DISGRACELAND

DISGRACELAND

Disgraceland is the award-winning music podcast hosted by Jake Brennan that explores the alleged true crime antics and criminal connections of musicians we love like Jerry Lee Lewis, the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Cardi B, the Grateful Dead, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, and more. Disgraceland is a scripted, single voice narrative storytelling podcast that melds true crime, music history, mystery, and misadventure. Disgraceland is not a journalistic podcast. It is an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes as they are in most scripted entertainment based on true events. Sources and credits for each episode are available at disgracelandpod.com. Full scripted episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus “After Party” episodes are released every Thursday. Disgraceland is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Episodes

November 28, 2023 40 mins
Michael Hutchence’s sudden death in 1997 at the age of 37 left a hole in the hearts of Australians and the world. His band, INXS, cut their teeth on the lawless pub circuit down under. Three shows a night, from sunrise to sunset. Hundreds of shows a year. The bond that they formed was life-changing for them all, but especially for Michael, whose greatest fear was being alone. And then Michael Hutchence had his life changed for a se...
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Chris Brown established himself as America’s most hated pop star when he brutally assaulted Rihanna in 2009. But long after the well-publicized attack on his then-girlfriend, Brown’s lengthy criminal record continued to unravel, as he shuffled between different rehab facilities, prison, and the custody of U.S. marshals. His reputed red-hot temper and fighting fists even resulted in a 10-hour police standoff outside of his Californi...
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Happy Thanksgiving, Disgos! This week Jake talks Blondie and Debbie Harry's run-in with Ted Bundy. Do you think the Debbie Harry/Ted Bundy story is true? Who's the coolest-looking band of all time? What is your Thanksgiving routine? What do you do, what do you watch, what do you listen to? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. This episode is brought...
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Blondie got their start as part of New York’s fertile punk scene in the late ‘70s, a time of great musical innovation. Also a time of great fear. Violent crime had the five boroughs in a stranglehold. Muggers, rapists, thieves, criminal deviants of all stripes ran wild in the streets. Or so they said. True New Yorkers like Blondie were tough, jaded, immune to the fears foisted upon tourists. Blondie’s Debbie Harry, in particular, w...
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With their newfangled ska-punk, Sublime preached the gospel of Long Beach’s seedy shores unlike any band before them. They also incited a riot at the first show, vandalized their record label’s headquarters, and did unspeakable deeds to a Dennys kitchen with their mobile home’s septic tank. The group’s musical legacy is inseparable from their reputation as hoodlums and hedonists, in part because those are precisely the people Subli...
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This week is all about U2, and this episode of the After Party is no exception. Jake breaks down his personal history with the band's music, and gets in to our new weekly format. What DISGRACELAND episode do you want to hear, new or old? What are your favorite musical tributes to fallen artists? What song do you want played at your funeral? Plus, Ellie wants to know your favorite Wu-Tang member. Drop a line at 617-906-6638, disgrac...
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Years before a free album made them the most unpopular popular band on the planet, U2 ran into the arms of America. In 1987, touring behind their blockbuster album The Joshua Tree, their songs became lightning rods for violence. They received death threats in the States and became targets of terrorists back in their native Ireland. But it was the song “Exit,” written from the POV of a killer, that was linked with pure evil. That so...
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Marvin Gaye was born into a God-fearing home to a sweet, wholesome mother and crossdressing, philandering, pentecostal preacher father who ruled his children with an iron fist. Despite his tense upbringing, Marvin Gaye found his calling—music—and used it as his ticket out of his repressive home life. He chased away his shame and followed his muse to the top of the charts; through a sea of cocaine and sex, becoming one of the bigges...
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A special AFTER PARTY featuring a crossover episode with the award-winning UK-based true crime podcast REDHANDED. Jake joins REDHANDED hosts Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire to discuss the wild and tragic story of Marvin Gaye. The 1984 murder of one of Motown’s biggest stars – at the hands of his abusive, alcoholic, Pentecostal preacher father – stunned the industry. But despite the media frenzy, almost no justice was served. What a...
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November 7, 2023 2 mins
Homicidal maniacs, home surveillance, a killer on the loose, attacks in the street, and an evil song that led to murder. Find out which music legends are featured in Season 14 of DISGRACELAND. New episodes drop every Tuesday starting November 14, with bonus episodes dropping every Thursday. Rocka rolla. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This week wraps our Halloween countdown, and Jake is closing the loop on all the spooky discussions. Plus, DISGRACELAND and BADLANDS get another crossover episode with the latter's episode on the 1961 film The Misfits. How do you feel about crossover episodes? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. This episode is brought to you by NextEvo Naturals. Go...
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The Halloween season continues with our daily re-releases of the scariest DISGRACELAND episodes. Jake is wondering: What's the best rock star/horror movie crossover? What music scares you? Angie from the 443 wants to know what song you want played at your funeral. Do you have a question of the week for Jake and your fellow listeners? Connect at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join t...
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GZA may be the only rapper who lectures about quantum physics at ivy league institutions including Harvard and MIT. That honor stems from his acknowledged role as “the Genius” – the so-called “Voltron head” of hip-hop’s most notorious group. A group that was targeted by the most hated man in America after that same man bought their one-of-a-kind album at auction for two million dollars. A group that nearly crumbled under the weight...
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Masta Killa grew up in a city shaped and run by organized crime. A city where the most powerful underworld boss could be gunned down on a busy street in the middle of the day. But despite his menacing stage name, Masta Killa was not a killer. He was, however, a master. A master of subtlety and of life lived discreetly. He kept his family history – and his relationship to soul legend Marvin Gaye – a secret for decades. When drug dea...
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This week in DISGRACELAND saw the premiere of the Ol' Dirty Bastard episode, and it's got Jake thinking about other famous alter egos. Plus, Halloween music, seventies music, your voicemails, texts, and DMs, and a tribute to you, the listener. What's your favorite sad sack 70s music? What's your favorite Jim Croce album? What are the best alter egos in music? Favorite Halloween songs? And what's your favorite Disgraceland Halloween...
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Ol’ Dirty Bastard once saved a four-year old girl who was trapped under a Ford Mustang. He took a limo with an MTV news crew to collect his welfare check. He was charged with attempted murder of an NYPD officer. Chased by bloodthirsty Rottweilers. Shot by men in ski masks. His fame led to an addiction to cocaine, and that addiction led to ten arrests in the span of a few months. He was granted a weekend furlough from a rehab facili...
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The Wu-Tang saga continues in DISGRACELAND, and it's got Jake wondering about the most memorable ways that you’ve discovered great music in your lifetime. Plus, top fives, your correspondence, and the questions: What's your favorite Disgraceland Halloween episode? What are your top five Halloween songs? Your top five Halloween music videos? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and...
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U-God was raised by the streets of Staten Island, where getting beaten up was a rite of passage that made you stronger. He was busted for driving a stolen car and assaulting a police officer. He dealt crack, and narrowly avoided a police raid on the apartment building he dealt from. He also dealt vengeance – he once came within seconds of killing a rival dope peddler. And when he finally put the violent life behind him and found fr...
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Cappadonna may have taught a lot of the guys in Wu-Tang Clan how to rhyme, but he wasn’t around when the group first formed and released their incredible debut album. Because Cappadonna was in Rikers Island, doing time for someone else’s crack rocks. When Cap was released, the Clan welcomed him as the honorary tenth member of the group. But he brought someone else into the fold, too. A shady character who, unbeknownst to Cap and th...
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At just 15 years old, Inspectah Deck had to learn how to hold his own against older, more dangerous convicts when he was sent to jail for selling crack to an undercover cop. It wasn’t the first time he did hard time. Multiple stints behind bars gave him nothing but time – to reflect, to strategize, to learn how to rap, and to take that new skill and use it to turn his life around on the outside. But years later, the bad decisions o...
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