Dave's Side One

Today on Dave’s Side One: Diesel’s Watts in a Tank (1980), a personal memory behind “Sausalito Summernight,” and a listening challenge that gets beneath the familiar song. An accidental discovery preserved on cassette. What cassette, record, or recording do you still keep because of the memory? Listen to Dave’s Side One wherever you get your podcasts — and be sure to subscribe!

Today on Dave’s Side One: The Breaks’s The Breaks (1983), a personal memory behind “She Wants You,” and a listening challenge that gets beneath the familiar song. A chance encounter becomes a family gift. What song did you discover in the strangest place? Listen to Dave’s Side One wherever you get your podcasts — and be sure to subscribe!

Today on Dave’s Side One: 707’s 707 (1980), a personal memory behind “I Could Be Good for You,” and a listening challenge that gets beneath the familiar song. An opening act that stayed in your memory. Which opening act impressed you more than you expected? Listen to Dave’s Side One wherever you get your podcasts — and be sure to subscribe!

Today on Dave’s Side One: Gary Wright’s The Dream Weaver (1975), a personal memory behind “Love Is Alive,” and a listening challenge that gets beneath the familiar song. The sound of two 45s on a new stereo. Which record first made you notice what a good stereo could do?

Today on Dave’s Side One: Ted Nugent’s Double Live Gonzo! (1978), a personal memory behind “Cat Scratch Fever,” and a listening challenge that gets beneath the familiar song. A record that turned into a wild concert night. Who was the most unexpected person you ever took to a concert? Listen to Dave’s Side One wherever you get your podcasts — and be sure to subscribe!

Today on Dave’s Side One: Chilliwack’s Wanna Be a Star (1981), a personal memory behind “My Girl,” and a listening challenge that gets beneath the familiar song. A song you intentionally brought home. Which song did you go out of your way to tape or preserve? Listen to Dave’s Side One wherever you get your podcasts — and be sure to subscribe!

I saved and traded gear to buy a Peavey Mace amplifier head for one Foreigner song: 'Long, Long Way from Home.' Then the phaser made my guitar feed back so badly that my high school bandmates wouldn't let me hear the end of it. Today on Dave's Side One, we're revisiting Foreigner's 1977 debut, listening for the textures that make its songs work, and talking about the gear we buy because one record gets under our skin. What's the one song that made you buy a piece of equipment?

Everybody thinks they can fix the White Album by cutting songs. Are they fixing it—or replacing it? Dave takes a physical copy of The Beatles — The Beatles (White Album) off the shelf and challenges a familiar assumption about music. The argument: A sprawling album can reveal more than a streamlined collection of its strongest songs. Today’s Listening Test: Pick one track you usually skip. Play the preceding track, that track and the following track. Does its placement change its purpose? Side One Spin: What famously uneven album would you defend against someone who wants to cut it down?

You know ‘I Want You to Want Me.’ But do you know the version on this album? Dave takes a physical copy of Cheap Trick — In Color off the shelf and challenges a familiar assumption about music. The argument: Familiarity can make a recording seem definitive even when an earlier version has different strengths. Today’s Listening Test: Compare studio and live “I Want You to Want Me.” Listen for arrangement, rhythmic feel and audience energy before choosing a favorite. Side One Spin: Which song do you prefer in a less-famous version—live, studio, demo or cover?

If I cleaned every rough edge off this record, would I improve it—or erase what makes it work? Dave takes a physical copy of Subculture — I Heard a Scream off the shelf and challenges a familiar assumption about music. The argument: Polish and clarity are tools; they are not the definition of musical impact. Today’s Listening Test: Play one track twice: first for energy, then for what the recording hides. Identify one strength and one flaw separately. Side One Spin: Which rough-sounding record would you never want remixed into something cleaner?