The 20th anniversary of the debut of The Office. Some of the man music video shows of the 1980s. A few of the strangest musical collaborations ever.
Episode 187 of the podcast opens up the buffet of nostalgia and pop culture in time for the first of spring.
Very few shows have had the kind of impact that The Office has. Countless memorable episodes, characters, and quotes are just the beginning. Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, Angela, Andy, and all of the rest will be there as we do a deep dive in celebration of The Office's 20th anniversary. Office Theme in the segment by MasterofTrainz on SoundCloud.
The 1980s saw the dawning of MTV. Videos became an important part of music as a whole. Luckily if you grew up then there were plenty of choices of where to watch music videos. We go way back in the day to look at some of the music video television shows of the 80s.
Some musical collaborations go together like peanut butter and jelly. On this week's Top 5, we will look at ones that went together more like peanut butter and sardines. These are some of the oddest musical collaborations ever.
There is a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the birthday of children's television legend Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers.
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- DJ Williams Music
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- CJSetterlundPhotos on Etsy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 00 (00:00):
Hello, world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps
podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund,coming to you from the vacation
destination known as Cape Cod,Massachusetts, and this is
episode 187.
Spring is arriving.
It's a beautiful day in theneighborhood.
(00:22):
And I've got a buffet ofnostalgia to feed you.
We're going to kick it off witha look back 20 years.
I can't believe it's been thatlong.
And the debut of the TV show,The Office, one of my favorites
of all time.
We're going to go way, way backin the day and look at some of
the music video shows of the1980s.
(00:42):
There were a lot of them.
There'll be a brand new Top 5.
These are the Top 5...
So what are we going to talkabout this week, besides spring
(01:14):
being here?
Maybe we'll talk about myadventures of my car failing
inspection and needing two newfront tires.
But I'll be taking care of thatwhen I finish the podcast.
Or we could talk about my veryown found footage adventure.
That is a wild story.
(01:35):
So seven years ago this month,there was a major Nor'easter in
the Northeast.
And it decimated Nauset Beachin Orleans.
It ruined it.
It changed it forever.
I went out there in the middleof the storm because of course I
did.
90 plus mile an hour winds,super dangerous storm surge.
(01:56):
So of course it's a perfecttime for me to go out in my car
and shoot some video.
I decided to go live onFacebook and basically document
the destruction of Nauset Beachas it happened.
I figured this was my attemptat being one of the Weather
Channel people that shows upwhere the hurricanes are.
So I'm live.
(02:18):
I'm filming.
It's awful seeing the beachgetting destroyed before your
eyes.
But the problem was I had aniPhone 6.
And because it was cold, windy,the battery died on my phone.
I had assumed the found footagewas lost.
Because I never had a chance toofficially save it.
And I could not find thatfootage for years.
(02:39):
And I looked all over Facebook.
So this week, I was looking forsomething else.
Another...
post in my archives.
And I happened upon a tab thatsaid live video and I clicked it
just for the hell of it.
And there was the foundfootage.
There was my live video fromNauset Beach.
What I did was I edited it.
(03:01):
I fixed the sound as best Icould.
I put some captions with it.
It's now up on my YouTubechannel and it says found
footage because I figured thatmight get some people to click
out of curiosity.
No, there's no monsters in it.
It's just the ocean destroyingNauset Beach.
But you should go check it out.
It's pretty neat.
So there was my story of theweek.
(03:23):
Let's get ready to start thispodcast off.
I can't get into it withoutthanking my Patreon subscribers.
Lori, Mary Lou, Ashley, Kevin,Leo, Marguerite, Neglectoid,
Crystal, Matt.
Thank you all so much for beingmy biggest backers, my biggest
supporters.
(03:43):
If you enjoy my content and youwant to become a Patreon
subscriber, $5 a month gets youaccess to bonus podcasts.
It gets you now access to theremastered live streams that I
used to do when I first did thepodcast without a map, they were
called.
In fact, the second remasteredone went live a couple of days
(04:05):
ago when this podcast goes up.
So go check that out, Patreonsubscribers.
So we did a little story time.
We did a little thanking of myPatreon subscribers.
Let's jump right into thepodcast with a segment I've been
waiting years to do.
I have said many times that inmy opinion, nothing is nostalgic
until it passes 20 years old.
(04:28):
Well, this week, one of myfavorite TV shows of all time
passes that threshold, and we'regoing to do a deep dive into it
coming up now as we look at the20th anniversary of The Office.
Oh man, I've been so excited inanticipation for this segment
(04:53):
of the podcast.
We're going back months when Irealized The Office would be
hitting its 20-year anniversary.
It was then that I startedmapping out the episodes of the
podcast leading up to it, justso I could remind myself to talk
about this.
Because my memory for nostalgiais pretty solid, but my memory
(05:14):
as far as putting things in totalk about on the podcast is
spotty.
I mean, what can be said aboutthe American version of The
Office?
Nine seasons, 200 episodes, somany famous characters, famous
quotes.
It's one of the most famed,most beloved American sitcoms
(05:35):
ever.
The overview is it's a sitcom,but it's a documentary style,
looking at a small paper companynamed Dunder Mifflin in the
town of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The boss, Michael Scott, playedby Steve Carell.
Tons of famous characters.
Jim Halpert, Pam Beasley,Dwight Schrute, Ryan Howard,
(05:59):
Kelly Kapoor, Angela Martin,Creed Bratton.
I mean, I could just keepnaming things.
I got to keep this on pointbecause I might ramble.
If you know The Office andyou're a fan of The Office, very
little that I'm going to say inthis segment is going to be
news to you.
But I also don't want to assumethat all of you listening
watched The Office or like TheOffice or even know about it.
(06:21):
Maybe some of you like theBritish version better.
So let's go back to thebeginning with The Office and
the British version.
The series originally wascreated by Ricky Gervais and
Stephen Merchant, and itpremiered in 2001.
It was a mockumentary stylesitcom.
focused on the mundane officeenvironment, focusing on the
(06:43):
cringeworthy antics of theoffice manager David Brent, who
was played by Ricky Gervais.
It had the dry British humor, alot of painfully awkward
moments, and realisticportrayals of workplace
dynamics.
Incredibly, for the influencethat it had, the British version
of The Office only lasted fortwo seasons and 14 episodes, and
(07:06):
a Christmas special.
It became a cult classic,inspiring a lot of different
adaptations, with the mostsuccessful one naturally being
the American version.
The pilot debuted in March2005, created by Greg Daniels,
who some of you might know fromKing of the Hill, which that's
(07:27):
another one.
If you haven't watched the Kingof the Hill show, you should
probably go watch that as well.
Just binge on King of the Hillin the office.
You'll be fine.
The Office Ladies Podcast Andthey talk about how even through
(08:04):
the second season, they wereassuming they were going to get
canceled.
However, once it found itsfooting, The Office became a
phenomenon.
One big thing that made itstand out was the mockumentary
format.
It featured a lot of handheldcamera work, direct-to-camera
interviews, like breaking thefourth wall.
There was no laugh track.
(08:26):
And for all of the humor andsometimes ridiculous things that
would happen in The Office,there was also a lot of
humanizing of characters,emotional storylines.
I mean, the story of Jim andPam and their friendship turning
into romance, that's probablythe biggest through line for the
show.
I think a big part of what madeThe Office a success was the
(08:51):
ensemble cast.
Obviously, Steve Carell asMichael Scott was the star, at
least through the first sevenseasons.
And his well-meaning, althoughcringeworthy and somewhat
foolish personality made MichaelScott one of the most famous
characters of the 21st centuryon TV.
There were so many more thanjust him.
(09:13):
You had John Krasinski as JimHalpert, who he's gone on to
become a renowned director, aquiet place.
And you've got Rainn Wilson asDwight Schrute, Jenna Fisher as
Pam Beasley, Mindy Kaling asKelly Kapoor.
There were just so manycharacters that would get their
time to shine.
(09:33):
So even if you didn't likeMichael Scott or if you didn't
like the Jim and Pam dynamic,there were things in there for
you.
I won't go too in-depth withspecific storylines and moments
because now that The Office hasofficially crossed over into
nostalgia territory, I am highlylikely going to be doing more
(09:56):
segments about my favoritestorylines or the funniest
moments, all that stuff.
So if we get to the end of thissegment and you're like, wait,
you didn't talk about when Kevinspilled the chili all over the
floor and rolled around in it.
Well, I will be talking aboutit more, but I just gave you
that vision.
Because for all of the funnyand foolish moments like Kevin
(10:18):
and his chili, or the bat flyingaround in the office having to
catch it, or the fake firedrill, or Jim and Pam staying at
Schrute Farms, the bed andbreakfast, the reality is the
show was based on characterinteractions, real-life-type
topics.
So even if you couldn't relateto Shroot Farms or a bat loose
(10:41):
in the office, you could relateto the basic human interactions.
Especially in season three, theoffice started to gain
traction.
Steve Carell was becoming amovie star.
He was in The 40-Year-OldVirgin in 2005.
And season three is when theJim and Pam romance finally
comes to be, well, at the veryend of it.
(11:02):
It became kind of like aprimetime soap opera, wanting to
see what would happen nextbetween the two of them.
I remember back when the showwas going on first run, and I
was huge into the Jim-Pamstoryline.
I wanted to find Pam to my gym.
And I will say, for a whilethere, where I worked, I
(11:23):
actually had a similar situationwhere there was a girl that I
was so into.
We were quote-unquote workspouses.
But she had a boyfriend who wasvery much like Roy, a big
meathead.
Which meant I had to be carefulwith what I said and did
because I didn't want to bechoked out.
So in my mind, I'd be like,well, if Jim and Pam got
(11:45):
together, maybe me and this girlwill get together.
I thought life would imitateThe Office on TV.
It didn't for me, but hey,whatever.
I still love the Jim-Pamstoryline.
That's a big part of what madeThe Office different from most
sitcoms.
is allowing the emotionalmoments, the emotional
(12:06):
connections with the characters.
If you didn't like the Jim andPam storyline, you might relate
more with Michael and hismisadventures in love or him
always saying the wrong thing,although he means well.
Or maybe you related more tothe Dwight and Angela romance.
Or maybe it was more of thetoxic love like Kelly and Ryan
(12:27):
had.
I'm not going to judge.
You out there who love TheOffice, who watch The Office or
binge it now, you've probablygot your own favorite episodes.
I said I wouldn't dive too deepinto specifics like that
because I want to save them forfuture podcast segments.
But if you're asking me myfavorite Office episode, it's
(12:48):
The Dinner Party from seasonfour.
It might be at least one of myfavorite television show
episodes of all time.
For those that don't know theshow, the dinner party is when
Michael and his former boss, nowgirlfriend Jan, who have a very
toxic relationship, invitethree couples from the office
(13:09):
over for a dinner party at theircondo.
And it is a crash course incringe where it seems like
Michael and Jan are trying tomake all their guests as
uncomfortable as possible astheir terrible relationship
comes to light.
It is so funny.
If you've never seen it, Idefinitely recommend you finding
at least clips from it andchecking it out.
(13:31):
Steve Carell left the showafter season seven.
I mean, he had gotten to besuch a big movie star that it
was hard for him to keep up onthe TV show.
Depending on where you land onthe spectrum, you may think that
the show should have ended whenSteve Carell left it.
I will admit season eight iskind of the low point for the
(13:53):
show with the final season,season nine being better.
But it's also a show that I canjust pick an episode out,
whichever one, and I'm usuallygoing to find at least a few
things to laugh about.
I am such a big fan of TheOffice that long-time listeners
of the podcast, you know I did asix-day, 2,100-mile road trip
(14:15):
in the late fall of 2019.
And one of my big stops on thatroad trip was Scranton,
Pennsylvania, home of TheOffice.
Even though The Office wasfilmed in Southern California,
they were very much connected tothe real city of Scranton.
So I was able to go to Scrantonand go get a drink at Poor
(14:37):
Richard's Pub.
It's a real place.
I went and got pizza atAlfredo's Cafe.
Which there's an episode whereMichael orders from a different
Alfredo's that's Kevin says thepizza's like a hot circle of
garbage.
But Alfredo's Cafe, you walk inand it literally has a sign
that says Home of the Good Pizzafrom the office.
(14:58):
And the pizza was good.
I burned the hell out of mymouth on it, but that's fine.
I got to go to the SteamtownMall, now known as the
Marketplace at Steamtown.
But I went in there becausethat's where the official
welcome to Scranton sign that'sat the beginning of every Office
episode is located.
I've got pictures of mestanding next to it.
(15:20):
That's a prized possession.
They do Scranton tours, officeScranton tours, if you go there.
So it's not like you have to belike me and do it on your own.
You can go and be led around toall the places that are
featured on The Office.
After nine seasons, The Officeended its initial run in 2013.
(15:40):
Despite that, it keeps beingfound by new audiences thanks to
streaming, Netflix, Peacock.
The show is as popular or morepopular than it was during its
initial run thanks to thestreaming, and thanks to the
Office Ladies podcast.
The influence of The Officecannot be understated, because
(16:03):
it paved the way for othermockumentary-style sitcoms like
Parks and Recreation, ModernFamily...
And there's always a clamoringfor a reboot or a new season,
even 12 years after the showended.
And you never know, the vastmajority of the cast are still
really close friends.
(16:23):
So a potential reunion isalways right around the corner.
But you can always binge on it.
There's so much merch.
There's memes.
The office is intertwined with21st century pop culture.
The American version alwaystips its hat to the British
version because obviously theAmerican version of The Office
(16:46):
would not exist without RickyGervais, Stephen Merchant, and
the British version.
In season seven, they even hada segment where Michael Scott
and David Brent meet.
Ricky Gervais was a guest star.
I'm so excited that The Officefinally passed that threshold 20
years later.
so I could put it into mynostalgia-based podcast and not
(17:09):
feel like I was kind of jumpingthe gun.
Don't worry, there will be moreOffice-themed segments, top
fives, best ofs, all that,coming up in future episodes.
But right now, you should go toNetflix or Peacock or YouTube
and just find a few segments ofthe show and just laugh.
(17:30):
I know I do it most days when Ineed a laugh.
It's a beautiful day in theneighborhood, and this week in
history, we're going back 97years to March 20th, 1928, and
the birth of the one and onlyFred Rogers.
(17:53):
Fred McFeely Rogers, betterknown as just Mr.
Rogers, was a belovedtelevision host, musician, and
advocate for children'seducation.
His impact continues toresonate decades after his
passing.
Those of us that grew up withMr.
Rogers' neighborhood rememberhis gentle voice, his cardigan
(18:16):
sweaters, and his unwaveringcommitment to make the world a
better place.
Fred Rogers was born inLatrobe, Pennsylvania, and was a
shy and introverted child,often spending time alone
playing with puppets and music.
Interestingly, Fred Rogersinitially planned to become a
minister.
but he found himself drawn tothe emerging medium of
(18:38):
television.
It was way back in the early1950s he began working at NBC,
but soon moved to WQED inPittsburgh, and that's where he
helped develop The Children'sCorner, which was a precursor to
his own show.
Even though he didn't become afull minister and go into that
career path, he was ordained asa Presbyterian minister in 1963.
(19:02):
with a mission to usetelevision as a tool for
positive influence.
This led to the launch of Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood in 1968,and that show ran for over 30
years.
I am thinking that almost allof you listening have watched
Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood.
(19:23):
Think about it.
If you were a kid in the late60s through the early 2000s, Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood was astaple on PBS.
The show was different.
It was more slow-paced,thoughtful, and reassuring.
Each episode of Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood followed afamiliar structure where he
(19:44):
would come home, change into hiscardigan and sneakers, talk to
us, talk to us kids through thecamera, and it was always calm
and comforting.
But underneath that, Mr.
Rogers would tackle complexsubjects like divorce, death,
self-acceptance, with honestyand sensitivity.
(20:04):
It was a safe space for kidsthat needed to process their
emotions.
There was also the land ofmake-believe with puppets like
King Friday and Daniel StripedTiger.
Beyond Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood, FredRogers was an advocate for
children's welfare.
(20:25):
In 1969, he testified beforethe U.S.
Senate to defend funding forpublic television.
Throughout his long career,Fred Rogers emphasized the
importance of emotionalintelligence, reminding parents,
educators, and policymakersthat children's feelings and
experiences matter.
The vast majority of you outthere I'm sure are my age or
(20:49):
older, 40s, 50s, but even thoughwe're so far removed from
childhood, I'm sure you canremember Fred Times when your
feelings weren't validated ortimes that they were and how
that made you feel.
And Fred Rogers was a bigadvocate for that.
It was and is hugely importantfor a child to feel heard
(21:10):
because if they don't, they growup with emotional issues that
are a lot harder to untie.
Fred Rogers passed awayFebruary 27th, 2003 at the age
of 74.
But his legacy lives on throughthe continuing influence of his
work.
Fred Rogers' show, his message,it's still as relevant,
(21:34):
probably more relevant today intoday's climate.
Which is ironic because itstarted in the turbulent late
1960s.
Fred Rogers, through his gentledemeanor and unwavering belief
in the goodness of people...
proved that a simple message oflove and compassion could
change the world oneneighborhood at a time.
(21:55):
And that man, Fred Rogers,entered this world 97 years ago
this week in history.
Oh, we're going to keep thebeautiful day in the
neighborhood going.
We're going back 57 years agothis week to March 20th, 1968.
(22:15):
So it would have been FredRogers' 40th birthday.
I picked this date because itwould have been the first
birthday he celebrated while Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood was on theair.
So there was a method to mymadness.
What was going on in the worldof pop culture back then?
Well, let's find out.
The number one song was Sittingon the Dock of the Bay by Otis
(22:39):
Redding.
Otis Redding finished recordingthis song just three days
before his death on December10th, 1967 in a plane crash.
It became the first posthumousnumber one single ever.
And even though it wastechnically finished and
released, the story is that thefamed whistling at the end of
(23:02):
the song was actually supposedto be a placeholder by Otis
Redding to come back and putmore lyrics to the song.
But obviously he passed awaybefore he could do that, and
that has become an iconic partof this song.
The song was released as a partof a posthumous greatest hits
compilation called The Dock ofthe Bay, and the single itself
(23:24):
sold more than 4 million copiesupon its release.
The number one movie was No Wayto Treat a Lady, and you could
get into the theater with aticket costing $1.31.
This is a psychologicalthriller with a hint of black
comedy about a crafty serialkiller playing a cat and mouse
(23:46):
game with a detective.
It stars Rod Steiger, LeeRemick, and George Siegel, and
it's 89% fresh on RottenTomatoes, which gives a pretty
good indication that it was asuccess.
I couldn't find anything aboutthe budget for it, but it made
$3 million at the box office.
The number one TV show was TheAndy Griffith Show.
(24:10):
This is like the all-famouswhistling time capsule we had
sitting on the dock of the bay.
Now The Andy Griffith Show,theme with that famed whistling.
It starred Andy Griffith, DonKnotts, and little Ronnie
Howard, and the adventures ofwidowed Sheriff Andy Taylor and
his family and friends in thetown of Mayberry.
(24:32):
The show was on for eightseasons and 249 episodes from
1960 to 1968.
In fact, the final episode ofThe Andy Griffith Show aired
only two weeks later on April1st, 1968, so this was nearing
the end of the show.
And if you were around backthen, March 20th, 1968, maybe
(24:57):
you and your friends wanted tomake your own radio shows.
Well, you're in luck if you goto the Radio Shack catalog.
A company called Realistic hasa deluxe, full-featured
cartridge tape recorder.
Boy, you can tell this was newtechnology back then.
This tape recorder, which lookslike something you would have
(25:19):
gotten at the dollar store forabout $2.99, very, very basic,
back then cost $69.95.
When adjusted for inflation to2025, that means that basic tape
recorder would cost you $638.
Just close your eyes andimagine the most basic
(25:41):
bare-bones cassette recorder youcould find, and then imagine
spending more than $600 on that.
Back then in 1968, that was theprice you paid to make your own
radio programs with yourfriends.
But that'll wrap up anotherTime Capsule, another This Week
in History.
We go from talking about youmaking radio shows with your
(26:03):
friends to some of the oddestmusical collaborations you'll
ever find.
So let's talk about those.
Some musical collaborations gotogether like peanut butter and
jelly.
But on this week's top five,we're going to talk about the
(26:24):
ones that go together likepeanut butter and sardines.
We're going to talk about someof the weirdest musical
collaborations you couldpossibly think of.
Now, I kind of make the jokepeanut butter and sardines.
That doesn't mean all thesecollaborations are bad.
They're just between artiststhat you wouldn't expect to work
together.
(26:45):
Either different genres,different ages, different
musical stylings, whatever itis.
This segment came about from afew weeks ago on the podcast
where I talked about the 35thanniversary of one of my
favorite movies, House Party.
And I mentioned that thebullies in that movie, they're
an R&B group called Full Force.
(27:05):
And how I found out that FullForce had actually sung backup
on a Bob Dylan song.
So that's where this came from.
I said, that's a pretty weirdcollaboration, but I bet there's
more that are just as weird ormaybe weirder.
As with many of these topfives, there are some honorable
mentions, and they are in noparticular order.
(27:26):
I would say some of these songswould be worth checking out.
There are others that I'd say Idon't know.
And there are a couple of themthat I actually have on my
iTunes on my laptop.
But enough teases.
Let's start with the honorablementions.
We'll see if you agree thatthese are some odd combinations.
Honorable mentions for oddestmusical collaborations include
(27:51):
Coldplay and Jay-Z, Britpop anda little more hardcore hip-hop.
They did a version ofColdplay's song Lost.
Another honorable mention isEddie Murphy and Michael
Jackson.
They did the song Was Up WithYou on Eddie Murphy's 1993
(28:12):
album.
Eddie Murphy was a bad boy ofcomedy, so his collaborations
with Rick James in the 1980sparty all the time, that didn't
seem as weird as 1993 MichaelJackson, full of plastic surgery
and controversies, and thenthere's Eddie Murphy.
Another honorable mention isBilly Joe Armstrong from Green
(28:35):
Day and Nora Jones.
So punk or pop punk and soulfuljazz piano.
They did a song calledForeverly in 2013.
Another honorable mention isPaul McCartney and the surviving
members of Nirvana.
They did a song called Cut MeSome Slack in 2012.
(28:58):
The song is actually reallygood, but there's no denying
what a weird combination thatis.
And the final honorable mentionfor weird musical
collaborations is Snoop Dogg andWillie Nelson.
Yes, they have weed in common,so it's kind of ironic that
their song is called My Medicinefrom 2008, but hardcore gangsta
(29:23):
rap, at least that's what Snoopwas, and country music, it's a
weird combination.
So those are the honorablementions.
Have you heard of any of thosesongs?
Well, let's really get weirdnow.
We'll start the actual top fivewith the one that got this idea
started in the first place, andthat's number one, Bob Dylan
(29:45):
and Full Force.
I couldn't not include thissong in here.
As I mentioned in episode 185,this is off of Bob Dylan's album
Down in the Groove.
It came out in 1988, and thesong that Full Force sings
backup on is called Death Is Notthe End.
The reviews at the time wereoverwhelmingly negative for this
(30:09):
album, although one of thereviews I read said said that
the collaboration with FullForce was highly anticipated,
but it actually ended up beingan outtake from an older album.
So they were upset that itwasn't a new song that Bob Dylan
wrote with Full Force.
It was more of a B-side that hehad them sing back up on.
(30:30):
But like I said in the episodea few weeks ago, Bob Dylan, one
of the most influentialmusicians ever, and Full Force,
the hip-hop group that were thebullies in House Party, getting
together and making music, itjust blew my mind.
Number two is BoneThugs-N-Harmony and Phil
(30:51):
Collins.
The hip-hop group known for TheCrossroads, which was a big
song in my high school days.
and Phil Collins, who was moreadult contemporary pop,
especially in the 1980s.
The song they collaborated onwas called Home.
This was off of BoneThugs-N-Harmony's 2003 album
(31:14):
Thug World Order.
The song features samples ofPhil Collins' song Take Me Home.
He gave them permission to usethe song as samples, but the
collaboration came when theystarted talking about making a
video for the song.
And they actually went toSwitzerland and made the video
with Phil Collins.
(31:35):
The song was not a success.
It did not chart, at least notin the US.
It charted over in the UK andwas popular enough that Bone
Thugs-N-Harmony inducted PhilCollins as an honorary member of
their group, calling him by thenickname Chrome Bone.
Number three.
(31:56):
is Weird Al Yankovic and KateWinslet.
Yes, the king of parody songs,parody music for the last 40
plus years, and the actress fromTitanic.
The song they collaborated onis called I Need a Nap from
2005.
The album is called Dog Train,and it's more of an audiobook
(32:22):
from children's writer SandraBoynton.
This is a combination so outthere that if you research it,
you'll find a lot of people thatthought it was an April Fool's
joke.
Obviously, just because you'rean actor does not mean you can't
be a singer as well.
Some that do it don't do itwell.
I mean, we look at Eddie Murphyor Don Johnson.
(32:44):
But this combination feels likethey were just trying to find
the most polar oppositepersonalities.
I could think of a millionother combinations for Weird Al
Yankovic to sing with before I'dcome up with Kate Winslet.
Oh, and by the way, you canfind the song online.
All these ones I'm talkingabout, you can literally punch
(33:06):
in and listen to.
But the hits just keep oncoming with weirdness.
As we move on to number four,Ozzy Osbourne and Jessica
Simpson.
The dark king of heavy metalmusic.
And what I could only say is aB-level teen singer.
No offense, but when you thinkof the late 90s, early 2000s of
(33:29):
those female teen singers, youthink of Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera, and thennext level down is Jessica
Simpson and Mandy Moore.
But it gets even better.
They do a cover of WinterWonderland.
They sing a Christmas songtogether.
It's from 2003.
It's from the television showThe Osborne Family Christmas
(33:52):
Special.
The video is all over YouTube.
It's incredible to think thatthis is real.
Although, in 2003, JessicaSimpson was still at the height
of the fame she had.
I don't know if Ozzy was tryingto cross over to find more of
the young pop demographic tolisten to his music, but it was
definitely weird.
(34:13):
But it doesn't top the originalweird collaboration and the
original weird Christmascollaboration as we get to
number five on the oddestmusical collaborations.
And that is David Bowie andBing Crosby.
These two collaborated on Peaceon Earth, The Little Drummer
(34:33):
Boy, Christmas Songs on a 1977Christmas special, Bing Crosby's
Merry Old Christmas.
This was Bing Crosby's lastrecordings before his death.
The famed crooner and thenZiggy Stardust himself, David
Bowie.
Incredibly, the story of thisis that Bowie showed up.
(34:55):
He was promoting his new album,Heroes, that was released in
October 1977.
And Bowie showed up to thestudio with bright red hair,
full makeup and an earring.
So just imagine someone likeBing Crosby, the traditional
values type guy.
And here's David Bowie showingup like that.
(35:16):
They said people told them totake the makeup off and the
earring out and then they couldrecord the song.
But there you have it.
Some of the weirdest musicalcollaborations I could find.
Which of these was the weirdestto you?
I'm still going to go withWeird Al and Kate Winslet.
But any of these, including thehonorable mentions, they're up
(35:38):
there because I put them on thislist.
Some of these collaborationshad music videos.
And if you enjoyed music videosin the 1980s, boy, you had
plenty of shows to choose fromthat would quench your thirst
for music videos.
So we're going to go way backin the day now and look at music
video shows of the 1980s.
(36:00):
The 1980s was definitely anamazing decade to grow up in.
You've heard me say it so manytimes on this podcast.
Another example of why I lovethe 80s so much was the
(36:20):
abundance of music, musicvideos, music television.
I often make the joke now thatMTV should have to change its
name because it hasn't featuredmusic in over 20 years.
Yeah, they may have a video ortwo at 2am, but the days of MTV
being music television diedwhile I was in college.
(36:44):
That being said, there's nodenying the impact MTV had on
the world.
When it debuted in August of1981, it changed everything.
Music videos, which had beenvery, very rare in the years
leading up to the creation ofMTV, became everything.
(37:04):
The videos themselves wereevery bit as important as the
music to showcase the artists orto get a song popular.
If you had a unique musicvideo, your song might not be
that great, but people willwatch because the video is
unique.
To this day, they still makemusic videos.
They're basically regulated toYouTube, where the artists
(37:27):
themselves will post it on theirofficial channel.
And that's a good thing.
That means you don't needothers to get your music out
there.
You could be just some randomJoe off the street and you could
make a video for your song andpossibly get it seen by
thousands of people.
The 1980s was different though.
(37:47):
You had MTV, which was the kingof featuring music videos, but
they weren't the only one.
This segment came about when Istarted thinking of All of the
different TV shows in the 1980sthat featured music videos.
So I decided to go back and seehow many I could find.
And obviously, this segmentmeans we're going to go through
(38:11):
a lot of them.
I've got 10.
Now, I might gloss through someof these.
They might not be the deep diveyou want.
Because there's a few that Ithink deserve their own segment.
So just so you know, in thefuture, I will probably be doing
a standalone segment for a fewof these different video shows.
The first one that popped intomy head, and it just shows my
(38:33):
age where I was at in the 1980s,was a show called Nick Rocks.
Unknown (38:45):
Nick Rocks.
Nick Rocks.
Nick Rocks.
Speaker 00 (38:51):
It was a video show on Nickelodeon.
The show was 30 minutes long.
It was hosted by a guy,quote-unquote, Joe from Chicago.
It was on from 1984 to 1989.
At first, it was on three daysa week, and then it became part
of the Daily Rotation.
A big claim to fame for NickRocks was in 1987, the group The
(39:15):
Monkees became involved in adispute with MTV.
So MTV pulled all their musicvideos.
This was when they werestarting to make a comeback.
So the Monkees music videosbecame exclusive to Nick Rocks.
I don't know if that helpedtheir sales, seeing as how most
of the Nickelodeon people thatwere watching were my age, so I
(39:38):
was about 9 or 10 years old atthe time.
If you were to stop and thinkof music video shows from the
1980s.
The first one you might thinkof was Friday Night Videos.
This show was on NBC from 1983all the way up through 2002.
(40:10):
It originally started as a90-minute block of videos that
would come on at 12.30 a.m.
Despite its time slot not beinggreat for younger people to
watch music videos, Friday nightvideos was necessary because in
the early days of MTV, throughthe mid-80s, it wasn't available
(40:32):
everywhere because not everyhome had cable television.
I know, young people listening,we had no cable TV.
I think we got it in 1985,which meant before then we had
whatever the dial would giveyou, 10 channels.
The most popular feature ofFriday night videos was the
video vote.
(40:53):
This was where two videos wouldbe played back to back and you
could call in and get chargedand vote for your favorite and
the winner would go on to face anew challenger next week.
A show that might be a cheat,and you'll have to let me know
if it is, it's Solid Gold.
Do you remember Solid Gold?
Now, this, they didn't, playmusic videos, it was more like
(41:30):
they played music and they hadthe solid gold dancers that
would dance to the songs.
It's a musical variety show, Iguess would be what it was
technically classified as.
It was on for eight seasonsfrom 1980 to 1988.
The show was hosted by DionneWarwick, Marilyn McCoo, Andy
Gibb, What's interesting is Ialways liked watching the show.
(41:53):
Maybe because I just likedhearing the music or watching
the solid gold dancers.
But the reviews of the showweren't usually good.
A lot of people saying thedance routines didn't match up
with the songs.
Or that the dance routinesadded up to little more than
just aerobic training videos.
Although it did have thememorable theme performed by
(42:16):
Dionne Warwick.
One music video show that I gotinto later, probably in middle
school, was 120 Minutes on MTV.
This show was dedicated to thealternative music genre, and I
(42:44):
wasn't into it until Nirvanacame out.
Or at least until I heardSmells Like Teen Spirit in the
summer of 1991.
The show ended up being on for17 seasons with Matt Pinfield
being the host that I remember.
Anyone who was anyone in thealternative genre in the late
80s through the mid 90s was onthat show.
(43:06):
Their videos were on that show.
I think another reason why Iwasn't into 120 Minutes when it
first came out was that it wason at 1 a.m.
I was not staying up as a 10-11year old till 1am unless it was
to watch King Kong vs.
Godzilla, which that is a truestory.
Kind of the other side of thesame coin of 120 minutes was the
(43:30):
show Headbangers Ball.
The show began in April 1987.
It would feature well-knownmetal artists, up-and-coming
(43:51):
artists.
The original version of theshow lasted for eight seasons.
Those of you that remember theshow will probably remember
Ricky Rackman being the one whohosted it.
That's who I remember.
It was canceled in the mid-90sas the mainstream rise of
grunge, alternative, pop-punkkind of made Headbanger's Ball
(44:12):
less relevant.
Do you remember Dial MTV?
That was the precursor to TotalRequest Live.
It was the call-in show.
Speaker 03 (44:23):
Call now.
Call now.
It's Dial MTV.
Give us a buzz and we may takeoff.
Thank you so much for calling.
And tonight at 6 p.m.
Eastern, we'll play back thetop 10.
I hope someone else calls.
I hope someone else calls.
Speaker 00 (44:36):
It debuted in February 1986 and what they
played was determined by you whocalled in.
They had certain rules with theshow.
The videos were only eligibleto be on there for 30 days after
their release.
This is because of somethingcalled the Crew Rule, where
Motley Crue's song Home SweetHome was voted number one on
(44:59):
Dial MTV for 90 days.
I guess they wanted to makesure that other artists had a
chance for their songs to be themost popular on Dial MTV.
Interestingly, even though DialMTV was canceled in 1991, the
800 number remained in use allthe way through TRL.
A lesser known 80s music videoshow was Night Tracks.
Speaker 01 (45:28):
Welcome to Night Tracks, America's favorite music
video show.
Wall-to-wall excitement comingyour way, including exclusive
interview footage with...
Speaker 00 (45:36):
This was kind of like an answer to Friday Night
Videos, except it was on TBS.
It was on from 1983 to 1992,and it was late nights on Friday
and Saturday.
There would be three-hourblocks of videos, so no
different than any of theseother ones.
Nick Rock's Friday NightVideos.
All the same sort of template.
(45:59):
But as the popularity of musicvideo programs started to wane,
that's when Night Tracks wascanceled in the early 90s.
During the 80s, it seemed likeeverybody, every network got in
on the music video show crazebecause the USA Network had
their own show, Radio 1990.
Speaker 01 (46:19):
This 30-minute
Speaker 00 (46:33):
music video show did not exist in 1990.
It was on from 1983 to 1986.
This was on during prime timeon the USA Network.
I guess they didn't have muchelse to put on there.
It was a companion show toanother show called Night
Flight, which featured musicvideos, interviews, stand-up
(46:56):
comedy.
I say every network had its ownmusic video show.
Every genre seemed to have itsown music video show.
We talked about alternative,metal.
What about Yo MTV Raps?
Unknown (47:12):
Yo.
Speaker 00 (47:23):
Ed Lover and Dr.
Dre.
No, not the one from NWA.
That was always confusing to meas a kid in the late 80s, early
90s.
There was a fat Dr.
Dre that actually spelled outdoctor.
And then there was the NWA Dr.
Dre that was DR period.
I don't know how they figuredthat one out.
(47:43):
Yo! MTV Raps was on from 1988to 1995.
It was a two-hour block of rapand hip-hop videos originally
hosted by Fab Five Freddy.
I'll definitely be doing adeeper dive into Yo! MTV Raps
because I still, to this day, Ithink in my mom's basement, have
(48:04):
a small collection of the Yo!MTV Raps trading cards.
That's how I knew a lot of thehip-hop artists of the early 90s
was they had trading cards oftheirs.
How else would I know Father MCand Big Daddy Kane if I didn't
have trading cards?
The last music video show ofthe 80s I wanted to talk about,
(48:26):
we go to cable TV, subscriptionTV, and HBO, and their show
Video Jukebox.
Unknown (48:43):
Video Jukebox
Speaker 00 (48:48):
This show started in December 1981, so MTV was on
the air a few months earlier.
But interestingly, HBO is theoriginator of playing music
videos, as they would usuallyhave one or two videos as
bumpers between movies in thelate 70s.
So yes, MTV was the originalmusic television, but HBO was
(49:12):
giving a platform to musicvideos in the years before MTV
existed.
This was a half-hour show,Video Jukebox, and when it first
debuted, this show was in morehouseholds than MTV.
So for the first year of VideoJukebox, a musical artist would
get more exposure being on thisshow than on MTV, which is wild.
(49:37):
The show had no host until itsfinal season in 1985 when New
York City DJ Dennis Elsus camein and did voiceover work until
the show was canceled in 1986.
So there you go.
Ten music video shows of the1980s.
Are you amazed there were thatmany?
(49:58):
Are there some that I missed?
I'm thinking I missed some.
The reason I say that is we'llpull back the curtain on my
research efforts.
I have in my notes 10 musicvideo shows listed.
Little did I know, I hadHeadbangers Ball listed twice.
So as I'm going through mynotes and recording this, I look
and I'm like, oh crap, I onlyhave 9 and I said 10.
(50:22):
So I did quick research and Ifound USA Network's Radio 1990.
So research on the fly to makesure I'm not a liar to you about
my count on this segment.
And let me know if there's anyof these that you want me to do
a deep dive into.
I'm sure Nick Rocks, SolidGold, Yo MTV Raps, I'm going to
do deeper dives into in thefuture.
(50:43):
But until next week, that'sgoing to wrap up episode 187 of
the In My Footsteps podcast.
Thank you all so much formaking it to the end.
Thank you for making it a partof your week.
The weather's getting better,so I'm hoping some of you are
out walking in the sun listeningto this.
Warm sun on your face, warmnostalgia in your heart.
(51:06):
Man, it sounds like a Hallmarkcard.
Next week, we're going to keepthe fun going with episode 188.
I'm going to dive into thereturn of 3D movies in the early
1980s.
Some that were good, some thatwere not good, like Jaws 3D.
And we're going to look at thebiggest television fails of the
(51:27):
1970s.
I was not alive through most ofthe 70s, but even if I was, I
probably wouldn't have watchedany of these shows.
If you enjoy my work, if youwant to support me, you can
become a subscriber on Patreonfor $5 a month.
It's literally like giving upone Starbucks coffee a month or
(51:49):
Dunkin' Donuts or wherever thehell you get coffee from.
You could always buy me acoffee, not Starbucks and
sending it to me, but actuallyon the website.
That's as little as a dollar,which won't buy me a coffee, but
hey, it shows support and Iappreciate all of that.
Of course, there's lots ofother ways that you can support
(52:10):
me besides money.
You can share my work.
That's the big thing.
My YouTube channel, I've gothundreds and hundreds of YouTube
videos that I've been puttingup for 15 years.
I've got hundreds of blogs andobviously almost 200 episodes of
the podcast.
Sharing this costs nothing.
(52:32):
It takes two seconds of yourtime.
And you never know when whatyou share is going to create new
lifelong fans of my work.
You can find me all over socialmedia.
Check out my Etsy shop, myphotography shop, CJ Sederland
Photos.
I add...
A couple new photos everyweekend, trying to increase my
(52:56):
inventory and also entice peopleto come back.
If you go to the store and youdon't see a photo you like, you
can come back the next weekendand you never know.
New England, Cape Cod, scenery.
I have got thousands of photos,so I can keep putting new
photos up until long after thispodcast is done.
(53:17):
Happy birthday when thispodcast goes live on this day to
my friend Sue.
We go all the way back toMonsieur Welsh's French class
over 30 years ago.
Happy early birthday out inVegas to my cousin Patrick.
And next week on the podcast, Imay have some fun news because
(53:39):
this weekend is my hike out toRace Point with my friend
producer Frank Durant.
The weather looks okay.
It looks great.
mid to upper 40s, but at leastsunny.
I'm likely to have a lot ofcontent coming from this
weekend.
Interviews.
I'll be on set of the moviethat I had my first acting role
(53:59):
for, Frank's low-budget indiehorror film.
I'm going to try to get someinterviews.
I'm going to try to get somebehind-the-scenes footage, but
I'm also going to try to stayout of the way of the director.
I don't want to have it whereI'm instantly seen as a problem
on set.
It has been a fun process.
It's been a little bitnerve-wracking.
(54:20):
As I've said, I'm not an actor,at least as far as doing things
that other people havescripted.
I've done my own skits over theyears.
I do research and notes forthis podcast, but learning other
people's lines and directionson how to do scenes, it's kind
(54:41):
of new to me, but it's fun tolearn a new skill.
I'm going to look for othersmall parts in other productions
because you never know.
Maybe this is the only filmrole I ever have, but if I think
that way, it's definitely goingto be.
So be on the lookout thisweekend on my social media.
I'm sure there'll be clips ofme and Frank wandering out in
(55:04):
the beach, miles fromcivilization, going out to the
lighthouse.
Thank you all again for tuningin.
Remember, in this life, Don'twalk in anyone else's footsteps.
Create your own path and enjoyevery moment you can on this
journey we call life because younever know what tomorrow
brings.
(55:25):
This has been the In MyFootsteps podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund.
You already knew that.
And I'll talk to you all againsoon.
Hello, world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps
podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund,coming to you from the vacation
destination known as Cape Cod,Massachusetts, and this is
episode 187.
Spring is arriving.
It's a beautiful day in theneighborhood.
(00:22):
And I've got a buffet ofnostalgia to feed you.
We're going to kick it off witha look back 20 years.
I can't believe it's been thatlong.
And the debut of the TV show,The Office, one of my favorites
of all time.
We're going to go way, way backin the day and look at some of
the music video shows of the1980s.
(00:42):
There were a lot of them.
There'll be a brand new Top 5.
These are the Top 5...
So what are we going to talkabout this week, besides spring
(01:14):
being here?
Maybe we'll talk about myadventures of my car failing
inspection and needing two newfront tires.
But I'll be taking care of thatwhen I finish the podcast.
Or we could talk about my veryown found footage adventure.
That is a wild story.
(01:35):
So seven years ago this month,there was a major Nor'easter in
the Northeast.
And it decimated Nauset Beachin Orleans.
It ruined it.
It changed it forever.
I went out there in the middleof the storm because of course I
did.
90 plus mile an hour winds,super dangerous storm surge.
(01:56):
So of course it's a perfecttime for me to go out in my car
and shoot some video.
I decided to go live onFacebook and basically document
the destruction of Nauset Beachas it happened.
I figured this was my attemptat being one of the Weather
Channel people that shows upwhere the hurricanes are.
So I'm live.
(02:18):
I'm filming.
It's awful seeing the beachgetting destroyed before your
eyes.
But the problem was I had aniPhone 6.
And because it was cold, windy,the battery died on my phone.
I had assumed the found footagewas lost.
Because I never had a chance toofficially save it.
And I could not find thatfootage for years.
(02:39):
And I looked all over Facebook.
So this week, I was looking forsomething else.
Another...
post in my archives.
And I happened upon a tab thatsaid live video and I clicked it
just for the hell of it.
And there was the foundfootage.
There was my live video fromNauset Beach.
What I did was I edited it.
(03:01):
I fixed the sound as best Icould.
I put some captions with it.
It's now up on my YouTubechannel and it says found
footage because I figured thatmight get some people to click
out of curiosity.
No, there's no monsters in it.
It's just the ocean destroyingNauset Beach.
But you should go check it out.
It's pretty neat.
So there was my story of theweek.
(03:23):
Let's get ready to start thispodcast off.
I can't get into it withoutthanking my Patreon subscribers.
Lori, Mary Lou, Ashley, Kevin,Leo, Marguerite, Neglectoid,
Crystal, Matt.
Thank you all so much for beingmy biggest backers, my biggest
supporters.
(03:43):
If you enjoy my content and youwant to become a Patreon
subscriber, $5 a month gets youaccess to bonus podcasts.
It gets you now access to theremastered live streams that I
used to do when I first did thepodcast without a map, they were
called.
In fact, the second remasteredone went live a couple of days
(04:05):
ago when this podcast goes up.
So go check that out, Patreonsubscribers.
So we did a little story time.
We did a little thanking of myPatreon subscribers.
Let's jump right into thepodcast with a segment I've been
waiting years to do.
I have said many times that inmy opinion, nothing is nostalgic
until it passes 20 years old.
(04:28):
Well, this week, one of myfavorite TV shows of all time
passes that threshold, and we'regoing to do a deep dive into it
coming up now as we look at the20th anniversary of The Office.
Oh man, I've been so excited inanticipation for this segment
(04:53):
of the podcast.
We're going back months when Irealized The Office would be
hitting its 20-year anniversary.
It was then that I startedmapping out the episodes of the
podcast leading up to it, justso I could remind myself to talk
about this.
Because my memory for nostalgiais pretty solid, but my memory
(05:14):
as far as putting things in totalk about on the podcast is
spotty.
I mean, what can be said aboutthe American version of The
Office?
Nine seasons, 200 episodes, somany famous characters, famous
quotes.
It's one of the most famed,most beloved American sitcoms
(05:35):
ever.
The overview is it's a sitcom,but it's a documentary style,
looking at a small paper companynamed Dunder Mifflin in the
town of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The boss, Michael Scott, playedby Steve Carell.
Tons of famous characters.
Jim Halpert, Pam Beasley,Dwight Schrute, Ryan Howard,
(05:59):
Kelly Kapoor, Angela Martin,Creed Bratton.
I mean, I could just keepnaming things.
I got to keep this on pointbecause I might ramble.
If you know The Office andyou're a fan of The Office, very
little that I'm going to say inthis segment is going to be
news to you.
But I also don't want to assumethat all of you listening
watched The Office or like TheOffice or even know about it.
(06:21):
Maybe some of you like theBritish version better.
So let's go back to thebeginning with The Office and
the British version.
The series originally wascreated by Ricky Gervais and
Stephen Merchant, and itpremiered in 2001.
It was a mockumentary stylesitcom.
focused on the mundane officeenvironment, focusing on the
(06:43):
cringeworthy antics of theoffice manager David Brent, who
was played by Ricky Gervais.
It had the dry British humor, alot of painfully awkward
moments, and realisticportrayals of workplace
dynamics.
Incredibly, for the influencethat it had, the British version
of The Office only lasted fortwo seasons and 14 episodes, and
(07:06):
a Christmas special.
It became a cult classic,inspiring a lot of different
adaptations, with the mostsuccessful one naturally being
the American version.
The pilot debuted in March2005, created by Greg Daniels,
who some of you might know fromKing of the Hill, which that's
(07:27):
another one.
If you haven't watched the Kingof the Hill show, you should
probably go watch that as well.
Just binge on King of the Hillin the office.
You'll be fine.
The Office Ladies Podcast Andthey talk about how even through
(08:04):
the second season, they wereassuming they were going to get
canceled.
However, once it found itsfooting, The Office became a
phenomenon.
One big thing that made itstand out was the mockumentary
format.
It featured a lot of handheldcamera work, direct-to-camera
interviews, like breaking thefourth wall.
There was no laugh track.
(08:26):
And for all of the humor andsometimes ridiculous things that
would happen in The Office,there was also a lot of
humanizing of characters,emotional storylines.
I mean, the story of Jim andPam and their friendship turning
into romance, that's probablythe biggest through line for the
show.
I think a big part of what madeThe Office a success was the
(08:51):
ensemble cast.
Obviously, Steve Carell asMichael Scott was the star, at
least through the first sevenseasons.
And his well-meaning, althoughcringeworthy and somewhat
foolish personality made MichaelScott one of the most famous
characters of the 21st centuryon TV.
There were so many more thanjust him.
(09:13):
You had John Krasinski as JimHalpert, who he's gone on to
become a renowned director, aquiet place.
And you've got Rainn Wilson asDwight Schrute, Jenna Fisher as
Pam Beasley, Mindy Kaling asKelly Kapoor.
There were just so manycharacters that would get their
time to shine.
(09:33):
So even if you didn't likeMichael Scott or if you didn't
like the Jim and Pam dynamic,there were things in there for
you.
I won't go too in-depth withspecific storylines and moments
because now that The Office hasofficially crossed over into
nostalgia territory, I am highlylikely going to be doing more
(09:56):
segments about my favoritestorylines or the funniest
moments, all that stuff.
So if we get to the end of thissegment and you're like, wait,
you didn't talk about when Kevinspilled the chili all over the
floor and rolled around in it.
Well, I will be talking aboutit more, but I just gave you
that vision.
Because for all of the funnyand foolish moments like Kevin
(10:18):
and his chili, or the bat flyingaround in the office having to
catch it, or the fake firedrill, or Jim and Pam staying at
Schrute Farms, the bed andbreakfast, the reality is the
show was based on characterinteractions, real-life-type
topics.
So even if you couldn't relateto Shroot Farms or a bat loose
(10:41):
in the office, you could relateto the basic human interactions.
Especially in season three, theoffice started to gain
traction.
Steve Carell was becoming amovie star.
He was in The 40-Year-OldVirgin in 2005.
And season three is when theJim and Pam romance finally
comes to be, well, at the veryend of it.
(11:02):
It became kind of like aprimetime soap opera, wanting to
see what would happen nextbetween the two of them.
I remember back when the showwas going on first run, and I
was huge into the Jim-Pamstoryline.
I wanted to find Pam to my gym.
And I will say, for a whilethere, where I worked, I
(11:23):
actually had a similar situationwhere there was a girl that I
was so into.
We were quote-unquote workspouses.
But she had a boyfriend who wasvery much like Roy, a big
meathead.
Which meant I had to be carefulwith what I said and did
because I didn't want to bechoked out.
So in my mind, I'd be like,well, if Jim and Pam got
(11:45):
together, maybe me and this girlwill get together.
I thought life would imitateThe Office on TV.
It didn't for me, but hey,whatever.
I still love the Jim-Pamstoryline.
That's a big part of what madeThe Office different from most
sitcoms.
is allowing the emotionalmoments, the emotional
(12:06):
connections with the characters.
If you didn't like the Jim andPam storyline, you might relate
more with Michael and hismisadventures in love or him
always saying the wrong thing,although he means well.
Or maybe you related more tothe Dwight and Angela romance.
Or maybe it was more of thetoxic love like Kelly and Ryan
(12:27):
had.
I'm not going to judge.
You out there who love TheOffice, who watch The Office or
binge it now, you've probablygot your own favorite episodes.
I said I wouldn't dive too deepinto specifics like that
because I want to save them forfuture podcast segments.
But if you're asking me myfavorite Office episode, it's
(12:48):
The Dinner Party from seasonfour.
It might be at least one of myfavorite television show
episodes of all time.
For those that don't know theshow, the dinner party is when
Michael and his former boss, nowgirlfriend Jan, who have a very
toxic relationship, invitethree couples from the office
(13:09):
over for a dinner party at theircondo.
And it is a crash course incringe where it seems like
Michael and Jan are trying tomake all their guests as
uncomfortable as possible astheir terrible relationship
comes to light.
It is so funny.
If you've never seen it, Idefinitely recommend you finding
at least clips from it andchecking it out.
(13:31):
Steve Carell left the showafter season seven.
I mean, he had gotten to besuch a big movie star that it
was hard for him to keep up onthe TV show.
Depending on where you land onthe spectrum, you may think that
the show should have ended whenSteve Carell left it.
I will admit season eight iskind of the low point for the
(13:53):
show with the final season,season nine being better.
But it's also a show that I canjust pick an episode out,
whichever one, and I'm usuallygoing to find at least a few
things to laugh about.
I am such a big fan of TheOffice that long-time listeners
of the podcast, you know I did asix-day, 2,100-mile road trip
(14:15):
in the late fall of 2019.
And one of my big stops on thatroad trip was Scranton,
Pennsylvania, home of TheOffice.
Even though The Office wasfilmed in Southern California,
they were very much connected tothe real city of Scranton.
So I was able to go to Scrantonand go get a drink at Poor
(14:37):
Richard's Pub.
It's a real place.
I went and got pizza atAlfredo's Cafe.
Which there's an episode whereMichael orders from a different
Alfredo's that's Kevin says thepizza's like a hot circle of
garbage.
But Alfredo's Cafe, you walk inand it literally has a sign
that says Home of the Good Pizzafrom the office.
(14:58):
And the pizza was good.
I burned the hell out of mymouth on it, but that's fine.
I got to go to the SteamtownMall, now known as the
Marketplace at Steamtown.
But I went in there becausethat's where the official
welcome to Scranton sign that'sat the beginning of every Office
episode is located.
I've got pictures of mestanding next to it.
(15:20):
That's a prized possession.
They do Scranton tours, officeScranton tours, if you go there.
So it's not like you have to belike me and do it on your own.
You can go and be led around toall the places that are
featured on The Office.
After nine seasons, The Officeended its initial run in 2013.
(15:40):
Despite that, it keeps beingfound by new audiences thanks to
streaming, Netflix, Peacock.
The show is as popular or morepopular than it was during its
initial run thanks to thestreaming, and thanks to the
Office Ladies podcast.
The influence of The Officecannot be understated, because
(16:03):
it paved the way for othermockumentary-style sitcoms like
Parks and Recreation, ModernFamily...
And there's always a clamoringfor a reboot or a new season,
even 12 years after the showended.
And you never know, the vastmajority of the cast are still
really close friends.
(16:23):
So a potential reunion isalways right around the corner.
But you can always binge on it.
There's so much merch.
There's memes.
The office is intertwined with21st century pop culture.
The American version alwaystips its hat to the British
version because obviously theAmerican version of The Office
(16:46):
would not exist without RickyGervais, Stephen Merchant, and
the British version.
In season seven, they even hada segment where Michael Scott
and David Brent meet.
Ricky Gervais was a guest star.
I'm so excited that The Officefinally passed that threshold 20
years later.
so I could put it into mynostalgia-based podcast and not
(17:09):
feel like I was kind of jumpingthe gun.
Don't worry, there will be moreOffice-themed segments, top
fives, best ofs, all that,coming up in future episodes.
But right now, you should go toNetflix or Peacock or YouTube
and just find a few segments ofthe show and just laugh.
(17:30):
I know I do it most days when Ineed a laugh.
It's a beautiful day in theneighborhood, and this week in
history, we're going back 97years to March 20th, 1928, and
the birth of the one and onlyFred Rogers.
(17:53):
Fred McFeely Rogers, betterknown as just Mr.
Rogers, was a belovedtelevision host, musician, and
advocate for children'seducation.
His impact continues toresonate decades after his
passing.
Those of us that grew up withMr.
Rogers' neighborhood rememberhis gentle voice, his cardigan
(18:16):
sweaters, and his unwaveringcommitment to make the world a
better place.
Fred Rogers was born inLatrobe, Pennsylvania, and was a
shy and introverted child,often spending time alone
playing with puppets and music.
Interestingly, Fred Rogersinitially planned to become a
minister.
but he found himself drawn tothe emerging medium of
(18:38):
television.
It was way back in the early1950s he began working at NBC,
but soon moved to WQED inPittsburgh, and that's where he
helped develop The Children'sCorner, which was a precursor to
his own show.
Even though he didn't become afull minister and go into that
career path, he was ordained asa Presbyterian minister in 1963.
(19:02):
with a mission to usetelevision as a tool for
positive influence.
This led to the launch of Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood in 1968,and that show ran for over 30
years.
I am thinking that almost allof you listening have watched
Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood.
(19:23):
Think about it.
If you were a kid in the late60s through the early 2000s, Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood was astaple on PBS.
The show was different.
It was more slow-paced,thoughtful, and reassuring.
Each episode of Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood followed afamiliar structure where he
(19:44):
would come home, change into hiscardigan and sneakers, talk to
us, talk to us kids through thecamera, and it was always calm
and comforting.
But underneath that, Mr.
Rogers would tackle complexsubjects like divorce, death,
self-acceptance, with honestyand sensitivity.
(20:04):
It was a safe space for kidsthat needed to process their
emotions.
There was also the land ofmake-believe with puppets like
King Friday and Daniel StripedTiger.
Beyond Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood, FredRogers was an advocate for
children's welfare.
(20:25):
In 1969, he testified beforethe U.S.
Senate to defend funding forpublic television.
Throughout his long career,Fred Rogers emphasized the
importance of emotionalintelligence, reminding parents,
educators, and policymakersthat children's feelings and
experiences matter.
The vast majority of you outthere I'm sure are my age or
(20:49):
older, 40s, 50s, but even thoughwe're so far removed from
childhood, I'm sure you canremember Fred Times when your
feelings weren't validated ortimes that they were and how
that made you feel.
And Fred Rogers was a bigadvocate for that.
It was and is hugely importantfor a child to feel heard
(21:10):
because if they don't, they growup with emotional issues that
are a lot harder to untie.
Fred Rogers passed awayFebruary 27th, 2003 at the age
of 74.
But his legacy lives on throughthe continuing influence of his
work.
Fred Rogers' show, his message,it's still as relevant,
(21:34):
probably more relevant today intoday's climate.
Which is ironic because itstarted in the turbulent late
1960s.
Fred Rogers, through his gentledemeanor and unwavering belief
in the goodness of people...
proved that a simple message oflove and compassion could
change the world oneneighborhood at a time.
(21:55):
And that man, Fred Rogers,entered this world 97 years ago
this week in history.
Oh, we're going to keep thebeautiful day in the
neighborhood going.
We're going back 57 years agothis week to March 20th, 1968.
(22:15):
So it would have been FredRogers' 40th birthday.
I picked this date because itwould have been the first
birthday he celebrated while Mr.
Rogers' Neighborhood was on theair.
So there was a method to mymadness.
What was going on in the worldof pop culture back then?
Well, let's find out.
The number one song was Sittingon the Dock of the Bay by Otis
(22:39):
Redding.
Otis Redding finished recordingthis song just three days
before his death on December10th, 1967 in a plane crash.
It became the first posthumousnumber one single ever.
And even though it wastechnically finished and
released, the story is that thefamed whistling at the end of
(23:02):
the song was actually supposedto be a placeholder by Otis
Redding to come back and putmore lyrics to the song.
But obviously he passed awaybefore he could do that, and
that has become an iconic partof this song.
The song was released as a partof a posthumous greatest hits
compilation called The Dock ofthe Bay, and the single itself
(23:24):
sold more than 4 million copiesupon its release.
The number one movie was No Wayto Treat a Lady, and you could
get into the theater with aticket costing $1.31.
This is a psychologicalthriller with a hint of black
comedy about a crafty serialkiller playing a cat and mouse
(23:46):
game with a detective.
It stars Rod Steiger, LeeRemick, and George Siegel, and
it's 89% fresh on RottenTomatoes, which gives a pretty
good indication that it was asuccess.
I couldn't find anything aboutthe budget for it, but it made
$3 million at the box office.
The number one TV show was TheAndy Griffith Show.
(24:10):
This is like the all-famouswhistling time capsule we had
sitting on the dock of the bay.
Now The Andy Griffith Show,theme with that famed whistling.
It starred Andy Griffith, DonKnotts, and little Ronnie
Howard, and the adventures ofwidowed Sheriff Andy Taylor and
his family and friends in thetown of Mayberry.
(24:32):
The show was on for eightseasons and 249 episodes from
1960 to 1968.
In fact, the final episode ofThe Andy Griffith Show aired
only two weeks later on April1st, 1968, so this was nearing
the end of the show.
And if you were around backthen, March 20th, 1968, maybe
(24:57):
you and your friends wanted tomake your own radio shows.
Well, you're in luck if you goto the Radio Shack catalog.
A company called Realistic hasa deluxe, full-featured
cartridge tape recorder.
Boy, you can tell this was newtechnology back then.
This tape recorder, which lookslike something you would have
(25:19):
gotten at the dollar store forabout $2.99, very, very basic,
back then cost $69.95.
When adjusted for inflation to2025, that means that basic tape
recorder would cost you $638.
Just close your eyes andimagine the most basic
(25:41):
bare-bones cassette recorder youcould find, and then imagine
spending more than $600 on that.
Back then in 1968, that was theprice you paid to make your own
radio programs with yourfriends.
But that'll wrap up anotherTime Capsule, another This Week
in History.
We go from talking about youmaking radio shows with your
(26:03):
friends to some of the oddestmusical collaborations you'll
ever find.
So let's talk about those.
Some musical collaborations gotogether like peanut butter and
jelly.
But on this week's top five,we're going to talk about the
(26:24):
ones that go together likepeanut butter and sardines.
We're going to talk about someof the weirdest musical
collaborations you couldpossibly think of.
Now, I kind of make the jokepeanut butter and sardines.
That doesn't mean all thesecollaborations are bad.
They're just between artiststhat you wouldn't expect to work
together.
(26:45):
Either different genres,different ages, different
musical stylings, whatever itis.
This segment came about from afew weeks ago on the podcast
where I talked about the 35thanniversary of one of my
favorite movies, House Party.
And I mentioned that thebullies in that movie, they're
an R&B group called Full Force.
(27:05):
And how I found out that FullForce had actually sung backup
on a Bob Dylan song.
So that's where this came from.
I said, that's a pretty weirdcollaboration, but I bet there's
more that are just as weird ormaybe weirder.
As with many of these topfives, there are some honorable
mentions, and they are in noparticular order.
(27:26):
I would say some of these songswould be worth checking out.
There are others that I'd say Idon't know.
And there are a couple of themthat I actually have on my
iTunes on my laptop.
But enough teases.
Let's start with the honorablementions.
We'll see if you agree thatthese are some odd combinations.
Honorable mentions for oddestmusical collaborations include
(27:51):
Coldplay and Jay-Z, Britpop anda little more hardcore hip-hop.
They did a version ofColdplay's song Lost.
Another honorable mention isEddie Murphy and Michael
Jackson.
They did the song Was Up WithYou on Eddie Murphy's 1993
(28:12):
album.
Eddie Murphy was a bad boy ofcomedy, so his collaborations
with Rick James in the 1980sparty all the time, that didn't
seem as weird as 1993 MichaelJackson, full of plastic surgery
and controversies, and thenthere's Eddie Murphy.
Another honorable mention isBilly Joe Armstrong from Green
(28:35):
Day and Nora Jones.
So punk or pop punk and soulfuljazz piano.
They did a song calledForeverly in 2013.
Another honorable mention isPaul McCartney and the surviving
members of Nirvana.
They did a song called Cut MeSome Slack in 2012.
(28:58):
The song is actually reallygood, but there's no denying
what a weird combination thatis.
And the final honorable mentionfor weird musical
collaborations is Snoop Dogg andWillie Nelson.
Yes, they have weed in common,so it's kind of ironic that
their song is called My Medicinefrom 2008, but hardcore gangsta
(29:23):
rap, at least that's what Snoopwas, and country music, it's a
weird combination.
So those are the honorablementions.
Have you heard of any of thosesongs?
Well, let's really get weirdnow.
We'll start the actual top fivewith the one that got this idea
started in the first place, andthat's number one, Bob Dylan
(29:45):
and Full Force.
I couldn't not include thissong in here.
As I mentioned in episode 185,this is off of Bob Dylan's album
Down in the Groove.
It came out in 1988, and thesong that Full Force sings
backup on is called Death Is Notthe End.
The reviews at the time wereoverwhelmingly negative for this
(30:09):
album, although one of thereviews I read said said that
the collaboration with FullForce was highly anticipated,
but it actually ended up beingan outtake from an older album.
So they were upset that itwasn't a new song that Bob Dylan
wrote with Full Force.
It was more of a B-side that hehad them sing back up on.
(30:30):
But like I said in the episodea few weeks ago, Bob Dylan, one
of the most influentialmusicians ever, and Full Force,
the hip-hop group that were thebullies in House Party, getting
together and making music, itjust blew my mind.
Number two is BoneThugs-N-Harmony and Phil
(30:51):
Collins.
The hip-hop group known for TheCrossroads, which was a big
song in my high school days.
and Phil Collins, who was moreadult contemporary pop,
especially in the 1980s.
The song they collaborated onwas called Home.
This was off of BoneThugs-N-Harmony's 2003 album
(31:14):
Thug World Order.
The song features samples ofPhil Collins' song Take Me Home.
He gave them permission to usethe song as samples, but the
collaboration came when theystarted talking about making a
video for the song.
And they actually went toSwitzerland and made the video
with Phil Collins.
(31:35):
The song was not a success.
It did not chart, at least notin the US.
It charted over in the UK andwas popular enough that Bone
Thugs-N-Harmony inducted PhilCollins as an honorary member of
their group, calling him by thenickname Chrome Bone.
Number three.
(31:56):
is Weird Al Yankovic and KateWinslet.
Yes, the king of parody songs,parody music for the last 40
plus years, and the actress fromTitanic.
The song they collaborated onis called I Need a Nap from
2005.
The album is called Dog Train,and it's more of an audiobook
(32:22):
from children's writer SandraBoynton.
This is a combination so outthere that if you research it,
you'll find a lot of people thatthought it was an April Fool's
joke.
Obviously, just because you'rean actor does not mean you can't
be a singer as well.
Some that do it don't do itwell.
I mean, we look at Eddie Murphyor Don Johnson.
(32:44):
But this combination feels likethey were just trying to find
the most polar oppositepersonalities.
I could think of a millionother combinations for Weird Al
Yankovic to sing with before I'dcome up with Kate Winslet.
Oh, and by the way, you canfind the song online.
All these ones I'm talkingabout, you can literally punch
(33:06):
in and listen to.
But the hits just keep oncoming with weirdness.
As we move on to number four,Ozzy Osbourne and Jessica
Simpson.
The dark king of heavy metalmusic.
And what I could only say is aB-level teen singer.
No offense, but when you thinkof the late 90s, early 2000s of
(33:29):
those female teen singers, youthink of Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera, and thennext level down is Jessica
Simpson and Mandy Moore.
But it gets even better.
They do a cover of WinterWonderland.
They sing a Christmas songtogether.
It's from 2003.
It's from the television showThe Osborne Family Christmas
(33:52):
Special.
The video is all over YouTube.
It's incredible to think thatthis is real.
Although, in 2003, JessicaSimpson was still at the height
of the fame she had.
I don't know if Ozzy was tryingto cross over to find more of
the young pop demographic tolisten to his music, but it was
definitely weird.
(34:13):
But it doesn't top the originalweird collaboration and the
original weird Christmascollaboration as we get to
number five on the oddestmusical collaborations.
And that is David Bowie andBing Crosby.
These two collaborated on Peaceon Earth, The Little Drummer
(34:33):
Boy, Christmas Songs on a 1977Christmas special, Bing Crosby's
Merry Old Christmas.
This was Bing Crosby's lastrecordings before his death.
The famed crooner and thenZiggy Stardust himself, David
Bowie.
Incredibly, the story of thisis that Bowie showed up.
(34:55):
He was promoting his new album,Heroes, that was released in
October 1977.
And Bowie showed up to thestudio with bright red hair,
full makeup and an earring.
So just imagine someone likeBing Crosby, the traditional
values type guy.
And here's David Bowie showingup like that.
(35:16):
They said people told them totake the makeup off and the
earring out and then they couldrecord the song.
But there you have it.
Some of the weirdest musicalcollaborations I could find.
Which of these was the weirdestto you?
I'm still going to go withWeird Al and Kate Winslet.
But any of these, including thehonorable mentions, they're up
(35:38):
there because I put them on thislist.
Some of these collaborationshad music videos.
And if you enjoyed music videosin the 1980s, boy, you had
plenty of shows to choose fromthat would quench your thirst
for music videos.
So we're going to go way backin the day now and look at music
video shows of the 1980s.
(36:00):
The 1980s was definitely anamazing decade to grow up in.
You've heard me say it so manytimes on this podcast.
Another example of why I lovethe 80s so much was the
(36:20):
abundance of music, musicvideos, music television.
I often make the joke now thatMTV should have to change its
name because it hasn't featuredmusic in over 20 years.
Yeah, they may have a video ortwo at 2am, but the days of MTV
being music television diedwhile I was in college.
(36:44):
That being said, there's nodenying the impact MTV had on
the world.
When it debuted in August of1981, it changed everything.
Music videos, which had beenvery, very rare in the years
leading up to the creation ofMTV, became everything.
(37:04):
The videos themselves wereevery bit as important as the
music to showcase the artists orto get a song popular.
If you had a unique musicvideo, your song might not be
that great, but people willwatch because the video is
unique.
To this day, they still makemusic videos.
They're basically regulated toYouTube, where the artists
(37:27):
themselves will post it on theirofficial channel.
And that's a good thing.
That means you don't needothers to get your music out
there.
You could be just some randomJoe off the street and you could
make a video for your song andpossibly get it seen by
thousands of people.
The 1980s was different though.
(37:47):
You had MTV, which was the kingof featuring music videos, but
they weren't the only one.
This segment came about when Istarted thinking of All of the
different TV shows in the 1980sthat featured music videos.
So I decided to go back and seehow many I could find.
And obviously, this segmentmeans we're going to go through
(38:11):
a lot of them.
I've got 10.
Now, I might gloss through someof these.
They might not be the deep diveyou want.
Because there's a few that Ithink deserve their own segment.
So just so you know, in thefuture, I will probably be doing
a standalone segment for a fewof these different video shows.
The first one that popped intomy head, and it just shows my
(38:33):
age where I was at in the 1980s,was a show called Nick Rocks.
Unknown (38:45):
Nick Rocks.
Nick Rocks.
Nick Rocks.
Speaker 00 (38:51):
It was a video show on Nickelodeon.
The show was 30 minutes long.
It was hosted by a guy,quote-unquote, Joe from Chicago.
It was on from 1984 to 1989.
At first, it was on three daysa week, and then it became part
of the Daily Rotation.
A big claim to fame for NickRocks was in 1987, the group The
(39:15):
Monkees became involved in adispute with MTV.
So MTV pulled all their musicvideos.
This was when they werestarting to make a comeback.
So the Monkees music videosbecame exclusive to Nick Rocks.
I don't know if that helpedtheir sales, seeing as how most
of the Nickelodeon people thatwere watching were my age, so I
(39:38):
was about 9 or 10 years old atthe time.
If you were to stop and thinkof music video shows from the
1980s.
The first one you might thinkof was Friday Night Videos.
This show was on NBC from 1983all the way up through 2002.
(40:10):
It originally started as a90-minute block of videos that
would come on at 12.30 a.m.
Despite its time slot not beinggreat for younger people to
watch music videos, Friday nightvideos was necessary because in
the early days of MTV, throughthe mid-80s, it wasn't available
(40:32):
everywhere because not everyhome had cable television.
I know, young people listening,we had no cable TV.
I think we got it in 1985,which meant before then we had
whatever the dial would giveyou, 10 channels.
The most popular feature ofFriday night videos was the
video vote.
(40:53):
This was where two videos wouldbe played back to back and you
could call in and get chargedand vote for your favorite and
the winner would go on to face anew challenger next week.
A show that might be a cheat,and you'll have to let me know
if it is, it's Solid Gold.
Do you remember Solid Gold?
Now, this, they didn't, playmusic videos, it was more like
(41:30):
they played music and they hadthe solid gold dancers that
would dance to the songs.
It's a musical variety show, Iguess would be what it was
technically classified as.
It was on for eight seasonsfrom 1980 to 1988.
The show was hosted by DionneWarwick, Marilyn McCoo, Andy
Gibb, What's interesting is Ialways liked watching the show.
(41:53):
Maybe because I just likedhearing the music or watching
the solid gold dancers.
But the reviews of the showweren't usually good.
A lot of people saying thedance routines didn't match up
with the songs.
Or that the dance routinesadded up to little more than
just aerobic training videos.
Although it did have thememorable theme performed by
(42:16):
Dionne Warwick.
One music video show that I gotinto later, probably in middle
school, was 120 Minutes on MTV.
This show was dedicated to thealternative music genre, and I
(42:44):
wasn't into it until Nirvanacame out.
Or at least until I heardSmells Like Teen Spirit in the
summer of 1991.
The show ended up being on for17 seasons with Matt Pinfield
being the host that I remember.
Anyone who was anyone in thealternative genre in the late
80s through the mid 90s was onthat show.
(43:06):
Their videos were on that show.
I think another reason why Iwasn't into 120 Minutes when it
first came out was that it wason at 1 a.m.
I was not staying up as a 10-11year old till 1am unless it was
to watch King Kong vs.
Godzilla, which that is a truestory.
Kind of the other side of thesame coin of 120 minutes was the
(43:30):
show Headbangers Ball.
The show began in April 1987.
It would feature well-knownmetal artists, up-and-coming
(43:51):
artists.
The original version of theshow lasted for eight seasons.
Those of you that remember theshow will probably remember
Ricky Rackman being the one whohosted it.
That's who I remember.
It was canceled in the mid-90sas the mainstream rise of
grunge, alternative, pop-punkkind of made Headbanger's Ball
(44:12):
less relevant.
Do you remember Dial MTV?
That was the precursor to TotalRequest Live.
It was the call-in show.
Speaker 03 (44:23):
Call now.
Call now.
It's Dial MTV.
Give us a buzz and we may takeoff.
Thank you so much for calling.
And tonight at 6 p.m.
Eastern, we'll play back thetop 10.
I hope someone else calls.
I hope someone else calls.
Speaker 00 (44:36):
It debuted in February 1986 and what they
played was determined by you whocalled in.
They had certain rules with theshow.
The videos were only eligibleto be on there for 30 days after
their release.
This is because of somethingcalled the Crew Rule, where
Motley Crue's song Home SweetHome was voted number one on
(44:59):
Dial MTV for 90 days.
I guess they wanted to makesure that other artists had a
chance for their songs to be themost popular on Dial MTV.
Interestingly, even though DialMTV was canceled in 1991, the
800 number remained in use allthe way through TRL.
A lesser known 80s music videoshow was Night Tracks.
Speaker 01 (45:28):
Welcome to Night Tracks, America's favorite music
video show.
Wall-to-wall excitement comingyour way, including exclusive
interview footage with...
Speaker 00 (45:36):
This was kind of like an answer to Friday Night
Videos, except it was on TBS.
It was on from 1983 to 1992,and it was late nights on Friday
and Saturday.
There would be three-hourblocks of videos, so no
different than any of theseother ones.
Nick Rock's Friday NightVideos.
All the same sort of template.
(45:59):
But as the popularity of musicvideo programs started to wane,
that's when Night Tracks wascanceled in the early 90s.
During the 80s, it seemed likeeverybody, every network got in
on the music video show crazebecause the USA Network had
their own show, Radio 1990.
Speaker 01 (46:19):
This 30-minute
Speaker 00 (46:33):
music video show did not exist in 1990.
It was on from 1983 to 1986.
This was on during prime timeon the USA Network.
I guess they didn't have muchelse to put on there.
It was a companion show toanother show called Night
Flight, which featured musicvideos, interviews, stand-up
(46:56):
comedy.
I say every network had its ownmusic video show.
Every genre seemed to have itsown music video show.
We talked about alternative,metal.
What about Yo MTV Raps?
Unknown (47:12):
Yo.
Speaker 00 (47:23):
Ed Lover and Dr.
Dre.
No, not the one from NWA.
That was always confusing to meas a kid in the late 80s, early
90s.
There was a fat Dr.
Dre that actually spelled outdoctor.
And then there was the NWA Dr.
Dre that was DR period.
I don't know how they figuredthat one out.
(47:43):
Yo! MTV Raps was on from 1988to 1995.
It was a two-hour block of rapand hip-hop videos originally
hosted by Fab Five Freddy.
I'll definitely be doing adeeper dive into Yo! MTV Raps
because I still, to this day, Ithink in my mom's basement, have
(48:04):
a small collection of the Yo!MTV Raps trading cards.
That's how I knew a lot of thehip-hop artists of the early 90s
was they had trading cards oftheirs.
How else would I know Father MCand Big Daddy Kane if I didn't
have trading cards?
The last music video show ofthe 80s I wanted to talk about,
(48:26):
we go to cable TV, subscriptionTV, and HBO, and their show
Video Jukebox.
Unknown (48:43):
Video Jukebox
Speaker 00 (48:48):
This show started in December 1981, so MTV was on
the air a few months earlier.
But interestingly, HBO is theoriginator of playing music
videos, as they would usuallyhave one or two videos as
bumpers between movies in thelate 70s.
So yes, MTV was the originalmusic television, but HBO was
(49:12):
giving a platform to musicvideos in the years before MTV
existed.
This was a half-hour show,Video Jukebox, and when it first
debuted, this show was in morehouseholds than MTV.
So for the first year of VideoJukebox, a musical artist would
get more exposure being on thisshow than on MTV, which is wild.
(49:37):
The show had no host until itsfinal season in 1985 when New
York City DJ Dennis Elsus camein and did voiceover work until
the show was canceled in 1986.
So there you go.
Ten music video shows of the1980s.
Are you amazed there were thatmany?
(49:58):
Are there some that I missed?
I'm thinking I missed some.
The reason I say that is we'llpull back the curtain on my
research efforts.
I have in my notes 10 musicvideo shows listed.
Little did I know, I hadHeadbangers Ball listed twice.
So as I'm going through mynotes and recording this, I look
and I'm like, oh crap, I onlyhave 9 and I said 10.
(50:22):
So I did quick research and Ifound USA Network's Radio 1990.
So research on the fly to makesure I'm not a liar to you about
my count on this segment.
And let me know if there's anyof these that you want me to do
a deep dive into.
I'm sure Nick Rocks, SolidGold, Yo MTV Raps, I'm going to
do deeper dives into in thefuture.
(50:43):
But until next week, that'sgoing to wrap up episode 187 of
the In My Footsteps podcast.
Thank you all so much formaking it to the end.
Thank you for making it a partof your week.
The weather's getting better,so I'm hoping some of you are
out walking in the sun listeningto this.
Warm sun on your face, warmnostalgia in your heart.
(51:06):
Man, it sounds like a Hallmarkcard.
Next week, we're going to keepthe fun going with episode 188.
I'm going to dive into thereturn of 3D movies in the early
1980s.
Some that were good, some thatwere not good, like Jaws 3D.
And we're going to look at thebiggest television fails of the
(51:27):
1970s.
I was not alive through most ofthe 70s, but even if I was, I
probably wouldn't have watchedany of these shows.
If you enjoy my work, if youwant to support me, you can
become a subscriber on Patreonfor $5 a month.
It's literally like giving upone Starbucks coffee a month or
(51:49):
Dunkin' Donuts or wherever thehell you get coffee from.
You could always buy me acoffee, not Starbucks and
sending it to me, but actuallyon the website.
That's as little as a dollar,which won't buy me a coffee, but
hey, it shows support and Iappreciate all of that.
Of course, there's lots ofother ways that you can support
(52:10):
me besides money.
You can share my work.
That's the big thing.
My YouTube channel, I've gothundreds and hundreds of YouTube
videos that I've been puttingup for 15 years.
I've got hundreds of blogs andobviously almost 200 episodes of
the podcast.
Sharing this costs nothing.
(52:32):
It takes two seconds of yourtime.
And you never know when whatyou share is going to create new
lifelong fans of my work.
You can find me all over socialmedia.
Check out my Etsy shop, myphotography shop, CJ Sederland
Photos.
I add...
A couple new photos everyweekend, trying to increase my
(52:56):
inventory and also entice peopleto come back.
If you go to the store and youdon't see a photo you like, you
can come back the next weekendand you never know.
New England, Cape Cod, scenery.
I have got thousands of photos,so I can keep putting new
photos up until long after thispodcast is done.
(53:17):
Happy birthday when thispodcast goes live on this day to
my friend Sue.
We go all the way back toMonsieur Welsh's French class
over 30 years ago.
Happy early birthday out inVegas to my cousin Patrick.
And next week on the podcast, Imay have some fun news because
(53:39):
this weekend is my hike out toRace Point with my friend
producer Frank Durant.
The weather looks okay.
It looks great.
mid to upper 40s, but at leastsunny.
I'm likely to have a lot ofcontent coming from this
weekend.
Interviews.
I'll be on set of the moviethat I had my first acting role
(53:59):
for, Frank's low-budget indiehorror film.
I'm going to try to get someinterviews.
I'm going to try to get somebehind-the-scenes footage, but
I'm also going to try to stayout of the way of the director.
I don't want to have it whereI'm instantly seen as a problem
on set.
It has been a fun process.
It's been a little bitnerve-wracking.
(54:20):
As I've said, I'm not an actor,at least as far as doing things
that other people havescripted.
I've done my own skits over theyears.
I do research and notes forthis podcast, but learning other
people's lines and directionson how to do scenes, it's kind
(54:41):
of new to me, but it's fun tolearn a new skill.
I'm going to look for othersmall parts in other productions
because you never know.
Maybe this is the only filmrole I ever have, but if I think
that way, it's definitely goingto be.
So be on the lookout thisweekend on my social media.
I'm sure there'll be clips ofme and Frank wandering out in
(55:04):
the beach, miles fromcivilization, going out to the
lighthouse.
Thank you all again for tuningin.
Remember, in this life, Don'twalk in anyone else's footsteps.
Create your own path and enjoyevery moment you can on this
journey we call life because younever know what tomorrow
brings.
(55:25):
This has been the In MyFootsteps podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund.
You already knew that.
And I'll talk to you all againsoon.
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