The (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make?

Steve Spears has just released a book based on his popular podcast, entitled Stuck In The 80s: 20 Years of Conversations with Pop Culture Icons Who Defined a Decade. We are thrilled Steve guests on our podcast to share a few amazing stories he's accumulated over the years, including a few awkward moments. Steve has also been a big part of The 80s Cruise, and he dispenses some fun tidbits from his ten years hobnobbing with our favorite 80s music icons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny Goldberg has a career that reminds us of why we wanted to be a part of the music business. His career started at Billboard, where he convinced the higher-ups he needed to go to the Woodstock Music Festival. He did PR for Led Zeppelin, managed the careers of Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Sonic Youth, the Allman Brothers Band, and Nirvana. In the 90s, he headed three different record labels: Atlantic, Mercury and Warner Bros. He ran his own independent label, Artemis, and since 2010, he’s focused his attention on his management company, Gold Village. Danny joins the podcast to share how he helped his artists reach such incredible heights, and also to discuss the reissue of his sixth book, Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside Rock 'N' Roll. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Harold Bronson may be best known as one of the co-founders of Rhino Records, but when he was a student at UCLA, he was in a band called Mogan David And His Winos. The band consisted of future New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman, future Columbia Records Head Of Promotions (and friend of the podcast) Paul Rappaport, music journalist Mark Leviton, as well as fellow Rhino co-conspirator Richard Foos. The band made one album, fusing all their influences. The result came out in 1973 and was entitled Savage Young Winos. It became a cult classic, but has been out of print since 1976. Enter Liberation Hall Music, which has re-released the album with additional demos, live recordings from that period, and two tracks from a Winos' reunion session in 1993. Harold Bronson has graciously joined the podcast to share just a few of the stories he's accumulated over the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's play St. Patrick's Day music to recognize a number of our 80s music favorite artists from The Emerald Isle. While we have a hard time pronouncing names like Cathal McGarvey, Seamus Ennis and Liam Ó Maonlaí we certainly do love the music they created. So raise a pint to the Irish. Sláinte! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Steven Blush has just completed his rock trilogy, When Rock Met Disco, When Rock Met Reggae, and the just-released When Rock Met Hip-Hop. Steven recalls times spent with Rick Rubin, The Beastie Boys, Run DMC, and Russell Simmons, and the huge influence they had on the 80s music scene and pop culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Rees was a young lad living in Scotland during the heyday of Album Oriented Rock (AOR). From a distance, Paul became a fan of American radio and the artists played on those stations, which led him to write the book Raised On Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola – the AOR Glory Years 1976-1986. It's an oral history of the golden era of critically derided, yet monumentally popular radio rock, when Journey, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Toto, and others ruled the airwaves. Paul joins the podcast to chat about his book, and to fanboy about his favorite artists from this era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roddy Bottum is one of the founders and keyboardist of the iconic band Faith No More. In his memoir, The Royal We, Roddy shares his coming-of-age and out-of-the-closet stories in a pre-tech-boom San Francisco. He joins our podcast to chat about the bands, his upbringing, his addictions, and how he managed to survive it all with a sense of humor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We at What Difference Does It Make love love and what better way to say it, than with a song from the 80s? We discuss a number of our favorites that make us feel all warm inside. Happy Valentine's (and Gal-entine's) Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arielle Nissenblatt, Founder and Head Curator of Earbuds Podcast Collective AND a 2026 Podcast Hall Of Fame Inductee, joins our podcast to share her origin story, and insights into the industry. She then steps out of her comfort zone and into our favorite topic, 80s music! Arielle offers up her Millennial opinion on music from 1989 based on Los Angeles radio station KROQ's year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices