Permanent Record Podcast

Episode 80: The Cure - RnR HOF 2019 & "Disintegration" (1989) Part 1 Hi folks! Brian here. Sarah didn't write her usual well-organized and amusing show notes for this episode yet, but I am ready to post it. And while on the episode I will mention that I am suffering from some seasonal allergies, it turns out that what I really have is a super-annoying cold with sore throat, cough, and congestion. This cold has me feeling much less than witty! Because of that, these show notes are really sub-standard. Here is what you will find on this particular episode of the podcast: 1. A discussion of The Cure's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. 2. A good number of details about the recording of the 1989 album "Disintegration." 3. A look back at some of the reviews of the aforementioned record from various publications. 4. Brian and Sarah's sad/sexy personal histories with this record. While we don't talk about any particular songs in this installment, I added a few early demos in the background to help get you in the mood and to give you something to listen to other than my stuffy, sick voice. We hope everyone is well and check back next episode for more of Sarah's excellent show notes!! Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 1 - The James Bond Theme For a year or so now, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could. Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast! This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings. It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere! In this first episode, Monty Norman's "The James Bond Theme" is discussed, from its humble origins in an EON Film Production office all the way up to England's High Court of Justice. It's crazy, but shouldn't be too surprising for a song which has thrilled millions for 57 years now. Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 79: Men At Work - Business As Usual (1982) Part 3 After an unexpected delay, Brian and Sarah are finally back to finish their discussion on Men At Work's debut album, Business As Usual. They had many positive things to say about the songs on Side One, but will that be the case for Side Two as well? Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued There's only one single on Side Two, and it has yet another low-budget but entertaining video. It also has some interesting release/chart history, as Sarah explains. So does that mean the other songs on Side Two are just album filler? Our two hosts debate that as they go through the track listing. There's also a lot of educational information in this section of the episode. Sarah gives a brief account of the Hindu caste system and also explains the history of and differences between ska and reggae music. Brian shares some anecdotes about the relationship between Ron Strykert and Colin Hay over the years, and he also tells a story about a rather inept British merchant sailor. People Just Love to Play with Words Be Good Johnny Touching the Untouchables Catch a Star Down by the Sea Part 4 - Extra Credit After Part Two of the Business As Usual podcast was released, our hosts heard from Australian friend of the show Terry Kemp, who shared some insight on what he thought the song "Underground" was really about. Brian did some digging (pun intended) and learned some disturbing facts about the asbestos mining industry in Australia, which he shares in this segment. Part 5 - Final Review and Rating It's often not too difficult to guess how Brian and Sarah are going to end up rating an album; however, Business as Usual probably doesn't fall in that category. While both hosts seemed to love all of Side One, the discussion of Side Two elicited more critical comments, especially from one of the hosts. But how low do they go with their ratings? You'll have to listen to the end to find out! See the videos discussed here: Be Good Johnny Solla Solla Enna Parumai - from the movie "Ellam Inbamayam" Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 78: Men At Work - Business As Usual (1982) Part 2 It's time to resume the discussion of the debut album from the Australian band, Men At Work, in this - the first PRP episode to be released under protest from one of the hosts! Business As Usual was a huge international success and contained several hits. In the previous episode, Brian and Sarah talked about the band's first big single, which also happened to be the first song on the album. But they didn't get past track two, which means there are three more songs from Side One to discuss in this episode. Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued Picking up the discussion with track three means our hosts get to talk about another monster hit and another goofy video. There's also an unfortunate legal situation that has to be brought up. On a lighter note, Brian quizzes Sarah on the meanings of some song lyrics, Sarah continues marveling at some of the fashion choices the band members--particularly the drummer-- made, and once again, breakfast cereal is mentioned. Next, there is talk of war. And finally, later in the episode, Brian reveals the plot of the low-budget sci-fi movie he dreams of making. Down Under Underground Helpless Automaton See the video discussed here: Down Under Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 77: Men At Work - Business As Usual (1982) Part 1 It's time once again for Brian and Sarah to discuss a classic album, and for the first time, they've chosen an effort from an Australian band. The band is Men at Work, and the album is Business As Usual. This debut LP was released in Australia in 1981, but it didn't make it to the USA and the UK until 1982. Part 1 - Album History As this is Men at Work's first album, our hosts take some time to talk about the formation of the band and the events leading up to the recording of Business As Usual. Then the focus turns to the release and eventual worldwide success of the album, which has Brian and Sarah sharing information about chart positions, records set and broken, and awards won by the band. They also take turns reading reviews, and Brian shares some interesting information about the album cover art and the unlikely artist who designed it. Part 2 - Personal History Business As Usual is an album that neither Brian nor Sarah owned back in the day. However, they were both very familiar with the singles, and one of them did actually own one of the singles-- and even had to buy another copy due to the first one wearing out! Brian also reveals what finally led him to purchase the album many years later. Part 3 - Track by Track For this episode, Brian and Sarah cover the first two tracks on Side One. The first song is one of the most recognizable singles of the New Wave era, and our hosts spend a lot of time talking about it, its release history, and the video. As is common with early 80s videos, there are some interesting fashion selections to discuss. And Sarah takes great pleasure in Brian having to once again recant his infamous statement about saxophones, which he made way back in Episode 16. Who Can It Be Now? I Can See It in Your Eyes See the videos discussed here: Who Can It Be Now? Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 76: Permanent Record Trivia Showdown 2019 This episode finds Brian and Sarah facing off in a battle of wits! They're joined by longtime friend Hans Lemke, who presides over this heated competition. In preparation for this showdown, our hosts asked the listeners for music trivia questions, and the response was quite impressive! Brian and Sarah want to thank Boys Make Noise, Dave Delea, Andrew Dineley, Fragile Gods, James Perrin, Tom Richey, and Paul Underwood for sending in questions for the challenge. Just how well do Brian and Sarah do answering music-related questions when they don't have hours to research the answers? And who emerges victorious in the end? Listen and find out! Listen to Boys Make Noise's Duran Duran-inspired podcast "The D-Side" at http://thedside.libsyn.com/ Listen to Andrew Dineley's "Art on Your Sleeve" podcast at https://softoctopus.co.uk/category/podcast/ Listen to Fragile God's fantastic synth-heavy music at https://fragilegods.bandcamp.com/ Listen to Paul Underwood's "Glory Days Radio" at https://koxe.com/glory-days/ Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 75: Queen - The Works (1984) Part 2 The second episode of 2019 is here, and it's all about the second side of the 1984 Queen album The Works! But before Brian and Sarah resume their discussion, they share a voicemail they received from Paul Underwood, a listener and fellow podcast host who called the PRP voicemail number (724-490-8324) and left a message with his thoughts on the album and the band. The number is always available for folks to share their memories and insights on the artists and albums discussed on the show. Part 3 - Track by Track, continued The first side of The Works contained quite a variety of musical styles, and when our hosts flip the record, they discover that theme continues. Each of the five songs on Side Two have a unique sound, and some break new ground even for a band that's famous for experimenting. Two more singles and two more videos are found on Side Two, including what's likely the most infamous Queen video of all. But in addition to those videos, Brian and Sarah end up discussing another video of the same era, which seems to have coincidental connections to one of the songs on Side Two. They also return to a familiar subject-- songs used in commercials. Our hosts reveal that Coca-Cola really seems to like using a particular Queen song in their ads. But how did Brian and Sarah ever get on the subject of the longest-running children's program in the UK, which Sarah seems to have enthusiastically embraced? Machines (Or 'Back to Humans') I Want to Break Free Keep Passing the Open Windows Hammer to Fall Is This the World We Created...? Part 4 - Extra Credit The recording sessions for The Works generated a lot of songs, but only nine made it to the album. However, thirty years later, one of the songs that had been left unfinished showed up on a Queen compilation album. For extra credit, Brian and Sarah discuss the history of "Let Me In Your Heart Again." Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Sarah goes first with her review and rating, and she starts off by sharing some thoughts Brian May had about the album at the time. She goes on to discuss whether or not she agreed with him, explaining her own views on The Works at the same time. This approach seemed to keep Brian in suspense for a while regarding her final rating, so perhaps it will do the same for the listeners too. Brian's review begins with a quick assessment of the several albums prior to The Works, before talking about the individual songs and finally, the album as a whole. He even explains where this album ranks for him among all the Queen studio albums. See the videos discussed here: I Want to Break Free Lotto Commercial Hyundai Commercial Coke C2 Commercial Coke Zero Sugar Commercial Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson Hammer to Fall Let Me In Your Heart Again Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 74: Queen - The Works (1984) Part 1 After an extended break, first due to holiday celebrations, then due to winter colds, Brian and Sarah are finally back and ready to talk classic albums! The first record up for discussion in 2019 is one the duo had originally planned to cover in 2018: Queen's 1984 endeavor, The Works. Brian and Sarah originally chose this album because of the release of the Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. And our hosts are happy to report that Bohemian Rhapsody is still in the public spotlight, winning two Golden Globes and receiving five Oscar nominations-- not to mention the more than $800 million in worldwide box-office receipts it's earned. So our hosts have dusted off their notes-- and their microphones-- and are giving you The Works! (Well, just the first side for now!) Part 1 - Album History This album could be considered contradictory, in that it represents both a break from-- and a return to-- the past. As Brian and Sarah explain in this episode, the break from the past is Queen's decision to finally part ways with the Elektra record label. The return to the past refers to the content of the album, which confirms the musical experiment of Hot Space was just that-- an experiment. Our hosts discuss the circumstances prior to and during the recording of the album, and they talk about how the album was received all over the world, but particularly in America. And this section wouldn't be complete without chart position statistics, album reviews, and album art information, so they bring that to you as well. Part 2 - Personal History Following a common theme for this portion of the podcast, Sarah says her personal history of this album is tied to Brian's personal history. However, by the time Brian purchased this album (on CD, not cassette!), he and Sarah were already dating, so there was no need for him to make her a 'backup copy.' Brian's personal history for The Works includes a rather remarkable show of patience and restraint (for him, anyway!), despite persuasion from the local record merchant. Part 3 - Track by Track Our hosts jump into the track-by-track discussion with a great lead-off song-- and perhaps an even greater video. Side One of The Works only has four songs, but it contains quite a variety of musical styles. Brian and Sarah have a lot of fun discussing the songs and the videos. Along the way, they mention such 80s staples as REALLY big hair, shoulder pads, drum machines and synthesizers; but they also find reason to talk about Jerry Lee Lewis, opera, clowns, prawns and Zardoz!! Radio Ga Ga Tear It Up It's a Hard Life Man on the Prowl See the videos discussed here: Radio Ga Ga It's a Hard Life The Cross - Power to Love "It's a Hard Life" sung by Tom Chaplin (Keane) at the Prince's Trust, 2011 Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Do whatever you do on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 73: Selections from "A Very Special Christmas" (1987) - Eurythmics, Alison Moyet, Sting, Pretenders For the last episode of 2018, Brian and Sarah have chosen to talk about selections from the 1987 charity album "A Very Special Christmas." But before they get into that discussion, they have several other things to mention: congratulatory wishes to 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Cure and Roxy Music, a couple of five-star iTunes reviews, and a reminder about this year's holiday giveaway! It's a great way to start a Pet Shop Boys collection of your very own! Then, our hosts turn their attention to the first album in a series which has raised a great deal of money for the Special Olympics organization. They discuss the origins and making of the album, its release and chart history, and a couple of reviews from the time. Then Sarah and Brian take turns leading the discussion on four songs from the album, during which a small competition breaks out over whose song is the oldest. It's also revealed that not all of the songs are truly Christmas songs, and one of them is about a particularly gruesome topic! Sarah mentions both the cover artist and one of the song's lyricists have ties to Pennsylvania, and Brian explains the musical term "Picardy Third." Both hosts end the episode by once again thanking all their listeners for their support, feedback, and friendship throughout the year. Brian and Sarah are both looking forward to recording more episodes in 2019! Song Selections: Eurythmics - Winter Wonderland Alison Moyet - Coventry Carol Sting - Gabriel's Message Pretenders - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Watch the video discussed here: Sting - Gabriel's Message Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Do whatever you do on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Finally, you can call Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324. "We're ready to believe you!"

Episode 72: "Bohemian Rhapsody" movie and Queen - "Thank God It's Christmas" (1984) Another holiday season is upon us, and our hosts have found themselves snowed under (pun intended) with festive preparations. So instead of discussing the Queen album "The Works" (which will now be done in the new year), they're offering up something they've never done before-- a movie discussion! No, Sarah hasn't finally given in to Brian doing an entire James Bond podcast; the movie in question is the recently released Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, "Bohemian Rhapsody." You may know by now that Brian and Sarah are huge Queen fans and were therefore anxiously awaiting the release of this movie. And now that they've seen it several times(!), they decided to share their thoughts on it with each other-- and you! However, in keeping with the theme of the show, Brian and Sarah do also discuss a record -- Queen's 1984 Christmas single, "Thank God It's Christmas." They share the usual information about the release, the chart position, the making of, and lots of other fun tidbits and trivia. Be sure to listen to the end, though, to learn about this year's holiday giveaway! This year, Brian and Sarah hope to provide TWO lucky listeners with music-related prizes! Hear the festive songs we discuss: Queen - Thank God It's Christmas Anita Dobson (with Brian May & John Deacon) - I Dream of Christmas Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Do whatever you do on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

Episode 71: Summer of Sharing - Frankie Goes To Hollywood and ABBA This summer, we asked our listeners to help us spread the word about the podcast and many of you did! We really appreciated the assist, and we rewarded one lucky friend-of-the-show with his own personal episode! Our winner, the magnanimous Terry Kemp, reached out to us this past week and said that he was willing to share his special episode with the world! Such a nice move on his part! And so this is it! Terry asked us to discuss Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax" and ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" - two very different, but two very excellent, pop singles. We hope you will enjoy listening to Terry's podcast and maybe learn a thing or two about these bands, one famous and one infamous! Please note that while the Frankie segment doesn't contain any profanity, it does discuss the lyrical content of the song, which is quite adult. We don't say anything that couldn't be broadcast on the radio, but a few mature topics come up. FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 1 FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 2 FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 3 FGTH - "Relax" Video Version 4 ABBA - "The WInner Takes It All"

Episode 70: Pet Shop Boys - Introspective (1988) Part 2 As you may recall, in the previous episode, Brian and Sarah were joined by Andrew Dineley (Classic Pop Magazine contributor, host of the "Art on your Sleeve" podcast, and world-renowned Pet-Head!) to discuss the Pet Shop Boys album Introspective. Thankfully, Andrew agreed to call again --otherwise, this second part of this discussion would have been very lopsided. Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued As the trio flip the record to discuss the three tracks on side two, a lot of interesting topics come up-- some expected, and others, not so much. Of course, having a graphic designer and self-confessed Pet Head on the show means there's talk about sleeve covers, including limited edition 12-inch singles, and Andrew admits he valiantly tried collecting as many of them as possible. Also, on the subject of admitting things, Brian admits he has quite the crush on Eighth Wonder-era Patsy Kensit. From that springs a discussion of two things she has in common with Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde. Other subjects mentioned include babies, French civil unrest, babysitting, the Mix-Master Phil Harding, "fantastically pretentious" lyrics, Chris Lowe vocals, and-- in what's sure to be a one-time occurrence-- Willie Nelson! And, Brian's trifecta is achieved-- he gets to talk about James Bond AND Batman while discussing pop music! I'm Not Scared Always on My Mind/In My House It's Alright Part 4 - Extra Credit As the discussion of Introspective wraps up, the three hosts look deeper into a question they've touched on in both episodes: Did the lower chart positions of this album's and future releases correspond to the quality of the duo's output? Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Brian decides to go first with his final review and record-adapter rating. Sarah's lack of personal history with this album makes her a bit of a wild card in the review and rating category. Finally, comes the review and rating everyone's been waiting for: the one from Andrew Dineley. Will he go all out and give Introspective a 5 out of 5? There's only one way to find out! See the videos here: I'm Not Scared - Eighth Wonder Always On My Mind It's Alright Subscribe to Art on your Sleeve Follow Andrew at https://twitter.com/disheedee Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Do whatever you do on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

Episode 69: Pet Shop Boys - Introspective (1988) Part 1 Brian and Sarah are thrilled to once again welcome Andrew Dineley to the show. Andrew is a graphic designer, contributor to Classic Pop magazine, and host of the excellent podcast Art On Your Sleeve. He's also a self-confessed, long-time Pet Head, so it seemed only fitting to include him in a 30th-anniversary look at the Pet Shop Boys 1988 album, Introspective. Part 1 - Album History This third studio album by the Pet Shop Boys finds the duo breaking from traditions, both their own and that of the music industry in general. The format, production, and visual design of Introspective differ significantly from the first two albums, and the three hosts take some time to discuss these differences and what impact they may have had on the album's chart positions and sales around the world. And of course, having a graphic designer on the show means Sarah and Brian can ask lots of questions about the design of the album cover, which Andrew obligingly answers. Part 2 - Personal History Both Andrew and Brian share some fond memories of obtaining the album, with Andrew's stories of British record shop extras evoking some jealousy from his American co-hosts. Sarah, however, earns yet another failing score in the "personal history" category for this album. Thank goodness for the other two! Part 3 - Track by Track Side One contains three songs, but they're all extended in length. So, too, is the discussion of the songs by the three hosts. Andrew, Brian, and Sarah find plenty of things to talk about with these tracks, including: Trevor Horn, house music, freestyle music, triple meanings, an enjoyable video, and a rather boring video--oh, and come to think of it, lists! Left to My Own Devices I Want a Dog Domino Dancing See the videos here: Left to My Own Devices Domino Dancing Subscribe to Art on your Sleeve Follow Andrew at https://twitter.com/disheedee Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Do whatever you do on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

Episode 68: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) Part 3 Brian and Sarah are just about ready to flip Duran Duran's second album over to side two and check out what awaits them there. Before they do that though, they happily share some more five-star reviews from iTunes, and they congratulate the winner of the Summer of Sharing contest, Terry Kemp! Thanks to everyone who participated and helped to spread the word about the show! Part 3: Track by Track, Continued Side Two of Rio only contains four songs, but that doesn't prevent Brian and Sarah from having a long, detailed discussion about the four songs and the two videos. During that discussion, Gordon Lightfoot is mentioned again and Human League is mentioned twice! And Brian, having tried valiantly to avoid it for two episodes, finally goes into full-blown James Bond Podcast mode! (It was inevitable, wasn't it?) New Religion Last Chance on the Stairway Save a Prayer The Chauffeur Part 4: Extra Credit After such an in-depth discussion of an important album by a prominent New Wave band, Brian is hoping Sarah has come up with a worthy extra credit question. Once she asks it, Brian's reaction makes it clear he's quite satisfied with it! You'll have to listen to find out what it is, though! Part 5: Final Review and Rating Now that they've spent several hours talking about the album Rio, the time has finally come for our hosts to give their final reviews and record-adapter ratings. They've both said some very complimentary things about the songs along the way, but will the fact that neither Brian nor Sarah owned this album back in the day factor into their assessments? Bonus Feature: Sarah's Secret Song Snippet This time the bonus feature isn't at the beginning of the episode, or at the end! Brian decides to change things up and introduce the feature somewhere in the middle of the discussion. Sarah's prepared for this, although she is a little worried her song snippet is another really easy one. See the videos here: Save a Prayer The Chauffeur Orchestral version of The Chauffeur in Christian Dior show Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Do whatever you do on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/

Episode 67: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) - Part 2 Never before has it taken Brian more than two days to edit an episode, but this week, while working on part two of the discussion of Duran Duran's classic 1982 album "Rio," it seems that he wasn't up to the challenge! But you know, years from now, when Brian & Sarah are two of the most popular podcast hosts in the world and almost everyone over the age of 40 either wears a P.R.P. shirt or sports a sweet P.R.P. tattoo, no one will remember that this episode was four days late - they'll just be really happy that it's available for download! Track-by-Track (Continued): So this week, your hosts finish up their discussion of side one, getting the opportunity to talk about some fantastic music, including the immortal classic "Hungry Like the Wolf." Other topics are also touched upon such as: the incredibly disco-y first version of "My Own Way" what's a better look - a red headband or a red scarf? on which track does John Taylor's bass playing sound like a sea lion? who is a better matador: Highlander's Adrian Paul or Host Brian? (hint: his FB poll question seems to indicate it's Brian!) how many times did they have to release "Hungry Like the Wolf" before it finally became a US hit? and so much more!! This episode's songs: My Own Way Lonely in your Nightmare Hungry Like the Wolf Hold Back the Rain See the videos here: My Own Way Lonely in your Nightmare (Russell Mulcahy Version) Lonely in your Nightmare (Video Album Version) Lonely in your Nightmare (Split-screen comparison) Hungry Like the Wolf Bruce Campbell Old Spice Commercial Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 66: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) - Part 1 It's been quite a while since our hosts have covered an entire album, so they're ready to get back to doing an in-depth discussion. And this is a group that they've been promising to cover for quite some time now: the Fab Five, Duran Duran! It's kind of hard to believe there hasn't been a Duran Duran episode yet, but Brian and Sarah are about to make up for that, by choosing to discuss the group's seminal 1982 release, "Rio." Part 1 - Album History Since this is such an important New Wave album, and since Brian and Sarah haven't covered Duran Duran previously, they decide to take a lot of time to talk about the history of the album and the band's situation at the time. Our hosts go into depth about the making of the album, the rather confusing release history in America, the chart positions all over the world, and some reviews from then and now. Brian also makes sure to talk about the iconic album cover and the artist who provided the picture for it. Part 2 - Personal History This may be one of the more surprising-- and perhaps even embarrassing-- personal history discussions both Brian and Sarah have ever had. They both profess to being long-time Duran Duran fans, but it may shock the listeners to learn when "Rio" finally made it into the hosts' record collections! Part 3 - Track by Track The first song on the album is, of course, the title track, and Brian and Sarah have a lot to say about "Rio" and its video. Release and chart information is shared, as well as a couple of reviews. Then they get into discussing how the song was put together, which involves an early member of Duran Duran. Sarah gets to once again poke fun at Brian regarding saxophone solos, and they both poke some gentle fun at Simon Le Bon and some of his vocal tendencies. At the same time, they also staunchly defend him against critics who often won't even compliment the singer without making it a backhanded compliment. Both hosts talk excitedly about the video, which neither of them remembered very well apart from the end. Also mentioned are questionable fashion choices, comic books, and (not surprisingly) James Bond. All of this lively discussion takes up a lot of time, so they decide to end the episode after track one. Rio See the video here: Rio Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 65: Summer 2018 Concert Recap (Depeche Mode, Chromeo, Erasure, Pretenders, Thomas Dolby, Tom Bailey, Culture Club, The Fixx) The passing of Labor Day marks the unofficial end to summer, and Brian and Sarah decide it's a good time to look back on what they've been calling their "Summer of Concerts." From the beginning of June to the end of August, our hosts had the opportunity to see quite a few concerts, and it should be no surprise to learn many of the artists have been previously discussed on this podcast. Brian and Sarah take turns sharing highlights and memories from each show they attended over the summer. They saw several acts for the first time and also visited some new venues. During their recap, Sarah declares Brian's friend Beil to be a bad luck charm for Depeche Mode shows. She also confesses about how uptight she was during The Pretenders concert, which Brian agrees was for a valid reason. Both Brian and Sarah laugh about the funny things Andy Bell said while he was fighting a cold, and they both gush about the surprising opening song from the Culture Club show. One other topic of discussion in this episode is Sarah's Secret Song snippet. Brian reveals that for the first time, Sarah has finally stumped the audience with the snippet in the previous episode. He plays a longer clip so people can learn what song it was. Sarah then admits she may have overcompensated on this episode's snippet by making it too easy. Time will tell! Depeche Mode at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA (June 3, 2018) Chromeo at the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (June 11, 2018) The Pretenders at The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD (June 29, 2018) Styx and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts at the Giant Center, Hershey, PA (June 30, 2018) Erasure at the Warner Theatre, Washington, DC (July 20, 2018) Killer Queen (Queen Tribute Band) at the York Strand Theater, York, PA (July 21, 2018) Tom Bailey at Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD (July 24, 2018) Thomas Dolby at the Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA (August 1, 2018) Tom Bailey and Culture Club at the Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ (August 3, 2018) The Fixx at New Hope Winery, New Hope, PA (August 29, 2018) Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 64: Selections from "The Wedding Singer" Soundtrack, Vol. 2 (A Flock of Seagulls, Kajagoogoo, Madonna, Spandau Ballet) This week Brian and Sarah return to the movies-- or at least to a movie soundtrack. They pick up where they left off, discussing songs from "The Wedding Singer," with this episode covering songs from Volume 2 of the soundtrack. Before they get into the song discussion, though, Brian and Sarah mention that they watched the movie again before recording this episode. They reveal they had both forgotten about an extra scene on the DVD that wasn't in the theatrical release or on the VHS tape. Track Selections Volume 2 of the soundtrack is also full of some great 80s classics-- several of which will surely be discussed in future episodes, along with the rest of the album they're from. However, our hosts were each able to find two songs from the soundtrack to talk about. The topic of one-hit wonders comes up as these songs are discussed, as well as terrible hair, tiny microphones, and-- more than once-- Duran Duran. (When are these guys are ever going to do a Duran Duran episode, anyway?) A Flock of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song Kajagoogoo - Too Shy Madonna - Holiday Spandau Ballet - True A Flock of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song Kajagoogoo - Too Shy Madonna - Holiday Spandau Ballet - True Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 63: Selections from "The Wedding Singer" Soundtrack, Vol. 1 (The Police, Billy Idol, The Smiths, New Order) Brian and Sarah are back once again to discuss some classic songs from the 80s. But this time instead of discussing an album's worth of songs by a single artist or group, they've chosen several songs from a movie soundtrack. The movie is "The Wedding Singer," which was released in 1998, but takes place in 1985. This movie has two soundtracks associated with it, and in this episode, songs from Volume 1 are discussed. Personal History "The Wedding Singer" holds a special place in the hearts of our hosts, not just because it's set in the 80s, but because it came out mere months before their own wedding. Brian and Sarah spend a few minutes discussing the time period of the movie's release and some of their memories associated with it. Track Selections Since many of the songs on this soundtrack have either been discussed in a prior episode or will likely be discussed in a future episode, our hosts choose songs that they probably wouldn't get to talk about otherwise. Brian and Sarah select two songs each and explain where in the movie the songs can be heard. They also go over the regular information like release dates, chart position, music, lyrics, and videos. And although this episode does naturally lend itself to more of a movie discussion than most of the others, Brian starts talking about a James Bond movie rather than "The Wedding Singer." Sarah once again has to get him back on track. Also in this episode, Brian and Sarah both admit their teenage fear of Billy Idol; Brian shares conflicting stories from band members about the making of a song, and yet another soda commercial is discussed! The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Billy Idol - White Wedding The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? New Order - Blue Monday The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Billy Idol - White Wedding The Smiths - How Soon is Now? New Order - Blue Monday (1983 version) New Order - Blue Monday (1988 version) New Order - Sunkist Commercial Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 62: Information Society - Information Society (1988) Part 2 Brian and Sarah take some time during their "Summer of Concerts" to resume their discussion on the 1988 major-label debut album from the American band Information Society. In Part 1, an Apple IIe computer helped determine the order of the songs to be discussed. Unfortunately, the machine couldn't handle all that pressure and shut down soon afterwards, so for this episode, our hosts are left to determine the song order themselves. Part 3 - Track by Track, continued There's a mixture of songs from both Side One and Side Two to talk about, and our hosts decide to leave the biggest song for last. Or do they? Part of their discussion centers on the fact that depending on the audience, Information Society's 'biggest hit' varies among three different songs. Brian and Sarah also talk about two more videos, more Star Trek samples, a radio publicity stunt gone awry, and Amanda Kramer's top ten foods, most of which don't seem to be actual foods! Something in the Air Over the Sea Repetition Tomorrow What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) Part 4 - Extra Credit Since Brian and Sarah spent quite a bit of time discussing freestyle music over these two episodes, they decide to review a list of the "top 100 freestyle songs," and each of them chooses their favorite song from the list. Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Both hosts have said some pretty good things about this album all the way through, although this episode did have a few more negative comments from each of them than Part 1 did. But you'll have to listen to the end to see how much of a difference that makes to their final record-adapter ratings! Bonus Feature - Sarah's Secret Song Snippet Sarah's Secret Song Snippet is back, and Brian thinks this one is the most difficult yet! Sarah starts expressing some regrets, but it's too late to turn back now! Listen to the end and then message the hosts with your guess, for your chance to be "Sarah's Secret Song Snippet Star of the Week!" See the videos we discuss here: Repetition What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 61: Information Society "Information Society" 1988 Part One This week we are talking about Information Society's 1988 big-label debut "Information Society." It's a great mix of synth-pop and freestyle - a fact that Brian didn't even know until this week! If you like either upbeat dance music or songs with Star Trek samples, this is the episode for you!! This week, with the help of an old Apple IIe computer, Sarah and Brian discuss the following tracks: Lay All Your Love On Me Running Make It Funky Attitude Walking Away Here's the video we discuss: Walking Away Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 60: Summer 2018 Mix Tape, Part Two - Blancmange, Hipsway, Breathe, Danny Elfman As the official start of Summer 2018 inches ever closer, there's important work to be done-- finishing the Summer Mix Tape! It's a job for none other than the Fantastic Four: Brian, Sarah, Colby Zell, and "The Hustle" podcast host, Jon Lamoreaux! (We'll leave it up to you do to decide which host matches which member of Marvel's First Family, True-believers!) Side One of the tape was definitely a mix of artists and song types. Side Two is no different, with even the order of the selections being mixed up. There's also a wide variety of topics discussed, such as 80s white boy dancing, naughty paintings, living off the grid, desserts, movie soundtracks, record label drama, and guys in goatskin pants. Also, for the second week in a row, the group talks about Vince Clarke (what does he have to do with Side Two?) Man, that guy is EVERYWHERE! Mix Tape Side Two 1. Colby's pick: Blancmange - Don't Tell Me 2. Sarah's pick: Hipsway - The Honeythief 3. Jon's pick: Breathe - Jonah 4. Brian's pick: Danny Elfman - Gratitude See the videos we discuss here: Blancmange - Don't Tell Me Hipsway - The Honeythief Breathe - Jonah (version 1) Breathe - Jonah (version 2) Danny Elfman - Gratitude Visit The Hustle at: https://thehustle.podbean.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/thehustlepodcast/ Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 59: Summer 2018 Mix Tape (Part 1) - Re-Flex, The Assembly, Ultravox, The B-52's June is here and that means summer is almost here too! To get ready for the season, Brian and Sarah thought it would be fun to compile another mix tape. They asked last year's mix tape contributor and guest co-host Colby Zell to join in again, and he agreed. But this year's mix tape has yet another contributor-- and it's none other than Jon Lamoreaux, host of the excellent podcast The Hustle! Jon brings his wealth of knowledge and behind-the-scenes stories gained from his many interviews with musicians who've had at least a fleeting taste of fame in their careers. Each host has chosen two songs to contribute to the mix tape; one for each side. In this episode, the songs for Side One are discussed, along with the artists, the albums the singles are from, and the videos. Some pretty strong opinions are voiced, and additionally, the following questions are answered: Who almost fell asleep listening to one of the songs? Who stole music from his sister? Which video brought to mind the 70's sci-fi movie Zardoz? And who is Feargal Sharkey's doppelganger? Mix Tape Side One 1. Sarah's pick: Re-Flex - Politics of Dancing 2. Brian's pick: The Assembly - Never Never 3. Colby's pick: Ultravox - the Voice 4. Jon's pick: B-52's - Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland See the videos we discuss here: Re-Flex - The Politics of Dancing The Assembly - Never Never Ultravox - The Voice The B-52's - Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland Visit The Hustle at: https://thehustle.podbean.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/thehustlepodcast/ Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 58: Forgotten 80s - Aztec Camera, Two Minds Crack, Red Flag, Animotion It's Memorial Day weekend here in the States, but that hasn't stopped Brian and Sarah from putting together another episode. This one is based on a listener idea; Charles Christiphe wrote in and suggested an episode about forgotten songs of the 80s. Brian and Sarah liked the idea a lot and decided to choose two songs each to discuss. Thanks, Charles!! Sarah's first selection may not be forgotten in the UK, as it reached the top 20 back in 1983. However, it failed to appear on any American charts, so she stands by her choice - especially since Brian had never heard the song until last year. The other three songs are arguably more obscure, but both hosts manage to find a good deal of information about the artists and the songs to share in this episode. Each song has a video to talk about as well-- although Brian was disappointed to realize he had a false memory of one of them. Also in this episode: Brian actually passes up another chance to launch into another mini James Bond podcast! His excuse: with their air conditioning currently broken, the poor boy was "Crazy from the Heat!" And how did Sarah manage to tie this David Lee Roth/Van Halen reference to one of the bands she selected for this episode? Aztec Camera - Oblivious Two Minds Crack - Cry Cry Cry Red Flag - Russian Radio Animotion - I Engineer Bonus Feature: Sarah's Secret Song Snippet The first installment of this new feature produced a winner quite quickly (congrats, Tommy R!) and Sarah acknowledges the selection may have been a bit too easy. She's hoping this week's secret song snippet will be a bit tougher, but still a lot of fun! Be sure to check Facebook and Twitter for the announcement of the winner! See the videos we discuss here: Aztec Camera - Oblivious Two Minds Crack - Cry Cry Cry Red Flag - Russian Radio Animotion - I Engineer Animotion singer Bill Wadhams on The Hustle Podcast Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 57: a-ha - Stay on These Roads (1988) Part 2 After an unplanned break, Brian and Sarah are back to finish up their discussion of the third album by Norwegian group a-ha, 1988's "Stay on These Roads." The hosts first take a little time to share the latest iTunes reviews that have been rolling in since "The Innocents" episodes were posted, and they thank the new listeners who have found the podcast since then. Part 3 - Track by Track, continued The discussion of the first side of "Stay on These Roads" left Brian feeling somewhat unhappy and conflicted about the album thus far. However, Side Two is a clean slate-- and Brian is eager to start talking about the songs. This change of attitude is likely due to the fact that the second side opens with a James Bond theme! And of course, this gives Brian the perfect opportunity to launch into yet another mini James Bond podcast--this one being probably the longest yet! Sarah tries valiantly, and finally succeeds, at bringing Brian back to focus on the rest of the songs on Side Two, as well as the videos. As with Side One, the videos (and the songs, actually) are a bit of a mixed bag. However, Brian and Sarah both agree on the extremely high level of adorableness (yes, that's a real word!) Morten has in one of the videos. Additionally, Sarah has some suggestions for re-ordering the tracks on Side Two-- including perhaps leaving one of them off altogether! The Living Daylights There's Never a Forever Thing Out of Blue Comes Green You Are the One You'll End Up Crying Part 4 - Extra Credit The mini James Bond podcast starts back up again in the Extra Credit segment, where Brian takes the opportunity to talk about the soundtrack for "The Living Daylights." He explains how this soundtrack introduced him to another pop group, The Pretenders. Plus, Sarah shares some trivia about a group the hosts have discussed in previous episodes, Pet Shop Boys, who also prepared some demo tracks for "The Living Daylights." Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Sarah was the one who selected this album for discussion, so she decides to go first with her review and rating. She revisits the circumstances surrounding the creation of "Stay on These Roads," and she also draws several comparisons between this album and another album the hosts discussed back around episode 35. Those similarities are what help her come up with her rating for "Stay on These Roads." Then it's time for Brian to give his final evaluation. He explains his shift in attitude from Side One to Side Two, and then he starts throwing out a bunch of numbers, evidently in an attempt to confuse the audience. However, somewhere in there, he does sneak in his record-adapter rating for this album. Bonus Feature - Sarah's Secret Song Snippet Before the hosts sign off for the week, Sarah introduces a new feature which gives listeners a chance to earn a sure-to-be coveted award! Make sure you stay tuned until the very end to find out more! See the videos we discuss here: The Living Daylights There's Never a Forever Thing You Are the One The Pretenders - If There Was a Man Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 56: a-ha - Stay on These Roads (1988) Part 1 Brian and Sarah haven't discussed the Norwegian group a-ha since way back in their second episode, and seeing how a-ha is one of their favorite groups, they decide it's time to discuss another a-ha album. The one they select is the third release, "Stay on These Roads," which is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. Part 1 - Album History Sarah, always ready with album chart and sales history, provides some pretty impressive figures for "Stay on These Roads" in a number of countries-- but Brian reorders the chart listings in a much more pleasing fashion. However, one country in particular is conspicuously absent from the list, much to our hosts' chagrin. Brian then goes into detail about the circumstances surrounding the creation of this album, and sheds some light on where the band members seemed to be headed musically, compared with where the record label was encouraging them to be. Both hosts also share some rather mixed reviews of the album -- including one from the members of Erasure! Part 2 - Personal History Although Brian and Sarah have loved a-ha for many years, this third album was not a part of either of their collections back when it was first released. So this ends up being one of the least interesting Personal History sections in recent episodes. Thankfully, it's pretty short! Part 3 - Track by Track The first side of "Stay on These Roads" contains five songs, and the first three tracks were all released as singles. As the songs are discussed, Brian find himself very conflicted about various aspects of the songs themselves and their inclusion on the album. Sarah also has some mixed feelings about the tracks, though not always for the same reasons as Brian. Both of them, however, share similar opinions about the three videos that accompany the singles; two of them are pretty good, and one is pretty bad! Stay on These Roads The Blood That Moves the Body Touchy! This Alone is Love Hurry Home See the videos we discuss here: Stay on These Roads The Blood That Moves the Body Touchy! Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 55: Erasure - The Innocents (1988) Part 3 By popular demand (well, by the sincere request of her co-host), Sarah is back to provide the information on the latest episode of the Permanent Record Podcast. Brian and Sarah are once again joined by art designer, Classic Pop Magazine contributor, and 80s music aficionado Andrew Dineley to wrap up the discussion on Erasure's 1988 worldwide hit album, "The Innocents." Part 3 - Track by Track, Continued The lack of singles and videos on Side Two of this album doesn't give our three hosts any problems in terms of discussion material. However, at least one of them does have a couple of problems with the track selection and track listing. The three do find common ground with their mutual enjoyment of The Kick Horns' contributions to the album, and they all seem to feel there was at least one more single-worthy track on this side--but is it the same song for each of them? Brian, Andrew, and Sarah cover a rather wide variety of subjects as they talk about Side Two, including waltzes, questionable rhyming, evangelists, 80s politics, Liza Minnelli, and Glen Miller! Oh, and of course lots more talk about Vince and Andy too! Heart of Stone Sixty-Five Thousand Yahoo! Imagination Witch in the Ditch Weight of the World Part 4 - Extra Credit Brian decides the presence of the special guest co-host is a good excuse to change up the format of the Extra Credit section. This episode's is now a two-part segment. For part one, do you remember two weeks ago when Andrew mentioned that he had reached out to designer Paul Khera with a few questions? Well, Mr. Khera has written back, and along with answers concerning his experience working with the band and details about his photographs, he also tells us which track was going to be the fourth single before everyone's focus turned to "Crackers International!" We have read numerous theories about this on the internet, but this is the real answer from someone who was there at Mute in 1988! And for part two, Andrew is subjected to a mini Q & A session on various Erasure subjects and then a question about someone Brian has been crushing on for years - someone who used to live in Liverpool with Andrew! Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Finally, after many hours of discussion, the time has come for the Thrilling Threesome to give their final reviews and ratings of "The Innocents." There has been no shortage of effusive praise during the course of the three episodes, so it's not likely that anyone will be giving this classic album a low rating. But does it get five stars from all three hosts? There's only one way to know-- listen until the very end! Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Follow Andrew at https://twitter.com/disheedee Follow Paul Khera at https://www.instagram.com/thekhera/ Visit Paul Khera at http://www.thekhera.org/

Episode 54: Erasure - The Innocents (1988) Part 2 Brian and Sarah return with Classic Pop contributor and all-around good guy Andrew Dineley to discuss side one of this classic 1988 album! This side may have fewer songs than its flip side, but it is fully packed with hit singles, so along with talk of the music, our intrepid hosts also make time to consider three music videos and three record sleeves. It's a lot to pack into one episode so forgive them if they go a bit long! Part 3 - Track by Track The Terrific Trio gets to gab about two huge worldwide hits with "A Little Respect" and "Chains of Love." Andrew reminds Brian and Sarah that in the UK, "Ship of Fools" was also released and did quite well on the singles chart, which causes all sorts of envy and bitterness. However, the mood is set to right by the lovely story of YouTube sensation Neil Francis - because no one can be depressed after watching him sing "A Little Respect" while waiting for the train! Let's see, then Sarah and Andrew team up against Brian because he had the audacity to say that he doesn't think "Hallowed Ground" is as catchy a tune as "Chains of Love." He backtracks on what he said just so they don't turn off his mic. Man, Sarah usually writes these episode descriptions, but she is away this weekend and I thought it would be easier than this! Oh! Did you know that one of the songs on this side of the record was released as a single over twenty years later?? We'll talk about that too so I don't want to give it away here. A Little Respect Ship of Fools Phantom Bride Chains of Love Hallowed Ground See the videos we discuss here: A Little Respect Ship of Fools Chains of Love Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Follow Andrew at https://twitter.com/disheedee

Episode 53: Erasure - The Innocents (1988) Part 1 For the next three episodes, Brian and Sarah are thrilled to welcome a very special guest to the show. Andrew Dineley is an art designer and regular contributor to Classic Pop magazine with the feature "Pop Art." He also hosts his own podcast called "Art On Your Sleeve" which talks about the design work of the albums and singles from 80s artists such as the ones discussed on this very podcast. Andrew was gracious enough to share his time, knowledge, and personal experiences in an in-depth look at Erasure's third album, "The Innocents." Part 1 - Album History Vince Clarke and Andy Bell finally found UK chart success with their second album, "The Circus," but Erasure's third album, "The Innocents," was the one that started their 'Imperial Phase' in the UK. It also gave them their breakthrough in America. Sarah fills us in on the release, sales, and chart information for the album, which includes a bit of a surprise in the UK chart history. Moving on, Andrew, Brian, and Sarah discuss the making of the album, and in particular, the presence of producer Stephen Hague. Andrew shares information about the art design of the album cover and the related singles, and then Brian expresses confusion as to why so few singles were released from this record. The discussion also turns to the political and social climate of the time, which most certainly influenced the lyrics Andy Bell wrote for the album. And at one point, the hosts start talking about a very strange combination of artists: AC/DC, Pink Floyd and Christopher Cross! Part 2 - Personal History All three of the hosts have fond memories of "The Innocents." Of course, Andrew got his copy before Brian and Sarah could get theirs, since it was released about a month earlier in the UK than in the US. But Brian was no slacker; he picked it up the week of release in the US. Sarah once again got her copy of the album from Brian, and she gives him credit for getting it to her just before the school year ended. They all cited this album as being in their "heavy rotation" during the summer of 1988. Special bonus: what was it about this album that caused Brian to spend a solid week in an ocean-front arcade that summer??? Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 52: ABC - How to Be a...Zillionaire! (1985) Part 2 It's been a couple of weeks since Brian and Sarah started their discussion of ABC's third album, "How to Be a...Zillionaire!" And unfortunately, they were only able to cover the first two tracks on side one before they had to cut the episode short. So, this week they have a lot of catching up to do! Part 3 - Track by Track, continued Our hosts jump right back into things and find themselves with two more singles and three videos to discuss on Side One. One video completely delights both Brian and Sarah, and the other two are a little less interesting to them both. Side Two only contains one video, but according to Brian's research, it's a rather notable one in music video history. Speaking of notable, Brian makes a notable revelation while discussing a song on Side Two, which refutes some of the things he said in the Personal History section of the previous episode. In addition to music, of course, our hosts talk quite a bit about fashion-- in relation to song lyrics and in relation to a particular live performance by the band, where one band member is wearing an unusual fashion accessory. And while regular listeners may be used to this podcast sometimes morphing into a mini James Bond movie podcast, this time it almost gets turned into-- of all things-- a Kirk Douglas podcast! What?! Side One: Vanity Kills Ocean Blue 15 Storey Halo Side Two: A to Z (How to Be a) Millionaire Tower of London So Hip It Hurts Between You and Me Part 4 - Final Review and Rating Sarah goes first with her review and rating. She owned this album before Brian did, so she has a longer history with it. So, does that result in her giving it a higher rating than Brian does? Brian himself seems a bit surprised with the rating he decides to give the album, but he gives a good explanation of why, and he compares this album to others he has rated. And after Brian's comparison, Sarah feels even more comfortable with her own rating. See the videos we discuss here: Vanity Kills - UK Version Vanity Kills - US Version Ocean Blue (How to Be a) Millionaire Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 51: ABC - How to Be a...Zillionaire! (1985) Part 1 Even with fifty episodes now under their belts, Brian and Sarah still have plenty of "new old" albums they want to talk about. But how to decide on the next one? Well, Martin Fry of ABC turned 60 on March 9, so it seems like a good time to take a look at a classic ABC album. The one they choose is not the seminal debut album, "The Lexicon of Love," but the band's third effort, "How to Be a...Zillionaire!," released in 1985. Part 1 - Album History This album marked yet another departure in both sound and style for ABC. Sarah explains how the album came to be produced by Martin Fry and Mark White, and she tells the story of the audition process for new band members. Both she and Brian then talk about how and why the new members were ultimately selected. The other notable aspect of this era of ABC was the cartoon imagery. Sarah explains where that originated, and Brian adds to the story with some information he gleaned from friend of the show Andrew Dineley's article in Classic Pop magazine. Both hosts also share reviews of the album and talk about how the band's new image was received at the time. Part 2 - Personal History Sarah goes first with her personal history and, in a rare occurrence, announces that she owned this album before Brian did. This actually puzzles Brian somewhat, because he was a fan of two of the singles and bought the 12-inch single for one of the songs. Sarah explains the circumstances that led to her owning the cassette, and she also shares a story which takes place at a church retreat but involves some of the non-church-friendly lyrics found on the album. Part 3 - Track by Track Due to Brian being under the weather during the show preparation, our hosts don't get too far in their look at Side One; only the first two tracks are discussed. But Brian's weakened state doesn't prevent him from providing insightful comments and interesting information about the music, the lyrics, and the one video. Sarah also shares some facts and opinions, both her own and from other sources, and one comment from a review causes Brian to temporarily slip into James Bond podcast mode again-- for which he seems eerily well-prepared. Sarah eventually brings him back to the topic at hand, and they end this episode after discussing "Be Near Me." Fear of the World Be Near Me See the video we discuss here: Be Near Me Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 50: Depeche Mode - Some Great B-Sides Brian and Sarah are excited (and maybe a little surprised, as well!) to be at the fifty-episode milestone of the Permanent Record Podcast. To celebrate, they decide to do something different for this show. It's not quite "flipping the script," though; it's simply flipping some records to talk about some of their favorite Depeche Mode B-sides. Each host chooses three B-sides to talk about, and as they take turns discussing each selection, it works out that the songs are just about in chronological order as well. The fact that the songs are B-sides doesn't stop our intrepid hosts from finding information to talk about with each track. Brian and Sarah discuss live performances of the B-sides, remixed versions, and in the case of one B-side, chart position! Brian shares an interesting remix story which completely delights Sarah, and both of them reminisce about their college days and how Depeche Mode was a big part of those memories. And, once again, we find Brian talking about soda! (What is it about podcasting that seems to makes him so thirsty, anyway?) Ice Machine Shout! (Set Me Free) Remotivate Me Happiest Girl Dangerous Sea of Sin Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 49: David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983) Part 3 The month of February is coming to a close, and so is Brian and Sarah's discussion of the 1983 David Bowie album, "Let's Dance." This episode finds our hosts ready to flip the record to Side Two of this classic LP. Part 3 - Track by Track, continued Side Two, like Side One, also contains four tracks. However, only one of the tracks on Side Two was released as the A-side of a single, and it actually came out a year before the album did. Brian and Sarah spend some time discussing the differences between the movie soundtrack version of "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" and the album version. Another song on Side Two is revealed to be a cover, although unlike "China Girl," David Bowie didn't have a hand in writing it. While Brian and Sarah both enjoy the song, they have some issues and questions about Bowie's decision to include it on the album and the lyrics he changed. But by the time they get to the last song on "Let's Dance," there's no question about it-- both hosts dislike it immensely! Ricochet Criminal World Cat People (Putting Out Fire) Shake It Part 4 - Extra Credit Since "Let's Dance" contains some covers, Brian decides a good topic for the Extra Credit question is "Favorite Bowie Covers." Each host chose their top two songs, but it turns out only three songs are discussed. Which song made both hosts' short list? Listen to find out! Part 5 - Final Review and Rating Sarah decides to take the boxing theme portrayed on the album cover and apply it to her review of the album. Is "Let's Dance" a heavyweight champion, or is it a 98-pound weakling? Her track-by-track (or should we say round-by-round?) analysis provides the answer. Brian then follows up with a lot of mathematical formulas and calculations to determine his final rating for the album. After all, if cold, hard numbers worked for Bowie in the 80s, why can't they work for Brian's album rating as well? Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 48: David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983) Part 2 Another week has passed, and it's time once again for Brian and Sarah to discuss a classic album. Last week they set the stage for the 1983 album by David Bowie, titled "Let's Dance," by talking about the three-year period between his prior album and this one. They also discussed the release of "Let's Dance," its huge success, and the subsequent worldwide tour. In this episode, they'll discuss the songs on Side One. Part 2 - Personal History This is the first time Brian and Sarah are discussing an album that neither of them owned back in high school. Brian explains when and why he got into David Bowie, and what his first Bowie-related purchases were. Sarah says she knew the big hits from this album, and surprisingly seemed to remember seeing at least a couple of the videos as well. But she got into Bowie around the same time, or maybe even a little after, Brian did-- which was a mere 23 years ago. But it should be clear from the amount of information and opinions our hosts have about David Bowie, that he quickly became a very important part of their musical lives. Part 3 - Track by Track Last week our hosts talked about the video for "Modern Love," but they didn't really discuss the song in depth. So today they start from the beginning of Side One and cover each of the four songs in detail, and they also discuss the other two videos associated with this side. They talk about Bowie's attempt to send anti-racist messages in those videos, and whether or not he was successful. Sarah reveals her very favorite image of David Bowie is contained within one of these videos. Also, during the discussion, Brian and Sarah mention a variety of beverages, including Pepsi, juice boxes, and pop-- oh wait, it was Iggy Pop, not soda pop! And speaking of other artists, Tina Turner gets a mention as well! Modern Love China Girl Let's Dance Without You See the videos we discuss here: China Girl Let's Dance Pepsi - "Creation" Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 47: David Bowie - Let's Dance Part 1 (Bowie: 1980 to 1983) During the "Colour by Numbers" episodes, our hosts mentioned the fact that a David Bowie song, "Let's Dance," prevented a Culture Club song from reaching number one on the charts. Brian and Sarah decided that now would be a good time to look into that number one song, and the album from which it came-- which is just about to celebrate its 35th anniversary. Part 1 - Album History "Let's Dance" was the first studio album from David Bowie in three years, which for him was a rather long break. It also marked several departures: from his record label, from his longtime producer, and from his typically more avant-garde, less accessible sound. Brian felt it was important to explore the three-year gap between albums, to better understand what led David Bowie to create "Let's Dance." So with his stack of Bowie books at his side, he and Sarah spend time talking about the period from 1980 to 1983 and what activities and events were prominent in Bowie's life during that time. Our hosts touch on films like "The Hunger" and "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", songs like "Under Pressure" and "Cat People", and Bowie's feud with one-time manager Tony Defries. Then they get into discussing the actual making of the record, the album's release and worldwide success, and the massive tour that followed. They close the episode by talking about the video for the first song on Side One, which was filmed during the "Serious Moonlight" tour and setting the stage for next week's in-depth look at all four songs from side one. See the video we discuss here: Modern Love Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 46: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 3 After a brief break, Brian and Sarah are back and ready to finish their discussion of "Colour By Numbers." The first two episodes were rather lengthy, so the challenge they face is whether they can discuss the entire second side of the album in a respectable amount of time, especially given the fact that there are three more singles and videos to talk about! Part 3: Track by Track, Continued Side Two of "Colour By Numbers" starts off with the first single released for the album, and a video Brian reveals-- much to Sarah's surprise-- he had never seen before, until doing research for the podcast. Two other videos are discussed during this episode, one which our hosts deem excellent, and one which they both agree is of more questionable quality, much to Brian's dismay and discomfort. Sarah announces she has many examples of misheard lyrics to share, and in one instance, Brian says he misheard the same wrong word. Sarah corrupts Brian (so he claims) by telling him the meaning of a phrase in one of the songs, and Brian attempts to be cool by using new slang terms like "totes adorbs" and "cray cray." It's up to the listeners to decide whether he pulls it off. Sarah, however, remains stuck in the past with her repeated use of the word "dude." And will these two ever agree on which members of the Barron family directed the Culture Club videos? Church of the Poison Mind Miss Me Blind Mister Man Stormkeeper Victims Part 4: Final Review and Rating Finally, after literally hours of discussion, the time comes for Brian and Sarah to give their reviews and record adapter ratings of this classic album. Sarah asks to go first and gives a somewhat lengthy, but thoughtful review and rating. Brian is up next and explains that because he has such a deep personal history with this album, he decides to rate it twice-- first from the perspective of knowing and loving the album for almost 35 years, and then from the perspective of someone just discovering the album today. How do those three ratings compare? Listen to find out! See the videos we discuss here: Church of the Poison Mind Miss Me Blind Victims Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 45: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 2 This week Brian and Sarah continue their discussion of the first side of Culture Club's second album, the 1983 release "Colour by Numbers." However, before they look back in time again, Brian looks to the future and shares information on some new music Culture Club has recorded but not yet released. Part 3: Track by Track, continued Last week's episode only got as far as the first track, which was a very popular single with a memorable video. As it turns out, the second track, "It's a Miracle," was also a hit single with a great video, so Brian and Sarah have a lot of information to share for this song as well. Brian goes into a little more depth about the songwriting collaboration between Culture Club and Phil Pickett, and in particular, Phil's relationship with guitarist/keyboardist Roy Hay. As they progress through side one, Sarah and Brian collaborate on another mini music lesson-- this time on a genre of music called bossa nova. And although Brian admits his opinions on some of the album tracks have changed greatly since his youth, he refuses to budge on singing the incorrect lyrics to one of the songs, even though he now knows the real words. It's a Miracle Black Money Changing Every Day That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You) See the video we discuss here: It's a Miracle Bonus Content This week's episode comes with some special bonus content, completely free of charge to you, the faithful PRP listener! Brian spends quite a bit of time discussing Paul McCartney's 38th post-Beatles single - and his first single to fail to chart - "Pretty Little Head." It's a really interesting and strange tune - maybe not as strange as a Paul McCartney discussion in the middle of a Culture Club podcast - but don't worry your pretty little head, the talk turns back to "It's a Miracle" before too long! :) Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 44: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 1 It's a new year, and Brian and Sarah are ready to get back into discussing classic albums! But first, they need to take care of a little leftover business from 2017. They announce the winner of their "Into the Gap" album giveaway, who was randomly selected from people who wrote in to the show and mentioned their favorite episode. They also remind the listeners of the winner of the digital download for the Human League's "Dare" album. Then, there's no putting it off any longer-- they begin their look into an album by a group many listeners mentioned over the past year as being one of their favorites. The group is Culture Club, and the album is the 1983 release "Colour by Numbers." Part 1 - Album History "Colour by Numbers" was the sophomore effort by Culture Club, but based on record sales and chart position for both the album and its many singles, it definitely didn't suffer from the "sophomore slump." Brian and Sarah trade statistics on the album's success for a while, and then they get into the making of the album and who was involved. Brian shares a lot of knowledge gleaned from the Boy George autobiography, "Take It Like a Man," but Sarah still manages to surprise him with some interesting facts and album reviews. Brian also muses about how short-lived Culture Club's success really was, although it didn't seem that way to him back in the day. Part 2 - Personal History Sarah goes first with her personal history and once again, doesn't have a lot to say. However, she finally explains why so many of these albums from the first half of the 80s weren't a part of her music collection. Brian, on the other hand, has a great deal of personal history with this album and with Culture Club in general. But he wasn't the only Culture Club fan in his family, and in fact reveals that it was another member of his family who may have inadvertently sparked his obsession with the band. He also mentions yet another family member-- perhaps a surprising one-- who was a big Boy George fan. Part 3 - Track by Track The first song on side one of "Colour by Numbers" is the worldwide smash, "Karma Chameleon." Because of the iconic status of both the song and the video, Brian and Sarah have a lot of information and opinions to share. And because they've already talked a lot about the album history and personal history, track one is as far as they get for this first episode of 2018. Karma Chameleon See the video we discuss here: Karma Chameleon Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 43: Erasure - Crackers International (1988) Part 2 plus Pet Shop Boys - "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" For the last episode of 2017, Brian and Sarah take a quick break from holiday preparations to finish their discussion of the 1988 EP by British synthpop duo Erasure, titled "Crackers International." (And it just so happens there's a big box of Christmas crackers in the studio with our hosts as they record!) And in keeping with both the episode's Christmas theme and the "British synthpop duo" theme, Brian and Sarah also discuss the song "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" by the Pet Shop Boys. Part 3: Track by Track, Continued The second side of the UK release contains only two songs, just like the first side. However, Brian does get into discussing the various remixes of the first song on side two, "Knocking On Your Door." Both Brian and Sarah continue to praise Vince Clarke for his effortless keyboard riffs, and they also have very complimentary things to say about Andy Bell's vocals on both tracks. But they're a little more critical about Erasure's decision to release these four tracks as an EP, rather than as individual singles. Knocking On Your Door She Won't Be Home Part 4: Final Review and Rating Sarah goes first and gives what seems for her to be a rather off-the-cuff review and rating of this EP. Brian, on the other hand, sounds like he's somewhat conflicted about giving a rating to this collection of songs. He does finally provide one, though, and it surprises Sarah a bit. Part 5: Christmas Bonus Track Brian and Sarah are still in the mood to discuss Christmas songs, so they decide to talk about the Pet Shop Boys' song "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas." Originally a gift to the Pet Shop Boys' fan club members in 1997, this song found its way onto a CD in 2005, but it wasn't until 2009 that it made it onto an actual Pet Shop Boys release-- and it was yet another EP, aptly titled "Christmas." While certainly a fan favorite, this song didn't get a wide release like Wham!'s "Last Christmas," much to the chagrin of both Brian and Sarah. Part 6: Year End Recap and Favorite Episodes It's been a year since the Permanent Record Podcast first started, and Brian and Sarah decide to wax nostalgic. They each talk about their favorite things about doing the podcast, and they try to narrow down their favorite episodes as well. It's clear the hosts have been having a lot of fun so far, and they seem eager to continue the fun into 2018! Part 7: Christmas Giveaway In the time since the previous episode was made available, someone claimed the first giveaway, so now all that's left to win is the new, unopened LP of "Into the Gap" by The Thompson Twins. Brian once again provides the details on how to get a chance to win this excellent classic album. Don't forget to enter! See the video we discuss here: Pet Shop Boys - It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas - Live at The O2, 2009 Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 42: Erasure - Crackers International (1988) - Part 1 Plus Wham! "Last Christmas" With the holiday season now in full swing, Brian and Sarah finally carved out some time in their busy schedules to sit down and record another podcast. And this week's selection has a definite holiday theme-- it's the November 1988 EP from Erasure, titled "Crackers International." However, they decide to make it an even more Christmasy episode by throwing in a bonus track at the end-- one of the best known Christmas songs of the 1980s. Part 1 - Album History This is the first EP Brian and Sarah have discussed on the show, so both hosts provide some information on how EPs are classified in both the UK and the US. They then go on to talk about where this album falls in the Erasure discography, and where it charted in various countries. Sarah provides a lot of information about the cover art, and voices her skepticism about whether the picture is an homage or more of a ripoff. Brian explains there is a "Crackers International Part II," with a slightly different track listing, and Sarah says the cover art on that EP is a definite ripoff-- but from the cover artist himself! Part 2 - Personal History Sarah is once again unsure about when or how she acquired this record. She deduced it would have been a bit inconvenient for Brian to copy, due to its short length. Brian reveals that he didn't actually own a real copy of the EP himself until college, when he bought it on CD. So why is there a store-bought copy of the cassette in their collection? Part 3 - Track by Track Our hosts have a lot of fun discussing the two songs on side one of the EP. It sounds like they're in agreement about a lot of things, such as the magnificent keyboard skills of Vince Clarke and the questionable quality of the video for the first song. And Brian has another opportunity to re-proclaim his love for synthetic-sounding drums! Stop! The Hardest Part Part 4 - Christmas Bonus Track Since "Crackers International" is a shorter selection, and since Christmas is coming, Brian and Sarah decide this is the perfect time to discuss not only an 80s classic, but a Christmas classic as well-- the 1984 song "Last Christmas" by Wham! They provide a lot of information about the song's chart history (which spans decades!), the many different Wham! versions of the song, the many cover versions of the song, and the wonderful video both hosts just discovered while researching for the episode. Extra Bonus - Christmas Giveaways! This episode finds our hosts full of the generosity of the season, so during the course of the episode, Brian mentions two different giveaways that two lucky listeners can win. One is mentioned at the beginning, and the other is mentioned at the end-- and the second one is the bigger prize. So be sure to listen to the whole way through to find out how to enter! See the videos we discuss here: Stop! Last Christmas Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 41: ThompsonTwins – Into The Gap (1984) Part 3 The cast of Permanent Record Podcast is back! It feels like it has been more than two weeks, but evidently that's due to the high-level of fun that Brian and Sarah packed into their last 14 days. After the two hosts sum up their experience seeing Culture Club in concert over the prior weekend, they get back to their discussion of the Thompson Twins' classic 1984 album "Into The Gap," Part 3: Track by Track, Continued This side of the record provided a major international hit for the band with the first single "Hold Me Now." Do Brian and Sarah enjoy this song as much as they did the whole of side one – or do they feel, 33 years on, that the song has been overplayed? And what aspect of this music is impressing Sarah the most? Whatever it is, she shows up ready to educate us all on the topic! Meanwhile Brian lets us know which of these songs he would have selected as the 3rd US single and also which song he thinks would have fit comfortably on the group's previous album "Quick Step & Side Kick." Finally, the hosts just generally provide a ton of great Thompson Twins information in this episode - I mean, they must right – this installment is longer than some movies! Geez!! The Gap Hold Me Now Storm On The Sea Who Can Stop The Rain Part 4: Extra Credit Question Sarah touched on it way back in the first installment of this Thompson Twins retrospective, but now B&S tackle it in more detail: The return of Tom Bailey to the World of Pop in 2014! They discuss the reasons why, after over 20 years, Tom has finally agreed to sing all of these classic songs again and reminisce a bit about their trip to see him two years ago on the "Retro Futuro" tour. Part 5: Final Review and Rating Brian has been telegraphing is final score for the record for weeks now, so Sarah is really the person of interest here. She claims that she wasn't all that familiar with this record until recently, so what kind of impact did these songs make on her and what rating is she going to give it? Only time, or skipping to the end of the episode, will tell! See the videos we discuss here: Hold Me Now (Official Video) Hold Me Now (Live Aid) And here are some cool photos we took of Tom Bailey in 2014 - hopefully your podcast app will let you see them! Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 40: Thompson Twins - Into the Gap (1984) Part 2 This episode finds our hosts feeling much healthier, and they're definitely up to continuing their discussion of the 1984 Thompson Twins album, "Into the Gap." They were only able to get through the album history, their personal history, and the first song last time, so there's still a lot of good music to get through! But before they head back "Into the Gap," Sarah mentions a couple of current events having to do with lead singer Tom Bailey, who recently returned to the performing scene after almost a three-decade absence. Part 3: Track by Track, continued As they resume the track-by-track analysis, Brian reminds the listeners that he and Sarah are discussing the UK version of the album of "Into the Gap," so the track listing is just a little different from the US version. He also points out that either way, there are three singles and three videos on the first side. And it turns out the delay in recording this episode ended up serving two purposes-- it allowed our hosts to recover, but it also gave Sarah time to change some of her opinions. She still manages to surprise Brian with some of her comments, but she also delights him by informing him of a connection between the songs "You Take Me Up" and Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts." Also in this episode, Brian revisits the James Bond movie podcast idea and then struggles mightily to remember the name of the film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." Finally (and most refreshingly!) our hosts find themselves once again discussing soft drink commercials! You Take Me Up Day After Day Sister of Mercy No Peace for the Wicked See the videos we discuss here: You Take Me Up Sister of Mercy (partial) Location of "You Take Me Up" filming: https://www.google.pt/maps/place/Pedreira/@37.1503229,-8.1161304,1194m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0xd1aba2b191ca809:0x388e54d804a69390!8m2!3d37.2360513!4d-8.0433247 Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 39: Thompson Twins - Into The Gap (1984) Part 1 This artist selection for this episode was inspired partially by the previous two episodes. In the discussion about The Cure, it was mentioned that Boris Williams had joined The Cure after leaving his position as a touring member of the Thompson Twins. Brian and Sarah decided it was a good time to talk about that previous band Boris Williams was in, and they chose the Thompson Twin's fourth album, 1984's "Into the Gap," to discuss here. Part 1 - Album History Brian reminds us that some of the early history of the band was covered during the mixtape episode, so the focus on the history shifts more to the making of the album and some of the adventures the band had during recording in the Bahamas. For a brief moment, Brian thinks he's doing a James Bond movie podcast, until Sarah brings him back to reality. They go on to discuss the chart success of the "Into the Gap," some mixed reviews from music critics, and the album art. Brian reveals that the cover of his cassette is inexplicably different from the traditional album cover. One other interesting tidbit the hosts discovered in their research was that yet another future member of The Cure was also a touring member of the Thompson Twins at this time! Part 2 - Personal History One of the hosts has a rather unimpressive personal history with this album, so it's probably best that she spoke first. (Guess the pronoun gives away who it is!) Brian, on the other hand, has impressively vivid memories of purchasing the cassette back in 1984, and he explains how the Thompson Twins, and this album in particular, became one of the cornerstones of his musical library and heavily influenced his listening preferences to this day. Part 3 - Track by Track Finally, the discussion of the album begins. But by the time Brian and Sarah get done talking (or rather, gushing) about the music, vocals, and video for the first track on side one, more than an hour has passed! This fact, plus the fact that they are both feeling somewhat under the weather, reluctantly leads our hosts to the decision to end the episode after discussing "Doctor! Doctor!" It definitely wasn't planned or preferred, but given the circumstances, it was probably the wise choice. See the video we discuss here: Doctor! Doctor! Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 38: The Cure - The Head on the Door (1985) Part 2 Brian, Sarah, and guest co-host Colby Zell have returned to the BlueZone Podcast Headquarters to finish their exploration of "The Head on the Door"-- no, not an actual head on a door, but the 1985 album by The Cure. Part 3: Track by Track, Continued Side One ended with a bang for two of the hosts, but a whimper for the other. And as Side Two is played, there are several more two-against-one conflicts, but with different parties on each side. Two more videos are discussed, and surprisingly, Sarah confesses to being disturbed by one of them. Also in this episode, Sarah eagerly revisits the topic of saxophone solos with Brian, who loudly voiced his opinion on them during the Tears for Fears "Songs From the Big Chair" episodes. Colby continues to share thoughtful insights on how the songs spoke to him as a youth and is especially into talking about the song "A Night Like This" - or maybe not! The Baby Screams Close to Me A Night Like This Screw Sinking Part 4: Extra Credit Question The topic of the Extra Credit question is "The Cure in Orange," a 1986 movie of The Cure performing in a French amphitheater Brian is upset he has to try to pronounce. (He was hoping Sarah would do it.) Brian says there is something notable about this movie, and what he's thinking of is not the obvious thing Sarah first mentions. Colby expresses an awareness of the movie, but for some reason he never got to see it, despite Brian owning a VHS copy of it back in high school, when they were friends. Part 5: Final Review and Rating Brian goes first with his review and rating of the album. He has said some very complimentary things about many songs on the album, but was there enough praise for him to hand out another five record-adapter rating? Colby has expressed a deep connection to this album, and he provides a thoughtful-- and extemporaneous-- commentary, followed by his record-adapter rating. Sarah is last to give her thoughts and rating, and her final verdict may surprise you! See the videos we discuss here: Close to Me Close to Me (Remix) A Night Like This Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 37: The Cure - The Head on the Door (1985) Part 1 After 36 episodes, Brian and Sarah decide it's finally time to discuss one of alternative rock's most long-lived and influential bands, The Cure. The album they select is the sixth release from Robert Smith and company, 1985's "The Head on the Door." And, they've brought in friend of the show and guest co-host Colby Zell to join in the discussion, since this album is near and dear to him as well. A lengthy and lively conversation ensues! Part 1: Album History "The Head on the Door" is the first album by what many consider to be the classic Cure lineup. Brian provides us with details on how this incarnation of the band came to be, as well as what other things Robert Smith had going on in the time immediately beforehand. Sarah shares the release and chart information for the album, explains where the album title came from, and also prompts an interesting and somewhat humorous discussion about the album cover art. Part 2: Personal History Colby explains how he came to acquire "The Head on the Door" and expresses his frustration in being unable to get other friends interested in The Cure at the time. Brian, ever the rebel, reveals how he engaged in an activity forbidden by his parents in order to obtain his copy of the cassette. Sarah says her first exposure to The Cure came via a mixtape, which contained some song titles that caused her to raise her eyebrows. Part 3: Track by Track The trio finally get down to the business of exploring the tracks on side one of the album. The Cure is hailed by many as goth-rock pioneers, but our hosts encounter a variety of musical styles and influences as they progress through the songs. Brian discloses a traumatic experience he had involving the video for the first single, to which Colby provides no sympathy. Robert Smith's unique voice is discussed, with Sarah mentioning an easily-won argument she had in college about that topic. Colby provides tips for binge drinking on a budget in Portugal. Also covered are such diverse topics as misheard lyrics, habitual lying, New Order, and Epcot Center. In Between Days Kyoto Song The Blood Six Different Ways Push See the video we discuss here: In Between Days Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 36: Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame (1982) Part 2 This week continues the discussion of Depeche Mode's sophomore effort, the 1982 release "A Broken Frame. " Before the review of side two begins, though, Brian shares with the audience some information relating to one of the videos discussed on the previous episode, which he learned while doing research for this episode. Part 3: Track by Track, Continued Our hosts flip the album to discover what awaits them on side two. What they find is a hodge-podge of musical styles, some mediocre lyrics, some well-written lyrics, and the song that Brian declares to be his least favorite Depeche Mode song of all time! There's a lot of giggling from our hosts while they discuss the only video on this side, again directed by Julien Temple, and Sarah continues to come up with creative names for the various sounds she hears throughout the five songs. And how do The Simpsons find their way into this discussion about Depeche Mode? Satellite The Meaning of Love A Photograph of You Shouldn't Have Done That The Sun and the Rainfall Part 4: Extra Credit Many people may say the best thing about "A Broken Frame" is its outstanding album cover. For extra credit, Brian and Sarah discuss the story behind the beautiful photograph that graces the cover of "A Broken Frame." Brian reveals that the same photographer who brought us the absurd image on "Speak & Spell" is responsible for this award-winning picture, and Sarah shares her experience of seeing the photo in an unexpected place. She also declares it to be her favorite Depeche Mode album cover. (And who can blame her?) Part 5: Final Review and Rating Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for! What do Brian and Sarah think of the first Depeche Mode album written entirely by Martin Gore? It's well-known that this is the band's least favorite album, so is that also the case with our hosts? Listen as Sarah shares her ideas on how the band could have chosen to proceed in the wake of Vince Clarke's departure, and then goes on to explain her dilemma in rating this album. Brian seems a little conflicted as well, but offers a thoughtful comparison of the highs and lows on the album, and then provides his rating. Based on their comments so far, it's probably safe to assume that neither one gives it a five record adapter rating, but how low do they go? See the video we discuss here: The Meaning of Love Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 35: Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame (1982) Part 1 Last week, Brian and Sarah talked about the two newest releases from the legendary Boys from Basildon, the mighty Depeche Mode! This week they go back almost to the very beginning with 1982's "A Broken Frame." While it may not be the band's first album, it's the first to be completely penned by Mr. Martin L. Gore. Part 1: Background 1982 was a hectic, crazy year for Depeche Mode. After finally earning a top ten record with "Just Can't Get Enough", chief songwriter Vince Clarke announced he was leaving the band. With an extensive tour already booked and momentum growing with each new single, Depeche couldn't afford to let it slow them down! How did the band members react to the situation and what did the public think about this new direction? Brian and Sarah paint a verbal picture of late September 1982 when "A Broken Frame" appeared in shops all around the world and take us inside the DM camp with quotes from and stories of Dave, Martin, and Fletch! Part 2: Personal History It's the least engaging"Personal History" segment yet as both Brian and Sarah realize they have nothing interesting to say about their discovery of this record. Sorry folks!! Part 3: Track by Track This is it, friends - the first side of the first record to ever come fully from the musical mind of Martin Gore! Was this batch of songs an instant classic like "Violator" and "Black Celebration" - or did Martin have to learn to walk before he could fly? How did this record differ from "Speak and Spell?" Why did Dave seem to love bow ties so much? What's the deal with this 5.1 surround mix Brian keeps going on about? What does Sarah think about Julian Temple's videos for "Leave In Silence" and "See You?" All these questions and more are answered in this week's episode! Leave In Silence My Secret Garden Monument Nothing To Fear See You See the videos we discuss here: Leave In Silence See You Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 34: Depeche Mode - "Heroes" (David Bowie cover) and "Cover Me" (2017) In the last episode, our hosts mentioned they would next be doing another "emergency episode" to talk about "Cover Me," the recently-announced third single off Depeche Mode's 2017 album, "Spirit." However, the morning they started their preparations for the show, Brian and Sarah were greeted with the news that Depeche Mode had released a video performance of David Bowie's "Heroes" in celebration of the song's 40th anniversary. So this episode has become dual-purposed, discussing two new releases from the mighty Mode. Part 1: Brian wants to be sure the listeners are familiar with the source material before he and Sarah get into discussing the cover version, so he provides a wealth of information on David Bowie's "Berlin" period, the recording of the album "Heroes," and background about the song "Heroes" itself. Sarah points out he has turned this into a more of a "crossover" episode than the New Order one where they mention John Denver for about two minutes. Part 2: Having caught everyone up on the original song, Brian looks to Sarah to provide information on Depeche Mode's recording of "Heroes," which took place during the Highline Sessions in New York City. She explains the long-standing connection between Dave Gahan, this song, and Depeche Mode, and how David Bowie was an important influence in Dave's life. The two hosts then trade comments on the performance, various aspects of the song, and the accompanying video. In addition to talking about the typical things like vocals and instrumentation, Sarah makes note of both Dave's and Martin's wardrobe choices in the video, and how she recently realized Dave's choice actually has a connection to David Bowie. Part 3: Our hosts then turn their attention to the original subject of this episode: the song "Cover Me," soon to be released as the third single from "Spirit." Brian and Sarah both discussed this song during the concert report episode, but they have plenty of additional things to say about it here. They also feel more free to talk about the accompanying video, which, in a surprising move, turns out to be the same video that was shown during the concert. Sarah explains how complicated it is to work a pedal steel guitar, which is used in this song, and Brian muses about what he perceives to be a dark end for the character Dave portrays in the video. Part 4: For some reason, Sarah always seems taken aback during these emergency episodes when Brian asks her to provide a record-adapter rating for the song. However, she thinks on her feet and comes up with a rating for "Cover Me"-- perhaps a little too off-the-cuff, but she's relatively comfortable with it. Brian has obviously put more thought into his rating, and gives a good explanation of why he gives what he does. He then poses a relatively simple extra-credit question to Sarah: what should the next single be off of "Spirit," and what do you think it will actually be? See the videos we discuss here: David Bowie - "Heroes" "Heroes" - Highline Sessions Version Cover Me Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 33: New Order - Technique (1989) Part 2 After an interruption to discuss Depeche Mode's Global Spirit Tour, Brian and Sarah are back to the task at hand, which is to finish their examination of the 1989 album "Technique", by Manchester's New Order. They begin with the last song on side one and then move on to side two. Part 3: Track by Track, Continued [Warning: This episode's discussion contains a crossover with our parents' music as the hosts spend some time discussing John Denver. Wait – did that really say "John Denver??" In a New Order episode?? That's odd!!] The second half of the album only contains one more single, and thus, only one more video-- which, for Brian and Sarah is a relief, as they've not been fond of the videos thus far. They do briefly wonder what videos for some of the other songs on side two would have been like, then quickly decide it's probably best they weren't made. However, that doesn't stop our hosts from wishing other songs on side two had been released as singles. They have a lot of good things to say about all four songs! Guilty Partner Run Mr. Disco Vanishing Point Dream Attack Part 4: Extra Credit Since they delayed recording this episode to do a concert review instead, it's clear Brian and Sarah enjoy attending live performances of their favorite artists. With that in mind, the extra credit question Sarah poses to Brian should be an easy one: If given the chance back in the day, would Brian have attended a New Order concert promoting the album Technique? Part 5: Final Review and Rating Sarah volunteers to go first with her final review of Technique. As regular listeners know, she has been pretty miserly with bestowing five record-adapter ratings on albums. But does her willingness to go first give something away? Brian, on the other hand, often makes fun of himself for how many five record-adapter ratings he's given. So will Technique get added to that ever-growing list? Listen and find out! See the video we discuss here: Run Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod

Episode 32: Concert Report - Depeche Mode "Global Spirit Tour" 2017 Brian and Sarah were preparing to present the second half of the New Order album "Technique" as the next episode, but a little band from Basildon made them change their minds. Instead, our hosts decided to talk about the Depeche Mode concert they just attended in Washington, DC. Brian and Sarah have already done two "emergency episodes" to discuss singles off the latest Mode album, "Spirit," so it seemed only right to also devote an episode to a concert promoting that album. Spoiler Alert! If you don't want to know about the setlist or other aspects of the Global Spirit Tour, this is not the episode for you. The hosts go over each song, from the opening to the encore. Another spoiler alert, which shouldn't be much of a surprise-- Brian and Sarah loved the show! They also loved getting the chance to talk about it and help cement their newly-formed memories. Read more at http://permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod