How difficult is it for five people to get into one studio?
For the third consecutive podcast, we are down a man. This time, Michael Cunningham is back and the lovable, huggable Dr. Gonzo is out.
However, the four remaining co-hosts (Big Money, Cunningham, Mike Duquette and Michael Parr) do not suffer in Dr. Gonzo’s absence. Actually, enough material was recorded for two podcasts. So take that, Zachary!
Anyhow, this two-parter finds us hopping into the Blerd Radio Time Machine (not unlike the Great Space Coaster) and taking a trip back in time…landing in 1993. It’s a transitional year that brought forth everything from the falls from grace of pop icons to hip-hop’s nexus shifting Westward. In part one, you’ll hear:
-Michael Parr provides us with a Michael Winslow-esque soundtrack for our time travel adventures.
-A tip of the hat to the film “Addams Family Values” and props to the late Raul Julia.
Nope, definitely not a fun thing to watch.
-WTF Moment #1 of 1993: Michael Jackson being charged with child molestation, being forced to strip for the LAPD, and broadcasting his innocence Live From Neverland Ranch.
-WTF Moment #2 of 1993: Prince changes his name to an unpronounceable symbol. Or, wait…maybe there *is* a pronunciation.
-We briefly discuss old people who stay with MTV too long (Kurt Loder, Jon Norris, Su Chin Pak, Sway)
-It’s the 20th anniversary of the releases of two seminal albums: “Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)” and The Breeders’ “Last Splash.”
-Cunningham does the best RZA impression in the history of the world.
-Has West Coast hip-hop not aged as well as East Coast hip-hop? And what of the revolution in Southern hip-hop that had yet to occur in 1993?
-What the hell is President Obama doing in the “Whoomp! There It Is!” video?
-What the hell is Drake doing in a movie called “Charlie Bartlett”?
-Cunningham explains “intrinsic ethos” as it pertains to artists today (Lupe Fiasco) and yesterday (Ice Cube/2Pac)
-Why are we talking about Drake and Lupe Fiasco on a podcast dedicated to 1993?
-Cunningham Goof #1: This is not Faith Hill
-Cunningham Goof #2: Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre were not members of the N.W.O.
-Cunningham redeems himself by offering up the most white people-friendly version of 2Pac’s “Strictly 4 My N—–” album title possible.
-Discussion of two more albums celebrating their 20th anniversaries: Nirvana’s “In Utero” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way” leads to…
-Is Lenny Kravitz underrated?
-We discuss how to properly pronounce “Vanessa Paradis”
-And finally, we examine the subtle differences between musically harkening back to a particular era (a la Amy Winehouse) and directly ripping off the sound of specific artists (like our pal Lenny.)
Part two will be up very soon, so don’t fret! Your favorite artist will be covered!
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7 comments
Gonzo says:
Sep 19, 2013
Still have a bit of this left to listen to, but fantastic, fantastic job all around.
One point of clarification – I believe that a lot of the samples of the G-funk era weren’t technically samples, but were actually played by session musicians for precisely the reasons you mentioned; the clearances for performance (recreated, performed, covers, etc.) royalties are significantly lower than those of mechanical (actually making use of the original work) royalties. I’m not sure how widespread the practice was, but I think at least Dre and Snoop followed that formula. I remember reading an interview with Dre’s drummer (in Modern Drummer magazine, of course) at the time – I’ll see if I can locate it.
Big Money says:
Sep 20, 2013
I think some were, some weren’t.
“G Thang” was definitely a sample…not sure if anything else was.
Amazingly, performances by live musicians sound more dated in this context than samples of songs that were already 15-20 years old when they were used.
Gonzo says:
Sep 20, 2013
And to come full circle, that time I saw Lenny Kravitz? Double bill with the Black Crowes.
Big Money says:
Sep 23, 2013
Ooowee, there must have been so much marijuana in the air.
Kevin says:
Oct 30, 2013
Nice podcast. I feel bad for saying this, but first time I really took a listen. Couple things … who came up with the theme song? How do I get in on this action? And who’s the dude that sounds like Humpty from Digital Underground.
MJ says:
Oct 30, 2013
A) My friends in Halston wrote and performed the theme song.
B) You’re welcome anytime you want…we almost always record every other Monday at 8 PM EST.
C) That would be Cunningham!
D) You’re a goofball.
Gonzo says:
Oct 30, 2013
You guys have no idea how much the Humpty comment is going to inflate Cunningham’s head.
And just let me reiterate that this 1993 podcast was one of the best. Kinda sad I had to excuse myself!