Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Alan Cross KOTJ: Toronto Mike'd #307

Episode Date: February 21, 2018

Mike and Alan Cross catch up before they play and discuss his ten favourite songs.

And right now, right now, right now it's time to... Take out the jams, motherfuckers! I'm in Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm from Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm a Toronto mic, wanna get the city love My city love me back, oh my city love Welcome to episode 307 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery located right here in Etobicoke. Did you know that 99% of Great Lakes beer remains here in Ontario? GLB, brewed for you. And propertyinthesix.com, Toronto real estate done right. And Paytm, an app designed to manage all of your bills in one spot.

Download the app today from paytm.ca. I'm Mike from torontomike.com, and joining me this week to kick out the jams is music historian and broadcaster Alan Cross. I'm very impressed that you have those sponsors. I mentioned that the last time we were here, and I am very impressed. I'm impressed that you're impressed.

I have had 1.5 million downloads of my ongoing History of New Music podcast in the last year, and it remains unsold. So, good for you. You're fishing in the bigger pond. I think you're looking for Molson's or Labatt's. Those are the beer sponsors.

Listen, I would take the corner pub. But anyway, that's another long, sad story. Well, look, I'll make some calls. I got my phone out here, and I apologize for that because I have a friend in Singapore who is about to have his first child, and the bride is being induced. So at some point over the next 90 minutes,

I could have an announcement. Okay. I'm just going to leave it open here. That's exciting. Yes, it's real-time stuff here. You know, the first time you came over here, you took a call. That's how we ended the episode.

You had to take a phone call. Really? Yep. Oh, okay. I know, I recorded it for posterity. But I'm glad you're back. A lot of people are excited to hear Alan Cross kick out the jams. Because you are the voice of our music.

You're the authoritative... No, what you're saying is I've been around so long, I have become the Toronto music equivalent of William Shatner. Yes, and you know Bill Shatner's a buddy of yours, right? Yes, he is. He is. You last long enough, and you stay in the same business long enough, and you achieve some sort of notoriety, whether you deserve it or not.

So I kind of think that's where I am these days. Well, it's better than a kick in the butt. Well, it's better than being unemployed. Well, I get worried on days when you're coming over because I check my news feed, did any musician die? I get nervous because that'll tie you up for like 48 hours.

It will. I actually have started, and this is not a word of a lie, I've actually started sleeping with my cell phone because usually these things happen in the middle of the night. And when the texts start coming in or the calls start coming in, I got to answer them. So rather than miss the call, I'm doing something that I never thought I'd ever do, and that's

sleep with my cell phone. Okay. Let me ask you this. You're employed by a chorus radio. No, I'm not. Chorus? No, I'm self-employed. You're self-employed.

So what is your official affiliation with CFNY? Chorus is my biggest client. My company is called Braindead Dog Productions. I am an independent broadcaster, consultant, writer, broadcaster, all that kind of stuff. And Chorus is my biggest client.

Okay, you know, I think I thought you were like a permanent full-time employee at Chorus. No, no, I have been over the years. Of course, of course. But no, the last little while, things have evolved to the point where I'm a self-employed single businessman, which allows me to do a lot of other things

and write off a lot of stuff. So I kind of like it this way. I'm a terrible bookkeeper. I am awful with things like receipts, but I have a very good accountant. Do you have a non-compete of any sorts? Oh, yes. So you can't go do something for Indy 88 at the same time as you're doing something for 102.1? There's all kinds of exclusivity that's in our deal,

that's in our agreement. Okay. So you won't just do the global stations and all the chorus radio stations. You could go do like a Bell Media property. I could,

depending on the nature of the request. If it's, for example, somebody dies and every network in the world wants to talk to me for whatever reason, yes, I will.

The only thing I have to say is, you know, just identify me as the host of the ongoing history of new music. And of course, is happy. Gotcha. Gotcha. Is it right? You were doing making the rounds because of Fergie's national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game? You know, there was a couple of things. Yeah, I was. Here's the problem.

It was Family Day long weekend and President's Day in the United States. Not a lot of news. So Fergie flubs the national anthem for the NBA All-Star game and it becomes this giant story. So the first person, I guess, on everybody's list of people to contact for a music story is me. So all of a a sudden i'm just trying to have a family day yeah i really am just trying to have a family and you know emails and phone calls and but think about it's one thing okay bowie just passed away we got to get cross like i get that that's in your wheelhouse or whatever but you know fergie did a weird rendition of the star spangled banner at an all-star game we need cross like i don't't know. I know. It's a disconnect there.

I know. It's a disconnect to me too. But if I don't do it, somebody else will. And I've worked too long to end up in this position as the go-to guy that I... I probably should say no to a lot of these interview requests, but I just don't. So the Fergie anthem doesn't dilute your brand at all.

There's no... No, I mean, the idea is to be somebody who brings cogent analysis to the world of music and certain areas of the pop culture universe, and that's what I try to do. Well, the next time a member of One Direction quits, I hope you get the... You know what? I don't get a lot of that.

I'm just trying to think. I think they know not to call me on boy band stuff. I'm just trying to think. Fergie's close. We're getting there. Yeah, band stuff. I'm just trying to think. Fergie's close. We're getting there. Yeah, I know. I'm just trying to remember if anybody has ever called me about a Bieber thing. I don't think so.

Oh, that's coming. I guess they figure that, no, no, he's got his limits. And whatever they are, they've defined them for me. Oh, that's funny. Let me tell listeners, though, because we're kicking out the jams, and I'm super excited. But if you want to go back and hear the ongoing history of Alan Cross, I can say that, right? Yes, you can. No cease and desist?

No, that's fine. about his days at CFNY 102.1, the ongoing history of new music, Martin Streak, Dean Blundell, Edgefests, Indie 88, Courtney Love, the future of terrestrial radio and more. That episode was 5724. And then you came back with your buddy. You're still friends, right? Michael Hainsworth is still a good friend. Sometimes, you know, with those couple friends

that, you know, it's kind of like, it's kind of tough. Like, if you get tired of the person or whatever, like, what do you do in that situation? But you guys are still happy-go-lucky. Oh, we are. We rarely are in the same room together, so that probably is... That's good for a relationship. It is, as a matter of fact. When we do our

podcast, he's in East Toronto, I'm in Oakville, and we connect on... We've got this thing called Zencaster now that we really like. And yeah, we never have to see each other. That's ideal. I won't let you Zencast in here though.

I make you make the drive, but that's okay. That's episode 249. And it's described as such. Mike chats with Michael Hainsworth and Alan Cross about the return of Geeks and Beats. And that's still going strong. Yes, it is.

Michael's career in radio and television and what's new with Alan since episode 66. And that episode was an hour and 41 minutes. So everybody go back and listen to 66, then 249, and then get back to this one, which I think is 307. So tell me what's new. So you just explained that relationship with The Edge,

but you're still doing ongoing history of new music? Yes, I am. I am doing a lot of TV narration. I'm doing a lot of corporate narration. As a matter of fact, this morning I did a whole bunch of pickups for a script that helps fertilizer salesmen and fungicide salesmen plot the rebates that certain farmers who have escaped weeds may, never mind. It's just, it's the driest thing ever. So I do a lot of that. I do some TV consulting,

you know, writing up some pitches here and there. I do some commercial work. What else do I do? Well, I hear you. Like, I mean,. We're going back a little bit here, but I'll be taking my kids to the science center and you'll be the voice of the rock and roll exhibit. You just pop up all over the place. Yeah, anything that has to do with music. People call me and ask me if I want to participate in some way. Great, fine.

And this is the freedom that being an independent contractor allows me to do as long as there's no conflicts with what I'm doing with Chorus. It's great. So I get to experiment and try all these different things. I'm also working for a channel called Vintage TV. Who is your cable company here? Rogers. Okay, channel 700.

700, easy to remember. Vintage TV is a music channel based out of the UK, and it's kind of like the television version of Mojo magazine or Record Collector or one of those serious British magazines where it's Kardashian-free. It is completely celebrity-free. It's all about music and music fans.

And it is based out of London, not too far away from the BBC in London. And it has a worldwide reach, both online and over satellite and terrestrial. We're trying to get it on Bell and Cogeco and a bunch of other providers here. That's been a bit of a slow go, but it's a really good channel,

and if you are either on Shaw out west, you can see it, or if you're on Rogers Cable 700, you can watch it here too. And that's been a lot of fun because it's been forcing me to expand my musical palette. I spent a week in Nashville for the second time in six months interviewing country people because CMT has stopped running country music videos and it has become just a more or less a lifestyle channel.

So Vintage has stepped in and is now running blocks of country music videos and country music interviews. So I've been to Nashville a couple of times in the last six months interviewing everybody from Conway Twitty's daughter to the Brothers Osborne. Cool. I got a question, a few questions from Twitter. This one's from somebody who goes by the name GDB. No idea. from Twitter. This one's from somebody who goes by the name GDB. No idea.

Ask Alan Cross if The Edge will ever bring back in one form or another Spirit of Radio Sunday. I would like them to. I don't know. Ultimately not my decision. If I were in charge,

I would do something like that Sunday evenings right after Ongoing History. I'll suggest that again. Let's see what they say. Yeah. You'll have to get a new host, though. Scott Turner has left the chorus family. Yes. He is now working for New Cap. Yep. And he's the program director at The Move. Scott is the guy that actually trained me when I moved to CFNY. He was the first guy I met. It was a Sunday afternoon in September of 1986,

and Don Burns dropped me off at the studio and said, here's Scott. You ask him anything that you want to ask him about who this radio station is and who their audience is, and he will tell you. So Scott was my introduction to CFNY. Okay, a couple things there.

First of all, he's one of the nicest human beings on the planet. Scott, oh yeah. Crazy. How was he spelling his name back then? Was it S-K-O-T? It was still S-K-O-T. Because now it's S-C-O-T.

Oh, he's changed it. Yeah, he does it. No, it was definitely S-K-O-T because back then we actually had to sign our music logs and I would often follow Scott and it was S-K-O-T. Okay, and you mentioned Don Burns and I was actually going to ask you, because last time you were here, I played an old clip of you, and I won't do that to you again. Yeah, and I didn't even recognize my voice. And this time, if you don't mind, I'm going to play a very brief clip of Don Burns and just ask you to speak about Don for a moment.

To Natasha and Ancaster from Enos, pronounced like it sounds. John Fox stars on fire, exclusive to you from 102CFNY. And as promised, just about 55 minutes worth of music for you tonight. Don Burns sitting in for the live Earl Jive with Big Audio Dynamite. Some Interferon, New Model Army with No Rest. FM with Naish the Slash at the top of the hour. Boy, I was really impressed. I'd never seen them before.

And when they performed a couple of months ago at the Diamond Club, I was really impressed. They were really on, really good show. And I hope that they're around for a while again. Before the top of the hour, we heard from the Lotus Eaters. And the name of the song is You Don't Need Someone New. The person requesting it wasn't quite sure of the title, but he knew the sentiment for Ashley and Tammy. That was not one, but two girls this guy's got.

Before that, from the World of Wonders LP, the new one from Bruce Coburn and an excellent album it is. I mean, really fine. Calypso's sort of track called See How I Miss You. And we began at the top of the set with Heaven 17 and We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thing and that's to

Gordon at the Sunoco Station at Highway 10 and Steels from Jim who says, Hey, we don't need this fascist groove thing, Jack. Don Burns. Can you tell that he was an old-time Top 40 DJ? You know,

I mentioned earlier I would hear your voice all over the place, and sadly Don Burns is no longer with us, but his voice was all over the place. It was. Don was the voice of global television for a while. Don did a lot of TV commercials. Don did a

lot of narrations. There was one narration that he did for, uh, the Royal Bank of Canada. They have a cruise every year and he was the, the voice of God that did all their meetings and, and everything else on the ship when they were at sea. And, uh, I've inherited that gig from him. Oh, wow. Yeah. I miss Don.

Don was the guy that ultimately hired me. He was the one that vouched to David Marston for me. Don was a larger-than-life character, extraordinarily generous, loved music, great sense of humor, and he was a friend to the end. Yeah, even hearing his voice, yeah, you miss him. I think at the very end,

he was doing some pizza, like Boston pizza ads and stuff. you miss him. I think at the very end he was doing some pizza, like Boston pizza ads and stuff. It's possible. Don was at a radio, and he had been Dr. Trance for a while. He was doing the DJ thing. He really got into techno and the whole rave thing. And then he was out of radio permanently. He was also doing some close harmony singing.

He was doing some community theater, and he was doing whatever voice work came his way, and he ended up getting quite a bit of it. Another question, actually. I like this one. Somebody wants you to speak about CFNY's dark ages. This is about 30 years ago, 1988, when the more commercial sound creeped in. And this person mentioned, you know, it's been scrubbed from the web. Like, we can't find that wonderful audio of you trying to, you know, back sell a Milli Vanilli track. Yeah, I don't know if that ever really existed. I'm sure in my basement someplace there's a cassette that's dried up that may have me doing that sort of thing. place. There's a cassette that's dried up that may have me doing that sort of thing. What happened was that

CFNY through the 80s had gone through a number of ownership changes. And then there was another ownership change, a big one, where let me see if I can get this right. Okay, because I'll help you if you stumble. Okay, I think what happened was

Rogers purchased no, let me back up. I think what happened was Rogers purchased. No, let me back up. Yeah, we, okay. Selkirk had been purchased by McLean Hunter. And then Rogers purchased McLean Hunter. But because Rogers already had too many radio stations under CRTC rules,

they put CFNY into sort of like a blind trust for about nine months until they could find a buyer for it. Now, during those nine months, the management who, I mean, everything was frozen. Nobody was hired. Budgets were frozen. Everything stayed the same. During those nine months, the people that were in charge decided that they were going to do whatever it took to turn the station into a ratings powerhouse so that when the new owners, whoever they may be, would allow them to keep their jobs. That, I guess, was the plan.

And that's when a bunch of people were brought in to say that this old alternative thing, the way you guys were doing things, it's not going to cut it. So we are going to play more of the music that more people know and that more people like. So I remember walking in, and there were all these new songs on cart back then on tape and one of the first songs I had to play was from Taylor Dane and I remember thinking oh my god this is not this is not good and then there you know there was Madonna there was New Kids on the Block there was Martika I mean, it was this weird amalgamation of top 40 and alternative. And you can just imagine what the audience, the super loyal audience, how they reacted. This would be, I guess, 89 into 1990. And remember, we had an Edge Fest that year, and some fans actually hired a plane to tow a banner behind it and fly

over molson park and i think it said bring back the spirit of radio and there was a guy named larry and larry was the guy that was sort of the ringleader of this whole thing and uh but it had a happy ending because when the new owners took over, they went to the people that changed the nature of the radio station and said, look, we bought a blue car. You painted it red while we were expecting a blue car. Goodbye. So all those people disappeared. New management was brought in, and we went back to normal.

And Sean has a question. He wants to know, let me get this right, I would love to know what his top five, okay, Desert Island disc, can you do this off the top of your head? You must have been asked this a hundred times. Yeah, first Donny H. Nails record, Pretty Hate Machine, I would do the first Stone Roses record, I would do

the Who and Who's Next, I would do Miles Davis, Blue and Green, and I would do, Davis, Blue and Green and I would do I'm going to say Fleetwood Mac, Rumors and that's an evolving one, that fifth one sure, that's fluid we call it yeah, it's very fluid, extremely fluid

Andrew Ward wants to know if there's any jams that give you flashbacks to Kennedy Road or experiences with Mars Bar oh, all kinds of stuff I listen to a lot of online radio and I listen to Six Music, BBC Six. And you just played Don talking about 717 and fascist groove thing.

I was listening to Six Music the other day and they play that. And they play a lot of the stuff from that era. You know, New Model Army and some non-traditional Smith's music and all kinds of stuff. I think I mentioned this before, but when CFNY, then called The Edge, moved from 83 Kennedy Road South to downtown Toronto to 1 Dundas West, the thinking was in 1985 that vinyl was dead and no one was ever going to need vinyl ever again. Vinyl was a curse that needed to be eradicated from the planet. So what they were

going to do, rather than take the CFNY library and move it to our downtown location, they were just going to throw it out. And I wouldn't have that. So on the last possible day, I rented a Ryder truck, I backed it up to the radio station, and I took about 10,000 records home. I know, I never get tired of that story. And I have those 10,000 records in my basement,

all lovingly alphabetized next to a brand new stereo that I bought last year, a two-channel stereo specifically for listening to vinyl. And if you ever listen to Chris Shepard or Don Burns or Mars Bar or Live Earl Jive or any of those people, and you remember songs like Fascist Groove Thing from Heaven 17, I have that exact piece of vinyl, the record that you heard, the record that they played in my basement.

That's amazing. Now, I've had a bunch of CFNY people on this show, and I don't want to get the wrong person. I believe it's Ivor Hamilton. That's who I think it is. But somebody's, I told this story to somebody during a recording and they think they've got a bunch of these albums themselves. All right.

So Ivor's got some too. Okay. Now let me explain. Ivor and I are very good friends. Ivor was the music director for a very long time. Ivor is now the VP of catalog marketing at Universal Music Canada.

So he has a stupidly large record collection in his house in North York, or in East York. And it's much bigger than mine because he worked for a record company. Yeah, but it's all Bon Jovi albums, right? No, no, no, no. He goes and, you know, Family or Caravan has a box set. And there's one copy sold in Canada, went to Ivor. Or, you know, he's a, he's a huge Mott the Hoople fan. So there's going to be a Mott the Hoople reunion on July 1st this year.

And she says, we gotta go, we gotta go. So, um, anyway, he's got thousands of records and thousands of CDs. And this is, this is a true story. He has a will. I have a will. So it is written in our legal wills that whoever goes first gets the other guy's records. This is why he's running marathons. This is why he's running marathons. And my wife is encouraging him to run marathons because the last thing she wants is for him to drop dead. She'd rather you drop dead. And have to deal with filing all of Ivor's records

in our house. Yes. Oh, that's great. That's fantastic. Ivor has kicked out the jams too, by the way. If you're looking for something to listen to, his jam kicking was pretty epic. He's got some esoteric taste, yeah. Speaking of your wife, CFNY listeners want to know, how is

Mary Ellen Benninger? Well, as of today, and today is February the 21st, yesterday she started a brand new job as a communications person at the Ontario Energy Board. Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, that's great. And she's still writing? She's still writing.

She's people, and is it M. Stone? Is that the- Emmy Cross. Emmy Cross. I'm so close to it. Who's Emmy Stone? Oh, I'm thinking of Emma Stone. She's an actress.

E-M-M-E-C-R-O-S-S. Go to Amazon. You can see all the porny books that she's written. Humble and Fred told me recently a little story that Mary Ellen Benninger wouldn't partake in their silly games. There were a couple of silly games that she would not partake in. Yes. But wisely, she was above that nonsense.

She was above. The fart jokes. Yeah. Yeah. There were a couple of things where, yeah, it was just, I'm not doing this. Well, she was serious news. Come on. She was.

And you got to remember that back then, you know, at one time, CFNY had a newsroom of 11 people. There were 11 people in there. And this is like Stafford's in there? Yeah. Is it like Stafford's in there? Yeah, there was Stafford and Mike Cancelera and Pamela. Oh, there were so many.

Freddie P. doing sports? Freddie P. was doing sports. And then there was another guy doing part-time sports. Oh, no, it was huge. And that was part of the CRTC rules back then, is that you had to have so much news coverage on your FM stations. So it was required that we had a... And the other thing was the station

was officially licensed to Peel region. So we had to spend an awful lot of time covering news out of Peel. Right, you're a Brampton station. Brampton station. And that required, and we would start news at six o'clock in the morning

and end it at eight o'clock at night. And there would be news all weekend too. It's funny, I had John Gallagher in here recently. He just wrote a book. And he was talking about

the golden age of sports comments in Toronto. And he was running down the list of people who delivered like four to five minute sports commentary every single day.

Yeah, yeah. Like he was doing it, Freddie P, a bunch of guys. Yeah delivered like four to five minute sports commentary every single day. Yeah, yeah. Like he was doing it, Freddie P, a bunch of guys. Yeah, there was a lot of sports commentary and there was a lot of commentary of all sorts because there was so much spoken word required by the CRTC under the FM regs. Right. And all those regs disappeared in the 90s

and as a result, all this stuff was pared back. Ongoing history of new music would not exist had it not been for those particular regs. And frankly, when the regs disappeared, the show should have disappeared because it was no longer required. But here I am.

Well, it was too popular. We would have been protesting like Larry back in 1989. I just finished writing episode number 817. Wow. And does Robbie J still do the production?

Yes, he does. He's coming in to kick over the jam. Oh, good. And I've got his, what is the term you say? Production by Rob Johnston. Technical producer. Technical production by Rob Johnston.

That's the clip I got. I mentioned the word Stafford. Do you have any comments on, and do you know anything about the 640 changes? I don't. I went into the building yesterday. There was a big organization that's happening with the radio division. I'm in the dark. I have no idea.

Again, I'm not an employee. Right. So I'm going in this afternoon, so maybe I'll find out something later. So what I do know is I know Mike Stafford's going to be the new morning show. Honest to God, news to me. And Matt Gurney, who's one of the current morning show hosts, I think he moves to 9 o'clock. I'm not sure what's happening with Supriya. She's maybe moving to television.

I have no idea about her. But anyway, Stafford to Mornings is the big change. I cannot comment because I don't know. It sounds like you know more than me. It could be breaking news for Alan Cross. Yeah, you could be breaking news. He kicked out the jams, and that was a lot of fun, Mike Stafford. All right, everyone listening, go to patreon.com slash Toronto Mike.

Do it now. Give what you can. Help crowdfund Toronto Mike. So interesting people like Alan Cross are forced to come over and kick out the jams with me. The beer, you mentioned sponsors. Great Lakes Brewery has been a fantastic sponsor,

so please don't poach them. I know you have the power. It's like Jolene, right? The song Jolene. No, we don't have the power. Don't give us all that kind of credit, no. But you do have the beer, and that's going home with you. Please share with Mary Ellen.

You know what? I'm taking this to the station after we're done here. Okay, cool. And that'll be, yeah, I'll do that. Yep, share the love. They're good people, Great Lakes Brewery. There's a pint glass,

and you actually have the new pint glass because it's got color in it. He added some color to it. I do use the pint glass, and you actually have the new pint glass because it's got color in it. He added some color to it. I do use the pint glass that I got last time. I'm a big fan of pint glasses. Yeah, and you're supposed to pour your beer in a pint glass. Yes, you are. There's a whole thing.

See, I don't drink an awful lot of beer. Well, I don't drink any. I'm a scotch person and a whiskey person. Right. Last time you were here, I had my first martini. That's right. Michael brought his martini gear. And my first martini, and it was dirty. Oh. Last time you were here, I had my first martini. That's right. Michael brought his martini gear. And my first martini,

and it was dirty. Oh, he didn't eat dirty martini. He's an idiot. He's an idiot. Don't, when it comes to martinis. He won't hear this. We can call him an idiot. He knows.

He actually knows. We have fights in restaurants, loud fights, when we do get together about the veracity and, you know, of the dirty martini. That's great.

That pint glass is courtesy of Brian Gerstein, who's with propertyinthesix.com. Brian has recorded a message for you, Alan, and there's a question at the end of it, and I can't wait to hear the answer. So let's listen to Brian. Propertyinthesix.com Hi, Alan.

Brian Gerstein here, sales representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Mic'd. If you or any of Mike's listeners want in on another one of PSR's exclusively sold condo projects, have I got one for you. 1181 Queen West at Gladstone will be located near the site of the new Queen West Transit Hub. I have renderings, floor plans, and pricing. Queen West at Gladstone will be located near the site of the new Queen West transit hub. I have renderings, floor plans and pricing.

Call or text me at 416-873-0292 to get access as it will sell out quickly. Alan, as a huge Beatles fan who just kicked out my own jams with Mike and easily could have placed slots one to 10 with them. Which Beatle do you think had the best post-Beatles career, from a purely musical standpoint and not from who sold the most? Oh, there are two kinds of people in this world. There are John people and there are Paul people.

I am a Paul person. I always have been. I like Paul stuff with the Beatles. I like Paul stuff solo. I like Paul stuff with wings. And any time I have an opportunity to go see Paul, I do, because when he launches into Hey Jude, there are healing properties there. He can change the weather with that song. Wow. There are a few George people, too. There are a few George people. Randy Bachman has just released an album called By Randy, By George, or By George, By Randy. So he believes that George didn't get the appropriate amount of credit when he was

working behind Lennon and McCartney. And like, okay, in any other band, George Harrison would have been the dude. But when you're working against Lennon and McCartney, you're going to fall to third place. And a lot of people will say that he was highly underrated. Not a lot of his songs made it onto Beatles records, but if you listen to Here Comes the Sun, if you listen to While My Guitar Gently Weeps,

if you listen to Taxman, I mean, these are solid songs, and George does have his supporters. And you're a Paul man, and I think, I hate to bring his name up again, but I believe in that Kicking Out the Jams episode,

Stafford makes the claim that George Harrison has the best solo career post-Beatles, I believe, as he made fun of Freddie P for Loving Imagine, which he thought was like a, he thinks it's a corny piece of...

I think it's a corny piece of music too. But in terms of musical quality but yeah you can't go wrong well you know i i don't know we could have a death match on that one we really could that's a great question you can ask that you don't even have to ask the musical experts that question you can ask anyone that question it's always fun to me paytm.ca now i've been talking about paytm.ca for months now, and you know it's a free online bill payment service that I love. But let me tell you about my promo code, which gets you $10 off your first bill payment.

Just when you're making that bill payment, click the promo code button, put in Toronto Mike, all one word. Instantly, you get $10 in Paytm cash, which you can use towards any other bill. So sign up at Paytm.ca, download the app, use my promo code TRONOMIKE, and you can thank me later for the free money. You can do that, Alan. I did that.

Ten bucks just waiting for you to claim it. Sold. Sold. Alan, are you ready to kick out the jam? let's go, I'm all set Thank you. We'll be fighting in the streets With our children at our feet In the morrows the day worship will be gone And the men who spur the song

Sit in judgment of all wrong They decide and the shotgun sings the song I tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution. It's not angry that the change all around. Pick up my guitar and play. Just like yesterday. Then I'll get on my knees and pray.

We don't get fooled again The Who won't get fooled again. This is the most perfect rock song ever written. It has everything and more. Got a great riff. Got a great lyric. Great guitar solo. Lots of drums.

The best scream ever recorded in the history of rock and roll. And it's timeless. This song is 1971. It can come out at any time in the next 1,500 years. And it would still be valid. I cannot get enough of this song. I believe this is the most perfect rock song ever written. And great in headphones, because you get that left and right channel thing.

It's interesting, too, because this album has been remastered in a number of different ways. And it's currently in something called MQA, which is Master Quality Audio. And that is a way of going through the sound chain and determining exactly how the song sounded in the studio with the equipment available at that time in 1971. And basically, it folds it into this digital file, kind of like a folding protein and then it's

unfolded at the other end. And when you hear the MQA version of this song, you know that there's an acoustic guitar playing all the way through the song? I did not know that. You can't hear it in this particular version because of the way it's mixed and the way it's compressed. But I heard this

song once and it was on an $80,000 stereo. But there was so much more. It was like hearing the song for the first time. And if you are at all into high fidelity, and I pray that high fidelity is going to come back after so many decades of people listening to crappy MP3 files,

MQA audio is outstandingly good if you have the right gear. And $80,000. No, you don't need the $80,000. Oh, good. You don't. I mean, you need a good stereo. See, here, let me explain.

Yeah. Okay, if you grew up in the 60s, in the 70s, 70s for sure, music was everything to you. We had no video games. We had no internet. We had three, you know, We had no video games. We had no internet. We had three, you know, I had three TV channels. The only thing that we spent our disposable income on was music.

So it was albums and stereo equipment for our rooms and for our cars. And me and my friends, when we were 14, 15, 16 years old, we would go to all the different stereo stores in Winnipeg, 15, 16 years old, we would go to all the different stereo stores in Winnipeg pretending to be interested in big JBLs or Surin Vegas or any other of these high fidelity speakers and equipment. Because we loved the accurate reproduction of sound. And that's where all our disposable income went.

Then, of course, we got into the Walkman and cheap headphones and those bloody awful horrible Beats headphones and MP3s and all the rest of it. And we've gotten away from what good music or what music really sounds like sonically. And now we're starting to see with high-res audio, HD audio, MQA, and some other things, we're finally starting to see people realize that there's more to music than what comes out of a crappy set of earbuds or your laptop speakers. And that's part of the reason the vinyl revolution has taken off, because there are certain things encoded in a good vinyl record that you just can't get from anything.

I need to let you know who else has kicked out The Who. Brad Fay, who covers for Sportsnet, he actually also kicked out Won't Get Fooled Again, so he agrees with you. Good. Ivor Hamilton kicked out Young Man Blues by The Who. Yeah, he would be a Live at Leaves guy. Yeah, I can see why.

And Brian Gerstein, who gave you the pint glass, had Bubba O'Reilly on his list. Same album. And my buddy Elvis had Pinball Wizard on his list. That's an interesting pick. I don't know if I, okay. You know, sometimes, when was this? I was once asked at a job interview,

and it was, okay, Alan, Beatles or Stones? And my answer was neither. That got me a job. There's a cut scene from Pulp Fiction. It was cut, and I'm trying to remember. It was something like that. I think Mia Wallace says to John Travolta's character, Vincent Vega, everybody's either,

it wasn't Rolling Stones or Beatles, it was Elvis or Beatles, I think. Everybody's either, he said, you're an Elvis guy, he was an Elvis guy or a Beatles guy. But the who is the correct answer. And that's how you get a job, if you ever get that question in a job interview. What was that job interview, though?

I can't remember. But if you really want to freak out somebody who asks that question, reply, the kinks. Hold on, let me bring this back up a bit here I like how you picked it you hear the acoustic guitar there fade away but that acoustic guitar is actually playing through the entire song and this is an old

Hammett organ that's gone through an old synthesizer called an ARP and I asked Pete Townsend about it once and he says I don't remember what I was doing when I came up with this. It just sounded cool. At least he's honest about it. But this is not a synthesizer.

It is an organ through a primitive synth. And that synth didn't even have a keyboard. Now, there must have been a radio editor to this song. Oh, there was. It's terrible. I actually have, I bought a rough trade. I was with Oh, there was. It's terrible. I actually have...

I bought it at Rough Trade. I was with Ivor. I bought the Japanese edit of Won't Get Fooled Again from Rough Trade Nottingham for 45 pounds. I don't know why. What is it, like four minutes long or something? 425. Keep doing this thing.

One more time. And here comes the scream. Yeah! The new boss Same as the old boss 1971, done to analog tape on a 16-track machine that Pete Townshend owned. If all your jams are that long, you're going to be late. Yeah, I know. Let's kick out.

Oh, well, we do have a problem with a couple of them. Okay. I didn't realize that there was a time limit here, but okay. Continue. Eight and a half minutes here. Okay. This is the Stone Rose's last track on their debut album from 1989. Is it March of 89 or March of 59?

Whatever it is. This is the Eye on the Resurrection, which is basically a song of two parts. And we'll just play the melodic part first. I hear you knocking down my door And I can't sleep at night Your face, it has no place Diolch yn fawr iawn am wylio'r fideo. I don't need anything from you I don't care where you've been Or what you plan to do

Turn, turn, I wish you good There's a time and place for everything I've got to get it through Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod a'i gwneud yn ystod y cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod a'i gwneud yn ystod y cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod a'i gwneud yn ystod y cyfnod. Peidiwch â chyflawni eich gair, dwi ddim angen unrhyw beth ohonoch. Don't waste your words, I don't need anything from you I don't care where you've been or what you plan to do Stole me, what can't you see?

You're a low on nowhere, watch no baby who'd love better than Your tongues are too long I don't like the way you slurp and slurp Upon my every word Don't waste your words, I don't need anything from you I don't care where you've been or what you plan to do I am a resurrection and I of the light I couldn't ever Play myself

I hate you as I Lie Cynhyrchu'r cerddoriaeth I never put myself to hate you as I fly Okay, here's the best part. The last half of the song is just this wonderful jam with Manny, Rennie, and John Squire and produced by John Leckie. And it is one of the greatest jams to end a record. I Won't Get Fooled Again actually ends Who's Next. This ends the Stone Wars' debut record. guitar solo We'll be right back. guitar solo Thank you. guitar solo Thank you. Just glorious.

Was it love at first listen for you? Yeah, I remember when the Stone Roses record came into the Edge Studios, well, CFNY Studios, back in, it was May of 1990. And the first song that we heard was She Bangs the Drums. And I remember thinking, oh my God,

what is this? And I played that record, and I never do this, but I played that record, it was three minutes, 45 seconds. I played it four times in a row because I couldn't believe

how good it was. I see your next jam is Indigado de Vida. No, it's not. Don't lie. No, but it's another long one, but I think that's more time to hear your voice. So I think that's a good thing.

Let's kick out your third jam. Okay, it has to be the live version of this. Sometimes you can see a couple so close together it gets hard to distinguish. This is Peter Gabriel from the Us Tour and his version of Secret World. There are a number of live versions here. How long does one run?

We got eight minutes to go. Now the album version is okay, but to see the band perform this song live, especially on that particular tour, magical. This unsheltered place Till I could see the face

Behind the face All that I've done before I've left no trace. Down by the railway side, in our secret world, we were colliding. In all the places we were hiding love. We were hiding love What was it we were thinking of? So I want you to wash your hair I want you to wash your hair Underwater, unaware

And the plane flies through the air They think you didn't have to choose it That I alone could win or lose it In all the places we were hiding off What was it we were thinking of? In this house of made-believe Divided in two like an alimony You put on and I receive Down by the elmwood side In our secret world we will collide

In all the places we were hiding love What was it we were thinking of We'll be right back. I'm a wind in his tongue In the round and round And the heart in his groin With the stairway stand With no guilt, no shame Cynhyrchu'r ffynion Cynhyrchu'r ffynion Cynhyrchu'r ffynion Cynhyrchu'r ffynion

Cynhyrchu'r ffynion Cynhyrchu'r ffynion Cynhyrchu'r ffynion guitar solo Shaking it off Breaking it off Breaking it off Making it up In our secret world Thank you. Seeing things that were not there On a wing, on a prayer In a state of disrepair

Down by the railway siding In our secret world we were colliding In all the places we were hiding What was it we were thinking of? Mr. Steven Ross Cymru, Cymru, Cymru We are the human race Shaking it up Breaking it up. Breaking it up. Making it up. In our secret world. You can buy one concert DVD by Peter Gabriel's Secret World Live.

And watch it just for that song. Because it is so outstanding the way they use it to end the show. I was, in 1992, I took some contest winners to see the rehearsal before the opening night of the Secret World tour. And this was in Rochester, New York, at the War Memorial Auditorium. And it was the full show. Front to back, complete with all the stage pattern, all the effects. And there were 60 people

in the audience. And I was one of those 60 people. And that remained the transcendent concert experience of my life. It's times like this I realize I should have a little camera in here just to take footage because it was kind of wonderful to watch you get lost in that song.

All three of those songs, just completely gone. Yeah. Completely gone. And those three songs, Won't Get Fooled Again, I and the Resurrection, and Secret World, the live version,

are songs that I go back to again and again and again. And I go back to them when I'm happy. I go back to them when I'm sad. I go back to them when I'm bored. I go back to them when I'm sad. I go back to them when I'm bored. I go back to them when I need calming down, when I need pumping up. Those are the marks of a good song for me.

And everybody has their own. The power of music. Let's hear jam number four. Okay. Nine Inch Nails. I remember seeing Trent Reznor open for Peter Murphy at the old RPM Club in Toronto. And about the time he launched into this, and we had no idea who Trent Reznor was, we had no idea who Nine Inch Nails were. But by the time he launched into this song,

everybody had stopped talking at the bar and was facing the stage. And we were all thinking the same thing. What is this? Got money, I'll do anything for you. Got money, just tell me what you want me to Got money, nail me up against the wall Got money, don't want everything, he wants it all No, you can't take it

No, you can't take it No, you can't take that away from me No, you can't take it No, you can't take that away from me No, you can't take it No, you can't take it No, you can't take that away from me Head like a hole Black as your soul I'd rather die

Than give you control Head like a hole Black as your soul I'd rather die Than give you control Bow down before the one you serve You're going to get what you deserve Bow down before the one you serve

You're going to get what you deserve God, money's not looking for the cure God money's not concerned about the sick among the pure God money, let's go dancing on the backs of the bruised God money's not one to choose No, you can't take it No, you can't take it No, you can't take that away from me No, you can't take it, no, you can't take it, no, you can't take that away from me.

No, you can't take it, no, you can't take it, no, you can't take that away from me. Headline for all, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control. Headline for all, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control Headlock for all, black as your soul I'd rather die than give you control Bow down before the one you serve You're going to get what you deserve Bow down before the one you serve You're going to get what you deserve

I'm going to get what you deserve. I'm going to get what you deserve Head like a hoe, black as your soul I'd rather die than give you control Head like a hoe, black as your soul I'd rather die than give you control Head like a hoe, black as your soul I'd rather die than give you control Head like a hole, black as your soul I'd rather die than give you control Bow down before the one you serve You're going to get what you deserve Bye. See, that comes out today, still sounds fresh.

That's 1989. Great record. Pretty hate machine. You ready for jam number five? Okay. You ready for jam number five? Okay. This is one of my favorite opening songs on any album because it comes off as a manifesto of who we are

and what we achieve and hope we achieve. A bunch of snotty, going nowhere hooligans from the north of England. And for just one night, they're going to go and be rock and roll stars. The day's been just too fast for me I need some time in the sunshine I've got to slow it right down The day's been just too fast for me I live my life for the stars to shine People say it's just a waste of time Then they said I should feed my head

That to me was just a day in bed I'll take my car and drive real far And I'm concerned about the way we are In my mind my dreams are real Now I'm concerned rock and roll star Tonight I'm a rock and roll star I live my life in the city There's no easy way out

And that's living just too fast for me I need some time in the sunshine I've got to slow it right down And that's living just too fast for me I live my life on the spotless yard People say it's just a waste of time Then they said I should feed my head Well that's not what it means, just a day of it

I take my car car and drive real fast Not concerned about the way we are In my mind my dreams are real Not concerned about the way I feel Said I, I'm a rock and roll star Say yeah I'm a rock and roll star Say yeah I'm a rock and roll star

You're not done with who I am Look at you now You're all in my hands tonight Mae'r cwmpas yn cael ei ddod o hyd i'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o'r cyfnod o I'm a rock and roll star Tonight I'm a rock and roll star We'll be right back. It's just rock and roll It's just rock and roll It's just rock and roll It's just rock and roll It's just what we're brought It's just what we're brought It's just what we're brought

It's just what we're brought It's just what we're brought It's just what we're brought The only thing that disappoints me about that song is the ending. They should have just faded out on the chorus. I've been mad. It's fine. Your former colleague, Bob Willett, who's become a very good friend of mine, was very upset at the recent Liam show at the...

Not the Sound of Canada. What is that now? Rebel Night? Rebel. Yeah, I didn't go. I was on the verge of going, but I thought, no, I remember when Liam was singing for Oasis, and I was such a big Oasis fan that I just could not go and see him turn in a performance that I knew would be

substandard. You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. No encore under an hour, he says, just sort of disappeared and say goodbye. Yeah, that's it. I love him as a quote machine, but as a performer, I mean,

a lot of these British bands are terrible live. I mean, I saw the Stone Roses at Maple Leaf Garden, at Madison Square Gardens a couple of years ago, and they were just, you know,

they were tight, sounded good, but just boring. Now, here's a plug for you. I recommend everybody listen to the ongoing history of new music. I think it was a two-parter, but the Gallagher Brothers episodes.

Because sometimes I go biking with your podcast on. And I like that you now play a little of the music. Yeah, we can't do that. We can't play the music. Don't ask. Let's just not go there. I won't tell on you. But yeah, I know.

Hey, if Ivor Hamilton hasn't told on me... I know, you're okay. All right. I like this next jam. Let's kick it. Oh, boy. I have had this song on every single iPod and iPhone I have ever owned,

beginning with a 4-gig iPod Nano. No, iPod and iPhone I have ever owned, beginning with a 4-gig iPod Nano. No, iPod Mini. iPod Mini, a silver iPod Mini. And I remember when this band first came out. This is I'm on the Road. And I remember thinking, how could a band come out of nowhere so fully formed, so proficient, so professional, so tight.

And they remain one of my all-time favorite Canadian bands from the 1990s. And this song, which is not quite sonic, is them at the top of their game. I think some will be surprised you have I, Mother Earth on your jam list. I think so. And I'm a big fan of them. I'm actually with you, one of my favorite kind of 90s camcon bands right there with rusty But it always seems about sensibility Not losing listening, no I'm not getting started What's real in the art school, what's real in the white room Has yet to tell my conscience

Who to trust, my thoughts, where to love You're oh so sorry So it's so fantastically boring, yeah Your refashioned heart Being real is one thing Being nothing's something At this point, there's something wrong Your chemically expensive hair Money that we wear

Forget us, what it kind of makes you say Only animals are friends, surreal friends To this side The science, the embryonic See what you are, I'm not quite sonic It sounds like my body Say I'm a moronic I'm not quite sonic

It's nice, it's periodic See what you are I'm not quite sonic It sounds like my body But you all are not quite done it And now, take my money Say I'm my own money Not quite done it I love you. I am the one who's holding you I'm trying to get you out of my mind I am, I am the one who's taking you Oh, oh, oh

Oh, whoa, whoa Whoa, whoa, whoa Whoa, whoa, whoa guitar solo Now you're tiny but I'd like to reach that point where I can say Yeah, I can tell my conscience to trust my thoughts with Oh, you're all so tiny That's nice, that's embryonic See what you are, I'm not quite started It's down to the body body See my whole body, not quite started It's nice to be periodic See what you want Not quite started

And now It's my body Say my body My body Not quite started Whoa Yeah Whoa Yeah God damn, that's a good song.

Playing so well on that track. I was even a fan of Edwin's solo stuff. You know, Edwin was a very good singer. And again, a lot of this stuff happened towards the end of the 90s when the bottom fell out of the music industry and a lot of these people just had no place to go. The music industry was flowing with money through the 80s and 90s when the bottom fell out of the music industry and a lot of these people just had no place to go. The music industry was flowing with money

through the 80s and 90s, and when that money dried up, it dried up fast, and there was a lot of collateral damage. We lost a lot of good artists. But he's a hell of a bartender right here. That's what I... I don't know. I heard that, too. I can't answer that question, though. But he might have a part ownership in the bar, for what

that's worth. But let's kick out another jam. Oh, for God's sake. Okay. What time is it? Well, tell me. You know, you tell me.

All right. Okay. So this is Television Marquee in the 1978 title track of that album by Tom Verlaine

and Richard Lloyd. This is Jazz for punk rockers. And the song runs about 10 minutes. Not starting to notice a bit of a thing here, that I like long songs with multiple movements. Epics. Epics. Here's another one. How the darkness doubled I recall Lightning struck itself

I was listening Listening to the rain I was hearing Hearing someone else I was hearing, hearing something else guitar solo Just waitin' I know it's sacrilegious to speak over this, but if you want to share anything about television, because of all your bands, this is the band that you hear the least about.

Yeah. Again, the CBGB group. Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine actually went to Hitler Crystal, who was hanging a sign outside this place in 1973. They realized the bar was closed on Sunday nights and said, you know, could we play? And we'll take the door.

We'll charge a dollar. We'll take the door. And he says, okay, fine, go ahead. But just remember that the name of the bar is CBGB Omfug, which is Country, Bluegrass, and blues. Did I get that right? Country, bluegrass... Whatever.

Country, bluegrass, and blues, and other music for Ormondizers. That's what it says. And he didn't want rock and rollers in his club, but then television started this thing on Sunday nights, and all of a sudden, all these other people started gravitating towards CBGB, and suddenly it was ground zero

for the entire punk rock revolution of the 1970s. And it was because of these guys and television that it happened. Did you watch the HBO show Vinyl? Yes, I did. I liked it. There were some flaws to it, but I you watch the HBO show Vinyl? Yes, I did. I liked it. There were some flaws to it, but I really enjoyed the series. I think they turned it

a little bit too much into a detective procedural, but as for trying to capture the moment of the 1970s when it really was sex, drugs, and rock and roll, I think they did a pretty good job. I loved it, and then, of course, they canceled it. I think it did a pretty good job. I loved it

and then of course they canceled it which is the sad thing. After one season. Yeah, right. But I thought it was pretty darn good. I did.

I enjoyed it. I watched it every week. My wife didn't get it. No, my wife didn't get it either. Yeah. And she's like, she didn't get it and I was like,

I just was loving it but maybe it's a dude thing. I don't know. Maybe it was and then a lot of other people were saying, well, it's not historically accurate. Well, no, it's inspired by, and it does

touch on certain things like the Mercer Street Arts Center collapsing and the New York Dolls and the rise of disco and the rise of hip-hop. It worked for me. And it gave us a much-needed Andrew Dice Clay

comeback. It did. It did. But of course he's dead by episode two. Right. Spoiler alert. Jazz for punk rockers. I like that description. Yeah. Pretty much what this is. Four guys in the studio. Bass, drums, guitars. That's it. This whole album is really

quite good. I recently bought a reissue on a 180 gram vinyl at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles. I've had this on my stereo. It does sound really good and it does have that 1970s hiss in the background for that extra authenticity.

If you're looking for another HBO show, I'm enjoying The Deuce. Yeah, I tried to do that, but as my wife says, hmm, it kind of devolved into, are we going to see Maggie Gyllenhaal's boobs this episode or not? And once she said that,

it was like, yeah, I guess kind of. So now I'm binging on a bunch of stuff on Netflix. Have you seen Peaky Blinders? No, I heard it's good, though. Is that Cillian Murphy? Yes. It's extremely good. Very violent.

Very good. I'm watching Altered Carbon now. I'm a big fan of Counterpart, which is a weekly series now. And I want to binge that so bad. It's a great thriller. Well, he spent... I mean, I loved Oz. So before The Wire,

I'm pointing to the box set over there. Because speaking of The Deuce, I like The Deuce because Wire actors just show up because it's the same guy. But before The Wire, I loved Oz. One of the most violent shows on television.

Seriously, one of the most. And J.K. Simmons as the Nazi. Yeah, Schill Oz. One of the most violent shows on television. Seriously, one of the most. And J.K. Simmons as the Nazi. Yeah, Schillinger. Schillinger. Oh, my God. He was just, he was. He's amazing. And if you saw Whiplash, he was basically Schillinger, the guitar, the drum teacher, or the band leader.

Have you seen Baby Driver? Yes. It's very good. I loved it. Have you seen Baby Driver? Yes. It's very good. I loved it. There is a sequence where they have a shootout to Hocus Pocus by Focus. And the editing for that six and a half minute

segment is outstanding. Outstanding. I had to run it back a couple of times to show where the edit points were with the musical stabs. It worked so well. My favorite part of the song is coming up here right away. It's almost...

We're getting there. Do we have how many songs after this? Three more. Okay. I'm sorry if I'm taking up so many... It's a marathon, not a sprint. guitar solo guitar solo We'll be right back. guitar solo guitar solo I remember how the darkness doubled I recall lightning struck itself

I was listening, listening to the rain. I was hearing, hearing something else. And another 10 minutes. That might be the longest jam kicked out. I think it's actually closer to 12 minutes. There's been a couple of Dylan tracks that have gone 11, 12 minutes. Yeah, we don't need to hear a 12 minute Dylan track. Let's kick out your 8th jam. 7 minutes plus.

A short 7 minute ditty. What does this say about you, Alan? What this says about me is the drum sound. This was recorded in an old mansion called Headley Grange. John Bonham's drums were set up in a stairwell to get that extra echo. And a lot of people have been trying to replicate the drag, the slight drag on John Bono's drum part here and they've never really been able to do it exactly.

And the reason is because Jimmy Page pitched down the drums by a fraction of a percent to give it that slight offbeat feel and combined with Bonzo's natural ability to play behind the beats, that slight offbeat feel. And combined with Bonzo's natural ability to play behind the beat, you end up with this. And it's very, very difficult to replicate. guitar solo If it keeps on raining

Love is going to break If it keeps on raining, love is going to break. If it keeps on raining, love is going to break. When the levee breaks, I have no place to stay. Me and old levee, taught me to read that morning book. guitar solo I'm gonna make you feel bad When you're trying to find your way home You're gonna, you're trying to go If you're going down south There's nothing worth the deal

If you don going outside, there's nothing work to do If you're going over Chicago guitar solo guitar solo Crayon won't help you Crayon won't do you no good ¶¶ Oh, last night I sat on a living moon Oh, last night I sat on a living moon I'm thinking about my baby and my loving heart guitar solo Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Going I'm going I'm going to Chicago Going to Chicago Saturday I can't take you Going down I'm going down now Going down

I'm going down, I'm going down now I'm going down, I'm going down now I'm going down, I'm going down I'm going down, I'm going down I'm out. Everybody exhausted yet? Epic. We'll use that word, epic. All right. What else we got?

I don't even remember what I submitted. Buckle up. Personal favorite. Here we go. Okay. Two minutes, 57 seconds. In, out. Nobody gets hurt. I can't stand it I know you're playing it

I'm a sin and shame This water deep I can't stand What you're running in Cause you're crystal All ain't so crystal Blinzo While you're sitting

Back there I don't know why I'm not the spoken Thorn in my side Oh my god So So, so, so So listen up, cause I can't say nothing You shut me down with a push on your butt But you're all out and I'm gone I tell you now it's sabotage. I'm out. We'll be right back. I can't stand it I know you're planning I'ma set a trace

This water taste But I can't stand Rockin' when I're playing it I'ma set it straight, this is what it takes But I can't stand rockin' when I'm in this place Because I feel the strength, because you're all in my face But make no mistakes and switch off my channel I'm money rich when I blow up the handle What could it be? It's overrun You're scheming on a big sabotage. Perfect combination of punk, rock, hip-hop, and rap.

It doesn't get any better than that if you're trying to push all those styles together. And another plug for ongoing history of new music, I thoroughly enjoyed the Beastie Boys episodes. I was so sad when Adam Yacht died. I mean, he was my favorite beastie, and when I heard he had this cancer, I grew up in a town where a guy had the same kind of

cancer, and I knew that despite the brave face that they were putting on, I knew that it was going to be a tough one to beat. It was sad. Let me just share with the audience that Norm Wilner, who writes for Now Magazine, he had Intergalactic on his list. Owner of Great Lakes Brewery, Peter Bullitt, had Slow and Low.

Interesting. Okay. And Ed Keenan, who writes for the Toronto Star, he had Shake Your Rumpa. Okay. Yeah, beasties you can't go wrong with. Something for everybody there. I agree. Let's kick out your final jam, Alan. I read the news today, oh boy

About a lucky man who made the grade And though the news was rather sad Well, I just had to laugh I saw the photograph He blew his mind out in a car He didn't notice that the lights had changed A crowd of people stood and stared They'd seen his face before

Nobody was really sure he was on the house floor I saw a villain today, oh boy The English army had just won the war. A crowd of people turned away, but I just had to look. Having read the book, they'd love to turn you on I'm going to bed. I found my coat and grabbed my hat Made the bus in seconds flat I'm way upstairs and had a smoke And somebody spoke and I went into a dream Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah I read the news today, old boy 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire Though the holes were rather small They had to count them all Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the armhole They'd love to turn it all ¶¶ That was recorded at Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios in the spring of 1967. And if you go into Studio 2 now, it looks almost exactly the same as it did 51 years ago. I had a tour of Abbey Road a couple of times.

And I'm walking through studio soon, and I'm looking at the walls and the ceiling and the old microphones that are lined up against the wall in the old control room. And there's this old stand-up piano up against the wall. And I asked Gloria, the woman that was showing me around, she goes, what's that piano? And she goes, oh, that

was one of the pianos that they used in the final chord for A Day in the Life. The other four are around here somewhere. You you know she just drops it i just drops it like that and um i was looking at this old rca microphone it was about a foot tall one of these old ribbon microphones and i said wow that must be from the 40s and she goes yeah that's probably got john john lennon saliva inside he he really liked that particular mic, that mic there. Wow. And the more you study the Beatles,

the more you realize how absolutely extraordinary they were as musicians, as songwriters, and as people in the studio. That track, A Day in the Life, was recorded on two four-track machines involving bouncing tracks back and forth and back and forth. And we heard the stereo version, but it was actually recorded initially in mono. What we heard there was an artificially channeled stereo version that came later.

But if you have vinyl, if you're into the whole vinyl thing, you've got a turntable, go and get the vinyl. See if you can find a reissue of the mono version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and listen to that song. And it sounds actually better as a mono recording than it does as a stereo one. That's my favorite Beatles song. Yeah, it's stunning.

I mean, John Lennon actually wrote the first part of the song after reading the newspaper. Paul McCartney had this little bit in the middle that he didn't know what to do with. And so they just kind of put them all together and hired a whole bunch of musicians. And the musicians were told, okay, uh, you string section, what you're going to do is

you're gonna start really low on your fretboard and you're just going to go all the way up until we say stop. What notes are we supposed to play? Don't play any notes. Just, just saw way. Well, we're professional musicians. We, we need notes, no notes.

Just start at the low end of your neck and bring it all the way to the top, and then I'll tell you when to stop. And they were so confused at those two crescendos there. I'll do this really quick because as you can imagine, the Beatles are a very popular band

when it comes to kicking out the jam. So really quickly, Dave Hodge picked Norwegian Wood. Steve Simmons did Hey Jude. Edward Keenan did Revolution. Ron Hawkins from Lowest of the Low did Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.

Larry Fedorek did Rain. Freddie P. chose In My Life. Norm Wilner chose I Want to Hold Your Hand. Mike Wilner went with You Won't See Me. Mark Hebbshire had Revolution. And Brian Gerstein and Andrew Stokely also picked A Day in the Life. Okay, I was going to ask if there

was anybody else. Somebody had to. Thanks for doing this. You're welcome. Sorry I took so long. Are you kidding me? I just got to spend 90 minutes with Alan Cross in my basement with our headphones on listening to your 10 favorite jams and you telling me why you love them. That's the

perfect day. Excellent. Glad I could help. And that brings us to the end of our 307th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Alan is at Alan Cross. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer.

Propertyinthe6.com is at Brian Gerstein. And PayTM is at PayTM Canada. See you all next week when my guest is Steve Anthony.