Enormous!

Enormous Cher

With your hosts: Harley and KC Season 4 Episode 73

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KC gets a surprise! An early Christmas gift! Could it be a 25 pound patio paver, a  life-size mold of KC’s Chrimma tree, or something else big and red? Pull up a chair, grab a martini - let’s all unwrap something Enormous!

The guys have the lowdown on Cher's brand new clear vinyl Christmas album along with her iconic career.  They also share personal memories brought to life by music and vinyl records from KC's family.

So, whether you're a Cher super-fan, a vinyl record enthusiast, or just someone who loves the holiday season, you'll find something to enjoy in this festive episode. So sit back, relax, and spread some Enormous holiday cheer together!

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Link: Songs Of Our Life Spotify Play List 





KC:

hat is that? It's a giant box.

KC:

Why are you giving me a giant box?

Harley:

It's not giant Casey.

KC:

It's enormous.

KC:

Okay, it's wrapped so beautifully with silver and red and gold too. There is silver and gold.

KC:

Yes, it does look really nice too, ery festive, okay Did you curl that ribbon.

Harley:

Are you kidding me? That's what companies like Papyrus are fo

Harley:

Can guess what's inside.

KC:

Oka I don't have a clue. Let me give it one little lift so. I can get a weight on this enormous box. Okay, it's kind of heavy. Maybe it's a paver, okay, and how much does it weig?

Harley:

Do you think it weighs 25 pound That's exactly what it is. You guessed.

KC:

A paver for the patio?

Harley:

You know why it's so heavy. It's a life-size mold of your cremator

KC:

Oh a crematory mold, yeah, not moldy, but moldy a

Harley:

That's why it's so heavy, it's enormous and it needed an enormous box.

KC:

I'm taking the curled ribbon off because I'm oh, there's two. Oh, wow, there's two of them on ther

Harley:

Well, you know, you know, the gay adage or motto is it's not done till it's overdone.

KC:

I'm gonna wear this here Next time we go out to the bar. before Christmas Looks like red and gold pubic hair A little merkin. No, what do you call that, merk? Yeah, I think that's right. No, merkin's on your chest, oh, I don't think they have a.

Harley:

Well, I can see that your unwrapping style is paper terro, not paper saver Well, normally it's paper saver, but honestly.

KC:

But I just figured that we were trying to expedite this, this project.

Harley:

That's true, you know one of the nice things about recording this is I can expedite it really well. I can cut out almost everything, so say anything that comes to mind.

KC:

Okay. Well, something's written on the box which I can't read, but it looks like it's maybe a box from that you've already had and that you put something else in this box.

Harley:

The box has been reused, so I will confess to that. It was a storage box. It's a re-gifted box, well no, it's a storage box that was the right size for the big package that was inside For the paver, for the paver.

KC:

Okay, now do you have your pocket knife in your pocket? How about an X-Acto blade in your pocket? No, just open.

Harley:

Just open it, you can do it. I did not tape it like the skull.

KC:

Yoda's very curious now that we're getting to the opening part.

Harley:

Yes.

KC:

Okay, I'll put the tape off. It's bubble wrap, my favorite yes, bubble.

Harley:

It's the big bubbles, it's the kind you can't pop. No, no, it's totally.

KC:

Oh, it's like an air mattress. The pieces go into each other. You cannot pop it. No, kind of Just a little. Oh, there's one.

Harley:

That was pretty good, keep going.

KC:

It is a paver.

Harley:

I told you. So, Casey, what are you holding right now?

KC:

Because you know I'm holding a red brick that's painted white on one side. Did you pull this side? Is this the cornerstone of your house?

Harley:

Are we safe? Hand it to me quick, before the house collapses.

KC:

You better push it back in.

Harley:

You're too clever. You knew that there was some extra weight in there, didn't you? I did I did.

KC:

I've done this since I was probably I don't know eight or 10 years old. I used to irritate my grandparents and parents because I would always guess what I mean, we were lucky, we sort of got what we asked for.

KC:

So part of things was just, you know, you ask for stuff and you get what you asked for, so you kind of know what you're going to get. But also I was very good at guessing what was in a box. So now guess, Keep guessing, Keep guessing. Well, it's smaller now and there's a box inside of a box.

Harley:

Oh, so now? So there's that You're going to when you see the inside box.

KC:

And it's thin. The box inside the box is thinner Right, Like it would be maybe framed or something like a picture frame and how much total box you thought was 25 pounds.

Harley:

How much is the inner box?

KC:

The smaller box is more like just a couple pounds probably Like nothing.

Harley:

Yeah, yeah, okay, open that yeah.

KC:

Is there more bricks in there?

Harley:

Probably.

KC:

There's another brick in the box.

Harley:

Well, I had to at least throw you off for a minute.

KC:

Yeah, that was pretty good, but you do have to put the bricks back in the house I'm getting very worried.

Harley:

Look at Yoda. He wants to go in there. He's pulling out the bubble wrap out of the. The bubble wrap, oh, that's funny. You can get it, yoda. Get it. Get the bubble wrap, get it, good boy. Yeah, go take that and play with it. You know, that's what happens when you're a poor dog from a poor family. The only thing the only Christmas toys you get are bubble wrap.

KC:

You're happy about the bubble wrap.

Harley:

He's starting to understand boxes, though. Yeah, that there's something inside of it. Sometimes it's for him, and if it is, it's probably edible.

KC:

I've been working real hard with Max to get pointing, like when my finger points somewhere, like don't look at my finger, look where I'm pointing.

Harley:

Is he getting it? He's finally getting it. Took a while. That takes a smart dog. It took a really while.

KC:

But yeah, he finally is.

Harley:

So do you have a guess?

KC:

now it's a framed picture of my crematory.

Harley:

Why yes?

KC:

that's exactly what it is.

Harley:

But that would be a gift for probably Mr Mordor.

KC:

Oh okay, oh my God, really Really. Oh my God, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. It's share, it shares Christmas. Oh, thank you, I can't believe you did that. Why did you do that?

Harley:

I didn't bring you anything today. The reason why I did that is because you bought yourself a present this year. I did Quite recently I did, I'm guilty of doing that sometimes. And what was?

KC:

it.

Harley:

A record player and you bought the record player, so Well, I bought a Victrola.

KC:

You know Victrola's back, of course, making new things. And they're record players. Now you can connect to Sonos speakers or you know they have Bluetooth capabilities, and the one I bought was is supposed to be used as a record player and also a soundbar.

Harley:

So it came with a Bluetooth subwoofer that sits on the floor.

KC:

And that's what I like, because I miss with some record just a little record player. The bass, you know, is not there. You just get the high tones and I have a lot of great records with a lot of bass and of course all my parents and both my grandparents sets of my grandparents' Christmas records. So I wanted to have that record player before Christmas so I could play all those old Christmas records.

Harley:

So last year you went back to your family home and you saved lots of albums, vinyl record albums. Oh wait till you see you haven't seen all that. I saved that just absolutely are quintessential to the memories of your childhood and Christmas yeah, very much, and Christmas is important to both of us.

KC:

Here's what's funny is, because my mom had moved, you know, into her mother's house, but before that she had accumulated all the stuff from my dad's side of the family. So now think about this inside my grandmother's house on my mom's side, though, is all the furniture, the dishes, everything from both grandparents and from my parents. Wow so. But here's the thing. That's kind of cool or this is probably just a me thing because of my personality or the way my brain works is that we can. You can go sit with me on the floor in the basement at my house if you'd like, and we'll start going through albums, and I can tell you immediately if that was my grandmother's and grandfather's from one side of the family or from other side of the family, or if that was my folks' record. I know who had which records.

Harley:

Well, about two weeks ago it's not been two weeks quite yet Sarge and I came over to your house and we were going to drive out to a diner for brunch, right, and the diner had some bear name. I don't remember what it was called Black Bear, black Bear Diner, yes, and we were going to go get chicken fried steak and they make these great biscuits and huge biscuits. What did we wear? Oh, we all wore plaid flannel.

KC:

We all wore flannel shirts.

Harley:

At some point during breakfast the manager came over and she said did I miss the memo? Is everyone supposed to wear plaid today? And I didn't even realize that we all wore plaid, buffalo plaid on. Yeah, that was pretty funny. Yeah, it was a fun trip. It was fun, but before we left you gave us the traditional Sunday Bloody Mary.

KC:

Yes, and it was delicious as well. It was delicious, if I do say so myself and you put on an album. I did.

Harley:

A Christmas album from your childhood?

KC:

Yes, I did, and I forced you to listen to it.

Harley:

I hope it wasn't too painful, but it was not too painful. So the reason why I got this was you just got that new album so that you could play Christmas music, and I wanted you to have some new Christmas music that you could also play on your album and would be part of your collection through the years and that this now will be a Christmas memory for you. Oh, thank you, I love that.

KC:

Well, you know that Victrola also is in the record, selling business online as well. They are not one of our sponsors. We should say that first. But if you go to Victrolacom you can buy record players and albums now, and new stuff and old stuff, and I had gotten an email from them about buying the Share album and I was considering it, but I hadn't done it yet. Did you read the label?

Harley:

on it.

KC:

No, I did not. Let's see Share Christmas, her first ever Christmas album on Ruby Red Vinyl. Oh wow, tear up the town on Candy Cane High or get ready to roll Party with her friend Stevie Wonder, darling Love, michael Buble, Cindy Loper share with everyone, can you imagine?

Harley:

that she got Stevie Wonder and she I guess she she's known Darling Love for ages.

KC:

Wow, I'm sorry I have to say I didn't know. Darling Love was still around with us.

Harley:

Now when you open a record. What do you normally do when you open a record album?

KC:

Okay, so when I first get a record, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna just split the plastic With Probably like a my, a blade, a little blade. I always would use my thumbnail, oh, I might I. You know, I chew my nails, so I can't do that.

Harley:

Well, let me get your blade.

KC:

Okay, it's red, it's red. So I was just watching yesterday a video on YouTube of them taking the vinyl and pressing it into a record a Christmas record. So they had a ball of clear and then they sprinkled these little white pellets into this clear ball and then they put it into the vinyl presser and they pressed out this record so that it was clear, but it had like white little snowflake spots in this record when they pressed it out. That's pretty cool, it's fun. It's fun to watch.

Harley:

Sheryl looks amazing on the album.

KC:

She looks really good, I mean she's 77 years old. She looks like. Yeah, she looks, she's great. I you know, I saw her here just a couple of years ago when she was doing her tour here and she was fantastic, and you know the world.

Harley:

The world is so connected now and with you know, social media, and even not with social media, just with where we go on the internet and what they feed us as far as ads go. It's amazing, and so I somehow I don't know how I got to it. I saw part of an interview with Sher and she was talking about this new album that she came up with and I'm thinking, yeah, every artist wants to do a Christmas album because the residuals on it are really great. Yeah, She'll make money till the day she dies.

KC:

Sure, everyone will buy it.

Harley:

They'll love Sher and it'll it'll become part of Christmas Right, Just like Bing Crosby and Burl Ives and all those the chipmunks.

KC:

So forget Mariah Carey. Sorry to have to say it. Yeah.

Harley:

Mariah Carey. So you've got it open. Now what's that? I saw it.

KC:

You know that in my vehicle I always kept through the CD years. Did you ever have one of those? Little was a blade inside a little plastic device and you slid it along the edge of the CD and it. Oh yeah, that's how many CDs I bought. I kept one of those in the vehicle, but they were hard to open the CDs.

Harley:

They were hard to open, so I made a little tip for all the young people that have never purchased a vinyl album before. If you slit the side of it, you can keep plastic over the part that is printed, and if it has a special label on it, it'll become more valuable.

KC:

I want to keep the label Because you have to do it. Yeah, I want to keep the special label on there. There's something. And I still might put this in a sleeve. You know, I have the album. You know plastic, thicker plastic album sleeves.

Harley:

I've got an album frame at work. Oh wow, that's what you should do. Oh yeah, put it in your. Do you have a little? When you play an album? Do you have a little stand that you can put a cover in that says now playing, what do you think I do? Of course, of course you do, juan Galan, I didn't get that far.

KC:

I already have one of those.

Harley:

Oh no, it came with a signed autograph, an autograph print of Cher.

KC:

What? Oh, wow, oh, with liner notes. But the liner notes are not on the liner, which is interesting. They're in a separate sleeve. So that's kind of nice too. It's nice to have that. I love it, you know, personally I personally, that's of course personally.

Harley:

I'm telling a story. I have not seen a brand new record opened album, opened a vinyl album. I have not seen a vinyl album opened in. Oh my God. Well, when did CDs come out in 1986? I've not opened one. Since then since the 70s probably.

KC:

Or the early 80s, maybe 80s, yeah.

Harley:

Oh, no, check this out, oh my. God, oh my God. It's really red. It's beautiful and it's clear. When they said red vinyl, I was assuming that it was oh, just not see-through red. This is see-through red. This is clear. Oh, man. And look, it's got the paper label in the center. I love it. What a throwback. Yep, that's great. This is the collector's item of the next generation.

KC:

Look at my, look at the lock screen on my phone. I want you to notice how it kind of matches.

Harley:

Oh, it does Wait, let me take a picture.

KC:

It's just so beautiful. Thank you so much. I can't believe you did that. Oh, you set it down so it wouldn't make a noise, or no, that was your watch I forgot. Do I need to call you? No, so you can find your phone. This happens to be about once a week. Mr has to call me so I can find my phone. Okay, I got a pinch. What's funny about?

Harley:

losing my phone is I don't. I try not to use it at work because I'm trying to set an example for Right, right, I get that.

KC:

I did the same thing at school. Thank you so much. That's the, that's the perfect gift, so you may find something that's very thoughtful.

Harley:

You're welcome. I when I was at your and I Now. Let's go to my house so we can play it. I am the worst gift giver in the entire world Really. Yep Four. But what I thought? Oh wait, one more thing we have to tell our listeners when you put the album back in the card. So there's a cardboard sleeve and then inside is a paper sleeve that actually holds the vinyl? And when you put it back, what position do you put it in?

KC:

Well, I'm far. I've got to store it now for a while. I'm going to put the open end of the sleeve up, you know, and slide it in so the record cannot fall out of the album.

Harley:

Because if you put the sleeve in the same way as the cardboard cover, the record will slide out. Rolling out Right and oh no.

KC:

Oh, help me, Go slow, help me, I got stuck. We got stuck on some tape. Okay, there we go, everything's all right. Okay, where else? Don't panic, everything's okay, thank you.

Harley:

So I kind of thought I love it, I'm glad you love it.

KC:

I love it so much. I would have never guessed that In a million years I could not have guessed anything Particularly not weighing 25 pounds. No.

Harley:

You knew there was a paver in there, but you didn't know exactly what it was camouflaging, that's crazy.

KC:

She looks so good. She's got like little disco balls on her jeans.

Harley:

But I know it's an early Christmas present, but I want you to enjoy it leading up to Christmas. Well, thank you.

KC:

And I will too. I can't wait to go play it out. You know I'll be playing it very soon, so here's what I thought.

Harley:

I thought we would listen to the album right now. Oh, we'll listen to the whole album, okay, and as soon as the album's over, we'll come back. Okay, and we will talk about the album. Good idea. I have read reviews that say it's great, that say it's suck. So we're going to come back and we're going to talk about memorable songs and we'll take some notes while we're listening to the album and let you know what we think, okay.

KC:

That's, and the problem with reviews is just that Right, they're going to be on both ends of the spectrum, of course.

Harley:

And ours. Ours will be a personal opinion, so you have to make up your own mind about a review for anything Right, and you can either review it like a hoity-toity music critic who is looking for some brews, brilliant, excellent, new, something Right. Or you can look at it like you love Cher, like two 60 year old gay men who love Cher, who love Cher and are thrilled that she came out with an album now Right that we can listen to every.

KC:

Christmas.

Harley:

Exactly that. Yep, okay, so we will be back and KC Merry, christmas Merry.

KC:

Christmas. Thank you so much. You're very welcome, that's a perfect gift.

Harley:

Much. I think it's the end one Yep.

KC:

Did you get it?

Harley:

Yep, let me see if we're recording. Push your pop screen a little forward. That'll give you a little more indication for your microphone. It's no, towards the microphone. There you go. Yeah, okay, I'm going to line away. Okay, so we're back. That was fun, you know. Oh, I'm sorry, that was fun. It was a good listening party. Do you think that the album sounds better than listening to it on Apple Music or streaming it somewhere else?

KC:

I think it's a different sound to me. It's just a richer kind of sound, but even with a little, sometimes a little pop or crackle or you know whatever might be stuck in the groove, but it just has a different sound, yep.

Harley:

Well, we are back, and we are at the luxurious Gilpin Ranch recording studios and we have just listened to Cher's new Christmas album.

KC:

Yes, how was it for you?

Harley:

Well, I'm going to ask you that question. Oh, you always ask me the questions. Well, I know that's because I'm the question asker.

KC:

Okay.

Harley:

And whenever you want me to shut up, just say air pressure, air pressure, that'll shut me up.

KC:

Oh, I see, I know exactly what that means. Oh okay. Can I just sing under pressure, yeah?

Harley:

So you have a brand new see through red Cher album for Christmas? Yes, I do so, thank you.

KC:

Give me a little overall Overall.

Harley:

how did you think it did?

KC:

I think it did really good. Of course, not every single song is a total hit, a total smash, but generally I really like it and I think it's going to be something that we, if we're Cher lovers an album that we listen to every Christmas. Now, certainly I will, because I have my record player and my red record.

Harley:

Hey Casey, I almost forgot as I walk into the studio holding?

KC:

what is that shot glass I see in your hand. It is a beautiful.

Harley:

Christmas crystal shot glass. Oh, fancy Actually. I don't know if it's Christmas or not, but hang on a second. Entertain the guests.

KC:

Entertain the guests With what?

Harley:

Entertain our listeners. How on the bad?

KC:

joke Right off the top of my head? Yeah, I don't think I have one right off the top of my head.

Harley:

I had one and I should have written it down and it was so funny and I knew it was going to make you laugh and it made Jay laugh. Oh shoot, I knew it was going to make you laugh. It made Sarge laugh and it was just a funny, funny.

KC:

Well, I could tell you a simple one, like one of the kids would like oh, yeah, sure, okay. So what did the ocean say when Santa flew over? See you next year? No, nothing, it just waved.

Harley:

Of course, you can never guess those, and even if you come up with a good answer, that was a good answer that you had, see SDA. Uh-huh, I got it, I get it. Okay, so we're going to do a little.

KC:

Cheers to Christmas, cheers to you, cheers to me, cheers to Cher Cheers to Cher.

Harley:

I mean, can you believe Christmas is just a few days away? No, it's coming. It seems like yesterday that we released our episode on the 1st of December and we're whining about how fast the year went, and now, just this month. I mean, the weeks are just flying by. They do, they do. That's how it works now. Well, I agree with you what you said about the album, and I might intersperse some dialogue in between just responses. When I first heard the album which was actually before we listened to it together I listened to it this past Sunday and I had seen Cher on an interview somewhere, and that's how I got the idea to give you an early Christmas gift, so you just listened to it on Spotify or somewhere.

Harley:

Yeah, spotify, apple Music on the TV streamed it somewhere and I listened to the album. I really liked it. It felt like an instant likable album. I felt like the first song. Let me get my notes out.

KC:

You know it's Cher and it's what Cher's going to do kind of thing right. So if you're not partial to Cher, it's not going to be your Christmas album to listen to. You have to be a Cher lover, I think, to appreciate it.

Harley:

And let's do a disclaimer before we start. The disclaimer is unlike a legitimate record review. We are gay, we are old and Cher is a diva.

KC:

She's a diva, she's a part of our how do they say lexicon or whatever.

Harley:

She's part of our lives, I mean when I was in high school or college, I think, she was on the radio with hit songs. She started, she did her, she had her. Let's see. I did a little research and found out she was born in 1947, so it makes her 77 years old, and that alone that she could release an album at 77 that sounds this good is amazing.

Harley:

Yeah, that's really good, and you know there will be haters and there will be people that say, oh, this is boring, or that's been done, or this is just a repeater.

KC:

Yeah, there's always going to be that. That's a given that you're going to have. You know, both ends of the spectrum and somewhere in between, always Right.

Harley:

But when you're a gay baby boomer and Cher is an icon, it's perfect. Her first single that was a success was in 1964. She was 17 years old, she was already married to Sonny Bono and she did a song that Bob Dylan wrote called All I Really Want to Do, and it was such a hit a surprise hit, I guess, at 17. Can you imagine? No, that I mean back then. Now 17, you might get a start on social media or something. Right, it happens all the time, but back then it was unheard of. So they did an album. Sonny helped and worked on the first album. They worked on the first album together and the album was named the same as the single, which is All I Really Want to Do. So that was how many years ago was that? Oh my gosh, that was. Let's see, that was almost 60 years ago. And here she is, 60 years later, releasing a new album. So I was impressed.

KC:

Yeah, that's pretty good.

Harley:

She had some big artists on it. She had Cindy Lauper, darling Love, oh, darling Love yeah, that was the interesting song. Michael Buble. Michael Buble, and the one that she was most thrilled about in her interview it sounded like was Stevie Wonder.

KC:

Okay.

Harley:

Who actually plays the harmonica on this track that they recorded together. Okay, so now the album is a little different than a CD, in the sense that there is a side A and a side B. Right, I'm sounding like the old school marm again, but I'm just thinking of anybody that's not our age and never bought vinyl before.

KC:

Right, right, well, if you see it in iTunes or on Spotify, it's just gonna list the album and then the track numbers one through 13. Right, and that's gonna be that. But for you and I, when we talk about an album, we either talk about side A and side B, or side one and side two. Right, depending on how the labeling's done, it can be done either way, and there's a track one on both sides. Yes, and so then there's gonna be side A track one, and then there'll be side B, track one, right?

Harley:

So let's get started with side A track one. Okay, oh wait, do I need to backtrack a minute? Did we, did you do your shot?

KC:

No, I didn't do it yet. Okay, I was awaiting. Okay, sorry, I got too excited.

Harley:

I'm trying to move quickly. Okay, cheers. Post to Christmas 2023.

KC:

Oh, my Smooth as silk. I think I took my voice away, yeah.

Harley:

Oh Well, that is our favorite shot.

KC:

Tastes like corn.

Harley:

Yep, and guess what that is? You're right. You are right. We don't even have to say what it is. Oh, speaking of corn, one short sidetrack. Did you know there's a Broadway musical yes, I did, about corn Shucked. It's closing in January, but I would sure love to see it.

KC:

It's gonna come here, though, in 2024, so we'll go see it oh great, that'll be great.

Harley:

Okay, so back to the album Side A. The first track is called DJ Play, a Christmas Song, and for me it kind of had the style of the Believe album it had it was auto-tuned Right and you know, I don't mind auto-tuning as long as it's obvious and it's used as a special effect.

KC:

It's kind of a share thing at this point because of how popular Believe was. So I don't always appreciate auto-tune either, but just that it's her doing it and it's a thing that she has done, then I like it Right and I don't feel like she's covering up her real voice.

Harley:

I feel like she's just doing it to create an electronic sound.

KC:

Yeah, a particular sound, and we'll hear later that her voice is just fine yeah a fancy pansy dancey sound. Right, and that's what it is Right, and it's a good song. I like it. I liked it too.

Harley:

When I first heard it I said this is my favorite. This is every DJ across the country is gonna remix this Every year, is gonna be back, it's gonna be a huge radio hit. And as I listened further, there were other songs that I liked just as well, but I still have a strong feeling that instantly likable, instantly gonna be played every year and it's new and original, even though it sounds like the Believe I hope it gets remixed.

KC:

Come on, our friend Barry Harris, get on that real soon, that's right Barry Harris are you listening?

Harley:

Get on that, that's right.

KC:

Track two why don't you talk about track two? Track two what Christmas means to me? That's the one that's with Stevie Wonder, and I'm pretty sure he's probably playing keyboards and the harmonica in that song and I think that's his song. I think it's his song.

Harley:

Is it a new song?

KC:

No, no, it's an old song, cause I'm pretty sure that he did it in this in the before the 70s right. Yeah.

Harley:

I think it was 1967 actually. Okay, and he actually plays the harmonica.

KC:

Okay, yeah.

Harley:

And I don't know if I mentioned it before. If I didn't, I will repeat myself. Cher was really excited about the fact that Stevie Wonder was on her album and that he actually plays the harmonica. That's great. It's a strong song, it's a good song.

KC:

Yeah, yeah, well, I've just. It's synonymous with him and so great that she got to be able to do that with him and a lot of these songs.

Harley:

I'm realizing now that I've heard it a few times. I'm thinking back on it. They're all different genres and different styles. Styles yeah. Definitely so. Track three is run root off run. We all know this one. Bruce Springsteen did it in 1994. Believe it or not, it was originally a Chuck Berry song in 1950.

KC:

Yeah, a long long time before Before.

Harley:

I may play a little clip of that right now, just as a comparison. Okay, a little clip of Chuck Berry, then Bruce Springsteen Cause.

KC:

Bruce Springsteen didn't do it. Until when, did you say, not the 70s 1994. Oh no, is that right?

Harley:

I think it is Well, we'll verify it yeah we'll have to, because, but I'm going to do a clip, a clip of all three the original, bruce Springsteen and then Cher's version. Okay, very good. She does a great job. It's a great song. I just personally don't really like it that much. It's not my favorite.

KC:

It's kind of that original rock and roll style which is sort of not a synonymous Christmas sound to me. And they overplay it. But it's all right.

Harley:

But yeah, not my favorite. It's overplayed every year, so but am.

KC:

I going to hit the skip button on that song. No, I'll listen to it.

Harley:

No, I don't think I'd hit the skip button on any song.

KC:

No, I'll listen all the way through Right.

Harley:

So track four is entitled Christmas baby, please come home. No, that's a oldie but a goodie. Yeah, this is really old Cher, in 1963. So, cher, if she was born in 47, 57, she was 16 years old. Golly, when Cher was 16 years old she did backup vocals for Darlene Love on this original Phil Spector produced single.

KC:

I know and I didn't know that I just found that out now.

Harley:

That's amazing.

KC:

Yeah.

Harley:

This, I think, as far as the most significant sort of historically and great people and great producers Stevie Wonder's a great one, right? Darlene Love, I mean. 60 years later, yeah, it's a pretty amazing. They perform it together again, again, but this time Cher was not backup vocals Kind of. The roles are slightly reversed Well they do.

KC:

I know they say duet, but yeah.

Harley:

It's more reverse, right? What a killer track. I really liked this one. Yeah, I did too. Yeah, it has the flavor of Darlene Love in 1963, but you know, brought forward with Cher's redo of it.

KC:

I really like it, and there's a little bit of a belting vocal sometimes, so Cher still shows that she's got chops in this one, oh yeah, In fact many times in the album no auto tune, nothing.

Harley:

She sounds good.

KC:

Yeah, and I like that too, because it's not all auto tuned. If this whole album would have been auto tuned, then no, no, it would have been a flop. No, but it's not.

Harley:

I've got a question for you, ok. When you're watching a singer either perform or being interviewed on a talk show, do you ever notice their neck?

KC:

Yeah, well, you mean, am I watching for them to really be singing or to be lip syncing?

Harley:

Just when they're talking or they could be interviewing or anything.

KC:

I mean, I do notice, but that's usually why I notice is I'm seeing if they're really doing it or if they're not.

Harley:

So I'm not looking at that so much. I'm just, even if, say, james Corden or somebody was interviewing Cher, even if she didn't sing during the interview, ok, I'm looking at her neck and what I'm looking for is a strong musculature. Ok, because I think that when I think professional singers that train daily strengthening their neck muscles and their vocal cords and that kind of stuff, and for Cher to sound this good at 77, my first thought was they brought somebody else in, they used a I on her voice. They did something Right. But when I looked at her neck and saw how strong it was and how muscular her neck was, I said this woman is still singing. Yeah, she's singing every day for hours. Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing, it's pretty amazing. I think if we all had that kind of commitment to anything, to the shape of our bodies or how quick we are, computer programming or anything, I think we could stay young a lot longer.

KC:

Well, she's got that young boyfriend. We'll talk more about him later.

Harley:

Oh yeah.

KC:

So the next track is Is that the Angels in the Snow yeah track five, not to be confused with another Angels in the Snow song. Yeah, who was that one by?

Harley:

Uh Wow, I can't remember now, but I just can't remember.

KC:

I know that name has been titled to a couple of different songs.

Harley:

We looked it up. There's also a movie called Angels in the Snow. That's true, but this is a song that I think is new for the album. I believe so too, and it features. Who does it feature? Cher has a, not a co-host.

KC:

Oh no, that's a remix that you're talking about.

Harley:

No Cher With Cindy.

KC:

Loper.

Harley:

Yeah.

KC:

Yeah, no, that's not on the album. That's a different remix. They've already done a remix where they're highlighting Cindy Loper's voice. If Cindy Loper is in this version, that's on the album. She's not credited for it on the album.

Harley:

There were two songs on this album that I said DJs are going to scoop up. One of them was the first one, which was called DJ Play a Christmas Song, and the other one that I thought DJs were going to go crazy with was Angels in the.

KC:

Snow, they should. And you played a remix.

Harley:

I did find a remix. There's already at least half a dozen.

KC:

Again. Hello, barry Harris. If you have not mixed this yet, listen to Angels in the Snow and do it If you want 66-year-olds to go to the club and dance and rip their shirts off and have a good time.

Harley:

Barry Harris, you need to do a remix. Your peer group, Can I say that?

KC:

You wouldn't like that.

Harley:

I don't think Barry Harris would like to be Delete that part. Yeah, barry Harris would like to be included in the Baby Boomer late 60s.

KC:

I don't know. I think he's owning his self.

Harley:

Is he as old as us? Yeah, Older.

KC:

Well, no, no, he's closer, maybe slightly younger, but pretty close.

Harley:

So Angels in the Snow new song. It's been remixed with Cindy Lauper. I don't like this song. I thought it was just a 90s boring dance turn.

KC:

Oh really.

Harley:

I wouldn't skip to the next track, which I think is your expression, but I don't look forward to this song.

KC:

at this point I say listen to it a few more times and it's going to grow on you.

Harley:

And I got a question for you about that Do you find that if you listen to an album different from streaming and different from CD?

KC:

It's a whole thing.

Harley:

What you're asking me is a whole thing, because when you play an album, a vinyl album, you put the needle down at the first track and you go sit in a comfortable chair, or you go fix yourself a cup of coffee or a nice drink and you sit down and you listen to the whole side A and then you flip the album over and you listen to side B. It is a totally different experience.

KC:

The kids don't know why will I get choked up about this? The kids don't know that that's how you're supposed to do it. Yeah, do you remember the Max L commercial where the guy sitting in the leather chair in front of the speaker and he's being blown back.

Harley:

It's like wind is blowing at him.

KC:

Yeah, it's like wind's blowing back from them.

Harley:

That's the experience. That's the experience, and I have to say that I do not think that the current generation understands what it's like to live in a world without music. Except there was music in your car, there was music in the dentist's office, there was music in an elevator, and if you were lucky enough to have a record collection, there was music at home listening to records.

KC:

Yeah, but the process of taking a record and listening to one side and then flipping it over and listening to the other side, I mean that's how we did it. So this going on here, I'll be an old man now, this going online and finding one song and just listening to that song, I mean that's a new way of doing things and that's all right. It's all right, but if you really want the experience, and a good album.

Harley:

I'm going to talk about this a little later with another song on this album. In fact it's the last song of the album, but a good album tells a story like Pink Floyd and the Dark Side of the Moon. If you listen to side A and then side B, it took you on a journey you can't not really.

KC:

It carries you away.

Harley:

There's no point in listening to that. You put on headphones. Remember when, the first time you had those big headphones and you plugged it into your record player or your stereo or your amplifier or whatever you had at the time, and you were close your eyes and you were gone.

KC:

And things went into one ear and other things went into the other ear.

Harley:

Yeah, and a good album was one that told a story, that carried you from this place to this place.

KC:

It was a journey, it was like a trip and you got to realize that that's I mean, that's a plan too. You know, it's not just Cher didn't just randomly put these songs on this record in this order, or somebody else didn't do it, and she may have had it help with some other people, but they certainly set down and decided the order in which they were going to place these tunes on this record.

Harley:

And part of that art, and I will say it's an art and I don't think there's a lot of producers and a lot of record people that can do this anymore, because they're all focused on one song becoming a hit and making a ton of money.

Harley:

Yeah, the one hit so. But there's an art to maybe starting slow building, but if you stay too high for the whole album it tires you out. So you have to sort of have to start slow, or start high and then slow down and then bring back up again and then end with something that's meaningful.

KC:

That's what a good DJ does on the dance floor.

Harley:

You're right. Yeah, totally, it's a journey of the whole evening.

KC:

Yeah, and that's the then. If you're somewhere and you don't want to leave the dance floor, well, we don't dance anymore, because we're probably too, too brittle we might break at something. But, when we did, when we did, we wanted to stay out there. And why was that? It was because the ebb and the flow and the build, the crescendo, you know, and the rest moments, and the waves crash in and the waves roll out, and then you just want to stay, you can't let go of the experience.

Harley:

One of the best experiences I ever had with DJ dancing was an after hours club in Denver called Club Amsterdam and they opened at midnight, I think, either 11pm or midnight, and the bars closed in Denver at two, so they must have opened. Yeah, they opened at midnight or one, and so you could leave the bar and you could go there. It was obviously a non-alcoholic spot, which meant lots of people had bottles of water because there's no alcohol after two.

Harley:

So we all had water and we all know what that means. A group of us know what that means. We did then knew what that means and we would dance from 12 or one until 4am or until the sun came up. And it was one DJ and it was a journey. It started out ethereal and soft and electronic and moody and it built and if you got there early, if you were smart and were one of the first 20 people in there, you had an empty space with lights and great music. That was sort of easing you in. And as the people started filling in, the volume increased and the energy of the music increased until it was full at 2am or 3am and you were wall to wall, shirts off, sweaty, bumping into people with pounding driving, if they do it right yeah, there's that.

KC:

If they do it right it's kind of floaty. And how I see it is in the beginning. Everybody gets in and you're floating, but everybody's kind of floating at a different level, not all at the same height, but if the DJ's good, pretty soon they get you. You're floating above the dance floor, all at the same level. It's like you're all as one mind.

Harley:

It's one mind and one tribe. And if you had a good DJ and it was a good night, the entire crowd would be one tribe and you would be touching people on their head and their bodies lightly, which was just send you through the roof. We don't do that anymore. We don't do that anymore and you dance and you feel like you're part of a secret, private tribe and then you build up to this crescendo and then, as it starts to approach 3 or 4am, it starts to slow down a little bit and the music gets to be a little more.

KC:

Now everybody changes their level and everybody's feet land on the ground at a different time and people start going home.

Harley:

And shall I say one other thing? This is also the time when K comes out and bumps of K get passed around and the music is softer and you're floating and by the time you leave you're physically tired because you've danced all night. You're totally relaxed. The world is a perfect place. You've just connected on a deep spiritual level and a music level with all of these possibly strangers. Oh, best experience of my life.

KC:

And then two things after that. Hopefully, either you didn't. You took the day off the next day so you can just have a day of rest, sunday, yeah. Or if you had to work that day, it's okay because of your little secret knowledge and the thing that you did with your tribe that nobody else knows. That can carry you through the next day, because you're a little subconsciously euphoric about what you experienced tonight before.

Harley:

And when you see these people on the street after that, nothing is usually said, but there's a look and a recognition that you remember.

KC:

How wonderful that evening was.

Harley:

Best time I ever had was a night like that, and when we got out, when we went in, it was starting to snow a little bit. When we got out, it had snowed a lot. So when we left the club at like three or three thirty, whenever it was the streets were covered in snow. No one had driven on them, so the snow squeaked.

KC:

Do you know that sound?

Harley:

Yeah, crunchy, squeaky, yeah yeah, we drove home just mesmerized by the snow and the cold. It was so beautiful. We got home, we went to bed, we fell asleep and we woke up probably at six, seven, eight o'clock. Even though we were up all night, we were still kind of charged. What said to me do you want to take a bath? And I said, yes, let's take a bath together. And I grabbed if anybody listening knows what this is I grabbed the bottle of J Loob powder and we got in the bathtub and we fixed a hot bath and at the time we were living in a town home that had a skylight about ten feet over the bathtub.

KC:

Yeah.

Harley:

And it was an oval bathtub, just you know, commercial bathtub. We both fit in it really good. We laid in the bath and, bit by bit, I put a little bit of J Loob powder into the bath. Just a little bit and a little bit, and a little bit, until the bath water became viscous.

KC:

I was just going to say that word. I was going to say it got kind of viscous didn't it?

Harley:

And you could if you grabbed on with your fingers and lifted the water up. It was like it was dripping in slow motion and we'd look up at the skylight and see the snow and it was gray and it was, the bath was warm. Absolute Magic, yeah magical.

KC:

Yeah, that sounds magical.

Harley:

There's one other time in that house that sticks in my mind. I was laying in bed one afternoon and the sun was reflecting off of the windshield of the automobiles through the tree, all these trees. Mm-hmm yeah.

KC:

And the sun sparkled on the ceiling. Sparkled, the leaves danced on the ceiling and it was magical. Yep.

Harley:

Yep, that sounds nice. Yep, we have those moments. It sounds magical and music takes us back.

KC:

Yep.

Harley:

So share, sorry, share back to you. Sorry share, but you know what you just got? The greatest, you just got the greatest tangent of all time.

KC:

Your music brought back our memories.

Harley:

Brought back amazing memories. That's important, and it's because of her album and talking about this music.

KC:

That's true.

Harley:

Okay, so now we have a dramatic change at track six. I don't know how I feel about this.

KC:

Well, say what you feel first, and then I'll tell you what I feel, okay.

Harley:

The song is called Home Uh-huh. It was written by Michael Buble. It was originally done by Michael Buble.

KC:

Correct. It's been done by a bunch of people. Right.

Harley:

It's kind of sad, yeah. And I think to end side A on a sad song when you got this great up, christmas music Right, is kind of sad, yeah. But then when I think about the ultimate plan Right At the end of side A, you have to get up, you're not?

KC:

and you're not done. You're not done, it's okay, I'm not done. Yeah, and you have to physically flip it.

Harley:

Yeah, See, that's well thought out. So you get out of your chair, out of this sad song. Being home and you know that sadness.

KC:

If she put this on the end of the second side. That'd be horrible. Be horrible, we'd be done. Yeah, we'd never want to listen again. But it's on the end of this first side, on side A, so it's time to flip it over.

Harley:

So you flip it over and you put your, your stylus down and you hear and then, what song?

KC:

Right. Well, let me talk about home first, a little bit before we get the flip. I'm ready to get past yeah that's okay. I just want to say that home to me is a Blake Sheldon country song. I have to confess I honestly didn't know Michael Buble. He's not one of my listens. I don't really listen to him or have anything by him or, you know, on my phone or anything. I'm sorry, I don't have any Michael Buble. I don't. I don't dislike him or anything, it's just, he's just not in my wheelhouse.

Harley:

We have a problem in our house because Sarge is not fond of the actual singer.

KC:

Okay.

Harley:

Doesn't mind his music, likes his voice, but does not like the person.

KC:

Yeah, Okay, yeah, I don't really know much about him, but but I just I thought it was Blake Sheldon's song. It was a country song, so I was shocked and then, of course, horrified at myself that I didn't know that that wasn't correct, cause I like, I like the way Blake Sheldon does it. So this is Michael.

Harley:

Buble's song. Yes, and he actually is on this track with Cher Right and they do a beautiful job.

KC:

It's great.

Harley:

And I wonder if they driver knows Michael Buble? He is Canadian.

KC:

Like he does know. Annemarie, yeah, he's Canadian, I know he might know him Probably does.

Harley:

But it's kind of sad. It's not upbeat, but now that I'm thinking about the whole picture, right, I'm thinking I like it. Yeah, see, they do a good job, it's a great song. And then you get up because we're going to be at Tiki Yep and you're going to flip this album over and we're going to hear Side two, which is side B, rather Side B.

KC:

And the first track is we're going to. It's going to be a mind altering shift in what we're going to hear, because we're going to hear a drop top sleigh ride with Tyga.

Harley:

Tyga. Now, how did he get? How did Cher get Thank you God, always Tyga, tyga To perform on her Christmas album?

KC:

Ooh, ooh, ooh. He sticks his arm way up in the air and says I know, I know, he's 43 years younger than Cher.

Harley:

Ooh, ooh ooh, ooh, ooh ooh, I know why.

KC:

Why did she get him?

Harley:

Well, because he's probably friends with somebody, not Alexander Edwards.

KC:

Oh, you mean Cher's younger boyfriend?

Harley:

Yeah, Do you think Alexander Edwards is a real name?

KC:

I don't know. It's a good. It's a good, strong word.

Harley:

Words names together Alexander Edwards sounds to me like either a lawyer or a romance novel non-the-plume.

KC:

Well, it sounds or like you know past presidents or people that signed the Declaration of Independence, or Alexander Edwards, the fourth president of the United States.

Harley:

It's some strong names, yeah, yeah. So what can you say about this song?

KC:

Total Switch yeah, it's a total switch and I don't kind of I don't care for it as much, but I'm I'm probably of an age and of a genre of music that it's. The lyrics to me are just, are not my style. They're just too.

Harley:

Would you say they're?

KC:

Yeah, okay, but I'd say these are words that he ends, he insists too.

Harley:

Stupid, stupid.

KC:

They're just not. I'll be kinder, I'll say they're not classic Christmas sounding lyrics.

Harley:

Right, but how about this? How about this Virginia's? Okay, anybody that knows Tyga that says, oh, cher's got Tyga on her new album is going to say, wow, I maybe have to listen to her new album and she gets paid for streaming, of course, and we've just had a sad, sad song.

Harley:

But in the brilliance of the people that put this together, cher being one of them, they cause an extended pause between sad, traditional Michael Buble and then Tyga. So you get up out of your chair. There's a whole mood shift. You flip the album and then drop top sleigh ride.

KC:

Drop the beat. What?

Harley:

And here's what else is brilliant. It's the first track on Side B, so by the time you get to the end of Side B you kind of forget about it, so you're not too terribly irritated. It's perfect. So the marketing play is perfect. As a song, it kind of sucks. Okay, now this next one is you do this one.

KC:

All right, I will Side B track two. Please come home for Christmas and I know that that was originally done, maybe like in the fifties was it. Charles Brown, 1960. Oh, 1960, even Steven.

Harley:

It was an original song in 1960 by Charles Brown, all right. Brilliant brilliant song.

KC:

It's really good but and it's bluesy right Little sad.

Harley:

Uh-huh.

KC:

Yeah.

Harley:

There's a pretty good guitar solo in this new one, right? I would say.

KC:

It's good, it's good, but who is it that we know for doing that song? I don't know, not really.

Harley:

Charles Brown. Who is it? I can't, I can't think, but it sounds familiar.

KC:

Oh man, I didn't make rock and roll. I didn't do good notes like you did.

Harley:

It's a little, it's pretty, it's, it's pretty rock and roll.

KC:

Oh shit, I should know this. It's the Eagles in the seventies, yeah.

Harley:

That's the version we know. It's after I graduated, so it would be between 75 and 80.

KC:

Yeah, and that's the version that now currently gets played on the radio, right so?

Harley:

let's split it, let's say 1978. I think that might be right. Okay, very good, but oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.

KC:

Oh well, yeah, it's kind of. It's kind of bluesy and a little bit sad, but not super sad, it's just sad in a bluesy way, Like blues is supposed to be. Kind of a little bit melancholy.

Harley:

Rock and roll, kind of bluesy, particularly the way the Eagles did it with a guitar solo. But here's the best part of this song for me and I think this is why they included it on the album. This is where Cher, at 77 years old, really shows off her vocal abilities. She shows the world that at 77, she can sing like she was 40. And no auto tune. There's probably filters in all kinds of manipulations that way.

KC:

Sure, but it's good.

Harley:

But oh, you know, she is just she kills that song. It's fantastic. So you like that one, I like it.

KC:

I like it too. Speaking of like, how about the next song called I like Christmas?

Harley:

Well, it certainly tells you what you should do about this song. I like this song. The lyrics are great. I don't know how I really feel about the song. I'm trying to write this second. I'm trying to remember. Yeah, it's not my favorite. I remember this is Cher's homage. No, what would you call it? This is Cher's tip of the hat to a new country, western, oh okay. Oh yeah, she sings this song in a Southern accent, which I think is hilarious.

KC:

Yes, it sounds a little bit.

Harley:

Yeah, I'd rather hear a little bit, a little bit Tee-haw, or one of the new country singers. But listen to some of these words. Here's my favorite. Here's my favorite lyrics. Okay, I like Christmas. I like those loud, tacky lights, the ones that flash on and off and make the neighbors uptight. Yes, it's better when it's brighter. Man, you know that I'm right.

KC:

Yeah, perfect. Yeah, those are good lyrics and very, it's good lyrics, very country. I like the lyrics.

Harley:

Very country yeah.

Harley:

It's telling the story like it is. And here's another great one. I don't know which one I'm going to edit into. Here's another great lyric I like a mall Santa Claus that lets me sit on his knee. I like a big red bow and mistletoe with you underneath, because I know it means you'll be kissing me. I like Christmas. I like that jingle bells song. I like it best when my friends are there to jingle along. And isn't that the truth, right? Friends and Christmas. That's good. The lyrics are good. Oh, it's great.

KC:

It's a great song. Maybe I have to listen to it again Surprise song for me.

Harley:

Track three, side B Okay.

KC:

Track four Uh-huh, this ain't Christmas without you. Now, this one, I didn't know, is it old, is it new?

Harley:

I have no idea and I don't like it enough to even care. Okay, it's the thumbs down for me, all right, it's very auto-tuned.

KC:

Yeah, auto-tuned. It's another auto-tuned.

Harley:

It's boring and predictable. It sounds very poppy. The sounds are manufactured and sort of churned out through the music mill. Kind of one of those filler songs. Yeah, I was not pleased with that. It sounds like it's from the 90s.

KC:

I say sorry, cher. I have to say that since this entire record has 13 songs, I say that we take that one off and just have 12 songs, even Steven Six on each side, I agree.

Harley:

I think what she should do. Listen to this. How snooty is this? Okay, this is what I think she should do. She can't pull back the album. No, it's too late for that. So everybody that has the album has the missing song oh Ah, but for marketing purposes Make it special. For streaming. She pulls that song. And then she pulls one song for streaming, and that's the song.

KC:

And then we all want it, and then we all want to buy the album because we want that song.

Harley:

Yes, Next track. Everybody loves this song.

KC:

I love it. Well, I think it's polarizing. You love it or you hate it, probably.

Harley:

You know, I'd like to hear from our listeners who hate this song. Okay, because here's one of the reasons why I like it and probably why some people don't like it. This song was from originally 1953. It was done by Eartha Kitt and when it came out, I think it maybe was released in 54, maybe a year later. It's hard to tell, because when a song was written and released it's not always the same year, but 53, 54,. It was shocking to the public.

KC:

Yeah, it was a little sexually overt and yeah, there was kind of the hidden message, but not that hidden and it was running between. That Was running kind of between that orchestral time into when rock and roll music became popular, right. So it's kind of riding this line in between some genres, sort of a little bit, but of course Eartha Kitt does it in only a way. Eartha Kitt can sing a song.

Harley:

Catwoman. If anybody didn't know, Eartha Kitt Well she was perfect. She was perfect. Perfect, right, yeah, but this song, in case anybody doesn't know, it is basically about a young woman who is a gold digger and she's looking for a man who is rich and will shower her with jewels and mortgages and houses, a yacht, a yacht and everything else.

Harley:

Which is not a lot, no, but the funny thing about it is, for as much as it's been hated. Gwen Stefani, yes. Madonna. Kylie Lamogue, kylie Minogue, trisha Yearwood, michael Buble which, by the way, people say that is Michael Buble's worst song ever.

KC:

I don't hate the way he does it. I'm sorry.

Harley:

He uses words like poppy and hotties in the song. He changes the lyrics. It's awful.

KC:

He's a guy singing to Santa, a guy, so he does it using some 50s terminology, like Sammy Davis Jr, or if Bing Crosby, I don't know or Dean Martin. We're singing it, santa Pally.

Harley:

Oh, yes, he's using words like that. Yeah, so it's kind of a throwback to the 40s or 50s. I don't like it. I like it fine. It's a woman's song and the fact that a man sings it is wrong. I think it's okay. Ariana Grande does it and it is bizarre.

KC:

Yeah, that was different. And then Taylor Swift does a country version. It's a very country version.

Harley:

So, anyway, it's been included on the best and worst list of Christmas songs ever written. So there you have it.

KC:

You can make your own decision.

Harley:

Love it or hate it, it's there.

KC:

Track six Put a little holiday in your heart, featuring Cindy Lauper. That's right who. I love Me too. What did you think of the song? It's all right. It's not my favorite one on there, but it's all right.

Harley:

What's your bottom song on the whole album? Have we hit it yet?

KC:

Yeah, we did. We did. That was the. Was that I like Christmas or Christmas ain't Christmas without you? One of those two, I think I think Christmas ain't Christmas without you is the one I'm going to delete from the.

Harley:

Yeah, yeah. Well, this one I would put second from the bottom. Okay, it's got a country of a Bible sort of style. That's it. Yeah, you know, church, waving your hands around singing an upbeat, you know church song. Not real wild about this, I love.

KC:

Cher, I love Cindy Lauper song. It's okay that it's there. I'm going to listen to it, but it's not my favorite one. But also it's in the right spot because we are, we have to begin to wind down for the end of side B, true.

Harley:

So, and side B? The last track is track seven, which is coming up. Side B, what would you say?

KC:

the last track has to be Well, it has to be an ending that lets you down gently, not abruptly.

Harley:

Has to be strong. Yeah, memorable Right, and it wouldn't hurt if it was a classic.

KC:

If it had that, that Biddle-esque London sound.

Harley:

Biddle-esque yes, the British Invasion sound. Yes, yes, that's the one yes.

Harley:

Because track number seven is the song this Will Be Our Year. It's a short song and it wraps up a great album, but it was originally done by the zombies right in 1968. It came off of an album called Odyssey and Oracle. It was the second studio album by the English rock band the zombies. Now the zombies did one of my favorite songs ever, which is Time of the Season, and I think it's on the same album. Yeah, oh yeah, is it on the same one, but that was 1968. All right, well, when that song came out, cher was 22 years old, so she has picked an ending song. Perfect that, this album. Oh, by the way, the album Odyssey and Oracle. The album gradually achieved critical praise and has a cult following now and it has since become one of the most acclaimed albums of the 1960s and it was ranked 100 on the Rolling Stone magazine's best well, I should say was ranked 100th on Rolling Stones magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

KC:

Well, if it has Time of the Season on it. I mean, that's quite the song.

Harley:

So this is a brilliant final sort of play, I would say, for this album. She picked a song that is every well. She's picked a song from an album that has become a cult album, that has critical appraise, that was ranked 100th on the Rolling Stones list.

KC:

And it's short and it's short. It's not necessarily really Christmassy, but it's a good end.

Harley:

It's a good end. It will be our year. It's great.

KC:

Yeah, here's what I say. It takes the whole Christmas album, shares Christmas album and it just wraps it up in some pretty sparkly silver paper and ties a nice red bow on the end of it and we're done.

Harley:

With Curly Ribbon.

KC:

Yes, nice curls Uh-huh, kind of like the package that you gave the record to me in.

Harley:

Exactly Perfect. I would say let's in general. I'm gonna cut that. So your final Words about this album Is this gonna be one of your favorites? What's gonna happen?

KC:

Oh, it's gonna be on the top of the pile of my albums For Christmas listening, yeah, and I shouldn't say pile, because I don't store my Records horizontally, I do start them for liar.

Harley:

That is bad. Anybody that has a collection of of final LPs do not lay them Horizontal please, vertical them. Please vertical them when you're storing them or, except for brief moments, don't smash them.

KC:

Yeah, don't put any weights on them.

Harley:

Yeah, I would say this is gonna be one of my regular Christmas. Yeah, me too, for several reasons. One is share. I Love her. She's part of my whole life To I think this is a great selection of music. It takes you on a journey. If you think about it as an album side a, side b it's it really works well. And and Because I think it's good for all baby boomers right, especially Gay baby boomers, probably so Because of sexual baby.

KC:

Because of our yeah, because of our share love. Because of our share love, we share love. Yes, correct, oh, we need a t-shirt. Yeah we share, spelled with the C.

Harley:

No, it should be. I, I share love. Yeah, with shares filled with a C.

KC:

Uh-huh, yeah, I like it, yep Good idea.

Harley:

Well, I think for a surprise little episode that's not too long. I think this turned out pretty good.

KC:

Yep, that's what we like to talk about, so well, we talked about before potential you.

Harley:

You did a behind-the-curtain Segment. Yeah, you did a behind-the-curtain segment, or a little piece, I think, on the last episode where you said we have talked about taking our Hour. We did talk about that earlier. Yeah well, the recorder was off. Our using, taking our Can you say it?

KC:

we, well, we talked about taking our, our podcast and Moving it towards kind of more music-centric and and our love of music and listening and and our thoughts about it.

Harley:

So this is. This is something new for us. This is our first episode. That's about music, probably entirely music. We had a couple tangents.

KC:

We told a couple stories, but basically it was about the music. It's enormous, that is enormous, this is enormous, this is tangents.

Harley:

Well, we are enormous. Right, You're enormous, I'm enormous, and we are tangents. The big box you got today was enormous. It was enormous. Thank you again. You're welcome, but uh, yeah, so let us know if you like it or not, because If you do, we'll try to do some more music in the future. We won't do a whole album. Probably we'll just pick a, a song or two or a genre Right, and talk about it.

KC:

But I think it'd be fun, unless somebody does an album that we need to do, ooh Like maybe dolly partons rock and roll album or Maybe the village people's first album. Okay, where were you see in 1970?

Harley:

See we could do it. Mm-hmm, we should. It might be fun to pick an album that we both have strong memories about from the past.

KC:

Yeah, Uh, my friend talked to me about Sylvester today. And we got off on a whole tangent, a Sylvester tangent because I told a story you know with mighty real before on the podcast. I won't tell it again, but but you know we could definitely go there.

Harley:

I know a few Sylvester songs, but I never bought a Sylvester album. I'm trying to think of an album that I bought.

KC:

We do. You have your album still no, my ex god oh man, that's hateful. Oof village people was one of them. We need to go sit on the floor with my, with my Record albums and go through them someday and look you'd be name one from the late 70s, at six in your mind, first one that comes to mind from the late 70s.

Harley:

No.

KC:

I can't do it after high school it's too hard. I I can name a song, but I can't name an album. I like I can say Burton Cummings stand tall Made me kind of get strong and say, all right, I'm gay and I'm gonna do this and it's okay and.

Harley:

Beatles Abbey Road yeah that was a particular talk about a journey. Yeah, oh boy, that album was a journey, definitely. Here's what's funny. I think that from 1980 on we were not listening to albums so much as we were before. It began to change. Well, we started by. We saw we started to buy CDs Right and with CDs because they don't skip and you don't have to worry about the needle scratching the vinyl. You could just hit a button in advance of the next song.

KC:

Yeah, it started really before that. I think I mean albums. We kind of listen to it. It's was difficult to pick up the needle and place it on the next track on the album, so you, so you did sort of listen to the whole thing and then we went to A cassette tape.

KC:

Oh right and again. You can listen to this first side of the second side, but it was difficult to Speed through, you know, a section of the tape to get to the next one, so you pretty much listen to everything, and then from there it was the eight track player, and now we came to the spot where you could start to click ahead To different songs on the eight tracks.

Harley:

So that's where it started. Okay, I've got two albums for you. Tell me if either one mean anything. Okay, the divine miss M by bet meddler. I have that one. Okay, what about mudslide slim and the blue horizon by james taylor? I do not have that one. I'm aware of it but I don't have it. How about celebrate me home by Kenny logins?

KC:

Uh no, I'm, you know, quite familiar with the song, but I don't think I have that album.

Harley:

Okay, can you name it? Does this, is this? Yeah, getting any juices, of course. Name an album. Yeah, another one.

KC:

No, I can't do it. It's too. They're all Jumbled for jumbling in my head at the same time. Oh, really yeah.

Harley:

Donna summer on the radio. What was that?

KC:

I can think of, like a blue denim cover, elton John madman across the water. I mean, there's a few I could name you know like that. But but they're they just. They're just flipping together like as if I was going through a filing cabinet real fast, oh how about this Donna summer seasons of love.

Harley:

Did you have that album? Yes, do you still have it? Yes, I wish I still had oh spring affair summer romance.

KC:

Why don't you to ask that x for your albums back you could now. It's been long enough, just go, hey dude.

Harley:

Oh, I am assuming he sold them or threw them out. Oh, you supposed he hated me. Oh, lord, that's no good Donna summer. So the early 80s for me, late 70s and early 80s, I think most of my albums were probably, uh, disco and popular dance music. Yeah Well you probably have more country and all out and john.

KC:

My first one is probably all I bought was everything that he did. I bought it?

Harley:

What album was it with him in the white suit with the piano on the cover? What's that? Was that?

KC:

yellow brick road or I don't know. No, I don't know, I'm not sure, actually right now, but don't shoot me on the piano player, wasn't that that? Maybe is that the cover?

Harley:

No, that's not out. And john, that was another singer.

KC:

No, he has that, he does have that.

Harley:

Well, we'll have to think about this.

KC:

Okay, yeah, yeah, and that's what we'll do going forward.

Harley:

I just wanted to get this so I could write it.

KC:

Yeah, okay, okay. So we have to do one final thing. Ho, ho, ho.

Harley:

What? So, before we go, I would like to wish you and mr A very merry christmas and a happy new year.

KC:

Well, I wish you and sarge the same thing Also. We'll be doing it on christmas day.

Harley:

What we're doing, it doing one We'll be wishing each other a merry christmas. That's right. Here you and mr Are coming over for christmas day, that's correct. Fantastic, what a great way to spend christmas With close friends, right? That's great.

KC:

It sounds toasty and warm and I see a hot toddy and the fireplace in my future.

Harley:

Yeah, I agree, and I'd also like to wish all of our listeners a merry christmas.

KC:

Yes, or if you don't celebrate christmas, However you celebrate or whatever you do with that day off. I know.

Harley:

Hanukkah was the seventh through the 15th, right. So if you celebrate Hanukkah, happy Hanukkah. If you celebrate any of the other wonderful holiday rituals, I hope it was wonderful. Yes and uh, we'll see you in 2024, see you next year, starting season.

KC:

Five wow.

Harley:

Yep, january will be the beginning of season five. I can't believe it, wow. We're gonna hit a hundred episodes before we know it.

KC:

It doesn't seem that long.

Harley:

No, it's so fun. Yeah, I love it. Thank you, kc, and thank you listeners, and thank you, big fatty, for all that you've done to encourage us for supporting us. Yes, and all of our listeners and the people who have called and written in um haunt cub Fay driver Tim in alaska Um.

KC:

I'm afraid to list people. There's so many, I'm afraid I'll leave somebody out. Yeah, I'm afraid to leave somebody out.

Harley:

I don't know this guy's name. Oh what is his name? He's the one from maryland, I don't know. It's like spearfisher or something. What's this? Oh yeah he sent us along. Yeah, no, I do want to include it real quick, if we can get it can you get to crossbow or something?

Harley:

Yeah also, uh, merry Christmas to crossbow and big fatty and granny and dar dar, darwood, derwood, everybody just, and young nick less and young jonathan, everybody and the nip. And I'm very curious to see if haunt cub actually stays with the nip. I want to hear all about that.

KC:

Oh, wow, that's. That's pretty crazy.

Harley:

Patty bacon.

KC:

Oh, my god, see, that's why you can't list names, because you'll forget. And la la lauren, you can't listen to him, so you're gonna.

Harley:

And george in atlanta cut it all cut all of this? Oh, we might cut it Everybody. We're not going to name everybody's name, because we don't remember we just tried and we cut all that. We just tried and we cut all that. So everybody who's a listener, merry christmas, happy new year, we'll see you in 2024.

KC:

If you're not a listener, start listening. Bye.

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