Tom Cochrane: "Life Is a Highway" (Happy Canada Day)

"Life Is a Highway" is the ultimate pep talk to get yourself out of your rut and back onto road. Dave Kitchen joins us for his 21st episode to discuss the importance of this song to our young 1990s selves and to Canada as a whole. We cover the song's history as well as its mark in popular culture. We revisit the Tom Cochrane - Bryan Adams war of the early 90s as well. Finally, we return to the Hallmark movie category before we give you an epic road trip mixtape.  Links: Original Video Family Guy Life Is a Highway Freelove Freeway - The Office Rascal Flatts Video Pop-Up Video Thank you for being part of our journey! Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, etc., or send us an email at [email protected] to get on our newsletter! We’d love your feedback—please rate and review, and don’t forget to share our podcast with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.

Adolescent longing is often dismissed, but we remember the pain and suffering of high school infatuation all too well. Meryn Cadell's "The Sweater" captures this with both humour and empathy, and we want to make sure that we bring listeners back to this surprising hit from 1992. We explore Cadell's unique lyrical style, discuss one of the great professional figure skating performances of the 90s, and work through our own teenage pain. Thank you for joining us! Links: Official Video Figure Skating Routine A great article by Mark Edward Randall  Thank you for being part of our journey! Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, etc., or send us an email at [email protected] to get on our newsletter! We’d love your feedback—please rate and review, and don’t forget to share our podcast with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.

Inspired by a Heather's request, we are delving into the beloved 1987 hit “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle. We do our best to unravel the magic behind this quintessential pop anthem (but of course, the magic always remains). From the fascinating story behind the creation of the tune to Carlisle’s signature vibrato to the irresistible production and bizarre video, we cover everything we can for you! Official Music Video Thank you for being part of our journey! Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, etc., or send us an email at [email protected] to get on our newsletter! We’d love your feedback—please rate and review, and don’t forget to share our podcast with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.

In this episode, we record in the early morning to celebrate a song that embodies both power and vulnerability: ‘A Little Respect’ by Erasure. Join us as we embrace the early hour to discuss the profound nature of Erasure's anthemic ode to love, vulnerability, and acceptance. The dynamic between Bell and Clarke, with Clarke’s meticulous compositions (and impressive previous history) complemented by Bell’s soaring vocals (and soulful lyrics), set the stage for a powerful partnership that has spanned nearly four decades. We hope you catch the joyful vibe. Links: Official Video That live version from the early 1990s Bjorn Again Version Wheatus Version Yazoo's Only You Depeche Mode with a happy Vince Clarke Thank you for being part of our journey! Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, or via email at [email protected] (we'll start a newsletter if you sent us your email!). We’d love your feedback—please rate and review, and don’t forget to share our podcast with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.

Our friend Kahlin passed away this week and we are heartbroken. To honour her memory, we wanted to do our small part and re-post the episode she did with us from December 2023. This episode was a ton of fun and we hope you can feel it when you listen, too. We also hope you can hear the joy in Kahlin's voice and the laughter that fills the room as she reminisces about what Sugar Ray meant to her grade 6 heart in the late 90s. We love you, Kahlin!

We discuss Pat Benatar's memorable anthem "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and it's unlikely beginnings - at a pillow punching therapy session in Toronto. We also discuss our own misadventures with punching and what it means to be in the cultural zeitgeist.  Thank you for listening! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at [email protected], too. We'd love to hear from you. Please rate and review us wherever you listen, but more importantly - share our show with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn  

"There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't." - Dr. Bob Wiley, author of the renowned memoir Death Therapy. As Dr. Bob suggests, you can divide the world into two (hopefully unequal) parts. You’ll find Bill and Frank on the bright side of the world where Neil Diamond is adored. This episode sees the return of Dan Ducroix, who fell in love with the music of Neil Diamond over 25 years ago, leading him for a brief period to emulate the 1970s style of the smouldering version of Neil. He may have abandoned the belt buckles and mutton chops, but not his love for the music of the Jewish Elvis. We celebrate the most ubiquitous (ubonkquitous?) of the Diamond catalogue: "Sweet Caroline." We discuss not only the history of the song, but also reflect on singalong culture and dangers of writing a song inspired by E.T. Thank you for listening! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at [email protected], too. We'd love to hear from you. Please rate and review us wherever you listen, but more importantly - share our show with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn  

“Sweet City Woman” is a quintessential Canadian song - it contains both English and French lyrics and it celebrates Toronto while using the language of the countryside. In this week’s episode, Frank attempts (and fails) to rename the podcast, we bring back Mel Bourque to help us understand the French version of the song, and we determine if we have Canadian accents   Links: "Official" Video SCTV Canadian Film Going Down The Road - Yonge St Thank you for listening! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at [email protected], too. We'd love to hear from you. Please rate and review us wherever you listen, but more importantly - share our show with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn

It's hard to believe that this is a song from 1989 as Roy Orbison is an icon from the early days of Rock n' Roll, and his voice sounds just as powerful as it did 30 years before. We are glad to bring this song to you. We hope you (like us) are transcended to a higher plain when you hear his voice! Official Video Clips of the recording process of You Got It You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at [email protected], too. We'd love to hear from you. Please rate and review us wherever you listen, but more importantly - share our show with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.

There is something thrilling about a long-established band having a hit late in their career. They say pop music is for the youth of the day, so seeing a group of 40-year-olds continue to run with the wildebeests warms the heart. The Whispers proved that they can certainly “Rock Steady” with their younger peers. It also certainly didn’t hurt to be gifted an incredible jam by the soon-to-be legendary songwriting team of Babyface and L.A. Reid. We’re glad you’ve joined us for our celebration of The Whispers legendary hit, “Rock Steady!” Links: Official Video Babyface Demo Babyface live performance Babyface's Re-imagined "Rock Steady" You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at [email protected], too. We'd love to hear from you. Please rate and review us wherever you listen, but more importantly - share our show with your friends! Our theme music is by the incredibly talented Ian McGlynn.