The latest edition of Wonder Why features an artist whose musical career was short-lived due to a more successful television career. That’s not really a spoiler given the prolific nature of Tracey Ullman’s body of work over the past thirty years. Taking her comedic career out of consideration, could Tracey Ullman’s musical career lasted beyond her one hit in 1984?
That’s the focus @chadsmart and @MikeDeKalb examine. Breaking down Tracey’s album “You Broke My Heart in 17 Places” track by track, with discussion about Stiff Records staff and song writer Kirsty MacColl the dots are connected to artists and people ranging from the Beach Boys to Alice Cooper to Charles Manson. And of course, there’s talk about The Simpsons.
Wrapping up the episode, Mike and Chad give their picks of the month. What do they think you should be listening to at the start of 2019? What are the options for next month? Will Mike say “interesting and fascinating?” Will Chad work in a reference to the band Extreme? All these questions and more you weren’t asking are answered in the episode.
Positive Cynicism EP. 65: Judging the Past Through the Eyes of Today[ 43:24 | 59.6 MB ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (594)
Should the past be held to the standards of today? That’s the topic @chadsmart and Travis Yates (@PopCultIQ) tackle in this installment of Positive Cynicism. While attending PolitiCon 2018, Chad heard a panelist talking about immigration and criticizing the evil white men who conquered America. This got Chad to thinking if Christopher Columbus hadn’t “discovered” America or the other explorers and early settlers hadn’t been the first ones to America wouldn’t whoever tried to settle the land have committed the same atrocities? Not that that excuses the behavior, only that can we judge people’s actions in the past if they don’t line up with the standards of today?
With that as a jumping off point, Chad and Travis jump all over history to discuss how attitudes and societal norms have to be taken into consideration when looking at the past. As society advances and things that were once deemed okay are now viewed as wrong, instead of demeaning the past, should use the situation as a teaching moment. For those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Positive Cynicism EP. 77: Wonder Why; Tracey Ullman [ 1:16:29 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (684)