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

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Lynn McDonnell Gives Us All Access Aug 04, 2023

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Music Industry veteran Lynn McDonnell answers to many names, "Gunga Din Lynn", "Gungolla The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla", "Lynner, Lynner What's for Dinner" or just plain "Nails". She enters the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to take us on her career journey, from Doctor's assistant to Life Coach. Oh yeah, in between, she has been one of the most passionate music industry professionals in the business. Lynn shares stories of mall shopping with Gwen Stefani, waiting for Marilyn Manson to apply his makeup, living on Snoop Dog time when you're trying to make an 8AM morning show, and many others. Lynn is currently the Triple A editor for the soon-to-be shuttering All Access, an influential and beloved online radio and music industry source, so we get the inside scoop on what it takes to put out a daily publication.

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Annie Zaleski Raises Her Glass To P!NK Jul 28, 2023

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Annie Zaleski returns to What Difference Does It Make to discuss her latest book, P!NK: Raise Your Glass. Besides being an enormously talented writer, Annie is just a big ol' music nerd at heart. With that in mind, she's more than happy to talk about Chrissie Hynde's jacket, the location of Nate Ruess, and why she has yet to see a P!NK concert.

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Dean Sabatino Cleans Up The Dead Milkmen Jul 21, 2023

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Dean Sabatino aka Dean Clean drummer for The Dead Milkmen steps into our virtual studio to virtually show us around the Quaker City aka Philadelphia. Quaker City Quiet Pills is the latest album from the band and Dean talks us through the process of creating new songs and lets us in on stories behind some of the band's best known songs.

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Mark Altman Is The Greatest Geek Ever! Jul 14, 2023

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"They're here", "Ellll-eeeee-ooooot", "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!". If you're like us, you immediately recognize these are quotes from Poltergeist, E.T. and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. And they all arrived in the year 1982. Mark Altman is so aware of what a magical time this was for movies, that he produced a 4-part series entitled Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982. Mark was all too happy to step inside our virtual studio to elaborate on the films that helped shape who he is today. Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 is currently showing on The CW and is available for viewing on the app.

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How Did Emiel Spoelder Find Himself With A Dream Syndicate Documentary? Jun 23, 2023

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Emiel Spoelder fell under The Dream Syndicate spell almost by accident. He went to see a Ryan Adams concert and the opening band was Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3. He fell in love with the band immediately, in particular, singer Steve Wynn. He met Steve and his mother, and she “suggests" Emiel make a documentary about her son. And that's exactly what he did! Of course, it wasn't that simple. Emiel lays out all the ins and outs of making an independent film on our podcast. It's a fascinating listen and the good news is, The Dream Syndicate: How Did We Find Ourselves Here? is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

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Ally Probst and Joel Willis Lay Down The Dad Law Jun 09, 2023

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The old saying goes, “We eventually become our parents", but is that really true? Fortunately, we have Ally Probst and Joel Willis to put in print the mandatory laws all Dads must obey when they encounter a certain situation. Their book is entitled Dad Law: The Definitive Reference for All Things Dad. In the book, they answer all our burning questions.

Should I really threaten to turn this car around? Should I let my kids beat me at Mario Kart? Should I mention how much cooler music was back in my day?

All will be revealed in this informative episode.

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Richard Blade Talks Up Imposters Jun 02, 2023

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Congratulations are in order for Richard Blade. Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez will introduce a resolution declaring June 9, 2023, “RICHARD BLADE DAY," with the award presented on JUNE 6th for the best-selling author, world-renowned on-air personality and radio show host.

It turns out Richard Blade may just be an "Imposter". Los Angelenos know him as the voice that introduced a generation to 80s music bands like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, INXS, and The Cure. In fact, you can still hear him seven days a week on SiriusXM's 1st Wave channel. However, the truth is that Richard Blade is ALSO a writer...and a good one at that. His latest book is Imposters, based on the true story of Mike Evans and John "JT" Thomas". Mike was one half of the morning show at KROQ in the early 80s. It was Mike that sat Richard down and told him this incredible story that Richard felt compelled to share with the world. It was a real treat to have Richard enter our virtual studios and we discovered so much more than we expected of his own unique story. As Richard might say, "It's gonna be great!"

Check out the audible version of Richard Blade's memoir "World In My Eyes" with a free month subscription courtesy of your friends at What Difference Does It Make.

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Scott Aukerman Adds The Bang! Bang! To Our 1986 Music Countdown May 26, 2023

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Scott Aukerman is first and foremost an amazingly funny and creative comedian. You know him as the creator and host of Comedy Bang! Bang!, and he's also one of the co-creators of "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Galifianakis.

Scott is also a huge music fan, as you can hear on his comedic podcasts dedicated to U2, REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Talking Heads. And he has just released a book dedicated to the cast of characters created for Comedy Bang! Bang!

We seized this opportunity to invite Scott to step into our virtual studios to give his hot takes and personal anecdotes on the top 10 songs from the 1986 year-end chart from The World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles.

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Michael Halloran Is Radios In Motion May 19, 2023

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Michael Halloran heard XTC's "Radios In Motion" and took the lyrics to heart: "And all my kids are complaining, that there's nowhere to go." He gave the kids somewhere to go, first in Detroit with his own Radios In Motion show on WDET. Then he really created a stir at 91X in San Diego with his evening show, before rising to the rank of Program Director. Mike's got opinions and plenty of stories to tell, as we look back at another one of his former stations, KROQ, and songs #20 to #11 from their 1986 year-end playlist.

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Steven Blush Introduces Disco To Rock May 05, 2023

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Depending on your age, you either initially loved or hated disco. No matter your age now, you love songs like "I Was Made For Lovin' You" by KISS and "Shakedown Street" by The Grateful Dead and don't even think twice that they were once considered taboo by their fanbase.

Author Steven Blush covers this era in his new book, "When Rock Met Disco". In it, he covers the good, "Call Me" by Blondie, the bad, an actual disco version of "Stairway To Heaven", and the ugly, The Chicago White Sox Disco Demolition Day. It's a great chat, so put on your boogie shoes...or air buds, as Steven Blush takes us back to that Saturday Night Fever era.

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