Strawberry Fields Forever. Let me take you down, cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Forever. So Strawberry Fields Forever is a reference to a place called Strawberry Field, which was a Salvation Army children's home in Liverpool, where John Lennon spent his childhood with his Aunt Mimi. So it kind of served as a sanctuary where Lennon played

as a child. One of his childhood treats was the garden party that they held each summer at a park near the home where a Salvation Army brass band played. Maybe that's why you kind of have some of that Salvation Army band sound in it. Supposedly, and who knows, the words nothing to get hung about were inspired by Aunt Mimi's strict order not to play in the grounds of Strawberry Field, to which Lennon replied, they can't hang you for it. Maybe. I mean, that sounds like his

personality. There's so much mythology around

the Beatles, you never know. I've always really liked this song lyrically, although it doesn't, truly seem to be about anything specific you know and i mean some people might sort of dismiss it as nonsense but i mean it is a it is a place yeah a real place so for me as a kid hearing this song that was enough like it was about a real place and then he makes it sound more fanciful than it was i like um sort of the spontaneous nature of the lyrics you know like i think i

know uh i mean uh yes but it's all wrong you know corrected himself yeah yeah i like that always no sometimes i think it's right you know it's so i think that's pretty clever i don't know if anybody other than like dylan would have written something like that at the time But musically, it's also really complex. It was actually like three different versions with different keys and different tempos, and they ended up mixing

them together. I heard it took like 45 hours or something and 26 takes or something ridiculous. And then they blended some of the chunks, like Don said. Yeah, and innovative use of the Mellotron, which is that keyboard that uses tapes of real instruments. So that flute part at the beginning, that's Paul McCartney on Mellotron. And in fact, it's in between pitches, I guess, the key. So they sped it up just a little bit, so it's actually just below B -flat. Yeah, interesting. So it

just has a unique, dreamy sound. I think it's actually my favorite Beatles song. really yeah uh anyway well my clickbait headline for strawberry fields forever penny lane is fab four create ultimate psychedelic island single i guess instead of a desert island it's just some right this acid or you know some acid fueled island uh but from these two songs you could you can if you had to pick singles to be on an island alone with it It evokes enough of the Sergeant Pepper

album feel that would sustain you. Like, it could work as something that would give you that same vibe. And it's like the, it's the right kind of psychedelia because it's, I mean, it's goofy. The right kind. Because I think it's appealing even if you're not on drugs. You know, I mean, it's still kind of a song I think people can relate to. I don't know. I mean, I think some things are just kind of noise for the, like, ooh, here's a goofy sound that's going to bug

people out. And, you know, this is a song. It's a song. It's got some depth to it. Well, is John here? All right. Well, let's move to the other cut. This is Penny Lane. Okay, so Penny Lane was written by Paul during a nostalgic songwriting period in late 66. He and John were both reflecting on their Liverpudlian upbringings. I love saying that. Penny Lane is named after a Liverpool street that was a hub of activity and a meeting place

for the young Beatles. And as we discussed, it was intended for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. What McCartney does here is detail, and this is different than Lennon, very specific memories about places and people, recurring characters, a barber showing photographs, a banker who never wears a Mac in the rain, and then the nurse selling the poppies, a Remembrance Day reference. But it's playful and wistful and blends childhood memories and vivid lyrical storytelling, which

is... Paul's thing and then this Baroque kind of sound as well. My clickbait headline to describe the single, the double A side that blended childhood memories with musical evolution. So you take what was, blend it with what is and will be. And that's what you get here, these look -backs, but also with this, at the time, cutting -edge view. And I think that's pretty cool, and I think it's pretty amazing that they had tracks of this

caliber available. It's interesting how well they fit together as kind of being look -backs at their childhood, but then you do have these two distinct personalities and how they would do that within the group. It feels pretty cohesive to me as a Beatles outsider. And that just sums up, I think, you know, the magic of the Beatles, but also why it had to end was really those two personalities. And, you know, you could say Yoko Ono or whatever else, but it was inevitable.

These two dudes. You can't have two A -sides, man. Yeah, they were both A -sides in that band. I mean, there was, and George Harrison was a genius as well. So it was Ringo and all in their own ways. But these two were the dominants. They couldn't be together forever. There's a little taste from the end of Strawberry Fields there with some muffled lyrics. I believe it's Lennon saying something along the lines of cranberry sauce, perhaps. Definitely led to some interesting

mythology around the band. Dig into that here in a second. Black Click Pay headline for Strawberry Fields Forever slash Penny Lane is the Feb 4 take a walk through the fields and down the lane only to add to their mystique. Yes. I think Strawberry Fields is probably the song I associate most with the Beatles and it was one of the first MP3s I ever owned. Stole? Stole. Yeah, but I listened to a lot of that. I mean, that song

was... To me, it's just iconic Beatles. At the end of Strawberry Fields we just played there, it was speculated that Lennon was actually saying, I buried Paul, as opposed to Cranberry Sauce, which I don't know. I definitely could hear it listening back to it. I don't know what you guys think, but it could go either way. Yeah. But I was definitely intrigued listening back to it here by some of the Paul is dead. Mythos.

Conspiracy theory. Yeah. Mythos that was around at this time and really took on a lot of legs, man. There's a lot of aspects to this sort of mythology or this urban legend. I'll just mention a few and maybe you guys can chime in too, if you like. Apparently on Revolution 9, which is on the White Album, right? Yep. There's a backwards recording of Termion Deadman. Okay. Which is supposedly referencing Paul. Or necrophilia.

Disgusting. Go on. The cover of Sgt. Pepper, the album artwork, McCartney is apparently the only field not facing forward, which symbolizes that he's no longer with us, apparently. Well, on the Sgt. Pepper cover, I believe it was the inside gatefold where you see his back. Because on the cover, you see his face. But there were also rumors that they hired a lookalike. Right. So stupid. It was on the cover of magazines and it was pretty popular on the radio, I guess,

for this conspiracy. Yeah, obviously Paul is still alive. Ironically, one of the few members left of the group. Yep. Or he's a robot. Or he's been dead this whole time, yeah. Yes. I think the power of the Beatles and these songs and just one throwaway line at the end of a song turned into a phenomenon. Even that has nothing to do with the music or the songs themselves. Cranberry Sauce turns into this whole thing that people are still talking about. And there's whole

books about this shit. I mean, it's crazy. And it just shows the incredible power of this group and these songs and the era where that was possible. We will never have anything like this, a cultural phenomenon music group ever again, unless Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is correct and Wild Stallion's music will save the future. Be excellent to each other. But other than that, I don't think we're going to see anything of this magnitude ever again. Two songs of a 45

record. carry all that weight. It's pretty cool. Well, each of the Beatles' primary songwriters contributes one of their best songs to this single. Check it out. Excuse me! I'd like to ask you

a few questions. It's time again for Deep Questions by Don. So we're talking about stand -alone singles. What other things stand well on their own? Yeah, it's a deep one, Don. The one that came to mind for me first was the cheese, right? I mean, the cheese. Right, the cheese stands alone, sir. Which I still don't understand. I will never understand what that means, but. It's the power of cheese. Yeah, that's. The power of cheese. That's what I'm resting my head on. Are you working

for the cheese lobby? Big cheese. They're very powerful. Part of the cheese, yeah. All right, how about you, Don? So another cheese related item, pizza by the slice, right? So pizza is delicious, but a big old slice of pizza, your favorite pizza spot, especially like a big New York style slice that covers an entire paper plate. Fills it with grease. And back in my college days, like, you know, for a buck or a buck 25, you get a small Coke and a slice, go stand out

on the street. That was just. paved with discarded paper plates, like just mashed in like gum and, and eat a delicious piece of pizza, especially late at night when your tummy's full of noxious liquids. Oh yeah. And in comes a delicious slice of pizza, usually with a lot of hot sauce poured on top at that time of night. But yeah, so pizza by the slice definitely stands alone. Definitely awesome. And definitely cheese lobby. I love you. Yeah, well, it's actually, I mean, I think

it's true for most food. I feel like the first bite is always the best. It's the best, yeah. If it doesn't stand alone, you can't put it down, you know. Right. But you're always chasing that first bite, you know. That's true. But I was thinking, and this is bad because I don't want to discourage people from owning multiple dogs. You know, because lots of dogs need homes and stuff. But I do like the idea of just having one dog because I feel like they become sort

of a tighter part of your family unit. But yeah, I know what you mean. Like having that one, you love them, they love you, and they don't have anything to be jealous of. Yeah, exactly. Well, what else stands on its own? Let us know. Hit us on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment on our website, albumnerds .com. So Dude's got

to stay on brand and go with a Pearl Jam single. Shocking. Pearl Jam and the Beatles. Wow. I know. Couldn't fit the Foo Fighters in here for some reason. We're packing them in. I know. It's a good day for Dude. So we're going with Jeremy from the album 10, which we discussed just this past summer during the summer of dawn. Jeremy, inspired by a real -life incident involving a 15 -year -old student from Richardson, Texas, who died by suicide in front of his classmates.

culturally significant song you know bringing of the 90s and bringing uh the painful truths and realities of the world around us and stuff which i ate up and uh built my entire life around at the time this was 1992 and you were like a teenager is that right yep and yeah delicious stuff yeah just lapping up this this milk here Well, the pain, you know, I had so much to be angry about and living in the suburbs and having every meal provided for me and a car to use.

Poor tortured youth. What a terrible life. I'm so disappointed in my young self. Total D -bag. Anyway, let's jump in and listen to a little bit of Jeremy. This is the radio edit from the

single that was released. for the time so let's let's listen to chairman i told you guys there's the radio edits so they can't say fuck on the radio it's maybe a few seconds shorter than the album version as well i think they shorten up the portion you know it just says fuck for a long time i just want to know how they got these three tracks onto a two -sided record like is there It's a pyramid situation. We got the CD

single era here, the maxi single. And this one was actually the copy I bought for a ridiculous amount of money was from Austria. Austria. Yeah, because they released more CD singles in Europe than they did in America. It just wasn't as big of a thing. They weren't as successful. I think it cut into album sales to some degree. But what drew me to this was, yes, I already had the song Jeremy, but this had two other songs on it that were unreleased that were from the recording

sessions, and I had to have them. My clickbait

headline to describe the Jeremy single... Pearl Jam's 1992 gift to fans featuring b -sides that could have been a -sides people were hungry for this stuff you know when Pearl Jam and Nirvana and all that stuff was new anything anything like I was buying import live performances imports of covers they did and recorded randomly like anything that I could get my hands on that I didn't have and uh it was a magical time for me but yeah this music discovery and like give

me more give me more was fun i mean it was a it was a challenge and then all of the money i got from the sub shop i worked at went to this stuff and then i worked at the sub shop and a record store at the same time and still all of my money was going to this stuff well yeah i was i was uh special ordering them and and then in 1995 in the us epic records decided to release all of those singles on regular cds for like five bucks a pop and i was pissed It also deflated

the value of the ones I had bought, the collector's items. All right, why don't we jump into one of those other magical tracks? This one's called Footsteps. All right, so Footsteps is the second track on the Jeremy single, the third song in this Mamasan trilogy, which is comprised of Once, Alive, and this track, Footsteps, kind of telling the story, mother, son, father. I won't go into

the details too much. I mean, it was loosely based on Eddie Vedder's actual situation where his real father was a friend of the family and his stepfather he thought was his father. But in the story of these, it gets into some more culturally disturbing aspects of what happens.

families sometimes yeah so it comes to a conclusion here with uh the son character kind of being on death row confessing to his crimes seems like to me like he blames everything on his mother but yes yes my clickbait headline for jeremy is the flannel boys show their dark side One of the few essential singles of the era. This is a very, very moody record. I mean, even for Pearl Jam, I think this album, I mean, Footsteps has a very dark sound to it. It's just Eddie

on vocals and Gossard on guitar. But even Jeremy, dark subject matter, obviously. And then we'll get to the last track here shortly. A lot of emotion on that one. Yeah, I could feel the dark clouds of Seattle settling in on me as I was listening to this one. Yeah, there's some good moments on here, I think, for sure. I think Jeremy's a little overrated, and I think maybe the last track's a little underrated, but a lot of that has to do with radio play, too, in terms of that

era. Well, it's odd to me that Footsteps didn't make the album when it's the third part of this trilogy, but Temple of the Dog was recording around the same time, and so Times of Trouble on the Temple of the Dog album has the same... The basis is the same, so I think they didn't want to release... two songs based on the same riff around the same time. So that was also part of the whole mythos when I was a youth, finding anyone that would listen to me spout this whole

thing off. So that's what the podcast is for. I'm doing it again. I see how these singles seem to spur a lot of myth around these bands, or people like to exaggerate some of the details. I remember you read into the details a little more than they would nowadays. All right, why don't we listen to that third and final track, Yellow Light Better. All three of us were swaying around and stuff. This is a great song. Yeah,

it's got a great groove to it. So the lyrics were written by Eddie Vedder and the music co -written by bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Mike McCready. The song title, Yellow Leadbedder, supposedly derived from the actual name of an old friend of Vedder's from Chicago named Tim Leadbedder. So supposedly written around the time of the Gulf War. There's always been some

mystery about what the song is about. But in one, I guess, Q &A session or something, Vetter claimed that a friend of his from Seattle, whose brother served in the first Gulf War, received a yellow letter in the mail informing him that his brother died in the war. Then it goes on. Vetter and his friend went for a walk. On the walk, the friend who Vetter described as alternative

looking. which is how dude looked back then probably right were you oh my god i looked like such a dink yes so um they walked by a house that had an american flag and i guess um this kid kind of gestured you know kind of like a as a salute to the flag um the people on the porch i guess you know glared at him disapprovingly and because of his appearance i wonder if he was wearing two flannels like i used to One up top and one around the waist. Full flannel. In case the one,

you know, doesn't work out. I don't know. Carry around a spare. Someone gets cold. Here, I've got a spare flannel. You should have put one around your shoulders too. But yeah, I mean, this is a big Pearl Jam song. And actually, I remember getting a lot of radio play despite being relegated to B -side status and not appearing on the album. I saw one video of Pearl Jam on Howard Stern where, you know, Eddie claimed that, you know, he didn't finish the lyrics. It sounds

unfinished to me lyrically. Yeah, it really does. It's like a lot of mumbo jumbo. Yeah. A lot of leaning on the hair, but singers do that to fill spaces they haven't put words to yet. And then inspired a young Scott Stapp. See? Right there. See, there's always consequences to every innovation. But that Mike McCready guitar. Oh, my gosh. It's so beautiful. Yeah. I mean, it's got a Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, bluesy. It's just beautiful. Really inspired. Yeah. Let's just

listen to the whole thing. I know. Well, my clickbait headline for the Jeremy single is Jeremy spoke in class today, but he needs to enunciate. it's just it's just funny because um i mean i've known y 'all led better uh forever but i'm not sure that i ever really looked up the lyrics before and i was like reading the lyrics as i'm listening and it's like you know why are you pronouncing it that way because like uh yeah because the first line is unsealed supposedly and he's like

So anyway, but it works though. I get it, you know, that you have to make it fit the, you know, fit the melody, but it's, it's funny. Well, you know, and there's no proof that those are the lyrics. I mean, these are probably transcribed. I don't think they've ever been written down by Mr. Vedder necessarily. Yeah. I've heard when he, cause they do perform it live quite often and he often changes the lyrics. Yeah. Is that true? Hopefully one of these days he actually

finishes them, you know, before he dies. I mean, I think this is when singles are at their best. It's kind of like a mini album. You know, there's three songs that kind of sort of, you know, work together. You know, there's gold in the B sides. You know, it's... It's worth the import price. So yeah, if you haven't heard these songs, they are available on Spotify. You look up the Jeremy single, it has all three in one nice little chunk.

So go check them out and experience a little, some 10 extras that maybe you haven't heard before or haven't heard in a while. Can you dig it?

Can you dig it? All right. Well, we've been, I guess, enjoying the single life for the past week. Did you guys find anything else to dig? Yeah, I got something left over here for my single days where the condom used to be in my wallet. Yuck. First one up for me is from a stoner rock group from Newcastle, New England. Name of the group is Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs. Nice. Name of the album is Glib Tongued. Actually, this is a single. My mistake. Let's

play that title cut. Glib Tongued. Title cut there actually features LP from Run the Jewels, a little hip hop. Element to the track there. The forthcoming album is titled Death Hilarious, which comes out on April 4th. Yeah, looking forward to that one. Should be interesting. And the last one for me is from Deerhoof, the experimental four -piece indie rock group from San Francisco. That's what they do in animals and violence this

week. Yeah, animal theme lately, right? Sorry, the name of the single from Deerhoof is Immigrant Songs. Wait a little bit. Gotta say, that's not what I was expecting. I thought it was going to sound more pagan. This is nuts, that future folk -tronic kind of stuff. Now, this is off their upcoming 20th full -length album. They've been around for quite a while now. Yeah, it sounds interesting. Definitely fits in line with their previous kind of experimental indie pop sound.

Some doo -wop influence there with the na -na -na, na -na -na. Yeah. Dear UFOs, lots of the penguins, for sure. What you been digging on, Doc? Well, we recently lost Marianne Faithfull, who was just kind of a pop culture icon and muse to, you know, rock stars and everything. Well, she's actually coming out with an EP that she worked on with her grandson, Oscar Dunbar. But right now it's just a single track called Burning Moonlight. Burning moonlight. It got even deeper.

Holy moly. Yep. So this was all recorded not long before she passed. That always makes for an interesting listening experience. Yeah. She's been on a few albums recently, I want to say, over the last couple of years. And there's really a lot of depth to that music. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to that one. And speaking of depth, Noah Cyrus, who was the youngest sister or sibling of Miley Cyrus, actually did a song with the Fleet Foxes. It's called Don't Put It All On

Me. Sounds pretty fleet. I can hear the Cyrus though. It's actually interesting. Supposedly it was written by her older brother. I guess his name is brazen Cyrus. Okay. But you know, I, and it's about Noah's, I guess her role in the family. And I guess the family's having some issues, I think perhaps with their, their father. So it's a, there's, it seems like there's, you know, something interesting there. Yeah. I can really hear that she's got a bit of an achy,

breaky heart going on there. Got a wrecking ball coming into it. How about you, dude? Okay, so singles. Yeah, this is weird for me, but one of my favorites, Mac Leapheart, just like a week ago released a single called Ode to the Thirsty Beaver. You don't know that song. Oh, God. The track plays homage to the Thirsty Beaver Saloon

in Charlotte, North Carolina. Apparently, developers bought up all the land around it and the guy refused to sell, so they built this giant apartment complex around this tiny little building that is still there. Oh, wow. Yeah. So let's check out a little bit of the Ode to the Thirsty Beaver. Red -eyed critter on the side. Right there in Plaza Midwood, Avenue Central 122. Even gives the address. I just love Mackley Parts' vibe

and his music. He did a video, I think it was on Instagram or something, where he's pretending to be a British guy reviewing the Ode to the Thirst. I don't know. Is it a British pub? It sounds like a British pub. Well, it's a saloon, so that was the idea that this guy did. Go to a pub. Gotcha. It was funny. And then secondly, instead of going to something from my record shelves, I mean, I do have some 45s and CD singles,

but I decided to venture away from that. A lot of them were hard to find on streaming services. So why don't we check out this newer band, been around a little while, called The Jins. And this is a new single called You're Going Far. You're going far. Now they're a Vancouver -based alternative rock trio. Can't really tell what their influences might be, except for it sounds almost exactly like Nirvana. But yeah, so it's a grunge influence sound, and I hadn't really heard of them before.

They do have some albums that I will go check out, but the B -side on this crutch is pretty good too, available on your streaming services, so go check that out. Very interesting. Well, what are you digging? Let us know. Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads. Also on our website, albumnerds .com. It will be a discovery of extraordinary value. Well,

that's about the time on the show. And a reminder to the great American poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, who said, you alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody. With music discovery in mind, next week we're going to be celebrating Record Store Day. So be sure to join us for that special episode. Sorry, Wadbot, you're benched again. So what are you looking forward to from Record Store Day? What else are you listening

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Thank goodness, man. I don't know about these singles. Thanks for listening, everybody. Catch you next week. Did he just say dude's dead? Maybe. Maybe he is. He's been dead this whole time. Happy April Fool's, everyone.