Matt & Sheryl's GenExcellent Playlist

Send us Fan Mail Mike joins Matt & Sheryl as they wrap up another year with Mike's song pick and Mike and Matt's album choices, along with near misses for the playlist from 1981. 

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl choose their last two songs for the playlist for 1981, an iconic 80s hit single by the most popular duo in music history and a throwback one hit (or two hit) wonder in the US from a west coast Canadian band.

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl continue their deep dive into 1981 with Matt's pick from The Go-Go's debut album "Our Lips Are Sealed" and Sheryl's pick from synth pop pioneers Soft Cell and their cover of "Tainted Love"

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl work through more 1981 albums looking for their favorite of the year and discuss the huge AOR albums from 1981 Journey Escape, Foreigner 4, Loverboy Get Lucky and Billy Squier Don't Say No.

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl discuss the start of Phil Collin's solo career with his 1981 release Face Value along with Sheryl's song pick from Genesis, "No Reply At All" and Matt discovers a new found love for Split Enz and chooses their song "History Never Repeats" for the playlist.

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl add three songs to the playlist from bands who all built a following from relentless touring in the 70s and into the 80s, Styx with their synth driven hit "Too Much Time on My Hands", REO's huge hit "Take it on the Run" from their massive 1980 album Hi Infidelity, and Climax Blues Band's second hit "I Love You" along with S...

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl continue their journey into 1981, adding two songs to the playlist from veteran artists who had hits into the 80s, The Who's "You Better You Bet" and Steve Winwood's first solo hit "While You See a Chance" and discuss a near miss for the playlist, Rick Springfield's 80s classic "Jessie's Girl"

Send us Fan Mail DJ Avelanche and DeVon Pouncey join Matt & Sheryl and share their riveting accounts of the early days of rap in the 80s and 90s and it's effect on their youth and their lives today as Matt adds his introduction into the genre, Blondie's "Rapture", to the playlist and Sheryl adds Queen & David Bowie's "Under Pressure", a song that would be...

Send us Fan Mail Matt and Sheryl begin 1981 by adding Sheryl's pick for the playlist "Watching the Wheels", the third hit single from John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album, Matt's pick "Stars on 45", a medley of Beatles songs that was recorded in 1980, but became a global hit in '81 after John's death, and discuss the tributes to John by the...

Send us Fan Mail Mike joins Matt and Sheryl as they each run through their favorite releases from 2023

Send us Fan Mail Mike joins Matt & Sheryl for the final episode of 1980 featuring Matt's final song pick, Frank Sinatra's "Theme From New York, New York", Sheryl's final song pick Squeeze "Pulling Mussels From a Shell", Mike's song pick Talking Heads "Once in a Lifetime" and album The Pretenders self-titled debut along with all of their near al...

Send us Fan Mail Matt and Sheryl each pick a song from two very different music movements happening simultaneously, ska and the 2Tone label in the UK and country crossover hits and the Urban Cowboy movie in the US.

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl continue to sail through 1980 as they work to narrow down the definition of  Yacht Rock and add two Yacht Rock classics, Ambrosia's "Biggest Part of Me" and Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away" to the playlist.

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl continue adding to the playlist with Matt's pick, ONJ's "Magic" from the box office flop turned cult classic movie Xanadu and Sheryl's second ex-Beatle pick from 1980, John Lennon's last statement before his untimely death "(Just Like) Starting Over. 

Send us Fan Mail Matt and Sheryl continue their journey through 1980 focusing on producer Steve Lillywhite and his work on four groundbreaking albums in 1980: Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt) , The Psychedelic Furs debut album, U2 Boy and Matt's album pick for the year, XTC Black Sea.

Send us Fan Mail 1980 continues with Sheryl's obvious album pick for the year, Pete Townshend's Empty Glass and Matt's song pick, REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You".

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl finally introduce hard rock to the playlist in the third installment of 1980 as they take a ride on Ozzy's "Crazy Train" and appreciate the sonic perfection of AC/DC's hard rock anthem "You Shook Me All Night Long". They also discuss the ushering in of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) led by Judas Priest's classic Br...

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl continue into the 80s with Sheryl's pick, a radio staple that has endured decades from Pittsburgh's hometown hero Donnie Iris and Matt's pick, a song from an underground band led by the prolific and talented Robyn Hitchcock. 

Send us Fan Mail Bring on the 80s!! Matt & Sheryl start season 2 in 1980 with a hit single from Paul McCartney's second DIY solo effort McCartney 2, "Coming Up" and a seminal late disco hit that is still a dance staple to this day Lipps, Inc. "Funkytown".

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl do a deep dive into the catalog of one of the top artists of the '70s, Elton John, and discuss his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin and their run of hit singles and albums. 

Send us Fan Mail Mike joins Matt & Sheryl this week as he offers his song and album for 1979 and we all recap the music that didn't quite make the playlist, but are worth mentioning (and there's a lot!!)

Send us Fan Mail Matt and Sheryl continue in 1979 with their last song picks and Sheryl's album of the year, Gang of Four's influential debut Entertainment . 00:02:35 M "Pop Muzik" 00:13:11 Michael Jackson "Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough" 00:27:18 Disco Demolition 00:46:01 Gang of Four Entertainment

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl forge on with 1979 picking two songs for the playlist, Supertramp "Goodbye Stranger" from their blockbuster album Breakfast in America and The Police's first UK #1 single "Message in a Bottle". 00:00:00 Supertramp "Goodbye Stranger" 00:31:43  The Police "Message in a Bottle"

Send us Fan Mail Matt and Sheryl return to the playlist in 1979 with British artist Kirsty MacColl, who's first single became a US hit in the early 80s for another British singer, Led Zeppelin's final single and an example of what made John Bonham one of the greatest drummers of all time, and Matt's reveals his album pick for '79, The Clash's London Calling . 3:19 "Fo...

Send us Fan Mail Matt & Sheryl pay tribute to the recently passed session drummer Jim Gordon and his legacy of amazing music he left behind. 00:00:00 Everly Brothers https://youtu.be/T2eZsRDB4-8 00:07:27 The Wrecking Crew https://youtu.be/-ZgBexrZvM0 00:23:00 Late 60s - 70s recordings featuring Jim Gordon on drums https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Oha93PfRKu1yqSQOXZmI8?si=72da9b9edd1a42f2