Welcome to the Single Nerds Podcast with your
hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. Single Nerds? Hmm.
Single Nerds Podcast, this beautiful day in the
month of April. I am Vince Clortho, and I'm a
level 20 dungeon master, tier 4, and I'm a nerd,
so all you fair maidens out there, am I doing
this right, guys? Wow, you definitely are a single
nerd, man. We all were at one point, I think.
So I'm Dude, and I got Andy and Don with me here,
but what exactly are we doing? I think we're
talking about singles instead of albums. Oh,
that makes more sense. This is not your dating
club. Sorry. I mean, I'm taken, but I played
the role very well. Very happily married, but
I sold it, right, guys? Yeah, you'd be a great
D &D master. Thank you, thank you. So, this is
the single nerds podcast. We love singles and
the single format. All things music. And we've
got a great and slightly different show for you
today. We will each be bringing forth to the
table a single and its B -sider sides to discuss
in depth rather than an album. Don's going to
ask us a shallow question. No, it'll be deep.
It'll be deep. It's always deep at dawn. Can't
help it. Yeah. Then we'll have some shout -outs
to some other singles and single -related items
that we're digging, and then we'll find out what
we're doing next week. But for now, let's get
to them singles. That's what I'm talking about!
Singles have long been a cornerstone of the music
industry, showcasing both the chart -topping
brilliance of A -sides and the hidden gems of
B -sides. In this special episode, we will dive
deep into the art of the single, exploring these
compact musical statements. So today, we each
present a single. Not an album, but a single.
Thank you for making that clear. A very special
episode. I hope nothing controversial happens
to anyone here, so that everyone can learn a
lesson. Singles, yeah. I mean, they certainly
serve a purpose, and more so in different eras.
So besides the brilliant singles you guys settled
on, what else did you think about before coming
to a final decision? Yeah, I mean, there's just
like abundance of great singles. A couple that
I was considering were from the Monkees. They
were kind of like a singles machine. They had
a pretty good single with I'm a Believer and
I'm Not Your Stepping Stone, A and B sides. The
one I almost picked was from Otis Redding. Sitting
on the dock of the bay and Sweet Lorraine came
out in 67, a couple days before he died. A couple
of really good tracks. Sweet Lorraine is actually
kind of an underrated song I was not super familiar
with. Yeah, so I was kind of in that era of music,
my singles selection. How about you, Don? Yeah,
well, in, you know, in sort of the post -punk
and new wave era of Britain, you actually, you
know, there are a lot of, you know, big singles
with big B -sides. So one example is Joy Division.
The single is actually given the title Licht
und Blindheit. Oh, get some of that German in.
Is that parental advisory? It's German for, I
think, light and blindness or something. But
even though the title is German, it was actually
a French only or limited edition single. But
it features the song Atmosphere, which is like
one of their most known songs. And the B side
was Dead Souls. Oh, well, it's kind of a banger.
It was typical of bands like Joy Division and
The Smiths. I mean, their B -sides were just
as important as their A -sides. In fact, the
Smiths' How Soon Is Now was the B -side to William.
It was really nothing. That's like the biggest
Smith song ever. How about you, dude? Well, being
a 90s guy, I had a lot of CD singles. And one
of the things I remember searching for was Stone
Temple Pilots' Plush. from their album core.
And I found a version of it. You had to buy these
things. You couldn't go find them online or anything.
It was a Japanese import. It was one of those
mini discs CDs, the little ones. And it had the
plush acoustic from the Headbangers Ball on MTV.
But there's a break in it when people start applauding
when they're not supposed to. It's too early.
It's called Take One. And then the B side of
that was Wicked Garden, but it's just a cool
package. I paid like 12, this is like 93 or four.
I paid like 12 or 15 bucks. Wow. For one freaking
song. Well, then I put it on a mixtape and driving
around with my buddies. It's like, I have this
and you don't. That's cool. All right. So enough
about what we almost picked. What singles did
we choo -choo -choo -choose? Choo -choo -choose
me? All right. For my single selection, we are
talking about The Penguins and their 1954 single,
Hacin' Rita Slash Earth Angel. This is the debut
single for the Los Angeles -based doo -wop group.
four -piece earth angel chart at number one on
the billboard r &b chart and sold over four million
copies in the next 10 years let's jump in and
play the big cut this is the the b -side earth
angel so it's on uh Very popular. Even today,
I think most people would recognize that. Famously
recorded in a home garage on a single tape recorder,
which is what the Duo Tune Record Studio consisted
of, apparently. Just in someone's garage. Wowee.
That's crazy. Well, to think that the recording
process that I used as a kid making my own songs.
was actually used professionally is crazy. Makes
our podcast seem like a really high -tech outfit.
There's a great quote from one of the singers
here, Curtis Williams, who said, every time the
dog barked next to her, you have to go out and
shut him up, and then we'd have to do another
take. Wow. So funny. Well, I clicked the headline
for the Penguins' Hey Senorita Earth Angel is,
the Penguins remind us that all good things start
in a garage. You definitely want your car to
start. Yeah, that's true. I was conceived in
a garage. I think it was a basement. Okay. So
this is a pretty interesting little snippet of
time here. Definitely this record is credited
as kind of bridging the gap between like R &B,
doo -wop, and what would become rock in the next
few years. The single itself really exploded
in popularity. Some members of the group, Duncan
and Williams, two of the vocalists here, were
classmates in high school in Los Angeles at Fremont
High. Williams had previously belonged to another
doo -wop group called the Hollywood Flames, who
had rose to some notoriety. They formed this
new group, quickly cut this demo, which really
was just a rough demo of Earth Angel in this
garage. Got played at a local record store by
a DJ who favored the B -side. Just really overnight,
the song blew up based on some listeners at the
radio station. And they ended up cutting the
track without any sort of additional instrumentation.
There was going to be a big orchestral accompaniment.
It all got scrapped. Covered by a bunch of groups,
including this all -white group called The Crew
Cuts from Canada. Oh, God. Actually got a little
bit more popularity out of it. That sounds made
up. I had to double -check that, too. Also covered
by The Temptation. Joan Diaz, Death Cab for Cutie,
a bunch of other people, Elvis. Marvin Barry.
Yes, Marvin Barry. Your cousin, Marvin Barry.
Great Scott. I just, I think what's so doo -woppy
and cool about this is that it accidentally was
stripped down and focused on the voices and the
harmonies more than anything else. And I think
that really helped shape this whole doo -wop
thing, right? Where it was about the voices.
Those harmonies were the most important part.
Yeah, I think. From what I'd read a lot, it was
the sincerity of the delivery of the performance
and how aching they were over this woman, this
earth angel, that really sold people on on this
whole idea. That's just a great two -word phrase
to say a whole lot about somebody's personality
and who they are. Yeah. It's just very powerful.
It fits. I wonder if it was considered sacrilegious
or something. That's true. No, I don't think,
I think if it had been an earth devil, people
would have gotten all freaked out, but I think
people were fine with calling people angels.
All right, why don't we jump in here and play
the A side on the record. So the song I thought
was going to be a hit, it's called Hey Senorita.
So as Andy said, this was actually the A -side
of the Penguins' debut single, and it was recorded
in that same garage as Earth Angel. So the producer,
Dootsie Williams, initially pressed Hey Senorita
as the primary track, anticipating that it...
It's like an up -tempo doo -wop style would resonate
with audiences. But radio DJs quickly flipped
it over and favored the more ballad -y Earth
Angel, which became a huge hit and still sort
of in our culture. For sure. I just think the
whole A -B side thing with 45s, and we should
probably explain this, it was a small record.
They had one song on one side and another song
on the other side. And just because they said
one or two or A or B, for DJs or anyone else,
it's like you slap it on the record player and
who's to say what really, it's the intention
of the record label or artists for one to be
an A, one to be a B, but leave it up to the listeners.
They're the ones that choose what song is the
good one or the better one. Yeah, they do. The
song Hey Señorita is actually credited to Curtis
Williams of the band. But later, Carl Green,
who was another person sort of on the doo -wop
scene, received some songwriting contribution
credit. So, you know, kind of novel in that it
has sort of a Latin -tinged rhythm. And obviously,
it's literally Spanish. It has like the call
and response thing. You know, again, it's sort
of an R &B staple. I mean, we're in this era
where you have sort of black music and white
music. And one of the first aspects of R &B really
to cross over was this doo -wop scene. And I'm
not sure why that is. Maybe just something about
the vibe. You know, I think the four freshmen
and things like that, so the harmony groups were
a thing. And I think this added a little bit
of that R &B. a little bit of rock and roll to
come swing to it. And so I think it was the kids,
you know, the kids were driven by new sounds
and things you could dance to and stuff like
that. And I think the doo -wop sound is certainly
the foot in the door for the R &B and soul music
to come. Well, my clickbait headline for the
Hey Senorita single is, Hey Senorita, show us
your backside. Wow. That's good, man. That's
a good one. That was no bueno, sir. Yeah, so
this is one of the rare but sort of famous examples
of a B -side sort of overtaking the A -side in
significance. But, I mean, I'm glad that I got
a chance to pay attention to Haseen Arita because,
I mean, it seems like it's kind of a groundbreaking
track in its own way. But it's funny. you know
going through their catalog i mean it's basically
all compilations and pretty much all of them
have earth angel but not all of them have hey
seniorita so it just has a you know much more
significant place in their in their history yeah
they never really had a another hit so you kind
of seem to want to recapture the magic of earth
angel a few times but never really worked out
for them so we only have two songs here so I
need to throw in my clickbait headline to describe
this beautiful B -side. There's an A -side too.
The Penguins may have been a one -hit wonder
in commercial terms, but their role in doo -wop's
golden age remains legend. Wait for it. Dairy.
Legendary. So many of these groups got there,
these doo -wop groups got there, start harmonizing
on street corners and being, you know. friends
and that was the case here where it was two friends
that kind of started it yeah the high schools
seem to be a breeding ground for this music and
they were discovered by small independent labels
like chess and vj and imperial and but their
cultural impact lasted longer beyond the era
which was like the the 50s and early 60s and
it started to kind of fade out some of the sounds
carried on and evolved into that Motown's more
polished R &B sound. But, you know, the harmonies,
four or five vocalists, high falsettos, lead
and deep bass to provide contrast and nonsense
syllables like doo -wop and shaboom and ooh -wah.
We're a signature part of that sound, you know,
adding to the rhythmic texture, but also making
it easy to sing along to, remember, and enjoy.
You know, it wasn't complicated. So, yeah, I
think it was a great era, and the penguins are
a very important piece of that. Whether they're
remembered or not, Earth Angel will be forever.
Yes. Well said, well said. All right, we're looking
for an enduring look back at the doo -wop era
of the 50s. Earth Angel is kind of a cornerstone
of that era. The single is a nice representation
of what was going on. So seek out The Penguins.
Hey, Senorita. Earth Angel. Before we continue.
on our journey of single exploration let's hear
from our friends over at the six picks music
club hey there i'm dave and i host six picks
music club with my two buddies jeff rowe and
russ we talk about six songs on a playlist that
meet a theme to a topic that we've already decided
on just real quick do you meet themes do you
meet them Okay, no, I don't know. I guess that...
What's the... Russ, can I get a ruling on the
verbal phrase meet the theme? Jeff, I don't know.
I'm not fluent in the spoken word. People just
don't say meet the theme. They say fit a theme.
And every week we talk about six songs that fit
a theme. All right. Okay, fit a theme. Guys,
we're going to have to re -record this. Ah, f***
my d***. Okay, and Dave, don't forget, it's Six
Picks Music Club, not your dark web pod, Sex
Picks Booty Grub. Gotta check that one out, too.
Thanks, guys. Well, the Beatles must have found
out we talked about Mavis Staples again. They
need to catch up. All right. Well, my pick for
a single comes from the Fab Four. They're double
A side, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane.
So this, as I said, this double A side, which
basically means like on the actual disc, it doesn't
identify a side one or two or a side A or side
B. Sounds like there may have been a discussion
about that between Paul, who wrote one of the
songs, and John, who wrote the other, who gets
top billing. You're all special. I guess they
had done the same thing with the previous single,
which was Eleanor Rigby, Yellow Submarine. But,
of course, the Beatles were formed in 1960 in
Liverpool, England. John Lennon, Paul McCartney,
George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Strawberry
Fields Forever and Penny Lane were the first
tracks recorded after they had retired from touring.
They began working on their next album, Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. So these two
tracks were originally intended for that album,
but the record label really wanted a single.
And so they released, you know, this is a double
A side. And they basically followed their tradition
of not putting previous singles on their albums.
Until there was an album for the Magical Mystery
Tour. Yeah, they threw those out. That seems
more like a record label decision than a Beatles
decision. Right, and that was just on the U .S.
version of Magical Mystery Tour. Right. All right,
well, let's hear one of the cuts. This is Strawberry
Fields Forever. Let me take you down, cause I'm
going to Strawberry Fields Forever. So Strawberry
Fields Forever is a reference to a place called
Strawberry Field, which was a Salvation Army
children's home in Liverpool, where John Lennon
spent his childhood with his Aunt Mimi. So it
kind of served as a sanctuary where Lennon played
as a child. One of his childhood treats was the
garden party that they held each summer at a
park near the home where a Salvation Army brass
band played. Maybe that's why you kind of have
some of that Salvation Army band sound in it.
Supposedly, and who knows, the words nothing
to get hung about were inspired by Aunt Mimi's
strict order not to play in the grounds of Strawberry
Field, to which Lennon replied, they can't hang
you for it. Maybe. I mean, that sounds like his
personality. There's so much mythology around
the Beatles, you never know. I've always really
liked this song lyrically, although it doesn't,
truly seem to be about anything specific you
know and i mean some people might sort of dismiss
it as nonsense but i mean it is a it is a place
yeah a real place so for me as a kid hearing
this song that was enough like it was about a
real place and then he makes it sound more fanciful
than it was i like um sort of the spontaneous
nature of the lyrics you know like i think i
know uh i mean uh yes but it's all wrong you
know corrected himself yeah yeah i like that
always no sometimes i think it's right you know
it's so i think that's pretty clever i don't
know if anybody other than like dylan would have
written something like that at the time But musically,
it's also really complex. It was actually like
three different versions with different keys
and different tempos, and they ended up mixing
them together. I heard it took like 45 hours
or something and 26 takes or something ridiculous.
And then they blended some of the chunks, like
Don said. Yeah, and innovative use of the Mellotron,
which is that keyboard that uses tapes of real
instruments. So that flute part at the beginning,
that's Paul McCartney on Mellotron. And in fact,
it's in between pitches, I guess, the key. So
they sped it up just a little bit, so it's actually
just below B -flat. Yeah, interesting. So it
just has a unique, dreamy sound. I think it's
actually my favorite Beatles song. really yeah
uh anyway well my clickbait headline for strawberry
fields forever penny lane is fab four create
ultimate psychedelic island single i guess instead
of a desert island it's just some right this
acid or you know some acid fueled island uh but
from these two songs you could you can if you
had to pick singles to be on an island alone
with it It evokes enough of the Sergeant Pepper
album feel that would sustain you. Like, it could
work as something that would give you that same
vibe. And it's like the, it's the right kind
of psychedelia because it's, I mean, it's goofy.
The right kind. Because I think it's appealing
even if you're not on drugs. You know, I mean,
it's still kind of a song I think people can
relate to. I don't know. I mean, I think some
things are just kind of noise for the, like,
ooh, here's a goofy sound that's going to bug
people out. And, you know, this is a song. It's
a song. It's got some depth to it. Well, is John
here? All right. Well, let's move to the other
cut. This is Penny Lane. Okay, so Penny Lane
was written by Paul during a nostalgic songwriting
period in late 66. He and John were both reflecting
on their Liverpudlian upbringings. I love saying
that. Penny Lane is named after a Liverpool street
that was a hub of activity and a meeting place
for the young Beatles. And as we discussed, it
was intended for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band. What McCartney does here is detail,
and this is different than Lennon, very specific
memories about places and people, recurring characters,
a barber showing photographs, a banker who never
wears a Mac in the rain, and then the nurse selling
the poppies, a Remembrance Day reference. But
it's playful and wistful and blends childhood
memories and vivid lyrical storytelling, which
is... Paul's thing and then this Baroque kind
of sound as well. My clickbait headline to describe
the single, the double A side that blended childhood
memories with musical evolution. So you take
what was, blend it with what is and will be.
And that's what you get here, these look -backs,
but also with this, at the time, cutting -edge
view. And I think that's pretty cool, and I think
it's pretty amazing that they had tracks of this
caliber available. It's interesting how well
they fit together as kind of being look -backs
at their childhood, but then you do have these
two distinct personalities and how they would
do that within the group. It feels pretty cohesive
to me as a Beatles outsider. And that just sums
up, I think, you know, the magic of the Beatles,
but also why it had to end was really those two
personalities. And, you know, you could say Yoko
Ono or whatever else, but it was inevitable.
These two dudes. You can't have two A -sides,
man. Yeah, they were both A -sides in that band.
I mean, there was, and George Harrison was a
genius as well. So it was Ringo and all in their
own ways. But these two were the dominants. They
couldn't be together forever. There's a little
taste from the end of Strawberry Fields there
with some muffled lyrics. I believe it's Lennon
saying something along the lines of cranberry
sauce, perhaps. Definitely led to some interesting
mythology around the band. Dig into that here
in a second. Black Click Pay headline for Strawberry
Fields Forever slash Penny Lane is the Feb 4
take a walk through the fields and down the lane
only to add to their mystique. Yes. I think Strawberry
Fields is probably the song I associate most
with the Beatles and it was one of the first
MP3s I ever owned. Stole? Stole. Yeah, but I
listened to a lot of that. I mean, that song
was... To me, it's just iconic Beatles. At the
end of Strawberry Fields we just played there,
it was speculated that Lennon was actually saying,
I buried Paul, as opposed to Cranberry Sauce,
which I don't know. I definitely could hear it
listening back to it. I don't know what you guys
think, but it could go either way. Yeah. But
I was definitely intrigued listening back to
it here by some of the Paul is dead. Mythos.
Conspiracy theory. Yeah. Mythos that was around
at this time and really took on a lot of legs,
man. There's a lot of aspects to this sort of
mythology or this urban legend. I'll just mention
a few and maybe you guys can chime in too, if
you like. Apparently on Revolution 9, which is
on the White Album, right? Yep. There's a backwards
recording of Termion Deadman. Okay. Which is
supposedly referencing Paul. Or necrophilia.
Disgusting. Go on. The cover of Sgt. Pepper,
the album artwork, McCartney is apparently the
only field not facing forward, which symbolizes
that he's no longer with us, apparently. Well,
on the Sgt. Pepper cover, I believe it was the
inside gatefold where you see his back. Because
on the cover, you see his face. But there were
also rumors that they hired a lookalike. Right.
So stupid. It was on the cover of magazines and
it was pretty popular on the radio, I guess,
for this conspiracy. Yeah, obviously Paul is
still alive. Ironically, one of the few members
left of the group. Yep. Or he's a robot. Or he's
been dead this whole time, yeah. Yes. I think
the power of the Beatles and these songs and
just one throwaway line at the end of a song
turned into a phenomenon. Even that has nothing
to do with the music or the songs themselves.
Cranberry Sauce turns into this whole thing that
people are still talking about. And there's whole
books about this shit. I mean, it's crazy. And
it just shows the incredible power of this group
and these songs and the era where that was possible.
We will never have anything like this, a cultural
phenomenon music group ever again, unless Bill
and Ted's Excellent Adventure is correct and
Wild Stallion's music will save the future. Be
excellent to each other. But other than that,
I don't think we're going to see anything of
this magnitude ever again. Two songs of a 45
record. carry all that weight. It's pretty cool.
Well, each of the Beatles' primary songwriters
contributes one of their best songs to this single.
Check it out. Excuse me! I'd like to ask you
a few questions. It's time again for Deep Questions
by Don. So we're talking about stand -alone singles.
What other things stand well on their own? Yeah,
it's a deep one, Don. The one that came to mind
for me first was the cheese, right? I mean, the
cheese. Right, the cheese stands alone, sir.
Which I still don't understand. I will never
understand what that means, but. It's the power
of cheese. Yeah, that's. The power of cheese.
That's what I'm resting my head on. Are you working
for the cheese lobby? Big cheese. They're very
powerful. Part of the cheese, yeah. All right,
how about you, Don? So another cheese related
item, pizza by the slice, right? So pizza is
delicious, but a big old slice of pizza, your
favorite pizza spot, especially like a big New
York style slice that covers an entire paper
plate. Fills it with grease. And back in my college
days, like, you know, for a buck or a buck 25,
you get a small Coke and a slice, go stand out
on the street. That was just. paved with discarded
paper plates, like just mashed in like gum and,
and eat a delicious piece of pizza, especially
late at night when your tummy's full of noxious
liquids. Oh yeah. And in comes a delicious slice
of pizza, usually with a lot of hot sauce poured
on top at that time of night. But yeah, so pizza
by the slice definitely stands alone. Definitely
awesome. And definitely cheese lobby. I love
you. Yeah, well, it's actually, I mean, I think
it's true for most food. I feel like the first
bite is always the best. It's the best, yeah.
If it doesn't stand alone, you can't put it down,
you know. Right. But you're always chasing that
first bite, you know. That's true. But I was
thinking, and this is bad because I don't want
to discourage people from owning multiple dogs.
You know, because lots of dogs need homes and
stuff. But I do like the idea of just having
one dog because I feel like they become sort
of a tighter part of your family unit. But yeah,
I know what you mean. Like having that one, you
love them, they love you, and they don't have
anything to be jealous of. Yeah, exactly. Well,
what else stands on its own? Let us know. Hit
us on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment
on our website, albumnerds .com. So Dude's got
to stay on brand and go with a Pearl Jam single.
Shocking. Pearl Jam and the Beatles. Wow. I know.
Couldn't fit the Foo Fighters in here for some
reason. We're packing them in. I know. It's a
good day for Dude. So we're going with Jeremy
from the album 10, which we discussed just this
past summer during the summer of dawn. Jeremy,
inspired by a real -life incident involving a
15 -year -old student from Richardson, Texas,
who died by suicide in front of his classmates.
culturally significant song you know bringing
of the 90s and bringing uh the painful truths
and realities of the world around us and stuff
which i ate up and uh built my entire life around
at the time this was 1992 and you were like a
teenager is that right yep and yeah delicious
stuff yeah just lapping up this this milk here
Well, the pain, you know, I had so much to be
angry about and living in the suburbs and having
every meal provided for me and a car to use.
Poor tortured youth. What a terrible life. I'm
so disappointed in my young self. Total D -bag.
Anyway, let's jump in and listen to a little
bit of Jeremy. This is the radio edit from the
single that was released. for the time so let's
let's listen to chairman i told you guys there's
the radio edits so they can't say fuck on the
radio it's maybe a few seconds shorter than the
album version as well i think they shorten up
the portion you know it just says fuck for a
long time i just want to know how they got these
three tracks onto a two -sided record like is
there It's a pyramid situation. We got the CD
single era here, the maxi single. And this one
was actually the copy I bought for a ridiculous
amount of money was from Austria. Austria. Yeah,
because they released more CD singles in Europe
than they did in America. It just wasn't as big
of a thing. They weren't as successful. I think
it cut into album sales to some degree. But what
drew me to this was, yes, I already had the song
Jeremy, but this had two other songs on it that
were unreleased that were from the recording
sessions, and I had to have them. My clickbait
headline to describe the Jeremy single... Pearl
Jam's 1992 gift to fans featuring b -sides that
could have been a -sides people were hungry for
this stuff you know when Pearl Jam and Nirvana
and all that stuff was new anything anything
like I was buying import live performances imports
of covers they did and recorded randomly like
anything that I could get my hands on that I
didn't have and uh it was a magical time for
me but yeah this music discovery and like give
me more give me more was fun i mean it was a
it was a challenge and then all of the money
i got from the sub shop i worked at went to this
stuff and then i worked at the sub shop and a
record store at the same time and still all of
my money was going to this stuff well yeah i
was i was uh special ordering them and and then
in 1995 in the us epic records decided to release
all of those singles on regular cds for like
five bucks a pop and i was pissed It also deflated
the value of the ones I had bought, the collector's
items. All right, why don't we jump into one
of those other magical tracks? This one's called
Footsteps. All right, so Footsteps is the second
track on the Jeremy single, the third song in
this Mamasan trilogy, which is comprised of Once,
Alive, and this track, Footsteps, kind of telling
the story, mother, son, father. I won't go into
the details too much. I mean, it was loosely
based on Eddie Vedder's actual situation where
his real father was a friend of the family and
his stepfather he thought was his father. But
in the story of these, it gets into some more
culturally disturbing aspects of what happens.
families sometimes yeah so it comes to a conclusion
here with uh the son character kind of being
on death row confessing to his crimes seems like
to me like he blames everything on his mother
but yes yes my clickbait headline for jeremy
is the flannel boys show their dark side One
of the few essential singles of the era. This
is a very, very moody record. I mean, even for
Pearl Jam, I think this album, I mean, Footsteps
has a very dark sound to it. It's just Eddie
on vocals and Gossard on guitar. But even Jeremy,
dark subject matter, obviously. And then we'll
get to the last track here shortly. A lot of
emotion on that one. Yeah, I could feel the dark
clouds of Seattle settling in on me as I was
listening to this one. Yeah, there's some good
moments on here, I think, for sure. I think Jeremy's
a little overrated, and I think maybe the last
track's a little underrated, but a lot of that
has to do with radio play, too, in terms of that
era. Well, it's odd to me that Footsteps didn't
make the album when it's the third part of this
trilogy, but Temple of the Dog was recording
around the same time, and so Times of Trouble
on the Temple of the Dog album has the same...
The basis is the same, so I think they didn't
want to release... two songs based on the same
riff around the same time. So that was also part
of the whole mythos when I was a youth, finding
anyone that would listen to me spout this whole
thing off. So that's what the podcast is for.
I'm doing it again. I see how these singles seem
to spur a lot of myth around these bands, or
people like to exaggerate some of the details.
I remember you read into the details a little
more than they would nowadays. All right, why
don't we listen to that third and final track,
Yellow Light Better. All three of us were swaying
around and stuff. This is a great song. Yeah,
it's got a great groove to it. So the lyrics
were written by Eddie Vedder and the music co
-written by bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist
Mike McCready. The song title, Yellow Leadbedder,
supposedly derived from the actual name of an
old friend of Vedder's from Chicago named Tim
Leadbedder. So supposedly written around the
time of the Gulf War. There's always been some
mystery about what the song is about. But in
one, I guess, Q &A session or something, Vetter
claimed that a friend of his from Seattle, whose
brother served in the first Gulf War, received
a yellow letter in the mail informing him that
his brother died in the war. Then it goes on.
Vetter and his friend went for a walk. On the
walk, the friend who Vetter described as alternative
looking. which is how dude looked back then probably
right were you oh my god i looked like such a
dink yes so um they walked by a house that had
an american flag and i guess um this kid kind
of gestured you know kind of like a as a salute
to the flag um the people on the porch i guess
you know glared at him disapprovingly and because
of his appearance i wonder if he was wearing
two flannels like i used to One up top and one
around the waist. Full flannel. In case the one,
you know, doesn't work out. I don't know. Carry
around a spare. Someone gets cold. Here, I've
got a spare flannel. You should have put one
around your shoulders too. But yeah, I mean,
this is a big Pearl Jam song. And actually, I
remember getting a lot of radio play despite
being relegated to B -side status and not appearing
on the album. I saw one video of Pearl Jam on
Howard Stern where, you know, Eddie claimed that,
you know, he didn't finish the lyrics. It sounds
unfinished to me lyrically. Yeah, it really does.
It's like a lot of mumbo jumbo. Yeah. A lot of
leaning on the hair, but singers do that to fill
spaces they haven't put words to yet. And then
inspired a young Scott Stapp. See? Right there.
See, there's always consequences to every innovation.
But that Mike McCready guitar. Oh, my gosh. It's
so beautiful. Yeah. I mean, it's got a Stevie
Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, bluesy. It's just
beautiful. Really inspired. Yeah. Let's just
listen to the whole thing. I know. Well, my clickbait
headline for the Jeremy single is Jeremy spoke
in class today, but he needs to enunciate. it's
just it's just funny because um i mean i've known
y 'all led better uh forever but i'm not sure
that i ever really looked up the lyrics before
and i was like reading the lyrics as i'm listening
and it's like you know why are you pronouncing
it that way because like uh yeah because the
first line is unsealed supposedly and he's like
So anyway, but it works though. I get it, you
know, that you have to make it fit the, you know,
fit the melody, but it's, it's funny. Well, you
know, and there's no proof that those are the
lyrics. I mean, these are probably transcribed.
I don't think they've ever been written down
by Mr. Vedder necessarily. Yeah. I've heard when
he, cause they do perform it live quite often
and he often changes the lyrics. Yeah. Is that
true? Hopefully one of these days he actually
finishes them, you know, before he dies. I mean,
I think this is when singles are at their best.
It's kind of like a mini album. You know, there's
three songs that kind of sort of, you know, work
together. You know, there's gold in the B sides.
You know, it's... It's worth the import price.
So yeah, if you haven't heard these songs, they
are available on Spotify. You look up the Jeremy
single, it has all three in one nice little chunk.
So go check them out and experience a little,
some 10 extras that maybe you haven't heard before
or haven't heard in a while. Can you dig it?
Can you dig it? All right. Well, we've been,
I guess, enjoying the single life for the past
week. Did you guys find anything else to dig?
Yeah, I got something left over here for my single
days where the condom used to be in my wallet.
Yuck. First one up for me is from a stoner rock
group from Newcastle, New England. Name of the
group is Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs,
Pigs. Nice. Name of the album is Glib Tongued.
Actually, this is a single. My mistake. Let's
play that title cut. Glib Tongued. Title cut
there actually features LP from Run the Jewels,
a little hip hop. Element to the track there.
The forthcoming album is titled Death Hilarious,
which comes out on April 4th. Yeah, looking forward
to that one. Should be interesting. And the last
one for me is from Deerhoof, the experimental
four -piece indie rock group from San Francisco.
That's what they do in animals and violence this
week. Yeah, animal theme lately, right? Sorry,
the name of the single from Deerhoof is Immigrant
Songs. Wait a little bit. Gotta say, that's not
what I was expecting. I thought it was going
to sound more pagan. This is nuts, that future
folk -tronic kind of stuff. Now, this is off
their upcoming 20th full -length album. They've
been around for quite a while now. Yeah, it sounds
interesting. Definitely fits in line with their
previous kind of experimental indie pop sound.
Some doo -wop influence there with the na -na
-na, na -na -na. Yeah. Dear UFOs, lots of the
penguins, for sure. What you been digging on,
Doc? Well, we recently lost Marianne Faithfull,
who was just kind of a pop culture icon and muse
to, you know, rock stars and everything. Well,
she's actually coming out with an EP that she
worked on with her grandson, Oscar Dunbar. But
right now it's just a single track called Burning
Moonlight. Burning moonlight. It got even deeper.
Holy moly. Yep. So this was all recorded not
long before she passed. That always makes for
an interesting listening experience. Yeah. She's
been on a few albums recently, I want to say,
over the last couple of years. And there's really
a lot of depth to that music. I enjoyed it. Looking
forward to that one. And speaking of depth, Noah
Cyrus, who was the youngest sister or sibling
of Miley Cyrus, actually did a song with the
Fleet Foxes. It's called Don't Put It All On
Me. Sounds pretty fleet. I can hear the Cyrus
though. It's actually interesting. Supposedly
it was written by her older brother. I guess
his name is brazen Cyrus. Okay. But you know,
I, and it's about Noah's, I guess her role in
the family. And I guess the family's having some
issues, I think perhaps with their, their father.
So it's a, there's, it seems like there's, you
know, something interesting there. Yeah. I can
really hear that she's got a bit of an achy,
breaky heart going on there. Got a wrecking ball
coming into it. How about you, dude? Okay, so
singles. Yeah, this is weird for me, but one
of my favorites, Mac Leapheart, just like a week
ago released a single called Ode to the Thirsty
Beaver. You don't know that song. Oh, God. The
track plays homage to the Thirsty Beaver Saloon
in Charlotte, North Carolina. Apparently, developers
bought up all the land around it and the guy
refused to sell, so they built this giant apartment
complex around this tiny little building that
is still there. Oh, wow. Yeah. So let's check
out a little bit of the Ode to the Thirsty Beaver.
Red -eyed critter on the side. Right there in
Plaza Midwood, Avenue Central 122. Even gives
the address. I just love Mackley Parts' vibe
and his music. He did a video, I think it was
on Instagram or something, where he's pretending
to be a British guy reviewing the Ode to the
Thirst. I don't know. Is it a British pub? It
sounds like a British pub. Well, it's a saloon,
so that was the idea that this guy did. Go to
a pub. Gotcha. It was funny. And then secondly,
instead of going to something from my record
shelves, I mean, I do have some 45s and CD singles,
but I decided to venture away from that. A lot
of them were hard to find on streaming services.
So why don't we check out this newer band, been
around a little while, called The Jins. And this
is a new single called You're Going Far. You're
going far. Now they're a Vancouver -based alternative
rock trio. Can't really tell what their influences
might be, except for it sounds almost exactly
like Nirvana. But yeah, so it's a grunge influence
sound, and I hadn't really heard of them before.
They do have some albums that I will go check
out, but the B -side on this crutch is pretty
good too, available on your streaming services,
so go check that out. Very interesting. Well,
what are you digging? Let us know. Join us on
the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads.
Also on our website, albumnerds .com. It will
be a discovery of extraordinary value. Well,
that's about the time on the show. And a reminder
to the great American poet and civil rights activist,
Maya Angelou, who said, you alone are enough.
You have nothing to prove to anybody. With music
discovery in mind, next week we're going to be
celebrating Record Store Day. So be sure to join
us for that special episode. Sorry, Wadbot, you're
benched again. So what are you looking forward
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to Album Nerds next time. It's Record Store Day.
Thank goodness, man. I don't know about these
singles. Thanks for listening, everybody. Catch
you next week. Did he just say dude's dead? Maybe.
Maybe he is. He's been dead this whole time.
Happy April Fool's, everyone.