October 13, 2024 • 55 mins
Stage monsters, diva superspies and nicking your granny's apples! It's the end of Chat out of Hell series two!
The questions everyone wants to know this time:
- Has Jim Steinman ever actually been on a motorbike?
- Did the Shadow's catchphrase warrant being awkwardly shoehorned into a Steinman classic?
Who is the bigger villain, Meat Loaf's stage persona or the real Jim Steinman?
PLUS Sam tests out a new game in the quiz slot and realises that not everyone remembers the electronic dancehall smash hits of the 80s as well as him.
Chat out of Hell WILL RETURN on December 2nd. Be there or don't. Up to you.
Keep your comments, reviews and arguments flying in to chatoutofhell@gmail.com, find us on Facebook or Instagram by searching Chat out of Hell and don't forget to use the hashtag #dearA1saucepleasesendsomeofyourA1saucetosamfromthereallygoodpodcastchatoutofhell or the much shorter one #pleasegiveemmaamichaelbaybudget
Chat out of Hell is a is a review podcast: all music extracts are used for review/illustrative purposes. To hear the songs in full please buy them from your local record shop or streaming platform. Don't do a piracy.
Music extracts on this episode:
Bad for Good by Jim Steinman from the album Bad for Good (1981)
Bad for Good by Meat Loaf from the album Bat out of Hell 3: The Monster is Loose (2006)
Original Sin (the Natives are Restless) by Pandora's Box from the album Original Sin (1989)
Original Sin by Meat Loaf from the album Welcome to the Neighbourhood (1995)
Original Sin by Taylor Dayne from the album The Shadow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1995)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sam (00:00):
What is this?
Emma (00:01):
This is Chat Out of Hell, the only fortnightly podcast
dedicated to Meat Loaf and JimSteinman.
Sam (00:08):
Who is Meat Loaf?
Emma (00:09):
Meat Loaf is a man who asked his first wife to marry
him only a week after meetingher with the words,"If you won't
agree to marry me, I'm going tocut my beating heart out with a
carving knife and throw it inthe snow".
Who's Jim Steinman?
Sam (00:26):
Sorry, we're making a podcast about about
Emma (00:28):
that man.
That man.
That man.
Christ.
She said yes.
Sam (00:32):
Jim Steinman is an American composer whose songs were
described as"unnecessarily long"by Todd Rundgren.
Producer of the songs.
Emma (00:40):
The producer of the songs.
The
Sam (00:43):
of the very same songs.
Emma (00:45):
Who are we?
Sam (00:46):
Well, Crossland.
I'm Sam Wilkinson and togetherwe're looking forward to not
having to listen to any moreMeat Loaf for a while because
this is the last episode in thisseries.
Emma (00:56):
Aw, but also, yay.
Sam (01:00):
to Chat out of Hell! Bow now, now, now.
Emma (01:05):
Bink.
Sam (01:08):
What a pair of
Emma (01:10):
Indeed winners.
Sam (01:12):
Hello Emma, you
Emma (01:12):
right?
Yeah.
How are you Sam?
Sam (01:14):
I'm fine.
we've been messing around today.
Emma (01:18):
have Doing other show stuff.
Sam (01:20):
yeah.
We've been doing stuff for ourshow, Mean Business, which is on
at the Nottingham ComedyFestival, 10th of November.
Emma (01:26):
6.
30pm at the Navigation.
Yeah.
Sam (01:29):
Brilliant.
You remembered that, I haven't.
We were filming silly videos,and you, had to film me walking
down the street that I live on,eating cereal out of a bowl
with, with, my bare hands.
And dripping it down my shirt.
So the
Emma (01:45):
So the Neighbourhood Watch have have been peering through
their various windows, and Ithink you've got to leave.
Sam (01:50):
know, you noticed it, but there was a door that opened
during the filming process.
and nobody came out If you arelistening, Neighbours, Eurgh.
Emma (02:00):
Do you want Meat Loaf fact?
Sam (02:02):
Oh, go on then.
Emma (02:03):
I was watching Nevermind the Buzzcocks last night, like
it was the 90s.
they were talking about the mostrequested songs for funerals.
And according to Nevermind theBuzzcocks, I believe it to be
true, so Bat Out of Hell is thenumber one rock song requested
for funerals.
Sam (02:20):
We discussed this, didn't we?
Emma (02:21):
I think we, yeah.
Sam (02:22):
I think it was on youtube comments We found a lot of
people saying play this at my
Emma (02:26):
funeral Yeah.
And
Sam (02:27):
we both agreed it's a bit
Emma (02:29):
much.
It is a bit much.
It's also very long.
Sam (02:32):
well, that's it because the music tends to come at the end
of a funeral in britain.
Emma (02:36):
imagine just hanging around awkwardly
Sam (02:38):
got to sit there for eight minutes.
Yeah.
It's
Emma (02:41):
Bit much.
What about, I'd do anything forlove, that's an even longer God.
God.
Sam (02:45):
What Meat Loaf song do you want at your funeral?
Emma (02:48):
Oh, that's a really tricky question because part of me I've
got an answer.
Have you got one?
What's yours?
Sam (02:52):
one?
What's yours?
45 Seconds of Ecstasy.
I was
Emma (02:56):
I was hoping that you'd go for something really
inappropriate.
Sam (02:58):
Yeah.
It's about 53
Emma (03:00):
seconds.
It's not even, it's alwaysannoyed me that it's not 45
seconds long.
Sam (03:05):
But anyway, we'll talk about that another time.
Have you thought of one?
Emma (03:08):
Fuck it, Paradise by the Dashboard Light.
Oh God.
Long and inappropriate.
Sam (03:13):
Yeah.
Oof.
Emma (03:15):
Listeners, what Meat Loaf song would you have for your
funeral?
Write in and tell us chat out ofhell@gmail.com?
Oh, yeah.
I did a call to action and Iremembered our email address.
Sam (03:26):
This podcast what happens on it is that every episode we
both bring a song eitherperformed by Meat Loaf or
written by Jim Steinman and welisten to it together.
we talk about its history, wetalk about its impact on popular
culture.
Emma (03:43):
If any.
Sam (03:43):
Yeah, it's very rare that there's any any of that.
And then we rate it on ourpatented Meat Loaf and or Jim
Steinman's song rating scales.
And then we go home.
Emma (03:51):
Yeah.
You're already home.
Sam (03:53):
I am already home, yeah, we're doing this one at my
house.
Somebody did message me a coupleof weeks ago saying, yours is
the only podcast that setshomework.
I've not listened to this week'syet because I've not had 15
minutes to listen to both thesongs.
And it is lovely that you allwant to listen along, but please
don't feel obliged.
Emma (04:11):
I don't know.
Barry, mind your other podcast,which sets the participants a
lot of homework.
Sam (04:17):
This is very
Emma (04:18):
This is very on brand for
Sam (04:20):
Yeah, do you know what?
Big fan of homework it turns outEmma, what song have you brought
along today?
Emma (04:26):
I have brought Bad For Good today which appears in two
places in the Steinemology.
Sam (04:32):
Two places?
Emma (04:33):
Two places!
Sam (04:35):
Oh, it's very end of term, this vibe, isn't it?
Emma (04:40):
I have got games.
Sam (04:40):
has let us bring a game in, yes, and we're wearing our own
clothes.
Emma (04:45):
I've got hungry, hungry hippos in my bag.
I've brought in Bad For Goodwhich appears twice in the
Steinman timeline.
Once sung by Jim Steinmanhimself on his own album of the
same title, and once sung byMeat Loaf on Bat Out Of Hell 3.
Because, there was a third BatOut Of Hell.
Sam (05:05):
And there is a reason we've not mentioned it yet.
That's fantastic.
And I have brought Original Sins, which has been performed Meat
Loaf, Taylor Dayne, and JimSteinman's
Emma (05:16):
Steinman's
Sam (05:17):
girl band project Pandora's Box back in 1989.
I've just realised why peoplefeel the need to listen to the
songs that we
Emma (05:27):
So that they understand what we're talking
Sam (05:29):
A, that, but also, I have a catchphrase, and my catchphrase
is So listeners, go away, findthat on YouTube, find it on
Spotify, wherever you get yourmusic from, dictaphone tape.
Listen to
Emma (05:41):
Bad for good.
Sam (05:42):
And we'll see you in a few minutes.
Although you don't have tolisten to it.
That's just my catchphrase.
All right?
And is there a video for thisone?
Emma (05:48):
There is a video for this one and you really really should
watch it because it's batshit.
Sam (05:53):
All right.
We're gonna go watch the batshitvideo.
See you all in a few minutes.
Laptop (05:56):
I know that I'm gonna be like this forever.
I'm never gonna be what Ishould.
And you think that I'll be badfor just a little while.
You think that I'll be bad forjust a little while.
But I know that I'll be bad forgood.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Know that I'll be,
Sam (06:16):
we've just listened to, Bad for Good by Jim Steinman.
And maybe you have too.
Or maybe you got bored halfwaythrough.
Who knows?
Emma (06:25):
If you watch the video, I don't think you got bored.
Sam (06:28):
You got baffled.
Emma (06:30):
Baffled, definitely, but not bored.
Sam (06:32):
Emma, tell us about this song.
Emma (06:33):
This song came from Jim's own album which he released in
1981 Bad For Good.
We've talked about it severaltimes.
This was when Meat Loaf's voicewas too fucked up and he was
busy doing other things.
And so Jim said I'll do itmyself! And do it himself he
did.
Sam (06:50):
If you want a job doing properly, wait till Meat Loaf's
back.
this one of the songs that Jimactually did sing on?
Yes.
Okay, so this isn't,
Emma (06:59):
This is
Sam (07:00):
The singing didn't sound
Emma (07:01):
Rory Dodd.
No, this isn't Rory Dodd, thisis Jim original.
And you can tell when he doeshis special little rock voice.
His ROCK VOICE! That soundsquite a lot like a Muppet.
Sam (07:10):
Or Heather Small from M People.
Ha ha ha!
Emma (07:13):
He wishes.
Sam (07:15):
ha ha! ha! But he also cracks a little bit when he's
hitting the high notes.
Which is, a, it's a shame.
Emma (07:21):
I like the song a lot, it's been stuck in my head for a
bit.
It's fun, it's stupid.
It's all the things you wantfrom a Jim Steinman song.
I think.
It lacks a duet.
But
Sam (07:31):
okay.
It's too long.
Yes.
And that is good.
Yes.
You get your money's My notessay there are four separate bits
where it feels like the song iswinding up.
And then it keeps going.
Emma (07:42):
One of the things that I like about this one, and some of
the other Steinman songs haveit, and I don't think we've
mentioned it too much yet it'sgot a bloody good list.
For the good of some thrills ona long frigid night.
For the good of the fire in yoursoul.
That is definitely a list
Sam (07:55):
Oh, yes, he does do a lot of lists,
Emma (07:57):
list.
We've not touched on the bestlist yet.
I think we might have to do thatnext series.
Okay.
Because that is I Want My MoneyBack.
Sam (08:04):
Oh, that is a wonderful list.
Emma (08:06):
my money back.
Yes.
Which is one of the best lists.
And we often end up belting thatbit out as we're driving past
Meadowhall, I've noticed.
Take not much has been writtenabout it because it wasn't a
single.
It just was album track that forsome reason Jim did a video for,
and I feel like he's done videosfor lots of these.
I wonder if they're following onfrom each other, if there's
Sam (08:28):
there's a narrative across the So there's three
Emma (08:31):
diamond.
I think there's a narrative.
Yes! Do you want to hear whatRolling Stone Magazine had to
say?
Sam (08:36):
Always.
Emma (08:37):
gave quite a lukewarm review of this, and they also
gave a lukewarm review of BatOut of Hell, the original and
they said, Steinman's thin,reedy voice simply cannot carry
the absurd precocity of thelyrics.
You can't argue.
No, it's, it's
Sam (08:55):
true.
But it's it's still good.
Emma (08:57):
Oh, definitely.
Sam (08:58):
Rolling Stone have said, absurd precocity, as though
that's a bad thing.
Yeah.
that's the issue we have withsome reviewers, is that all
reviews say the same thing, butthen at the end some of them
say,"and that's brilliant." andsome of them walk away confused.
We're
Emma (09:14):
The opening lines, the sea is whipping the sky.
The sky is whipping the sea.
That's really evocative.
That really sets a
Sam (09:21):
scene, it's a
Emma (09:21):
it?
It's a big storm.
It is a massive storm.
And you'll never hide away fromme.
Sam (09:26):
Have you found any recurrences of those lines, sea
whipping the sky?
Emma (09:30):
No, but I haven't looked.
Have you found some?
Yes.
Go on.
Sam (09:33):
Jim Steinman wrote a treatment for a film called Bat
Out of Hell 2100.
Of course
Emma (09:40):
Of
Sam (09:40):
he did.
Which was another of hisattempts to make a sci fi
futuristic Peter pan.
Yes.
it features in that as somemystical, magical words that
Peter says to Wendy when he'sabout to take her off to the
magical,
Emma (09:53):
Neverland?
Dystopian
Sam (09:55):
Neverland.
that he lives in.
Emma (09:57):
yeah.
Wow.
He's really been on thisbullshit for a
Sam (10:01):
long time, Yeah, he's got one idea.
yeah.
Emma (10:05):
it, does it ever fully develop?
Mean, maybe, maybe the musical,
Sam (10:10):
Yeah, I was gonna say, we'll find out April, when we go
see the musical.
Sorry listeners, just to givethe standard disclaimer, Maisie
the dog, star of the show, hasonce again fallen asleep on my
lap, so any snoring sounds youcan hear are either her or you.
Emma (10:27):
That's not the only bit that's recycled into other
songs.
Yeah.
Because we've got the Godspeeds.
Ah yes.
Godspeed.
The Godspeeds were used inNowhere
Sam (10:36):
they?
were used in nowhere Fast.
This morning, emma.
I was listening to the Dreamengine.
Dreams.
Dreams.
Emma (10:46):
Engines.
Sam (10:46):
Dream on me, when you're The Dream Engine! The musical
that he wrote in college.
And That phrase is on the veryfirst
Emma (10:58):
song in that musical.
Wow.
Yeah.
Sam (11:01):
Such a lazy bugger.
And he
Emma (11:04):
if you've got an idea, you might as well milk it for all
it's worth.
I certainly did.
Welcome to chat out of hell.
The song's really good.
It's your classic Jim stuff inthat it's just about a post
apocalyptic kind a is.
It's about a bad boy on amotorbike.
motorbike Meat Loaf did say thatthe Bad For Good album was just
(11:25):
a bad copy of the bat out Ofhell Funnily enough.
I have got some quotes from MeatLoaf's,
Sam (11:30):
autobiography Oh, go on then.
Yeah.
About
Emma (11:32):
this.
Meat Loaf says,"At this point,Jim started creating these Bat
and Bruce Springsteen clones.
Songs like Stark Raving Love andBad For Good.
Now, the thing that had reallynettled us in the reviews of Bat
were the unfair comparisons toSpringsteen.
"And what does Jimmy do?
He writes this song, Bad ForGood, which really did sound
(11:55):
like one of Bruce's songs.
I'm going, Jim, man, what areyou doing?
All these idiots are saying wesound like Springsteen, and now
you're trying to sound likehim?"
Sam (12:05):
I don't know my springsteen well enough to
Emma (12:07):
No, neither do i.
Meh.
Because I just think this soundslike continuation of Bat Out of
Hell.
Sam (12:13):
it is sequel to bat out of hell.
It's exactly the it's bad boy ona motorbike.
Emma (12:18):
You think that I'll be bad for just a little while, but I
know that I'll be
Sam (12:21):
bad for
Emma (12:21):
good.
Sam (12:22):
that's not a
Emma (12:23):
real bad boy, is it?
No
Sam (12:25):
bad boy uses the phrase,"a little
Emma (12:28):
while."
Sam (12:29):
that is a bad boy who has stolen some apples from his
grandma's trees..
He's gone scrumping scrumpinfrom his
Emma (12:37):
his own grandma.
He's a bad boy in 1950s tweeBritain.
Sam (12:41):
Yes.
Emma (12:42):
You've been living your life like a girl in a cage and
you whisper when I want you toshout and I wonder why you want
to go on sleeping when there'snothing left to dream about.
Jim does a lot of that when he'stalking about these sort
Sam (12:52):
sort of girls
Emma (12:53):
he's involved with Yeah,
Sam (12:55):
But again, so this is this is Jim's one idea is that there
is the Peter
Emma (13:00):
Pan on a motorbike.
It's the Wendy
Sam (13:02):
and he goes to get a Wendy to be rescued.
Yeah.
Yeah.
which doesn't speak particularlywell, of him that that's his
only version of women.
That's what the women That iswhat
Emma (13:12):
rescued from their boring lives.
That's
Sam (13:15):
right, by me, Jim steinman
Emma (13:18):
And my motorbike.
Sam (13:19):
And my motorbike.
Emma (13:21):
Did Jim ride motorbike?
Sam (13:22):
I was about to ask you the same question, Listeners, I know
a lot of you do know more aboutthe lives of Jim and Meat Loaf
than me.
I'm prepared to bet Emma 10 nowthat Jim Steinman never even
looked at a motorbike.
Emma (13:35):
Alright, I'll take that bet.
bet.
Sam (13:36):
Jim Steinman drove a reliable family car all his
Emma (13:40):
life.
Sam (13:41):
do write in.
If you find those pictures ofhim riding a motorbike, that
will be me paying Emma 10pounds.
Emma (13:45):
And honestly, I could really do with it.
Yeah.
I've got another bit from hisbiography as well.
When Bad For Good was finallyready to be released, the people
over at Epic found out howgenuinely wacky Jim Steinman
was.
"As part As part of the album'spromotion, he demanded that Epic
buy 2000 stereo systems,identical to the one he used
(14:06):
with the exact same speakers andthe same amp and send them out
with the CD for reviewers tolisten to."
Sam (14:12):
shit, I
Emma (14:13):
insisted that this was the only way they can really hear
it.
It would have cost an absolutefortune.
Sam (14:19):
my god, that's amaz I love that.
That is incredible.
He's gone into this knowing theywant Meat Loaf and I'm not Meat
Loaf.
Loaf.
Emma (14:27):
Yeah.
Sam (14:28):
and most people would be on the back foot about that
Emma (14:31):
a bit humble and nice.
Sam (14:33):
But he's gone just gone fuck
Emma (14:35):
you.
Sam (14:36):
This album is amazing but only if you listen to it on in
my stereo.
And comedy reviewers, my jokesare very very funny if you hear
them in my head.
I'm afraid the rest of you
Emma (14:49):
can get bent.
I thought you would enjoy that.
That was, I loved that.
The video, it's on sound stageagain.
I originally thought it was thesame one from Rock and Roll
Dreams, but we've decided itisn't.
So they just built another shitmountain.
Yes.
Yes.
I'd written here, If you'vebuilt a shit mountain for one
video, you might as well get themost out of it.
But they didn't use So breaksinto a woman's bedroom by
(15:13):
throwing a guitar through astained glass window.
What's he up to here?
She manages to sleep throughthat.
that You almost wonder ifJimmy's actually going to be the
main character in this video andinteract with the girl, but no!
No, he doesn't.
Cause as soon as he starts toget in there, cue the dancing
boys.
Sam (15:32):
They are very good dancers.
it's fucking weird., this is a,real rock and roll video.
And they are all
Emma (15:38):
proper
Sam (15:38):
Proper ballet
Emma (15:39):
dancers.
It's Jim back on his theaterschool shit again, because as
hard rock as he wants to be.
It's always back to theatreschool Theatre school! And all
the dancers And again, going to,this is him on the back
Sam (15:55):
Trying to prove himself as an act and say, I don't Meat
Loaf.
It is so ballsy to make a videothat is just a ballet recital.
Yep I've
Emma (16:06):
one of them jumps on the woman's bed and wakes her up.
They then spend most of the restof the video having a dance off
in the bedroom and also on themountain set.
I took a leaf out of your book,Sam.
Oh yeah?
I had a dig into Jim's archive.
Okay.
And he put together an outlinefor this video.
Oh, sweet! I'm not going to readthe whole thing because it goes
on for fucking pages, but I havegot part of it.
(16:28):
So the cast is Jim, Wendy andthe Lost Boys.
Of course is.
course it is.
I'm going to read to you themood and visual style.
majestic, obsessive.
Erotic.
Heroic.
All revved up with no place togo.
Images and movements should seemmore unleashed than created.
(16:52):
A sardonic undertone.
Desperate, sinuous, explosive.
A combination of the musculardensity of rock and roll and the
luxuriant turbulence of opera.
The acoustic world has beendestroyed, everything is
amplified.
Every image and movement shouldseem to be born either directly
(17:14):
before, during or after anecstatic moment of action.
And the specific action is lessimportant than the release it
provides.
Tension and release is acontinuous motive.
Sexually rich, every movementhas sexual echoes and
reverberations.
(17:35):
A world that is endlessly hornyfor wonder, magic and
excitement.
Which we've
Sam (17:40):
definitely heard That's quote that's come up before.
Emma (17:42):
A world where violence is carried out with such powerful
balletic precision and passionas to become beautiful.
And physical beauty is imbuedwith such anarchic childlike
disregard for the limits of theordinary as to become violent.
This world should hyperventilatefrom beginning to end.
(18:05):
Everything is permitted, nothingever is taboo.
And there's always somethingshattered when there is
something breaking through.
These kids are reckless andrestless And lost.
And the
Sam (18:21):
And the shooting script said dancing.
Yes.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
I've been watching a lot ofGarth Marenghi's Darkplace
lately, and there is a line inthat in one of the retrospective
clips, the producer says, thisis a very ambitious script for
the budget we've got, and andwe've got no budget.
(18:48):
That's amazing.
Those dancers do a really goodjob of the job they were given.
But, they can't do what he'sjust asked.
I don't wish to speak ill ofdance as an art form.
But I'm not sure that dance willever be restless and reckless
and lost.
Emma (19:07):
Do you think dance can represent the acoustic world
being destroyed and everythingis now amplified?
Sam (19:12):
Yeah, good luck, all you dancers.
Is
Emma (19:15):
all I can say the
Sam (19:17):
world should hyperventilate from end.
I didn't feel muchhyperventilation on that.
That would have made me a bitpanicky, Yeah, eight minutes of
hyperventilating dancers.
Emma (19:27):
God,
Sam (19:28):
God,
Emma (19:28):
Jim, I love you, but bloody hell.
Ha ha So that's, Jim's version.
There is a Meat Loaf version BatOut of Hell 3, I think we should
Alright.
go away and have a
Sam (19:40):
a listen, Okay,
Emma (19:41):
if you want to.
Okay.
Don't feel you have to.
Sam (19:44):
We're going to play you short clip of it anyway.
me and Emma are going to sitthrough the whole thing.
now.
Laptop (19:49):
And you whisper when I want you to shout, And I'll
never know why you wanna go onsleepin when there's nothin left
to dream about.
But you'd better remember ifit's somethin I want, then it's
somethin I want.
I wasn't built for comfort, Iwas built for speed.
(20:10):
If it's something I want, thenit's something I need.
I wasn't built for
Emma (20:16):
we've just listened to Bad for Good on Meat Loaf's Bat out
of Hell Three album.
Sam do you know who wasresponsible for that guitar?
Sam (20:25):
Oh, hello.
it Emma?
Emma (20:27):
That was Brian May.
Fuck off! Yep, Brian May.
Ooh! Because it sounds like
Sam (20:32):
May! It's trademarked Brian May right at the end there,
Emma (20:34):
yeah!
Sam (20:34):
yeah.
Well done, brian.
Shame you couldn't have playedon a better song then, but never
mind..
Emma (20:41):
You don't like this do you?
Sam (20:42):
don't dislike it, I just jim's version is much, much
better.
In almost all aspects.
timing of it.
So this is Bats Out of Hell 3was 2006??
Emma (20:52):
Six, I think, yeah.
Sam (20:54):
We've
Emma (20:55):
We've done our homework.
Yeah, it was 2006.
Sam (20:57):
And we're definitely in era of Meat Loaf's voice falling off
a cliff.
Emma (21:00):
Yeah, this is the last album that I think it really
properly sounds like old MeatLoaf.
I think if this had beenrecorded for Bat Out of Hell 2,
it would have been fucking TheGuardian gave it four stars,
which was a surprise.
but the review I'm going to readfor you now is from
slantmagazine.
com who gave it
Sam (21:18):
1.
5 stars.
Oh, can we just talk about thepoint 5 star system?
Do it out of 10.
If you're gonna give 0.
5s, just shift it to an out of10 system, all right.
Fucking sick of it.
it Sorry, Carry on.
Emma (21:33):
Good.
I'm glad that out.
So yeah, they gave it a 1.
5 star review.
Yep.
But they did have this to sayBad for Good is truly worthy of
the Bat Out of Hell moniker.
Written by Steinman in 1981 forthe original follow up to bat 1,
if we're calling it that.
it that that never was.
This song is a welcome flashbackto the old days with jaunty
(21:53):
piano and elaborate vocalarrangements that recalls
classics like Paradise by theDashboard Light.
Brian May adds guitar and forseven and a half minutes it
feels like 1977 again.
Sam (22:05):
What do you think?
think
Emma (22:06):
I like it.
But it's never gonna be Aclassic, I don't think.
Sam (22:13):
It feels like 1970s.
It doesn't feel like 77 again.
Maybe it does feel like he'strying to recall 1977 in a way
that just doesn't work in 2006.
Perhaps that's my issue with it.
Emma (22:25):
This was released after Couldn't Have Said It Better,
which was a real departure fromthe classic bat out of hell
sound, I we liked
Sam (22:32):
that one.
Emma (22:32):
This is an attempt to hark back to previous triumphs.
Yeah.
And it just doesn't quite cutit.
Yeah.
There's a lot to be said forquitting while you're ahead.
Would you like to hear what theinternet says
Sam (22:42):
I'd love to hear what the people of the internet say.
They are my thought leaders inall things.
Emma (22:48):
Jim's version.
Paul Kearns8838 has writtenunder the video, Anyone know why
he always wore gloves?
Also, is it just me, or are allhis vids cuckold, where he
watches the hot chick with studsfrom afar?
Sam (23:08):
It's not just you.
Emma (23:12):
Do you have more to say on that later?
Sam (23:14):
Not really, no..
he does like to stare at women.
Emma (23:17):
He likes to watch.
Christy Rollins, 983, said, Hmm.
Bad for good, yeah.
Good song.
Meat Loaf can make me bad forgood.
Each to their own.
BeauTy is in the eye of thebeholder.
Yes.
But that was about all I
Sam (23:35):
Yeah.
It's not a lot The
Emma (23:37):
people of the internet have been quiet lately.
Sam (23:39):
I think it's probably time to rate this song, Emma.
This is a Jim Steinman song.
So we will be using our patentedOrganic, grade a Jim Steinman
song rating scale which runsfrom Jim Steinman at the top Jim
Fineman in the middle to JimDeclineman for for his rubbish
(24:00):
songs.
So we can agree this isn't a JimDeclineman.
Emma (24:03):
Oh, it's definitely not a Jim Declineman.
Sam (24:05):
What do you think?
Emma (24:07):
It's got elements of a classic.
It's got the list.
It's got Jim being ridiculous.
Mm hmm.
Is it just a jim finder?
Fineman?
What do you think?
Sam (24:18):
It's a very fun song, but neither of the recordings that
we have get it quite right.
I think it needed to be, on BatOut of Hell 2, with Jim at his
producing peak and Meat Loaf atperforming peak.
To hit jim Steinman so I thinkthis is a
Emma (24:33):
Fineman Jim
Sam (24:35):
Fineman
Emma (24:36):
It's alright It's Jim Fineman It's alright isn't it?
Yeah It's Jim fineman
Sam (24:41):
emma, that was your song, Bad For Good, and now we're
going to listen to my choice,which is Original sin.
Listeners, as I said, it's beenperformed three times.
The pandora's Box one, we'regonna listen to it right now.
That's the one you have tolisten to the least, to be
honest.
If you only listen to one, Ithink Taylor Dayne, Emma's
probably going to say Meat loaf.
Yeah, we'll discuss that in aminute.
(25:03):
But go away, listen to anyversion of that you like.
Find it on YouTube, Spotify,whatever else.
We're gonna listen to Pandora'sBox now, and we'll see you all
very soon.
Laptop (25:11):
It's not enough to make the nightmares go away.
It's not enough to make thetears run dry.
It's not enough to live a littlebetter every day.
Everything that they taught uswas nothing but lies.
Everything that they bought uswas nothing but pride.
(25:35):
It'll all be over now.
All I
Sam (25:38):
so we've just listened to the pandora's Box version of
Original sin.
Emma (25:42):
Emma, what do we think of that?
Ooh, it's dramatic,
Sam (25:46):
dramatic AF.
shall we go straight into areview?
this is from Sounds Magazine,who called this track,
"Outrageously epic and pompous.
Which is exactly what you want.
It's exactly what I want, yeah.
So this is the
Emma (25:59):
title
Sam (26:00):
track of album.
It's dead good, innit?
it's dead good, It's epic, it'shuge.
On the album press kit, there'sa comment here.
"On the title track, Steinmanrecorded 35 motorbikes and made
a chord out of them.
the result, according toSteinman,'the greatest sound I'd
ever heard.' unfortunatelyblowing the studio console up."
Emma (26:22):
Oh, why?
Why is he like this!
Sam (26:26):
If, I, here's the thing.
If ever a track deserves somebullshit around it, it's this
one, right?
The band Pandora's Box is theone that he built this Weird
mythology about made up storiesabout how one of the members was
thrown out of a nunnery forsomething so weird that I can't
even tell you what it is.
Emma (26:46):
Which I feel lacks imagination Um,
Sam (26:50):
lyrically, I like it.
there's not a lot to make funof, except for the line, You can
fly and never land and neverneed to sleep.
is describing an albatross.
Emma (26:59):
Oh, bravo.
You're welcome.
Sam (27:05):
Thank you.
Yeah, villainous and it's
Emma (27:08):
it should have been a theme to a Bond Film..
Sam (27:11):
there you go.
You just stole my closingremarks.
Emma (27:13):
Oh, Oh, sorry.
Sam (27:13):
It's quite alright.
tHis is the Bond theme that hewanted to produce, I think.
But yeah, it's, oh, it's a gotoomph.
Emma (27:21):
It's banger.
Pandora's Box we have visitedbefore because they had the
incredibly erotic video, didn'tthey?
Sam (27:26):
We've dipped gently into them for their video for It's
All Coming Back to Me Now, whichas you say was described as"a
porno movie" by one managersinvolved.
And that was filth.
I'm kind of glad this didn't geta a video because that would
Emma (27:42):
Ooh, hello.
Maybe that's why.
Maybe there is a secret videosomewhere.
Is
Sam (27:47):
Is that what she was thrown out of the nunnery for?
One of the best songs on thealbum,
Emma (27:53):
Yeah, definitely.
Sam (27:54):
The Pandora's box album some of it is brilliant, some of
it is real middle of the roadstuff.
And there's a couple of steinmanmonologues on there which are
Emma (28:02):
are utterly insane, but I feel like the production on this
and some of the noises that youhear throughout the song
Sam (28:08):
is very 80s.
Yeah, what, the noise of 35motorbikes made into a
Emma (28:12):
chord, ever?
It's just, it's very much of itstime.
when I, discovered Pandora's Boxwhile researching bits and
pieces about, this podcast.
at first I was delighted thatI'd found another little
weirdness.
and I listened to it and it wasinteresting hearing songs that
I'd only heard Meat Loaf singfiltered through a different
(28:32):
steinman project.
Yeah.
that was an initial delight, butI don't feel like they live up
to the potential.
I think this is where weseparate, because I, I'm
starting to come to the opinionthat Steinman works best with
female voices.
maybe just Loaf being a twat, Idon't know.
speaking of Meat Meat
Sam (28:49):
Loaf, shall we move on to Yeah, shall we move on to Meat
So this was on the Welcome tothe Neighbourhood album in 1995.
This is the latest of the threeversions that we're going to
listen to today.
Jim Steinman wasn't involved inrecording or producing this,
it's just something that hecovered on the album.
And here it is for us, andhere's a snippet for the
listeners
Laptop (29:09):
You can dance forever, you got a fire in your feet But
will it ever be enough, you knowthat it'll never be enough You
can fly and never land and neverneed to sleep But will it ever
(29:34):
be enough, you know that it'llnever be enough
Sam (29:38):
so we've just listened to the Meat Loaf Cut there.
It's fair to say we're bothmassive fans, right?
Emma (29:43):
love that.
Sam (29:43):
Fucking great.
it's villainous, and it's mean,and you can picture him stalking
around the stage like thephantom of the Opera.
Emma (29:49):
This is my favourite track from Welcome to the
Neighbourhood.
Sam (29:53):
course it is, because of
Emma (29:54):
Steinman one!
Sam (29:55):
Yeah, but you know
Emma (29:57):
Yeah, but you know that it's one of those albums that
has a soft spot in my heart.
But this one I, I rememberlistening to this as a teenager.
Meat Loaf
Sam (30:06):
Memories.
It's rare that I have an
Emma (30:10):
an idea.
Yeah.
Sam (30:12):
ha.
Emma (30:14):
interesting.
yeah, I used to, listen to thisprime listening time for music
when I was a teenager was thejourney to and from school.
I used to catch a train toschool, so that gave a lot of
time to listen to my discman.
Yeah, the world's leastpractical portable music system.
so this one would be on fairlyheavy rotation in the sort of
(30:35):
early teenage years.
and this song Oh, it spoke to mebecause it was dark and devious
And brooding And I was abrooding teenage.
Is that a a surprise?
surprise Everything that theytaught us was nothing but lies.
What a wanker it was.
Sam (30:54):
I mean, that is very teenage Isn't it?
teenage angst, isn't it?
Everything they bought us wasnothing but bribes.
bribes.
Emma (31:01):
Yeah, and I was, like, a little ball of teen angst for
such a long time.
I'm hoping that it will endsoon.
Sam (31:10):
The conceit of this song
Emma (31:12):
it's
Sam (31:13):
Steinman.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's also something quite standup comedy about it.
He's taking this everyday phraseand interprets it through naive
eyes.
And that's a classic comedytrope.
Emma (31:25):
Yes.
Sam (31:25):
As is the lists, actually.
And I'm starting to wonder ifthat's why we like Steinman,
because he uses the same toolsas us.
And just as successfully!LAUGHTER
Emma (31:38):
Ha ha ha ha ha! Yeah.
I can see that.
I I do like a good list in mystand
Sam (31:45):
I've been looking for an original sin.
Done all the old ones tillthey've all been done in you can
hear that as a stand up routine.
Emma (31:52):
Oh, I've been looking for an original sin.
I have done all the old onestill they've all been done in.
So now I'm going round.
Insert horrific edgelord.
Sam (32:01):
Pushing my dick in X.
Emma (32:03):
Indeed, yes.
Oh, I feel a character comingon.
Sam (32:07):
Emma male comedian.
Emma (32:12):
Here's a list of the things I've put my dick in.
Sam (32:15):
I wanted to talk about this song today because I've been
threatening to do it for a MeatLoaf as Steinman's Monster.
Yeah.
I'll go first of all to somestuff
Emma (32:25):
RL Grey gave us
Sam (32:27):
a couple of weeks ago.
I love it, R.
L.
R.
L.
When Bat Out of Hell 2 came out,Steinman said he wanted to open
every live show with attendantsbringing Meat on stage as some
sort of snarling beast thatwould have to be tamed for the
show to proceed.
That is magnificent.
That is pure Jim Steinman.
You saw the Bat 2 tour, didn'tyou?
Emma (32:45):
I was 10 at the time.
and it might It might not havebeen the original Bat 2 tour.
think I might have seen theEverything Louder tour.
Yeah.
but he was touring so much atpoint.
Sam (32:55):
Yeah, fair enough.
You don't remember him beingwheeled on in a cage.
Emma (32:58):
I remember being a little bit frightened, but don't think
he was wheeled on in a cage.
It would would have been quitetheatrical.
Sam (33:04):
Yes.
RL says Steinman also tried tobloat Meat Loaf up to his late
70s proportions.
As you probably noted, meat losta lot of weight in the mid 80s
or so, but steinman preferredhim enormous.
So during the recordings of Bat2, he would leave jelly
doughnuts around the studio,hoping Meat would not be able to
restrain himself.
himself
Emma (33:22):
Oh, Jim, you're the worst kind of bloke.
Sam (33:25):
He is awful, but I also love that he came up with a
cartoon plan.
Emma (33:30):
Yeah!
Sam (33:32):
picturing trails of donuts leading up to the studio door
and to the microphone.
Yep.
Emma (33:39):
hob.
Lovely, hob, hob, hob.
Sam (33:41):
There's this idea throughout their working
together that Steinman is thebrains and Meat Loaf is the
Emma (33:47):
face.
Sam (33:48):
There's an anecdote of Steinman's that he tells very
well and very entertaininglyabout something quite unpleasant
that happens to Meat Loaf.
He tells it in a few interviewsand I've made a kind of super
cut of the anecdote.
Okay, So Just to clarify at theend of this story, everyone is
fine
Emma (34:04):
Oh god!
Sam (34:05):
Yeah! But also, how Brechtian ha ha! a level
Emma (34:13):
Ha ha ha!
Sam (34:14):
Steinman says,"On the tour for the first album, Meat Loaf
would huge tantrums about,'I'mnot the Frankenstein monster!'
Because people would say that Iwas Dr.
Frankenstein and he was theFrankenstein monster.
He keeps using the phrase theFrankenstein monster and not the
phrase Frankenstein's monster, Ilove that I'm correcting him on
(34:36):
the name of the monster, but notin the normal way.
"I would have to soothe him andsay,'No, no, You're Marlon
Brando and I'm Francis fordCoppola.
the best was in Pittsburgh, Iremember.
It only the third week of thetour, but he was going through
so many identity crises becausehe was really freaked out by the
idea that I might be Dr.
Frankenstein and he was theFrankenstein monster.
(34:56):
I'd staged the show verycarefully and I thought it very
true to him and the music thathe wasn't allowed to speak,
essentially.
"Because when Meat speaks, he'sjust a good old boy from Texas
and the, character he was onstage, to me, was a heroic
mythic figure.
It would kill for him to go,'Hi,y'all!'"Meat Loaf stalks onto
the stage like an animal and itwas thrilling.
But I think it got to him aftera while that he couldn't talk.
(35:17):
So in Pittsburgh he started, allof a sudden I hear,'You
motherfuckers having a goodparty?'"And I thought,'holy
shit, what happened to thatmythic character?' Meat didn't
understand.
He really thinks he's SammyHagar or David Lee Roth.
So the manager went to have atalk with him after the show and
said, Meat, you have to shutup.' And he just went berserk,
screaming,'I'm not aFrankenstein monster! Steinman's
(35:38):
not Dr.
Frankenstein! Now, I do want toclarify, He does the impression
of Meat Loaf in the interview.
This is me doing an impressionof Jim Steinman doing an
impression of Meat Loaf.
Okay?
Emma (35:48):
god!
Sam (35:50):
'I'm not gonna do meat Loaf! I'm Meat Loaf!' He's
trying to convince himself!'I'mMeat Loaf! I'm Meat Loaf!' To
us, it was simply artistic.
It wasn't interesting himsaying, You ready to party
tonight?
It just didn't fit this greatMarvel Comics character.
It's like batman saying,'HeyGotham City, you ready to party?
Hey robin, come on, let'sboogie!' Now I'd like to
(36:11):
clarify, at this point in 1979,the biggest piece of batman
media is the Adam West TV show,every week.
Brilliant.
Batman in popular media is inpopular media is not dark and
grim at this point.
Emma (36:25):
No, He's camp and has a dance.
Sam (36:29):
"Meat Loaf went berserk He threw a chair through the
window, I think.
He broke it, stuff, mirrors.
Then he stalked out of the room.
"I remember we had to go findhim.
I was entranced by Pittsburghbecause it's where night of the
living Dead was filmed.
I was amazed that Night of theLiving Dead turned out to be so
much a documentary aboutPittsburgh, because the people
look like that all the time." Haha! You You arsehole.
(36:51):
"We were in the worst area ofPittsburgh, it was like a toxic
chemical experimentationfactory.
All you saw around you werethese horribly coloured toxic
fumes coming out of, factories?
Or steel mills?
Blue, purple, green, it wasscary.
It was like pure science fictionwhere you expected mutants to
emerge around every corner.
We were in this huge parking lotnext to the motel, which was
(37:13):
totally deserted, fumeseverywhere, and we're like a
search party in the Frankensteinmovie.
We were We all had flashlightsand there's eight of us and
we're going around saying Meat,Meat, Meat, And what I remember
was a nice touch was thisstation wagon pulls up with this
little old couple.
They look like the Grant Woodpainting of America.
That's american Gothic.
(37:34):
Like one of them should have apitchfork.
They pull up and were probablylooking for directions and they
suddenly see eight people withflashlights going, MEAT! MEAT!
MEAT! And speed out of there,having come across this rare
group of cannibals fromPittsburgh.
LAUGHTER I see this figurecrouched down in a hunched
(37:57):
position, basically like arunning back in football.
Meat was a football player, andboy, he was powerful.
And he was set positioned downlike a rhino or an elephant,
something about to charge.
Meanwhile, way on the other sideof the parking lot, there's this
huge truck.
It's one of those enormoustrucks you could get a small
country into.
It had an amazing front thatsomeone spent a lot of time on,
where they did a customisedfront with the special fenders,
(38:19):
and it had a devil's head.
Huge head on the front, and thefenders have been made.
I hope I'm using the right term,but those things, basically, the
breasts.
The huge nipples that stick out.
Emma (38:31):
Okay.
Sam (38:32):
I was with him up until the breasts arrived.
arrived.
They were turned into theseamazingly sharp fangs, so there
are fangs on either sideadevil's head, it is the perfect
truck.
The guy had gone in to getHostess Twinkies, or whatever
these satanic truck drivers eat.
(38:53):
It's just there, idling, andmeat is aimed directly at those
fenders.
I could see, and he goes,'I'mnot a Frankenstein monster!'
grrr, and I realised.
I shouldn't interfere with this,something's coming.
And I just moved aside And hecharged.
And it seemed like a hundredmiles an hour, he went full
force, had to run at least ahundred yards, gathering up
speed, and he's a fast, strongguy, and rammed headfirst into
(39:15):
the truck.
Emma (39:16):
Fuck.
Sam (39:17):
Into the sharp, piercing fender.
I remember the foreheadexploding, blood pouring out
like firecrackers, and all Iremember thinking was, Oh God,
look at the way the red of theblood mixes with the fumes of
green and purple in the devil'shead.
And it was a wonderful image tome.
Blood everywhere, we had the redmixed with the orange, a huge
gap in his head, 17 stitches.
(39:38):
The truck, though, was adisaster.
Blood all over it with thisgreat bend in the spike.
Wow.
That is Jim Steinman telling thestory of his best friend going
through a very dangerous time ofhis life.
Emma (39:55):
life.
Yes.
Oof.
Yeah.
Ever the sympathetic, ever thesympathetic, yeah, wow,
Sam (40:03):
Hey.
Jim's, yeah, Jim is capable ofsaying some very lovely things
about people.
but he also, he seems to viewthem all as just tools.
Emma (40:16):
Jim seems to lack a bit of empathy.
Sam (40:18):
there's a word that we're both dancing around here.
Emma (40:20):
is.
Sam (40:21):
Neither of us are medically qualified to apply it.
Emma (40:23):
But we've both read Jon Ronson's book about it.
it.
right.
Sam (40:27):
right! Yeah.
He is a great storyteller, butwhy are you telling that story?
Emma (40:36):
Why are you telling the story of your friend's mental
breakdown and subsequent violentaccident?
Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle,chuckle
Sam (40:45):
chuckle.
Classic!
Emma (40:46):
Oh, bants!
Sam (40:49):
that's that story.
Continuing in the Monster theme,so the song was
Emma (40:53):
recycled for
Sam (40:54):
Tanz der Vampyre.
Ah,
Emma (40:56):
Ah yes, I've seen mention of that on Jim's site.
Sam (40:59):
I was very excited to, to learn more about this, because,
I immediately read that as Danceof the Vampires because I can
read a little bit of German andthat.
Emma (41:08):
Ooh, get you
Sam (41:09):
yeah, I know.
And then I realised this was astage musical version of the
film the Fearless VampireKillers by Roman Polanski.
Ooh.
And so my theme of uh, stagemonsters has been interrupted by
an actual monster monster in themiddle of it all.
So we'll park that whole thingfor another day.
But the song is sung by thevillain Count von Krolok.
(41:32):
in the english language versionof the, show.
Jim Steinman wrote the music, hedid the lyrics for the English
version by recycling a load ofhis old songs, And his website
calls the show a surrealorgasmic infusion of Stein
music.
Stein music! Finally, we've gotthe term for it! Yeah.
Stein music! Yeah.
(41:53):
Stein music! So yeah, that's theMeat Loaf version
Emma (41:57):
I love it, it's my favourite version of the song.
Sam (41:59):
Yes.
Emma (41:59):
It's booming, it's villainous, it's it's sinister.
I also feel it's suitable forMeat Loaf at this stage.
Exactly,
Sam (42:06):
yes.
Emma (42:07):
it's not a song about being a teenager.
Sam (42:09):
Count von Krolock sings it as an immortal vampire, I've
been evil forever, ha ha ha haha.
And that is exactly what MeatLoaf is in Bat Out of Hell 2
slash Welcome to theNeighbourhood I've been at rock
and roll for 30 years, ha ha haha ha.
It is perfect for him at thattime, I think it's the right
combo and it all works reallywell.
but in a second, listeners, weare going to listen to Taylor
(42:33):
Dayne's version, which was from1994.
And appeared on the soundtrackto the film the Shadow.
Shadow.
starring
Emma (42:42):
Alec Baldwin.
Baldwin.
Sam (42:45):
And I think it's worth a listen.
find it if you want, don't, seeif I care,
Laptop (42:51):
one with a twist that's been in since I've come along.
Now I'm drunk again.
I'm
Sam (43:15):
my notes here say, here we go.
this absolutely whips.
don't argue
Emma (43:20):
can I I argue that
Sam (43:22):
Yeah, you can.
Emma (43:23):
Okay.
So it's good.
I like it, It's perfect for afilm soundtrack, I I think.
But what pisses me off.
Uh huh.
Is the shoehorning of awfullyrics.
Sam (43:38):
The lyric in the original version is,
Emma (43:41):
not enough to make the nightmares go away.
It's not enough to make thetears run dry.
It's not enough to live a littlebetter every day.
Everything that they taught uswas nothing but lies.
Everything that they brought uswas nothing but bribes.
Sam (43:52):
Yeah, and Taylor Dayne, because she's singing to the
Shadow soundtrack.
sings who knows what evil lurksin the hearts of men today?
It's a city of shadow, it's acity of light, it's a city of
secrets, it's a city of pride.
Who knows what evil lurks in thehearts of men is the catchphrase
of the shadow.
Emma (44:12):
Okay.
just It ruins the flow for me.
Sam (44:15):
It is a little bit ham fisted.
But do you know who'sresponsible for that ham fisted
lyric?
lyric?
Is it jim?
Is it Jim?
Emma (44:21):
Yeah, I thought it might be.
Jim did produce this
Sam (44:24):
Larry Flick reviewing for Billboard, stated that Dayne's
over the top vocal style is aperfect match for jim Steinman's
melodramatic kitchen sinkproduction Dayne chews through
an arrangement of grand pianolines, thunderous guitars and
shrill choir chants withimpressive energy.
Don't be surprised if thisbombastic track propels her back
onto the pop charts in a hugeway.
Emma (44:45):
Did It
Sam (44:46):
It got to number 63 in the uK, did not chart in the US.
Good.
I think that's a disgrace.
This is jim Steinman's Bondtheme.
Yeah.
think you're right that thechanged lyrics are a bit
hamfisted and rubbish, but she
Emma (45:04):
really gives
Sam (45:05):
it some oomph that it deserves it this real kind of
Tina Turner vibe.
I genuinely am a bit baffledthat it just disappeared, and I
do wonder if it was thelacklustre film that it's taped
to that sunk it a little bit.
Emma (45:18):
I guess we'll find out when we do Film Club.
Sam (45:20):
We will find out when we do Film Club, yeah.
Emma, Emma, would you like aquiz?
Emma (45:23):
Yes.
Yes, I would because I've notheard anything about Scatman
yet.
Sam (45:27):
Taylor Dayne's biggest hit was 1987's Electronic Dancehall
Smash, Tell It To My Heart.
Okay.
Tell I'm the only one, is thisreally love or just a game?
But how did it fare against ChatOut Of Hell's favourite
Electronic Dancehall Smash,Scatman, Ski Bop Bop Badop Bop,
by Scatman John?
So we're going to play higher orlower.
We're going to twist things up abit.
I'm going yep, so I'm going togo through various charts, I'm
(45:50):
going to tell you how Scatmandid, and I want you to tell me
whether Taylor Dayne did higheror lower for Tell It To My
Heart.
Emma (45:58):
This is tenuous, isn't it?
Sam (45:59):
Listeners, play along at home.
in the UK Singles
Emma (46:01):
a Meat Loaf and Jim
Sam (46:02):
Starlin.
Ha ha In the UK singles chartScatman John got to number 3
with Scatman Ski bop ba ba dabop.
But did
Emma (46:11):
Taylor
Sam (46:11):
dayne's Tell It to My Heart get higher or lower?
Emma (46:14):
Well number 3's quite high.
Lower?
It actually got the same.
the same.
the same.
Okay.
So that
Sam (46:21):
an option.
Hey! You get
Emma (46:23):
Aye!
Sam (46:24):
for a pair not in this game.
Scatman got to number 60 in theUS Billboard 100.
Taylor dayne, higher or lower?
Emma (46:31):
Oh, I think she did much better.
Sam (46:33):
She did much better.
She got to number 7, that's
Emma (46:34):
seven.
That's one point.
Sweden, Scatman John got tonumber two.
Sam (46:37):
don't
Emma (46:37):
think I don't think she's beating number two.
Sam (46:40):
She got to number 3 in sweden.
You're on two points.
Australia, Scatman john got tonumber eight.
Emma (46:45):
I think she did better.
Sam (46:47):
She did not.
She got to number 10.
In Austria, scat man got tonumber one.
Emma (46:54):
Did she do the same?
Sam (46:55):
did! Number 1 hit to both of them.
Emma (46:57):
Yeah.
Yeah.
you only catch me out once.
Sam (46:59):
You're You're on three points.
Belgium, he got to number 1.
She got to number two.
France, he got to number one.
People love Scatman John.
Emma (47:10):
People of Europe love Scatman John.
Maybe
Sam (47:14):
But how do they feel that?
how
Emma (47:19):
did they feel about Taylor Dayne, Emma?
I think she didn't do as
Sam (47:22):
Number 11, there's only one more of these.
he got to number 39, but wheredid she get to?
Higher or lower?
Emma (47:29):
I I think She did better.
Sam (47:31):
She did better.
She got to number seven.
four points.
There's a little score charthere.
So listeners, if you got zero totwo points, you got, is this
really love or just a badlythought out game.
Oh, you spent so much time onThree to four points.
So you landed
Emma (47:49):
here.
Sam (47:50):
I won't taylor deign to comment on your score.
Anybody who got four to sixpoints at home earns scatman!
that's a decent score And if yougot seven or eight, well done.
You have earned ski bad badbrilliance Oh,
Emma (48:05):
Oh, wow.
Yeah?
what a way to end the series.
Sam (48:09):
Awesome.
Emma (48:11):
Oh Sam I think you need a break from this don't you?
Shall we hear what the people ofthe internet think about
Original sin?
Yes.
Sam (48:20):
Pandora's Box.
no interesting commentswhatsoever.
Against Meat Loaf,lukeyPup95Productions53
Emma (48:27):
Crikey.
Sam (48:28):
Crikey.
Agreed.
I like Meat Loaf's version,never heard pandora's box
version or Taylor Dayne's.
Dayne's.
Useful comment.
Yeah, yeah.
Thanks.
on dayne's version.
At browderfan, How this wasn'tnumber one worldwide is beyond
me.
It's as good as Total Eclipse ofthe Heart and most of meat
Loaf's songs.
Jim Steinman is a genius.
Emma (48:49):
To which, @GermanSausagesAretheWurst
Sam (48:51):
replied Jim
Emma (48:53):
Steinman was a genius.
He's gone now.
I like that name as well.
Sam (49:02):
At kiefer Suv 1985 marks,
Emma (49:04):
Jesus
Sam (49:05):
christ, this song is awesome Jesus Christ! People are
on my side on this one, Emma
Emma (49:12):
But
Sam (49:12):
the lyrics are wrong! And finally, this is from Steve
eckstein douglas drive, and itis a mouthful.
Okay.
This is all in caps.
It's littered with insanepunctuation.
Okay.
Which I will try my best to do.
Yes! Less than sign.
After these years gone by, openbrackets, loss of some hearing,
(49:35):
less than sign, sight andarthritic fingers, question
mark, jaw, open bracket fortenor, closed bracket, less than
sign, still love, quotationmark, ms, greater than sign,
leslie Wunderman, closebrackets, open brackets, Taylor
Dayne, open brackets, fromquotation mark, Queens, colon,
myself, colon, the bronx, andlong Island, close brackets,
(49:59):
full stop, my reality, colon,you, less than sign, nor any
great lady voices will neverrecord my songs.
Greater than sign, quotationmark, que sera, less than sign,
sera, quotation mark.
greater than sign.
Still love you and your Voice,Greater than sign.
(50:20):
greater than sign, However, lessthan sign, your quotation mark.
Back up african lady singer,still sends me into musical
heaven.
Less than than sign, eventhough, open brackets.
we.
Paragraph break, both have aged!Six exclamation marks.
I think a dalek has broken in.
(50:42):
I
Emma (50:42):
think someone's cat just wandered across their
Sam (50:45):
And that's what the the people of the internet think.
Emma (50:47):
The people of internet need to shut up.
Sam (50:50):
They do wang on, don't they?
And speaking of wanging on,Emma, shall we rate this song?
we're going to rate this onceagain on our jim steinman rating
which runs from Jim Steinman atthe top for his best songs,
don't you dare go for anythingelse, Jim Fineman in the middle,
or Jim Declineman at the bottom.
I am now accepting submissions.
Emma (51:11):
is
Sam (51:12):
Jim steinman, right?
We can argue about which one'sthe best, but it's pure jim
stein.
Oh, I'll do it in a villainousway.
pure Jim Steinman!MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Who knows what
evil lurks in the hearts of mentoday?
Emma (51:30):
we done?
Yeah.
Good!
Sam (51:36):
that was episode 12, the end of series 2 of chat out of
hell.
Woo! I asked you this at the endof the last I think we should
return to it again.
Emma (51:46):
What do you
Sam (51:47):
of Meat Jim Steinman now?
We've covered a wide variety ofstuff now from their works.
we've introduced some
Emma (51:54):
of Jim's
Sam (51:54):
work with other artists.
We've talked about the theme forhulk hogan that he did.
We have talked about that.
Emma (52:04):
a lot.
Sam (52:04):
do you feel differently about the two of them?
yeah, I think I, I think Iprobably do.
I still really enjoy the music.
Emma (52:11):
sometimes you really do have to separate the art from
the
Sam (52:15):
Yes, it's getting more under, I'm surprised actually
that, and maybe it's just causeI've done more of the steinman
research and you've done more ofthe meat Loaf stuff that The
more I learn about jim steinman,the more an unpleasant little
slimeball he is.
Yeah.
Emma (52:30):
it's an interesting journey that we're on.
Sam (52:32):
is an interesting journey
Emma (52:33):
I
Sam (52:33):
I
Emma (52:33):
like if you dig too deep into anybody, you're going to
find things that you're notgoing to
Sam (52:37):
dug that.
Look, come on.
Come
Emma (52:38):
we?
It's mostly just wikipedia doingthe
Sam (52:41):
to his own website.
It's
Emma (52:43):
It's the fact that he puts all of this up
Sam (52:44):
up.
Yeah.
Emma (52:46):
this up.
Sam (52:46):
Quite interesting, isn't it?
He is.
very much archivist, and thethings he has chosen to share
Emma (52:52):
are choose to share.
Sam (52:54):
Exactly.
We all do have the horriblemoments and the,
Emma (52:57):
There are so many things that I regret saying and doing.
Things that and
Sam (53:00):
yeah.
There's a point where, aboutwhether or not he's a
megalomaniac.
Starting to be undeniable,really.
The only man that exists in
Emma (53:08):
Jim Steinman's world is Jim Steinman, Yeah.
Sam (53:11):
the rest of us are toys for him to play with.
Emma (53:13):
In Neverland.
Sam (53:15):
In neverland, where he's an eternal teenage boy.
Despite all that, would you liketo come back and do another
series?
Emma (53:22):
Yes, yes, I would.
Sam (53:23):
Thank heavens for that.
I'd love to, Emma.
So we're taking
Emma (53:26):
a
Sam (53:26):
week break now between series, so Chat Out of Hell will
return on the
Emma (53:30):
2nd of
Sam (53:31):
December, we're going to start Series 3 with a special on
Jim Steinman's weird monologues.
So we're going to bring four ofthose to the table.
They are Wasted Youth, which isalso called Love, Death and an
American Guitar.
and that is on Bad For Good orBat out Of Hell 2.
There is nocturnal pleasure,which appears on the album Dead
(53:52):
Ringer and also on the Pandora'sBox album.
There is I've Been Dreaming Up AStorm lately, And finally, the
want ad, which again isPandora's Box.
So if you can find thoselisteners, you can listen to
them.
We're probably going to read thewhole things out to you, they're
all very short.
so we'll see you all on December2nd for those.
But before then just like lasttime, we decided to take a break
(54:15):
and then decided to do loads ofwork in the middle of it.
We'll be back with chat out ofHell Film Club, where we will
watch some films with tangentialrelationships to our chosen
artists.
So I'm gonna bring the film theShadow, which had a jim steinman
produced song as its main theme.
Emma, what are you gonna bring?
Emma (54:35):
I'm going to bring Fight Club starring meat loaf
Sam (54:37):
oh, god.
Well, we to watch it some time.
Sigh.
Sigh.
So we'll see you all for Filmclub at some point between now
and December 2nd.
But thank you all, as always,for listening to Chat out Of
Hell.
Were we right or wrong abouttoday's songs?
Would you have rated themdifferently?
Which of us is right about thebest version of original Sin?
Do let us know,chatoutofhellatgmail.
(54:59):
com What Meat Loaf song you likeat your funeral?
ChatOutOfHellAtGmail.
com And do you have proof thatJim Steinman ever rode a
motorbike?
chatoutofhellatgmail.
com I might extend that to proofthat he ever saw a motorbike,
because I'm quite doubtful ofthat.
As always, keep your generalMeat Loaf thoughts and anecdotes
flying in.
Did you see Meat Loaf at theHorniman Museum admiring their
overstuffed spherical walrus?
(55:21):
Give it a Google, it looks verysilly.
Let us know,chatoutofhellatgmail.Com and
that is it, that's the end ofseries two.
We are both quite tired.
Anything to add?
No, Lovely.
Thank you all for listening, asalways.
We genuinely enjoy doing doingthis, it is stupid fun and it's
really good having
Emma (55:41):
a
Sam (55:41):
little crowd of people along with us on our ridiculous
journey.
So we'll see you all inDecember.
Emma (55:47):
Bye! Bye
Sam (55:49):
Bow, now, now, now.
now.
Emma (55:52):
Bing!
What is this?
Emma (00:01):
This is Chat Out of Hell, the only fortnightly podcast
dedicated to Meat Loaf and JimSteinman.
Sam (00:08):
Who is Meat Loaf?
Emma (00:09):
Meat Loaf is a man who asked his first wife to marry
him only a week after meetingher with the words,"If you won't
agree to marry me, I'm going tocut my beating heart out with a
carving knife and throw it inthe snow".
Who's Jim Steinman?
Sam (00:26):
Sorry, we're making a podcast about about
Emma (00:28):
that man.
That man.
That man.
Christ.
She said yes.
Sam (00:32):
Jim Steinman is an American composer whose songs were
described as"unnecessarily long"by Todd Rundgren.
Producer of the songs.
Emma (00:40):
The producer of the songs.
The
Sam (00:43):
of the very same songs.
Emma (00:45):
Who are we?
Sam (00:46):
Well, Crossland.
I'm Sam Wilkinson and togetherwe're looking forward to not
having to listen to any moreMeat Loaf for a while because
this is the last episode in thisseries.
Emma (00:56):
Aw, but also, yay.
Sam (01:00):
to Chat out of Hell! Bow now, now, now.
Emma (01:05):
Bink.
Sam (01:08):
What a pair of
Emma (01:10):
Indeed winners.
Sam (01:12):
Hello Emma, you
Emma (01:12):
right?
Yeah.
How are you Sam?
Sam (01:14):
I'm fine.
we've been messing around today.
Emma (01:18):
have Doing other show stuff.
Sam (01:20):
yeah.
We've been doing stuff for ourshow, Mean Business, which is on
at the Nottingham ComedyFestival, 10th of November.
Emma (01:26):
6.
30pm at the Navigation.
Yeah.
Sam (01:29):
Brilliant.
You remembered that, I haven't.
We were filming silly videos,and you, had to film me walking
down the street that I live on,eating cereal out of a bowl
with, with, my bare hands.
And dripping it down my shirt.
So the
Emma (01:45):
So the Neighbourhood Watch have have been peering through
their various windows, and Ithink you've got to leave.
Sam (01:50):
know, you noticed it, but there was a door that opened
during the filming process.
and nobody came out If you arelistening, Neighbours, Eurgh.
Emma (02:00):
Do you want Meat Loaf fact?
Sam (02:02):
Oh, go on then.
Emma (02:03):
I was watching Nevermind the Buzzcocks last night, like
it was the 90s.
they were talking about the mostrequested songs for funerals.
And according to Nevermind theBuzzcocks, I believe it to be
true, so Bat Out of Hell is thenumber one rock song requested
for funerals.
Sam (02:20):
We discussed this, didn't we?
Emma (02:21):
I think we, yeah.
Sam (02:22):
I think it was on youtube comments We found a lot of
people saying play this at my
Emma (02:26):
funeral Yeah.
And
Sam (02:27):
we both agreed it's a bit
Emma (02:29):
much.
It is a bit much.
It's also very long.
Sam (02:32):
well, that's it because the music tends to come at the end
of a funeral in britain.
Emma (02:36):
imagine just hanging around awkwardly
Sam (02:38):
got to sit there for eight minutes.
Yeah.
It's
Emma (02:41):
Bit much.
What about, I'd do anything forlove, that's an even longer God.
God.
Sam (02:45):
What Meat Loaf song do you want at your funeral?
Emma (02:48):
Oh, that's a really tricky question because part of me I've
got an answer.
Have you got one?
What's yours?
Sam (02:52):
one?
What's yours?
45 Seconds of Ecstasy.
I was
Emma (02:56):
I was hoping that you'd go for something really
inappropriate.
Sam (02:58):
Yeah.
It's about 53
Emma (03:00):
seconds.
It's not even, it's alwaysannoyed me that it's not 45
seconds long.
Sam (03:05):
But anyway, we'll talk about that another time.
Have you thought of one?
Emma (03:08):
Fuck it, Paradise by the Dashboard Light.
Oh God.
Long and inappropriate.
Sam (03:13):
Yeah.
Oof.
Emma (03:15):
Listeners, what Meat Loaf song would you have for your
funeral?
Write in and tell us chat out ofhell@gmail.com?
Oh, yeah.
I did a call to action and Iremembered our email address.
Sam (03:26):
This podcast what happens on it is that every episode we
both bring a song eitherperformed by Meat Loaf or
written by Jim Steinman and welisten to it together.
we talk about its history, wetalk about its impact on popular
culture.
Emma (03:43):
If any.
Sam (03:43):
Yeah, it's very rare that there's any any of that.
And then we rate it on ourpatented Meat Loaf and or Jim
Steinman's song rating scales.
And then we go home.
Emma (03:51):
Yeah.
You're already home.
Sam (03:53):
I am already home, yeah, we're doing this one at my
house.
Somebody did message me a coupleof weeks ago saying, yours is
the only podcast that setshomework.
I've not listened to this week'syet because I've not had 15
minutes to listen to both thesongs.
And it is lovely that you allwant to listen along, but please
don't feel obliged.
Emma (04:11):
I don't know.
Barry, mind your other podcast,which sets the participants a
lot of homework.
Sam (04:17):
This is very
Emma (04:18):
This is very on brand for
Sam (04:20):
Yeah, do you know what?
Big fan of homework it turns outEmma, what song have you brought
along today?
Emma (04:26):
I have brought Bad For Good today which appears in two
places in the Steinemology.
Sam (04:32):
Two places?
Emma (04:33):
Two places!
Sam (04:35):
Oh, it's very end of term, this vibe, isn't it?
Emma (04:40):
I have got games.
Sam (04:40):
has let us bring a game in, yes, and we're wearing our own
clothes.
Emma (04:45):
I've got hungry, hungry hippos in my bag.
I've brought in Bad For Goodwhich appears twice in the
Steinman timeline.
Once sung by Jim Steinmanhimself on his own album of the
same title, and once sung byMeat Loaf on Bat Out Of Hell 3.
Because, there was a third BatOut Of Hell.
Sam (05:05):
And there is a reason we've not mentioned it yet.
That's fantastic.
And I have brought Original Sins, which has been performed Meat
Loaf, Taylor Dayne, and JimSteinman's
Emma (05:16):
Steinman's
Sam (05:17):
girl band project Pandora's Box back in 1989.
I've just realised why peoplefeel the need to listen to the
songs that we
Emma (05:27):
So that they understand what we're talking
Sam (05:29):
A, that, but also, I have a catchphrase, and my catchphrase
is So listeners, go away, findthat on YouTube, find it on
Spotify, wherever you get yourmusic from, dictaphone tape.
Listen to
Emma (05:41):
Bad for good.
Sam (05:42):
And we'll see you in a few minutes.
Although you don't have tolisten to it.
That's just my catchphrase.
All right?
And is there a video for thisone?
Emma (05:48):
There is a video for this one and you really really should
watch it because it's batshit.
Sam (05:53):
All right.
We're gonna go watch the batshitvideo.
See you all in a few minutes.
Laptop (05:56):
I know that I'm gonna be like this forever.
I'm never gonna be what Ishould.
And you think that I'll be badfor just a little while.
You think that I'll be bad forjust a little while.
But I know that I'll be bad forgood.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Know that I'll be,
Sam (06:16):
we've just listened to, Bad for Good by Jim Steinman.
And maybe you have too.
Or maybe you got bored halfwaythrough.
Who knows?
Emma (06:25):
If you watch the video, I don't think you got bored.
Sam (06:28):
You got baffled.
Emma (06:30):
Baffled, definitely, but not bored.
Sam (06:32):
Emma, tell us about this song.
Emma (06:33):
This song came from Jim's own album which he released in
1981 Bad For Good.
We've talked about it severaltimes.
This was when Meat Loaf's voicewas too fucked up and he was
busy doing other things.
And so Jim said I'll do itmyself! And do it himself he
did.
Sam (06:50):
If you want a job doing properly, wait till Meat Loaf's
back.
this one of the songs that Jimactually did sing on?
Yes.
Okay, so this isn't,
Emma (06:59):
This is
Sam (07:00):
The singing didn't sound
Emma (07:01):
Rory Dodd.
No, this isn't Rory Dodd, thisis Jim original.
And you can tell when he doeshis special little rock voice.
His ROCK VOICE! That soundsquite a lot like a Muppet.
Sam (07:10):
Or Heather Small from M People.
Ha ha ha!
Emma (07:13):
He wishes.
Sam (07:15):
ha ha! ha! But he also cracks a little bit when he's
hitting the high notes.
Which is, a, it's a shame.
Emma (07:21):
I like the song a lot, it's been stuck in my head for a
bit.
It's fun, it's stupid.
It's all the things you wantfrom a Jim Steinman song.
I think.
It lacks a duet.
But
Sam (07:31):
okay.
It's too long.
Yes.
And that is good.
Yes.
You get your money's My notessay there are four separate bits
where it feels like the song iswinding up.
And then it keeps going.
Emma (07:42):
One of the things that I like about this one, and some of
the other Steinman songs haveit, and I don't think we've
mentioned it too much yet it'sgot a bloody good list.
For the good of some thrills ona long frigid night.
For the good of the fire in yoursoul.
That is definitely a list
Sam (07:55):
Oh, yes, he does do a lot of lists,
Emma (07:57):
list.
We've not touched on the bestlist yet.
I think we might have to do thatnext series.
Okay.
Because that is I Want My MoneyBack.
Sam (08:04):
Oh, that is a wonderful list.
Emma (08:06):
my money back.
Yes.
Which is one of the best lists.
And we often end up belting thatbit out as we're driving past
Meadowhall, I've noticed.
Take not much has been writtenabout it because it wasn't a
single.
It just was album track that forsome reason Jim did a video for,
and I feel like he's done videosfor lots of these.
I wonder if they're following onfrom each other, if there's
Sam (08:28):
there's a narrative across the So there's three
Emma (08:31):
diamond.
I think there's a narrative.
Yes! Do you want to hear whatRolling Stone Magazine had to
say?
Sam (08:36):
Always.
Emma (08:37):
gave quite a lukewarm review of this, and they also
gave a lukewarm review of BatOut of Hell, the original and
they said, Steinman's thin,reedy voice simply cannot carry
the absurd precocity of thelyrics.
You can't argue.
No, it's, it's
Sam (08:55):
true.
But it's it's still good.
Emma (08:57):
Oh, definitely.
Sam (08:58):
Rolling Stone have said, absurd precocity, as though
that's a bad thing.
Yeah.
that's the issue we have withsome reviewers, is that all
reviews say the same thing, butthen at the end some of them
say,"and that's brilliant." andsome of them walk away confused.
We're
Emma (09:14):
The opening lines, the sea is whipping the sky.
The sky is whipping the sea.
That's really evocative.
That really sets a
Sam (09:21):
scene, it's a
Emma (09:21):
it?
It's a big storm.
It is a massive storm.
And you'll never hide away fromme.
Sam (09:26):
Have you found any recurrences of those lines, sea
whipping the sky?
Emma (09:30):
No, but I haven't looked.
Have you found some?
Yes.
Go on.
Sam (09:33):
Jim Steinman wrote a treatment for a film called Bat
Out of Hell 2100.
Of course
Emma (09:40):
Of
Sam (09:40):
he did.
Which was another of hisattempts to make a sci fi
futuristic Peter pan.
Yes.
it features in that as somemystical, magical words that
Peter says to Wendy when he'sabout to take her off to the
magical,
Emma (09:53):
Neverland?
Dystopian
Sam (09:55):
Neverland.
that he lives in.
Emma (09:57):
yeah.
Wow.
He's really been on thisbullshit for a
Sam (10:01):
long time, Yeah, he's got one idea.
yeah.
Emma (10:05):
it, does it ever fully develop?
Mean, maybe, maybe the musical,
Sam (10:10):
Yeah, I was gonna say, we'll find out April, when we go
see the musical.
Sorry listeners, just to givethe standard disclaimer, Maisie
the dog, star of the show, hasonce again fallen asleep on my
lap, so any snoring sounds youcan hear are either her or you.
Emma (10:27):
That's not the only bit that's recycled into other
songs.
Yeah.
Because we've got the Godspeeds.
Ah yes.
Godspeed.
The Godspeeds were used inNowhere
Sam (10:36):
they?
were used in nowhere Fast.
This morning, emma.
I was listening to the Dreamengine.
Dreams.
Dreams.
Emma (10:46):
Engines.
Sam (10:46):
Dream on me, when you're The Dream Engine! The musical
that he wrote in college.
And That phrase is on the veryfirst
Emma (10:58):
song in that musical.
Wow.
Yeah.
Sam (11:01):
Such a lazy bugger.
And he
Emma (11:04):
if you've got an idea, you might as well milk it for all
it's worth.
I certainly did.
Welcome to chat out of hell.
The song's really good.
It's your classic Jim stuff inthat it's just about a post
apocalyptic kind a is.
It's about a bad boy on amotorbike.
motorbike Meat Loaf did say thatthe Bad For Good album was just
(11:25):
a bad copy of the bat out Ofhell Funnily enough.
I have got some quotes from MeatLoaf's,
Sam (11:30):
autobiography Oh, go on then.
Yeah.
About
Emma (11:32):
this.
Meat Loaf says,"At this point,Jim started creating these Bat
and Bruce Springsteen clones.
Songs like Stark Raving Love andBad For Good.
Now, the thing that had reallynettled us in the reviews of Bat
were the unfair comparisons toSpringsteen.
"And what does Jimmy do?
He writes this song, Bad ForGood, which really did sound
(11:55):
like one of Bruce's songs.
I'm going, Jim, man, what areyou doing?
All these idiots are saying wesound like Springsteen, and now
you're trying to sound likehim?"
Sam (12:05):
I don't know my springsteen well enough to
Emma (12:07):
No, neither do i.
Meh.
Because I just think this soundslike continuation of Bat Out of
Hell.
Sam (12:13):
it is sequel to bat out of hell.
It's exactly the it's bad boy ona motorbike.
Emma (12:18):
You think that I'll be bad for just a little while, but I
know that I'll be
Sam (12:21):
bad for
Emma (12:21):
good.
Sam (12:22):
that's not a
Emma (12:23):
real bad boy, is it?
No
Sam (12:25):
bad boy uses the phrase,"a little
Emma (12:28):
while."
Sam (12:29):
that is a bad boy who has stolen some apples from his
grandma's trees..
He's gone scrumping scrumpinfrom his
Emma (12:37):
his own grandma.
He's a bad boy in 1950s tweeBritain.
Sam (12:41):
Yes.
Emma (12:42):
You've been living your life like a girl in a cage and
you whisper when I want you toshout and I wonder why you want
to go on sleeping when there'snothing left to dream about.
Jim does a lot of that when he'stalking about these sort
Sam (12:52):
sort of girls
Emma (12:53):
he's involved with Yeah,
Sam (12:55):
But again, so this is this is Jim's one idea is that there
is the Peter
Emma (13:00):
Pan on a motorbike.
It's the Wendy
Sam (13:02):
and he goes to get a Wendy to be rescued.
Yeah.
Yeah.
which doesn't speak particularlywell, of him that that's his
only version of women.
That's what the women That iswhat
Emma (13:12):
rescued from their boring lives.
That's
Sam (13:15):
right, by me, Jim steinman
Emma (13:18):
And my motorbike.
Sam (13:19):
And my motorbike.
Emma (13:21):
Did Jim ride motorbike?
Sam (13:22):
I was about to ask you the same question, Listeners, I know
a lot of you do know more aboutthe lives of Jim and Meat Loaf
than me.
I'm prepared to bet Emma 10 nowthat Jim Steinman never even
looked at a motorbike.
Emma (13:35):
Alright, I'll take that bet.
bet.
Sam (13:36):
Jim Steinman drove a reliable family car all his
Emma (13:40):
life.
Sam (13:41):
do write in.
If you find those pictures ofhim riding a motorbike, that
will be me paying Emma 10pounds.
Emma (13:45):
And honestly, I could really do with it.
Yeah.
I've got another bit from hisbiography as well.
When Bad For Good was finallyready to be released, the people
over at Epic found out howgenuinely wacky Jim Steinman
was.
"As part As part of the album'spromotion, he demanded that Epic
buy 2000 stereo systems,identical to the one he used
(14:06):
with the exact same speakers andthe same amp and send them out
with the CD for reviewers tolisten to."
Sam (14:12):
shit, I
Emma (14:13):
insisted that this was the only way they can really hear
it.
It would have cost an absolutefortune.
Sam (14:19):
my god, that's amaz I love that.
That is incredible.
He's gone into this knowing theywant Meat Loaf and I'm not Meat
Loaf.
Loaf.
Emma (14:27):
Yeah.
Sam (14:28):
and most people would be on the back foot about that
Emma (14:31):
a bit humble and nice.
Sam (14:33):
But he's gone just gone fuck
Emma (14:35):
you.
Sam (14:36):
This album is amazing but only if you listen to it on in
my stereo.
And comedy reviewers, my jokesare very very funny if you hear
them in my head.
I'm afraid the rest of you
Emma (14:49):
can get bent.
I thought you would enjoy that.
That was, I loved that.
The video, it's on sound stageagain.
I originally thought it was thesame one from Rock and Roll
Dreams, but we've decided itisn't.
So they just built another shitmountain.
Yes.
Yes.
I'd written here, If you'vebuilt a shit mountain for one
video, you might as well get themost out of it.
But they didn't use So breaksinto a woman's bedroom by
(15:13):
throwing a guitar through astained glass window.
What's he up to here?
She manages to sleep throughthat.
that You almost wonder ifJimmy's actually going to be the
main character in this video andinteract with the girl, but no!
No, he doesn't.
Cause as soon as he starts toget in there, cue the dancing
boys.
Sam (15:32):
They are very good dancers.
it's fucking weird., this is a,real rock and roll video.
And they are all
Emma (15:38):
proper
Sam (15:38):
Proper ballet
Emma (15:39):
dancers.
It's Jim back on his theaterschool shit again, because as
hard rock as he wants to be.
It's always back to theatreschool Theatre school! And all
the dancers And again, going to,this is him on the back
Sam (15:55):
Trying to prove himself as an act and say, I don't Meat
Loaf.
It is so ballsy to make a videothat is just a ballet recital.
Yep I've
Emma (16:06):
one of them jumps on the woman's bed and wakes her up.
They then spend most of the restof the video having a dance off
in the bedroom and also on themountain set.
I took a leaf out of your book,Sam.
Oh yeah?
I had a dig into Jim's archive.
Okay.
And he put together an outlinefor this video.
Oh, sweet! I'm not going to readthe whole thing because it goes
on for fucking pages, but I havegot part of it.
(16:28):
So the cast is Jim, Wendy andthe Lost Boys.
Of course is.
course it is.
I'm going to read to you themood and visual style.
majestic, obsessive.
Erotic.
Heroic.
All revved up with no place togo.
Images and movements should seemmore unleashed than created.
(16:52):
A sardonic undertone.
Desperate, sinuous, explosive.
A combination of the musculardensity of rock and roll and the
luxuriant turbulence of opera.
The acoustic world has beendestroyed, everything is
amplified.
Every image and movement shouldseem to be born either directly
(17:14):
before, during or after anecstatic moment of action.
And the specific action is lessimportant than the release it
provides.
Tension and release is acontinuous motive.
Sexually rich, every movementhas sexual echoes and
reverberations.
(17:35):
A world that is endlessly hornyfor wonder, magic and
excitement.
Which we've
Sam (17:40):
definitely heard That's quote that's come up before.
Emma (17:42):
A world where violence is carried out with such powerful
balletic precision and passionas to become beautiful.
And physical beauty is imbuedwith such anarchic childlike
disregard for the limits of theordinary as to become violent.
This world should hyperventilatefrom beginning to end.
(18:05):
Everything is permitted, nothingever is taboo.
And there's always somethingshattered when there is
something breaking through.
These kids are reckless andrestless And lost.
And the
Sam (18:21):
And the shooting script said dancing.
Yes.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
I've been watching a lot ofGarth Marenghi's Darkplace
lately, and there is a line inthat in one of the retrospective
clips, the producer says, thisis a very ambitious script for
the budget we've got, and andwe've got no budget.
(18:48):
That's amazing.
Those dancers do a really goodjob of the job they were given.
But, they can't do what he'sjust asked.
I don't wish to speak ill ofdance as an art form.
But I'm not sure that dance willever be restless and reckless
and lost.
Emma (19:07):
Do you think dance can represent the acoustic world
being destroyed and everythingis now amplified?
Sam (19:12):
Yeah, good luck, all you dancers.
Is
Emma (19:15):
all I can say the
Sam (19:17):
world should hyperventilate from end.
I didn't feel muchhyperventilation on that.
That would have made me a bitpanicky, Yeah, eight minutes of
hyperventilating dancers.
Emma (19:27):
God,
Sam (19:28):
God,
Emma (19:28):
Jim, I love you, but bloody hell.
Ha ha So that's, Jim's version.
There is a Meat Loaf version BatOut of Hell 3, I think we should
Alright.
go away and have a
Sam (19:40):
a listen, Okay,
Emma (19:41):
if you want to.
Okay.
Don't feel you have to.
Sam (19:44):
We're going to play you short clip of it anyway.
me and Emma are going to sitthrough the whole thing.
now.
Laptop (19:49):
And you whisper when I want you to shout, And I'll
never know why you wanna go onsleepin when there's nothin left
to dream about.
But you'd better remember ifit's somethin I want, then it's
somethin I want.
I wasn't built for comfort, Iwas built for speed.
(20:10):
If it's something I want, thenit's something I need.
I wasn't built for
Emma (20:16):
we've just listened to Bad for Good on Meat Loaf's Bat out
of Hell Three album.
Sam do you know who wasresponsible for that guitar?
Sam (20:25):
Oh, hello.
it Emma?
Emma (20:27):
That was Brian May.
Fuck off! Yep, Brian May.
Ooh! Because it sounds like
Sam (20:32):
May! It's trademarked Brian May right at the end there,
Emma (20:34):
yeah!
Sam (20:34):
yeah.
Well done, brian.
Shame you couldn't have playedon a better song then, but never
mind..
Emma (20:41):
You don't like this do you?
Sam (20:42):
don't dislike it, I just jim's version is much, much
better.
In almost all aspects.
timing of it.
So this is Bats Out of Hell 3was 2006??
Emma (20:52):
Six, I think, yeah.
Sam (20:54):
We've
Emma (20:55):
We've done our homework.
Yeah, it was 2006.
Sam (20:57):
And we're definitely in era of Meat Loaf's voice falling off
a cliff.
Emma (21:00):
Yeah, this is the last album that I think it really
properly sounds like old MeatLoaf.
I think if this had beenrecorded for Bat Out of Hell 2,
it would have been fucking TheGuardian gave it four stars,
which was a surprise.
but the review I'm going to readfor you now is from
slantmagazine.
com who gave it
Sam (21:18):
1.
5 stars.
Oh, can we just talk about thepoint 5 star system?
Do it out of 10.
If you're gonna give 0.
5s, just shift it to an out of10 system, all right.
Fucking sick of it.
it Sorry, Carry on.
Emma (21:33):
Good.
I'm glad that out.
So yeah, they gave it a 1.
5 star review.
Yep.
But they did have this to sayBad for Good is truly worthy of
the Bat Out of Hell moniker.
Written by Steinman in 1981 forthe original follow up to bat 1,
if we're calling it that.
it that that never was.
This song is a welcome flashbackto the old days with jaunty
(21:53):
piano and elaborate vocalarrangements that recalls
classics like Paradise by theDashboard Light.
Brian May adds guitar and forseven and a half minutes it
feels like 1977 again.
Sam (22:05):
What do you think?
think
Emma (22:06):
I like it.
But it's never gonna be Aclassic, I don't think.
Sam (22:13):
It feels like 1970s.
It doesn't feel like 77 again.
Maybe it does feel like he'strying to recall 1977 in a way
that just doesn't work in 2006.
Perhaps that's my issue with it.
Emma (22:25):
This was released after Couldn't Have Said It Better,
which was a real departure fromthe classic bat out of hell
sound, I we liked
Sam (22:32):
that one.
Emma (22:32):
This is an attempt to hark back to previous triumphs.
Yeah.
And it just doesn't quite cutit.
Yeah.
There's a lot to be said forquitting while you're ahead.
Would you like to hear what theinternet says
Sam (22:42):
I'd love to hear what the people of the internet say.
They are my thought leaders inall things.
Emma (22:48):
Jim's version.
Paul Kearns8838 has writtenunder the video, Anyone know why
he always wore gloves?
Also, is it just me, or are allhis vids cuckold, where he
watches the hot chick with studsfrom afar?
Sam (23:08):
It's not just you.
Emma (23:12):
Do you have more to say on that later?
Sam (23:14):
Not really, no..
he does like to stare at women.
Emma (23:17):
He likes to watch.
Christy Rollins, 983, said, Hmm.
Bad for good, yeah.
Good song.
Meat Loaf can make me bad forgood.
Each to their own.
BeauTy is in the eye of thebeholder.
Yes.
But that was about all I
Sam (23:35):
Yeah.
It's not a lot The
Emma (23:37):
people of the internet have been quiet lately.
Sam (23:39):
I think it's probably time to rate this song, Emma.
This is a Jim Steinman song.
So we will be using our patentedOrganic, grade a Jim Steinman
song rating scale which runsfrom Jim Steinman at the top Jim
Fineman in the middle to JimDeclineman for for his rubbish
(24:00):
songs.
So we can agree this isn't a JimDeclineman.
Emma (24:03):
Oh, it's definitely not a Jim Declineman.
Sam (24:05):
What do you think?
Emma (24:07):
It's got elements of a classic.
It's got the list.
It's got Jim being ridiculous.
Mm hmm.
Is it just a jim finder?
Fineman?
What do you think?
Sam (24:18):
It's a very fun song, but neither of the recordings that
we have get it quite right.
I think it needed to be, on BatOut of Hell 2, with Jim at his
producing peak and Meat Loaf atperforming peak.
To hit jim Steinman so I thinkthis is a
Emma (24:33):
Fineman Jim
Sam (24:35):
Fineman
Emma (24:36):
It's alright It's Jim Fineman It's alright isn't it?
Yeah It's Jim fineman
Sam (24:41):
emma, that was your song, Bad For Good, and now we're
going to listen to my choice,which is Original sin.
Listeners, as I said, it's beenperformed three times.
The pandora's Box one, we'regonna listen to it right now.
That's the one you have tolisten to the least, to be
honest.
If you only listen to one, Ithink Taylor Dayne, Emma's
probably going to say Meat loaf.
Yeah, we'll discuss that in aminute.
(25:03):
But go away, listen to anyversion of that you like.
Find it on YouTube, Spotify,whatever else.
We're gonna listen to Pandora'sBox now, and we'll see you all
very soon.
Laptop (25:11):
It's not enough to make the nightmares go away.
It's not enough to make thetears run dry.
It's not enough to live a littlebetter every day.
Everything that they taught uswas nothing but lies.
Everything that they bought uswas nothing but pride.
(25:35):
It'll all be over now.
All I
Sam (25:38):
so we've just listened to the pandora's Box version of
Original sin.
Emma (25:42):
Emma, what do we think of that?
Ooh, it's dramatic,
Sam (25:46):
dramatic AF.
shall we go straight into areview?
this is from Sounds Magazine,who called this track,
"Outrageously epic and pompous.
Which is exactly what you want.
It's exactly what I want, yeah.
So this is the
Emma (25:59):
title
Sam (26:00):
track of album.
It's dead good, innit?
it's dead good, It's epic, it'shuge.
On the album press kit, there'sa comment here.
"On the title track, Steinmanrecorded 35 motorbikes and made
a chord out of them.
the result, according toSteinman,'the greatest sound I'd
ever heard.' unfortunatelyblowing the studio console up."
Emma (26:22):
Oh, why?
Why is he like this!
Sam (26:26):
If, I, here's the thing.
If ever a track deserves somebullshit around it, it's this
one, right?
The band Pandora's Box is theone that he built this Weird
mythology about made up storiesabout how one of the members was
thrown out of a nunnery forsomething so weird that I can't
even tell you what it is.
Emma (26:46):
Which I feel lacks imagination Um,
Sam (26:50):
lyrically, I like it.
there's not a lot to make funof, except for the line, You can
fly and never land and neverneed to sleep.
is describing an albatross.
Emma (26:59):
Oh, bravo.
You're welcome.
Sam (27:05):
Thank you.
Yeah, villainous and it's
Emma (27:08):
it should have been a theme to a Bond Film..
Sam (27:11):
there you go.
You just stole my closingremarks.
Emma (27:13):
Oh, Oh, sorry.
Sam (27:13):
It's quite alright.
tHis is the Bond theme that hewanted to produce, I think.
But yeah, it's, oh, it's a gotoomph.
Emma (27:21):
It's banger.
Pandora's Box we have visitedbefore because they had the
incredibly erotic video, didn'tthey?
Sam (27:26):
We've dipped gently into them for their video for It's
All Coming Back to Me Now, whichas you say was described as"a
porno movie" by one managersinvolved.
And that was filth.
I'm kind of glad this didn't geta a video because that would
Emma (27:42):
Ooh, hello.
Maybe that's why.
Maybe there is a secret videosomewhere.
Is
Sam (27:47):
Is that what she was thrown out of the nunnery for?
One of the best songs on thealbum,
Emma (27:53):
Yeah, definitely.
Sam (27:54):
The Pandora's box album some of it is brilliant, some of
it is real middle of the roadstuff.
And there's a couple of steinmanmonologues on there which are
Emma (28:02):
are utterly insane, but I feel like the production on this
and some of the noises that youhear throughout the song
Sam (28:08):
is very 80s.
Yeah, what, the noise of 35motorbikes made into a
Emma (28:12):
chord, ever?
It's just, it's very much of itstime.
when I, discovered Pandora's Boxwhile researching bits and
pieces about, this podcast.
at first I was delighted thatI'd found another little
weirdness.
and I listened to it and it wasinteresting hearing songs that
I'd only heard Meat Loaf singfiltered through a different
(28:32):
steinman project.
Yeah.
that was an initial delight, butI don't feel like they live up
to the potential.
I think this is where weseparate, because I, I'm
starting to come to the opinionthat Steinman works best with
female voices.
maybe just Loaf being a twat, Idon't know.
speaking of Meat Meat
Sam (28:49):
Loaf, shall we move on to Yeah, shall we move on to Meat
So this was on the Welcome tothe Neighbourhood album in 1995.
This is the latest of the threeversions that we're going to
listen to today.
Jim Steinman wasn't involved inrecording or producing this,
it's just something that hecovered on the album.
And here it is for us, andhere's a snippet for the
listeners
Laptop (29:09):
You can dance forever, you got a fire in your feet But
will it ever be enough, you knowthat it'll never be enough You
can fly and never land and neverneed to sleep But will it ever
(29:34):
be enough, you know that it'llnever be enough
Sam (29:38):
so we've just listened to the Meat Loaf Cut there.
It's fair to say we're bothmassive fans, right?
Emma (29:43):
love that.
Sam (29:43):
Fucking great.
it's villainous, and it's mean,and you can picture him stalking
around the stage like thephantom of the Opera.
Emma (29:49):
This is my favourite track from Welcome to the
Neighbourhood.
Sam (29:53):
course it is, because of
Emma (29:54):
Steinman one!
Sam (29:55):
Yeah, but you know
Emma (29:57):
Yeah, but you know that it's one of those albums that
has a soft spot in my heart.
But this one I, I rememberlistening to this as a teenager.
Meat Loaf
Sam (30:06):
Memories.
It's rare that I have an
Emma (30:10):
an idea.
Yeah.
Sam (30:12):
ha.
Emma (30:14):
interesting.
yeah, I used to, listen to thisprime listening time for music
when I was a teenager was thejourney to and from school.
I used to catch a train toschool, so that gave a lot of
time to listen to my discman.
Yeah, the world's leastpractical portable music system.
so this one would be on fairlyheavy rotation in the sort of
(30:35):
early teenage years.
and this song Oh, it spoke to mebecause it was dark and devious
And brooding And I was abrooding teenage.
Is that a a surprise?
surprise Everything that theytaught us was nothing but lies.
What a wanker it was.
Sam (30:54):
I mean, that is very teenage Isn't it?
teenage angst, isn't it?
Everything they bought us wasnothing but bribes.
bribes.
Emma (31:01):
Yeah, and I was, like, a little ball of teen angst for
such a long time.
I'm hoping that it will endsoon.
Sam (31:10):
The conceit of this song
Emma (31:12):
it's
Sam (31:13):
Steinman.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's also something quite standup comedy about it.
He's taking this everyday phraseand interprets it through naive
eyes.
And that's a classic comedytrope.
Emma (31:25):
Yes.
Sam (31:25):
As is the lists, actually.
And I'm starting to wonder ifthat's why we like Steinman,
because he uses the same toolsas us.
And just as successfully!LAUGHTER
Emma (31:38):
Ha ha ha ha ha! Yeah.
I can see that.
I I do like a good list in mystand
Sam (31:45):
I've been looking for an original sin.
Done all the old ones tillthey've all been done in you can
hear that as a stand up routine.
Emma (31:52):
Oh, I've been looking for an original sin.
I have done all the old onestill they've all been done in.
So now I'm going round.
Insert horrific edgelord.
Sam (32:01):
Pushing my dick in X.
Emma (32:03):
Indeed, yes.
Oh, I feel a character comingon.
Sam (32:07):
Emma male comedian.
Emma (32:12):
Here's a list of the things I've put my dick in.
Sam (32:15):
I wanted to talk about this song today because I've been
threatening to do it for a MeatLoaf as Steinman's Monster.
Yeah.
I'll go first of all to somestuff
Emma (32:25):
RL Grey gave us
Sam (32:27):
a couple of weeks ago.
I love it, R.
L.
R.
L.
When Bat Out of Hell 2 came out,Steinman said he wanted to open
every live show with attendantsbringing Meat on stage as some
sort of snarling beast thatwould have to be tamed for the
show to proceed.
That is magnificent.
That is pure Jim Steinman.
You saw the Bat 2 tour, didn'tyou?
Emma (32:45):
I was 10 at the time.
and it might It might not havebeen the original Bat 2 tour.
think I might have seen theEverything Louder tour.
Yeah.
but he was touring so much atpoint.
Sam (32:55):
Yeah, fair enough.
You don't remember him beingwheeled on in a cage.
Emma (32:58):
I remember being a little bit frightened, but don't think
he was wheeled on in a cage.
It would would have been quitetheatrical.
Sam (33:04):
Yes.
RL says Steinman also tried tobloat Meat Loaf up to his late
70s proportions.
As you probably noted, meat losta lot of weight in the mid 80s
or so, but steinman preferredhim enormous.
So during the recordings of Bat2, he would leave jelly
doughnuts around the studio,hoping Meat would not be able to
restrain himself.
himself
Emma (33:22):
Oh, Jim, you're the worst kind of bloke.
Sam (33:25):
He is awful, but I also love that he came up with a
cartoon plan.
Emma (33:30):
Yeah!
Sam (33:32):
picturing trails of donuts leading up to the studio door
and to the microphone.
Yep.
Emma (33:39):
hob.
Lovely, hob, hob, hob.
Sam (33:41):
There's this idea throughout their working
together that Steinman is thebrains and Meat Loaf is the
Emma (33:47):
face.
Sam (33:48):
There's an anecdote of Steinman's that he tells very
well and very entertaininglyabout something quite unpleasant
that happens to Meat Loaf.
He tells it in a few interviewsand I've made a kind of super
cut of the anecdote.
Okay, So Just to clarify at theend of this story, everyone is
fine
Emma (34:04):
Oh god!
Sam (34:05):
Yeah! But also, how Brechtian ha ha! a level
Emma (34:13):
Ha ha ha!
Sam (34:14):
Steinman says,"On the tour for the first album, Meat Loaf
would huge tantrums about,'I'mnot the Frankenstein monster!'
Because people would say that Iwas Dr.
Frankenstein and he was theFrankenstein monster.
He keeps using the phrase theFrankenstein monster and not the
phrase Frankenstein's monster, Ilove that I'm correcting him on
(34:36):
the name of the monster, but notin the normal way.
"I would have to soothe him andsay,'No, no, You're Marlon
Brando and I'm Francis fordCoppola.
the best was in Pittsburgh, Iremember.
It only the third week of thetour, but he was going through
so many identity crises becausehe was really freaked out by the
idea that I might be Dr.
Frankenstein and he was theFrankenstein monster.
(34:56):
I'd staged the show verycarefully and I thought it very
true to him and the music thathe wasn't allowed to speak,
essentially.
"Because when Meat speaks, he'sjust a good old boy from Texas
and the, character he was onstage, to me, was a heroic
mythic figure.
It would kill for him to go,'Hi,y'all!'"Meat Loaf stalks onto
the stage like an animal and itwas thrilling.
But I think it got to him aftera while that he couldn't talk.
(35:17):
So in Pittsburgh he started, allof a sudden I hear,'You
motherfuckers having a goodparty?'"And I thought,'holy
shit, what happened to thatmythic character?' Meat didn't
understand.
He really thinks he's SammyHagar or David Lee Roth.
So the manager went to have atalk with him after the show and
said, Meat, you have to shutup.' And he just went berserk,
screaming,'I'm not aFrankenstein monster! Steinman's
(35:38):
not Dr.
Frankenstein! Now, I do want toclarify, He does the impression
of Meat Loaf in the interview.
This is me doing an impressionof Jim Steinman doing an
impression of Meat Loaf.
Okay?
Emma (35:48):
god!
Sam (35:50):
'I'm not gonna do meat Loaf! I'm Meat Loaf!' He's
trying to convince himself!'I'mMeat Loaf! I'm Meat Loaf!' To
us, it was simply artistic.
It wasn't interesting himsaying, You ready to party
tonight?
It just didn't fit this greatMarvel Comics character.
It's like batman saying,'HeyGotham City, you ready to party?
Hey robin, come on, let'sboogie!' Now I'd like to
(36:11):
clarify, at this point in 1979,the biggest piece of batman
media is the Adam West TV show,every week.
Brilliant.
Batman in popular media is inpopular media is not dark and
grim at this point.
Emma (36:25):
No, He's camp and has a dance.
Sam (36:29):
"Meat Loaf went berserk He threw a chair through the
window, I think.
He broke it, stuff, mirrors.
Then he stalked out of the room.
"I remember we had to go findhim.
I was entranced by Pittsburghbecause it's where night of the
living Dead was filmed.
I was amazed that Night of theLiving Dead turned out to be so
much a documentary aboutPittsburgh, because the people
look like that all the time." Haha! You You arsehole.
(36:51):
"We were in the worst area ofPittsburgh, it was like a toxic
chemical experimentationfactory.
All you saw around you werethese horribly coloured toxic
fumes coming out of, factories?
Or steel mills?
Blue, purple, green, it wasscary.
It was like pure science fictionwhere you expected mutants to
emerge around every corner.
We were in this huge parking lotnext to the motel, which was
(37:13):
totally deserted, fumeseverywhere, and we're like a
search party in the Frankensteinmovie.
We were We all had flashlightsand there's eight of us and
we're going around saying Meat,Meat, Meat, And what I remember
was a nice touch was thisstation wagon pulls up with this
little old couple.
They look like the Grant Woodpainting of America.
That's american Gothic.
(37:34):
Like one of them should have apitchfork.
They pull up and were probablylooking for directions and they
suddenly see eight people withflashlights going, MEAT! MEAT!
MEAT! And speed out of there,having come across this rare
group of cannibals fromPittsburgh.
LAUGHTER I see this figurecrouched down in a hunched
(37:57):
position, basically like arunning back in football.
Meat was a football player, andboy, he was powerful.
And he was set positioned downlike a rhino or an elephant,
something about to charge.
Meanwhile, way on the other sideof the parking lot, there's this
huge truck.
It's one of those enormoustrucks you could get a small
country into.
It had an amazing front thatsomeone spent a lot of time on,
where they did a customisedfront with the special fenders,
(38:19):
and it had a devil's head.
Huge head on the front, and thefenders have been made.
I hope I'm using the right term,but those things, basically, the
breasts.
The huge nipples that stick out.
Emma (38:31):
Okay.
Sam (38:32):
I was with him up until the breasts arrived.
arrived.
They were turned into theseamazingly sharp fangs, so there
are fangs on either sideadevil's head, it is the perfect
truck.
The guy had gone in to getHostess Twinkies, or whatever
these satanic truck drivers eat.
(38:53):
It's just there, idling, andmeat is aimed directly at those
fenders.
I could see, and he goes,'I'mnot a Frankenstein monster!'
grrr, and I realised.
I shouldn't interfere with this,something's coming.
And I just moved aside And hecharged.
And it seemed like a hundredmiles an hour, he went full
force, had to run at least ahundred yards, gathering up
speed, and he's a fast, strongguy, and rammed headfirst into
(39:15):
the truck.
Emma (39:16):
Fuck.
Sam (39:17):
Into the sharp, piercing fender.
I remember the foreheadexploding, blood pouring out
like firecrackers, and all Iremember thinking was, Oh God,
look at the way the red of theblood mixes with the fumes of
green and purple in the devil'shead.
And it was a wonderful image tome.
Blood everywhere, we had the redmixed with the orange, a huge
gap in his head, 17 stitches.
(39:38):
The truck, though, was adisaster.
Blood all over it with thisgreat bend in the spike.
Wow.
That is Jim Steinman telling thestory of his best friend going
through a very dangerous time ofhis life.
Emma (39:55):
life.
Yes.
Oof.
Yeah.
Ever the sympathetic, ever thesympathetic, yeah, wow,
Sam (40:03):
Hey.
Jim's, yeah, Jim is capable ofsaying some very lovely things
about people.
but he also, he seems to viewthem all as just tools.
Emma (40:16):
Jim seems to lack a bit of empathy.
Sam (40:18):
there's a word that we're both dancing around here.
Emma (40:20):
is.
Sam (40:21):
Neither of us are medically qualified to apply it.
Emma (40:23):
But we've both read Jon Ronson's book about it.
it.
right.
Sam (40:27):
right! Yeah.
He is a great storyteller, butwhy are you telling that story?
Emma (40:36):
Why are you telling the story of your friend's mental
breakdown and subsequent violentaccident?
Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle,chuckle
Sam (40:45):
chuckle.
Classic!
Emma (40:46):
Oh, bants!
Sam (40:49):
that's that story.
Continuing in the Monster theme,so the song was
Emma (40:53):
recycled for
Sam (40:54):
Tanz der Vampyre.
Ah,
Emma (40:56):
Ah yes, I've seen mention of that on Jim's site.
Sam (40:59):
I was very excited to, to learn more about this, because,
I immediately read that as Danceof the Vampires because I can
read a little bit of German andthat.
Emma (41:08):
Ooh, get you
Sam (41:09):
yeah, I know.
And then I realised this was astage musical version of the
film the Fearless VampireKillers by Roman Polanski.
Ooh.
And so my theme of uh, stagemonsters has been interrupted by
an actual monster monster in themiddle of it all.
So we'll park that whole thingfor another day.
But the song is sung by thevillain Count von Krolok.
(41:32):
in the english language versionof the, show.
Jim Steinman wrote the music, hedid the lyrics for the English
version by recycling a load ofhis old songs, And his website
calls the show a surrealorgasmic infusion of Stein
music.
Stein music! Finally, we've gotthe term for it! Yeah.
Stein music! Yeah.
(41:53):
Stein music! So yeah, that's theMeat Loaf version
Emma (41:57):
I love it, it's my favourite version of the song.
Sam (41:59):
Yes.
Emma (41:59):
It's booming, it's villainous, it's it's sinister.
I also feel it's suitable forMeat Loaf at this stage.
Exactly,
Sam (42:06):
yes.
Emma (42:07):
it's not a song about being a teenager.
Sam (42:09):
Count von Krolock sings it as an immortal vampire, I've
been evil forever, ha ha ha haha.
And that is exactly what MeatLoaf is in Bat Out of Hell 2
slash Welcome to theNeighbourhood I've been at rock
and roll for 30 years, ha ha haha ha.
It is perfect for him at thattime, I think it's the right
combo and it all works reallywell.
but in a second, listeners, weare going to listen to Taylor
(42:33):
Dayne's version, which was from1994.
And appeared on the soundtrackto the film the Shadow.
Shadow.
starring
Emma (42:42):
Alec Baldwin.
Baldwin.
Sam (42:45):
And I think it's worth a listen.
find it if you want, don't, seeif I care,
Laptop (42:51):
one with a twist that's been in since I've come along.
Now I'm drunk again.
I'm
Sam (43:15):
my notes here say, here we go.
this absolutely whips.
don't argue
Emma (43:20):
can I I argue that
Sam (43:22):
Yeah, you can.
Emma (43:23):
Okay.
So it's good.
I like it, It's perfect for afilm soundtrack, I I think.
But what pisses me off.
Uh huh.
Is the shoehorning of awfullyrics.
Sam (43:38):
The lyric in the original version is,
Emma (43:41):
not enough to make the nightmares go away.
It's not enough to make thetears run dry.
It's not enough to live a littlebetter every day.
Everything that they taught uswas nothing but lies.
Everything that they brought uswas nothing but bribes.
Sam (43:52):
Yeah, and Taylor Dayne, because she's singing to the
Shadow soundtrack.
sings who knows what evil lurksin the hearts of men today?
It's a city of shadow, it's acity of light, it's a city of
secrets, it's a city of pride.
Who knows what evil lurks in thehearts of men is the catchphrase
of the shadow.
Emma (44:12):
Okay.
just It ruins the flow for me.
Sam (44:15):
It is a little bit ham fisted.
But do you know who'sresponsible for that ham fisted
lyric?
lyric?
Is it jim?
Is it Jim?
Emma (44:21):
Yeah, I thought it might be.
Jim did produce this
Sam (44:24):
Larry Flick reviewing for Billboard, stated that Dayne's
over the top vocal style is aperfect match for jim Steinman's
melodramatic kitchen sinkproduction Dayne chews through
an arrangement of grand pianolines, thunderous guitars and
shrill choir chants withimpressive energy.
Don't be surprised if thisbombastic track propels her back
onto the pop charts in a hugeway.
Emma (44:45):
Did It
Sam (44:46):
It got to number 63 in the uK, did not chart in the US.
Good.
I think that's a disgrace.
This is jim Steinman's Bondtheme.
Yeah.
think you're right that thechanged lyrics are a bit
hamfisted and rubbish, but she
Emma (45:04):
really gives
Sam (45:05):
it some oomph that it deserves it this real kind of
Tina Turner vibe.
I genuinely am a bit baffledthat it just disappeared, and I
do wonder if it was thelacklustre film that it's taped
to that sunk it a little bit.
Emma (45:18):
I guess we'll find out when we do Film Club.
Sam (45:20):
We will find out when we do Film Club, yeah.
Emma, Emma, would you like aquiz?
Emma (45:23):
Yes.
Yes, I would because I've notheard anything about Scatman
yet.
Sam (45:27):
Taylor Dayne's biggest hit was 1987's Electronic Dancehall
Smash, Tell It To My Heart.
Okay.
Tell I'm the only one, is thisreally love or just a game?
But how did it fare against ChatOut Of Hell's favourite
Electronic Dancehall Smash,Scatman, Ski Bop Bop Badop Bop,
by Scatman John?
So we're going to play higher orlower.
We're going to twist things up abit.
I'm going yep, so I'm going togo through various charts, I'm
(45:50):
going to tell you how Scatmandid, and I want you to tell me
whether Taylor Dayne did higheror lower for Tell It To My
Heart.
Emma (45:58):
This is tenuous, isn't it?
Sam (45:59):
Listeners, play along at home.
in the UK Singles
Emma (46:01):
a Meat Loaf and Jim
Sam (46:02):
Starlin.
Ha ha In the UK singles chartScatman John got to number 3
with Scatman Ski bop ba ba dabop.
But did
Emma (46:11):
Taylor
Sam (46:11):
dayne's Tell It to My Heart get higher or lower?
Emma (46:14):
Well number 3's quite high.
Lower?
It actually got the same.
the same.
the same.
Okay.
So that
Sam (46:21):
an option.
Hey! You get
Emma (46:23):
Aye!
Sam (46:24):
for a pair not in this game.
Scatman got to number 60 in theUS Billboard 100.
Taylor dayne, higher or lower?
Emma (46:31):
Oh, I think she did much better.
Sam (46:33):
She did much better.
She got to number 7, that's
Emma (46:34):
seven.
That's one point.
Sweden, Scatman John got tonumber two.
Sam (46:37):
don't
Emma (46:37):
think I don't think she's beating number two.
Sam (46:40):
She got to number 3 in sweden.
You're on two points.
Australia, Scatman john got tonumber eight.
Emma (46:45):
I think she did better.
Sam (46:47):
She did not.
She got to number 10.
In Austria, scat man got tonumber one.
Emma (46:54):
Did she do the same?
Sam (46:55):
did! Number 1 hit to both of them.
Emma (46:57):
Yeah.
Yeah.
you only catch me out once.
Sam (46:59):
You're You're on three points.
Belgium, he got to number 1.
She got to number two.
France, he got to number one.
People love Scatman John.
Emma (47:10):
People of Europe love Scatman John.
Maybe
Sam (47:14):
But how do they feel that?
how
Emma (47:19):
did they feel about Taylor Dayne, Emma?
I think she didn't do as
Sam (47:22):
Number 11, there's only one more of these.
he got to number 39, but wheredid she get to?
Higher or lower?
Emma (47:29):
I I think She did better.
Sam (47:31):
She did better.
She got to number seven.
four points.
There's a little score charthere.
So listeners, if you got zero totwo points, you got, is this
really love or just a badlythought out game.
Oh, you spent so much time onThree to four points.
So you landed
Emma (47:49):
here.
Sam (47:50):
I won't taylor deign to comment on your score.
Anybody who got four to sixpoints at home earns scatman!
that's a decent score And if yougot seven or eight, well done.
You have earned ski bad badbrilliance Oh,
Emma (48:05):
Oh, wow.
Yeah?
what a way to end the series.
Sam (48:09):
Awesome.
Emma (48:11):
Oh Sam I think you need a break from this don't you?
Shall we hear what the people ofthe internet think about
Original sin?
Yes.
Sam (48:20):
Pandora's Box.
no interesting commentswhatsoever.
Against Meat Loaf,lukeyPup95Productions53
Emma (48:27):
Crikey.
Sam (48:28):
Crikey.
Agreed.
I like Meat Loaf's version,never heard pandora's box
version or Taylor Dayne's.
Dayne's.
Useful comment.
Yeah, yeah.
Thanks.
on dayne's version.
At browderfan, How this wasn'tnumber one worldwide is beyond
me.
It's as good as Total Eclipse ofthe Heart and most of meat
Loaf's songs.
Jim Steinman is a genius.
Emma (48:49):
To which, @GermanSausagesAretheWurst
Sam (48:51):
replied Jim
Emma (48:53):
Steinman was a genius.
He's gone now.
I like that name as well.
Sam (49:02):
At kiefer Suv 1985 marks,
Emma (49:04):
Jesus
Sam (49:05):
christ, this song is awesome Jesus Christ! People are
on my side on this one, Emma
Emma (49:12):
But
Sam (49:12):
the lyrics are wrong! And finally, this is from Steve
eckstein douglas drive, and itis a mouthful.
Okay.
This is all in caps.
It's littered with insanepunctuation.
Okay.
Which I will try my best to do.
Yes! Less than sign.
After these years gone by, openbrackets, loss of some hearing,
(49:35):
less than sign, sight andarthritic fingers, question
mark, jaw, open bracket fortenor, closed bracket, less than
sign, still love, quotationmark, ms, greater than sign,
leslie Wunderman, closebrackets, open brackets, Taylor
Dayne, open brackets, fromquotation mark, Queens, colon,
myself, colon, the bronx, andlong Island, close brackets,
(49:59):
full stop, my reality, colon,you, less than sign, nor any
great lady voices will neverrecord my songs.
Greater than sign, quotationmark, que sera, less than sign,
sera, quotation mark.
greater than sign.
Still love you and your Voice,Greater than sign.
(50:20):
greater than sign, However, lessthan sign, your quotation mark.
Back up african lady singer,still sends me into musical
heaven.
Less than than sign, eventhough, open brackets.
we.
Paragraph break, both have aged!Six exclamation marks.
I think a dalek has broken in.
(50:42):
I
Emma (50:42):
think someone's cat just wandered across their
Sam (50:45):
And that's what the the people of the internet think.
Emma (50:47):
The people of internet need to shut up.
Sam (50:50):
They do wang on, don't they?
And speaking of wanging on,Emma, shall we rate this song?
we're going to rate this onceagain on our jim steinman rating
which runs from Jim Steinman atthe top for his best songs,
don't you dare go for anythingelse, Jim Fineman in the middle,
or Jim Declineman at the bottom.
I am now accepting submissions.
Emma (51:11):
is
Sam (51:12):
Jim steinman, right?
We can argue about which one'sthe best, but it's pure jim
stein.
Oh, I'll do it in a villainousway.
pure Jim Steinman!MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Who knows what
evil lurks in the hearts of mentoday?
Emma (51:30):
we done?
Yeah.
Good!
Sam (51:36):
that was episode 12, the end of series 2 of chat out of
hell.
Woo! I asked you this at the endof the last I think we should
return to it again.
Emma (51:46):
What do you
Sam (51:47):
of Meat Jim Steinman now?
We've covered a wide variety ofstuff now from their works.
we've introduced some
Emma (51:54):
of Jim's
Sam (51:54):
work with other artists.
We've talked about the theme forhulk hogan that he did.
We have talked about that.
Emma (52:04):
a lot.
Sam (52:04):
do you feel differently about the two of them?
yeah, I think I, I think Iprobably do.
I still really enjoy the music.
Emma (52:11):
sometimes you really do have to separate the art from
the
Sam (52:15):
Yes, it's getting more under, I'm surprised actually
that, and maybe it's just causeI've done more of the steinman
research and you've done more ofthe meat Loaf stuff that The
more I learn about jim steinman,the more an unpleasant little
slimeball he is.
Yeah.
Emma (52:30):
it's an interesting journey that we're on.
Sam (52:32):
is an interesting journey
Emma (52:33):
I
Sam (52:33):
I
Emma (52:33):
like if you dig too deep into anybody, you're going to
find things that you're notgoing to
Sam (52:37):
dug that.
Look, come on.
Come
Emma (52:38):
we?
It's mostly just wikipedia doingthe
Sam (52:41):
to his own website.
It's
Emma (52:43):
It's the fact that he puts all of this up
Sam (52:44):
up.
Yeah.
Emma (52:46):
this up.
Sam (52:46):
Quite interesting, isn't it?
He is.
very much archivist, and thethings he has chosen to share
Emma (52:52):
are choose to share.
Sam (52:54):
Exactly.
We all do have the horriblemoments and the,
Emma (52:57):
There are so many things that I regret saying and doing.
Things that and
Sam (53:00):
yeah.
There's a point where, aboutwhether or not he's a
megalomaniac.
Starting to be undeniable,really.
The only man that exists in
Emma (53:08):
Jim Steinman's world is Jim Steinman, Yeah.
Sam (53:11):
the rest of us are toys for him to play with.
Emma (53:13):
In Neverland.
Sam (53:15):
In neverland, where he's an eternal teenage boy.
Despite all that, would you liketo come back and do another
series?
Emma (53:22):
Yes, yes, I would.
Sam (53:23):
Thank heavens for that.
I'd love to, Emma.
So we're taking
Emma (53:26):
a
Sam (53:26):
week break now between series, so Chat Out of Hell will
return on the
Emma (53:30):
2nd of
Sam (53:31):
December, we're going to start Series 3 with a special on
Jim Steinman's weird monologues.
So we're going to bring four ofthose to the table.
They are Wasted Youth, which isalso called Love, Death and an
American Guitar.
and that is on Bad For Good orBat out Of Hell 2.
There is nocturnal pleasure,which appears on the album Dead
(53:52):
Ringer and also on the Pandora'sBox album.
There is I've Been Dreaming Up AStorm lately, And finally, the
want ad, which again isPandora's Box.
So if you can find thoselisteners, you can listen to
them.
We're probably going to read thewhole things out to you, they're
all very short.
so we'll see you all on December2nd for those.
But before then just like lasttime, we decided to take a break
(54:15):
and then decided to do loads ofwork in the middle of it.
We'll be back with chat out ofHell Film Club, where we will
watch some films with tangentialrelationships to our chosen
artists.
So I'm gonna bring the film theShadow, which had a jim steinman
produced song as its main theme.
Emma, what are you gonna bring?
Emma (54:35):
I'm going to bring Fight Club starring meat loaf
Sam (54:37):
oh, god.
Well, we to watch it some time.
Sigh.
Sigh.
So we'll see you all for Filmclub at some point between now
and December 2nd.
But thank you all, as always,for listening to Chat out Of
Hell.
Were we right or wrong abouttoday's songs?
Would you have rated themdifferently?
Which of us is right about thebest version of original Sin?
Do let us know,chatoutofhellatgmail.
(54:59):
com What Meat Loaf song you likeat your funeral?
ChatOutOfHellAtGmail.
com And do you have proof thatJim Steinman ever rode a
motorbike?
chatoutofhellatgmail.
com I might extend that to proofthat he ever saw a motorbike,
because I'm quite doubtful ofthat.
As always, keep your generalMeat Loaf thoughts and anecdotes
flying in.
Did you see Meat Loaf at theHorniman Museum admiring their
overstuffed spherical walrus?
(55:21):
Give it a Google, it looks verysilly.
Let us know,chatoutofhellatgmail.Com and
that is it, that's the end ofseries two.
We are both quite tired.
Anything to add?
No, Lovely.
Thank you all for listening, asalways.
We genuinely enjoy doing doingthis, it is stupid fun and it's
really good having
Emma (55:41):
a
Sam (55:41):
little crowd of people along with us on our ridiculous
journey.
So we'll see you all inDecember.
Emma (55:47):
Bye! Bye
Sam (55:49):
Bow, now, now, now.
now.
Emma (55:52):
Bing!
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!