DISGRACELAND

When Frank Farian first laid eyes on Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, he saw everything he wasn’t. They were handsome, young, and Black. But Frank had something they didn’t. He had power.

So, Frank offered them a devil’s bargain. Almost overnight, Milli Vanilli’s debut album went five times platinum and scored a Grammy nomination. But when the lie at the center of their success started to unravel, Rob and Fab would discover the hard way the difference between star power and real power.

From Wondery, Blame It on the Fame is a story about the lie that shot to #1 and what it cost to tell the truth. Hosted by Amanda Seales.

Listen early and ad-free exclusively on Wondery+: Wondery.fm/BIOTF_DL

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This week in the After Party, Jake talks the uncanny fascination with Beat poets, their numerous run-ins with musical icons, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on William S. Burroughs, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. Which icons, living or dead, do you think are overrated? What are your thoughts on Burroughs and his place among the Beats? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party.

To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about two Beats' association with another murder, a story about Jake staying in a cabin, and more from the DISGRACELAND community, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

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William S. Burroughs was a literary icon whose novel Naked Lunch, one of the signature works of the Beat Generation, was banned and went on trial for obscenity. His writing inspired generations of musicians, from the Rolling Stones and Patti Smith to Nirvana and Sonic Youth. But long before all that, in 1951, when he was an unknown and mostly failed writer, William S. Burroughs made the most fateful decision of his life when he pointed a gun at a highball glass balanced on top of his wife’s head…and pulled the trigger.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.

To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

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This week in the After Party, Jake talks humans' fascination with true crime, crossing the line, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Garth Brooks, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. What artist would you be least surprised to find out is a serial killer? What do the real Garth Brooks fans feel about all this? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party.

To hear an extended version of the After Party with stories about Garth Brooks' awkwardness and burying his master tapes under Hollywood Boulevard, and more from the DISGRACELAND community, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

Visit Tecovas in store or go to tecovas.com and find your new favorite pair of boots today!

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Garth Brooks has more albums that have sold over 10 million copies than any other artist in history. He cut one of the biggest record deals in history – bigger than Madonna or Prince, a deal matched at the time only by Michael Jackson. His live shows are just as big, like when he triggered an actual earthquake in Baton Rouge. But it was along Garth Brooks’ seismic tour route that online detectives began to suss out a rumor…a rumor tying together the cities in which Garth Brooks performed and missing persons cases. A rumor that left some people asking, “Where are the bodies, G?”

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including descriptions of domestic violence.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.

To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

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This week in the After Party, Jake talks collaborations, new genres, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Public Enemy, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. Which artist has best represented the world in a "folk music" way? What are your thoughts on PE's Fear of a Black Planet? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party.

To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about Public Enemy's engineer getting mugged and almost inadvertently leaking Fear of a Black Planet, and more from the DISGRACELAND community, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

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Jean-Michel Basquiat's graffiti in Lower Manhattan was mistaken for a CIA operation. He was the toast of the New York art world while sleeping on floors in squalid apartments. He sold his first painting to Blondie's Debbie Harry for $200. Less than a year later, his paintings were going for more than $20,000. And decades later, the debate over what is and what is not a real Basquiat rages on.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including a depiction of police brutality.

This episode was originally published on April 25, 2024.

Basquiat excelled at both visual art and music. What other musicians excelled in a second skill, art form, or sport? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Public Enemy were revolutionaries – both in their message and their music. In the 1980s and 1990s, they elevated hip-hop to an art form. They did this with Chuck D's booming voice, Flavor Flav's comic levity, and the auditory assault of the Bomb Squad's production. But with that revolution came scandal. Their hype man allegedly tried to shoot his neighbor while high on crack cocaine. Their so-called "Minister of Information" was so controversial that his words alone nearly derailed the group's success. They performed at a prison – after just releasing a song about a prison break. And in the summer of 1989, Public Enemy released a song that was so powerful, it put them in the middle of the cultural zeitgeist at the very moment that it seemed they were splintering apart.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.

To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

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Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND:

Instagram

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X (formerly Twitter) 

Facebook Fan Group

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To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Public Enemy were revolutionaries – both in their message and their music. In the 1980s and 1990s, they elevated hip-hop to an art form. They did this with Chuck D's booming voice, Flavor Flav's comic levity, and the auditory assault of the Bomb Squad's production. But with that revolution came scandal. Their hype man allegedly tried to shoot his neighbor while high on crack cocaine. Their so-called "Minister of Information" was so controversial that his words alone nearly derailed the group's success. They performed at a prison – after just releasing a song about a prison break. And in the summer of 1989, Public Enemy released a song that was so powerful, it put them in the middle of the cultural zeitgeist at the very moment that it seemed they were splintering apart.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠.

This episode was originally published on April 23, 2024.

To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to exclusive weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠.

Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠

Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND:

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

⁠X⁠ (formerly Twitter) 

⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠

⁠TikTok

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week in the After Party, Jake talks actors committing fully, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Heath Ledger, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. What are your top five favorite fight scenes? What is your favorite Heath Ledger performance? Is Heath one of the best actors of the early 2000s? Do you believe Debbie Harry about encountering Ted Bundy? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party.

To hear an extended version of the After Party with insight into the paparazzi's setup of Heath Ledger in an L.A. hotel room, and more from the DISGRACELAND community, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.