A (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make?

From 1987 to the early aughts, award-winning creative genius John Frost created the offbeat cartoony sounds heard in between the songs at the World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles. He now works with many of your favorite Alt Rock stations via his company, ⁠Frostbytes⁠.   On the podcast, he shares insights into his career and his opinions on songs 30 to 21 from the 1989 KROQ year-end chart. Le...

Richard Blade makes his third appearance on the podcast, following his book Imposters and his upon turn as Master MC for the Howard Jones “Things Can Only Get Better” Tour.  This episode showcases Richard's music curation skills, giving us some insight into the 80s music played on the World Famous KROQ, as we look at songs 40 to 31 from their 1989 year-end chart. Learn more abo...

Julie Gidlow is first and foremost a music fan. She used her USC Graduate degree in Journalism to land an editing job at Radio & Records (R&R). She helped shape this music industry newspaper, and ushered it into the new century. Her love for Duran Duran and attending concerts led her to realize she had a book in her. We now have Behind The Setlist: Confessions Of A Non-Groupie. It's&nbsp...

Did you know September 25th is National One-Hit Wonder Day? Well, neither did we, but since we now know it's a thing, we created this episode. Did we invite friend of the show, Craig Rosen onto the podcast because Steve Rosen, the creator of One-Hit Wonder Day was unavailable? Possibly, but Craig does give us his unique perspective on the songs. What constitutes a one-hit...

Los Angeles vs. San Francisco is an age-old competition: Dodgers vs. Giants, sunny weather vs. chilly weather, Hollywood glamor or crunchy granola vibes. Back in the 80s, we had KROQ in Los Angeles and LIVE 105 in San Francisco.  Roland West worked on air for both radio stations.  He steps into our What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to compare the two iconic radio stat...

If you watched MTV in the 80s, then you've seen a Tim Pope-directed video. Queen, David Bowie, Hall & Oates, and The Cure - the band he's most associated with - are among the hundreds of bands that have performed in front of a Tim Pope camera. It's all documented in Tim's memoir, I Shoot Rock Stars. Tim now places himself behind the What Difference Does It Make microphone to tell us...

Jacob Givens⁠ created a social media sensation with his authentic and hilarious reaction videos to what it was like when he first heard the 90s music from his youth. Now Jacob steps into the What Difference Does It Make studio to give us his genuine reaction to hearing 80s music. Specifically, songs 70 to 61 from the 1989 KROQ year-end playlist.  You can hear Jacob on his own Pantheon Po...

The Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood is located just steps from the Sunset Strip, and has been a haven for rock stars for the past six decades. But how did it come to be such an iconic place for rock stars? What is its story? Enter Co-Directors Craig A. Williams and Tyler Measom, of the documentary, If These Walls Could Rock. They sit down with Bruce Springsteen...

The Los Angeles Times referred to it as "Country Music's most important West Coast club". Artists from Willie Nelson to Elvis Costello to Linda Ronstadt played there. Happy Hour started at 8 in the morning. And it all happened in the East San Fernando Valley. The club was called The Palomino, and now we have a film documenting its storied history. Director Adrienne Isom, script writer KP...

It's been a mere 44 years between Haircut One Hundred albums featuring the original lineup, but following their classic album Pelican West, we now have Boxing The Compass. According to lead singer/songwriter Nick Heyward, it means a complete change of direction. We think it sounds just like the band we know and love.  The band have stayed in touch with each other duri...

Prior to the start of what is being billed as "the biggest 80s event of the year", headliner Howard Jones and host Richard Blade took some time to talk with us and share their thoughts on what we can expect for the Things Can Only Get Better Tour.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the moment we first saw "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" on MTV, we can honestly say there was no one who looked, dressed or sounded like Boy George. There was also the music that touched on Pop, Soul and Reggae and even through all the mania that surrounded the band, we never quite understood who they were and where they came from until now. Director Alison Ellwood, previously tackled the of...

As an 80s music podcast, and as America recognizes another year of independence, we believe the time is right to recognize our favorite American music artists from the 80s.  The rules are simple: 1) You and /or your band must contain at least one American original band member. 2) They must have released their first album in the 80s. Simple, right? There is a lot of discussion, as well as a number...

Peter Relic has authored Bust a Move: Matt Dike, Delicious Vinyl, and the Hip-Hop Hits That First Conquered Pop. It tells the fascinating story of how a surfer dude from Southern California and a guy who grew up on the east coast in a Jehovah's Witness family formed a partnership to create one of the most successful record labels in the 80s. Peter breaks it down and tells us how these two men were...

We love our Dads. We wouldn't be who we are without their constant presence in our lives. Naturally, that also means we've incorporated their music into our lives. We have quite a few songs that remind us of our Dads, and we share our memories with you in our special Father's Day music episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are so happy to welcome Mike Gomoll to the podcast. Mike is the founder of ⁠Joey's Song⁠. Mike's son, Joey, lived with Dravet Syndrome - a rare, debilitating form of epilepsy that affects children in the most profound ways. After Joey’s death in 2010, to raise funds and awareness for epilepsy research, Mike started this foundation and now produces an associated music festival called Freezing Ma...

As an ’80s music podcast, it’s no secret that we’ve always had a little extra love for Olivia Newton-John. Now, author Matthew Hild takes that appreciation even deeper with his new book, A Little More Love: The Love and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John, a thoughtful and comprehensive look at one of pop culture’s most beloved stars. Matthew joins us to talk about Olivia’s remarkable career, from chart-...

In the late 1960s, pioneering electronic musician Robert Margouleff and his musical partner Malcolm Cecil built something unlike anything the world had heard: TONTO — The Original New Timbral Orchestra — a sprawling, one-of-a-kind synthesizer system that would go on to reshape the sound of popular music for decades to come. A Grammy winner for his work on Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, Robert joins...

Friend of the show, Craig Rosen, keeps us on our toes as we ping-pong back and forth from proms to fashion to movies. We try to stay on target as we discuss our favorite summer songs from the 70s and 80s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times Bestselling Author, Annie Zaleski has a shirt that reads, "Sorry, I can't talk. I'm thinking about the 1997 performance of Silver Springs where Stevie Nicks stares a hole through Lindsay Buckingham". It partially helps explain why music fans around the world have been obsessed with Stevie.  Annie’s latest book, Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs, explores Stevie’s remarkable journey through t...

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley meant something very different depending on who you ask. For Holly and Dave, it's a place of warm memories and deep roots. For Gina Gershon? It was somewhere she couldn't wait to leave, and leaving turned out to be the best thing she ever did. Gina joins us to talk about her memoir, AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, a candid a...

Old school is in session as JayQuan, author of the coffee table book, RUN-DMC and Raising Hell: 40 Years, joins the podcast.  As we learn JayQuan's story, we receive an education on the origins of hip-hop. Artists from the Cold Crush Brothers to William Waring to The Mizell Brothers were essential to the sound of Run-DMC, as were the beats of Take Me To The Mardi Gras by Bob James and Walk This Wa...

Steve Berlin, producer, arranger, session player, saxophonist, and Grammy-winning member of Los Lobos and The Blasters is now promoting a band he was in over forty years ago. Top Jimmy And The Rhythm Pigs released one album, in 1987. The album, entitled, Pigus, Drunkus Maximus returns with a re-release on Blind Owl Records including enhanced sound quality and deluxe packaging. Steve steps into our...

Steve Spears has just released a book based on his popular podcast, entitled Stuck In The 80s: 20 Years of Conversations with Pop Culture Icons Who Defined a Decade.   We are thrilled Steve guests on our podcast to share a few amazing stories he's accumulated over the years, including a few awkward moments. Steve has also been a big part of The 80s Cruise, and he dispenses some fun tidbits from hi...

Danny Goldberg has a career that reminds us of why we wanted to be a part of the music business. His career started at Billboard, where he convinced the higher-ups he needed to go to the Woodstock Music Festival. He did PR for Led Zeppelin, managed the careers of Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Sonic Youth, the Allman Brothers Band, and Nirvana. In the 90s, he headed three different record labels: Atl...