This week we're going back to 1982, when new wave was waving, from England to East California. The songs on the radio told of unsatisfying holidays, men who were scared of bodies of water, loneliness, regret, going out on the prowl, turning state's evidence, and of course, getting up off life's canvas and coming back hard under the watchful gaze of a jungle cat. Follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQl_P4OPe_SUPalFzi9_72Ps Whether you're a strange little girl ...
Aug 05, 2020•48 min•Ep. 27
At last, the eighth and final first round bracket of the tournament to determine the Uneasiest Rider on the US Top 40 of the 80s is upon us. There are horses, cats, criminals, lawyers, old ladies, obese young men, dubious boat captains, mistaken identity, symphony orchestras, and so much more. Keep track of the action on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQkENFmYDZQItPOlSz-HYeuA Slip inside this episode, but no, you can't call me Al.
Jul 29, 2020•49 min•Ep. 27
This week Roger goes back a whole half century to July 1970 - he wasn't even born yet! The 60s were technically over, but from the sights and sounds of things, a lot of people were still puffin' stuff. The charts featured songs about environmental issues, government sanctioned brutality, and all the other ills of the day. But there was still plenty of love, sex, and silliness for the listening pleasure of the masses. The Old Man covers it all, and the YouTube playlist fills in the cracks: https:...
Jul 22, 2020•47 min•Ep. 26
Quite a long title for one of the shorter episodes. This week, Roger begins a new series of shows about pop music TV specials with a look at the 1983 show on which the record label that helped give Detroit its nickname welcomed many of it's biggest stars home...to Pasadena. It's got Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor, Dick Clark, Smokey Robinson back with the Miracles, and Diana Ross back with the Supremes. Oh, and Michael Jackson did something that some people thought was kinda cool. Wat...
Jul 15, 2020•30 min•Ep. 25
This week Roger takes you back to the summer of 1998, when you could go see the world threatened by an asteroid at the movies, turn on your TV and watch New York women get it on, or listen to the radio and hear an update of a Greek standard, the start of the American boy band revival, a rock song about a suspicious mix of aromas, the second wave of world conquering Canadian women, and an Australian soap star turned singer not named Kylie. And it's an even numbered year, so there's a song about s...
Jul 08, 2020•51 min•Ep. 24
SEX! Now that I have your attention, it's another bracket of the 80's Uneasy Rider Tournament, as Roger continues to pit songs against each other to determine the most unusual and unique American Top 40 hit of the decade. This section has a lot of, shall we say, suggestive material. There is nudity, glorification of certain body parts, advice, restraint, commerce, betrayal, medicine, genius, and much more. Listen to the matchups, then decide for yourself if the right songs won on YouTube: https:...
Jul 01, 2020•49 min•Ep. 23
This time Roger goes back to early summer 1981, a time when the movies seemed much more exciting than what was on Top 40 radio. But the Old Man Wade's through the muck to find some overlooked power pop, a major second generation talent, a funky newsman, and a human public service announcement. There's also lust, jealousy, domestic bliss, and medieval combat. And if that's all too much excitement for you, there's a warm bath of nostalgia waiting for you at the end. And a YouTube playlist to help ...
Jun 24, 2020•54 min•Ep. 22
Hair metal was perhaps the defining musical genre of the 80s. Flashy fashion, arena ready anthems, and of course, YUGE hair. We all remember the Crues, the Jovis, the Poisons, but there were many other groups of spandex and makeup adorned young men who got onto record store shelves but never headlined arenas, collected platinum discs, or had so many groupies they needed to create a database. In this episode, Roger looks at one such band and the album they released in the waning days of the genre...
Jun 17, 2020•33 min•Ep. 21
This episode sees Roger heading back to June of 1978. Musically, you might be thinking disco and punk. And you're right. On the charts, you couldn't swing a gold medallion without hitting a Gibb brother. And rawer rock was making inroads on both sides of the Atlantic. But in amongst all that were naughty nursery rhyme characters, ground beef, a future senior citizen anthem, and a Scotsman getting his samba on for his soccer heroes. Plus the movie star of the moment learns that he needs improveme...
Jun 11, 2020•58 min•Ep. 20
This time, Roger looks back at the hits of the Memorial Day/Victoria Day/Spring Bank Holiday season of 28 years ago. The Old Man talks about an overnight sensation 20 years in the making, a Scottish band named after an American state, a pop star who found out that the real money was in cellphone ringtones, and a couple of kids who convinced the world that just wearing your hat backwards wasn't cool enough. As for the songs, they are about such subjects as sexual healing, self-cannibalism, rear e...
Jun 03, 2020•54 min•Ep. 19
This time, Roger unveils another bracket of his tournament to determine the most atypical U.S. Top 40 hit of the 80s. There are superstars, 80s staples, and one hit wonders. There's hard rock, soft rock, funk, soul, rap, even a bit of disco and an old school crooner. The songs are from movies and TV shows, are about movies or TV shows. There are even a couple songs about characters from other songs. And there's some animal hijinks at the end. And Liza Minnelli is mentioned twice. Listen to the O...
May 26, 2020•52 min•Ep. 18
We're off to the spring of 89 this week, when Don Johnson and Philip Michael Tubbs were hanging up their suits, people were learning what a "fatwa" was, and Russians could finally experience the joy of being asked if they wanted fries with that. And on the radio, you could hear the following: a song that brought ABBA, rap, and yodeling together as nature intended; hard rock about megalomaniacs; a Swedish duo's "golden gibberish"; and some white guydoing some third rate new jack swing...wait, Don...
May 19, 2020•52 min•Ep. 17
Roger's taking you waaay back this time, all the way to the spring of 1971. There's plenty of rock here, but there's also room for rheumatic rabbits and guys who are desperate to reach the women they love, or at least are infatuated with. So keep your toking on the right side of the line, know that you are the magnificent, and hitch a ride on this diesel traveling 49 years back in time. Follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQku20z6tKRZrtDeCW24coeR And remember...
May 10, 2020•49 min•Ep. 16
This time Roger takes you back to 1997 to talk about a band named after a magician's trick, lots of Canadian rock, happy pop, multiple flavors of rap, and a little bit of spice. And let me be clear, there's nothing wrong with Ginger. You can follow along with the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQkYzdnv13T9kyYaH_UsICBu . Enjoy this episode, and Zigga Zig-AH!
Apr 28, 2020•50 min•Ep. 15
Well, after a roughly 6000% increase in listenership (thanks, Minifans!) Roger returns with a new episode, covering a bracket to determine the strangest, most distinctive, most atypical U.S. Top 40 hits. The contenders in this section include multiple hits written and performed by a certain purple-loving Minnesotan, songs about feeling afraid of the world around you, songs about cars, songs about boats, songs about drinking, money, working, food, nostalgia, and much, much more. And have a look a...
Apr 14, 2020•49 min•Ep. 14
No joke, the Old Man has spent the quarantine putting together another tri-national, transatlantic pop chart lookback. This time we're in the heart of the 80s, when on the radio you could hear about watching chess in Asia, the working man's fight for dignity, the need to help our fellow humans in need, and an unapologetic menace to society. And sex. Having it, wanting it, begging for it, and even who you should and shouldn't have it with. And regardless of what you may have heard, there wasn't j...
Apr 01, 2020•56 min•Ep. 13
As the world shuts down, the Old Man reopens for...well, not business. Join Roger as he takes a trip back to the spring of 1976, a simpler time when truckers put the hammer down, disco ladies (and gents) staked their place in singles bars (probably not practicing social distancing), and we all wanted to rock all night (on the "accordion," wink wink) and party out our golden years, And you can make more sense of all this by following along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXj...
Mar 18, 2020•51 min•Ep. 12
This week Roger takes you back to February of 1994. A time when people were fascinated by the antics of a pet detective and riveted by the acrimony and intrigue of...figure skating. Join him as he scours the North American and British pop charts and finds women with distinctive points of view, dance music that adds exotic touches, and lots of party rap. There's also some Celtic tinged country, insight from Down Under, and the future lead singer of Styx (yes, I said "future" not "former." Sorry, ...
Feb 23, 2020•45 min•Ep. 11
This week, Roger looks at the hits he calls Uneasy Riders. These are hit songs that stand out from the crowd for one reason or another. If you're thinking of the Disco Ducks, the Convoys, the Pac-Man Fevers, and the Rock Me Amadeuses of the world, you're right. But there are so many more, so many that the Old Man has done tournaments to determine the Uneasiest Riders of all. He's already finished the 70s tourney, and you can look at parts of it here: https://bobbyglovescasey.blogspot.com/2018/03...
Feb 16, 2020•51 min•Ep. 10
Join the Old Man as his music-yelling leads him to 1983, where he finds a Dutch band pretending they're in a spy movie, one of the popularized of punk deciding that hip hop is the future, and graphic sex and murder in...Canada? There's an Austrian rapper, a Texan whose mad at fake news, and an English guy with his duck. So follow the drums that are echoing in the night, stop staring at your reflection, and join the gang listening to this episode. The password is...Wah!
Feb 05, 2020•51 min•Ep. 9
The Old man is still yelling, this time at rock that goes big. He looks at rock opera, with its deaf dumb and blind kids, conflicted messiahs, starving and dying artists, and American idiots. Then he examines the Met- ready pop epics of Jim Steinman, with and without Meat Loaf. And finally, he examines Winnipeg's favorite movie, the horror musical that made Paul Williams...sexy? And you can follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmm50uFdCiIGQx10nIXIZik So join ...
Jan 29, 2020•36 min•Ep. 8
Lucky number 7 sees the Old Man go all the way back to 1973. As always, Britain gives us something odd, but they also stick to the Status Quo. American soul was spinning gold, especially when it was inspired by movies. Canada, meanwhile, was singing along to songs about the Roma, while a lady from Nova Scotia (apparently a good place to view solar eclipses) was becoming the nation's sweetheart. So live in the past for 50 minutes or so and join Roger to recall a time when people felt like birds l...
Jan 18, 2020•48 min•Ep. 7
In 1986, a production company decided to search for four young men to be a Micky, Davy, Peter and Mike for a new generation. They assembled Marty, Larry, Jared and Dino, gave them songs, studio time, and a TV show. And also Coca-Cola. Success was expected to follow. It didn't. But why not? In this episode, Roger looks at who these guys were, the show they starred in, and the music they made, and wonders if perhaps they deserved a better fate than being punished by the public for who they weren't...
Jan 10, 2020•26 min•Ep. 6
New year, old man Yes, he's back and diving deeply into the music of the beginning of a new decade...the 90s. Join Roger as he confesses his weakness for "chick rock," finds another case of English lit seeping into British pop, examines Very Serious Singles, looks at two very different Stewarts, and gets annoyed at Billy Joel for being too fond of the 50s, baseball, and 50s baseball to give props to The Greatest. And there's more, all of which you can follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/p...
Jan 04, 2020•59 min•Ep. 5
The old man gets festive with some of his favorite holly jolly pop. From Floridians cashing in on someone else's IP, to an Englishman slipping naughty words into the Yuletide festivities, to a Godfather asking for a favor, this is a look at a few tracks that help make his season bright. And you can listen along with the YouTube playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmX7KOXWeGnHu1oij8SY4r_ Raise a toast, serve your fanciest mac and cheese, and don't let those bells end.
Dec 22, 2019•30 min•Ep. 4
The Old Man is still yelling. This week he's focused on December 12, 1987, back when dancing was dirty and Donald Trump was some rich guy who just put out a book. Join Roger as he finds out that the line between glam punk and lounge wizardry is a suit and a new hairstyle, why Donna Summer wants to hang out with dead people, how the Bangles made Paul Simon's pretentiousness gritty, and why Britain thinks a song about a guy who was arrested for public drunkenness and called his lover a nasty name ...
Dec 15, 2019•50 min•Ep. 3
Sex! Murder! Madness! Magic shrinking powers! Bob Mackie gowns! Carol Burnett! All of these things are connected to varying degrees with this episode, which looks at three thematically connected early 70s hits each from legends Helen Reddy and Cher, as well as another song that could have been Cher's but instead became a hit for the songwriter's wife. There are references to Dickens, Tennessee Williams, Roald Dahl, and Billie Jean King. And you can keep up with the companion YouTube playlist at ...
Dec 07, 2019•35 min•Ep. 2
The blog non-sensation is now a podcast. Join Roger Stroop as he looks back at a sampling of hits from the American, Canadian, and British pop charts of the last week of November 1979. Were the Village People truly prepared for a new decade? Were Trooper qualified to judge female attractiveness? What is a "monkey chop?" How did Herb Alpert become associated with tales of violence and kidnapping? Since when were ABBA so horny? And how many drugs do you need to take to decide that what your hugely...
Nov 29, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 1
