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

Latest Episodes:

Documenting The Palomino Club Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

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 Hawthorn, and country punk legend Rosie Flores join us to reminisce about their own personal stories, as well as those that made this fabled club so special.

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Haircut One Hundred Are Boxing The Compass Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

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 during this "extended” hiatus, and they are now hitting the road with a US tour. Nick Heyward and bassist Les Nemes join the podcast to talk about how this 80s band has gracefully entered into a new era.

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Things Can Only Get Better for Howard Jones and Richard Blade Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

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.

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Alison Ellwood Joins Boy George And Culture Club Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

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 official story on the Eagles, Cyndi Lauper, and The Go-Go's. She now takes on Boy George and Culture Club and there is a lot to unpack as she steps into our virtual studio to reveal all she learned in this new documentary that is currently streaming everywhere.

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Greatest American Bands From The 80s Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

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 of caveats, but we seem to have come up with a good list of 80s American music artists. Enjoy! And please let us know about the ones we forgot.

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Delicious Vinyl Knows When To Bust A Move Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

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 able to start a hip-hop phenomenon with ground breaking songs from Tone Loc and Young MC.

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Father's Day Music Favorites Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

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.

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Mike Gomoll Sings The Praises For Joey's Song Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

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 Man. Every January, in Madison, Wisconsin, artists like Curt Smith from Tears for Fears and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's unite and perform shows to help support this extremely worthy cause.

No surprise, but Mike is also a fan of 80s music, and so he offers his well-informed opinion on songs 80 to 71 from the KROQ 1989 year-end playlist.

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Matthew Hild Gives Olivia Newton-John A Little More Love Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

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-topping music and blockbuster films, to her personal journey, advocacy work, and lasting influence on generations of fans. Along the way, he shares fascinating stories and insights about an artist who consistently captured our attention, and our hearts, for over five decades. Whether you’ve been a fan since the Grease days or discovered her music later, this conversation is a celebration of Olivia Newton-John’s enduring legacy.

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Robert Margouleff Shapes Sounds May 29, 2026

Show notes

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 us in studio on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast to share the stories behind one of the most creative partnerships in music history. He takes us inside the making of Stevie's most celebrated run of records — Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness' First Finale — and reveals how TONTO's revolutionary sonic palette helped define that era. He also produced Devo's commercial breakthrough Freedom of Choice, one of the defining 80s music albums that helped bring synth-driven pop to the mainstream, and collaborated with Billy Preston and The Isley Brothers, cementing his place as one of the most influential figures behind the boards of his generation.

It's all captured in his memoir, Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, Devo, The Synth Revolution And My Life Behind The Music — and today, he's here to bring it to life.

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