The Record Player

Send us Fan Mail

This is a flashback moment to our previous podcast, 1991: The Year AOR Ate Itself. For those of you who didn't hear that podcast series, you'll be interested to hear this episode, which aired July 5, 2021. In my memory (note: I'm making this up), we decided to celebrate Independence Day by talking about Foreigner's first album without Lou Gramm, Unusual Heat.

Even though that's not true, we did have a lot of fun discussing Unusual Heat with our friend Ben Arthur, who brought a really interesting perspective as a fellow artist to this discussion. It was Jeff who had the idea overall for the AOR podcast and I'm really glad we did it. We had a lot of fun talking about some of our favorite albums from 1991 and who knows, maybe we'll visit another year from the '90s -- or even the '80s -- one of these days. In the meantime, there's 12 other episodes of this '91 'cast if you enjoy what you hear today. Dig in!

We've both been tied up with life stuff, but will be back with a fresh episode this week -- and it's another one of our favorite albums (I don't think I'm wrong in saying that, but we'll find out, won't we?). In the meantime, enjoy this conversation regarding a Foreigner album you've probably never heard!

P.S. Ben is back with a new season of his SongWriter podcast. Check out the initial episode here!

Related:

An article at Ultimate Classic Rock from Jeff and Matt regarding Unusual Heat, featuring interviews with Johnny Edwards and Mick Jones. 

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Our latest Bonus Track features a great conversation with the legendary Leland Sklar and director Denny Tedesco regarding his film, The Immediate Family. That's right, someone finally made a movie about Lee Sklar, Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel and Russ Kunkel. If you're a liner notes nerd, you know those names!

Here's one example:

Jackson Browne's Running on Empty album was one where the music fans got to be part of the process. Because it was recorded live on stage in concert -- and at other points along the touring trail, backstage, in hotel rooms and even on the tour bus - it was a unique and often chaotic experience for those involved in the recording.

As Sklar told me, Running on Empty was unlike anything he had ever been a part of. While bands and artists are very used to the uncomfortable nature of playing new material in front of an audience that's just there to hear the hits, Running on Empty captured moments with Browne and the band where they were playing new songs that the audiences hadn't even had a chance to get on an album yet, because they hadn't been recorded.

For Sklar, it was just one experience of many songs and albums that he's played on across the decades. While he's worked with countless names, there were a few that kept coming up -- guitarist Waddy Wachtel, guitarist Danny Kortchmar and drummer Russ Kunkel. The four became known as The Section, the '70s heir apparent to The Wrecking Crew of the '60s. Collectively and often together, they've played on thousands of albums.

In more recent years, they've acquired a new moniker, one which fits well with their connection to the legendary albums they played on by Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Don Henley and many others -- The Immediate Family. Adding vocalist Steve Postell to their ranks, they've put out several albums.

But it was Tedesco who decided to tell the story of the guys, through the words of their famous employers and associates. He's well-suited for the task, having put out a film about The Wrecking Crew, the group of session musicians that featured his father, guitarist Tommy Tedesco. He saw the natural throughline that connected that collective with what Kortchmar, Wachtel, Sklar and Kunkel continued with the Section.

The Immediate Family is a fascinating journey, one which weaves together valuable history as recounted by those who were there. The film was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray and continues to screen nationally. You can find further details at immediatefamilyfilm.com.

I loved chatting with Denny and Lee -- and it was exciting to hear some details from Denny about his next project, a movie about Wolfman Jack that's currently in process! Can't wait!

P.S. I mention it during the episode, but here's a direct link to Leland's YouTube channel.

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

The 1974 Project continues as we welcome back our friend and A&R man Peter Lubin to discuss Pussy Cats by Harry Nilsson. Produced by John Lennon, Pussy Cats is an interesting and at times, unfortunate mile marker in Nilsson's career -- and the guys discuss why that is.

There is once again a great tribute album at the heart of all of this Nilsson stuff for Jeff and Matt, 1995's For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson. Jeff describes the doors that opened for him as a music fan after he heard that album. We talk about the many peculiarities of Harry's career -- including the fact that he never toured.

How did everyone not die while recording Pussy Cats? Good question. Okay, so that scratches the surface, rather roughly, on some of the areas that we cover in today's episode. All you really need to know is that whether you worship this album, or you've never heard Harry's music, there's something here for everyone. Thanks for listening!

Related:

The Harry Nilsson documentary (which is a great watch and very much worth your time)
An article that Jeff wrote about Pussy Cats for Ultimate Classic Rock
The mega-Nilsson playlist that Matt knew Jeff had somewhere in his digital back pocket. Can you finish it?

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In 1984, Christopher Cross added a unique new entry to his discography. "A Chance For Heaven" was selected as the official swimming theme for the Olympics. I bet you didn't even know there was an official swimming theme that year, did you? Neither did we. Discovering that factoid during our episode about Christopher's 1985 album, Every Turn of the World, was enough to send us out on an important quest.

What if we were to discuss the Olympics soundtrack albums for 1984, 1988 and 1992? That's the task that Jeff and Matt decided to tackle on today's episode of The Record Player. It's not an easy one, because none of the three volumes are on streaming. Which means, YouTube to the rescue!

Here's streaming links for all three volumes:

The Official Music Of The XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984
1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time
Barcelona Gold (1992) - note that a few songs are not streaming officially, but 12 songs are. You'll get the point. But here's the complete rundown.

This is a wide-ranging discussion that explores the bulk of the first two compilations track-by-track with scattered thoughts on Barcelona Gold, because we  were at the clock limit and honestly, the tone of the song curation changed with Barcelona Gold in a way that felt less specific to the Olympics. But where else are you going to find En Vogue and Damn Yankees back to back on the same album? That's a really good question.

There are references along the way to the Ghostbusters soundtrack, the We Are the World album and a bunch of other things -- including the most excellent Little Feat-related tribute album from the '90s, Rock & Roll Doctor: A Tribute to Lowell George. Streaming the Lowell tribute appears to be a bit of a chore -- it's on Apple Music at the very least, but finding it on Spotify was an elusive task.

Anyway, we talk about some things and you've got some fresh listening material to enjoy now as well. Thanks as always for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog for even more thoughts from Jeff. Have a good weekend!

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In our first Bonus Track of 2024, legendary artist and producer Narada Michael Walden tells Matt about his time working with the late Tommy Bolin. It's an emotional subject for Narada, but also a period in his career that he retains a lot of love and affection for.

We spoke in November of 2023 as Narada was just about to release his newest solo album, Euphoria. The record features a wealth of exciting new compositions -- and also, a long-in-the-works collaboration with Sting, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder.

You can hear "The More I Love My Life," the song which came out of the collaboration and read more about how it happened right here.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog!

If you're listening to this podcast on YouTube, you can also find it wherever you get your other podcasts, including Apple Music and Spotify. Here's a complete list of providers.

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

The magnificent Davia Schendel joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Suzi Quatro's second album, Quatro.

Today's conversation definitely goes deep into "music nerd" territory. We talk about record stores of the past, making playlists devoted to things like gated reverb and snare hits. Should we talk about the underrated power player in music that is known as the saxophone? You're darn right, we should.  How much does the bass rule? We've got thoughts.There are stray conversations about movie soundtracks, AOR soundtrack rarities , Roxy Music and Duran Duran. We discuss some non-musical things too, you know, the related and relevant topics like the holy trinity of oxygen machines, smoking and gambling.

But there's also wisdom. Davia puts the thought out there about how "nothing is singular." We're keeping that as our new mantra. It was truly a joy to speak with Davia about so many things and it's a conversation that we both walked away from feeling energized and inspired.

Check out Through the Deluge, Davia's newest EP -- and make sure to sign up for her newsletter/podcast, Zeitgest Deterrent. Our huge thanks to Davia for spending the time with us.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog!

If you're listening to this podcast on YouTube, you can also find it wherever you get your other podcasts, including Apple Music and Spotify. Here's a complete list of providers.

Related links:

Davia's snare hit playlist
Davia's sax playlist
Her Celluloid Tracks podcast (the prelude to her current Zeitgeist Deterrent podcast)
The Suzi Q documentary about Suzi Quatro
The AOR soundtrack rarities playlist.
Kathy Valentine's memoir.

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

It's time for the first solo Jeff and Matt episode in a good while! Today, the guys team up to look back at Every Turn of the World, the third album by Christopher Cross. They dig through a number of topics including the album's relative lack of success, how Jeff found it -- and why he loved it so much at the time.

We also discuss Jeff's forthcoming debut novel, Langley Powell and the Society for the Defense of the Mundane, which is set for a July release. Jeff gives fans of The Record Player an inside look at what they can expect from the book -- and how it came to be! Along the way, we discuss Mike Seaver and Boner, Matt Sledge and why Cleveland is a big deal and numerous other topics too boring to detail here. We're kidding about that last part, probably.

OH....and if you see that link at the top of this episode description, you'll be aware that we can now receive fan mail -- which we will likely discuss on the podcast. We dig into an especially crazy submission that came in recently from an "anonymous caller."

Thanks for listening and don't forget to find more words from Jeff at the coolest destination in the nation, Jefitoblog.

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

We have another first on the podcast, but you're going to have to listen to find out what it is. Let's start with the facts: Benjamin Miner of The Feldons joins Jeff and Matt to talk about 1969's Uncle Meat album, by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Have you ever heard this album? It's a wild ride, just like our discussion. In addition to Uncle Meat, we also discuss pinball machines, pinball lust, churches with pinball machines and basketball gyms that have no air conditioning.

Oh yeah, we also dig deep into the story behind The Feldons and their latest album and the fascinating journey that Benjamin took with both the band and the music. He unpacks the path that took him from Zappa to having his own band -- and there's a surprising revelation about horn sections. Is that a horn section-related plot twist? Perhaps.

Our thanks to Benjamin for hanging out with us today. You can get your hands on a copy of the Feldons album at Bandcamp and for you fellow vinyl nerds, there's even vinyl to be had!

Thanks also to all of you for listening to this episode. Don't forget to visit Jeff at Jefitoblog where you'll find even more musical discussion and thoughts.

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Benjamin Wagner joins the guys for a frank discussion about mental health in the midst of Mental Health Awareness Month. He's spent a good amount of time thinking about -- and researching the subject. His new film, Friends & Neighbors, is the result of that work. Benjamin tells Jeff and Matt how his own mental health struggles influenced the movie -- and what he learned once he finished the project.

In Friends & Neighbors, Benjamin thinks back to the words of his friend, Fred Rogers -- known to the world as Mister Rogers -- and how he always encouraged people to "look for the helpers." For Benjamin, one of those helpers, beginning in his formative years as a teenager, was definitely music. One of the key albums was R.E.M.'s Reckoning. He shares his love for both the record and the band itself -- and why he really respects what they did from the beginning to the way they handled the end of their career.

We also discuss Benjamin's first interview -- which happened to be with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe -- and moments from his incredible run at MTV News which lasted for nearly two decades. As it happens, you can hear a whole lot more about Benjamin's time at MTV. He's got an essential podcast, You Hear It First: An Unofficial and Unfiltered History of MTV News, where he's been interviewing an incredible mix of people from the network -- including many of his former colleagues. For those of us who grew up with MTV News -- and perhaps eventually worked in the industry themselves -- it's a fascinating journey.

Friends & Neighbors is screening this month at select locations and will feature panel discussion with Benjamin and others. You can find information on those screenings here. And If you're not in range to attend a screening, you can stream it during the month of May by visiting the film website.

You can also find information on Benjamin's previous movie, Mister Rogers & Me at the film's official website. The movie is available for streaming on many major platforms.

Thanks so much for listening to the program as always! Join us for further discussion at Jeff's website at Jefitoblog. We'll see you there (and we'll be back soon enough with Benjamin #3. You'll see what we mean after listening to this episode.)

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Emmy-nominated songwriter Ben Arthur released his third album, Edible Darling, in 2004. A longtime friend of the podcast (long before there was a podcast, in fact), Ben joins Jeff and Matt to look back on the album in its 20th anniversary year. He recaps his rollercoaster experience navigating the music industry in those early years and how it ultimately influenced where he's gone with his life's work since then.

To date, Ben has released 10 albums and an ongoing series of singles, with his most recent song release being "Bless Your Heart" earlier this year. He is the creator and host of SongWriter, a podcast that turns stories into songs. SongWriter is launching its sixth season and has featured guests/collaborators that include  Questlove, Joyce Carol Oates, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd,  Susan Orlean, Neil Gaiman, George Saunders, Katie Melua, David Sedaris, and Steve Earle.

Our thanks to Ben for hanging out with us. We had a blast looking back at one of our favorite albums and learning more about what was going on at the time.

If you're new to The Record Player, check out our extensive archive of past episodes wherever you get your podcasts! Keep the experience going and visit Jefitoblog for more thoughts from Jeff (and more abuse from Matt). Thanks so much for listening!

The Starter | Music, Memory & the Songs We Keep
You hear a song, and a memory opens up. Personal audio essays by Stephen Hollowell.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show