Saturn’s Favorite Music the Podcast

In this fun, conversational episode Jon Francois, host of the Delicious Culture podcast joins Laura to discuss whether 18th century instruments enhance or detract from pop songs, how much reggae is too much, and a song that some contemporary reviewers called a Beatles flop. We ask if you can be nostalgic for times to come. Did an Alka Seltzer jingle really top The Beatles in the U.S. Billboard charts? There is radio reminiscence pre and post automation. Plus, tune in to find out what song Jon called “a big morose sandwich.” Artists this episode are The Beatles, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Cliff. 
 
Do you agree with our rankings? Here's your chance to share your opinions. Visit the Saturn's Favorite Music Substack, see the entire list of podcast songs and send in your rankings. We'll count down the best and worst in our final episodes. https://lauraleeauthor.substack.com/p/its-your-turn-to-rate-the-songs

Songwriter, producer, author, and songwriting mentor Greig Watts joins Laura to talk about four songs and why some give you the feels and others leave you flat. Along the way they touch on the Eurovision Song Contest, the impact of the soap opera Neighbours on the UK charts, and just how many tracks a record could have before it stopped counting as a single. They explore how the context, from radio airplay to MTV to smoky blues bars affect how a song is received and give a pair of vocalists high marks but find their songs a bit lacking. Artists this episode include INXS, Sade, Janet Jackson and Jon Secada. 
Do you agree with the guests? It's your turn to vote. Find the full list of episode songs via the link below and send in your top and bottom 10. We'll countdown the winners and losers at the end of the series. https://lauraleeauthor.substack.com/p/its-your-turn-to-rate-the-songs?r=a1m6a

Justin and Jane are back! We talk tremendous tremolo, zero hit wonders, and early MTV weirdness. We discuss whether MTV hurt some artists more than it helped, and ask if the 80s produced the worst band names of all time. There is an S&M-themed pop song by Depeche Mode that leads to a discussion of whether being banned by the BBC is a good career move. We wonder at the fact that a ubiquitous alternative club anthem by The Smiths never charted in the US. Finally, we rate just about every U2 song, besides the one on our list. Jane picks a deep cut as her favorite. 

Laura welcomes Eric Shoars, editor of Life Goes On: Lessons We Learned from 80s Music. The two former DJs reminisce about the early days of radio automation, the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati, and songs that got played even if they weren't hits-- or did they? (Laura isn't entirely sure.) Eric reveals the Beatles song that scared him, and a Phil Collins track leads to a discussion of divorce songs and how one person's authenticity can be another person's lie. Does Phil Collins belong on the 80s music Mount Rushmore? Tune in to find out. 

Comedian, musician and music journalist Steven Morgan joins Laura to discuss a mystery of the Canadian music charts, whether a singer can be a bit too perfect and whether Toad the Wet Sprocket is the worst band name ever. Featured songs are Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much," Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight," Go West's "Faithful" and "Walk on the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket. 

Jenny Hunter returns to make a case for Cleveland as the rock n roll capital. She takes a test to determine if she qualifies as a "die hard Huey Lewis and the News fan," as Laura wonders if she could pick any of The News out of a lineup. Jenny wonders if she's qualified to stand in judgement of the genius that is Bob Dylan, while Laura takes a stab at a Dylan impression. Finally, Laura and Jenny try to imagine just what is coming in the air tonight, and what crime the narrator of the song thinks he witnessed. There is Schadenfruede, revenge, and working for a living. Oh, and Jenny goes on a mini-rant about grammar mistakes on beer t-shirts at rock concerts.

Laura is joined by Paul Stroessner of the Gen X Journeys Podcast to journey through the songs an afternoon DJ plays in protest during a staff meeting announcing the sale of the radio station. We ask the questions "What would a punk rock version of 'You're No Good' sound like?"; "If there's no crying in baseball, why is this song from the movie 'A League of Their Own' so sad?";  "What if 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place' had been a Righteous Brothers song?" and "Just how deep does your voice have to be to make pathetic begging sound sexy?" Featured tracks are Linda Rondstadt's "You're No Good," Madonna's "This Used to Be My Playground," Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." 

This episode might blow up and kill the guest. We welcome back our very first guest Doc Shea for a conversation that touches on country line dancing, disco falsetto and prog rock bands meeting the MTV era. OK Go!, Weird Al, Yes, and The Monkees sneak their way into the episode. Plus we attempt to answer the questions: Why did Genesis lip synch to a ballad played back at the wrong speed? Can two famous people sing together without creating a surrealist fever dream? Is "mom rock" an underrated musical genre? Who is responsible for spreading the Macarena dance craze? And finally, is love always enough? Featured artists include Michael Bolton, Genesis, Patty Smyth and, yes, Billy Ray Cyrus. 

Nick Bean and Denise Goetz are back, and with these two the energy is high. We discuss just how many CDs you could get for one penny, why Denise called herself the "Motor City Mama," and the pros and cons of having actresses from mermaid movies in your pop song. Then we get into a heated debate about whether Duran Duran was really Duran Duran after it shed a couple of Taylors or whether it was only "Duran." Finally, there is a rousing pop gospel number that tries to use homelessness as the topic of a dance song. We don't shy away from controversy in this episode. We have sex, drugs, rock n' roll and even religion. Featured artists this episode-- beyond Duran Duran, of course-- are Mariah Carey, Damn Yankees and Clarence Clemons with Jackson Browne. 

We get on the blue bus with Justin and Jane and travel to a spooky funeral for a horror film star, a sweaty beer filled UK dance club, and a smoke filled room with velvet curtains and we run screaming instead of walking on down the hall. On the way we take detours into British cuisine, songs you should not put on mix tapes and a missed opportunity to see The Beatles in concert. We try to avoid using the word "vibe" while describing The Stone Roses' "Fool's Gold," Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead," and The Doors' "The End." And we return to the "Cheery Songs About Dysfunctional Relationships" file with a song by Michael Nesmith that was rejected by the producers of the Monkees, but became a hit for the Stone Poneys by way of a New York bluegrass band.