Hall & Oates’ H2O at 40

Hi, this is Matt Hill, the voice of Captain N,

the Game Master, and you are listening to the

Geekcast Radio Network. You're listening to the

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of Darrell Hall and John Oates' album, H2O. It

was released October 4th, 1982. But before we

get to all that, hi Jesse, how are you? I am

great. I am so excited that we are getting to

do a duo podcast talking about a duo's album.

So, uh, that... Tidal h2o. So yes, this will

be a lot of fun. I'm excited that we're getting

to Ride in each other's car to so to speak Yeah,

there you go. And of course, you know, we can

always tie in that that that's another 80s icon

If we wanted to do m2j, it would be Michael Jones.

No, yeah There's no thriller in that So I have

here four or five different like bullet point

things that we're going to go through in order

to celebrate the history of this album. And first

up is the brief history from each of us. And

I will let you go first, sir. What is your history

with H2O? So I remember it coming out and especially

the river hits. This would have been when I was

dating Linda. We started dating in February 1980.

We got married in June of 1984. So this was one

of those. I'm sure I bought the album on cassette

because I do not believe in 82 I was buying CDs

at that time. So I remember really enjoying it.

During the middle eighties, that Darryl Hall

and John Oates were having a string of very successful

radio hits. I remember seeing them on MTV and

videos, and I always remembered that they didn't

want to be called Hall and Oates because it sounded

like a guy's name, Hall and Oates. So I always,

even now, you know, in 2022, 40 years later,

I always make a point to say Daryl Hall and John

Oates. So yeah, those are my quick memories.

I've been listening to it over the, you know,

over the past couple, since we decided to do

this, you know, I've been listening to it and

kind of re -fell in love with the album. So I'm

excited about talking about it. Yeah, absolutely.

And for me, so I am slightly more, but still

less of a spring chicken than you. I mean, compared

to you, I'm probably a spring chicken because,

and this will come up two years from now when

we talk about another Hall and Oates album that

got released in the same month, but in a different

year, because I completely forgot by 1984, you

and Linda were already married. I had listened

to another podcast. I don't know what it is about

you, but you turned me on to some good music

podcasts over the last couple of years. Thank

you. First up was Jerry Smith and the Music Talks

podcast. And now you're like, oh, by the way,

did you know that there's a sort of, it's not

official, but I'm going to say official Hall

and Oates podcast. Yeah. I'm like, really? Seriously?

And, yes, Out of Touch, a Hall and Oates podcast

with, oh, my brain, help, my brain. Yeah, Mary

Kay and Naomi, I think. Yeah, and they are two

childhood friends that, and they are self -proclaimed

fans, but are not experts. And so part of their

podcast is exploring the history of the two musicians

and their music. I was just on their podcast

and I said, really this is just the song is an

excuse for you to catch up with each other and

to have fun talking to your guests. They said,

we will raise our hand and go, yes, we may be

guilty of that. But yes, they are both just really

charming and a lot of fun to visit with. Yeah,

absolutely and I have I'm one of those types

of people if I find a podcast and it has more

than three episodes They're as of this recording

date. Well, your episode was episode 31. So yeah

They've released 31 like I marathon to mall I've

listened to a mall in like the span of a week

and a half because I have no life podcasting

is my life whether it's listening or producing

etc, so The whole point to bring this back around

to the whole less of a spring chicken than you

are is because I Don't remember this album in

1982 because I was only two years old However

somewhere in 84 to 86 by the time I was four

years old at the time I was six years old That

Let's just say those were the two, the three

years that they were like tip top of 80s pop.

They really were. I mean, they are still to this

day, the best selling and probably only duo that

is still around kind of thing, even though they

haven't actually done an album together since

2006. But anyway, so 84 to 86. I remember all

of the, you know, between this and Rock and Soul

part one, which was in 83, which is more of a

compilation album. And then obviously Big Bam

Boom in 84, which we'll talk about way, way,

way later down the line. So between all of that,

I remember being at my dad's place and you got

to remember folks who are listening to this,

if you're younger than 35 years old or more,

you won't know what I'm about to talk about.

You may know, you can research it. My dad had

one of the, you know, you see these images on

Facebook all the time of the silver metal stereo

cabinet with all the stereo components in it

and everything else. So he had one of those,

obviously with a record player built into it.

And he had the H2O album. And I don't know what

it was about that album cover. That I I just

I'm like what the hell is this and Obviously,

I didn't say hell between four and six years

old but like my reaction was oh my god What is

what is this what what's going because the front

of the album is the two of them face to face

and the back of the album is i'm hoping it's

one of their arms but it's basically just looks

like an arm and it's just sweating or maybe it's

one of their faces that is sweating i don't know

i haven't really like done deep research into

this but so you know you can tell me but and

i've seen other lps before i don't remember an

lp like this one Because the cover that I'm looking

at, that I sent you in Facebook Messenger is,

the front of the cover is just the two of them

staring at each other. It looks like their hair

is touching together. And that's all it is. There's

no name. There's no nothing. So if you go into

a record store in 1982, 83, 80, 45, and you see

this record. unless you already knew from voices

and private eyes and all that unless and and

obviously before then because they look 70s hollanoats

is nothing like what 80s hollanoats is 80s hollanoats

is a completely different animal from 70s hollanoats

so To me, it's like the seventies are like the

before times. And you look at this album, you're

like, who the hell are those guys? You look at

you flipping around the back cover, you see all

this sweat. And then you see, I've never seen

an album like this where their names and the

name of the album is on the back. Yeah. I, you

know, there could be like, there's the Beatles

wide album. There's other, you know, sometimes.

Albums get, you know, artists get cute, right?

They want to be cute. Obviously, you know, H2O,

water, you know, so Hall Oats, a play on that

name. The back cover does look like it's either,

you know, it could be their forearm, it could

be their forehead. You know, you don't know where

it is. but obviously they are, um, it looks like

they're sweating or someone took a water hose

and sprayed that. We are not sure. Yeah. We are

not sure. Yes. And the reason why I want to point

this out about the whole front cover, back cover

thing is because in their infinite wisdom, and

I want to change this, but I probably won't,

but in their infinite wisdom, Wikipedia says

that the back of the album is an alternative

cover and I'm like, no, it's not you morons.

Anyway, but yes, my history with this is listening

to Maneater is listening to Crime Pays, Art of

Heartbreak, Open All Night, Family Man, Italian

Girls. I skipped around on this. I mean, I didn't

skip around, but I don't remember listening,

like sitting there. As a kid listening to the

whole album, I remember listening to these various

tracks that I've just mentioned. Kind of thing.

But I remember listening to this as a record,

not as a cassette. My cassette Hall and Oates

years did not start until Rock and Soul part

one and then Big Bam Boom. Yeah. So that's my

history with the album now we are gonna try to

go track by track We're not gonna spend a lot

of time on each of these tracks. We're not looking

for deep insights or anything like that 11 tracks

on this album. I'm surprised that there hasn't

been an Expanded version or like almost every

other one of their albums has like rock and soul

part one's a perfect example like it has an extended

various like it adds like two tracks to it but

it's not you know but it was completely different

and and yeah so man eater Song about New York

City or maybe something else less wholesome I

guess Yeah So a huge radio hit It is it remained

on the top spot for four weeks it is the most

successful Single at that time You know, I remember

hearing it a lot during the summer. I do remember

the video with the cat and you know that With

that whole that very poppy chorus. Oh, here she

comes. Watch out boy. She'll chew you up Oh sure

he comes Is a really really it's a very poppy

song and I do not mean that in a bad way it is

a great Radio hit. Yeah, absolutely. I love man

eater obviously as a kid never knew what it actually

meant but You know, you know it is what it is.

I love the lyrics. I love the melody. I think

all of that is a great Don't ever remember seeing

the video because I don't by the time I was watching

music videos It was passed when that would be

airing on MTV So now do have you seen it since

no, okay? I'm not seeking out. I will probably

after this, but yeah, no, I wasn't, uh, wasn't

going to seek it out. Uh, and this is, uh, the

writers are Daryl, John and Sarah Allen. You

know, the other thing I want to mention before

we get too deep in the track by track is this

is the album that Tom T Bone Walk started on.

This was his first album with them. And that

kind of right that he is considered one of the

key members of their band, correct? Absolutely.

Yeah. He is. He, I don't want to say he's everything,

but because, you know, you listen to out of touch

and you listen to those ladies over there and

they'll be like, Oh my God, G Smith. Oh my God.

But Tom was, and it's so weird to me because

I, you know, normally will gravitate towards

the drummer to this day. I mean, now I know what

his name is, but I never knew until I started

doing research what the drummer for the bands,

you know, what the drummer's name was for this

band. Yeah. But I've never been a rhythm guitar

person or any of that, or bassists and things.

It's either lead guitar or drums. That's what

I've always been a fan of. And it's nothing against

the bass guitar or anything like that. But that's

just always what I've known. And, oh, it was

so heart wrenching in 2010 when Tom passed. A

one of those losses. Yeah, absolutely. Because

he helped shape what they became. In the eighties

and you know there's no denying that and when

Darryl started up live from Darryl's house. And

you saw Tom doing the stuff and doing the thing

on that show it's like oh man. After all these

years T -Bone still got it. So yeah. Then second

track here is Crime Pays written by Hall, Oates

and Allen. I, when I was listening to this album

today, I realized that the first three tracks

are, okay, Maneater, I don't want to say it's

a banger, but it's, it, it's one of those first,

those lead off tracks that basically hits a,

a ground rule, you know, kind of, you know, oh,

we're, we're going to hit it over the, just over

the shortstop's head kind of hit. And obviously

it. deserves all the fame that it has and everything

else. I'm not saying it's, it's a lower hit than

what it was. I'm just saying that it's not at

like, normally most track ones are like, like

they just, and this pulls you in, it does, but

it, it's a different style than a lot of the

music today. And crime pays is the same way.

It's more, I don't want to say mellow, but yeah,

it's. It's kind of mellow with a deep hook in

the middle. Okay. Um, yeah, I, this was okay.

I, you know, I put down that it, you know, it

wasn't, it didn't stand out to me. It wasn't

one of a song that I, you know, spoke to be anything,

nothing specific about the lyrics or the music.

So, um, you know, I, I don't have much to share

about crimes bay. Yeah, I, the. I'm looking at

the lyrics and I'm remembering the melody in

my head and it's that it's the basically the

last two lines of the first verse and the second

line or the first line of the second verse I'm

a nice guy and I try to wait and see if you'll

get caught or go free you stole my heart and

left me blue in the song there's like this dip

in the tone of it and i just i always i always

kind of dug that Nice I like that. Yeah up next

we have art of heartbreak. This is another one

of the ones that That is is more it's upbeat

but it's not up. It's not as mellow as like Some

later tracks that we'll get to yeah Yeah, I like

this one. It was very catchy kind of back and

forth about, and there's a few songs of this

where there's a lot of talk about breaking up

and having problems in relationships with this

time. I'm not sure what's going on with the guys

as they write this, but try to ignore the twisted

side. We kiss, we hiss at the same time. You're

having a little bit of mixed messages there with

this one. Yeah. This song was written by Darrell

Hall and both of the Allen sisters, Sarah and

Jana. Obviously, this was at the time when Hall

and Sarah Allen were together in a relationship.

I'm not sure. You've got one male writer and

two female writers, and it's the 80s. I assume

that, you know, maybe they needed to find lyrics

to fit the hook or something like that. And as

I'm reading through this, anticipating what she's

aching for, I'm being edgy, leave her wanting

more. Anyone might think we'd rather be alone.

Yeah, she's been cut before by sharp things.

I've been saying so long so To me this is more

of it The song is called the art of heartbreak.

Yes But it's more of like they're in a fight.

Yeah, like It's one of those little pillow like

I'm gonna ask you this and if you want to answer

you can if you don't you don't have to yeah When

you and Linda were first together Did you all

ever fight over whether somebody put the milk

in the refrigerator the wrong like those little

tiny things that Most couples today would just

be like, yeah, it's over. Bye. I don't love you

anymore. Yeah, so there actually is and not to

get too deep for our audience, but One of the

things we did very early in our marriage is we

promised that we would not say, I told you so.

And for example, let's say we're gonna go buy

a new car. And then three months later, we're

having trouble making the payment, just as an

example. And one of us says, I knew we shouldn't

have bought that car. Nope, time out. The time

to have said that is before we bought the car.

The Monday morning quarterback doesn't work.

If you have a problem about us, oh, I know we

shouldn't have gone to dinner that night, or

I know we shouldn't, whatever it is, the time

to speak up is before we make the decision, not

afterwards. And we both agreed to that. I think

one of the ways we survived our marriage, Mike,

is that when we had Chris back in 89, I was working

nights, she was working days, so we only saw

each other on the weekends. And so a lot of people

argue about a kid because Oh, that's how you

change the diaper. I changed the diaper different.

Why are you doing it wrong? We didn't see each

other. And so, like, I remember her saying, Oh,

really? That's how you do it? Well, obviously,

it must be working because, you know, you've

been doing this all week. So that's it. But yes,

we have had I You know, we have been married

since 84 and there are still times when we both

get wound up and we both have to stop. And like

after an hour ago, I don't know why I was so

upset about that. That was stupid. No, it I,

you know, this is, I was waving a red flag at

you. I'm sorry. And, but yes, there are some

times when, um, you, you end up arguing and you

go, why the hell are we arguing about this? I

don't really give a damn, right? But you get

caught up into it. The other thing, as I now

have therapy, right? That's what podcasting is,

right? Right. It's sometimes married people,

you can fight. to win or you can fight to come

up with a solution. And sometimes people fight

to win, not necessarily argue to come up with

a compromise or a solution. So I think you are

very spot on. That's what this this song is about.

Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's whomever the

the guy and the girl are in the song. in the

story of the song. It's not them like, you know,

it's not one of them or the other of them overreacting

to something that is so insignificant. If you're

going to sit there and be married to each other

for 40, 50, 60 years, then you need to have a

backbone like we used to in the 80s. And not

saying not care, but like not let Oh my God,

you, you, you accidentally put the, the sugar

in the salt shaker. You know what I mean? Like

it's, it's those little tiny like, okay, obviously

something like an affair or something major like

that. I can understand. Right. Uh, but like,

you know, something like. If. When Karen was

still here when she was still alive if we were

walking down the street night Let's just say

this I don't remember this ever happening Let's

just say I saw some woman out of the corner of

my eye And I just kind of like turned my head

a half inch just to kind of like do a quick double

take Like Karen's not gonna divorce me over that

right? At least I don't think I don't remember

that ever happening, you know, so that's yeah,

so Alright moving on as like I have not listened

so I listen to hauling out songs, but I listen

to them as Singles more than anything else. I

do not listen to whole Albums of this of one

of my I'm just gonna say my favorite 80s band

Right, you know, I I just don't I listen to the

songs. So this is the first time Since I was

a child that I have listened to this album From

cover to cover say and what I found out was the

first three tracks all great They're all leading

somewhere and then all of a sudden Somebody like

Michael Jordan or Dennis Rodman or whomever you

want to say comes in and steals your ball and

takes you to one -on -one, which is easily one

of the slowest and come -down songs on the album

musically. Yeah. I have never liked this song.

Which one? It's one -on -one. The next track.

Okay. Okay. Yeah. I want to make sure. Yeah.

It was a hit. I understand it was a hit. I'm

not denying that it wasn't a hit. Yeah, it was

a hit. Absolutely. But I have never liked this

song because it takes so... As a perfect example,

I can bring this up here. I asked my buddy Desmond

Reddick who does Dread Media, it's a horror type

podcast, but he also used to do a music podcast

called Drop D. At one point, and I'm sure you

know this, I'm sure Terry, if Terry's listening,

Terry knows this. Hi, Terry. I'm sure if the

gal's out of touch or listening to this, they

know this too, but I asked him about, usually

on an album back then. When is the drop off?

When is like, is it after track five? Usually

there's one song that the record company is like,

okay, the top, the first four tracks are going

to be your singles. You usually sometimes, and

then by five or six, it's like, Oh, the album

takes a turn. Oh, the album does this. So I asked

him about this and what he said was historically

labels front end, what they think are singles

or hits. Means the weird experimental stuff tends

to always be on side two or side B. Okay. Which

is true. I mean, most of the, I mean, you know,

you look at side a to this album and it's the

first five tracks and two out of the first five

are two of the singles. Yeah. You know, and I

understand that, but listening to this album

as a whole one -on -one to me is that track that

just like we're going 75 miles an hour by the

time we hit the end of art of heartbreak and

all of a sudden we come into a brick wall with

one on one and it's like you better put those

brakes on immediately and screech to a halt or

else you're gonna crash into the brick wall that's

one on one Now see, I remember this in the summer,

you know, that season. So I love the song. I

was immediately happy to hear it again. And so

this is, I get how you feel that way, but I still

love it. Yeah. I mean, I like, like if the song

was... Anywhere else on the album. It would be

a better package for me I don't know where I

could put it and we could we can discuss that

later. We can discuss that in a few whatever

but as a 11 track album I just like All you got

to do is take one -on -one move it from track

4 to track 10 so Basically you move everything

up. So open all night would be after a heart

of heartbreak and then family man, Italian girls,

guessing games. Basically it's in between delayed

reaction and at tension. Okay. Because I feel

like the first nine tracks minus, or the first

eight tracks, I should say minus one on one,

they're all up. Okay. They're not all upbeat,

but the music of them. The sounds, the instrumentals,

all of that is all upbeat stuff. The stories

of the songs may be completely different, may

not be whatever, but the way that one -on -one

is, the way that that slow melodic tone of that

song is... I've almost fell asleep listening

to side A of this album earlier today. Oh, really?

Yeah! The song on its own, I like it. I do. If

it's by itself, not that I'm ever going to throw

this into my favorites playlist on Spotify, but

I have an overall playlist on Spotify called

Faves. In alphabetical order, it's all the artists

and all the songs and all the albums that I absolutely

love to listen to all the time. If I was to throw

that in there and it came up in between God knows

what and then whatever else after it, I'd be

OK. But as a package deal, one on one at track

four is a deal breaker for me for this album.

Wow. OK. I'm sorry, all adults, people. Yeah,

no, that's good. All right. Up next is the final

track on side a open all night. Oh boy, I wonder

what the heck they were talking about here First

I was very disappointed that it wasn't a cover

of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska song open all

night But I don't think the timing works right

You know Nebraska what came out in I think Yeah

in 1982. So I guess, you know, maybe so could

be it is a, you know, his is more about a journey

in a car. This one is basically someone is open

for business and they are enjoying their freedom,

I guess is a nice way to say it. Correct? Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, Because this is a crossover, I'm

going to say that normally over at GeekCast Radio,

our show is explicit and I may or may not tag

it explicit on our end, but I know that your

show is more of a family show. So we can kind

of, you know, go there, but I don't think we

need to go so far graphically. At least I don't

think we have so far. Yeah. Nebraska was 82.

Okay. So. But which is funny because these albums

were released right around the same time. Yeah,

which is kind of funny September 30th for Nebraska

and October 4th for h2o same year. Oh interesting.

Oh, yeah So yeah, I know how you spent your time

too. Many people know you weren't alone. You're

after I was called you home Oh, I heard he said

he was open all night She is, let's just say,

friendly. Right? Let's just say... Permiscuous.

Yes, yes, yes. Permiscuous is the PG -13 or PG

way of saying it. And I was actually... Have

you ever seen the movie How High? I do not think

so. Okay, so in 2001, There was a movie called

How High with Method Man and Red Man and a bunch

of other people. And it's basically about them

going to Harvard to get an education instead

of, you know, you know. So at one point or another,

Red Man says, no, Method Man says to Red Man,

three words, stop, no, and go. And Red Man comes

back. He's like most girls that I end up with.

being with her like, Oh no, don't stop, you know,

that kind of thing. And that's where this song,

like, yeah, she's not gonna, she's not gonna

give you, this is not, this is not, that's a

green light. This is not a red light district.

Yes. Even though that's a whole, it kind of is

a red light district. That's a whole other conversation.

But, and the funny thing is, is I've always liked

this song. I don't know what it is about this

song. When I was a kid, and again, it's not the

lyrics. I mean, yes, I like the lyrics. They're

good, but it's the melody. It's the instruments.

It's that side of it because Darrell Hall and

John Oates, I got to start doing that more. They

were doing things in the eighties that Other

artists were not. You know, especially this,

you know, at this time, like I said, T -Bone

had just started doing stuff with them. And as

we progressed through 83, 84, 85, it's, you know,

they were doing things and it's that side of

it that I love for this song so much is that

the music of Open All Night, which is just alluring,

let's say. Alright, and that's gonna take us

to track B, or side B, track one. I did not know

this until Naomi and Mary Kay brought this up.

Family Man is a cover apparently. I never known

that. Okay, yeah, I'm You know, hello. Yeah first

b -side you ever did here was with me. Yes Yeah,

so like but I've been a die -hard hollows fan

my entire life. I never knew family man was a

cover She made it perfectly plain that she was

his for -a -price But he said leave me alone!

Interesting, okay, that's great. See, very interesting

lyrics, correct? Absolutely. Yeah, so I want

to connect the Springsteen song, One Step Up.

Okay. The lyrics is, there's a girl across the

bar. I get the message she's sending. Man, she

ain't looking too married and me, well, honey,

I'm pretending. Last night, I dreamed I held

you in my arms. The music was never ending. We

danced as the evening sky faded to black. One

step up, two steps back. I love that idea of

I get the message she's sending. She ain't looking

too married. And me, well, honey, I'm pretending.

Very much the same tone of this family man. This

saying that leave me alone. I'm a family man.

But if you push me too far, I just might. And

I think that often people like to play with fire.

Mike, they like, oh, it doesn't hurt to flirt

a little bit, or it doesn't hurt to go to the

bar and buy that. Handsome person a beverage

And then sometimes, you know all of a sudden

you get there and the slippery slope has slipped

then you Right. Yeah Yeah, you've definitely

slipped off the slope Not not you But you've

in the, yes, not, not hello. You've been married

almost 40 years. You ain't slipping anywhere.

Who else would put up with me, right? Sadly,

I no longer have that person. Anyway, that's

the whole other, anyway, but I'm like, so I've

heard this song so many times recently and obviously

I listened to it in, because I've As we're recording

this, the day that we're day, evening, night,

whatever you want to say, the whole day before

the recording session, I've been listening to

this album on repeat from track one to track

11. So I could have these songs ingrained in

my brain and I hear the lyrics that they are

saying. Okay. And I understand them and I know

what the song is about. She made it perfectly

plain that she was his for a price. Easily Family

Man is about a guy who is potentially going to

go with a prostitute or, you know, whatever terminology

you want to say. Sex worker, if you want to be,

you know, 2022 and PC. But I've never actually

looked at the words. as I'm listening to this

song and I'm looking at them as we're talking

about it. And I'm like, yeah, this is a song

about a hooker and a guy who is potentially going

to get, you know, enticed into all of that. And

yeah, you're right. That line. But if you push

me too far, I just might. Yeah. Here's the thing.

And I don't know any sex workers. Personally,

I don't however Would then this is more so Mary

Kay and Naomi if you and your friend who is on

your episode talking about this song If you all

can let us know, please do What a sex worker

actually pushed too far or Like if if the guy

is saying no leave me alone. I'm a family man.

Please leave me alone Would the sex worker still

push it? I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. That's

the thing. I don't know. Yeah. So the line of,

but if you push me too far, I just might, I'm

just... Obviously, this was written and sung

and produced in the 80s and all that and everything

was different back then. There was no internet

and everything was analog and everything else.

Obviously, digital was coming into being, but

you know what I mean, different times back then.

There were no cameras on every street. Sorry,

I've been watching Person of Interest recently.

I don't know. But I still like this song and

for it being the first song on Side B, I think

it's a good start to the side. I do too. I think

it is too. I like it. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

All right. Moving on to track seven of the album,

Italian Girls. I did the math on this at one

point or another. I don't remember when it was,

but I think it was like right before our original

B -side episode of your Set Lustig Bruce podcast.

And I can't find that math anywhere, but I believe

in their popularity, John sang lead vocals on

I want to say something like 30 plus of their

hits. Okay. Or 30 plus of their songs, at least

most of the ones I've saw were the hits. And

actually he is the only writer on this song.

So this is definitely a John Oates song because

I think I hear Darryl in the background in this.

Like I don't hear, like this is not a Darryl

Hall fronted song. Yeah. I, you know, I said

this is their version of California girls. Yeah,

pretty much. It's a fun pop song. It is a little

tongue -in -cheek, a little bitty, a little bit

fun. I bet this would be a fun song to hear live.

I really like this one a lot. It isn't overly

complicated and it's just a little, it's just,

I keep saying the word fun, but that's just perfect.

Yeah. Yeah. It is very, very fun. Yeah. And I

need to look up pasta basta because I don't know

if basta is an actual word. So the line is in

between the first verse and the, oh, but where

are, where, oh, but where are. He says, I drink,

I drink, I drink too much vina rosa. No more

Amarone. I eat, I eat, I eat so much pasta, pasta.

I'm so full and yet so lonely. And I'm like,

what in the hell is like, I grew up in Massachusetts.

I should know this, but okay. It's all right.

Yeah. Well, it's, it's, it's real. Don't know

what still know what the hell it is, but it's

real. Okay good. All right Track eight guessing

games Yeah, I mean, once again, this is the sex

album for Holo Notes, I guess you could say.

I mean, relationships, sex, whatever. And I like

this track. I think it's good. I think it's fun.

And I think it's basically, you know, saying,

hey, look, don't. This is again, one of those

things where it's like, don't do all those nitpicky

things. Don't make me. Go through those guessing

games like tell me like not tell me what you

want, but because that's a whole other track

on a whole different album, but yeah. Uh, you

know what I mean? Like it's, he's saying to he

as in whomever the male is saying to the female,

like don't mess with my heart kind of thing.

Don't, you know, don't, this isn't the Olymp,

this was 1982. I'm sure there were Olympics this

year, but. I don't think they were summer. Yeah.

No, they were. I don't remember. Anyway, what

did you think of guessing games? You know, yeah,

you got to give me something to hold. This cute

routine you got is wearing thin. So baby, can

you do it for yourself and for me? I don't want

to lose you. I want us to win. You know, this

is a it's a fun pop song again. You know, it

is a it really has that upbeat met melody. but

you know it is this let's not play games let's

you know so there and i think your point is well

said that this is a an album of a lot of songs

about relationships and and uh back and forth

so yeah i i think this is a good one and um you

know i enjoyed it yeah and the Not necessarily

the jealous anger part, but the strange moods

part. Karen and I always knew when we were each

in, something was going on, but we couldn't fix

it immediately. If I needed time or if she needed

time or whatever it is. When we needed space,

we always gave each other space. But if it was

something like, oh, come help or come talk to

me or come, obviously we would. And like you

said, like, you know, we, you know, the man,

the couple in the song, they, he wants them to

both win. So again, not a breakup song. All right.

Going into track nine delayed reaction. For the

last 40 years, this has been the final song for

me because up until the time I've listened to

this for this recording, because I had never

in the last 40 years really cared about the final

two songs on this album. Oh, how funny. Yeah.

Yeah, I yeah. And that that's interesting. Yeah.

Cause again, the last two songs at least. So

again, going from this delayed reaction into

at tension. Cause as a kid, I always used to

think it was at attention, but it isn't. It's

at tension is what it is. And we'll talk about

that song up next after this one. But as this

song ends and that song began, like I'm expecting

these, I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm expecting

these high up beat. transitions from like, you

can have a song fade out, but the next song has

to immediately take you into it. It doesn't,

it should not pull you out of it. And from where

earlier in the album going from art of heartbreak

into one -on -one pull pulled me out, going from

the end of delayed reaction into at tension pulled

me out. So for the last 40 years, I have never

really listened to the final two songs. So this.

Recording is the first time ever that I have

acted like I have these these last two songs

ingrained in my head now, so That's that's funny.

So, you know this once again is about You know

delayed reaction this At first I was ashamed

then I was in flame. I wanted to hurt you and

once again our couple are trying to figure out

like When I talked earlier, I said, you know,

one of the things you are you fighting to win?

Are you fighting to come to a conclusion? And

in this case, there's a lot of things about their

fighting to, you know, find their own way. And

so so I think that's, you know, very, very interesting

and to see what they're going to do. Right. Yeah,

yeah, absolutely. Yeah and The the male part

because again this again that this was the 80s

folks. Yeah most Most male written or whatever

you want to say songs and this one was both Yeah,

it was Hall Oates and and Sarah Allen so yeah

There was a female voice on this song, but it's

written in the way I think it's the male telling

us the listener, the story. Yes. But I was in

control. There were so many things I should have

said, but couldn't think of one word. It was,

you know, delayed reaction. Oh yeah. You know,

and then I couldn't stand it having you around.

I couldn't stand the sound. No. and then delayed

reaction at first I was then you know goes into

what you said earlier yeah ashamed and flamed

And yeah, it's definitely, again, we were talking

about breakups earlier and this I think is more

of a physical thing. I don't think he's abusing

her. I don't think there's abuse going on because

what he's telling us is that he's having all

these thoughts of, you know... Where is it? It

was a backlash. No, I couldn't let it pass. Okay.

So he's thinking about lashing out at her and

that he can't let this pass. Right. He eventually

does because he has a delayed reaction on all

these thoughts kind of thing. So again, yes,

this is more of a couples fighting. I don't think

there's a single breakup song on this album.

Don't think I could do well no I technically

am wrong because the the final track is sort

of Go solo yeah, it's not really a breakup song,

but it kind I don't know it kind of is but delayed

reaction. I've always liked it I can always listen

to this song so so yeah all right good any any

final thoughts from you on delayed reaction No,

I am ready to at Tension not at attention Yes,

and I don't - This is basically the - I'm going

to say this and I'm sorry. I try my best not

to get political on podcasts, but I'm going to

phrase this in a way that your listeners on your

feed may be like, oh my God, who is that Mike

Blanchard guy? Don't ever have him back again.

Oh my God, he's the devil. This to me reads,

just looking at the lyrics, it reads like it's

a Ronald Reagan song. The reason why I say that

is because as I'm looking at these lyrics, and

again, I've never really paid attention to this

song, but this is not a relationship song at

all. This is, I'm joining the army. This has

nothing to do with This is not a man and a woman.

This is a guy talking about soldiers and Going

into the army and The fact that you know Now

how can such a little bullet drop a big soldier

to his knees? But there's no warning Only waiting

when a strange love drops the bomb all this fighting.

It can't hurt you. It can hurt you like That

to me sounds like it was written in about Vietnam.

Because it's the only war that I can think of.

By the time this album came out, Vietnam ended

in 1973, right? It was nine years after the Vietnam

War. And this was written by Oates. So I listened

to his autobiography, Change of Season, and I

don't remember him saying anything about his

family being in the military. But, you know,

I could be wrong. I mean... What are your thoughts

on this one? So I did not care for this song

I don't like the distortion at the beginning.

I just it doesn't work for me It you know, then

it slowly fades off I'm not quite sure the message

they're wanting to say I mean is this a is this

a pro military song is this a Anti war song is

this a a relationship is a war. I don't know

Once again, you know my man Bruce Springsteen

I got my finger on the trigger and I don't know

who to trust when I look into your eyes There's

just devils in dust. I've got gone on my side

and I'm just trying to survive What if you do

to survive kills the things you love? Fear is

a powerful thing, baby. It can turn your heart

black. You can trust it'll take your God filled

soul and fill it with devils and dust. So this

is a song about right. Devils and dust is about

your you're a soldier. And what if you, you know,

even though we've got God on our side, right?

I'm just trying to survive. And what if fear

is a powerful thing? It could turn your heart

black. So, you know, if this is about I just

don't know. I'm standing at tension. It I originally

thought this may be about a relationship, that

it's the idea, but it it doesn't have enough

subtlety to it, nor enough lyrics that will make

me think that this is is more than one meaning.

So I I'm curious, do you Do you have any feelings

on this song? And yeah, I mean, go ahead. I always

so I kind of like the beginning instrumental

a little bit only as an instrumental, though.

Like if you like if you took if you ripped this

out and made it a ringtone. Yeah. I probably

wouldn't know what song it was because I very

rarely listen to this song. But like, oh, that's

a cool ringtone. You know, it would be it would

be a conversation thing. But. As I was listening

to this thing, I'm just like, again, I have all

the respect in the world for our military and

people who serve in the military. My uncle was,

I believe he's retired now, but he was a Navy

CB. He, you know, got as far as being a Navy

CB in the, you know, he served in Gulf War and

all that. So I have all the respect in the world,

but really? As I was listening to this one track

today, I was just waiting for some sort of something

coming whizzing by my head. Like literally, I

felt like I don't, I have no reason to have PSD.

I never served in the military. I couldn't, I

four F'd out. Right. But as I was listening to

this song, I was transported into this story

with this soldier in Vietnam. And, you know,

again, maybe he's talking to his Drill sergeant

or maybe he's talking to a superior because let's

see where is it we keep on marching forward never

never will retreat don't let the enemy inside

you that's the beginning of defeat all good soldiers

stand to arms all good soldiers try so hard to

follow orders never asking why i'm standing at

attention yeah you know So ill at ease with you

afraid to make a move. Yeah. And that is like

ill at ease with you. That sounds like something

you would say to a future girl. Like, you know,

that's like, you know, little geeky ass me in

the nineties in middle school waiting for the

girl I like, you know, that kind of thing. But

the rest of the song, I mean, it starts with

him saying he'd like to join the army. So that

to me is like, Oh, This is about some person

joining the army. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. Like

I said, it's not a song after tonight. It's probably

a song of theirs that I don't dislike it. I just

don't have any interest in it. Yeah, I think

that's well said. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And

I looked through Oates's Wikipedia page and doesn't

say anything about his dad being in military

or anything like that. For him personally, he

ended up going to temple and all that. Says nothing

about him being in the military. So why he out

of the two of them wrote this song is beyond

me. And thankfully Wikipedia is the one that

They didn't technically do the math, but they

have the entire list of the songs in the Darrell

Hall and John Oates career that he sang lead

on. And it's roughly around 30 or so, just over

30. So I was right in the math. All right, folks,

final track, track 11 goes solo. Yeah, so this

is a nice upbeat way to end the album. You say

there's trouble in paradise, I'm only joking,

but you better be right, or whatever happens,

there ain't no turning around. And if there ain't

enough, ain't enough for you, go solo. You can

take the lead, play a new part, go solo, solo.

So there's a lot of things to be said about this.

In one way, I would put this is that with all

the other songs about heartbreak and fighting

and pushing things out, you know, the argument

could be made that this is a song about find

your own, you know, find your own happiness.

You don't have to have someone with you to necessarily

be successful or have a happy person. So, you

know, that's at least I think one version of

right. Yeah, absolutely and I think the flip

side of that is it's also So this wasn't at I

don't remember because I don't think it's ever

really been listed but I don't remember when

Daryl Hall and Sarah Allen ended up breaking

up. I know it was I know they they always say

they were together for 30 years Okay, fine. Great.

That's that's awesome. That's amazing Happy for

you. Mm -hmm But I think this is him meaning

Hall, her meaning Sarah. I think this is him

saying to her that if this isn't going to work,

if I'm not the person, like it says, if that

ain't enough, go solo. You can take the lead,

play a brand new part, go get a new boy. What

we had for the last 30 years is no longer enough

for you than we It's like you see on all that

like oh we had like, you know insert celebrity

couple here we had an amicable split or Even

any regular couple we had an an amicable splay

like there's no Divorce court. There's no this.

I mean, obviously there may or may not be a but

you know what I mean? Like there's no Oh my God,

fight over custody. Oh no, he's telling in this

song, he is telling her if what I'm offering

you isn't enough for you, then go ahead and take

the lead with your life. Separate from what we

had. Go away from me. Go on your own. Yeah, I

guess again. I very like I've only listened to

this song like a thousand times today. Yeah,

so You know first impressions first, you know

40 years later not as a child not having any

attachments to this I'm just reading into it

what I am Thinking of it like yeah, absolutely

But you're right, it is a good final track to

an album. Yeah, I think so. Especially, yeah,

especially this album. Yeah, I like it a lot.

So cool. Yeah. Absolutely. So, after revisiting

this, I think it's a good album. Yep. And I know

we're about to do ratings, but I kind of, what's

your, because as you talked about, I thought

that's pretty interesting, because I'm the same

way. I tend to I will I have to make a point

sometimes of especially with Bruce instead of

just doing a live show or a mix you know where

I shuffle I will put on an album and go okay

let's listen this you know from the beginning

to the end usually I end up oh I've got my five

or six favorite songs on this album skip skip

skip skip okay and go to the next one so As someone

who is a passionate near a hall at John Oates

van Revisiting what's your thoughts? It's Revisiting

it as a whole It's a good album it just needs

Restructuring This album has five and six on

side A, side B. So 11 tracks, I honestly think,

and I'm sorry, John, I'm sorry, sir, but if you

took, I'll just say it, if you took out track

10, At Tension, and you moved one on one down

to where at tension was, I think that would be

a better mix of the album because you have all

these upbeaters on side A and then you have Family

Man, Italian Girls, Guessing Games, Delayed Reaction.

Delayed Reaction is the last kind of really big

boom -bastic kind of song on the album then you

have uh one -on -one and then you have go solo

so you remove tension all together so go again

go solo i like it i think it's cool i think it's

good it's not as upbeat as all the other songs

but it's not as slow as at tension and one -on

-one one -on -one was their hit at tension I

would love to know how many people actually remember

this song, because I remember the song. I just

remember not listening to the song. I think I

listened to it once as a kid, and I was like,

yeah, no, put Maneater back on. Can we rewind

this LP, please? Can we scratch all the way back

to the beginning? But yeah, that's overall. I

think it's a good package. It just needs a little

remixing. Okay. Good. Good. I like it. So based

on your, and you sent me, the universal rating

system. I call it a system. It's called scale

on the website, but it is what it is. Yeah. You

know, I would go three and a half out of five

Jaguars on a video. Yeah. How about you? Yeah,

I am basically three and a half out of five as

well. Okay. And for those of you who are listening,

the three and a half listing is good. Issues

are certainly prevalent, but so are the successes.

Typically, there is one specific area of extraordinary

achievement, like Maneater and other tracks,

or a multitude of quality moments that make the

negative aspects relative again, like I said.

It just needs a little remixing. Yeah. Remove

one track and push one down. 10 tracks instead

of 11. So, yeah, three and a half out of five

ain't bad. Not at all. Not at all. All right,

folks, for us here at GeekCast Radio, we are

going to take a quick ad break. I need to have

you record a set listing, Bruce. Maybe that'll

be the first ad after this. OK, that sounds good.

I know I'm putting you on the spot. Like a vision,

she dances across the porch as the radio plays.

Oh, here she comes. Watch out, boy, she'll chew

you up. Oh, here she comes. She's a mad eater.

For over six years, my guests and I have been

discussing the soundtracks to our lives. I'm

Jesse Jackson, and I've had hundreds of fans

from around the world share their stories. about

the power and magic of all kinds of music. If

you enjoy stories about joy, redemption, trials,

and ultimately triumph, then please check out

Set Listing Bruce, a Bruce Springsteen fan podcast.

Remember, there is magic in the night. Hi, I'm

Terry Smith, the host of Music Talks, the podcast

where I ask guests a simple but beguiling question.

Choose a song from each decade of your life and

tell me why these songs mean so much to you.

Guests and listeners love this format. If you

want to find out why, then take a listen at musictalkspod

.buzzsprout .com or use your favourite podcast

app. Just search on Music Talks, Terry Smith.

If you'd like to be a guest on the show and talk

to me... then send me a tweet at MusicTalksPod.

I look forward to doing some music talking soon.

Hey folks, we are back and set -lusting Bruce.

Oh boy. You have such a way with your guests.

It's just amazing to listen to. Well, thank you.

I hope that is a compliment. I know I'm kind

of laughing as I'm saying it, but at least I'm

smiling. It's not like scowling at you or anything.

No, no, no. I appreciate you saying that. Set

Leslie Bruce is available wherever you find fine

podcasts. It is basically me having conversations

with not only Bruce Springsteen fans, but musical

fans. I do. And I am very proud that Mike was

my very first B -side episode. I have had people

talking the Bee Gees and, you know, David Bowie,

Leonard Cohen, all kinds of musicians and books.

and so we just love to have good conversations.

As we are recording this, it is September, September

8th. Thousand fifteen was my very first set listing

bruise episode i am hitting over nine hundred

episodes which is a hell lot of boss talk you

can you can also hear me talk i am on last best

hope for conversation which is a babble on five

podcasts where we are going through every episode

of babble on five with myself and two newbies.

They have never seen the series, and so we are

going spoiler free, discussing it one episode

at a time. Every other week, I am on Next Stop

Everywhere, the Doctor Who podcast, where me

and Charles Skaggs goes through classic and modern

Doctor Who. And finally, the House of the Dragon,

the new Game of Thrones series on HBO, tuning

into sci -fi TV, small council matters. I remember

that, and I am discussing the new Game of Thrones

prequel. He does a lot, folks. He does almost

more than I do when it comes to podcasting, and

podcasting is my life. I have nothing else. Right

before we recorded this episode, he's like, yeah,

I have one, two, three, three podcasts, and then

we're recording with you. I'm like, oh. My God,

don't. Whatever you do, folks, don't try to be

like TFU and Mike, please don't. Exactly right.

Trust me. I don't even want to be me sometimes.

Like, you know, but it is what it is. And yeah,

Hall & Oates 40th anniversary for H2O. I love

the legacy of this album. I love a lot of the

songs on this album and I think it's great overall.

even with the remakes issues that I have, but

I can easily make a playlist about that. And

it's funny, John's, I forget what John's last

name was, but I don't know if you've ever heard

of Records Revisited. No. Okay. It's a podcast.

It's another music podcast. And one of their

guests was, and it's Ben and Wayne, and they

have guests on. And they were talking about that

1984 classic album, Born in the USA. They did

an episode about the album and their guest at

the time, and I'm sorry, John, that I don't remember

your last name, but John was saying to them,

if you rearranged and did a few things to Born

in the USA, it would sound a bit better. So I

took this because this is a crossover between

your show and my show yeah, I took this and I

I did what what John said to do and I labeled

the playlist on Spotify born in the USA the right

way I will have to share this playlist with you

please and I'm trying to Born in the USA, the

right way. Okay, so the way the track list goes

in this playlist, Born in the USA, cover me,

Darlington County, working on the highway, downbound

train, I'm on fire, dancing in the dark, no surrender,

Bobby Jean, I'm going down, glory days, and my

hometown. Okay, interesting. Now, what I recommend

is there is... Oh, I'm going to draw a blank.

Yeah, so basically, what did we move around?

We moved around. Oh, that's what it is. We moved

around. Yeah, they moved around Dancing in the

Dark from what the actual album. Yeah, Dancing

in the Dark and Glory Days. They moved that around.

I don't remember what they moved around. I just

remember making the playlist off the recommendation.

So there is a album that came out in 2014. called

Dead Man's Town, a tribute to Springsteen's Born

in the USA. And it is Born in the USA by Jason

Isbell, Cover Me by Apache Relay, Darling County,

the Quarter City Nighthawks, Working on the Highway,

Blitz and Trapper. Downborn Train, Joe Pug, I'm

On Fire Low, No Surrender, Holly Williams, which

is one of my very favorite covers, Bobby Jean,

Ryan Colwell, I'm Going Down, Trumpled by Turtles,

Glory Days, Justintown's Earl, Dancing in the

Dark, Nicole Atkins, and my hometown North Mississippi

All -Stars. These are all independent Americana

artists. And they did a version of the album

and it is very much worth listening to. It is

a very it is a Americana take on this classic.

And so I think you'll like it. I think you'll

like it a lot if you like Americana. Well, I

mean we like brews don't we have we do absolutely

So I will definitely look out that podcast I

will check out your playlist that sounds wonderful

and just thank you so much for your continued

support and your friendship and Hanging out with

me every once in a while. I always have a blast

when we talk Absolutely. Absolutely and coming

up folks not on on geek cast radio here went

on one of my other shows Later on in either September

or October, Jesse will be back with conversations

we've already recorded. Over on the pull bag,

we're going to be talking about Tom Zoller's

long distance and warning label. So that'll be

coming up as well. Here on GeekCast Radio, we

have got... To the human condition. Oh boy. I

didn't actually plan it this way, but this is

the way it's happening. Next episode, Terry Smith

returns to talk about Blackstone Cherries live

from the Royal Albert Hall, y 'all. Oh, perfect.

And Terry has told me that Blackstone Cherry

really isn't his thing, but because it's me,

he's willing to put up with it. That'll be fun.

That'll be really fun. Yeah, I've had fun with

Terry and I've actually used Blackstone Cherry

and I've applied them to his format. Blackstone

Cherry is a band that's been around for 20 plus

years since 2001 now. They don't fit into his

format, but I've taken songs that I feel like

sound like they should be. In the 60s, 70s, 80s,

90s and all that. So yeah, I've, I've, I've taken

Terry's format and I've, as he says, I've Blanchard

it plenty of times. I'm actually trying to convince

him. And it was funny because I was doing the

research for this episode of our crossover here

to figure this out. Even though the, I don't

want to say mini cassette, but let's say audio

cassette was kind of like. you know, really perfected

in like, even though the cassette itself started

in, in 1962, the perfection of the technology

kind of happened throughout the seventies and

obviously into the eighties. I was trying to

figure out that balance between the decades of

when the switch over from LP to cassette was,

and obviously when the switch over, cause I'm

trying to get Terry to do an episode of music

talks. Where we talk about the decades of music

technology of how we've consumed from L from

LP to cassette to CD to streaming services and

all of that. And yeah, I'm, I'm trying to convince

them of that. Okay. That would be interesting.

It's good. See look, Terry and endorsement for

now. I am DFU and Mike with. Jesse Jackson from

Set Listing Bruce. And we're going to close out

with a line from Bruce and a line from Darrell

Hall because they were both in Something Very

Great in 1985. Unleash the music geek in you

and we will catch you next time. Bye!