WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome in, everyone. We are so thrilled you're 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:05.259 joining us today. Absolutely. You are here because 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:07.660 you love to peel back the layers of things you 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.460 thought you knew, or maybe, you know, you're 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:12.019 just looking to discover something completely 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:13.900 off your radar. Yeah, you've got that natural 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:16.839 curiosity. Exactly. And we've put together a 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:19.079 deep dive today that is going to be incredibly 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:24.199 fun, a little bit weird, and surprisingly fascinating. 00:00:24.300 --> 00:00:27.120 It really is, because for today's mission, we 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.519 are extracting the absolute best, most compelling 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:33.060 nuggets from a wikipedia article that details 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:36.340 this very specific almost forgotten slice of 00:00:36.340 --> 00:00:39.640 1980s music history right we are looking at the 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:43.899 1988 funk rock single rev it up oh man yeah by 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.100 jerry harrison performed with his band casual 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:49.240 gods and we're gonna dig into how a track actually 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:51.240 comes together the nuts and bolts of it exactly 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:53.259 we'll look at the physical spaces that shape 00:00:53.259 --> 00:00:55.840 our art how a song finds its audience and the 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:57.899 downright bizarre journey it takes along the 00:00:57.899 --> 00:00:59.590 way and trust me you are gonna to want to hear 00:00:59.590 --> 00:01:02.950 this one because what we have here is this incredible 00:01:02.950 --> 00:01:06.069 juxtaposition. Oh, the contrast is wild. It really 00:01:06.069 --> 00:01:08.530 is. We're talking about a song that rocketed 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:11.409 up rock charts globally, like a massive international 00:01:11.409 --> 00:01:14.530 hit. Yeah. But it wasn't born in some sleek, 00:01:14.689 --> 00:01:17.530 you know, million dollar Los Angeles studio with 00:01:17.530 --> 00:01:19.609 champagne and ocean views. Not at all. No, it 00:01:19.609 --> 00:01:21.930 was born out of a family visit and it was recorded 00:01:21.930 --> 00:01:25.269 in an actual literal underground bomb shelter. 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:28.200 Okay, let's unpack this. Right, so to really 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.040 understand how unusual this is... We have to 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:33.599 travel back to the mid -1980s and look at the 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.200 landscape of pop and rock music at that time. 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:38.900 Set the scene for us. Well, Jerry Harrison was 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:41.700 an incredibly busy guy. He was the keyboardist 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:44.340 and guitarist for Talking Heads. Which is huge. 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:47.340 Oh, massive. They were, at that time, one of 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:49.000 the most critically acclaimed and influential 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:50.700 bands on the planet. I mean, they were coming 00:01:50.700 --> 00:01:53.959 off huge successes, heavy touring, deeply complex 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.340 recording sessions. It's a whirlwind. Exactly. 00:01:56.459 --> 00:01:58.239 But right in the middle of all that momentum, 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.060 you know, life happens. to take a break yeah 00:02:01.060 --> 00:02:04.040 so he leaves the bustling highly competitive 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:06.480 state -of -the -art music scene of new york city 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.860 and he returns to his hometown of milwaukee wisconsin 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:13.050 Which is such a grounded reason to step away 00:02:13.050 --> 00:02:15.110 from the limelight. It really is. I mean, he's 00:02:15.110 --> 00:02:17.689 not going on some extravagant, highly publicized 00:02:17.689 --> 00:02:20.210 spiritual retreat in the desert, right? He's 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:22.310 going home to Wisconsin to support his mother. 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:25.069 Yeah, it's a very human starting point. It totally 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:27.990 is. But obviously, a musician of that caliber 00:02:27.990 --> 00:02:30.490 still needs an outlet. You can't just turn that 00:02:30.490 --> 00:02:33.669 off. Right. So he's in Milwaukee. The creative 00:02:33.669 --> 00:02:36.710 itch is clearly still there. And he starts asking 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:39.409 around for a place to play. What does he actually 00:02:39.409 --> 00:02:41.830 find in Milwaukee? Well, he meets this young 00:02:41.830 --> 00:02:44.870 group of local musicians and basically asks them 00:02:44.870 --> 00:02:47.509 a simple question. He says, where is the best 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:49.889 recording studio in the city? Naturally. And 00:02:49.889 --> 00:02:52.129 they point him toward a guy named David Vartanian. 00:02:52.750 --> 00:02:55.689 Now, serendipitously, Harrison actually knew 00:02:55.689 --> 00:02:58.650 Vartanian from his childhood. No way. Yeah. So 00:02:58.650 --> 00:03:01.449 there's this immediate, unexpected hometown connection 00:03:01.449 --> 00:03:03.849 that instantly lowers the stakes. It creates 00:03:03.849 --> 00:03:06.069 this very comfortable dynamic right off the bat. 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:08.110 That makes total sense. But the actual studio 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:10.949 space Vartanian was running, that is where the 00:03:10.949 --> 00:03:14.229 story takes a really sharp deviation from normal 00:03:14.229 --> 00:03:16.789 music industry practices. Let's talk about that 00:03:16.789 --> 00:03:20.810 space. Because Vartanian agrees to rent Harrison 00:03:20.810 --> 00:03:23.919 the studio. But this isn't some soundproofed 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.379 room overlooking the Milwaukee skyline, is it? 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:29.520 Not even close. Vartanian had built his recording 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.379 studio inside an underground bomb shelter. A 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:36.099 literal Cold War era bunker. An actual bunker. 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:38.310 Yes. Let's just think about the logistics of 00:03:38.310 --> 00:03:40.229 that for a second. Yeah. You've got this rock 00:03:40.229 --> 00:03:42.509 star fresh out of the New York scene stepping 00:03:42.509 --> 00:03:45.409 down into a subterranean concrete relic. Yeah, 00:03:45.490 --> 00:03:47.310 just climbing down into the earth. What does 00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:49.729 that actually do to the recording process? Because 00:03:49.729 --> 00:03:51.550 I have to imagine the acoustics down there were 00:03:51.550 --> 00:03:54.349 completely wild. Well, the acoustics are a huge 00:03:54.349 --> 00:03:56.389 part of the story. Yeah. Think about it. When 00:03:56.389 --> 00:03:58.650 you build a recording studio in a normal building, 00:03:58.849 --> 00:04:01.689 you spend... Tens of thousands of dollars on 00:04:01.689 --> 00:04:03.750 soundproofing. Right. The floating floors, the 00:04:03.750 --> 00:04:06.509 acoustic foam. Exactly. Double -paned glass. 00:04:06.669 --> 00:04:09.930 All of it. All to keep the noise of the outside 00:04:09.930 --> 00:04:12.590 world out and the noise of the music in? Sure. 00:04:12.750 --> 00:04:14.789 Well, a bomb shelter already does that perfectly 00:04:14.789 --> 00:04:17.910 by design. You have feet of solid concrete and 00:04:17.910 --> 00:04:20.610 earth surrounding you. It is total... Absolute 00:04:20.610 --> 00:04:23.189 isolation. You go down into the earth, the heavy 00:04:23.189 --> 00:04:25.870 steel door shuts and it's just you and the music. 00:04:26.089 --> 00:04:29.610 But and here's the catch. Concrete also creates 00:04:29.610 --> 00:04:32.589 a very specific natural reverberation. Because 00:04:32.589 --> 00:04:35.439 it's so hard and reflective. Right. It bounces 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:38.139 sound waves around in a way that is harsh, it's 00:04:38.139 --> 00:04:40.800 bright, and it's incredibly difficult to control 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.879 unless you really know what you're doing. So 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:45.540 it forces you to adapt. You can't just rely on 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:47.899 standard studio tricks. You really have to play 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:50.160 the room itself. What's fascinating here is how 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.100 much that specific restrictive environment seemingly 00:04:53.100 --> 00:04:55.699 shaped the entire project. This wasn't just a 00:04:55.699 --> 00:04:57.899 quick one -off demo session. Oh, really? No. 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:00.519 Almost the entirety of Harrison's second solo 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:03.480 album, Casual Gods, was recorded right there. 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:05.660 They're in that bunker. The whole album. Almost 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:07.860 all of it. To give you a sense of the contrast, 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.259 out of the whole album, only one single track, 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:13.839 a song called A .K .A. Love, was recorded back 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:16.519 in New York City at Sigma Sound Studios. Okay, 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:18.480 I've heard of Sigma Sound. That's a pretty legendary 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.709 place, right? It is legendary. Sigma Sound was 00:05:21.709 --> 00:05:24.889 famous for pioneering the slick, lush Philadelphia 00:05:24.889 --> 00:05:28.149 soul sound, and later it became a massive hub 00:05:28.149 --> 00:05:31.009 for pristine pop and disco. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's 00:05:31.009 --> 00:05:34.589 top of the line, spacious, just pristine. So 00:05:34.589 --> 00:05:36.810 you have one track recorded in this cathedral 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:39.350 of polished pop, and then the rest of the sonic 00:05:39.350 --> 00:05:42.110 foundation of the Casual Gods record is cooked 00:05:42.110 --> 00:05:44.949 up in a subterranean, highly restricted Milwaukee 00:05:44.949 --> 00:05:48.230 bunker. That is quite the sonic whiplash. It 00:05:48.230 --> 00:05:50.069 really highlights... it's the idea that limitations 00:05:50.069 --> 00:05:53.129 often breed the best creativity. You don't always 00:05:53.129 --> 00:05:54.990 need the most expensive room in the world to 00:05:54.990 --> 00:05:56.889 capture magic. Sometimes you just need a space 00:05:56.889 --> 00:05:59.050 that forces you to focus entirely on the raw 00:05:59.050 --> 00:06:01.329 energy of the performance. And the raw energy 00:06:01.329 --> 00:06:04.290 they captured on Rev It Up is potent. I was looking 00:06:04.290 --> 00:06:07.110 into the genre classifications, and while it's 00:06:07.110 --> 00:06:09.649 technically labeled as funk rock, Harrison himself 00:06:09.649 --> 00:06:11.550 described the song as sounding like an Eddie 00:06:11.550 --> 00:06:13.829 Cochran track. Which is an amazing reference. 00:06:13.949 --> 00:06:16.350 Right. For those listening, Eddie Cochran is 00:06:16.350 --> 00:06:19.709 1950s rockabilly. He's all about that driving, 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:22.529 undeniable, almost rebellious guitar energy. 00:06:22.949 --> 00:06:25.329 Think of songs like Summertime Blues. Yeah, just 00:06:25.329 --> 00:06:27.920 straight ahead power. But how do you take that 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:32.519 raw 50s rock energy and filter it through an 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:35.040 80s funk rock lens while you're standing down 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:37.600 in a bunker? That fusion comes directly from 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:39.860 the people in the room, the primary guitar riff, 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.000 the engine that really drives the song and gives 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:45.579 it that Cochran -esque forward momentum that 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:47.800 wasn't just Harrison sitting alone with a notepad. 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:50.120 How did it happen? It came out of a spontaneous 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.160 jam session with Alex Weir. Okay, who exactly 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.100 is Alex Weir for those who might not know the 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:58.939 deep cuts of 80s funk? Oh, Alex Weir is an incredibly 00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:01.600 accomplished rhythm guitarist. He's best known 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:03.620 for his work with the American funk band the 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:06.660 Brothers Johnson. Yeah. And he also toured extensively 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:09.939 with Talking Heads. So Weir brings this elite... 00:07:10.269 --> 00:07:13.410 highly syncopated funk sensibility to the table. 00:07:13.529 --> 00:07:15.490 Oh, I see. So you have, we're locking in with 00:07:15.490 --> 00:07:18.029 Harrison, trading ideas back and forth, and they 00:07:18.029 --> 00:07:19.629 just start building out these riffs together, 00:07:19.750 --> 00:07:22.290 finding that perfect pocket between rock power 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:24.850 and funk groove. So who else did he bring down 00:07:24.850 --> 00:07:27.089 into this bunker? Was it just local Milwaukee 00:07:27.089 --> 00:07:30.449 guys or did he fly in heavy hitters? Oh, he brought 00:07:30.449 --> 00:07:34.670 in a staggering roster. It is a genuine all -star 00:07:34.670 --> 00:07:37.949 lineup of session musicians and absolute legends. 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:40.870 Really? Like who? Well, you've got Ernie Brooks 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:42.790 and John Seeger co -writing the track with Harrison. 00:07:43.029 --> 00:07:45.110 Okay. You've got Chris Spedding laying down the 00:07:45.110 --> 00:07:47.829 bass. Arlene Holmes is providing vocals. And 00:07:47.829 --> 00:07:50.290 then just casually playing keyboards, you have 00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:54.060 the absolute legend, Bernie Worrell. Bernie Worrell, 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:57.399 the mastermind behind the Parliament Funkadelic 00:07:57.399 --> 00:07:59.379 sound. Exactly. Bernie Worrell is one of the 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:01.399 most important figures in the history of funk 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.560 music. Absolutely. His use of the Minimoog synthesizer 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.699 basically defined the P -Funk sound. He also 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:09.720 played heavily with Talking Heads, which is the 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:11.879 direct connection here. That makes sense. But 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.720 just picture this absurdly talented collective 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.420 of funk and rock heavyweights, guys who are used 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:20.240 to playing stadiums and massive theaters, all 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:22.920 jammed into a Wisconsin bomb shelter. laying 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:26.540 down this complex, highly textured groove. It's 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:29.160 a phenomenal visual. Just the sheer volume of 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:31.259 talent in that tiny concrete room. It's incredible. 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:33.860 But from what I understand, after they build 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:36.519 this incredibly complex, tight, collaborative 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:39.899 funk rock instrumental, Harrison takes the lyrics 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:41.950 in a completely different direction. He really 00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:44.509 does. Because he doesn't go esoteric or abstract, 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:47.309 which he easily could have done given his avant 00:08:47.309 --> 00:08:50.049 -garde background with talking heads. No, he 00:08:50.049 --> 00:08:51.990 doesn't do that at all. When it comes time to 00:08:51.990 --> 00:08:54.269 write the words, he leans into the most familiar, 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:57.710 classic, almost cliche Americana topic imaginable. 00:08:58.049 --> 00:09:00.309 The lyrics are essentially just about a boy and 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:02.330 a girl driving in a car. It is the most straight 00:09:02.330 --> 00:09:04.750 down the middle rock and roll trope you can find. 00:09:05.110 --> 00:09:08.649 It's Chuck Berry. It's Bruce Springsteen. Rev 00:09:08.649 --> 00:09:12.950 it up. A fast car and a girl. It's so intentionally 00:09:12.950 --> 00:09:15.370 simple. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:09:15.570 --> 00:09:18.129 this is a masterclass in pop songwriting psychology. 00:09:18.570 --> 00:09:21.809 How so? Pairing a highly complex, fiercely collaborative 00:09:21.809 --> 00:09:24.710 funk groove with a lyrical concept that is universally 00:09:24.710 --> 00:09:27.789 understood and instantly accessible is a proven 00:09:27.789 --> 00:09:29.750 recipe for a hit. Oh, that makes total sense. 00:09:30.009 --> 00:09:33.049 Right. If the musical bed is challenging, highly 00:09:33.049 --> 00:09:35.970 textured, and rhythmically dense, giving the 00:09:35.970 --> 00:09:38.549 listener a simple, relatable, lyrical anchor 00:09:38.549 --> 00:09:41.129 allows them to latch on to the song immediately. 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:43.649 You don't want to make the listener work too 00:09:43.649 --> 00:09:45.370 hard on both fronts. Yeah, you don't want to 00:09:45.370 --> 00:09:47.730 exhaust them. Exactly. The groove makes their 00:09:47.730 --> 00:09:50.090 body move, but the lyrics make it easy for their 00:09:50.090 --> 00:09:52.330 brain to process and remember. Here's where it 00:09:52.330 --> 00:09:54.600 gets really interesting. Because if you think 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:56.700 a boy and a girl in a car is a straightforward 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:59.179 visual, wait until we talk about how they actually 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:01.820 promoted this thing. Oh boy. The music video 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:05.299 for Rev It Up is a piece of late 80s surrealism. 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:08.000 It was directed by Harrison himself, produced 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.379 by Bell One Productions, and filmed in New York. 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:13.529 Yeah. But they didn't film a cool couple driving 00:10:13.529 --> 00:10:17.509 a vintage Mustang down the highway. Oh, no. The 00:10:17.509 --> 00:10:20.509 video features actual babies hanging out at a 00:10:20.509 --> 00:10:22.710 gritty biker bar riding around on big wheels. 00:10:22.889 --> 00:10:25.990 It is spectacularly absurd. Let me just ask you, 00:10:26.009 --> 00:10:28.490 as someone who studies this era, was that some 00:10:28.490 --> 00:10:31.809 deep avant -garde artistic statement? Or were 00:10:31.809 --> 00:10:33.690 they just trying to make something weird enough 00:10:33.690 --> 00:10:35.610 to cut for the noise and get MTV's attention? 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:38.450 It's a bit of both, but mostly it's a reaction 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:41.730 to the era. you know the late 1980s was the absolute 00:10:41.730 --> 00:10:45.980 peak of the mtv generation and Rock videos at 00:10:45.980 --> 00:10:48.919 the time were incredibly self -serious. You had 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.480 hair metal bands with giant pyrotechnics, wind 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.179 machines, and lots of macho posturing. A lot 00:10:54.179 --> 00:10:57.100 of brooding into the camera. Exactly. So by putting 00:10:57.100 --> 00:11:00.519 toddlers in leather jackets at a dive bar, Harrison 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:03.379 is completely undercutting the seriousness of 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:06.320 that rock star posturing. It highlights a real 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:09.139 sense of playfulness and irreverence. He's basically 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.259 saying, hey, we made this incredible groove, 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:13.320 but we don't take ourselves too seriously. It's 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:15.190 brilliant and it's weird. Yeah. And speaking 00:11:15.190 --> 00:11:17.610 of late 80s, we have to talk about how this music 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:21.070 was physically released to the public. Yes. 1988 00:11:21.070 --> 00:11:24.590 was such a chaotic, wildly transitional time 00:11:24.590 --> 00:11:27.370 for physical media. Mm hmm. Record labels were 00:11:27.370 --> 00:11:29.049 essentially throwing everything at the wall to 00:11:29.049 --> 00:11:31.490 see what consumers actually wanted to buy. That's 00:11:31.490 --> 00:11:33.870 exactly right. The industry was in total flux. 00:11:34.309 --> 00:11:36.750 Vinyl was still dominant, but the compact disc 00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:39.090 was rapidly gaining ground and cassettes were 00:11:39.090 --> 00:11:41.570 everywhere. So Rev It Up wasn't just released 00:11:41.570 --> 00:11:44.210 as a standard seven -inch record. Oh, no. The 00:11:44.210 --> 00:11:46.629 release history across different formats is extensive 00:11:46.629 --> 00:11:49.809 and, frankly, a collector's dream. Walk us through 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:51.929 what people were actually buying when they went 00:11:51.929 --> 00:11:54.070 to the record store to get this single. In the 00:11:54.070 --> 00:12:04.139 U .S., it started with a standard set. Why was 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:06.399 the 12 -inch vinyl so important for a track like 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:09.080 this? The 12 -inch single was crucial in the 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:12.240 80s, especially for dance, funk, and club music. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:15.100 Because the disc is physically larger but still 00:12:15.100 --> 00:12:17.919 only holds one or two songs per side, the grooves 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.299 cut into the vinyl can be much wider and spaced 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:22.200 further apart. Which means what for the sound? 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.899 Wider grooves mean you can press the music much 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:27.299 louder. And specifically, you can capture much 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:29.679 deeper, heavier bass frequencies without the 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:31.740 needle literally jumping out of the groove. Oh, 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:34.659 wow. Yeah, so for a funk track with guys like 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:37.059 Bernie Worrell and Chris Spedding laying down 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.940 the low end, the 12 -inch format allowed club 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:42.950 DJs to literally shake the... walls in a way 00:12:42.950 --> 00:12:46.210 a smaller seven inch record just couldn't do 00:12:46.210 --> 00:12:48.490 that makes perfect sense they also released it 00:12:48.490 --> 00:12:51.870 on the relatively new standard compact disc and 00:12:51.870 --> 00:12:55.149 this is my personal favorite detail the european 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:58.330 cd video oh yes can you please explain what on 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:01.789 earth the cd video was the cd video or cdv is 00:13:01.789 --> 00:13:04.009 one of the great failed experiments of physical 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:06.240 media For those listening who might not remember 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.620 them or were born well after their brief lifespan, 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.740 a CD video was a disc that looked exactly like 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:14.659 a standard gold -tinted audio CD. Same size and 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:16.399 everything. Same size. You could put it in a 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:19.200 normal CD player and it would play about 20 minutes 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:21.919 of standard audio, but it also held exactly one 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.059 analog music video. But you couldn't watch it 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:25.960 on a CD player. Right. To actually watch the 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:28.419 video part, you needed a specific, very expensive 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:30.820 laser disc player. It was a completely transient, 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.759 confusing format that tried to bridge the gap 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.259 between... audio and home video, but Rev It Up 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:38.320 was immortalized on it for the European market. 00:13:38.830 --> 00:13:41.409 We also cannot skip over the mixes themselves, 00:13:41.789 --> 00:13:44.950 because I am completely geeking out over the 00:13:44.950 --> 00:13:47.190 names of the B -sides and the remixes included 00:13:47.190 --> 00:13:49.850 across these different vinyl and CD formats. 00:13:50.350 --> 00:13:53.830 The Art of the Remix title was at its absolute 00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:56.470 peak right here. Oh, the 1980s was the golden 00:13:56.470 --> 00:13:59.450 age of the extended mix and the dub. It wasn't 00:13:59.450 --> 00:14:01.289 just about making the song longer, it was about 00:14:01.289 --> 00:14:04.490 totally deconstructing it. Exactly. On the B 00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:06.610 -side of some releases... you have a track called 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:09.370 Bobby, but specifically the aboriginal mix that 00:14:09.370 --> 00:14:11.870 runs almost seven minutes long. Yeah. And on 00:14:11.870 --> 00:14:14.690 the 12 -inch and European maxi CD, you get the 00:14:14.690 --> 00:14:17.649 teller and back mix of Rev It Up. Which is just 00:14:17.649 --> 00:14:20.590 a fantastic, terrible pun. So good. And then, 00:14:20.590 --> 00:14:22.909 paying direct homage to their subterranean recording 00:14:22.909 --> 00:14:26.090 roots, there is a mix titled Bad Bruce's Wisconsin 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:28.850 Dub. Now, a dub in this context is really interesting. 00:14:29.419 --> 00:14:31.740 Taking cues from Jamaican reggae and dancehall, 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:34.620 an 80s dub mix usually meant stripping away most 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:36.960 of the lead vocals, isolating that drum and bass 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.139 rhythm section, and heavily manipulating the 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:41.820 track with echo, reverb, and delay effects. So 00:14:41.820 --> 00:14:44.500 Bad Bruce's Wisconsin dub would have been this 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:47.720 spacious, trippy, rhythm -heavy version of the 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:50.139 song, which is incredibly ironic given it was 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:52.080 actually recorded in a tight, claustrophobic 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:54.120 bunker. You just don't see naming conventions 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:56.320 like that anymore. Yeah. It gives the whole physical 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.009 package so much texture. and geographical personality 00:15:00.009 --> 00:15:02.289 before you even put the needle on the record. 00:15:02.409 --> 00:15:04.830 Definitely. But despite the Wisconsin dubs and 00:15:04.830 --> 00:15:07.450 the underground origins, the appeal of Revin' 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:10.629 Up was undeniably global. It didn't just stay 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:13.710 a local curiosity. Not at all. Let's trace how 00:15:13.710 --> 00:15:16.370 far from those origins the song actually traveled 00:15:16.370 --> 00:15:18.370 because the chart performance narrative is a 00:15:18.370 --> 00:15:20.269 wild ride. Break it down for us. Where does it 00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:22.389 start? It starts in the United States. The single 00:15:22.389 --> 00:15:26.220 dropped in January 1988. by early february it 00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:29.080 debuted at number 35 on the u .s billboard album 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:32.080 rock tracks chart okay this specific chart tracked 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:34.679 airplay on mainstream rock radio stations across 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:37.320 the country and the song didn't just flash and 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:40.519 fade it was a slow steady burn it climbed the 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:43.500 chart for nine weeks until april eventually hitting 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:46.399 its peak at number seven a top ten hit on u .s 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:49.549 rock radio was huge It is. And it stayed on the 00:15:49.549 --> 00:15:53.090 charts top 50 for a staggering 16 weeks, eventually 00:15:53.090 --> 00:15:55.850 landing at number 31 on the year end rock chart. 00:15:56.190 --> 00:15:59.090 That shows serious longevity. It means people 00:15:59.090 --> 00:16:01.570 were continually requesting it and DJs genuinely 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:03.590 liked playing it. But it didn't stop at the U 00:16:03.590 --> 00:16:05.850 .S. borders. How did it do internationally? This 00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:08.730 is where it gets crazy. The song jumps the ocean 00:16:08.730 --> 00:16:12.590 and explodes in Oceania. In Australia, it debuted 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:14.950 on the charts in March and climbed all the way 00:16:14.950 --> 00:16:17.840 to number three by May. Number three. Yeah. And 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:19.659 over in New Zealand, it was a massive smash, 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:22.419 peaking at number six on the R -A -N -Z singles 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:25.379 chart, spending 15 weeks charting and finishing 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:27.980 at number 40 on their year -end list. Think about 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:30.740 how wild that is. A track cooked up underground 00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:33.379 in the American Midwest somehow captures the 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:36.460 exact sonic frequency needed to make people dance 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:38.620 and buy records in Australia and New Zealand. 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:40.779 It's mind -blowing. And from what I read, it 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:43.679 kept traveling even further. It did. It crossed 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:46.159 into Europe, becoming Harrison's only charting 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:48.519 solo single in both the UK, where it hit number 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:51.200 90, and West Germany, where it reached number 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:53.919 45. And eventually it reached the African continent, 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:56.820 peaking at number 14 on the Springbok radio chart 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:59.740 in South Africa and holding a top 20 spot there 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:02.379 for three weeks. So what does this all mean? 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:04.700 Yeah. When you look at all these data points 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:07.640 together, from a U .S. rock radio staple to a 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:10.299 top three hit in Australia, from West Germany 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:12.910 to South Africa. Yeah. You have to step back 00:17:12.910 --> 00:17:16.569 and marvel at the journey. You really do. A track 00:17:16.569 --> 00:17:18.750 that was literally conceived because a guy wanted 00:17:18.750 --> 00:17:21.349 to go home to Wisconsin to help his mom recorded 00:17:21.349 --> 00:17:24.230 with old friends in a concrete bunker somehow 00:17:24.230 --> 00:17:27.569 transcended all of that. It completely bypassed 00:17:27.569 --> 00:17:30.190 the typical, heavily manufactured corporate music 00:17:30.190 --> 00:17:32.710 machinery and just resonated purely on the strength 00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:35.109 of its groove. It's a beautiful synthesis of 00:17:35.109 --> 00:17:37.450 so many disparate elements. You have a familial 00:17:37.450 --> 00:17:40.190 obligation leading to geographical isolation. 00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:42.869 You have that isolation leading to a reunion 00:17:42.869 --> 00:17:45.710 with a childhood acquaintance. You have the acoustic 00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:48.650 anomaly of a Cold War barm shelter. You have 00:17:48.650 --> 00:17:51.750 the collision of elite funk musicians in a jam 00:17:51.750 --> 00:17:54.069 session. Don't forget the babies. Right. You 00:17:54.069 --> 00:17:56.390 throw in some toddlers. on big wheels for MTV, 00:17:56.849 --> 00:18:00.009 press it onto transient formats like the CD video, 00:18:00.250 --> 00:18:03.289 and somehow the alchemy of all those limitations 00:18:03.289 --> 00:18:06.750 and weird choices creates an international hit 00:18:06.750 --> 00:18:09.769 that dominates global charts for months. It really 00:18:09.769 --> 00:18:11.549 is alchemy. It's lightning in a bottle. This 00:18:11.549 --> 00:18:13.490 raises an important question. For you listening 00:18:13.490 --> 00:18:15.250 right now, we've spent this whole time talking 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:18.069 about how isolation, physical constraints, and 00:18:18.069 --> 00:18:20.430 the literal concrete walls of a bunker shape 00:18:20.430 --> 00:18:23.769 this record. But in today's modern era of cloud 00:18:23.769 --> 00:18:26.589 -based music production where artists can collaborate 00:18:26.589 --> 00:18:29.430 instantly from sleek, perfectly tuned bedrooms 00:18:29.430 --> 00:18:31.809 across the globe without ever actually meeting 00:18:31.809 --> 00:18:34.410 in the same room, are we losing something? Oh, 00:18:34.430 --> 00:18:36.529 that's a great point. Are we actually losing 00:18:36.529 --> 00:18:39.650 the weird, irreplaceable magic of physical limitations? 00:18:40.130 --> 00:18:42.529 When you have infinite tracks, infinite digital 00:18:42.529 --> 00:18:45.650 instruments, and no geographical barriers, you 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:48.150 don't have to adapt to a harsh concrete wall 00:18:48.150 --> 00:18:51.109 or rely on a spontaneous jam with whoever happens 00:18:51.109 --> 00:18:54.029 to be in town. Next time you hear a perfectly 00:18:54.029 --> 00:18:57.390 polished, mathematically flawless, modern pop 00:18:57.390 --> 00:18:59.809 track, you have to wonder if it might have been 00:18:59.809 --> 00:19:01.670 just a little bit better if they were forced 00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:04.450 to record it underground. That is exactly the 00:19:04.450 --> 00:19:07.069 kind of question we love to leave you with. Constraint 00:19:07.069 --> 00:19:09.190 breeds creativity, and perfection can sometimes 00:19:09.190 --> 00:19:12.130 be the enemy of groove. Thank you so much for 00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:14.509 joining us on this deep dive. Keep asking questions, 00:19:14.589 --> 00:19:16.250 keep looking for the strange variables in your 00:19:16.250 --> 00:19:18.009 own life, and always look for the surprising 00:19:18.009 --> 00:19:20.109 stories hidden in the liner notes. We will catch 00:19:20.109 --> 00:19:20.569 you next time.