After another long boring break, Dov returns to share the story of his band’s lengthy journey in choosing a goddamn name. He then ranks his top 5 favorite and least favorite band names, which leads him to discuss Metallica, and more specifically, their self-titled record better known as the Black Album. After setting the scene for the gargantuan 1991 release, he shares its defining musical and lyrical themes, as well as the commercial and critical response to the acclaimed and perhaps controversial album. 

A jetlagged Ryan Gilman then returns from his tour in Indonesia to co-host and show off that he apparently learned the word “captivated” in Jakarta. After thirty minutes of relishing in their Metallica standom, Ryan and Dov make their respective tier-list of songs from the Black Album in which they agree to disagree more often than not. 

Timestamps 

Ad Read: (00:00)

Introduction: (00:30)

Metallica in the Late 80s: (07:39)

Making the Black Album: (13:14)

Music and Lyrics: (18:45)

Commercial and Critical Response: (26:58)

Dov’s Take: (31:58)

Interview Pt. 1-Dov & Ryan Shoot the Breeze and Talk Metallica: (35:04)

Interview Pt. 2-Dov & Ryan Make Tier-Lists for the Black Album: (01:08:00)

Outro: (01:38:47)

After another decently sized break, Dov returns to Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan to share Bo Burnham’s role in the healing process of his pandemic mental health issues. He then discusses what it means to be a sad boy singer-songwriter before a fairly deep dive into three tremendous 90s albums by three sad boy singer-songwriters; Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, and Jeff Buckley. After his spiel, Dov gives random categories awards to the singer-songwriters, mainly for his own amusement. Following the monologue, Dov is joined by his friend Zach who previously was a guest on the Cranberries episode. The two of them pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne and then subsequently fawn over Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley, but not really Jeff Mangum though. Rude. 

Timestamps:

Ad read: (00:00)

Introduction: (00:28)

Dov’s definition of sad boy music: (04:26)

In The Aeroplane Over the Sea: (06:50)

Either/Or: (15:59)

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk: (28:12)

Sad boy Awards: (40:21)

Zach and Dov pay tribute to Ozzy: (43:04)

Zach gives his definition of sad boy music: (48:32)

Zach and Dov talk In The Aeroplane Over the Sea: (54:01)

Zach and Dov talk Either/Or: (01:05:49)

Zach and Dov talk Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk: (01:17:19)

Outro: (01:31:56)

On Hot Cakes’ eighth signature song episode, Dov proves why the inclusion of the term “Stan” belongs in his podcast’s title as he repeatedly glazes the Alt Rock icons, Pearl Jam. Before establishing the heart of the band’s sound, he shares the history of the band and contextualizes Pearl Jam’s placement in the 90s zeitgeist. After choosing a signature song some might find questionable but all will agree is a banger, he is joined by his co-host, the now-internet-famous Ryan Gilman. Ryan once again gets nostalgic talking about his goated high school bus driver and the butt-rock radio station he always had on. Ryan then almost basically forces Dov to reveal the true meaning of the second verse of the song, “Alive.” 

Time stamps: 

Introduction: (00:00)

History of Pearl Jam: (03:41)

Signature Sound of Pearl Jam: (36:47)

Signature Song Runners-up: (39:35)

Signature Song revealed: (49:27)

Dov and Ryan have a conversation about Pearl Jam: (52:39)

Outro: (01:39:22)

On the 22nd episode of Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan, Dov takes a close look at what he considers the last great album of the 1990s, Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After giving a detailed history of the events leading up to the album’s completion as well as the writing/recording process, he discusses the success of the album, its significance to him as a fan, and its legacy as a personal triumph for the individual members of the band. After the monologue, Dov is joined once again by his buddy Alejandro Castillo. In addition to bantering back and forth regarding their many opinions of Californication, the two of them talk a stroll down memory lane as they reminisce on their decades-long tenure as super fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The second part of the interview includes Dov and Alejandro grading each song on the album as either Red Hot (really really great), Hot (solid), Lukewarm (meh), and Chilly (not good). While they agree on the grades for most songs, there are certainly moments of bitter contention. 

Timestamps:

Introduction: (00:00)

Turbulence of 1997-1998 (03:38)

John Frusicante rejoins the band: (08:44)

Writing and recording of Californication (12:08)

Music and lyrics of the album: (16:33)

Commercial & critical reception: (26:40)

Legacy of Californication: (31:16)

Interview part 1 (shooting the breeze and talking all things Chili Peppers): (35:08)

Interview part 2 (grading each song from Californication): (01:12:45)

Outro: (01:46:36)

Y'all get a bonus episode! Free baseball! Hooray!

In this bonus endeavor, Dov and Ryan are joined by Alex Urbina who was the guest on episode #21. The boys team up to create a draft of the 10 greatest Pop-Punk songs of all time. So the episode functions like a fantasy draft but with choosing Pop-Punk songs instead of grown-ass adults that sweat a lot. The rules of the draft are as follows:

1. No songs can be repeated

2. Each participant can only reuse 1 artist. Therefore, each participant's list will consist of at least 9 different artists.

3. Every song has to be a banger.

At the conclusion of the draft, Dov, Ryan, and Alex sort through the list and come together to decide the winner of each round to ultimately compile Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan's official list of the 10 greatest Pop-Punk songs of all time. 

Also, whoever of three dudes chose the most songs that ended up on the final list gets crowned winner and gets a mug or something. 

Playlist from this Episode

After reluctantly taking a five month break, Dov is back to his rambling ways as he somewhat chronologically covers nearly 40 years of Pop-Punk history. After spending way too much time talking about 70s Punk, he discusses a few important underground bands with funny names before identifying and detailing the five most important years in the development of Pop-Punk as a mainstream subgenre. He then is joined by his good friend, Alex, who is disgusted by Dov’s omission of one very important Pop-Punk band in the monologue portion of the episode. 

Side note, virtually every song mentioned in the episode is featured on the playlist linked above. 

Time Stamps:

Intro-00:00

Origins of Pop-Punk: 03:06

Pop-Punk becomes mainstream: 25:08

Pop-Punk explodes in the 21st century: 36:50

Interview: 45:14

Outro: 01:23:35

On the podcast’s 20th episode, Dov shares his most vivid memories from his first time at a sleepaway camp before getting into the fascinating story of the legendary band, the Cranberries. He discusses their early days of listening to and emulating sad-boy British bands and then transitions into their early to mid 90s heyday. After Dov shares his take on the band’s signature song, he is joined by his good friend Zach Natale, who came prepared with an almost PhD level knowledge of the Cranberries. But of course he used his time to try to get Dov to rant about Fleetwood Mac’s antics.

Timestamps:

Intro: (00:00)

History of the Cranberries: (05:21)

The Band’s Signature Sound: (24:39)

Signature Song Runners Up: (27:53)

Signature Song Revealed: (36:06)

Interview: (40:30)

Zach’s Pick for Signature Song: (01:25:20)

Outro: (01:32:10)

What do Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, and U2 being distastefully kind have in common? They are all discussed on the 19th episode of Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan. In this one, Dov brings back his good friend, Ella Hyder, to discuss the top five “Where Were You Moments” for 90s kids like them. Throughout the episode they discuss music events between the years 2004 and 2014 that are forever etched into their memories, for better or for worse. 

Time Stamps:

Introduction: (00:00)

Conversation with Ella: (06:18)

Outro: (01:32:53)

On this signature song episode, Dov discusses the history of Green Day and the development of their career during the 90s. He highlights the unique trajectory of their success, but not without throwing in some ridiculous stories highlighting the band’s endearingly reckless behavior. 

He of course finishes his monologue by coming up with a detailed description of Green Day's 90s sound, before crowning their “signature” song for that decade. He then is joined by his co-host Ryan Gilman to talk all-things Green Day as well as Ryan’s cat’s recent UTI, for some reason. 

Timestamps

Intro: (00:00)

History of Green Day: (04:18)

Signature Sound: (19:37)

Signature Song Runners-Up: (22:53)

Signature 90s Song Revealed: (32:18)

Interview: (35:56)

Outro: (01:15:55)

After yelling at him for over a year, finally Dov’s ride or die homie, Alejandro Castillo joins the podcast to discuss the greatest one-hit wonders of the 90s as they both unveil their Mount Rushmore of that category. Before the extended interview with Alejandro, Dov gives his shortest monologue yet where he briefly discusses the defining one-hit wonder of childhood, and what initially intrigued him about that song.

Make sure you check out the playlist on spotify, “Mount Rushmore of 90s One-Hit Wonders,” which includes all of the songs on both Dov & Alejandro’s respective Mount Rushmore as well as honorable mentions.

Timestamps:

Special Tribute (00:00)

Monologue (01:15)

Start of Interview (08:10)

Honorable Mentions (19:56)

Mount Rushmores (41:20)

Outro (1:58:27)