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

Warren Zanes' recent career trajectory has landed him in Nebraska…specifically, Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album, Nebraska. Warren’s book, Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, was released in 2023 to critical acclaim.

Warren also hosts the concert performance of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska: A Celebration in Words and Music. It's currently airing on PBS and features performances by Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, Noah Kahan, The Lumineers, Lucinda Williams, and Lyle Lovett.

Last, but definitely not least, there is a film version of Warren's book, directed by Scott Cooper and starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen. Warren Zanes joins us on the podcast to give us his insight into Bruce Springsteen's masterwork.

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Matt Piucci and Steven Roback from Rain Parade join the podcast to celebrate the reissue of their second album, Crashing Dream, which is loaded with extras and live tracks. We chat with Matt and Steven about the origins of the band, the 80s Paisley Underground scene, and how they created that crazy pool picture for their album cover.

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As we conclude our year-long look at the music played on radio station KROQ in Los Angeles in 1988, we turn to the one-and- only Moon Unit Zappa.

Moon's been busy, as her ⁠Moon Unit Tea⁠ business is thriving, and her memoir Earth To Moon is recently out in paperback.

Moon now steps into our virtual studio to talk about the top ten songs the World Famous KROQ played back in 1988.

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You may not recognize the name Danielle Claman Gelber but your pop culture references were forever altered by shows Danielle developed like Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and The X-Files, to name just a few.

It also turns out the band Oasis is one of her absolute favorites and so Danielle and her good friend Holly embarked on a trip across the pond to witness their reunion at Wembley Stadium in London. We get all the details, as well as her career story, as these besties reminisce about their good times together.

As a well-deserved finale, we also look back on songs 20 to 11 from the KROQ 1988 year end playlist.

This episode is sponsored by ⁠The 80s Cruise⁠. Use promo code "WDDIM" to get $250 in onboard credit. Go to The80scruise.com for all the info.

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Chris Vos named his band The Record Company because he thought his band would never get signed. Turns out, not only did they get signed but The Record Company are now ten years and counting into their career.

The band now has to its credit, four critically acclaimed albums and six top 10 AAA radio singles with "Off The Ground" and "Life To Fix" hitting the top spot. Chris joins the podcast to talk about the genesis of the band's roots and where he sees the band as it heads into their second decade.

This episode is sponsored by ⁠The 80s Cruise⁠. Use promo code "WDDIM" to get $250 in onboard credit. Go to The80scruise.com for all the info.

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Spider Stacy of The Pogues joins our podcast just at the start of their all too brief Eastern North American tour to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of their classic album, Rum, Sodomy & The Lash. Spider talks up all the musicians in their current lineup and gives us some thoughts about the late, great Shane McGowan.

This episode is sponsored by The 80s Cruise. Use promo code "WDDIM" to get $250 in onboard credit. Go to The80scruise.com for all the info.

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Even though it's Labor Day, we think every day is a Manic Monday. We're Takin' Care of Business over here at What Difference Does It Make, so we say, Let's Work!, as we recognize songs that salute the Working Class Hero. What a way to make a livin'!

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Kat Corbett has been one of our favorite radio personalities since she started at KROQ in Los Angeles at the start of the 2000 millennium. Her enthusiasm for music is contagious. You can now hear her daily on both Sirius/XM's Lithium and PopRock channels. Right now, you can hear her origin story and her opinion on songs 30 to 21 from the 1988 KROQ year year-end playlist.

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Dave Kendall may be best known in the US for his work as the host of the MTV Alternative Music Show, 120 Minutes,  from 1986 to 1992. Today, he's living in Thailand, and is a producer/reporter with the Bangkok Post TV channel, and a host/producer on the travel show Destination Thailand. We invited Dave into our virtual studio to discuss his current passions, from global warming, to his love of the music he played back in the day on MTV, as we look back at songs 40 to 31 from the 1988 year-end KROQ charts.

This episode is sponsored by The 80s Cruise. Use the promo code WDDIM to get $250 of onboard credit per cabin.

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You can call Rob Tonkin a whole lot of things: Music Industry Executive, Marketing Man, Media Creative, but now you can add a whole new title: Author.

Friend of the Podcast, Rob Tonkin joins us to talk about a whole new venture. It's his memoir, and for SEO purposes we won't mention the title, but it reveals a whole new side of Rob. If we were to describe how much of a person Rob is, we might say, "a whole”.

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