ТРАНСКРИПЦИЯ 🔗
WEBVTT
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I'm Christine.
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And I'm Christina.
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In 2024, I moved to Texas from LA.
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And to keep in touch, Christine and I started a weekly game where we each pick a song that fits a chosen theme.
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This game deepened our understanding of each other and the songs that shape us, inspiring the podcast you're listening to now.
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Each week we share our pics, swap stories, and dig into tracks you might love.
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And a lot of the time have never heard of.
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Welcome to Stereothematica, your favorite atypical music podcast.
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Hi, Christine.
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Hey there, Christina.
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I've been thinking about something.
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Huh.
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It's hard for me to pass up a jukebox.
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Oh.
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What about you?
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Yeah.
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It's funny, I don't see them very often.
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I don't go out a lot.
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I don't go to places that have jukeboxes, at least not in like recent memory.
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I'm trying to think of in LA any places that I would have gone that were like, oh, this is a jukebox place.
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And you're probably right.
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Like I nothing really comes to mind where I am like, oh yeah, this this place in LA was great for their jukebox.
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It's really more like all my jukebox memories are in Texas and Louisiana.
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Yeah.
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I I just told you recently on the podcast about that place that my friend and I went to where they have the jukeboxes at every like the little things at every table.
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But they're just for show, right?
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The ones at the table.
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They I think they actually used to work at this particular, it's called the Tip Top Cafe.
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It was such a hoot.
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I mean, it was like really old, you know, like the wood paneling on the walls.
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Like, I think I just looked and it was open in 1938.
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So it's been around for a really long time.
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But they, the lady, when we asked the waitress, because my friend Kelsey and I, we had to like, we we have to do this.
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I even got went and got change for it.
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She's like, yeah, I mean, some of them were.
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We moved tables so that we could sit at one that we thought was working.
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And then it wasn't.
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So they had a a big jukebox and we ended up putting our stuff in there.
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But it was like that it I don't know.
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I guess it feels kind of Texas to me.
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Maybe you could find them out in like Bakersfield or well, I feel like there's that restaurant, like there's those 50s style restaurants like Ruby's, that they would have them on the table, but I don't remember them actually ever working.
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And it doesn't seem like logistically, like how would that work?
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Because people like just the noise would be so overwhelming at each table.
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Like I would be so distracted hearing the table next to me.
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Like you'd have to space people out.
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Oh, my thought was that each one at the table goes to like the sound system that everyone listens to over.
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But I don't know.
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I need to get confirmation.
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Oh, that's interesting.
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I just thought they were like for everyone to have their own little like that.
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Yeah, too, or something.
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Which is crazy.
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Yeah.
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But what about when you were young?
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Like, did you ever like go to a diner and put, you know, a quarter in the jukebox and get to play your favorite song?
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Yeah, it might have been a dime.
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And the place was Graziano's pizza in Ontario, California.
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Wow.
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And it was like our family place for pizza night, Friday, Saturday nights.
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And like my brother would go play Pac-Man, and I would get changed for the jukebox.
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And yeah, I it was so much fun.
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I would, you know, I have my like regular picks like Juice Newton, playing with the Queen of Hearts, and Diana Ross, Upside Down, The Go-Go's, of course.
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Yeah.
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Physical.
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Olivia.
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Yes, Olivia.
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I love physical.
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And it's funny because like I'm like, I don't know, around this time of 10, and I feel like like I'm in control of the adults.
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Oh, for sure.
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And it's it's such a good feeling.
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A beautiful experience as a child.
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Like to cook to curate the music like that.
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Yeah.
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It's so much fun.
Load full transcript
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It's captivating.
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Yeah.
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What do you did?
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You have like these experiences a lot as a child?
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You know, I actually don't remember ever putting money in the jukebox to put songs on, but I definitely remember tabbing through all of the, you know, when you're pressing the button to get it.
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You can hear the noise.
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Yes, exactly.
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And it's slipping, slapping over and just seeing what they had.
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And then sometimes probably being a little shit and like just doing it as fast as possible.
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So get them to go.
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My dad had a record player at home that we he used pretty regularly.
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So like the novelty of the records wasn't a thing for me, but seeing those ones that I don't I haven't seen one in so long, but where they'd pick up the record and you'd see it get dropped onto the turntable.
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And like those were so special that because normally the mechanics are hidden, right?
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Yeah, exactly.
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That's the only time I've actually, that's the only type I've actually seen, although Happy Days had that in that opening credits.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Oh my gosh, that's such a good memory.
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We're gonna have to link to the opening credits.
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But I don't know, there is something really exciting and fun about a jukebox, and especially as a music lover, if you're excited to put your your song on.
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And I just thought it might be fun to dive into the history of the jukebox a little bit so we can share a little bit about the origin of its name, since it's also kind of odd.
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And the good news is there is no shortage of history about the jukebox online.
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I literally Googled like jukebox history, and so many articles came up.
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Uh-oh.
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Maybe I'm not the only one who's sentimental about the jukebox.
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But I did find this great article, which I'll link to from Smithsonian magazine.
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And they say in 1889, the first type of jukebox debuted in a San Francisco tavern called the Palais Royal.
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And it was actually an a modified Edison phonograph that played music from a single wax cylinder that you put in a nickel.
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The customer would put the tube up to their ear, and then they'd have to listen to it, just one person listening to the song on their own, since there was no
amplification of sound at that point.
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So hopefully, you know, people weren't getting earwax and and and whatnot on it.
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I don't think they cared in those days.
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You think they were just smelly, they were smoking all the time, they weren't taking showers regularly.
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It was a smelly time, I'm sure.
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And I'm glad that I didn't.
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But also think about it like San Francisco, there were probably like horses and you know, I don't know.
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I'm not wistful for that time period.
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But then to jump forward a lot, in 1927, the Automatic Musical Instrument Company unveiled the first amplified multi-record coin phonograph, and then jukeboxes were the nickname in the 1930s for these machines in reference to African American juke joints in the South.
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So this was the beginning of the introduction to music on demand, which was a lot more affordable than buying a record, and it was being played on much better equipment than most people had at home.
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So one thing I loved learning is that at one time jukebox owners accounted for the majority of record sales because they frequently had to change out the selections of records to keep their customers paying, yeah, you know, and coming back to their establishment to hear new music.
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And then jukeboxes, of course, prompted bar fights over music selections and complaints about the noise.
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I could see that.
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How fun.
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Have you ever no, but I'd love to.
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I could see you getting in a fight.
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I do feel like there was a uh a meme of some sort, somebody on Twitter a long time ago, back when it was still Twitter, talking about how he went to one bar and put on Monster Mash just like eight times in a row, unlike the touch tunes or whatever.
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Yeah, wow.
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And and speaking of that, because now there are many types of jukeboxes.
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I am not a fan of touch tunes.
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You know, that one, it's like it's basically you just find any song in the world and you can play it.
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Almost like karaoke at this point.
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Like I think a lot of karaoke places But have we not been to a karaoke place that had a very limited selection?
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Yes, with the old time, old timey booklet.
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Yeah, more things in a foreign language than in English.
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Yeah.
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But I want a limited selection.
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Yeah.
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Like I actually think it's more fun to have to like really think like, oh, okay.
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So based on these 20 albums or whatever, what am I gonna pick?
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And then considering the different types of jukeboxes, one of my favorites is the Warlitzer.
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Can you picture it?
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I mean, I could imagine just knowing the name I don't know at all, but knowing how you think.
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And and and kind of imagining like that iconic, the iconic jukebox with the colors and yes, like the colors and the bubble tubes.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, bubble tubes.
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Bubble tubes, like what a good idea.
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You're like a moth to a flame, just like walking through the biggest.
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What a I mean, so clever, like such a cool thing.
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And you know what?
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I looked online.
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Uh-huh.
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Some of those jukeboxes are only like$12,000 or$13,000.
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I'm not saying I can afford that.
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One day, but I'm saving.
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If I were rich, I I would just drop that cash and say this is a worthwhile investment.
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Like that is fun.
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That's a flex.
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I know.
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That's definitely a flex for your romp room.
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Yeah.
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For your romp room.
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Isn't that what the goose room romp is?
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I'm sorry.
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I like romp too.
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A romp.
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I mean somebody's just in there like romping.
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I'm thinking romperoom.
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That's a good one.
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Anyway, I don't want to spend my whole time talking about jukeboxes.
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So let me share with you the song I'd like to play on the jukebox.
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And truth be told, I don't know if I've actually ever played this song on the jukebox before.
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I've seen it on plenty of jukeboxes in my day.
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But before I dive in, here's Spirit in the Night by Bruce Springsteen and the East Street band from their 1973 album, Greetings from Asbury Park.
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Crazy JD and a mission man We're back in the Lading House Long came wild and weather square team man all loaded up with that.
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Okay, absolutely love that opening.
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It this is it's really good.
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It's
thank you.
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And this is one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs out there.
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And Christine, I was shocked that you thought of the boss as simply born in the USA, guys.
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So I wanna I want to hear about your Bruce aversion.
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Okay, so you gotta remember Born in the USA comes out in 1984.
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And I'm a kid, but I'm also like like watching MTV.
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This is on MTV all the time.
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Wow.
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So like that's kind of the memory I have stuck in my brain, my my 11-year-old brain, that ew, that's like parent music.
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Yeah, boring.
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And then the most vivid memory is dancing in the dark.
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Yeah.
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And he's so earnest and he's so bright-eyed, and he's doing that 80s dancing, and and then Courtney Cox is in the audience and he points at her, I think, and she pops up, and then they're doing the cutesy dance together.
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It's embarrassing.
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Like even at that age, if I had known the word cringe, I would have said that is cringe.
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That's cringe for sure.
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I don't disagree.
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But so that is in my mind.
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Like it's really it's it's dancing in the dark.
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Um, it's what's what are the other songs of his around that time?
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I mean, born in the USA.
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Yeah.
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I I I Oh wait, what about your little girl is a dad?
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No.
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Exactly.
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I hate that.
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I hate it.
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But then you play this.
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I actually, I'm gonna be completely honest here.
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I thought it was Van Morrison.
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Oh, interesting.
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I heard Van Morrison.
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I heard like the, you know, it sounded a little bit like Moondance, a little bit like Domino.
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It's so weird.
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There's a little nod to like King Harvest in there.
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Okay, but you know who else?
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I'm hearing Bob Dylan.
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Oh, interesting.
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I'm hearing like lyrically Bob Dylan.
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Yeah, lyrically.
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And then more musically voice Van Morrison, but I don't want to get ahead here.
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I listened to the entire album.
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Oh, good.
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And I like your pick the most.
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Okay.
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And same here, because not every song on this album is a winner for me.
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Like Mary Queen of Arkansas.
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Oh no.
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I'm like, shut it down.
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Also, just this Bob bus stop at whatever street.
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I'm like, uh some of it is a little too bleeding heart.
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I didn't mind that one as much because that was very Bob Dylan, but yeah, a little too maudlin at times for me.
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Like he's crying almost.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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I don't like that.
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100%.
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I know.
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I have never thought of the Bob Dylan thing, but lyrically, I think I can totally agree.
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And I will spill the beans.
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I'm not the world's biggest Bruce fan either.
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And it's not because I don't like him, because I do love him.
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I just haven't listened to all of his albums.
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He has 21 studio albums, and like I'm not gonna lie, like most artists, I like his earlier stuff.
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Huh.
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Yeah.
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So Greetings from Asrey Park is Bruce and the E Street band's first album.
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And Spirit in the Night and Blinded by the Light were both released as singles, but both failed to chart.
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But those, in my opinion, are the best songs on the album.
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And I want to talk about this for a second because I got so pissed when I found out that Manfred Mann, when he covered Blinded by the Light, it became number one in 1977.
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So yeah, that's the version I know.
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I only know that version.
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Oh, you haven't listened to the before.
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I mean, I did I've I've listened to the album.
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Yeah, because because of you.
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But I really just thought it was a Manfred Man song.
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But what do you think of that Manfred Mann?
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I didn't like it.
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No, but it's annoying.
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To me, that's like peak bad 80s music or 70s that you would hear at a in a jukebox at the time.
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Yeah.
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Along with 867-5309.
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Oh, good call.
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Yeah.
00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.399
It's very on brand with that one, too.
00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.919
Manfred Mann also covered Spirit in the Night.
00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:54.720
Oh, really?
00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:55.279
Yeah.
00:14:55.519 --> 00:15:00.799
I didn't listen to it because I was like, I refuse to have my memory sullied by this.
00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.320
What I feel like I talked about Manfred Mann one more time on this.
00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:09.039
You definitely think it was connected to the Burrito Brothers, maybe at some point.
00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.759
Okay, let's stop before I get too angry.
00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:12.879
Okay, sorry.
00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:22.080
But this is this is all like to point out, like I listened to a lot of Bruce's earlier stuff in my early 20s, like a lot.
00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:36.000
And then there's no doubt that I've put on like Thunder Road or Born to Run or other songs by Bruce on the jukebox because he was also a shared favorite of some of my other drinking buddies from back then, you know.
00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:37.919
And that's what a jukebox is for.
00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:47.919
It's for your drinking buddies, unless you're Christina's a child, in which case you're, you know, lording it over the adults that you picked out some fun songs, which I love.
00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:55.759
Well, this song, speaking of like the lyrics, it's so good because it tells the story of this chaotic night.
00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:06.159
And if you're like me, I can see it all playing out in my head, like from the beginning when they're all kind of linking up and driving out to the lake.
00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:10.799
And it's just it is lyrically very interesting.
00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:19.279
And Crazy Janey is essentially known to be a nod to WB Yates's Crazy Jane poems.
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.639
Do you know anything about this?
00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:21.360
I don't know.
00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:26.320
I mean, I I've never read one, but I guess I will have to just to get a sense of it.
00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:43.759
But the thing that stinks is that you know what I was looking on Wikipedia to learn more about this album, Clive Davis, who was the president of Columbia Records back then, he was worried that the songs that Bruce and his producer Mike Apple had already submitted wouldn't have commercial appeal.
00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:50.320
So Bruce really quickly penned Spirit in the Night and Blinded by the Light, hence them being released as singles.
00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:55.200
And then those songs had to be recorded apart from the rest of the songs on the album.
00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:05.759
And as such, the lineup for Spirit in the Night was limited to Vinnie Lopez on drums and Springsteen playing all other instruments, save for Clarence Clemens on the saxophone.
00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:30.400
And she kissed me just right like only a lawyer can She fell so nice Just as soft as a spirit Helen Elena don't know what she do to you like a spirit hell and I all night stand
right up and I'll let her shoot through me.
00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:43.279
Okay, so Clarence really deserves a lot more attention than I'm able to provide on this episode, but he's one of those saxophone players that'll make someone who thinks they don't like saxophone eat their words.
00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:46.960
And sadly, he passed away in 2011 at the age of 69.
00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:57.680
And because I'm like the age that I am, I imagine that there was like a lot of lore with like the E Street band, and Clarence was kind of like that band leader.
00:17:58.400 --> 00:17:59.440
I even remember that.
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:09.119
Like him being the thing, like almost more of a draw, not a draw, like not like I saw them in concert or anything, but like I remember the saxophone being a thing.
00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:14.160
Like when you'd see them on TV or something, like they'd play live at an event or like some TV thing.
00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:22.960
I'm gonna link to a video of them performing this song, Spirit and the Night, at the Almondson Theater in 73.
00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:30.160
And it's very cool to watch because like they're all young and like they're very swaggy and like cool.
00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:33.839
But yeah, Clarence had a big presence because he was like, I think he was like 6'4.
00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:34.319
Yeah.
00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:36.880
So he was a big guy playing the sacks.
00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:42.319
But I saw Bruce Springsteen perform at Jazz Fest in 2012.
00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.079
So it's one year after um Clarence had passed away.
00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:51.599
But apparently, his later years touring, he was in a he had a lot of health issues, so he was already in a lot of pain.
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:53.920
But anyway, back to the jukebox.
00:18:54.079 --> 00:19:00.160
So here's the scene I'm with my friends, and we're at that time of the night where nothing can go wrong.
00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:04.640
You're happily buzzed, ready to put on some music that we know and love.
00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.200
So I pick something by Selena.
00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:14.000
Okay, Fleetwood Mac, maybe some Patsy Klein or George Jones, and Spirit in the Night.
00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:18.880
And we sing along to the best parts, but not the whole song, because that would be annoying.
00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:22.559
And no one starts a fistbite over our musical selection.
00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:29.119
And that's why I couldn't pick Thunder Road because I would scream sing every word to that song.
00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:30.079
Oh my god.
00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.359
So amen.
00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:37.359
That's that's my jukebox story, and I can't wait to hear what song you're putting on the jukebox, Christine.
00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:41.920
I love your story, and I hope to be there one day with you.
00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:53.200
I I doubt I'll be singing, although I have been listening to the song a lot, so maybe I will eventually learn the lyrics to it and be able to participate in like a semi sing-along.
00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.759
Um but I do think that is a very important component, which I'll get to in just a sec.
00:19:58.240 --> 00:19:58.480
Nice.
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:10.079
So for me, choosing a song for the jukebox is a little like choosing a song for karaoke, which is to say lots of overthinking and problem solving goals are involved.
00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:11.359
Do you have goals?
00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:17.200
Like when you plan out the what to choose, are you like, you know, working towards something?
00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:19.519
I don't want to regret my song choice.
00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:19.759
Okay.
00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.279
That's pretty much it.
00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:29.279
And like the only thing that would make me regret a song choice is if I knew there were a better song on the album that I should have picked.
00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:29.759
Okay.
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:32.960
But yeah, no, I just want to live, laugh, love.
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:37.599
Yeah, well, I wish I could be like that too.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.079
This is our yin and yang coming out.
00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:45.680
Instead, this is probably something I if I find out I'm going to a place that has a jukebox.
00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:50.240
First I'm studying the menu to see, like the food menu, just to see what I can order.
00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:53.839
Because, like, what do you order at a place that has a jukebox?
00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:55.039
Probably a patty mill.
00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:56.400
Yeah, exactly.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:04.880
So I study the menu, and then you you can't necessarily study the song picks, but like there are several things you're solving for.
00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.839
I I do think you want the element of surprise.
00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:09.440
Um that's fun.
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:11.519
Not from the food, but from the music.
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:18.079
You want people to say, like, oh, I totally forgot about that song, or I didn't know that was.
00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:22.960
And then I shout out to our episode on I didn't know that was.
00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.000
Let's link to that.
00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:24.480
Uh-huh.
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.640
And um, I also want as many people as possible to enjoy it.
00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:35.599
Like, truly, I know you you don't think that about me, but the ultimate goal is a communal experience.
00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:43.519
Like, I'm actually shooting for the entire bar to break out into a sing-along a la deer hunter.
00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:44.480
Wow.
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:46.079
That's big pressure.
00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:46.799
Oh, yeah.
00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:49.279
No, but this is this is where I'm going.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.920
This is why I I shouldn't overthink.
00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.880
Because then anything that doesn't get to that point is going to be a
letdown for me.
00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:58.480
Oh man.
00:21:58.799 --> 00:21:59.759
But as you know, I think.
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.720
I famously don't love mainstream music.
00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:05.119
And a lot of times that's within these jukeboxes.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:09.519
But I do think my compulsion to be a people pleaser does take over.
00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:12.480
So I'll pick something mainstream but with an edge.
00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:21.119
The other thing you need from a jukebox jam is something powerful enough to break through the din of a conversation without disturbing it too much.
00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:26.400
Like you still want people that like have their conversations and fun together.
00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:36.960
But I do want people to put down their beer, tilt their heads toward the speaker, and try to decipher together what the song is.
00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.759
I remember it all very well.
00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:46.880
Looking back, it was the summer I turned eighteen.
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:51.839
We lived in a one-room rundown shack on the outskirts of New Orleans.
00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:54.319
We didn't have money for food or rent.
00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.559
Say the least, we were hard-pressed.
00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.640
Then Mong spent ever last penny.
00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.279
We had to buy me a dancing dress.
00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:06.079
Mama washed and gone and curled my hair and she painted my eyes and lips.
00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:12.880
And this is Fancy, Bobby Gentry's lead single from her 1970 album of the same name.
00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:16.160
You seemed to think my pick was funny.
00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:18.319
You L O L did, I remember.
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:20.480
Tell us more about that.
00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:31.359
It's just that I have been at karaoke, I want to say at least three times, where one of my friends has put this on and done it at karaoke.
00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:38.240
And if I'm being totally honest, I don't think I knew the song before I heard one of them do it at karaoke.
00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:38.720
Uh-huh.
00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:39.039
Good.
00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:47.599
And I was like, like, because the fact that everyone was singing along to it and like, you know, like somebody's putting the mic out into the audience together.
00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:49.119
I'm like, I don't know this song.
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:49.599
Yeah.
00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.559
Okay, wow.
00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:50.960
Yeah.
00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:52.400
That's that's great.
00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.400
And I sort of wonder what version it was.
00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:06.240
Because some people, I once played the record for somebody, and the person I played it for was knew it as a Reba McIntyre song.
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:06.720
Yes.
00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:12.160
That's where I think my friends know the Reba version because that came out in 91.
00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:13.200
Yes, it did.
00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:13.839
Yeah.
00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:17.759
And I I I mean, hate to say this out loud.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:18.160
Yeah.
00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:25.200
Didn't I knew the name Bobby Gentry, but didn't know anything about her before you shared this version.
00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:26.400
Okay.
00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:28.799
That's that's I feel good about that.
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:31.759
I mean, it's a hard song to do at karaoke.
00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.440
Okay, it is so hard.
00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:41.680
It's like, well, first when you told me that your you and your friends have done this, I'm like, oh my god, total karaoke envy.
00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:43.519
Or not karaoke envy.
00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:45.599
But like I I can't have stolen dollar.
00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:47.839
But wait, so you've never done this one again.
00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:49.680
So no, I've never done this at karaoke.
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:50.400
Are you kidding?
00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:52.079
Me at karaoke doing this song.
00:24:52.240 --> 00:25:00.640
I mean, this is not quite fantasy karaoke level, but it's definitely like, oh, this would be an amazing song to do.
00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.240
I just don't have the talent for it.
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.920
Plus, it's four minutes.
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:04.480
Yeah.
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:10.720
And I do think unless you really know what you're doing, a four minute song is too long for karaoke.
00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:17.920
It's kind of fast too, like the singing, like you kind of you really have to know all the words to get it right.
00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:20.240
No, you can't be reading off the screen.
00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:27.440
I mean, because some people will do a song they don't know very well in karaoke and you see them stumbling over the timing and you're like, don't do that.
00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:29.279
And this one could really like mess up.
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:45.279
But I do think, like, if you're in a bar and like it would be fun to just sing along with people, like it doesn't matter how you sound, like, just all together, it's not karaoke, there's no microphones, you're just like drunk and messing up the lyrics together.
00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:55.440
So yeah, I'm I'm I'm really like, I have not done this because again, I'm not going to places with jukeboxes, but maybe when you're in LA, we can find one.
00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:56.720
Okay, let's do it.
00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:00.559
But okay, sorry, I know no more karaoke talk.
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:05.039
We're talking jukebox jams, and truly they are their own art.
00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:16.000
The only thing is, because it's so lyrically compelling, it could take people too much out of their conversations, and then you have a bunch of drunks in a bar enthralled by the story.
00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:20.319
It sounded like somebody else that was talking, asking mama, what do I do?
00:26:20.799 -->
00:26:25.039
And just be nice to the gentleman fancy, and they'll be nice to you.
00:26:25.637 --> 00:26:28.518
Here's your one chance, fancy, don't let me down.
00:26:30.198 --> 00:26:32.917
Here's your one chance, fancy, don't let me down.
00:26:34.357 --> 00:26:36.117
Long forgive me for what I do.
00:26:36.758 --> 00:26:38.998
But if you want out, well, it's up to you.
00:26:39.077 --> 00:26:40.438
Now get on now, girl.
00:26:40.518 --> 00:26:42.278
You better stop moving up town.
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.640
I imagine someone saying, You know what the song is about, right?
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:48.559
And it turns into a whole conversation.
00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:52.240
Has this happened to you with this song?
00:26:52.480 --> 00:27:02.480
Not in the moment, but it is one of those songs that when you're listening to it, like I said, like hearing it for the first time at karaoke, I'm like, what the F are they talking about?
00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:04.240
Like this is nasty.
00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:04.960
Yeah.
00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:05.759
No, right?
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:06.960
Exactly.
00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:08.640
I mean, I was worried.
00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:12.559
I'm like, we're just talking about like Yeah, no, exactly.
00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:29.519
So, okay, the the song takes you through Fran Fancy's transformation from poor white trash, it's quoted um to a high society sex worker, and it was her mom that pushed her into it, but for her own good, her mom was sick and had a baby, which the welfare people took away, and then her mom died.
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:34.880
But Fancy ends up with a Georgia mansion and a Manhattan townhouse 15 years later, so it all paid off.
00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:35.279
Wow.
00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:38.880
I feel like this is more of a success story than a cautionary tale.
00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:39.759
Thoughts?
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.680
I mean, I love your silver lining take on this.
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:49.680
In an interview in 1974, Gentry said, Fancy's my strongest statement for women's lib.
00:27:49.759 --> 00:28:00.480
If you really listen to it, I agree wholeheartedly with that movement and all the serious issues they stand for: equality, equal pay, daycare centers, and abortion rights.
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:02.480
So, yeah, there you have it.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:02.880
All right.
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:03.839
Yeah, yeah, girl.
00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:10.880
But okay, so you might not remember this, but I shared the song with you way back in 2022.
00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.319
I don't remember.
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:12.880
Okay.
00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:21.519
And and actually, I also shared, I also suggested you do it for karaoke at our Christmas party several months later.
00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:25.839
But I think you kind of like just brushed it off because you I don't know.
00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:26.880
I I think at that moment.
00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:27.680
Can you imagine?
00:28:27.920
--> 00:28:28.559
You were being coy.
00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:34.559
No, that would have been funny.
00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:37.359
I you know how I I I don't care about that sort of thing.
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.880
I know, but I already get enough.
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:41.839
I already get enough shit for being from Texas.
00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:43.920
So we're like, oh, she's trying to.
00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:45.759
Yeah, no, exactly.
00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:47.519
Maybe that's what I was thinking.
00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:51.920
But anyway, I had seen this in the season finale of Minx.
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.039
Do you know that TV show?
00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:54.400
It sounds familiar.
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:54.799
Yeah.
00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:56.319
Okay.
00:28:56.640 --> 00:29:04.640
So young feminist writer joins forces with porn publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women.
00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:10.880
Jake Johnson is the, yeah, he's he's the porn publisher.
00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:14.880
It's very funny, but this is in the season finale.
00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:17.680
It's in the final scene.
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:19.359
Perfect closer.
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:20.559
So good.
00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:23.440
But okay, so you don't remember me sharing the song at all.
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:24.000
Not at all.
00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:24.640
Okay, good.
00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:29.440
Because the funny thing is, I think we were still sort of new in our friendship.
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:31.680
And I'm like, fuck, did I offend her?
00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:37.759
Like, maybe, like, I don't know, you were taking the lyrics a little too serious.
00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:40.720
Maybe I just thought you were trolling me.
00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:41.759
And I was like, whatever.
00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:43.519
I'm the troll in this relationship.
00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:48.960
I'm glad to know you just never received it, or you never like it.
00:29:49.119 --> 00:29:51.599
Yeah, there were no hard feelings of the good.
00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:52.160
Yeah.
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:54.559
And I tried it's funny, I tried to find the text.
00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.920
It must have been a teams message.
00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.440
Oh, I was thinking that too.
00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:00.079
It could have gotten lost in the team's flood.
00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:01.279
Exactly.
00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:08.319
But for me, when I heard it on the show, it was like one of those moments where I'm like, I know this, I think.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:10.400
And you're like, oh, it's so familiar.
00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.039
But you're like, damn, this is such a good song.
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:17.759
And it's weird because when I was a kid, gentry was kind of a thing.
00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:25.680
Like, I do recall her singing Bert Bacarak's um covers like Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head and I'll Never Fall in Love Again.
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:26.400
Oh, yeah.
00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:28.480
But this, I don't know.
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:33.119
It just like when it popped up on that show, I was like, wow, this is this is such a great song.
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:48.160
But it's fancy is the only track she's credited with writing on that album, which in addition to the two back rat songs, it credits Rudy Clark, James Taylor, and Pod favorite Harry Nielsen.
00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:48.880
Wow.
00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:49.440
Yep.
00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:49.759
Okay.
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:50.720
And yeah.
00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:52.160
Did you know though?
00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:57.680
And I guess it's funny because I'm assuming you know so much about Bobby Gentry, but you clearly don't.
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:02.880
So you don't know that she's been living in seclusion since the early 80s.
00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:04.000
Oh, dang.
00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:04.559
Yeah.
00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:17.279
In 2016, a Washington Post reporter tried to track her down to a gated community near Memphis and reach someone by phone who they believe to be Gentry, but she never confirmed.
00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:20.319
They never confirmed it, and that was that.
00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:31.519
And I'm actually only going to share a little bit about her here because if anyone is really interested in learning more about her life and legacy, I've got an amazing podcast rec for you.
00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:32.160
Dang.
00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:33.039
So, yes.
00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:36.640
Do you know about cocaine and rhinestones?
00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:41.759
Um, it sounds like a Las Vegas Saturday night, but no.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:42.960
What is that?
00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:44.240
Most definitely.
00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:50.640
Um, but it's this podcast that I just found in researching this episode for this episode.
00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:53.759
It's about the history of 20th century country music.
00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:57.200
And the host is Taylor Mahan Coe.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:01.759
He's the son of outlaw country singer David Allan Coe.
00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:05.440
Thank you, because you told me about the whole outlaw thing, I think.
00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:06.720
A couple out, right?
00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:07.039
Yeah.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:08.480
I feel like you mentioned Outlaw.
00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:13.119
Because I think I was talking about Hank the Thur and Exactly being an outlaw country guy.
00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:13.599
Yeah.
00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:18.799
So I felt cool to when I read that, I'm like, oh, it's not just that he was an outlaw.
00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:25.519
But so, so Tyler deep dives into the life and music of gentry in the fourth episode.
00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:28.960
But to tide you over, I'll share a few details.
00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:34.640
Bobby was born Roberta Lee Streeter in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in 1942.
00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:39.519
And she lived with her grandparents on their farm
after her parents divorced.
00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:42.720
And that's where she developed her early love of music.
00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:48.079
The grandparents even traded a cow for a piano so she could write songs.
00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:48.960
Oh yeah.
00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:56.000
Her mom remarried a couple of times, and Bobby moved with her and the new husband to Palm Springs when she was 13.
00:32:56.240 --> 00:33:01.839
And weirdly, she and her mom like did some performing at country clubs around.
00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:04.640
This is where she got the idea for fancy.
00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:06.079
Maybe.
00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:09.759
So, but but Gentry actually moves to LA.
00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:20.000
She uh goes to UCLA as a philosophy major, but then she transfers to the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to study music composition and theory.
00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:24.880
And she supported herself throughout those years modeling and performing at nightclubs.
00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:33.680
But like seriously, she just wanted to be a songwriter and eventually recorded a demo thinking she'd be selling songs.
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:47.759
But then the record company loved it so much, and they actually loved her voice doing these songs, especially the six-minute-long Southern Gothic tale, Ode to Billy Joe, about a man who killed himself by jumping off a bridge.
00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:48.480
You know this one?
00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:49.440
I don't think I do.
00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:50.799
And that's what's so funny.
00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:56.960
When I looked up her Wikipedia page, I saw that this was her most famous song, and I was like, What?
00:33:57.279 --> 00:33:58.160
I don't know it.
00:33:58.480 --> 00:33:58.799
Yeah.
00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:01.599
And this one, it's funny because it's really good.
00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:04.160
It's I mean, it was her biggest hit.
00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:06.079
It came out in 1967.
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:14.559
She knocked the Beatles out of the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and um, it's been covered more than 50 times.
00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:20.800
My favorite is the French version called Marie Jeanne, and that's Joe de Saint.
00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:22.320
We've talked about Joe de Seine.
00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:25.760
We have, but yes, you know, problematic song.
00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:28.000
Is this one problematic too?
00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:46.880
I mean, it's a very interesting story about not just how this guy kills himself, in this case it's Marie Jean, but it's more about how the family talking about the situation is interacting and being so nonchalant about this person killing themselves.
00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:49.599
It's it's super fascinating.
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:55.119
Like both this, and I think when you really listen to the to the lyrics of Fancy, it does feel like a short story.
00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:58.320
And I will say, even your song has that short story feel to it.
00:34:58.480 --> 00:35:04.880
So but over four years from 67 to 71, Gentry made seven studio albums.
00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:12.960
Fancy was her sixth, and the album earned her a Grammy nomination for best contemporary pop vocal performance.
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:18.719
Then in the mid-70s, she moved to Las Vegas and started the Bobby Gentry show.
00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:25.679
And she oversaw every aspect of the production from the lavish sets to male dancers and costumes.
00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:26.320
Wow.
00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:27.119
Yeah.
00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:30.079
And she was very proud of her business prowess.
00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:36.480
Like a Guardian profile, even quoted her saying, I'm a woman working for herself in a man's field.
00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:39.360
I'm a successful woman record producer.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:45.440
And fun fact, she was also an original co-owner of the Phoenix Suns.
00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:45.920
Damn.
00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:47.679
So she made a lot of money from that too.
00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:48.159
Okay.
00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:48.960
Yeah.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:52.719
But then almost as immediately as she came on the scene, she disappeared.
00:35:52.960 --> 00:36:02.239
Her last known performance was in 1981, singing Mama a Rainbow on the all-star salute to Mother's Day TV special.
00:36:02.639 --> 00:36:08.000
And her last public appearance was at the 1982 Country Music Awards.
00:36:08.639 --> 00:36:21.920
And it's funny because in this podcast, the cocaine and rhinestones, they go into so much detail about her life, her storytelling, but also how she wasn't quite country.
00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:32.000
Like he it's an early episode in this series that he has, but he's kind of setting it up because of her influence on so many country artists.
00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:40.239
But he's like more he's saying she's more southern soul, crossover, but not like true country music.
00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:44.880
But that's like where that Mississippi Delta influence, I think.
00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:46.559
And you said she was from Mississippi, right?
00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:47.280
She is, yep.
00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:48.480
Okay, yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:49.440
I can see that.
00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:50.159
Yeah.
00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:51.679
So I don't know.
00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:57.519
I feel like our picks really like complement each other with that storytelling aspect.
00:36:57.760 --> 00:37:01.280
And I think Bobby and the boss would be proud to be played together.
00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:02.400
Oh, hell yeah.
00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:07.360
I'm excited to go listen to that uh podcast because I want to learn about her.
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:09.519
No, I I think you'll love it.
00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:14.480
I now want to go to the first episode and just listen to all of them.
00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:21.760
He started in 2017, and then I think after a few years, like during the pandemic, people just like found out about it.
00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:28.159
And the New Yorker wrote about it, and he was interviewed in GQ and a bunch of other like outlets did pieces on him.
00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:28.400
Yeah.
00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:29.119
Damn.
00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:30.400
Okay, cool.
00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:32.079
He's not a fail son.
00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:36.079
No, definitely not.
00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:37.280
Well, that was so fun.
00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:37.760
Thanks.
00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:42.320
I can't wait for the moment when we get to play some songs on the jukebox together.
00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:43.119
I know.
00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:48.960
And speaking of which, I want to give a little bit of unsolicited advice to our listeners.
00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:50.719
And this should be obvious.
00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:55.119
Put a song or six on the jukebox next time you have the chance to.
00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:58.159
Who cares if the other patrons don't like your selections?
00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:00.559
A jukebox is not democratic.
00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:04.400
For those brief and tender moments, you get to choose the music for all to hear.
00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:08.000
And if someone else is brave enough, they can rebut you with their own picks.
00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:14.719
It's like requesting a song on the radio, except everyone can see you, and the audience is probably drunk.
00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:15.679
Exactly.
00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:19.280
Who care if the vibe was honky tonk when you just walked in?
00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:22.000
Put on Britney Spears Toxic if you feel like it.
00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:23.760
There are no rules.
00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:26.000
Just don't play the same song more than once.
00:38:26.239 --> 00:38:26.880
Wait a minute.
00:38:27.039 --> 00:38:28.239
We're not allowed to do that.
00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:29.840
Not even with Toxic.
00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:31.280
Ah, Christine.
00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:32.639
You have much to learn.
00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:33.840
Advice over.
00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:35.360
See you at the dive bar.
00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:38.079
Christine, what's on deck for our next episode?
00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:40.079
Let's break some rules.
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:42.960
Thanks for listening to Sterythematica.
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:47.360
If you like what you're hearing, please consider a review, a rating, or share us with a friend.
00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:52.000
And follow us on Instagram where you can share your favorite jukebox song.
00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:57.599
We've also got our infinite Spotify playlist linked in our show notes.
00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:02.000
And visit us at stereothematica.com for more fun.