This week Roger continues his series of looks at near misses by talking about almost-almost hits of 1977. There's a disco update of a French instrumental, another artist from the Rock n'Roll Sports Classic, the king of rock eccentrics taking on leisure suit lotharios, a lone Blue Note, and a song to smuggle beer by. You can hear everything on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQlSZx1gyQGnmCXygzgyum-e And you can support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/oldmanyellsa...
Dec 21, 2021•26 min•Ep. 88
This time Roger goes back to late autumn of 1982, when a football player crashed into a tuba player and into legend, and the music world didn't know what was about to hit it a few days later. The hits of the moment included Scottish longing, a clownish band in it for the affection, an Italian and and Englishwoman going way, way over the top, a rockabilly revival, a dessert band, a future superstar's surprising debut as a credible white rapper, some catchy German efficiency, and a woman pushing 4...
Dec 04, 2021•47 min•Ep. 87
Roger goes back to his days in utero to look at the hits of November 1970. There's some exotic sounding wedding rock, a flute subbing for a Plant, funky expression, a posthumous smash for a legend, a lady who once played a biker wedding, a man who performed for animated astronauts, and some metallic psychosis. Learn all about it on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQlPA71MeVyePmXJzSmdpP9l And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/oldmanyellsatmusic?...
Nov 27, 2021•43 min•Ep. 86
At long last Roger looks back at the CanUKUS charts of the fall of '98. While the Yankees were winning yet another championship, the pop scene contained songs about mother love, being as cool as a deposed Central American dictator, life at the end of a thousand-year period, romantic rivalry, love of all shapes and sizes, and teenage crises of faith. Listen and watch along on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQknenNA3m4ItQfbHgp-q43H And you can support the show on Patreon: htt...
Nov 13, 2021•46 min•Ep. 85
After a long hiatus. Roger returns with a long episode with a long title. After celebrating All Hallows' Eve with Kiss battling robots in a theme park last year, he returns by looking at two 80s shows about the scourge of punk. First it's the episode of Quincy where the intrepid coroner and his psychologist girlfriend try to save a young girl from the horrors of slam dancing and ice pick stabbings. Then it's an Afterschool Special where Doc from The Love Boat and Helen Willis from The Jeffersons...
Oct 30, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 84
This week Roger looks back at the height of the disco era, when NBC decided to pre-empt SNL for a special shot in a soundstage turned into a club. There's a dance contest, a fashion show, magic, a trapeze artist, and the Village People. Plus we take a detour to Studio 54, which apparently used to be the home of What's My Line. And oh, the 1978 commercials. Watch it on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQm2QICMfqN6SYE_7F4V2I_w And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https:...
Oct 10, 2021•38 min•Ep. 83
The Old Man goes back 40 years to look at the of an early 80s autumn. There's rock from multiple countries, an ode to international female industry, old school gangster music, heartbreak, suicide, and the most retrospectively embarrassing song we've come across so far. See it all on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQn8vNfKZ2BCTM1dlcmHDBiK And consider supporting the show on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true You can make fun of this ep...
Oct 03, 2021•50 min•Ep. 82
This week Roger goes back to a time when stoners ruled the box office, hippies played the Pyramids, and everyone else was getting down and boogie oogie oogie-ing. The charts of the time included songs about suspicions of infidelity, mutant animal revolution, getting robbed on vacation, and getting dumped in favor of a moron. And it helped to either have an automotive band name or friends in Fleetwood Mac. Make sense of this on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmVPPpLGVZvavpF...
Sep 26, 2021•52 min•Ep. 81
This week it's the Round of 8 in the search for the most atypical US pop hit of the 80s. War battles horniness, traditional gender roles take on vocal gymnastics, serial drama faces serial comedy, and video games meet horse racing. Which songs will remain? Get more on the songs and their subjects on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmJIZB47dh09e2qLjf8yuEx And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true Join in the dan...
Sep 19, 2021•27 min•Ep. 80
Roger returns to the discount rack to talk about an album he paid actual Canadian cents for nearly 30 years ago. It's the only album by a group led by a guy who was integral in a pop superstar's success who now wanted to do quirky rock songs about subjects like a surrealist artist and an Eastern European writer. And one that may have predicted a key plot thread of a future blockbuster. Plus a song that's probably about the woman who made him famous. See and hear more on YouTube: https://youtube....
Sep 11, 2021•30 min•Ep. 79
This week Roger goes back to when the kids were going back to school 29 years ago. There would be no cartoons for them on NBC that year, but on the radio, there were songs for and against drugs, a portrait of a false prophet, rambunctious rap, a giddy goth, some bad boy do-gooders, and a band managed by a dog. Allegedly. Follow along on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQns9Eh5rGpK0uggSkNm1lrK And you can support the show if you'd like on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user...
Sep 04, 2021•49 min•Ep. 78
This time Roger looks at the hits from the late stages of the last summer of the 80s. We've got crazy people offering comfort, a hair metal band's idea of paradise, a group with no fear of distortion pedals, a guy who thanked the superstar who revived his only hit with a lawsuit, a choreographer calling out cads, and a second generation showbiz legend trying out synthpop. And a whole lot more, which you can find on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQnYBP755m-wxpCzYMHiZdjM And...
Aug 25, 2021•48 min•Ep. 77
Roger’s Busted Bubbles series continues with a look at songs that couldn't quite make it to the big time of the Hot 100 in 1976. They were loveable palookas, like the hero of that year's biggest movie, but unlike him, they never got their shot at the title. Among these are a comeback attempt by one of rock n’rolls originators, a song slower and sax-ier than its band's calling card, a tune to exterminate insects by, and the man behind the Monster Mash's venture into the monkey business. There's a...
Aug 18, 2021•27 min•Ep. 76
This time Roger goes back 50 years to look at the charts of the summer of '71. We've got hippy-dippy folk, preaching greasers, a legend getting bluesy, suspicious soul, naked women, naive children shaming the intolerant, guys who dressed like American revolutionaries pretending to be indigenous, and a group whose success may have been aided by prostitution. Follow on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQlz6_yfpCIOmm_HbqOvnNEz And if you like, support the show on Patreon: https:...
Aug 10, 2021•46 min•Ep. 75
This week Roger looks back to a time when Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were erasing memories on the big screen, Chuck Norris was showing why you don't mess with Texas on the small one, and the pop charts contained songs about SoCal intoxication, bidding farewell in multiple languages, wanting to eat a sugary treat in the air, collegiate tragedy, vengeful arson, rejecting materialism, and appreciating true friendship while you have it. Listen and learn on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?l...
Jul 30, 2021•48 min•Ep. 74
To mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of the channel formerly known as Music Television, Roger looks back at an ABC special that celebrated the pop video station's first ten years. There are montages galore, clips of the network’s most iconic videos and personalities, gratuitous movie star cameos, and musical performances by George Michael, Aerosmith, R.E.M. and The King of Pop Michael Jackson (which at the time was for all intents and purposes his full name. Plus Madonna delivers a slightly unh...
Jul 22, 2021•31 min•Ep. 73
July 1985. The month Marty McFly went back 30 years to rip off Chuck Berry, and a bunch of bands played all day one Saturday in Philadelphia and London. Roger goes back to look at the charts and finds a Christian star crossing over, some jazzy Germans, relentless optimism, megalomania, shushing, and much more. Follow on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQlEI9jkEBMg78t8ITSCoPxn And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing...
Jul 11, 2021•43 min•Ep. 72
The tournament to determine the most unique hit of the 80s is down to the last 16 songs. Is the horror of war stranger in danceable or headbangable form? Can a song about a video game beat one about a vapid teen who plays it? Soaps or sci-fi? Comedy or vocal gymnastics? These are among the battles that will determine our quarterfinalists. Follow the action on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmF7gAGmM-wFnHlNCEuHLCk And show your support for the show on Patreon: https://www.p...
Jul 02, 2021•25 min•Ep. 71
In 1978, two teenage siblings who had built careers in TV and film were given the chance to be pop stars. They were sent to a couple of the guys who sang The Lion Sleeps Tonight, given a few oldies to cover and some other inoffensive pop and disco. And it went nowhere. Roger listened to it so you don't have to, and he tells you all about it. Listen and watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQkBwP1R3muIppJS2dnx8NVB And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.p...
Jun 25, 2021•22 min•Ep. 70
This week Roger travels back to when the United States was approximately 199 and twenty-five twenty-sixths old, the Antichrist had come...to your local cinema, and disco was beginning to colonize the charts. The hits included a cover band trying to do their own thing, a funky demolition crew, a song for sweathogs, a good Christian's encounter with a satanic sexpot, a housewife's plea to the town beauty, and a farmer who hopes the neighbor lady will take hold of his equipment. It all makes more s...
Jun 17, 2021•46 min•Ep. 69
Roger is back looking below the charts to find songs that didn't quite get on to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his subjects are a tribute to a DJ, a bunch of rich kids promoted by a smut peddler, a band proving a point to some young upstarts, an ode to unclad feet, a couple of recorded responses to the year's biggest blockbuster, and a misogyny anthem with a twist. Watch the bubbles burst on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQk2OFxy5wmBYgPJ0-rpdnjf And consider supporting the ...
Jun 10, 2021•25 min•Ep. 68
This week Roger goes back to the month that brought us The Lion King, the Bronco chase, and a World Cup in a country that preferred a different kind of football. Meanwhile, the charts featured lots of dance music and alternative, plus a future action heroine, a massive soundtrack ballad, veteran prog rockers teaming up with a famous scientist, some surrealist folk, a fractured nursery rhyme, a robbery, a song for an animated jungle dance party, and more. Follow along on YouTube: https://youtube....
Jun 03, 2021•47 min•Ep. 67
In 1973, ABC decided that they needed another singing heartthrob on their network to go with the Partridge Family's David Cassidy. After flipping through a stack of Tiger Beats, they picked an Australian with a single American hit. And what vehicle did they have in mind for him? Why, a Saturday morning cartoon where he played second fiddle to a teacher with magic powers, of course. Roger looks at the first episode of this extremely 70s TV show and tries to make sense of things when they seem bac...
May 27, 2021•32 min•Ep. 66
Roger's back in 1983, when the Jedi returned, a computer mogul put on a music festival just for Us, and the pop charts contained a lot of synthesizers. We've got funny-haired birds, girls who cry while wearing parkas, auto accident love, lizard-based cuisine, and SEX! Find out more on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQlo886ebmyXOEb59f8oa3Em And consider donating to the show's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true You'll like this one, I know t...
May 20, 2021•42 min•Ep. 65
We're now into the fourth round of a tournament to determine the strangest American Top 40 hit of the 80s. Roger breaks down the matchups between all 32 remaining songs and is left with a Sweet? 16. Listen to the contenders on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQli4wdWVohdk1VQRUSFI4rt And you can support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true Turn on your heartlights, bust some moves, and listen.
May 13, 2021•34 min•Ep. 64
This week Roger goes back 48 years to look at the songs that were hits while Congress was looking into some little burglary that a R. Nixon may have known more about than he said. There's a song about a creepy-crawly who really gets down, some nursery rhymes that aren't suitable for children, the early years of a metal icon, a preachy extraterrestrial, and a song to perform a very close shave by. Try to make some sense of it all on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmcvokZSOy...
May 06, 2021•40 min•Ep. 63
Spring 1990. Environmental issues are beginning to move to the forefront, and cartoon characters are banding together to warn three dimensional beings of the dangers of narcotics. Meanwhile, on the charts, rap is on the rise, but their are also songs about tiny lights, filthy lucre, and a treatment for infertility that is simultaneously very simple and extremely complicated. Follow along on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQkaj_MkfhlMUIXDn2xYXsK3 And you can support the show...
Apr 29, 2021•45 min•Ep. 62
Roger reaches into the Bargain Bin again and finds a Russian rock legend taking advantage of Mikhail Gorbachev's softening of barriers to the West to make an album with both Eurythmics and a Pretender. Was America ready for rock with an Eastern European accent, or was this guy's poetic and esoteric approach to pop met with a "nyet"? Hear most of the album on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQk36Byno9Fhhezs9u3XdyHs And you can support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon....
Apr 22, 2021•24 min•Ep. 61
This week Roger looks back at the hits from shortly after a certain irresistible force met a certain immovable object just outside Detroit. There's a movie hit written by The Boss, a potential theme song for the Chippendales, a British bassist's childhood memories, a superstar duet, a song that took six years to hit #1, and more. And everywhere you turn, there's something that reminds you of a Canadian actor. See and hear more on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQkCC7Eqncgtx...
Apr 11, 2021•48 min
This week Roger takes a look at some songs that made the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart but didn't make the main list. Hear about some not quite hits by gospel funksters, one half of a legendary brother combo, a guy less well known than the band that took part of his name, the other King of Las Vegas, and more. Find out more about these songs on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQnLrLmZQtek8uXzmPV-Svzn And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/use...
Apr 02, 2021•26 min•Ep. 59
