Strap into the time machine and set the dial for July 1986, a time when Top Gun ruled the box office, synthesizers ruled the airwaves, and Kenny Loggins ruled… something. In this episode, Milt and Dave wade knee-deep through the Billboard Top 10 from a summer that gave us everything from Loggins' “Danger Zone” (still trying to make aviator sunglasses cool) to Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years” (still holding back… the energy).
Expect the usual: unsolicited nostalgia, suspiciously convenient personal stories, and yes, Milt somehow manages to rhyme “Spinal Tap” with “Trader Joe’s nap.” Don’t ask.
Highlights include:
Plus: Johnny-themed trivia (because there are apparently way more songs about guys named Johnny than anyone needed), some light shade thrown at the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and a very necessary refreshing of the chart — where Dave and Milt save the Top 10 from itself by swapping in some ‘80s underdogs.
Topics
00:00 - Banter: Naps, snacks, and fake bands (aka our wheelhouse)
10:47 - Listener mail, podcast gripes, and people who claim to like our show
20:18 - Blues-rock? In this economy? A look at the Fabulous Thunderbirds
37:59 - The mandatory Howard Jones detour, because optimism was a thing once
45:43 - “Danger Zone” drops in on a fighter jet and a synth budget
57:23 - Peter Gabriel brings the big weird with “Sledgehammer”
01:07:30 - “Who’s Johnny?” is asked, and not answered
01:14:59 - All-Johnny trivia. Johnny dangerously. Johnny repetitively.
01:26:51 - Janet Jackson says “No” like only she can
01:35:12 - Billy Ocean does that thing where he makes us cry on purpose
01:43:45 - Genesis makes a surprise cameo because, of course
01:59:18 - A tearful goodbye with Simply Red and his emotional rollercoaster
