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

The What Difference Does It Make Podcast begins our 1987 musical journey with an analysis of songs 106.7 to 101 from the World Famous KROQ 1987 year-end chart. The bottom of the chart includes novelty songs (Swinging Erudites, Mojo Nixon), cover songs (Ball Of Confusion), and bands that have been forgotten over time (The Silencers). We're here to bring them back to life, and to determine whether they shall be deemed worthy to remember, or sent back into the ether.

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It was quite a year, from U2 and The Beastie Boys, to Spuds McKenzie and 21 Jump Street. While we can't cover it all, we start off a new season of What Difference Does It Make with a look back at some of those iconic moments from 1987.

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Veteran music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor steps into our virtual studio to tell the tales of 20 badass musicians that she documented in her book, She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism. The book features candid conversations about Feminism with Twenty Inspiring Female Artists including Ann Wilson (Heart), Exene Cervenka (X), Gina Schock (The Go-Go’s), Suzi Quatro, Suzanne Vega, Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, Belly), Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Orianthi, Amanda Palmer, and more.

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In this episode, we take you to the edge...as in the Western Edge exhibit currently featured at the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville. Western Edge examines the close-knit community of Los Angeles-based singers, songwriters, and musicians who, from the 1960s through the 1980s, embraced country music, frequented local nightclubs, and created and shaped the musical fusion known as “country-rock”. We get into that and a whole lot more with Michael Gray, VP of Museum Services, and Michael McCall, Senior Writer and Editor of the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

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Well, the saying goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.", but as Holly says, "I would be happy if we could have another year like this year." So we now look back at 2023 with a few highlights from our chats with many memorable guests. If you're new to What Difference Does It Make, this might very well be a good place to start, or simply a good place to catch up on what you've been missing.

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Ilana Kaplan uses her superpower ability to read the 1000 page Barbara Streisand memoir, My Name Is Barbra, in only three days! Ilana wrote the book review for the Los Angeles Times, and now joins us not only to discuss Babs, but Britney Spears, Sophia Coppola, and a preview of her own upcoming biography on Nora Ephron.

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Friend of the show, Annie Zaleski, joins us this week to talk about the stories behind 100 beloved Christmas songs. It's also the title of her new book, This Is Christmas, Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits. We can’t get through all 100 songs, but we hit on many of our favorites. It's the episode to get you into the spirit of the season!

Are you now in the mood for some Christmas Music? Check out this Amazon Music playlist

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It's the most wonderful time of the year...at least for those allowed to grow a moustache in the month of November, aka Movember. The reason for this moustache celebration is because two Aussies (Travis Garone and Luke Slattery) wanted to create awareness for men's health issues. Cut to twenty years later, and the movement is bigger than ever. To celebrate the month, we invited Max Skinner, Community Development Manager representing Movember. We talk about the history, the ideas, and the causes they support. Of course, we also talk about our favorite musicians and songs that best represent the 'mo.

Dave has a page set up for Movember donations.

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Jason Thomas Gordon came up with a brilliant idea. Why don't I talk to some of the best- loved singers, and ask them about their voices? Seven years later, we have The Singers Talk, a mind-blowing book featuring interviews with 75 iconic artists, from Bryan Adams to Thom Yorke. Jason asks the same set of questions to each singer, to understand the various ways they approach the same subject. Now, JTG enters our virtual studio and allows US to ask HIM the same type of questions.

All proceeds from the sales of this book go towards Music Gives To St. Jude's Kids.

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