What Difference Does It Make

Dave Kendall may be best known in the US for his work as the host of the MTV Alternative Music Show, 120 Minutes,  from 1986 to 1992. Today, he's living in Thailand, and is a producer/reporter with the Bangkok Post TV channel, and a host/producer on the travel show Destination Thailand. We invited Dave into our virtual studio to discuss his current passions, from global warming, to his love of the music he played back in the day on MTV, as we look back at songs 40 to 31 from the 1988 year-end KROQ charts. This episode is sponsored by The 80s Cruise. Use the promo code WDDIM to get $250 of onboard credit per cabin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 10th is Duran Duran Appreciation Day. As it turns out, not only are we self-proclaimed Duranies, but our guests love the Fab 5 as well. So for this episode, we've compiled comments and observations from our past guests (and ourselves) about the music we love so much by Simon, John, Nick, Andy, and Roger. Happy Duran Duran Appreciation Day! Sponsored by ⁠The 80s Cruise⁠ Use promo code WDDIM for $250 of onboard credit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can call Rob Tonkin a whole lot of things: Music Industry Executive, Marketing Man, Media Creative, but now you can add a whole new title: Author. Friend of the Podcast, Rob Tonkin joins us to talk about a whole new venture. It's his memoir, and for SEO purposes we won't mention the title, but it reveals a whole new side of Rob. If we were to describe how much of a person Rob is, we might say, "a whole”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Pettigrew may be best known for his 27 years as editor-in-chief at Alternative Press magazine, but besides being an editor, journalist, and DJ (you might have caught his opening set at the Cruel World fest), he is first and foremost, a music fan.  His fandom for the band Ministry led to his striking up a friendship with Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen.  Jason has authored the 33 1/3 book Ministry's Land Of Rape and Honey, a chronicle dedicated to one of Jason's favorite albums of all time. Jason steps into our studio to talk about the band, while also offering up his strong opinions on songs 50 to 41 from the 1988 KROQ year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From her newly-released books on Cher and Taylor Swift, to her recent featured articles in the LA Times and The Onion's A.V. Club, it's clear Music Journalist Annie Zaleski has a lot on her plate. Somehow, she found the time for us to discuss all that's going on in her world, as well as take a look back at the year 1988 and offer up her opinion on songs 60 to 51 from Los Angeles radio station KROQ’s year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lori Majewski is one of us, a true 80s music fan. Her career started with Lori sneaking into hotels and airports because she wanted to meet her favorite artists. She now rubs elbows with many of those same people.  Her book, Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s, celebrates the New Wave music phenomenon. You can hear her bring those stories to life every day on SiriusXM's 1st Wave. Her weekly feature, Lust For Lists, weaves together a playlist highlighting special events or themes from our favorite decade.  Lori now uses her super 80s music knowledge to share with us her thoughts on the music played on the World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles, as we take a look at the year 1988, and focus in on songs 70-61. Sponsored by The 80s Cruise Use promo code WDDIM for $250 of onboard credit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being an 80s music podcast, it's no surprise that when we learned music journalist Gary Graff authored the book, 501 Essential Albums of the ’80s, we would have to talk with him. Naturally, whenever there is a list deemed "essential", there will be debate, and so we had questions such as, "Why this one and not that one?". It's a good talk, and one that will inspire you to think about your own essential 80s music albums.   Sponsored by The 80s Cruise Use promo code WDDIM for $250 of onboard credit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Translator was one of those bands on the precipice of breaking big in the 80s. Signed to local indie label 415 Records, they soon found themselves part of the big-time music business when their label signed a distribution deal with Columbia Records. In 1982, their single, "Everywhere That I'm Not”, became popular on the burgeoning college radio circuit.  In 1986, the band decided to call it quits, scheduling a hometown show to reward their ardent fan base with a final San Francisco show. This performance, along with two new songs, are now available on an LP entitled Translator--Beyond Today: Live at the Farm San Francisco 1986. Lead singer/guitarist Steve Barton and drummer Dave Scheff join the podcast to look back at their 80s musical journey, as well as offer some insight into new developments within the band.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love our Dads. We wouldn't be who we are without their constant presence in our lives. Naturally, that also means we've incorporated their music into our lives. We have quite a few songs that remind us of our Dads, and we share our memories with you in our special Father's Day episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine someone unfamiliar with Scott McCaughey, asking him the name of his band. It's not an easy question to answer.  Over a four decade career, indie rock cult hero, Scott McCaughey, has been a member of so many bands, including R.E.M., Young Fresh Fellows, Baseball Project, Filthy Friends, and Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, to name a few. But The Minus 5 has remained one of the most enduring projects of his storied résumé.  And now, after a five year hiatus, The Minus 5 return with their album, Oar On, Penelope!.  Scott steps into our virtual studio, and we soon learn that the immediate, relatively unadorned, and somewhat more positive music on the album matches up perfectly with the man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Murray Attaway, formerly of Guadalcanal Diary, one of college rock radio's favorite bands in the 80s, joins the podcast to talk about his new solo album, Tense Music Plays. It's the first album from Murray in more than 30 years, so we wanted to find out what he did upon dropping out of the music business, and what prompted his return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether it's Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, or Duran Duran, music journalist Annie Zaleski immerses herself in each project. Now Annie takes on a true icon: Cher. The book is called I Got You Babe: A Celebration Of Cher. This gives us a chance to revisit all our favorite Cher moments, from her variety show with Sonny, to her fashion sense, to her movies. Cher has always fascinated us, and so we turn to Annie to figure out why Cher means so much to us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer/Songwriter Suzanne Vega has been recording her songs of personal reflection and social issues for more than 40 years. Her latest record, Flying With Angels, is her first full-length album of new music in over a decade. Suzanne joins the podcast to talk about the album, family life, and getting her start playing the New York folk scene in the early 80s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill have been married since 2003. Vicki is a member of The Bangles, along with her sister Debbi. John Cowsill is a member of the platinum-selling family band, The Cowsills. So it’s been a long time coming for Vicki and John to release their own debut Americana album, comprised of songs written by John’s late brothers, Barry and Bill Cowsill. The album is titled Long After The Fire, and is out now. The couple join our podcast, where they reminisce about singing in the family car, The Partridge Family, playing drums for another family band, called The Beach Boys, and creating their own music together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's good to be Paul Rappaport. As the head of Rock Promotion at Columbia Records, Paul rubbed shoulders with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Alice In Chains. It was Paul's creativity and enthusiasm that contributed to his success in getting his artists' music played on the radio. It's all documented in his book, Gliders Over Hollywood: Airships, Airplay And The Art Of Rock Promotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Rice-Edwards, co-director and editor for the rock documentary One to One: John & Yoko, joins the podcast. The film centers around the One to One benefit concert for the Willowbrook State School in New York, an institution for special needs children. Sam shares with us some of the details about how he and co-director Kevin Macdonald were able to sort through tens of thousands of hours of previously unseen archival footage to create a fully realized documentary on the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the early 70s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jimbo Mathus, frontman for the Squirrel Nut Zippers, joins the podcast to reminisce about his music origins, and how he landed in Chapel Hill, leading to the massive success of the band. Squirrel Nut Zippers continue to tour with their own unique brand of Americana music with their Jazz From The Back O' Town show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy April Fools' Day! What songs make you smile? For Dave it's a knowing wink from an artist that knows this music can be ridiculous and yet, still love it. For Holly, it's music that makes her do a goofy dance or reminds her of her children. We go from pop and rock to dance and folk. We also learn during our Pop Quiz that, even though Holly is a stickler for "word crimes", she's not as strong when it comes to 80s lyrics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Cross might sing of sailing away, but does he feel that way about cruises? Man on the scene, Dave Sloan steps onto The 80s Cruise with his guests Steve Spears and Brad Williams, from the Stuck In The 80s podcast, to discuss how they became involved in this 80s lifestyle. They also offer us their unique take on songs #80 to #71 from the KROQ 1988 year-end countdown.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bruce Warren's title on LinkedIn may say he's "Chief of a lot less Stuff at WXPN”, but we think he's just being modest. For more than 30 years, Bruce has helped shape the sound of one of the most influential public radio stations today, 88.5 WXPN in Philadelphia. He is also a producer and one of the people that helped create the widely popular syndicated radio show, World Cafe. Bruce is ready to move on to his next adventure, as he slowly steps away from his duties at the station. We discuss his love of music while looking at songs 90-81 from the KROQ 1988 year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices