Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole

’Come On Eileen’ by Dexys Midnight Runners: Greatest One-Hit Wonder Ever?

Too-rye-ay, we're back again with Episode 2 of Season 2 of Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole. In this episode, Butch and Kevin dig into a 1980s classic, "Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners. We discuss the song's meaning, the band's background and the impact it made when it shot up the charts in 1982-83. Among the points covered:

• Beer of the Week: Falls City English Style Pale Ale (we also tasted a bit of Limestone Branch rye, a local barrel pick)
• Kevin Rowland was a difficult guy to deal with
• Dexys actually had a previous hit in the UK
• The band's first US single did nothing
• Once "Eileen" fell off the charts, the band would never crack the US Top 40 again.
• Is it the greatest one-hit wonder of all-time? Is there one?

Queen’s ’We Will Rock You’ and ’We Are the Champions’: Forever Connected

And we're back for Season 2! To kick things off, we're tackling a two-fer, the double A-side single from the amazing Queen, "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions." We talk about the songs' historic status as a double-single, why they are so frequently played back-to-back, their statuses as sports anthems and what inspired the tunes for songwriters Brian May and Freddie Mercury, respectively. A few notes:

• Beer of the Week is Jai Alai IPA by Cigar City Brewing
• An odd occurrence at a Queen concert in 1977 led to these two songs
• A couple of personal stories about our first time hearing these timeless tunes
• We plan to have guests on a few upcoming episodes
• Kevin's dog made too much noise during recording

 

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit‘: How Nirvana‘s Unlikely Hit Changed Everything

On this, the final Season 1 episode, Butch and Kevin dig into "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Nirvana's seminal grunge anthem from 1991. This is the song that often gets credit for squashing hair metal once and for all, but the Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole hosts take a deeper dive into the cultural shift it brought about, including comparing it with another notable song that brought about a similar seismic shift decades earlier. A few points:

• Yes, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" essentially killed hair metal.
• The title of the song doesn't even show up in the lyric. Where did that phrase come from and what does it mean?
• How important was the video to the song's popularity? Ugly people on MTV was a new thing.
• Of course, Kevin has to bring the Knack into the conversation.
• The opening riff to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sounds a bit like the main riff to this rock classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4QK8RxCAwo
• And, as promised in the episode, here's a link to "Weird" Al Yankovic's parody of the song and video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FklUAoZ6KxY

‘Stacy‘s Mom‘: Lost Interview With Fountains of Wayne Frontman Chris Collingwood

Fountains of Wayne had its lone Top 40 hit in 2003 with "Stacy's Mom," which is often remembered for the video starring actress Rachel Hunter. In this episode, Kevin digs out an interview he did with Chris Collingwood, the band's frontman, in 2003, just two weeks after the single was released. Most of the interview was never published, so Kevin and Butch included as many of Chris's quotes as possible, from naked guys across the street to gardening while stoned to whatever happened to the protagonist from "Leave the Biker." Along the way, they talk about "Stacy's Mom" and how it became an unexpected hit for a band that were already music industry veterans. Here are a few highlights to listen for:

• This week's beer is Hops For Teacher IPA from J. Wakefield Brewery in Florida. Good stuff!
• Collingwood foretold what the result of releasing a "novelty" song would be long before "Stacy's Mom" became a hit. The story involves Howard Stern.
• The video is a string of tributes to the '80s The song itself is a tribute of sorts to the Cars, with its structure borrowing from two classic Cars songs.
• For you Fountains of Wayne fans, Chris Collingwood has a new band, called Look Park. Here's a video to check out: https://youtu.be/iLDkrJFzxZU
• And here's Fountains of Wayne's haunting version of the Britney Spears hit "...Baby One More Time," as originally leaked on the Howard Stern Show: https://youtu.be/pmkVJJDseQs
• And finally, if you're a Fountains of Wayne fan, you surely already know about this song. But just in case, here's Robbie Fulks' "Fountains of Wayne Hotline": https://youtu.be/7vVJ2Om-QVg

‘Hotel California‘: Do You Hate the Eagles or Love the Eagles?

It's a tale as old as ... well the 1970s, when the Eagles were flying high (pun intended) on hits like "Take it Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling." Then came "Hotel California," the dark, sprawling tune with the ominous, two-minute instrumental outro. It was and continues to be one of the most notable songs in rock 'n' roll. But over the years, a contingent of people came to hate the song and the band that created it. Why? We dig into it from a variety of perspectives. First, a few notes:

• This week's beer is New Glarus Moon Man, a beer only available in Wisconsin. (Kevin is a Green Bay Packers fan, and he and Butch recently went to Green Bay for training camp; this beer came back with them.)
• It's OK to like the Eagles, just don't admit you like the Eagles. (We kid.)
• Here's a fascinating read about why so many people hate The Eagles: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6851078/eagles-hatred-explainer-defense-glenn-frey
• Butch has always liked the song and The Eagles. Kevin has had an up-and-down relationship with both over his lifespan.
• They agree song construction in its own right fits the subject matter, with the dark tones and guitar-solo climax matching the spooky lyric. Kudos to Don Felder, who did the heavy lifting in creating the song.
• They also agree Joe Walsh might be the coolest dude ever. Don Henley and Glenn Frey? Not so much. At least to Kevin, who shares a funny story about Don Henley and a root canal.
• Another interesting read from Chuck Klosterman on hating The Eagles: https://ew.com/article/2013/06/20/book-excerpt-chuck-klosterman/