Permanent Record Podcast

Episode 127: Martin L. Gore - Counterfeit e.p. (1989) Part 2 After a brief interruption in the schedule to hold the third annual Trivia Showdown, followed by a break to celebrate Brian's Milestone Birthday, Sarah and Brian are back to discuss the rest of Martin Gore's first solo offering, Counterfeit e.p, released in 1989. As we learned on Side One, Mr. Martin L. Gore chose an eclectic selection of songs to interpret in his own inimitable style for this effort, and Side Two is no different. There's a song by a band from Sheffield  who has a connection to the very early history of Depeche Mode; a song by a band founded in Los Angeles in 1967 and is still recording music today; and a song whose origins date back to the 19th-century American South. Brian and Sarah talk about the original versions of the songs as well as Martin Gore's interpretation of them. Along the way they also bring up the hosts' ground-breaking revelation last year that not all bands from Sheffield sound like The Human League; the specul

Episode 126: Permanent Record Trivia Showdown 2021 The Quiz Master returns for the PRP Trivia Showdown 2021!! The stakes are higher than ever before as the two hosts face off against each other - and against a player that no one saw coming!!  It's almost more hot trivia action than you handle!! Special thanks go out to Nick Oswald, Pete Rogers, John Justice, Mark Lumb, Antony Briers, Che Lowenstein, Chris Slemp, Drew R. Maerz, Mark Northfield, Ben, Alan Hogg, and Gary Shepherd for contributing questions to this year's Trivia Showdown. You all went above and beyond for us and we appreciate it! And special thanks from Brian & Sarah to The Quiz Master for all the work he puts into this event each year.  You are the best! Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8

Episode 125: In Conversation with Blaklight (Brian Belknap & Adam Collier) The Permanent Record Podcast once again has the good fortune to feature two very talented musicians who've been making some excellent music in the past year. Adam Collier and Brian Belknap graciously agreed to talk to Brian and Sarah about their band Blaklight, a dark electronic pop band based out of Los Angeles. In this episode we learn how the resurgence of a band Brian B was in decades ago led to Adam and Brian first working together, which grew from a one-off project to a band who developed a full-fledged album.   That album, appropriately titled Music In a Time of Uncertainty, was released in November 2020 and was preceded by two singles: "Isolation" and "Unknown Love." Additionally, remix albums for both singles have been released, with "Unknown Love: The Remixes" dropping on Bandcamp just last week. Join us as we learn more about the terrific guys behind Blaklight, their music and methods, their previous efforts, and even

Episode 124: Martin L. Gore - "Counterfeit e.p" (1989) Intrepid hosts Brian & Sarah are back for 2021's first "normal" episode!  But can a podcast focused on Depeche Mode's foremost songwriter truly be considered "normal?"  After all, Mr. M.L. Gore is known across the world for his unusual songs that combine all the best features of alternative music with kernels of pure pop music magic.  But of course, none of the songs on "Counterfeit e.p" are penned by Martin, so how will they go over with our Depeche Mode-loving hosts?  Will a song originally by The Durutti Column prove to be as charming as anything from "Construction Time Again?"  Will the cover of Joe Crow's "Compulsion" power-up the PRP crew enough for them to cross over the street or will they simply huddle in a dark corner, wishing they were listening to "A Broken Frame?"  What's the connection between Chairman Mao and "In a Manner of Speaking?"  And does this 1989 solo project have the same level of sonic perfection that we expect from the migh

Episode 123: Sarah's Milestone Birthday Extravaganza Featuring VH X RR Everyone's favorite female host of the PRP recently had a significant birthday! Typically, these milestones are celebrated with a big party, but these aren't exactly typical times. So instead of having a room full of all kinds of people, Brian and Sarah had a Zoom call with two very cool people: Von Hertzog and Rob Rowe of the band VH x RR. Our hosts last spoke with VH x RR last June, upon the release of their debut EP, The Persistence of Memory. This time around, there are two new singles to discuss: "Somewhere in Time," which was released in the opening moments of 2021, and "The Speed of Light," which just saw the light of day on Bandcamp a couple of weeks ago. Brian and Sarah speak with Von and Rob about the singles and the many remixes that accompany them, but that's just the tip of the iceberg! They also discuss Von's projects with the artists Czarina and Blaklight; the Christmas song VH x RR released and whether there will ever be

Episode 122: David Bowie "Five Years On" with Jon Lamoreaux and David O - Part 2 Brian and Sarah recently had a David Bowie-themed weekend, kicked off by the star-studded "Bowie Celebration" online concert hosted by Mike Garson and followed by a viewing of "Lazarus," the darkly provocative stage musical. These events, while joyous, couldn't help but bring forth a sense of disbelief that it's been five years since David Bowie left the Earth, and it left the hosts wanting to talk more about the man and his music. So once again, your regular hosts are joined by two talented friends with plenty to say on the subject of Rock Music's leading chameleon. David O is the host of the excellent Duran Duran-focused podcast "The D Side." Jon Lamoreaux, host of "The Hustle Podcast", has interviewed 300+ figures of note from the music world, including leading producers, singers, and songwriters. Both of these gentlemen are long-time fans of David Bowie, and PRP hosts Brian and Sarah are honored that David and Jon were so g

Episode 121: David Bowie "Five Years On" with Jon Lamoreaux and David O After a recent weekend spent watching Mike Garson's excellent "Bowie Celebration" tribute concert and a performance of the darkly provocative stage musical "Lazarus", it struck both Brian and Sarah that, although five years have passed since he left the Earth, they both still miss David Bowie and that it's sometimes very difficult to believe that he is gone. Now, your regular hosts are joined by two talented friends with plenty to say on the subject of Rock Music's leading chameleon.  David O is the host of the excellent Duran Duran-focused podcast "The D Side."  Jon Lamoreaux, host of "The Hustle Podcast", has interviewed 300+ figures of note from the music world, including leading producers, singers, and songwriters.  Both of these gentlemen are long-time fans of David Bowie, and PRP hosts Brian and Sarah are honored that David and Jon were so generous with their time and expertise. In this first episode, the four fans discuss how th

PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 5 - Thunderball Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast! This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere! In the fifth episode, Sarah and Brian are joined by Bond author Robbie Sims (Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond) to discuss the theme from the fourth 007 adventure, "Thunderball."  Along the way, they share their thoughts on the film and explore Bond-related music from Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Cash, and Shirley Bassey.  This one was a lot of fun, so we hope that translates whe

Episode 120: The Pretenders - "2000 Miles" (1983),  Depeche Mode - "Christmas Island" (1986), and Holiday Giveaway How fitting that the last episode of 2020 also ends with a 20! For episode 120, Brian and Sarah sit down in their festively decorated studio to discuss two songs-- one with decidedly more of a holiday tie-in than the other. In 1983, The Pretenders found themselves rebuilding after a particularly difficult period in their history. Eventually this rebuilding led to the classic 1984 album "Learning to Crawl." But before the album was released, the single "2000 Miles" came out in November 1983, and it has since become a modern holiday favorite. Brian and Sarah talk about the origin of the song and its meaning, the beautiful single cover, a few of the different versions done by Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders, and the rather unusual video, directed by Tim Pope. Brian slips for a moment into "James Bond Podcast" mode, but Sarah is able to lure him back to the main discussion pretty quickly this tim

Episode 119: Falco - 3 (1985) - Part 2 Wilkommen! Brian and Sarah are back to talk more about Falco-- or, as Brian likes to call him, The Austrian Slick-Meister-- and his third album, 3, released in 1985. This episode covers the two remaining singles, "Jeanny" and "Rock Me Amadeus," along with the album track "Männer des Westerns - Any Kind of Land." The hosts explore the controversy surrounding the song "Jeanny" and talk about the many classic film references in the video. Brian even delves a little bit into the world of true crime, which he does warn listeners about at the start of the episode. "Männer des Westerns" understandably prompts a discussion about Western society and pop culture, and when the hosts turn their attention to "Rock Me Amadeus," they also mention the 1984 movie that may (or may not!) have inspired the song. Also during this section, the hosts mention The Simpsons, armadillos, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And it probably isn't too surprising for regular listeners to learn that Bria

Episode 118: Falco - 3 (1985) - Part 1 Since 1986, Brian has yearned to be recognized as a leading expert on all things Falco, as Sarah does her best to tolerate this dream.  While this installment of the podcast may not get him all the way to his goal, Brian is overjoyed to be able to say that he  has taken the first step of his journey. In this episode, Brian & Sarah turn the spotlight on 1985's "Falco 3", discussing how Hans Hölzel transformed into his alter-ego Falco, how Falco came to work with Rob & Ferdi Bolland, and how the world greeted the arrival of this Pop Music Manifesto.  Then the hosts direct the discussion towards the following pair of songs: Macho Macho Vienna Calling You can see the video for Vienna Calling HERE. Cool Stuff Alert:  Visit our new PRP Shop at https://www.redbubble.com/people/bluezonenetwork/ Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast Follow us at https://twitter.com/permrecordpod Check out some pic

Episode 117: Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985) - Part 2 After a brief interruption to record an "emergency episode," Brian and Sarah return to their examination of the 1985 Oingo Boingo album Dead Man's Party. This classic release just celebrated its 35th anniversary, and our hosts are ready to continue the festivities by flipping the record over to Side Two and talking about the five tracks found there. Side Two features two singles, one of which has the distinction of attaining the highest position on the Billboard chart in the band's history. The other single took on a life of its own a few years later, in the country of Brazil! Track-by-Track, continued As the hosts talk about the songs on Side Two, they reveal even more songs on this album that have made their way into American movies and television shows. They also mention some movies that don't have any obvious connections to Oingo Boingo, such as the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the 1944 film Going My Way, starring Bing Cr

Episode 116: Depeche Mode Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2020 Here's something that hasn't happened in a while-- an emergency episode of the Permanent Record Podcast! What could cause the hosts to pause their discussion of Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo?  Why, Depeche Mode of course! The boys from Basildon were officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Brian and Sarah definitely couldn't let such an event pass by without talking about it! The ceremony was different from previous years, in that there were no live performances. Instead, a mini-documentary was shown, featuring a wide variety of guests who each spoke about the band's importance and influence on their own lives as well as to music in general. These features were interspersed with excerpts of past interviews from the band members along with video clips and concert footage spanning Depeche's nearly 40-year career. Following this montage, Andy, Dave, and Martin appeared together-- on split-screens-- to accept the awar

Episode 115: Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985) - Part 1 A few weeks ago, Sarah suggested that we discuss Oingo Boingo's amazing 1985 album "Dead Man's Party" in episode #115 as it would be released right around Halloween. That turned out to be an even better idea than she realized!  Why?  Because this episode is hitting your podcast app-of-choice exactly 35 years to the day that Boingo's fourth LP first appeared on record store shelves!  Happy Birthday, DMP!! The show starts with a discussion of how the band's multi-talented leader Danny Elfman discovered his love of and skill with music. We trace his development through his post-high school wandering days, his time in the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, the big switch over to just Oingo Boingo, and then his career in the genre of film scoring. From there, we learn about the many musicians who make up this fantastic group, the artists responsible for the quirky and attractive album cover, and we go in-depth into the four songs that appear on the r

PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 4 - In Conversation with Author Robbie Sims Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he can.  Finally he has convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast! This new occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah will start with "Dr. No" and work its way up to the most recent Bond adventure, and on the way it will discuss and critique all of the 007 theme songs and other relevant recordings.  It's a dream come true for one of the hosts - and for Bond fans everywhere! In this episode, the usual discussion of Bond theme music is put on the back-burner, and the hosts welcome author Robbie Sims to talk about his new book Quantum of Silliness: The Peculiar World of Bond, James Bond, along with a wealth of other 007-related topics.  You'll also find out why Brian whined for an entire week in London while on his honeymoon, what part-time job both Robbie a

Episode 114: Thomas Dolby Retrospectacle + Venus Hum New Music (Part 2) Once again, Brian and Sarah are joined by special guests Andrew Dineley of the Art on Your Sleeve Podcast and Tony Miracle of Venus Hum. Andrew and Tony were kind enough to accept the invitation to discuss the albums of Thomas Dolby, as they have much more personal history with the catalogue-- and they're both really great guys to talk with! In this episode, the four hosts pick up their discussion with the fourth Thomas Dolby solo album, Astronauts and Heretics, and then they fast forward a couple of decades to the 2011 release, A Map of the Floating City. This most recent album holds a special place in Tony Miracle's heart, as he was asked to do a remix of one of the songs on it! Having a talented and experienced musician on the show provides a rare opportunity for some intelligent commentary in the area of music theory, in particular with the song "Simone." And of course anytime Andrew is on, he's able to share an abundance of intere

Episode 113:  Thomas Dolby Retrospectacle + Venus Hum New Music (Part 1) Brian and Sarah are thrilled to welcome back two very special guests to the show: Andrew Dineley, of Soft Octopus Design Studio (who created the gorgeous graphic above) and the Art On Your Sleeve podcast; and Tony Miracle of the band Venus Hum. Brian and Sarah asked these two fine gentlemen for help, because they wanted to talk about the work of Thomas Dolby, but being very new fans, they knew they couldn't do it on their own. Andrew and Tony, however, are long-time fans with a wealth of knowledge and personal stories between them, and they both graciously agreed to join in the discussion. The result is a fun and detailed conversation which covers the five main albums Thomas Dolby has released since 1982. This episode covers the first three albums: The Golden Age of Wireless, The Flat Earth, and Aliens Ate My Buick. The four hosts cover the usual topics of release and chart information, singles, videos, remixes, and artwork. They als

Episode 112: Selections from Now That's What I Call Music Vol 1 (1983) - Part 2 It's September, and in the US, that means the summer season is wrapping up. And as the summer comes to a close, so does the Permanent Record Podcast's look back at the first edition of the iconic compilation series, Now That's What I Call Music. Brian and Sarah are once again joined by friend of the show, Jackie Clary, who came up with the idea for this discussion. In this episode, the three hosts each choose a song from the second album to talk about. A lot of chart history and information is shared, and there's a Smash Hits review for each song as well. Of course there's also much discussion on the videos, in particular for Jackie's selection. But wait, there's more! Brian, Sarah, and Jackie also cover a range of topics including: authentic Doc Martens, legendary San Diego DJ Steve West; weird ways to hold a microphone; more Halloween costume ideas; and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Disc 2 selections Sarah's choice: "The S

Episode 111: 40 Years of "Xanadu" (Featuring Olivia Newton-John & ELO) August 8, 1980 was a monumentally important day in the history of cinema, for that was the release date of the greatest roller disco musical film ever made, Xanadu. In this episode of the Permanent Record Podcast, Brian and Sarah talk a little about the movie, but a lot more about the Xanadu soundtrack, which achieved considerably more success than the film it accompanied. The soundtrack features Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra as the primary artists, along with some special guests, and generated a total of six singles worldwide. Brian, the long-time Xanadu fan, leads the discussion of the singles, which he ranked in order of his preference-- at least at the time of the recording! Sarah offers her thoughts on the songs as well and answers some hard-hitting questions from her co-host. Both hosts enjoy revisiting the songs that featured quite prominently in the soundtrack to their pre-teen years, and they share a lot

Episode 110: Electrical Language - Quadrascope, Jupiter Red, Naked Lunch, Box of Toys, Thomas Leer Back in Summer of 2019, Cherry Red Records released a 4-CD compilation titled "Electrical Language: Independent British Synth Pop 78-84." Brian wanted to buy it, but having recently signed up for Spotify, he felt obligated to try streaming his music instead of buying everything he wanted. The Great Spotify Experiment soon came to a disastrous end, and unfortunately, the box set slipped Brian's mind. Fast-forward to Summer of 2020, and Brian has finally acquired the collection. After listening to all 80 tracks multiple times, both Brian & Sarah have deemed Cherry Red's work on the set to be "inspirational and excellent." Of course, 80 songs is a few too many to discuss in one episode, so in this special Summer One-Off show, the hosts each pick 2 or 3 of their favorite tracks to research and report on. Brian and Sarah are both really excited to share what they have learned about these new (to them anyway!)