Welcome to Overeducated and Underemployed. I
really appreciate you tuning in today. I'm Fedden.
Make sure to check out my website at fedden .net
to see everything I'm doing right now. That's
F -E -D -D -U -N dot N -E -T, fedden .net. Today
begins our three -part series on the topic of
nostalgia. And we're going to be talking about
the topic in three different We're going to be
talking about nostalgia in music, nostalgia in
movies and television, and then, of course, nostalgia
in video games and retro gaming. When it comes
to nostalgia in music, I think nostalgia, I think,
can be the opposite of depression. They say if
you focus too much on the future, you're going
to be anxious, and if you focus too much on the
past, that you're going to be depressed. But
I think if you focus on the past in a nostalgia...
kind of tint it couldn't change the the dynamic
of that in the last 20 years or so especially
there have been a lot of reunion tours a lot
of bands touring that don't even have all the
original members or don't even have the majority
of the band being original members but still
touring under the banner of a certain band name
and then you've got bands with their like full
lineup doing revivals of old albums and re recording
some of their music and doing tours where they
play entire albums at a time bands that broke
up for decades doing like one -off reunion weekend
shows and then of course you have bands that
kind of stopped putting out new music at a certain
point and were able to just capitalize on the
hits they already had over the years I'm sure
I'm missing some things, but one thing that I've
noticed is I've seen a lot of these bands do
these reunion tours, and I've also noticed that
a lot of people my generation kind of stopped
listening to music. And previous generations,
too. It's like you stop listening to music that's
new after the age of 25. And I don't mean this
for probably the general audience of this podcast,
since... A lot of people that listen to this
are probably going to be music enthusiasts. But
the average listener, life starts and music is
not a big priority to them anymore. They just
hear what gets played for them in one way or
another. They might occasionally get to go to
a concert, but not like when they were in college,
right? When we get to go to shows all the time
and listen to music all day. So I think like
part of it is just our lives become less conducive
to finding new music. But I also think that there's
something to just like add personalities gelling
at a certain point and us just being who we are.
I think even with music enthusiasts, the stuff
that we always gravitate back to is stuff we
usually got into when we were younger. And I
think that while we still get into music on a
regular basis, we truly are. music enthusiasts
it slows down it definitely slows down part of
that is just like you have stuff that you like
and you want to keep listening to and so the
amount of time that you have for new stuff gets
smaller and smaller and i think that's true for
most people but the amount of space they have
for music is a lot smaller too when you're not
people are some people are really into movies
some people are really into games Some people
are really into none of those things. They're
not really into digital media or anything like
that. They prefer going out in nature or maybe
they become artists and they make a lot of their
own music. Anyway, my point is that I think once
we diverge into our own interests and our own
lives, everybody gets into less and less new
music. So the bands that we grew up listening
to will always be... something special to us
and something that in turn is marketable to us.
So this trend that we've seen, I think over the
last 20 years, part of it is just like, until
recently, these people weren't old, hadn't taken
off. And sometimes it's like, they didn't pay
their taxes. Sometimes they realize, I think
this actually leads me to one reason I know that
some bands have gotten back together is like,
In the age of streaming, we have data on what
people are listening to, even if it's stuff they
bought or would have bought decades ago. And
where someone might listen to the same 20 bands,
but they've already bought their entire catalog,
sales weren't ever really indicative of what
a live band might draw in a certain market. Whereas
now I think promoters, even the bands themselves,
have a much better understanding of what songs,
what bands people are returning back to in their
middle of life, especially like the late 90s,
early 2000s bands. And so that's part of why
we're seeing this big revival. Another reason,
though, I think it's just the people that loved
a lot of music during the time of CDs. which
is a really specific time in music history that
I'll probably dedicate an entire episode to at
some point. But once those kids, people that
grew up on CDs, the things that made it easy
to listen to one song over and over, there was
also just a phenomenon in the late 90s, early
2000s, mid -90s even after Nirvana, where music
became a cultural touchstone in a way that I
don't think it. had been in a couple of years
at least, right? Like it had faded, I think,
in the 80s to like more in the DJ scene where
people would go out to clubs and listen to music,
but they weren't necessarily buying it. And I
think CDs, not only did people buy all of their
back catalog again, but it made it easier to
listen to the music that they were getting into,
whether they were young or old, on the go and
on demand. You could play the five songs you
really liked from a band, but the band had no
idea what those songs were. And you might get
lucky and hear the songs. And I think eventually
in a similar way to like touring for a comedian,
I think as a band tours, they figure out what
songs people like and what they like live. But
now they have the hard data to go off of. And
I'm not saying that these revivals and reunions
are like a new thing. Of course they're not.
They've been going on since music was the commodity,
but I think it's, and this could just be because
there are a lot of the bands that this could
just be my perspective. This could be, this is
pretty a historical is the point that I'm making.
It seems like there's been a big explosion of
them in the, in recent years, a bands that like
some, in some cases were one hit wonders or gathered
a cult following after they broke up. So I've
seen a lot of these shows over the years. I've
seen, for instance, I've seen Zappa play Zappa,
which is Dweezil Zappa playing the music of his
dad, Frank, which I went through an interesting
dilemma about that because I'd also listened
to an interview with Jacob Dillon around the
time where he said he would never play his dad's
music and he thought it was fucking weird and
he didn't even like that people had asked him
to. And on the other hand, Dweezil is one of
the only people that can play Frank's music well.
And not only that, Bob's music does not need
to be carried on by his son. Other people will
record it and make some of his songs bigger hits
than they ever were when he recorded them. So
Bob Dylan doesn't need his son to go out and
play his songs for the world to keep them alive.
One could argue that Dweezil doing that is part
of what has kept Frank's music alive. It was
a big part of the documentary that came out a
few years ago about Frank Zappa. I've also seen
the Beach Boys with Brian Wilson. This was probably
10 years ago. And one thing that stood out to
me about that show is while it had all the original
members for the first time in a long time, they
also had a lot of young musicians and singers
backing them up. And so it sounded great, but
it also like you could tell that it wasn't just
the beach making the sounds coming from the stage.
I do think that carries a lot more value than
because for one, it's being like directed by
the band themselves. Even if they aren't doing
all the parts, they're at least approving of
them. Whereas like when I was a kid, I, there
was like two versions of rat touring. It was.
And they had a legal battle. And one was Rat
featuring Steven Piercy. And one was just Rat,
but it didn't have the lead singer. And it was
just absurd to me because they were both essentially
cover bands at that point. And it just made me
realize from a really young age that these things
are all about marketing. One of my favorite bands
in the last 20, 30 years, the Flaming Lips, did
a tour celebrating. yoshimi battles the pink
robots i believe i guess it started with a 20th
anniversary tour of it and it's just continued
until a certain point and they did a tour where
they played that entire album and then they also
played like a hit a set afterward of all the
oh i hesitate to call them hits but the songs
you want to hear if you're a flaming lips fan
and the flaming lips have always had like a really
strong community and a really positive message
and their shows are like an experience not just
a concert. And I'd seen them a few times over
the years, never in the 90s, but certainly in
the early and mid 2000s. Some at Bonnaroo in
2007. And that was pretty insane. And I did see
the Yoshimi tour. And it was fantastic. It was
they still sounded great. They played all the
songs that you wanted to hear. And I think they
knew that because of streaming. They knew what
songs other than Yoshimi that everyone wanted
to hear. Because they just played the top song
with streaming numbers on all the platforms.
And it seemed to go over really well. It was
a one -hit wonder type band called The Marvelous
Three that I was really into as a kid. They were
one of the first bands that I recognized had
a really strong community following them. And
that's, I think, what drew me to them. partially
because like my friends were becoming part of
that community already and so i just kind of
got into it but like anytime you see somebody
going ape shit for something obviously makes
you stop and be like what is so exciting about
that what is why are they so excited about it
and i think that's what led to my fandom with
the drive -by truckers which will be a recurring
theme that comes up throughout this podcast but
that band has like just a really strong community
and it's Something that I think a lot of other
people envy in the music world and even like
can be a model. And they're not even the first
to do it, but they're the first to do it. They
were one of the first bands to ever have a website,
thanks to Jen Bryant. And so they created a lot
of community. And I think, and I am going to
talk about, they also did a show where they've
never not been a band since this album came out,
but they also did a tour where they played the
Southern Rock Opera, their album in 2001. in
its entirety with other songs from the catalog
instead of doing a separate set they sprinkled
them in where they thought they fit and i thought
that was brilliant too it was like two different
approaches the flaming lips doing the album straight
through and then separate set and the truckers
did the southern rock opera in its entirety but
then adding songs throughout instead of doing
like a second set of different songs even though
they probably added enough songs to come close
to doing a second set at least and i think the
reason i bring this up is like there's a big
difference between nostalgia when it's still
good and nostalgia when it either sucked in the
first place or just doesn't hold up anymore like
maybe it was great then but it doesn't hold up
now and you don't get the same kind of feeling.
Whereas some music, and then this is like the
sign of great art, and we'll talk about this
in other mediums, but even if your perspective
about it changes, like with the Truckers, there's
songs like Zip City or Without Whiskey that obviously
as you grow up, your perspective might change,
but that's why they also included songs. Primer
Coat, because it's the sequel to Zip City in
the sense that it's the same guy, and he's just
an adult now. Like a 17 -year -old asshole teenager.
And I know I'm rambling here, but the point that
I'm making is that great art grows with you.
And I'll talk about this in all three of the
nostalgia episodes where you have a totally different
perspective from the same. The music or the film
or the game or whatever it is didn't change,
but you did. And you see something completely
different. And that can happen to people, too.
And I'm sure we'll talk about that at some point.
And even with the Flaming Lips, songs like the
Yeah Yeah song, which to me in college was mostly
just a fun pop song about being powerful. And
now I realize how political it really is. I think
it's really interesting to just look at the two
different approaches to that same concept of,
okay, we're a band that never stopped touring.
And we're going to play an entire album from
20 plus years ago. and see what happens. And
I think both shows were phenomenal. They had
really great visuals. The Flaming Lips are famous
for their light shows and everything like that.
And they also just kind of, in some ways, were
stripped down. The show I saw, the drummer was
really close to the front of the stage, and I
was able to really watch him. And I think that's
pretty common. But they also, they didn't have
a ton of people in costumes, and they didn't
obviously do the UFO or anything like that. But
it was just different. the previous shows, but
it allowed the band, because they stood on their
own, to really shine. And the truckers, I feel
like they, in a lot of ways, just keep getting
better and better. The drive -by truckers, they've
had a lot of lineup changes over the years, but
they've got the longest lineup right now that
they've ever had. And musically, I think it's
the best, hands down. You know, a lot of people,
Jason Isbell is a great songwriter. A lot of
people think that was like, even... Patterson
at one point was quoted in the documentary about
them as calling it the dream team. And in a lot
of ways it was, but they all had to move on from
that. It's amazing they all survived it and they've
all gotten better beyond their time together
and their friends now. And they've even performed
together again. But their music, the Drive -By
Trigger's music, as you age, it ages with you.
Same with the Flaming Lips. And I would even
argue same with the Beach Boys. Some of these
one -hit wonder bands, maybe not. But the Marvelous
Three, it was... So the Marvelous Three, I think,
is an interesting case study in this topic because
their music held up, their songs held up, but
they were still, like, pop songs about a lot
of angsty things. And not to say that's bad.
In some cases, like, it helped me return to some
of those feelings and not in a negative way.
I think just being a little more sensitive and
things like that. in the moment even but it didn't
feel like the same thing where i grew it grew
with me it felt like it helped me create reconnect
with my younger self and i think that is like
the that is what nostalgia at its core really
usually is right like you're trying to reconnect
with your younger self and a lot of people do
psychedelic drugs for the same reason And we'll
have episodes about how those are being used
therapeutically. But I think the thing that is
really striking about a band like The Marvelous
Three is their music held up, their live show
held up, their songs were still fun to sing along
to. There was still that community element. In
a lot of ways, I saw people I hadn't seen in
20 years because the community around that band
was so strong. Even Butch, it was close to the
fans. Back then, he would hang out before and
after shows. I was a kid. He got me into shows.
I remember there was a show in Chattanooga. He
pretended to be my uncle just so I would get
in. He was like, don't make me regret this, and
leaned in real close and said that to me. But
three random people I'd met on the internet picked
me up and drove me there. We were all safe. They
weren't sketchy. It was all fine. I had friends
that had met them or whatever. And it sounds
crazy now, but it was like year 1999 or 2000.
But that community really still, you still felt
it. Like everybody was older and had lives. But
when a band creates an event like that, and The
Marvelous Three only did it in a couple of cities.
So like you had to go to Chicago or Atlanta or
I think one other one, maybe New York or something
like that last year. But if you didn't go to
those cities, like. didn't go. So it really created
a sense of community. Whereas like every drive
-by trucker show, I think has a sense of community.
And in the sense that people know each other
just from other shows and the flaming lip shows,
I think have a sense of community just because
they're all there to just express love and excitement.
And even so it's like an imagined community is
believed all through terror coined the term.
like with a sports team or something only like
you love their music and that's to me like loving
a sports team is arbitrary loving music is like
pretty pretty meaningful so i think like the
point that i'm making was like these reunion
shows were more about more than just about the
music right they were more about the community
revisiting the art in a way that helped you continue
to grow at least for me like your perspective
on some of these songs and bands might change
in some cases and that'll help you understand
like how you're different and then sometimes
it's like those bands remind you of things that
you really need to be reminded of and i think
when you look at these three bands and a lot
of people might not even know all three of these
bands that i'm talking about are But if you look
at the Flaming Lotus, the Marvelous Three, and
the Drive -By Truckers, you all took a different
approach to this. Butch Walker from the Marvelous
Three went on to become a record producer and
a solo career. Solo tours, occasionally played
Marvelous Three songs, and occasionally even
did reunions on stage for a couple of songs.
But they hadn't done a real reunion like this
in almost 20 years, or maybe exactly 20 years,
since they played at the little big Centennial
Park, and it was right before 9 -11. If I'm not
mistaken, I feel like I, I don't know. I, my
memory is a little fuzzy there, but I feel like
it was like in late August of 2001. And yeah,
like people that had met 20 years ago, 25 years
ago, I hadn't seen each other in 20 or 25 years,
saw each other again. Draw by truckers shows
always have this sense of community, but these
Southern rock opera shows also got. us to really
they've got over 200 songs even like people that
have seen them a lot may have heard most of the
southern rock opera live at one point but hearing
that all of it or even a significant portion
of it all together did not happen and they don't
play with a set list so even even seeing them
play the same show multiple nights was a new
experience because they like i had never in over
100 shows played the same show more than once
and then i saw this tour four times Seeing them
play the same show four times was a new experience
for me, if that makes sense. Same with the Flaming
Lips. Like, I've never seen all of the songs
off of Yashimi and seeing them in an order, and
that was really special. And then the Marvelous
Three, they didn't play, like, a particular album.
In fact, they pretty much didn't play anything
off of their first album. They played one song
off of it from Math and Other Problems called
Appetite. And I'd really like to hear more of
that album because honestly, listening to those
three albums, they had three albums and then
they put out a fourth when they did the reunion
called Four. But listening to those three albums,
I think their first one like holds up the best.
They're all still good, but I've really felt
like their first one held up the best over time.
So I'd really, if they do these reunions again,
I'd like to see them do more of these songs.
So I think like the big core about these is like,
you have to have some kind of just because you
heard a fucking song on the radio doesn't mean
you want to go see the band 20 years later but
i do think if you have like personal connections
and community associated with this music or it's
really good fucking art that you can your perspective
about it has changed over the years and it's
grown with you or if it just helps you remind
you of like part of yourself that you might have
forgotten i think these these reunion tours are
actually When the product is good, when the music
is good, when the band is still pretty much the
full band. I understand like people, one of the
bands I worked with when I was younger, Social
Burn, they did some reunion shows. And then this
was like 10 years ago, maybe more. And the drummer
couldn't do it for whatever reason. And so they
had a manager that their manager, Terry Clark,
who is a great drummer, maybe a better drummer.
And he stepped in and played those shows and
nobody cared. Like it wasn't, but it didn't feel
like a cover band. It felt like me, like at the
most, they just had a different drummer. I think
when you see, for example, I went and saw Chicago
and he's a horn player and they had like most
of the original horn section. So that was cool
for him. But he said, otherwise it was basically
a cover band. Like, and I don't understand, like,
it's literally just at that point, they've got
the rights to call themselves a certain band
name. And that's weird to me. And when I saw
the Beach Boys, like. felt like that was like
the line right the line between cover band and
reunion was when i saw the beach boys with brian
wilson because i really felt like the beach boys
with brian wilson it was what they wanted it
sounded like the beach boys it's what the beach
boys wanted they were all there they all approved
of how it all went but you could also tell that
a lot of the parts were being played and sung
by younger people that could handle them and
they were doing what they could and It was fine.
It wasn't amazing. I felt lucky to get to see
that at my age, but it wasn't. And that's why
I think sometimes these bands wait too long.
The Violent Femmes are doing a reunion tour right
now where they're playing, I think their entire
debut album. And I'll probably do a review, a
short review of that show. They're coming to
my city and I'll do a review of it. I'm going,
I'm not, I know full disclosure. I'm not like.
person that ever really got into the violent
femmes and i'm a little bit apprehensive about
this because they're playing with an orchestra
but it's all the original members as far as i
know so we'll see but i also like that's a band
that like got a cult following like after they
had one hit and then got a cult following over
the years that band's 40 years old like their
first album came out in 83 and i saw like i said
i saw the beach boys 10 years ago at least probably
more like 12. and So that would have made them
like over 50 years into their career. So like
maybe it was just too late. I'm sure I'll have
more to say about this in future episodes. Thanks
again for tuning in to Overeducated and Underemployed.
I'm Fedden. Check out my website, fedden .net.
Feel free to donate if you want to support the
pod. And stay tuned for the next episode on nostalgia
and movies and television. And remember, if you
want me to answer a question on the podcast,
go ahead and send it over to FeddenXR at gmail
.com. That's F -E -D -D -U -N -X -R at gmail
.com.