Ever wondered what connects the 1974 film "The Taking of Pelham 123" to the Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot"? Join us on this electrifying ride through music history where we unravel this fascinating linkage and delve into the Beastie Boys' metamorphosis from rap trailblazers to multi-instrumentalists, highlighted by their adrenaline-charged track "Sabotage." Relive the nostalgia as we recount their unforgettable performance at Lollapalooza '94 and their audacious antics at the MTV Video Music Awards. We also pay homage to David Bowie's genius, spotlighting his 1974 album "Diamond Dogs" and his brilliant lead guitar work on "Rebel Rebel."
Shifting gears, we celebrate Bruce Springsteen's monumental "Born in the USA" album and his tireless tour schedule that cemented his place in music history. In our "Minute with Jimmy" segment, he talks about The Undertones' fun, punk-influenced debut. Finally, journey to 1989 and uncover the magic behind Paul McCartney's "Flowers in the Dirt".
Please Like and Follow our Facebook page Music In My Shoes.
You can contact us at musicinmyshoes@gmail.com.
Ever wondered what connects the 1974 film "The Taking of Pelham 123" to the Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot"? Join us on this electrifying ride through music history where we unravel this fascinating linkage and delve into the Beastie Boys' metamorphosis from rap trailblazers to multi-instrumentalists, highlighted by their adrenaline-charged track "Sabotage." Relive the nostalgia as we recount their unforgettable performance at Lollapalooza '94 and their audacious antics at the MTV Video Music Awards. We also pay homage to David Bowie's genius, spotlighting his 1974 album "Diamond Dogs" and his brilliant lead guitar work on "Rebel Rebel."
Shifting gears, we celebrate Bruce Springsteen's monumental "Born in the USA" album and his tireless tour schedule that cemented his place in music history. In our "Minute with Jimmy" segment, he talks about The Undertones' fun, punk-influenced debut. Finally, journey to 1989 and uncover the magic behind Paul McCartney's "Flowers in the Dirt".
Please Like and Follow our Facebook page Music In My Shoes.
You can contact us at musicinmyshoes@gmail.com.
He's got the feeling in his toe-toe.
Speaker 2:He's got the feeling and it's out there growing. Hey everybody, this is Jim Boge, and you're listening to Music In my Shoes. That was Vic Thrill kicking off episode 31. As always, I'm thrilled to be here with you. Let's learn something new or remember something old. So I'm watching a movie the other day that I've seen more than I can actually remember. I've seen this movie so many times in my life, and it's called the Taking of Pelham 123. And it's not the recent one. I think there was one that came out about 15 years ago, but it's the original one that came out in 1974. Walter Matthau he's the big star in it.
Speaker 1:But it's also got Jerry Stiller from.
Speaker 2:Seinfeld and then the King of Queens. He was the dad on that also. And then the mayor's wife is played by Doris Roberts, who was Raymond's mom on the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond. So it starts off with these three guys. They kind of dress very similar. They're getting on a New York City subway train, different stops. A fourth guy walks up to the train on the outside, to the guy that drives the train I think they call that the motor man and he walks up to him, pulls a gun out, and the train driver says what do you want? And the guy says I'm taking your train. And in disbelief the train driver says you're taking my train. If you go back into the seventies in New York city not that it was super common, but there are a lot of hijacks of planes so that was something that was kind of happening not just in New York City but kind of, you know, throughout the world. But hijacking a train was definitely not the norm.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're not going to get it to take you to like Brazil or something.
Speaker 2:No, not at all, not at all, not at all. So this train motor man driver is absolutely astonished that someone's trying to hijack the train. So the rest of the don't want to spoil the ending of this 50-year-old movie that maybe some people haven't seen Again. I said I think a new one came out like 15 years ago, and I'm sure you're thinking this is music in my shoes, not trains in my shoes. So why am I talking about this? Well, it leads right into a song that was released 30 years ago, shore Shot by the Beastie Boys. Because you can't, you won't and you don't stop.
Speaker 2:Remember that song? Oh yeah, yes, there is a line in there on the third verse. Well, it's the taking of Pelham one, two, three. So it kind of, you know, all goes into each other here. It's off the album ill communication. That album came out may 31st 1994, 30 years ago, and I gotta be honest, that makes me feel a little bit old, because I still consider that you know newer beastie boys stuff so the album finds the trio uh, playing instruments and actually doing a pretty good job at it.
Speaker 2:I really thought they did a good job when they started to play their own instruments and it's like a grown-up version of the Licensed to Ill Beastie Boys Big song on the album is Sabotage. It's a song that will get your blood pumping and ready to rock or rap most likely both, and really the video, I think, is what made the song as many of the songs that we've talked before. You know on the show. You know it was a hit with a nod to 1970s police TV shows. You know it kind of had that Streets of San Francisco feel Nominated for five categories at the 1994 MTV Music Awards and it lost to Aerosmith and REM on all five. So those two songs took those five that they were nominated in.
Speaker 2:When Michael Stipe of REM is giving his acceptance speech for an award, the video Everybody Hurts won. Mca of the Beastie Boys jumps on stage dressed as one of the characters from the Sabotage video showing his displeasure for the video not winning anything that night. And I remember watching it. I mean I remember him jumping up and I'm like who is this? What's going on, what's happening? But they really thought that they should have won. Ironically, in 2009, mtv Video Music Awards gave out an award for the video that should have won an award that didn't, and it went to the Beastie Boys.
Speaker 2:So they made up for it. All right, you know all these years later. You know we've mentioned before the Beastie Boys on Saturday Night Live with Elvis Costello. They were playing and then Elvis came out, you know 15, 20 seconds into the song and started playing one of his songs you know a takeoff of when he got banned from MTV. So you know that's a really cool song. You know that you'll hear at sporting events all different types of things. I mean you'll hear a lot of that in the beginning and it gets people going.
Speaker 2:I saw them in 94, lollapalooza here in Atlanta Really cool show. I had seen them in 87 with Run DMC and that was the license to Ill Beastie Boys when it was straight rap. But here in 94, when they're playing the instruments, it was really cool. It was a lot of fun watching them. Real good show. 94 was also a really good year for Lollapalooza as well, but I enjoyed it. It was good seeing them grow up. Unfortunately MCA is no longer with us. Beastie Boys won't be doing anything, but they definitely left us with a lot of good memories.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So in May of 1974, david Bowie released the album Diamond Dogs, with the first single, rebel Rebel. Diamond Dogs, with the first single, rebel Rebel, peaking at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 22nd 1974. So David was lead guitar on this song, as well as most of the songs on the album.
Speaker 2:I did not know that yeah, I didn't know it at first either, and he does a fantastic job. When you think about it, that's a really good riff. I think of him as a singer, or I think of him playing acoustic guitar, but I don't think of him as a lead guitarist. And you know, that song peaked at number 64, but that song is so much better than a 64. You know, that is just a classic David Bowie song yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know how that happened, but sometimes that's the way the world works 74 is a weird time for music, you know.
Speaker 1:Maybe it just didn't fit in with what people were looking for at that time. It was maybe ahead of its time.
Speaker 2:Maybe you know Terry Jack's Seasons in the Sun was out in 1974. Right.
Speaker 1:Who can compete with that?
Speaker 2:Who could compete with that? You're right about that. Another song on the album was the song 1984, which was kind of like a George Orwell-influenced song, and it came out in July of 74. And to me the beginning sounds very Shaft-like, if you remember that song, if you stop that song before David Bowie starts to sing, I would swear it's the theme from shaft. I really would. And um, that was isaac hayes and that came out in 1971. So that came out not that long before they released this album. Right? I always liked this song because it was talking about the future, which happened to be my high school graduation year. You know what I'm talking about, jimmy, where there's a song and it's far in the future and, you know, each year goes by, you're kind of getting closer and closer to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And yeah.
Speaker 1:I was looking forward. We're going to party like it's 1999.
Speaker 2:There you go. That's another classic, another great example. That's another classic, another great example. And it's just funny how, listening to that song 1984, and then I remember it being 1984, and it's now 2024, 40 years after the song is written about, but 50 years after the song was actually performed, and things like that, blow my mind. Similar to what you mentioned Prince 1999,. I remember that, and what is it now, 25 years later?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's crazy, past 1999, and the song was from the early 80s.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what was that? Did that come out in 83?, 82, 83,?
Speaker 1:something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you have this buildup of when it's coming, when it's coming, and then all of a sudden it's there and then boom, you just pass it by.
Speaker 1:Well, the thing I think is fun is that tonight we're going to party like it's 1999. It used to mean we're going to party like it's 1999. It used to mean we're going to party like we're in the future, with robots and flying cars, and now it still means something. It's like we're going to party like it's the 90s Right. It's like pre-9-11 and the craziness of the 90s.
Speaker 2:And I agree with you that you're going to do things that remind you of fun. What fun was to you at one point in time. Yeah, you know, title track Diamond Dogs has a live recording feel to it, especially when the beginning starts and later on in the song, but it's really a studio recording. The older I get, the more I like this song. He talks about Halloween Jack and David Bowie. Always, you know he'd like to have these characters and stuff, but he talks about Halloween Jack and David Bowie. Always, you know he'd like to have these characters and stuff, but he talks about Halloween Jack. And this Halloween Jack guy lives on top of Chase Manhattan, which is an abandoned skyscraper in a future Manhattan. So he's referring to Chase Manhattan Bank. They had a, you know, a tower in New York City. I think it's like 60 stories. If I remember correctly, Someone's bought it. It's not even called that anymore, but I think the plaza is still called the Chase Manhattan Plaza or something like that.
Speaker 2:But it's a really cool song, this Diamond Dogs. It was something that I heard on the radio like one time and I was so interested in it, you know, back in the 80s, early 80s, when I first heard it and I was like man, I got to check this song out and it just keeps growing on me. I keep loving it more and more and more and more. Really, really good song and it's a good album. I think it's an album people think of Rebel Rebel and they don't necessarily think of it on that that album. They kind of think of it when he had his greatest hits um, change Is One. I think it was, and it's a good album. There's a lot more stuff on there that's really good. So if you get a chance, check that out. We're gonna go from 1974 now we're gonna go to 1984. Bruce Springsteen has a little album come out called Born in the USA. Have you heard of it?
Speaker 1:I believe I did. Yeah, yes, jimmy Barron's heard of it.
Speaker 2:Jimmy Barron has heard of it, kevin Kinney's heard of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was a changing point for both of them.
Speaker 1:It is. It's a focal point of the show really.
Speaker 2:Yes, who ever would have thought that that would be the case? Show really, yes, who would ever would have thought that that would be the case? So this is an album. Now let me say, let me, let me digress here. Let me say I am not a huge bruce springsteen fan. I'm not a big bruce springsteen fan. Okay, I've mentioned I went to a concert because I wanted to try and get my girlfriend not to break up with me. I like, I was impressed. No, it did not. I was impressed. No, it did not. I was impressed with how long he played. That really impressed me A lot of energy. I like some songs I do, but I, you know, other than that I don't. You know, he's not my main man when it comes to music.
Speaker 2:And I apologize to anyone out there that is like, how can I not think that? But it's music in my shoes, that's just the way that it is for me. But this album, you know, it seemed to be on the radio and MTV forever. Seven of the 12 songs were released as singles, seven and not filler singles. Every one of those singles hit the US top 10 On the Billboard Hot 100. Wow, dancing in the Dark was the first one Released in May of 1984 and the last was my Hometown, released in November 1985, which meant the album was still in heavy rotation Going into 1986. Again, this album was released June of 84. Right. Other five singles Cover Me, july 1984, born in the USA, october 84,. I'm on Fire, february 85,. Glory Days, may 85, and I'm Going Down, august 85.
Speaker 1:Those were all huge hits. They were. They were all over the radio.
Speaker 2:All over. Dancing in the Dark peaked at number two in June, june 30th of 1984. And that was the highest chart single out of all of them. But I remember it just seemed like he toured forever. He was doing all the arenas, then he was doing the football stadiums, and then he was back doing the arenas, and then he was back doing the football stadiums. It was like this never-ending tour and no matter how many seats he put up for sale, he was selling them out. People wanted to go and be a part of it and, like I said, when you have an album that's stretched out over that long of a period of time, I mean you can just pack them in. I mean people love it. Those are some big songs. They are. They really are. You know, jimmy, I'll tell you something that I've missed, and that is Minute with Jimmy. It's time for Minute with Jimmy. Minute with Jimmy. Minute with Jimmy. It's time for Minute with Jimmy.
Speaker 1:Minute with Jimmy Minute with Jimmy. Here we go, timer's on. So today we're talking about the 1979 album the Undertones, the eponymous first album from the band the Undertones. They're from Northern Ireland. They started out as just a garage band and became a punk band once punk came around and they're really fun punk. They're from Northern Ireland during the Troubles, but yet they didn't get political. They didn't get too serious with their music. It's all just influenced by 60s bubblegum pop type of stuff in my mind and great crunchy guitars just some of the best guitar sounds around and really really fun songs. I wish I'd seen them live. But yeah, the Undertones album came out May 1979, 45 years ago, do you like?
Speaker 2:them. I know the name. I can't tell you. I know a lot. What songs do they sing? We're going to go over a minute with Jimmy.
Speaker 1:Teenage Kicks is the big.
Speaker 2:Oh, teenage Kicks. That's a great song, that's the big hit. Yes, I know that song.
Speaker 1:But the album is like, if you like the undertones, it's like a greatest hits album. I just listened through it today and literally every. I hadn't heard a lot of the songs in decades and it's like, oh, I know that song.
Speaker 2:I know every song on the album. It's just one of those that every song on its got it. So Teenage Kicks was a song that they played on WLIR heard it a lot in 1982, 83, maybe even into 84. But you talk about the Troubles. The Troubles is something that U2 wrote a lot about, that. A lot of their big songs were written about the Troubles. Sunday, bloody Sunday. They actually have a song called the Troubles that came out, you know, on one of their later albums and kind of made a career out of doing all of that. And it's funny. This is a whole different point of view of the Troubles.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, because another one of my favorite bands Stiff Little Fingers. They're also from Belfast and they did get, if not political, they at least were a serious band that was talking about the frustrations of their lives and that sort of thing. But the undertones it's all just like hey, let's have a good time.
Speaker 2:It really is. And that Teenage Kicks I mean that's just a great song. And you're right, it is kind of like bubble gum. You know, rock music, that's fun, you know. I like when people kind of do what they did with the chords and stuff, like it's just fun music.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really is. They were influenced heavily by the Ramones, but it doesn't sound anything like the Ramones to me. But knowing that, it's like, oh yeah, they did kind of have heavy poppy music the way the Ramones did.
Speaker 2:And there's nothing wrong with that at all. Yeah, and on that it's, that was fun. You know, I've actually had people ask me if they can get the clip of just that because they'd like to install it on their phones because they like that song.
Speaker 1:You need to start collecting royalties. Let's release it on Apple Music.
Speaker 2:Maybe we should do that, but I'm not even joking. People have really asked me about that. Can I get that so that I can.
Speaker 1:All right, I'll give it to you. We'll put it. You know that'll be a thing for the fan club.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the fan club. There you go. All right, so we're going to go from 1979 up to 1989. Paul McCartney Flowers in the Dirt album came out June 5th of 1989. And this is kind of a different approach to writing for Paul McCartney, because four of the 12 songs he co-wrote with Elvis Costello Elvis even sings with him on the song you Want Her Too. But the highlight of this album well, actually the deluxe version of the album is a demo of Paul and Elvis singing my Brave Face and to me it's a much better version of the song than the regular album version. The mixing in their voices together is pretty crazy at how good it sounds and I know I mentioned this on a previous episode, but it's fantastic. Their voices are insanely incredibly amazing together. When you listen to them and not when it's produced Like you Want Her Too, it's different because they kind of overproduce it. But when they're doing the demo of my Brave Face and it's two guys and they got some guitars- they're probably singing it together rather than separately.
Speaker 2:And they are got some guitars. They're probably singing it together rather than separately and they are yeah, and just listening to their voices, I recommend to everybody whether or not you're a Paul McCartney fan and don't like Elvis, or an Elvis fan and don't like Paul McCartney Flowers in the Dirt Deluxe, listen to that demo. They actually have some more demos on there also that the two of them do, but it is a gem of a find. You know, a lot of times they put out these deluxe versions of things and they put a lot of garbage on it. This is not the case here. Really, really, really good version of that.
Speaker 1:I'm definitely checking that out.
Speaker 2:So the song we Got Married off of the album is notable for it has David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame playing the guitar albums. Notable for it has David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame playing the guitar. Not a great song, but it's cool listening to Paul McCartney with David Gilmour and they're actually friends. Paul and David have been friends and you know they actually in 76, they went to Nebworth and in Nebworth 1976, it was this big, you know, fair, kind of like. You know Glastonbury, you know all those Reading all the things that they do in England now. But at Nebworth 76, the Rolling Stones were the main act, you know, and they had Leonard Skinner. That was going to be one of the opening bands and Leonard Skinner had rules. You know nobody goes on that little part of the stage that juts out from the main stage, that's mix, and Leonard Skinner said the heck with it and they just went out there. And you know that's the only time that people say Don't they call that the catwalk?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's the catwalk.
Speaker 2:I was going to say the tongue walk. I was just thinking Rolling Stones with the tongue. I don't know why, but it's the only time people say that the Rolling Stones were actually blown off the stage by another band. But at that show you can actually see there's pictures of Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and David Gilmour. So they were there as fans watching Leonard Skinner and watching the Rolling Stones, which is kind of a cool thing. And then David Gilmour ends up on this album.
Speaker 2:Last song of side one is a song called Put it there, and it's a saying that Paul McCartney's dad used to say to him. Put it there, meaning a handshake if it weighs a ton. That's what a father said to his young son and it's something that Paul remembered from when his dad, you know, would tell him things as a young kid, and I think that's pretty cool. I think, being able to, you know, I think that's why Paul can do so many things, because he remembers everything, and then he can take it and then he can make it so that we want to listen to it. You know the words, the music, the melodies, whatever it is, and he just is able to do what we wish that we all could do. Hey Jimmy, do you know what time it is? Music in my shoes mailbag.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is music in my shoes. Mailbag time. On episode 25, Remember when you Were Young, we spoke about our first concerts Mine was the police, at Nassau Coliseum in New York on April 22, 1982. Jimmy, yours was the Ramones.
Speaker 1:The Ramones in like March 1983.
Speaker 2:All right, so I put the question out there to you, the listeners, asking what was your first concert? Howard from Kershaw, south Carolina, wrote Bob Seger in 1976 at the Forum. I'm assuming that is the LA Forum. When I hear the Forum I always think of that. If I'm wrong, let us know. Randy from Long Island, new York, said the Charlie Daniels Band with New Riders of the Purple Sage opening up on October 18th 1979.
Speaker 1:These are pretty cool. First concerts, they are yeah.
Speaker 2:Way to get a load of this one. All right, bobby, in Fort Lauderdale, florida, saw Jimi Hendrix then known as Jimi James and the Blue Flames, at Cafe Wah in 1966. He was incredible. I practiced to all his albums until I had Mitch Mitchell's down pat. I learned triplets, which has served me well for 60 years. He's referring here to Mitch Mitchell, who is the drummer of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. But, jimmy, what are triplets?
Speaker 1:Triplets are when you take four beats and you put three notes into the space of those four beats.
Speaker 2:Can you demonstrate that for?
Speaker 1:us? Yeah, so if you were counting like one, two, three, four, 1, 2, 3, 4, triple it, triple it, triple it.
Speaker 2:Oh, now I know I just learned something new. I like it. Bobby continues with. I've been to Jimmy's grave site three times, which is located outside of Seattle, and still have the albums and CDs. Rip James Marshall Hendricks. That's a very cool mailbag story For sure. Gene from Atlanta, georgia. Comments on episodes 29 and 30 on our interview with Kevin Kinney of Drivin' and Cryin'. This was a fantastic interview and so much fun. I agree with Kevin Kinney that it's way better to meet music heroes in the wild than backstage. Thank you, gene, I agree.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean we'd all love to meet Bob Dylan at the grocery store.
Speaker 2:Yes, at Kroger's I think it was the Thelonica Kroger he said. So staying with Driving and Crying. Jim in Columbus, ohio, mentions his old band I think it's pronounced the Epicureans covered the Whisper Tames the Lion, which is the name of the second album by them. Right, and then James in Georgia, great interview with Kevin seems like a genuine guy, which I would say that is true. I really think that he is Real good guy. Loved having him here in the studio with us, absolutely.
Speaker 2:There is a great country cover of Straight to Hell by Darius Rucker, of Hootie fame, with Jason Aldean, luke Bryan and Charles Kelly. Check it out Now. I'm not a big country fan, but I did check this out. I listened to it last night. Not a big country fan, but I did check this out. I listened to it last night and I think it would have been really good if Darius Rucker had just done it himself. Like when he starts and he sings he sounds good and I, you know again, country's not the best, you know, most popular thing in my categories that I listened to, but you know I sounded pretty good. But I think most of thing in my categories that I listen to, but you know it sounded pretty good, but I think most of all in this whole thing, the fact that they want to play a Kevin Kinney song.
Speaker 2:When you think about it, what you know, we talked about Jason Isbell and 400 Unit they've done Honeysuckle Blue, that these big bands that are out there are covering stuff that Kevin Kinney has done I mean that's really throwing a big thank you to him for some of the stuff that he's accomplished and I think that's really the big picture when you look at this whole thing. So for any of you out there, you can check that out as well, just like I did. We have received our first fan mail message. I mentioned this a few um episodes ago and when listening to the podcast on your mobile device, there's a link under episode notes that says send us a text message. This allows you to send a one-way text to the show. It shows us only the last four digits of your phone number and a city, so 5425 in Atlanta, georgia. Writes.
Speaker 1:Wait, that's my cell phone number. No, I'm kidding.
Speaker 2:Great interview with Kevin Definitely had a few chuckles listening to it and I have to say we had a few chuckles listening to him while we were here in studio with him. Thank you, 5425. And it sounds kind of like I'm talking to a prisoner. Remember the Johnny Cash album live at Folsom Prison and they're calling numbers. I mean, that's really what it sounds like. Well, anyway, please like and follow us on the Music In my Shoes Facebook page or contact us at musicinmyshoes at gmailcom or the new one-way text messaging on your mobile device.
Speaker 1:Music In my Shoes Mailbag.
Speaker 2:That's it for Episode 31 of Music In my Shoes. I'd like to thank Jimmy Guthrie, show producer and owner of Arcade 160 Studios located here in Atlanta, georgia, and Vic Thrill for our podcast music. This is Jim Boge, and I hope you learned something new or remembered something old. We'll meet again on our next episode. Until then, live life and keep the music playing.