Episode 59 begins with a trip back into the golden age of Cape Cod night life. For three decades Pufferbellies was one of the biggest and brightest stars of Cape Cod after dark thanks to the popularity of its owner and Happy Hour legend John Morgan.
There was a time in the 19th century that Rhode Island was seen as the vampire capital of America. The most disturbing story of that time was that of Mercy Brown and the tragedies that befell her family. But was she a vampire?
25 years ago U2 released their POP album. It took the one-time biggest band in the world and added techno beats and disco balls. The album was not a success and left a stain on the band's reputation that took years to wash off. Was the album as bad as was reported though? We go Back In the Day to find out.
This week a brand new Top 5 will countdown the biggest music supergroups of all-time. There is also a new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the birth of the OG of the giant monsters, King Kong.
Be sure to watch for my livestreams called Without A Map Friday's at 8pm on Instagram which serve as a sort of postgame show for the podcast. Find them on IGTV after they've finished.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 58 here.
Episode 59 begins with a trip back into the golden age of Cape Cod night life. For three decades Pufferbellies was one of the biggest and brightest stars of Cape Cod after dark thanks to the popularity of its owner and Happy Hour legend John Morgan.
There was a time in the 19th century that Rhode Island was seen as the vampire capital of America. The most disturbing story of that time was that of Mercy Brown and the tragedies that befell her family. But was she a vampire?
25 years ago U2 released their POP album. It took the one-time biggest band in the world and added techno beats and disco balls. The album was not a success and left a stain on the band's reputation that took years to wash off. Was the album as bad as was reported though? We go Back In the Day to find out.
This week a brand new Top 5 will countdown the biggest music supergroups of all-time. There is also a new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the birth of the OG of the giant monsters, King Kong.
Be sure to watch for my livestreams called Without A Map Friday's at 8pm on Instagram which serve as a sort of postgame show for the podcast. Find them on IGTV after they've finished.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 58 here.
Intro
Hello World, and welcome to the in my footsteps podcast. I am your host, Christopher Setterlund. Coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and this is episode 59. There's going to be a lot of fun stories. This week on the podcast. We're going to start it off with the story of Mercy Brown, the Rhode Island vampire, which is a true story and one you'll have to hear to believe. We're going to follow that up with a trip back to the golden age of Cape Cod nightlife. And hear the story of one of the icons of that time puffer bellies nightclub from Hyannis. That's another true story left to hear to believe. We're gonna go way, way back in the day, as we talked about U2’s famous or infamous pop album, 25 years later, there'll be a brand new top five, surrounding the top five best music super groups ever. We're going to have a brand new this week in history and Time Capsule as well. All of that coming up right now on episode 59 of the in my footsteps podcast. Well, we're almost there, we're into March, spring is right around the corner a few weeks away, march 13 is daylight saving, then it'll be sunset will be 6:30. And it'll feel more like spring. Although that's usually the time of year that we start to get the weird late winter storms with the snow that just you start to think it's spring, you'll get temperatures in the 50s and 60s in New England. And then the next day you get six inches of snow. So I wanted to give a little bit more information on a project that I've been working on that I've been kind of keeping close to the vest because it's so close, I am finishing up the first draft on a book that's a companion to a true crime documentary about the lady of the dunes murder, which happened in Provincetown in 1974. It's a very famous unsolved crime, not just in New England and on Cape Cod, but in the country. And I'm working closely with the director of the film, the film is going to be debuting on Cape Cod, April 1 and second. And I'm going to be interviewing him for the podcast coming up this month later this month. So he'll be able to give you way more information than I can, at least on the film part. The book part is from his perspective, I'm writing it. So it's true crime. And it deals with his process of putting the documentary together, including people he talked to people that didn't want to talk about the murder, some of the roadblocks, some of the weird things that happened. It's a great story. And it's all true. It makes Provincetown in the late 1960s and early 70s. Like one big stage of a play with all sorts of characters and it ties in other famous crimes famous people. Whitey Bulger, Tony Costa, Hadden, Clark, all these people are part of this big grand stage. The last chapter of the book is going to be written at the premiere of the documentary. So it's still an ongoing process, then I'm going to edit it. But after that, I'm looking for a literary agent and or publisher, because true crime is hot now true crime books True Crime podcast. That's why I've added a little more into the podcast with true crime. So with any agents or publishers are listening, I'll be looking for you probably coming up sometime in June to start putting this together. Because this is going to be a big deal, a great book, and I can't wait for you all to read it. But before that, you can check out the actual documentary. And I'll have more information on that as the month goes on. And as I said, I've been adding some true crime stuff into the podcast a little bit more. But I've also been adding in weird and unusual supernatural horror type things into the podcast as well. And we're going to kick off episode 59 with one of those stories. Did you know at one point in the 19th century, the state of Rhode Island was seen as the vampire capital of America. Well, coming up right now is the story of Mercy Brown, the Rhode Island vampire, and the true story that is mind-boggling, but totally true. Coming up right now on the in my footsteps podcast.
Mercy Brown – Rhode Island Vampire
Vampires, the undead ghouls that prey upon the blood of the living for their own sustenance. The terrifying monsters have been a part of mythical fun folklore for centuries, they have been the subject of countless books and films beginning with Bram Stoker's legendary Dracula, which was published in 1897. Despite it being highly unlikely that such evil entities truly exist, the subject of vampires and fiction is actually based in reality. In fact, there was a period of several decades in the 19th century, when the state of Rhode Island was considered the vampire capital of America, occurring roughly between 1870 and 1900. The most famous case during that time was that of Mercy Lena brown. This is her story among the vampire panic that gripped New England. The story begins with a seemingly normal family headed up by Farmer George Brown and his wife Mary. The couple lived in the tiny town of Exeter, Rhode Island, which is southwest of Providence. They live there along with their daughters Mary olive, Hattie Mae, mercy Lena. Mayra and their son Edwin. Exeter was a farming town dwindling and population in the years after the Civil War from 2500 people in 1822, to only 961 in 1892. Being such a small community meant that most people knew each other, making the terrible events that befell the Brown family more impactful. The first tragedy to strike George Brown and his family came in December 1883, when his wife of 20 years passed away. Mary had been sick and deteriorating slowly over the preceding months, with symptoms of tuberculosis or consumption, as doctors called it at the time. Tuberculosis symptoms include a painful, long-lasting cough, expelling a mixture of blood and mucus and severe weight loss among others. It's a terrible illness. After the loss of Mary the family had barely had time to finish grieving when George's oldest daughter, Mary olive, began exhibiting the same symptoms of tuberculosis. She passed in June 1884. At the age of 22, sad losses in six months stun the family and the community of Exeter, most of which had attended young Mary's funeral. Things remained relatively normal for the next few years until 1889. When George his only son, Edwin began to suffer the same symptoms as the others. Before a similar fate could befall him, Edwin and his wife Hortense were sent out to Colorado Springs, where it was hoped that the mountain air would cure him. It helped to a degree, but was not a cure for the tuberculosis ravaging his body. While Edwin was out west mercy began suffering the consumption as well. It is thought that both she and Edwin had what was called the galloping strain of the illness. This meant that it likely laid dormant inside of them for years asymptomatic mercy became the third member of the Brown family to die of tuberculosis in January 1892. After 18 months in Colorado Springs, Edwin returned to Exeter near the end of February 1892. After hearing of his sister Mercy's death, any progress he had made quickly dissipated. And it was at this time that the story took a turn from tragic to unbelievable. As his illness progressed, Edwin began having fever dreams, which were marked by him talking in his sleep and saying things like she was here. She wants me to come with her, and she haunts me. At this point, the small town of Exeter became convinced that there was something else going on when it came to the deaths in the Brown family. It is here that the vampire hysteria took over. For some context, the vampire hysteria seemed interconnected with a rash of tuberculosis cases in the late 18th. Through the 19th century, the physical changes a person goes through suffering with the illness can give the illusion of an evil blood-sucking spirit having control over them. However, the hysteria in rural New England took it a step further. Believing that vampires were the cause of the problem. It stood to reason by these people that digging up the undead and destroying their bodies would then stop said vampire from wreaking more havoc. This led to a series of gruesome exclamations, the process included digging up a suspicious corpse if it looked like it had not decayed enough to the people's liking. They would then perform tasks such as beheading the corpse, breaking its bones, and if available, mutilating the organs, including removal of and burning of the heart. In an interview with howstuffworks.com, New England author and folklorist Michael Bell said at least at such rituals took place during the vampire panic, although usually these corpses were not referred to specifically by the name vampire. The most famous of these excavations took place in the spring of 1892. As Edwin brown slipped away, the residents of Exeter became convinced that he was being drained by an unseen force, they begged George Brown to dig up the bodies of his wife and two deceased daughters to prove them wrong. Although not a believer in such supernatural ideas, George was eventually convinced as he was desperate to save the life of his only son, on the morning of March 17. At 92 three exclamations took place in Exeter's Chestnut Hill Cemetery. George's wife Mary and eldest daughter Mary, all of having been dead for close to a decade at the time were revealed to be only skeletons. However, Mercy proved far different. Having only been dead for two months, and also been buried in the cold of a New England winter. Mercy's body looked surprisingly lifelike when exhumed. Her skin receding post-mortem, also gave the appearance of her fingernails and hair having grown already on edge before the examinations. The crowd of the cemetery were stunned to find traces of blood still in mercy's body. Fearing the worst her heart was subsequently removed. It was placed on some nearby rocks and burned, not satisfied with that act. The crowd convinced George that the vampire's heart could help cure Edwin in a final ghastly twist. Some of the ashes of Mercy's heart are mixed in with Edwards medicine. The macabre concoction did not help, and sadly, Edwin was felled by the consumption on May 2 1892. News of this incident and its aftermath made its way across the ocean. It became an influence as previously mentioned, for Bram Stoker's classic Dracula. It was definitely an influence on Rhode Island horror writer HP Lovecraft and his book The Shunned House. All subsequent vampire books and films can trace their origins to these times and to Mercy Brown. Rhode Island's time as the vampire capital of America ended shortly after mercy Brown was returned to the cold ground, the threat of vampires dwindled, though not as severe of an epidemic today as it was in the 19th century, tuberculosis is still a serious threat. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, a total of 1.4 million people died from tuberculosis in 2019. That was just a few years ago. Mercy Brown's grave remains to this day, along with her siblings and parents at the Chestnut Hill Cemetery, although hers is shackled and chained to a nearby tree, which stops thieves from taking it because that has repeatedly happened. Legend has it that the ghost of Mercy brown haunts the area around her grave and even a nearby bridge. Perhaps when going to pay respects to the Last Vampire of New England. Keep an eye out mercy brown may just be closer than you think.
Pufferbellies Nightclub
Let's take a trip back to the golden age of Cape Cod nightlife, shall we? For those of you that grew up here in the 70s 80s 90s this will all sound familiar, but this is going to be one of the possibly recurring themes on the podcast going forward. But let's get started. One of the last true nightclubs that remained from Cape Cod's golden age of the 1970s and 80s was pufferbellies. Its story began in the waning years of the 19th century as part of the height of the nation's railroad era. The 12,000-square-foot brick building that a century later housed the legendary and sometimes infamous club started its life in 1895. As a railroad roundhouse owned by the Penn Central company, the double thick brick walls, which were installed to soften the sounds of the old railroad engines entering the Roundhouse. Those came in handy when the argument for turning the building into a nightclub came into play. Penn Central had filed for bankruptcy in 1970, with much of its properties on Cape Cod going into limbo. Much of the rail line east of Dennis eventually became the root for the Cape Cod rail trail. The 12 acres of land located between Iyannough road and Center Street were seen as a prime location for a revitalization of downtown Hyannis. In the summer of 1978. Leonard Healy, who was the owner of the nearby velvet hammer nightclub, he at attempt had to purchase the land and had his offer rejected. After that the property went back on the auction block. It was around this same time that a burgeoning Cape Cod legend was looking for a spot of his own. John Morgan had been supplying locals with countless hours of fun with his John Morgan happy hour for over a decade by the time of Healy's failed bid for the former Penn Central property. Morgan had debuted on the cape at the chuck wagon in Harwich in 1965. When just out of college, he moved on to the improper Bostonian/Your father's mustache in Dennis port, before leasing the sandy pond Club in 1971 for three years and calling it the Gregory at Sandy pond. He also settled in as a regular performer at Dick Doherty’s Crystal Palace in Hyannis and remained for seven years. Eventually, though, Morgan had visions of his own nightclub and even offered to buy the Crystal Palace, but Doherty was not ready to sell. So at that time, Morgan was on the lookout, which brought him to the former Penn Central property in downtown Hyannis. In late 1980. John Morgan purchased the former railroad roundhouse from the Elgin born moving company for $100,000 or about $341,000 in 2022. In early 1981, he made a pitch for a new nightclub, a place where the younger generation locals and visitors alike could congregate. His plan was a 700-seat, restaurant and club to be named pufferbellies, which was another name for a steam locomotive. The new nightclub was approved, and from its opening on May 8 1981, it was an immediate hit. John Morgan said that he knew it would be a home run, but it actually turned out to be a Grand Slam. The 12,500 square foot brick roundhouse had the capacity to hold 1500 People with a stage three bars and even an outdoor volleyball area. Although it was seen as mainly a nightclub and bar Morgan did receive an outside dining permit in 1983, so that if anyone did choose to eat outside they had that option. Of course, even with his own establishment, Morgan continued to draw in the crowds to his happy hours, so popular where they that special drinks and two-for-one specials were not necessary to bring in the masses. They came in to see John Morgan, sing along with him and be a part of the crowd. musical acts from Boston based the freeze to nationally known Weird Al Yankovic came down to the Cape to take the stage at puffer bellies early on. In later years, bands like Blue Oyster Cult, seven dust and Powerman 5000 graced the stage. I remember I saw Better Than Ezra there in 2000. The new nightclub was a hit. One big reason for the routinely packed pufferbellies was the advertising campaign. It was the brainchild of Morgan and local radio DJ Gary Titus. Morgan bought a ton of ads for play on popular Cape Cod radio stations. 106, WCOD, and Cape 104.7. Titus put them together and they hit the airwaves. Morgan and Titus made sure that people would hear an ad for puffer bellies twice an hour and the campaign worked. Morgan had a staff of 100 employees at his club dressed in buttoned down Oxford shirts with his nightclub's name embroidered on it. This was a stark contrast to some nightspots at the time, which dressed their employees and T shirts. Morgan's care and attention to detail paid off. After five seasons of running pufferbellies Morgan was getting burned out. He said it took a lot of work to have 1500 people come in for the afternoon, and then have to get them out, cleaned up and bring in another 1500 for the night. That's a lot of work. All of this added up to Morgan selling his nightclub in 1986 to Peter and Jeanne White, who owned the Boston fish house for $3.1 million, or just under $8 million. Today. Morgan still performed his happy hours, but as far as he was concerned, his nightclub-owning days were over. Within a few years though Morgan had bought back his nightclub, but the place was not the same. Without Morgan at the helm, pufferbellies had suffered more than that, the times were changing in the late 80s and early 90s. The liquor liability laws affected business and harsher drunk driving penalties made patrons think twice about heading out to clubs. These were just a couple of the things that led to Morgan shortening the club's schedule for the majority of the 1990s pufferbellies was open just two days a week. In 2001. Morgan said that business was only a 20th of what it was in the 1980s. He had wanted to use the brick roundhouse building for other purposes such as conventions, weddings, or other functions, but that never came to be. The changes eating away at the club continued. In 2015, Morgan happily sold the property once again. And this time it was once and for all, to the Hi-Line ferry company for $1.96 million. At its peak, pufferbellies was the place to go for fun and entertainment on Cape Cod. It was the last of the giants of the Golden Age to fade away. But John Morgan says he doesn't miss it at all. He still keeps himself busy by performing his happy hours and drawing in big crowds. Even now, in his mid to late 70s. Morgan remains one of the kings of Cape Cod, he is truly a legend. As for what made the golden age so special, it came down to timing and circumstance, Morgan remembered how in the days before cell phones, everybody had to make plans to meet out somewhere, there were fewer options. The drinking age was 18. And the large baby boom generation was in its prime. Now in the 2020s. There's an overload of options inside and outside the drinking laws are different with the age now being 21. And the baby boomers are becoming the senior citizens. The Times may have changed, but John Morgan finally remarks that they had a lot of fun back in those days. Did you ever go to pufferbellies? Did you go there when it first started? Or did you go later when it was kind of losing its reputation? For a while it was a huge juggernaut of Cape Cod nightlife. But that's the story of one of the kings of Cape Cod pufferbellies, and one of the kings who owned it John Morgan himself. If you want to learn more about the golden age of Cape Cod nightlife, visit kings of Cape cod.com There are so many great memories for those of you that grew up here in the 70s and 80s. You will love it, kings of Cape cod.com.
This Week In History
This week in history we are going back at nine years ago this week, for the debut of the OG of the giant monsters, march 2 1933, the classic movie King Kong opened in theaters. King Kong was a trailblazer, like I said the OG of the giant monster movies. it paved the way for everyone that came since all the Godzilla movies and even more recent ones like the Cloverfield movie, they all trace their origins back 89 years ago this week to King Kong, which if you don't know the movie, I'm really surprised but it's about a giant ape, a mythical giant ape on Skull Island, and a camera crew and goes to the island to shoot a movie and then obviously King Kong, the story of the giant ape comes through from the natives there. And there's some incredible fight scenes with King Kong and different creatures from the island and eventually they bring him to New York City where there's the famous scene of him falling off the Empire State Building. It starred Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot, and was released through RKO Pictures produced and directed by Marian Cooper and Ernest Shoedsack. And it's really known for the crazy stop-motion animation. Legendary effects man, Willis O'Brien was in charge of the stop motion, including things like the Jungle Fight Scene, which took seven weeks of stop animation. So when you understand all that stuff they had to do to make it look good, you appreciate it even more. It's an iconic film, it's got a 99% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It made $5.3 million of the box office, which is about 114 million today, which doesn't seem like a lot even when adjusted, but this movie influenced every monster movie that came ahead of it. And it's been remade several times, including 2005. And then recently, in the last few years, there's been a whole new series of con movies. Me being a huge monster movie fan. I'm obviously a big fan of King Kong. Younger people today that are used to computer animation and motion capture. You might not appreciate it as much, but it's one of those that defined a generation and defined a genre of movies. In total, there have been 12 movies based around the King Kong character, and the very first one made it debut at nine years ago this week in history. And now it's time for a special time capsule. We're going to go back 42 years ago this week, I have chosen February 29 1980. Because it's a Leap Day, a day that we only get once every four years, which I always find fascinating that there's a day and then there's not a day. And there are some famous people that have Leap Day birthdays, including Dinah Shore, Ja rule, and Tony Robbins. And I don't know how you celebrate them, I'm assuming it's either February 28 or March 1 Most years. But going back 42 years ago, this week, the number one song was crazy little thing called love by Queen. The song was off of Queen's album the game and was their first US number-one single it stayed there for four weeks. It's got a very old school Rock and Roll sound to it. And for those of you that liked the song, it's wild to think about the genius of Freddie Mercury that he came up with that song on guitar in five or 10 minutes, and he even admitted that he really can't play guitar. But that just shows you Freddie Mercury, someone like Prince or its I think could fall out of bed and write three great songs. And this was an example of it. The number one movie was the fog. It was directed by John Carpenter, and it starred Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau. It's based around this mysterious fog that descends on this tiny coastal California town and the horrible things that happen around it before and after. It has a 75% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $21.3 million dollars in America on a $1.1 million budget. So it did pretty well. Obviously if it went to number one, the number one TV show was Alice. The show ran for nine seasons from 1976 to 1985, a total of 202 episodes. It starred Linda Lavin as the title character, Alice, who after becoming widowed moves with her young son to a new town to start life over again. And she gets a job as a waitress at Mel's diner, which is kind of where most of the show takes place. One of the main characters, Flo got her own spin-off series, but didn't last that long. It's one of those series that it was on for a long time. But I mean, maybe it's because I'm younger that it feels like it flew under the radar some but I'm sure that people that grew up with the show have fond memories of it. And if you were around 42 years ago this week, and it was either February vacation spring break, something like that, and you needed something fun to do, you could go to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and the general admission tickets to get into the park. If you were an adult, it was $7.50 or about $25.59. Now, juniors were $6.50 or about $22.18 today, and children were $4.50 or about $15.35 today, so it was a lot more affordable to go to Disney 42 years ago. And that's going to wrap up this week in history the time capsule. But now we're going to dive into a brand new top five this will be a good one. This is the top five music supergroups of all time. So get ready for that coming up right now.
Top 5: Music Supergroups
This is sure to be a fun top five Music Supergroups they've been around forever. Some bands that were just traditional bands, looking back now are seen as supergroups like The Beatles, because of all the success the four members had after for me for this top five my criteria of a supergroup is that it has to have people in it that had some sort of success before being in this band. That's why someone like the Beatles before they were the Beatles, they really weren't anything so they don't count. Like I always say these lists go in no particular order, because just the list themselves get enough people talking. And as always, when it comes to these lists, there are some honorable mentions this will kind of get you primed for what's coming in the actual top five. So some of the honorable mentions for top supergroups include them crooked vultures, which was a Dave Grohl project, Temple of the dog which was a Pearl Jam Soundgarden project, mad season which was and Alice In chains and Pearl Jam among other collections, Bad Company and cream. So those are the honorable mentions. Let's jump right in. To the actual top five music supergroups number one is the Traveling Wilburys. They may be the top pick for most people when it comes to supergroups. They were basically founded in Bob Dylan's garage. But when you've got a band that's Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynn, all of whom were successful before they got together I mean hugely successful. There's no doubt that if they're not the top supergroup ever they are right up there with most people's lists. They were only officially together for two albums over a period of three or four years, but there's no doubt of the influence their songs Handle With Care end of the line headed for the light. I mean, these are just amazing songs they hold up so well, even 30 something years later. Number two is Velvet Revolver. This is most of the original lineup of Guns and Roses, with the addition of Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots as the singer. They were formed in 2004. Their first album was contraband, which it was amazing to hear Scott Weiland singing basically with the Guns and Roses lineup. You can't mistake slash's guitar, so their first single slither was just kicked ass. They had several hit songs from that first album, and then they released the second album. The second album was called Liberty Todd and it wasn't too long after that, actually that Scott Weiland went back to Stone Temple Pilots. They did Velvet Revolver reunited for a one-off benefit show in 2012. But that was about it. And after Weiland's death in 2015, Guns and Roses the original lineup reunited. Number three is Audioslave which this is kind of similar to Velvet Revolver where it's essentially the lineup of Rage Against the Machine. But with Chris Cornell from Soundgarden as the singer, they released their first album 20 years ago now, that first album was another huge hit, it went triple platinum. The lead single was Cochise, which is I mean another one it just blast it holds up so well 20 years later, but it kicks ass. It's a great workout song. I specifically put Audioslave and Velvet Revolver back to back to kind of give a summary of it thinking of my childhood, my teenage years of the 90s where we had guns and roses, Soundgarden Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against the Machine all as their own units that were successful. And I never would have thought that you'd have that kind of cross-pollination with those bands. And then the irony is that when we had Velvet Revolver and audioslave at the same time, as much as I enjoyed their music I longed for the days when GNR, Soundgarden STP and Rage Against the Machine we'll all be back together. And eventually they all did. Although sadly, Chris Cornell passed in 2017. I did a whole episode of the podcast based around him and his battles with mental health. That's episode 22. If anyone wants to go check it out. Number four is the highwaymen. This is a collection of four country music legends. So it's one of those that if you're not in the country, you may not have heard of them as much, but I guarantee you, you've heard of everyone who's in the actual group. When you've got a group that's Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson, you know, all those names, their legends and icons of country music, whether you listen to country or not. They were together about 10 years about 1985 to 1995, they released three albums. Their first one in 1985 had the song highwayman that went to number one, and all four of them actually starred in a movie together in 1986, called stagecoach, the four of them together and on their solo careers were considered the pioneers of the outlaw country sub-genre of country music. And finally, number five on the list of top five music supergroups ever is Crosby, Stills Nash and Young. This one was a debatable one, because Crosby Stills and Nash was already a band that had a lot of success, but it made him a supergroup. When you added Neil Young to the mix, they were a folk rock group. They originally got together in 1969, with their second gig they ever played being Woodstock, which I mean, you talked about making a big splash. Their first album deja vu came out in 1978 had three huge hits including Woodstock, teacher, children and our house and they would split for years at a time and then reunite for a tour are a few shows, but they still found time to release a lot of albums, including eight studio albums and five live albums, which actually makes them one of the most prolific super groups there was. But that wraps up this week's top five. What do you think? Did you enjoy the music of any of these super groups? Have you listened to the Traveling Wilburys or Velvet Revolver? Audioslave or the highwayman? Or Crosby, Stills Nash and Young? Or did you listen to some of the honorable mentions? Or did I miss some that I just didn't find in my research? Let me know shoot me a message. If I missed any, maybe there'll be a part two of this list. But I'll be back next week with a brand new top five that will be just as random as all the rest of them.
U2’s POP Album 25 Years Later
The band U2 has been around for over 40 years now. They have been one of the biggest bands in the world for essentially all of that time. Whether you listen to them whether you like their music, you cannot deny they have been one of the most impactful bands in the world over the last nearly half-century. They've released 14 studio albums, three compilation albums and a live album, and total sold is approaching 200 million copies of their albums. They've won 22 Grammy Awards in total, in addition to all kinds of other awards and accolades that the band has received. Now I've given you their credentials. But obviously, this segment is going to look at probably their lowest moment as a band. 25 years ago, this week, they released an experimental different album that changed the trajectory of the band and almost destroyed the band. This is the story of the U2 pop album, what it was like its legacy, and you know everything else that goes behind it. Sometimes artists take a drastic shift in their music style, and it actually pays off. I look at Taylor Swift, who came up as literally just a straight country singer, and she switched over to pop and got even bigger. U2, not so much. YouTube was a straight up rock band for more than 15 years when the pop album came out. And from the beginning, we knew it was different. If you were around back then if you are a fan of YouTube back then you saw the video for the lead single discotheque. You knew something was different about the band. It had a very dancey beat to it way poppier and techo. And literally, they were dressed up like the village people, and it looked like they were in a 70s Disco. And it was definitely weird to me because this is the same band that released Achtung baby which back in episode 45. I raved about as it hit 30 years because it's one of my favorite albums of all time. So that was only six years before pop. And they had released Zooropa in 1993, which was trending a little bit away from rock but it still was great. It was like the perfect mix. And then came pop which went way over the line. Now when it was released, it went to number one in 35 countries and actually got some favorable reviews. But it's it's the band's lowest-selling album. There are stories that Bono was having trouble with his voice. There were stories that the band was really up against the deadline as far as recording the album, and that they weren't satisfied with the final product, which I guess is true because in their compilation album The Best of 1990 to 2000. They re-recorded several of the songs from the pop album, but there were six singles released from the album after discotheque there was staring at the sun, if God will send his angels if you wear that velvet dress and gone. But it was such a departure from what the band was used to doing. There weren't really any of those U2 hooks. They didn't sound like the same band. If you haven't listened to anything from pop ever put on the song mofo which is literally like a dance techno beat song, or better yet, play that song after you listen to I still haven't found what I'm looking for, or one or one of their all-time classic songs. You'll shake your head like I did when this came out, like what the hell are you doing? The irony is that as this album came out, which was just not what I expected from you, too as a band, this was the time that I was able to finally go see them live in concert. So it's like the monkey's paw thing, where I wished I could go see you too, but it's now when they're cosplaying as this weird techno rock 70s band. I went and saw them at Gillette Stadium as part of the PopMart tour, which granted, they played a lot of their hit songs. But the thing is, you know, when a band goes on tour in support of a new album, they play most of that new album. So we were getting stuck listening to these songs that didn't fit the rest of the setlist songs like do you feel loved Miami and the Playboy Mansion, don't fit in with other songs like Sunday, Bloody Sunday, all I want is you even better than the real thing, the songs that made you to iconic around the world. Interestingly, just the following year in 1998, Smashing Pumpkins did something similar, where they released an album that was very much electronic. The differences that basically smashing pumpkins at the time was Billy Corgan and a bunch of people that he just pulled off the street, sort of like what Guns and Roses did for years, where it was Axl and a bunch of just random people. Smashing Pumpkins, though never really recovered from their foray into electronic music. But U2’s PopMart tour and the show I went to see it was a unique spectacle, where the four members of the band came out from a giant lemon to a techno version of the song pop music by the band M, which if you've never heard the song, that song is actually really good. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time. And I thrilled that I can say that I got to see U2 live, but it was definitely a double-edged sword. I said a few minutes ago that they re-recorded several of these songs for their second greatest hits album. And the irony is that the songs that they re-recorded are less dancey electronic technically than they were on the album. So it's almost like the band even realized that that was not their style. So I don't know what they were thinking when they put this out. Time softens the stance 25 years later, I think this is not looked back on as badly as when it first came out. I think part of it is because in 2000 You two made their big triumphant comeback as the actual rock band. All that you can't leave behind was a huge smash led by this first single beautiful day, the album sold 12 million copies. And it returned U2 to the top of the music scene. And part of me wonders if they released pop almost as a way to make the big comeback like they needed to create their own challenges. If you look at the pop album as more of an anomaly and a novelty, it's not as bad as I was like when it came out. I was 19 years old, so I had definitely different opinions. I'm in no way saying that pop is one of U2’s best albums. No, it's still at the bottom. But the thing is that it's aged a little bit better. I think based on the fact that they went back to their roots a few years later, some of the songs have aged better than others. Do you feel loved? It's pretty good. mofo’s a great workout song, which I never thought I'd say about a U2 song from that album. Bono has gone on record saying that he didn't like the finished product of the album because it was basically rushed. Any jokes that it's the most expensive demo ever made. And it's true that that album nearly ended you too as a big-time act. And there have been notable examples of musical artists that have made albums that have really derailed their careers. I mentioned the Smashing Pumpkins one that really they never recovered from Pearl Jam had a few albums in the late 90s, early 2000s that were far from the mainstream, but I like to think that was intentional. But what do you think? Have you listened to U2’s pop? Did you enjoy it? I've softened my stance on it, where when it first came out, I was just like, God, this is ridiculous that they're the biggest band in the world. And they're going to do this dancey pop techno album. But now it's more you look at it as the anomaly that it is. And when you realize the band didn't even like the finished product, then you don't feel as bad. It's like it's okay to hate it because they hated it too. And they were still great in concert. But what did you think of U2’s pop album? If you've never heard it? I definitely say listen to a few of their bigger hit songs and get a sense of their music and then go listen to pop so you can get the distinction of just what they did but U2’s pop will not be the last album review for the year. I've got a lot listed up of ones that are hitting milestones this year. But obviously, I don't want to spoil them. But let me know what you thought of this. Let me know if you listen to U2’s pop and what you think of it. And don't blame me if you hate it. Remember, I lived through it live when it came out.
Closing
And that's going to wrap up episode 59 of the in my footsteps podcast. Thank you so much to everyone who has been tuning in everyone who's been there from the start, and everyone that has come along for the ride along the way. I really appreciated those of you that reach out and let me know what you think of the episodes, those of you that share the episodes with others so that people can find out for themselves. There's a lot of times where releasing this podcast recording it, and researching it. It's the best escape from the world today. So that's why I started it way back in the fall of 2020. And that's why I'm keeping it going. So hopefully it allows you to escape as well. Tune in every Friday at 8pm on Instagram for my live streams. They're called without a map, we dive deep into the most recent episode of the podcast, and then have some fun going off the rails with whatever conversation comes up. Besides Instagram. You can find me on Twitter, find me on YouTube subscribe to the channel, I am putting up a video about Provincetown's secret smallpox cemetery. That should be up by the time you listen to this episode. Be sure to go to Wear your wishes.com get on their email list so that you can be alerted when the site is backup. When the shop is open again, they will be back I've just held off on doing sponsor ads for them just because they don't want people going to the site and seeing the page that just has the countdown to when it's going to reopen. But go and get on the email list. They will be back. Go to Amazon check out KeeKee’s Cape Cod kitchen, the Cape Cod cookbook that Crystal Joy Smith came up with. It's been a huge success. Her book launch event was a huge success and a lot of fun. Hopefully, a lot of you have heard me talking about the book and have gotten it or will get it after hearing this. It's definitely worthwhile. And she's got several more projects in the works. So it's just the beginning. You'll be hearing a lot more about her on the podcast. If you like my theme song on the podcast, James River, go to DJ Williams music.com. He is the one that came up with it. I found it by chance by luck on YouTube's Audio Library and the song is so good. It's on my playlist on my phone. But definitely check him out. He's hugely talented, and I always want to give him as much of a shout-out as I can. Because the music is such a big part of this show. Visit Christopher setterlund.com That is my website homepage. It has links to all of my books, links to the old podcast links to my travel blog, which is now more travel history and lifestyle but it started as travel. I wanted to take a second to wish a special happy third birthday to my littlest niece Sylvie, my little buddy who is also the human antidepressant that every time she's around, it just melts my heart and makes me smile. Her birthday is coming up in a few days after this will go live. So next week on the podcast, I'm sure I will mention it again. But she deserves to get two different shout-outs. Speaking of shout outs if you're on Instagram, go to Kiwis Kustoms both spelled with Ks, my oldest niece who will be 23 In May, she is creating and designing her own brand of pet sweaters more than clothing. They're all hand-stitched, hand-designed, and they're really good. She's got pictures up there you can go follow her and then shoot her a DM if you're looking for beautifully handcrafted clothing for your pets. That is just it's really great. My family seems to have a lot of the artistic side to them, which is great. It's more than just me with the podcast and the writing. If you want to see a little more of my other side, the personal training medical fitness specialist side, come on down to mind body spine chiropractic on Route 6A in Brewster we got a lot of big things coming up in the spring there. It's more than just chiropractic care for your spine. It's more than personal training and rehab. There's a lot of wellness and nutrition. It's going to be a one-stop shop for yourself. So go to our website or just pop into the actual office and say hello. I'll be back next week with episode 60 of the podcast when I first started these back in November 2020 I had no idea how Long I would do it. But here we are 60th episode is coming up. I know it's going to be good because I tried to put as much effort into it as I can. For those of you that make it a point to tune in and listen to what I do, I do my best to make each show worthwhile for you. And for me, I do enjoy it. So I don't want to say I just do it for you. I do it for myself, because it's fun. And that's what it comes down to having fun, something you enjoy doing. It's chasing your dreams because if you stop chasing your dreams, there's nothing really left for you to do. And lean in heavy to those that make you happy and things that make you happy. Sorry to be so blunt and bold at the end. But it seems like every day there's something bad going on. So hopefully the podcast is an escape for you and I will keep making an escape for you. As long as I have topics to share. And just remember in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps, create your own path, leave the biggest footprint you can because you never know what tomorrow brings. Thank you so much for tuning in to Episode 59 of the podcast. I'll be back for the live stream Friday. And then back next week for episode 60. Until then, have a great day. Great weekend and I will talk to you all again soon.