It's Not Scary, It's Just Music!

Welcome to 1992! Now on the other side of last year's storm to end all storms, we're starting to see tons of major and minor genres find their voice for the decade. While some are incorporating retro ideas, others are tearing apart existing conventions in service of the next great sound. And, we hop right into KPop this year, as promised! Electronica is very much in the spotlight this year, so let...

Welcome to 1991! We have arrived at one of the most consequential years in the modern history of music. As followers and avid music fans may know, 1991 brought us groundbreaking, critical albums from some of the most iconic artists of all time. But, amid all of these earth shattering pivots in the musical journey this year, let's not forget about the small but meaningful incremental wins too! We h...

Welcome to 1990! We are officially in the 90s! The memory of the 1980s is now in the rearview mirror, disappearing around the hard corner we just took to get here. Today we kick off the new decade with a bang, talking about everything we just left behind in the last decade, begin to see big and small hints about what this new era will offer us, and how artists decided to aggressively evolve out of...

Welcome to Episode 0 of Season 2 for the "It's Not Scary, It's Just Music" Podcast! Much like in our Season 1 Episode 0, SJ walks you through the brief history of his music listening project that led to this podcast's creation, a bit about his methodology, and a little about what we can expect from Season 2. Come hear about all the successes and things we learned from doing Season 1 and what you c...

SURPRISE! It's yet another special episode! We got Chuck Askerneese of The Untouchables back for a Part 2! Following our amazing first conversation, we found there was a bounty of things we missed, and more wild stories to tell about the LA counterculture scene of the 70s and 80s, the Wild Child European tour, and more! Please join us where we dig into the growing underground scene in LA back in t...

Welcome to the Season One finale for the "It's Not Scary, It's Just Music" Podcast!! In today's episode, SJ walks through all the major genres that had their moment in the 1980s, highlighting milestone tracks that helped carry us from one end of the decade to the other. From Avant-Garde to Punk, Pop to Rock, JPop, New Wave, Metal...you name it! Join us as we bask in the glorious creativity and amb...

Surprise Surprise Surprise! It's another special episode! I had the great honor of interviewing the amazing lead singer of The Untouchables, Chuck Askerneese. During our conversation we chat about his experience first discovering music; how he, his brother, and their friends entered the counterculture scene of LA in the late 70s; the early beginnings of The Untouchables; and their inevitable creat...

Welcome to 1989! The end of the 80s has come! Can you believe it? We're here already! Today we discuss all the final thoughts, feelings, and perspectives that this decade has to offer. Many genres we've been discussing these last several years disappear off the map entirely, while others are making big plays to become the sound of the 90s. Pop, Rap, R&B, Rock, and Metal are all vying for their...

Welcome to 1988! Gangsta Rap has officially reached the top of the mountain with authority! Public Enemy is joined by NWA this year to not only announce the new standard, but to do so enough to separate from all other Rap styles. Plus, we're starting to see rock begin to crystalize into the sounds we all know and love from the 90s. Retro 60s and 70s ideas are weaving through the sounds of the mome...

Surprise again! It's another special episode! I had the great honor of interviewing the visionary lead singer of The Chameleons, Mark Burgess During our conversation we chat about his childhood journey of discovering music as well as his voice; the beginnings of The Chameleons, and the creation of 1983 Essential Album, Script of the Bridge; the aftermath of its debut; and the winding road that has...

Welcome to 1987! The REM-era of Alternative Rock is coming to a close, and behind it is a whole new wave of creativity, genre blending, and retro influences. And, the Golden Age of Rap has officially ended, and in its wake, Gangsta Rap's peak is just around the corner. 1987 made us question the state of R&B, what "Alternative" truly means, and how exactly this decade is going to end! Twenty ye...

Surprise Surprise! It's another special episode! I had the incredible honor of interviewing the incomparable front man of Fang, Sammy "Sammytown" McBride. During our conversation we chat about his life before Fang; the coming together of their groundbreaking debut album, and 1982 Essential Album, Landshark; and how that album changed the direction of punk and its offshoots for years to come. Pleas...

Welcome to 1986! As promised, the eye of the 1980s storm has passed us in 1985, and the winds have officially kicked back up! With a jam-packed list of essentials this year, we've got a lot of work to do. From Gangsta Rap trying to knock the Golden Age off its perch, to a new era of R&B, Neo-Traditionalist Country moving to the mountaintop, and the first signs that the current era of Alternati...

Welcome to 1985! We are officially in the eye of the 1980s storm! It's a little quiet this year, but some of the shifts just around the edges are powerful, so let's hold on! 1985 gave us some tremendous leaps forward with new, established, and waning genres; from City Pop's forthcoming exit, to Neo-Psychedelic Rock announcing itself as the inevitable successor to the beginnings of the Alternative...

Surprise! It's a special episode! I had the great honor of interviewing the tremendously talented Richard Barone of The Bongos! During our conversation we discussed the coming together of The Bongos, the creation of 1982 Essential Album "Drums Along the Hudson," the half-decade tour to follow, his musical journey since, and all the wonderful projects he is creating today. Please join us where we t...

Welcome to 1984! So excited to say this, that the Golden Age of Rap is officially upon us! While the world of Pop continued to shift and move beneath our feet, Rap was finding several new ways to entertain the masses; from Beatboxing, to Rap Battling, the industry was just starting to realize its own potential. Join us as we bop our heads to all that this year has to offer, hitting us with eternal...

Welcome to 1983! It's a truly small but mighty year in music, giving us so many paths forward in popular music. Maybe you know some of the future megastars that blasted onto the scene this year -- maybe not! Join us for a little bit of a short episode this week, walking through all the amazing ideas that were birthed in this year, and not just from Pop music! Alternative Rock in all its shapes eme...

Welcome to 1982! Three years into the 80s! We can start to see the edge of New Wave's time on top in the distance, and R&B is making a huge push into Popular culture. 1982 is a year of major transition in which the music world is asking itself how much more New Wave can give us before we've heard enough. And, in that void of curiosity, R&B explodes onto the scene, giving us some truly icon...

Welcome to 1981! We're already two years into the 80s! The synth keyboards and electric guitar solos are really starting to take over! 1981 was such an amazingly prolific year in Punk history. There was such an explosion of new ideas taking shape this year, revealing the markers for countless sub-genres in the near future. It's any wonder that we are STILL living in this post-Punk era even in 2024...

Hey there! How's it going? Busy? Yeah, me too. Let me be the first to welcome you to the 1980s! Yay! 1980 is such a fun year where the world of on-trend music and revivals seemed to absolutely explode! I'm so excited for us to walk this strange, dark path together. Today, I'll be officially ushering us ever-so-gently into the 80s with its first, surprisingly-dense year. We know a little bit more t...

Hi! How are you? Good? Me too. Welcome to the first year of my music listening journey - 1979! In today's episode, I will be officially kicking this thing off and getting excited about how little I know about music as of this moment in my musical time traveling extravaganza. Curious why I started in 1979, when there was so much great music beforehand? I guess you'll have to listen and find out! As...

Hi! It's good to see you. Welcome to the thing before the thing! In Episode 0, I walk through the history of my music project, my personal history with music listening that led me to the inevitable project, some thoughts on what I've learned so far (to include a lengthy history of how musical trends work), and what you can expect going forward. Join me for some light rambling and only a touch of m...