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://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true And listen to the end to find out about a new Patreon bonus. Outta sight!

Old Man Yells at Music

Episode #83: Turn On, Tune In, Rock Out #9 - NBC's Le Disco special, 1978

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 episode, I'm not afraid.

Episode #82: October 3. 1981

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=PLDWLXjsOJPQmVPPpLGVZvavpFQsSgndxk And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true You won't like this episode...you'll love it!

Episode #81: September 23, 1978

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 dance by listening to this episode.

Episode #80: The Old Man's Ultimate Tournament of Uneasy Riders of the 80s - Quarterfinals

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.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmNUlR8GFRMCP1a6ymZ7-GZ And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true I've saved a seat for you on this episode.

Episode #79: Tales From the Bargain Bin #9 - Toy Matinee

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?u=35903110&fan_landing=true This show is The One...until the next one.

Episode #78: September 5, 1992

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 you can support the show if you'd like on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true I bet you will enjoy this episode. What I don't bet on is baseball.

Episode #77: August 19, 1989

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 also prog rock, sap, a TV theme, and a single Wing. Follow along on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQk7tVE1J3SUoVGJAMBOdPko And consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true Keep your eye on this episode.

Episode #76: Busted Bubbles of 1976

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://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true Listen to this episode. It's got macaroons.

Episode #75: August 7. 1971

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?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQmVR80-QCmNvFjaTO_U-4Ix And you can support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true Enjoy this episode. It's got a lot of verve.

Episode #74: July 19. 1997

To mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of the channel formerly known as MTV, 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 unhinged monologue. Watch the show and other related material on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQlqnrSr_pXql8rcgEXBQrvi And you can support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true Video may have killed the radio star, but it gave birth to this episode.

Episode #73: Turn On, Tune In, Rock Out #8 - MTV 10

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=true Fortunately, this is not a never-ending podcast.

Episode #72; July 6, 1985

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.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true It’s high time you joined in this dance.

Episode #71: The Old Man's Ultimate 80s Uneasy Rider Tournament - Round #5

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.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true This episode is so fine, doo lang, doo lang.

Episode #70: Tales from the Bargain Bin #8 - Kristy and Jimmy McNichol

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 sense with YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWLXjsOJPQkbcLwLOfedqtS1gHmq20fb And you could give me some cents on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35903110&fan_landing=true This episode will leave you wanting more, more, more.

Episode #69: June 19. 1976

A podcast where an oldish man talks measuredly about the pop music and pop charts of the past, looking at the songs and artists that have succeeded to varying degrees over the years.

hubhopper

Old Man Yells at Music

hubhopper