Sick Burns!: An 80's Podcast
Two Gen X'ers take a critical look at the songs of the late 20th century’s best known decade -- the 80’s -- breaking down lyrics, considering whether they hold up in a 21st century context... and delivering some choice critique, aka sick burns.
Episodes
24 episodes
Safety Dance by Men Without Hats
"The Safety Dance" is a song by the Canadian new wave/synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in 1982. It hit #3 on the U.S. charts the following year. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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55:29
Mr Roboto by Styx
"Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung of the band Styx, and was featured on the band’s 11th album, Kilroy Was Here, which also became a rock opera. The song hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1983 and reached ...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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1:06:49
Rocking Authority: We're Not Gonna Take it by Twisted Sister
We’re back from long hiatus with one from the Sick Burns vault! Recorded in summer 2021, this episode features a dive into systems of power, their latent hypocrisy, and that feeling of adolescent elation that comes from giving the finger to bot...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:13:09
Tina Turner: Simply the Best
Between multiple interviews, a biopic and a broadway show, Tina Turner's story is well known. But there's an HBO documentary about her and it confirms that she is the queen of rock-n-roll, the empress of resilience and the grand duchess o...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:10:27
Cold War Chess & Show Tunes: One Night in Bangkok
Cold war chess matches and show tunes collide in "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head. The song went to number one in many countries and topped out at #3 in May 1985 in the U.S. and Canada. The song was a single from the concept album “C...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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1:05:16
What a Way to Make a Living - Dolly Parton's 9 to 5
The American treasure that is Dolly Parton wrote “9 to 5” as the theme song for the movie of the same name, in which she co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The song topped the charts in 1980, tapping into women’s growing frustrations i...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:19:42
The Alleged Murder of Godfather of Soul James Brown
When the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown died on Christmas Day 2006, his cause of death was listed as heart failure. But intrepid reporting from CNN’s Thomas Lake has surfaced dozens of unanswered questions about Brown’s life and final hours, m...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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43:51
Pandering to America: Huey Lewis and James Brown List Cities
There's nothing a big stadium concert crowd loves more than hearing the name of their city shouted by their favorite rock star. In the 80's, a few performers figured out how to work the names of many U.S. cities into hit songs, in what can only...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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1:28:59
A Very Special Christmas - Super Boffo Bonus Episode!
In this Very Special Episode of Sick Burns we look at one of the biggest charity records of the 1980’s -- a decade full of charity records. “A Very Special Christmas” has been a holiday juggernaut since the first album was released in 1987. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:27:12
The Material Girl: Madonna’s Marilyn Moment
"Material Girl" was the second single from Madonna’s ridiculously successful 1984 album “Like a Virgin,” peaking at #2 in 1985. By borrowing some powerful imagery from another iconic blonde (Marilyn Monroe) for the music video, Madonna earned a...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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1:14:20
The Cultural Bouillabaisse of Red Red Wine by UB40
Red Red Wine charted for British reggae band UB40 twice in the ‘80s, once in 1984 and again in 1988. UB40 brought a “modern beat” to this cover of reggae artist Tony Tribe’s 1969 version of Neil Diamond’s 1967 hit about a guy drowning his...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:07:07
The Aphrodisiac of Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc
Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina” went to #3 in the U.S. in 1989, written by Young MC and inspired by a Flavor Flav catchphrase. Whether it’s a love potion, an aphrodisiac or a date rape drug is left in part to the listener to decipher. One thing ...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:08:04
Dire Straits' Money For Nothing and the Problematic F Word
Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” went to #1 in the US and Canada in 1985. Driven by frontman Mark Knopfler’s strong guitar riff and an iconic guest vocal from Sting, it was incredibly popular on the new music television channel, MTV. This was ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:16:32
Cult of Personality by Living Colour
Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” went to #13 in 1988, inspired in part by media-savvy actor-turned president, Ronald Reagan. The band drew notoriety for their melding of heavy metal and funk with a timely reference to heavy-handed leadersh...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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1:06:53
Little Pink Houses in My Hometown of Allentown
This episode "Little Pink Houses in My Hometown of Allentown" is a "threefer" on the death of the American dream. Several big 80’s hits by prominent rockers detailed the decline of industrialized jobs and the death of middle America...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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1:16:51
Mexican Radio by Wall of Voodoo
While some might chalk L.A.-based new wave band Wall of Voodoo’s big hit Mexican Radio up as a novelty song, it touches on some surprisingly relevant themes. Inspired by the Mexican “border blaster” radio stations the band listened to as they d...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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57:57
Taunting Virtue with Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes
Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant was a hit in 1982, reaching number 12 in the US and number 1 in the UK. How did Ant shape this common taunt for the excessively virtuous into an infectious hit? By coupling a toe-tapping rhythm with a super sexy, pun...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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53:02
Fat by "Weird Al" Yankovic
In this episode, we unpack “Weird Al” Yankovic’s hit 1988 song “Fat,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” and discuss how it mocks heavy people in a way we now know as “fat-shaming.” While accordions and pop music may seem like strange bedfell...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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1:14:17
The Adorable Cynicism of Richard Marx's Don't Mean Nothing
In this episode we discuss Richard Marx’s breakout hit, Don’t Mean Nothing (1987). It may be one of the one of the most cynically painted rock portraits of Hollywood in the 80’s, with surprise guest stars on back up. There are tangents galore i...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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56:20
The Racist Background of Puttin' on the Ritz
In this episode, we discuss the racist background of the 1983's Puttin' on the Ritz. While it was something of a novelty song when Dutch singer Taco Ockerse took it to number 4, it has a big backstory. It was originally written by great America...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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38:08
She Bop by Cyndi Lauper
Did Cyndi Lauper's hit song She Bop deserve the caution placed on it by the Parents Music Resource Center when it was released in 1984? Was Cyndi being coy about the real meaning of "bop" to get past the censors? How does its supposed or real m...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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51:04
Asian in the 80's: Turning Japanese by The Vapors
"Turning Japanese" by British pop band The Vapors was a big hit in 1980, relying on the "oriental riff" -- an instantly recognizable musical shorthand for Western ears. The riff is found in several hits of the '70s and '80s - can you spot it? W...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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47:24
Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf
Technically recorded in the 70's, Paradise By The Dashboard Light found its way onto thousands of 80's mixtapes with a thrilling combination of teenage car sex, 50's nostalgia and... baseball? How does the story stack up by today's standards? L...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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33:24