The Rock of 1989: Doctor, There’s A Great White in My Heartbreaker
PAST 10s: A Top 10 Time Machine - Music of the 70s, 80s and MoreShow Notes
Dave and Milt fire up the Top 10 Time Machine and head straight for the week ending May 20, 1989 — but this time they ditch the Hot 100 in favor of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, because apparently Aqua Net, guitar riffs, and sleeveless denim vests deserved their own economy. Along the way, they revisit a bizarrely packed week in history featuring Gorbachev’s visit to China, the disappearance of Costa Rica’s golden toad, the death of Gilda Radner, and the cultural majesty of See No Evil, Hear No Evil and the Jessica McClure “Baby Jessica” TV movie nobody asked for but everybody watched anyway. The chart itself is pure late-’80s rock-radio chaos: Saraya crashes in at #10, Richard Marx somehow counts as “rock,” The Outfield keeps “Voices of Babylon” alive long after civilization moved on, and Queen storms in with “I Want It All” while Freddie Mercury quietly battled the illness the public still didn’t know about. Great White shows up with their hit cover and sparks a surprisingly dark detour into the Jack Russell saga and the horrifying Station nightclub fire story. Elsewhere, Dave and Milt debate whether a bologna bagel is cuisine or a cry for help, obsess over backyard bird nests, argue guitar solos, and somehow spend actual airtime discussing “cricket knickers.” There’s also a Play Date quiz built around songs featuring “once” and “twice,” because this podcast remains the only show brave enough to pivot from Tom Petty to adverb trivia without warning. The second half of the countdown brings arena-rock comfort food from The Doobie Brothers, The Cult’s swaggering “Fire Woman,” Stevie Nicks’ “Rooms on Fire,” and John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Pop Singer,” which launches a rant about the music industry, authenticity, and probably at least one guy in a blazer named Chip. At #1, Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” becomes the centerpiece for stories about songwriting, arson, stubbornness, and why Sam Smith accidentally wandered into the conversation. Naturally, there are substitutions, sidebars, forgotten MTV memories, Living Colour and XTC love, and approximately 19 moments where the show completely leaves the rails before somehow steering itself back to the countdown. In other words: exactly the kind of episode you’d expect from two middle-aged men willingly spending two hours inside the cultural fever dream that was spring 1989. Topics 00:00 The Coldest of Opens 01:04 Bird Nest Obsession 03:37 Guitar Solo Feedback 05:36 Bologna Bagel Debate 06:05 Time Machine to 1989 07:05 Hey Day Memories 08:14 Week in History 1989 17:41 Back to the Charts 17:54 Number 10 Saraya 23:42 Saraya Name Confusion 26:13 Number 9 Richard Marx 32:26 Snickers and Snacks 33:54 Number 8 The Outfield 37:33 Outfield Albums and Legacy 38:13 Cricket Knickers Comedy 40:12 Voices of Babylon Verdict 40:41 Queen I Want It All 41:06 Freddie’s Hidden Illness 41:45 Song Breakdown and Charts 48:14 Great White Cover Hit 49:32 Jack Russell Chaos Backstory 53:31 Station Nightclub Tragedy 59:55 Play Date Once and Twice Quiz 01:06:24 Doobie Brothers Comeback 01:09:52 New Doobies and Nostalgia 01:14:43 The Cult Fire Woman 01:16:13 Fire Woman Breakdown 01:17:32 Cult Legacy And Grunge 01:19:26 Rooms On Fire Story 01:21:42 Stevie Vocal Quirks 01:24:40 Pop Singer Industry Rant 01:28:21 ChatGPT Pop List Game 01:31:05 I Wont Back Down Origins 01:33:28 Petty Songwriting And Arson 01:35:58 Sam Smith Similarity 01:39:27 Chart Recap And Picks 01:42:12 Substitution XTC And Living Colour 01:52:23 Wrap Up And Sign Off
More from PAST 10s: A Top 10 Time Machine - Music of the 70s, 80s and More
Dave (coughing through the cold open) and chartmeister Michael “Milt” Wolfe take Past 10s back to the week ending Oct. 2, 1999, detouring through Adam Yas singing the national anthem at a Patriots game, listener mail about forgotten “best claps” songs, and why Polish jokes exist. They set the scene with Freaks and Geeks premiering, Double Jeopardy topping the box office, and ER ruling TV, then dive into a late-’90s Latin crossover-heavy countdown.
Dave and Milt record a special episode focused on ranking the best hand-clap songs, defining picks as songs where clapping is a crucial, compelling element that makes listeners want to clap along (not just a brief moment). You know, clapping. … Why are we overexplaining this? Sorry. … They discuss postponing recording due to Milt attending a Yankees playoff game, announce that Dave’s brother Adam Yas will sing the national anthem on the field before Sunday’s Patriots game (with related family coincidences), and note Milt’s AI-assisted birthday song for Dave (appended to the episode). Using combined rankings from over 50 candidates plus listener suggestions, they count down the top 10.
Dave and Milt revisit the rock chart for the week ending Oct. 6, 1984—after initially and repeatedly calling it 1983 and later admitting the error. After banter about ice cream habits, a contrived Willy Wonka competition show, and brief history/pop-culture notes (Richard Noble’s 633 mph “Thrust 2” land-speed record, Carl Yastrzemski’s final at-bat, Lech Wałęsa’s Nobel Prize, The Big Chill, and AfterMASH), they count down the rock Top 10: Krokus “Midnite Maniac,” Billy Idol “Flesh for Fantasy,” Survivor “I Can’t Hold Back,” Honeymoon Suite “New Girl Now,” U2 “Pride (In the Name of Love),” Lindsey Buckingham “Go Insane,” Bruce Springsteen “Cover Me,” David Bowie “Blue Jean,” The Fixx “Are We Ourselves,” and John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band “On the Dark Side.” They discuss trivia (Miami Vice placement, Bowie’s Jazzin’ for Blue Jean film, Bono lyric correction, Springsteen dance remix), play a “blue/blues” quiz, pick U2 as winner, and swap out Survivor and Buckingham for Twisted Sister “I Wanna Rock” and KISS “Heaven’s on Fire,” then plug social channels and a future “Freedom Rock” episode invite.
Dave and Milt revisit the famously corny-but-great Freedom Rock compilation, tackling side two track by track while rating each song’s “Freedom Rock” authenticity in a Cheech-and-Chong-style “vans” scale of 1-5 via ChatGPT. They banter about pet allergies, the ad’s cultural afterlife, and whether Freedom Rock could’ve become a movement like yacht rock. Also, Dave makes a simply miraculous run “guessing the vans.” Song SPOILERS below.
Dave and Milt slip into their glowing white socks and travel back to September 22, 1979—when albums mattered, packaging was an art form and apparently everybody owned a synthesizer. [EPISODE SPOILERS IN LIST OF TOPICS BELOW. In case you care. … You probably don’t. Sigh.] Before entering the time machine, the guys wade into the Macklemore–Robert Kraft controversy, debating free speech, private venues, “Free Palestine,” antisemitism and whether anybody emerges from the whole mess looking particularly good.Then it’s on to the week’s Top 10 albums: Robin Williams unleashes his manic mind, The Cars avoid the sophomore slump, Earth, Wind & Fire decline to release “September” in September, and The Commodores prove there was more to them than Lionel Richie. Michael Jackson steps Off the Wall, Chic battles the disco backlash, Supertramp serves breakfast, Bob Dylan finds Jesus, The Knack discovers that overnight success has an expiration date, and Led Zeppelin delivers one final studio album—with six covers, a paper bag and a surprising amount of synthesizer. Plus: the Winner of the Week, two substitutions and the continuing criminal exclusion of the B-52’s from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Topics 00:00 Cold open: Lunch in Libya, glowing socks and compulsory Knack listening01:00 Welcome—and Milt’s controversial decision to wear a tie04:00 Macklemore, Robert Kraft and the Ed Sheeran tour controversy08:00 Free speech, private venues and the right to say—or refuse to host—something12:00 Does shutting down speech help the cause or create a martyr?15:00 Why has “Free Palestine” captured so much attention from young Americans?19:00 The time machine lands on September 22, 197921:00 No. 10: Robin Williams — Reality… What a Concept33:00 No. 9: The Cars — Candy-O42:00 No. 8: Earth, Wind & Fire — I Am49:00 No. 7: The Commodores — Midnight Magic54:00 No. 6: Michael Jackson — Off the Wall1:10:00 No. 5: Chic — Risqué1:21:00 No. 4: Supertramp — Breakfast in America1:31:00 No. 3: Bob Dylan — Slow Train Coming1:39:00 No. 2: The Knack — Get the Knack1:46:00 No. 1: Led Zeppelin — In Through the Out Door1:58:00 The complete Top 10 recap2:00:00 Winner of the Week: Who else?2:01:00 Milt’s substitution: Talking Heads — Fear of Music2:04:00 Dave’s substitution: The B-52’s — The B-52’s2:08:00 Spotify frustrations, contact information and one final bowl of NyQuil