Episode 69: Will Hodgkinson on singalong pop in 70s Britain

Explicit content warning

10/22/22 • 33 min

Slightly different episode for you today pop fans. Will Hodgkinson, if you’re not already aware, is the Chief rock and pop critic for The Times newspaper. He’s written about music for The Guardian, Mojo and Vogue, and he has been, for as long as I’ve known, one of the smartest voices on rock ‘n’ roll around. And he’s just written a new book, called In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop In 70s Britain – out now on the ever awesome Nine Eight books - which is a serious look at a subset of hugely popular music, that has never really been taken very seriously at all. Donny Osmond! Chicory Tip! Tina Charles! It’s a fun episode this. Get it on. Bang a gong. Etc etc.
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Twitter - @jamesjammcmahon
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Previous Episode

Episode 68: Dave Pirner, Soul Asylum

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This episode is a conversation with Dave Pirner, from Soul Asylum, about hanging out with Bill Clinton, the Minneapolis music scene and punk beginnings, mental illness, the tragic death of bassist and founding member Karl Mueller, unlikely collaborations with histrionic Dutch metallers Within Temptation, and, how the video for the band’s breakthrough hit, 1993’s 'Runaway Train', helped reunite missing kids with frantic parents. There's probably more in there too. It was a thrill doing this one. I really, really loved this band growing up.
Soul Asylum hit the uk next month. I’ll be there. You should be there. Let’s all be there. Okay, that’s a plan. Enjoy the episode!
Watch this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZMTdCQPNA&t=6s

Twitter - @jamesjammcmahon
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Next Episode

Episode 70: Ariel Pink

Before January 6th, 2021, and the Capitol attack, insurrection, riots, or whatever you want to call it, Ariel Pink was a critically adored indie rock musician, who, in my humble opinion, made some of the most interesting records of the modern era.
Afterwards? Not so much. He wasn’t actually part of the riots, but that doesn’t matter in a world where truth is at a premium, and in the year and then some that has followed, he’s lost his record label, his fanbase, and to all extents and purposes his career. I don’t share the same politics as Ariel – not on party lines, anyway – and I don’t agree with everything he says, but I do believe in his right to say it, to think it, and to have a career that isn’t blighted by mobs and misinformation.
I first reached out to Ariel early last year, to see if he’d speak to me for my Shame project – episodes from which you can hear if you scroll back on the feed to this podcast. He wasn’t interested. But then, after hearing him talk of Bridget Phetasy’s ever interesting Walk-Ins Welcome podcast, I tried again, and finally we connected to talk about... well, all sorts of things. Trump, the Clintons, Ukraine, Kanye West, cancel culture, and what his first Hotmail address was.
This is an interesting if sometimes batshit conversation, and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed having it.
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