Brian and Murdock take the opportunity a letter affords them to talk about the founding fathers (and mothers) of the Athens, Georgia music scene and the tragedy that almost derailed them before they ever got to sing about "that little old place where we can get together..."

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SHOW NOTES:

https://gardenandgun.com/athens-georgia-music

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-b-52s-mission-accomplished-231021/

https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/the-b-52s-cosmic-thing-album-8518005/

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-lennon-rock-lobster-b-52s/

https://www.theb52s.com/bio

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBZqzUdySj5/

https://postpunkmonk.com/2021/04/30/hard-to-believe-that-theres-a-universe-where-the-first-b-52s-album-hadnt-always-existed-part-2/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Schneider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Wilson_(guitarist)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Lobster

https://magnetmagazine.com/2015/03/12/a-conversation-with-kate-pierson/

https://www.howgooditis.com/transcripts/transcript-150-rock-lobster/

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2024/06/the-b-52s-talk-unlikely-jersey-origins-and-letting-your-freak-flag-fly-before-nj-concert.html

https://survivingthegoldenage.com/interview-fred-schneider-of-the-b-52s/

https://www.pastpri.me/home/fred-schneider-just-fred

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprechgesang

https://www.audiovisualrepository.com/blog/rockhallcontendersb52s

https://www.decaturish.com/news/avondale_estates/producer-danny-beard-reflects-on-georgia-s-unique-music-tradition/article_bbf2c76d-74e9-50ed-91af-a668c0ad248d.html

https://www.today.com/popculture/10-best-rock-bands-ever-2d80554936

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_B-52%27s_(album)

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/b52s-mesopotamia/

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/399158823/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kurfirst

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whammy!

https://www.outinperth.com/on-this-gay-day-remembering-ricky-wilson-from-the-b-52s/

https://www.amfar.org/about-hiv-aids/snapshots-of-an-epidemic-hiv-aids/

https://miscelana.com/2022/04/02/the-eternal-originality-of-the-b-52s/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Thing

https://www.grammy.com/artists/b-52s/10557/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a first for the show, Brian welcomes fellow rock n roll podcasters Lorin Kozlowski (Roach Koach) and Josh Toomey (Primer 55, Talk Toomey, The David Ellefson Show) to gamify a discussion of the great rock n roll songs that tackle the topic of America.

Listen to the Songs About America Draft Playlist

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Brian and Murdock explore the story behind session legend (and former Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers multi-instrumentalist) Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and his associations with NASA and other government-related organizations. And then they end up talking about... aliens.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://strat-talk.com/threads/jeff-%E2%80%9Cskunk%E2%80%9D-baxter-how%E2%80%99d-he-get-the-nickname.566440/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic

https://simonwarner.substack.com/p/rock-stories-6-jeff-skunk-baxter

https://www.mmone.org/jeff-skunk-baxter/

Beato interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLT9LUVcISg&t=4705s

Corgan interview: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steely_Dan

https://outsidethebeltway.com/skunk_baxter_former_doobie_brother_counterterror_advisor/

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/doobie-brother-jeff-skunk-baxter-on-how-he-became-a-missile-defence-expert/article_45f41923-c660-5a21-8ea7-47dab4f525a9.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder

https://www.guitarplayer.com/guitarists/can-you-make-it-more-green-jeff-skunk-baxter-recalls-his-strangest-studio-sessions-from-steely-dan-to-dolly-parton

https://x.com/ExpandingDan/status/1749508536072065291

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-steely-dan-jeff-skunk-baxter-became-a-missile-defence-expert

Really, No Really (Jason Alexander) Podcast: https://youtu.be/_blc89zsndc?si=Z2wecEFYryGHd7WD

https://www.ihmc.us/groups/jbaxter/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May#Scientific_career

https://www.independent.co.uk/space/ufo-tom-delonge-blink-182-aliens-are-real-b2385824.html

The Tom was Right T-shirt: https://tothestars.media/products/tom-was-right-t-shirt-black-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLonge

https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/tom-delonge-ufo-timeline-8071145/

https://listverse.com/2024/12/03/10-musicians-who-have-other-jobs/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian and Murdock answer letters and break down the stories behind a handful of BIG songs and the women they are - or ARE NOT - about...

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SHOW NOTES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/867-5309-jenny/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover_(band)

https://www.amazon.com/867-5309-Jenny-Song-That-Saved/dp/1936185555#:~:text=Alex%20also%20wrote%20or%20co,Johnny%20and%20the%20Asbury%20Dukes.

https://www.sherrirosen.com/blog/2011/08/04/interview-with-alex-call-of-867-5309-jenny-the-song-that-saved-me/

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/local/2012/04/30/local-history-there-is-no/10606260007/

https://www.lmtribune.com/a_and_e/whatever-happened-to-jenny-from-tommy-tutones-famed-song/article_5441726a-4d0e-54ea-83e8-b58e2ba70852.html

1982 People Magazine: https://web.archive.org/web/20090604142927/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20082266,00.html

https://musicinfluence.com/rock-and-roll-tales/who-owns-867-5309/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2020/01/14/remember-867-5309-who-was-jenny-we-chat-with-tommy-tutone/?sh=1b8547e532a0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_White_T%27s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_That_We_Needed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearless_Records

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/heres-the-actual-story-behind-hey-there-delilah

https://bachelornation.com/2020/04/14/plain-white-ts-tom-higgenson-hey-there-delilah-backstory-bachelor-happy-hour/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Lotta_Rosie

https://jessefinkbooks.com/blog/f/the-first-photo-of-acdcs-rosie

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian and Murdock make an effort to talk about more of the women in rock when they answer a letter adressing the rumor that Hole's Live Through This was ghostwritten by... a man.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://rulefortytwo.com/secret-rock-knowledge/chapter-7/did-kurt-cobain-write-live-through-this/

https://www.factinate.com/people/facts-courtney-love

https://www.biography.com/musicians/courtney-love

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtney_Love

https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/courtney-love

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-moment-kurt-cobain-met-courtney-love/

https://www.nickiswift.com/787746/a-complete-timeline-of-courtney-love-and-kurt-cobains-relationship

https://www.themarysue.com/holes-live-through-this-turns-30-courtney-love-kurt-cobain-rumors-explained

https://www.thatericalper.com/2025/02/06/5-surprising-facts-about-holes-live-through-this

https://rulefortytwo.com/secret-rock-knowledge/chapter-7/did-kurt-cobain-write-live-through-this

https://www.lyndsanity.com/music/looking-back-at-holes-live-through-this-25-years-later

https://www.nme.com/news/music/courtney-love-244-1400512

https://youtu.be/stNpkzN7F48?si=V6OTz5OI9vhMh2YG

(Courtney fronting Faith No More begins at 55.44

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian and Murdock head north to talk about British royalty and determined songwriters - and what may or may not have happened when a couple of them collided.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Adams

The song “Diana”: https://soundcloud.com/user158960977/bryan-adams-diana

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Vallance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Leave_Me_Lonely

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67675453

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_(Bryan_Adams_song)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Charles_and_Lady_Diana_Spencer

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bryan-adams-meeting-diana-one-111155797.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_watched_television_broadcasts_in_the_United_Kingdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fagan

http://www.jimvallance.com/01-music-folder/songs-folder-may-27/pg-song-adams-diana.html

https://www.smh.com.au/world/diana-had-affair-with-singer-20031106-gdhqb2.html

https://www.imdb.com/news/ni62109552/

https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/singer-bryan-adams-responds-rumors-princess-diana-relationship/story?id=56198910

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilie_Thomsen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Burrell

https://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/24/diana.suitors/index.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/ToddintheShadow/comments/190zfmy/cancon_or_other_country_equivalents/

https://ca.billboard.com/business/streaming/crtc-cancon-hearings

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A letter about the legacy of "Stairway to Heaven" leads Brian and Murdock to the story of unsung guitar hero Randy California, his band, and the break that never fully broke for him.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Grove_(music_club)

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-02-09/ed-pearl-dead-ash-grove

https://www.facebook.com/TheCollegeOfRockAndRollKnowledge/posts/today-we-are-remembering-the-late-randy-californiarandy-california-who-was-born-/2676305559076803/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Cassidy

http://randycaliforniaandspirit.com/biography/

https://www.masterguitarschool.com/post/cognitive-dissonance-incarnated

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny%27s_Music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chas_Chandler

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/09/813763864/led-zeppelin-wins-copyright-dispute-over-stairway-to-heaven

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_(band)

https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/spirit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_Heaven

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_(instrumental)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Hopkins#Other_groups

https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/spirit-randy-california-mark-andes

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2019-classic-rock-riffs-loophole/

https://www.musicologize.com/stairway-taurus-discussion/

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-9th-circuit/1955114.html

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian and Murdock take on a letter from a listener wanting all the details on what happened when a certain jam-adjacent band drove around in the Windy City in the summer of '04.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Matthews_Band_bus_incident

https://travsd.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/seven-psychedelic-buses/

https://mmbandservices.co.uk/a-journey-through-the-evolution-of-tour-buses-and-sleeper-bus-technology

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/road-works-life-on-the-road-made-music-matter/

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/rock-and-roll-tours/

Tour the Grateful Dead bus: https://youtu.be/5Xf6dtFuY48?si=Yxbn8wgcMsmJj_Zd

Reddit thread on tour bus life: https://www.reddit.com/r/TouringMusicians/comments/1nsie5s/first_tour_bus_tour_advice/

How does the toilet work on a bus? https://www.facebook.com/motorcoachworld/videos/how-does-the-toilet-work-on-the-bus/303098401554938/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_(waste)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_Valley_Music_Theatre

https://www.tiktok.com/@motorcoachlife/video/7166643048066059563

https://www.reddit.com/r/DMB/comments/14yxzaq/anyone_else_curious_about_the_logistics_of_a_dmb/

https://backstagebus.com/profile/stefan-wohl

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/08/dave-matthews-band-bus-chicago/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian and Murdock rip open a stack of letters asking questions about rock songs throughout history that may - or very well may NOT - be about members of Motley Crue.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_for_Nothing

https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/musicmusingsandsuch/2022/7/21/feature-groovelines-dire-straits-money-for-nothing

https://www.reviewjournal.com/uncategorized/the-two-non-motley-crue-classics-written-about-vince-neil/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroin_DiariesAYear_in_the_Life_of_a_Shattered_Rock_Star

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dude_(Looks_Like_a_Lady)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Vacation_(Aerosmith_album)

https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-dude-looks-like-lady-aerosmith-song-lyrics/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Dickinson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Live_Tour

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattooed_Millionaire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_Your_Daughter..tothe_Slaughter

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/what-happened-bruce-dickinsons-wife-27664926

https://www.facebook.com/MXDMAGTX/posts/did-you-know-when-the-dirt-hit-the-fan-bruce-dickinson-nikki-sixx-and-a-rock-n-r/1537697867462181/

https://genius.com/Bruce-dickinson-tattooed-millionaire-lyrics

https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-bruce-dickinsons-tattooed-millionaire-and-the-ruthless-rocker-who-inspired-it/

Hard and Heavy Volume 7 clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvF-FyFFRf0

https://blabbermouth.net/news/nikki-sixx-it-wasn-t-my-fault-that-i-f-bruce-dickinson-s-wife

https://brucedickinsonforeverofficialblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/archive-interview-bruce-tells-who-was-the-inspiration-for-the-song-tattooed-millionaire-and-its-not-who-we-thought-at-first/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian and Murdock answer a listener letter asking for a deep dive on the punk band that wasn't so punk - Television - and how their search for a place to practice created a landmark and cemented a scene.

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SHOW NOTES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_Generation_(song)

The Will Hermes book: https://shop.tenement.org/product/love-goes-to-buildings-on-fire-five-years-in-new-york-that-changed-music-forever/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_McFadden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hell

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HnuJHiG7824

https://www.rhino.com/article/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-richard-hell#

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-richard-hell-found-his-vocation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Verlaine

https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/richard-hell-walking-music-industry-30-years-ago/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JT_LeRoy

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/28/archives/cinemabilia-in-the-village-traces-history-of-film.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lloyd_(guitarist)

https://damienlove.com/writing/friction-the-making-of-televisions-marquee-moon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvert_Turner

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/guitarist-deemed-little-brother-jimi-hendrix/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilly_Kristal

https://www.villagepreservation.org/2019/09/23/hilly-kristals-long-road-to-the-bowery-and-rock-and-roll-legend

https://www.furious.com/perfect/hillykristal.html

https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/richard-hell-walking-music-industry-30-years-ago/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.