transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:01] I tell you, little buddy, this whole island is bewitched.

Speaker 2:
[00:20] You remember, we were shipwrecked together.

Speaker 3:
[00:26] Welcome to this bonus episode of Sound Opinions. I'm Greg Kot. My co-host is Jim DeRogatis. And if you want to be the first to hear our bonus podcasts, become a Sound Opinions member on Patreon, like Ron Gubitz of New Orleans. That's New Orleans, Louisiana, folks, one of our favorite cities in the whole world. Ron, thanks so much for your support. It means a lot. And I am not kidding. It means a lot. Jim, it's awesome to have this opportunity to do even more music on the show with the bonus. We got a Desert Island Jukebox just for the bonus podcast. What are you gonna add to it? Give us a little hint about what you're gonna add to it today.

Speaker 1:
[01:02] Well, I'm gonna play, Greg, one of my favorite singles out of the UK in the 80s, which I always thought was a piece of trifling pop. But as I went down the rabbit hole into its writing, ooh, there's a whole other side to it.

Speaker 3:
[01:17] All right, that's gonna be In A Minute on Sound Opinions.

Speaker 1:
[01:20] Sound Opinions is supported by WISE, the app for international people using money around the globe. With the WISE account, you can send, spend and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Download the WISE app today or visit wise.com. Terms and conditions apply. Be smart, get WISE.

Speaker 4:
[01:43] Sound Opinions is supported by the Goose Island Beer Company. For over 20 years, Goose Island has been brewing their iconic 312 beer for the best moments in our city. It's the Chicago thing. This month, we're asking listeners to go to soundopinions.org and leave us a voice message on the most Chicago thing you've ever seen or experienced. Like this story from Ed on how he scored tickets to a Cubs playoff game in 1984.

Speaker 5:
[02:10] The Chicago Cubs incredibly made the MLB playoffs for the first time in like forever. And I was really determined as a Cubs fan to go down to Wrigleyville and watch the game. There was a place on the corner of Clark and Grace. I got there about an hour before the first pitch and it was really just me and the bartender there. I ordered my first beer and before you know it, I heard heavy footsteps right behind me. Kind of shuffling. It was this big Chicago beat cop. And he goes, Hey kid, you know anyone wants a ticket for the game? I go, how much? Where's it at? 35 bucks, he says. Box seat, left field. I'll take it. I tell the cop and in the back of my mind, I'm waiting for a detective to walk in any moment and arrest me. Never happened. So ended up watching the Cubs win big in that thrilling game, another beer in hand. And that's my most Chicago thing ever.

Speaker 4:
[03:07] 312 beer, it's a Chicago thing.

Speaker 3:
[03:13] Welcome back to Sound Opinions. Jim, tell us about that song you're going to add to the Desert Island Jukebox.

Speaker 1:
[03:19] Greg, I think of the many artists that I haven't given enough love to on this show, that's why we keep doing it. Bananarama. I just love Bananarama. Okay. I was like, even when to say it, you need to smile. I mean, this was not a heavy lifting change the world group. This was pop at its very best. Those singles, right? You know, Shy Boy and Really Saying Something, Cruel Summer, right? But I don't know what it was. You know, one of those endless holiday weekend reruns of the Godfather Trilogy. And there's Bob De Niro, right? And I was thinking, how could I have never added Robert De Niro's waiting to the Desert Island Jukebox, right? So, you know, I began to dig, I knew that the trio of women, Irish English pop group, London 1980, you know, Sara Dallin, Shaban, Fahey, Karen Woodward, they start out backing up Funboy 3. They become a huge hit on their own. And basically, you know, a couple of year run of some great, great singles, Fahey leaves the group. And, you know, they've gone on since. There are 12 Bananarama albums. I don't know that the world needs 12 Bananarama albums. I think it was basically done after the first three. But Robert De Niro's waiting. I've always loved talking Italian. Robert De Niro's waiting and he's talking Italian, right? I don't even know if Robert De Niro can actually speak Italian, but he did in Godfather 2. You know, in that scene, Greg, on the rooftops where he's dissembling the gun after he kills the first Don and he's going to become... And he's dropping different pieces down, different chimneys. Okay, it turns out that only one of the three women in Bananarama say that it's actually was just like, you know, we had a crush on De Niro. You know, Dallin has said it was a meaningless piece of hero worship. It was just a pop song, right? Chaban and Karen say it was actually about sexual assault and stalking. That De Niro, I don't know why he becomes the figurehead for toxic masculinity, but he is... I mean, he's menacing in many of his roles, but there's also kind of a charm about him, even when he's killing people, right? And then you look at the lyrics. I mean, everybody remembers the chorus. Robert De Niro's waiting, talking to Talia. Do you remember another single word? No. No, of course not. I don't think anybody does. A walk in the park can become a bad dream. People are staring and following me. This is my only escape from it all, watching a film or a face on a wall. I don't need a boy. I've got a man of steel. Don't come any closer. Wow! It's like, so this came out in interviews at the time and in subsequent years, two of the three women saying, we're going to tell you what it's really about and you're never going to hear the song the same way. Their partner saying, oh, that's rubbish. I just love that such a simple and essentially silly pop song has another dimension should you choose to dive into it. I kind of am disturbed by that. I just love the chorus.

Speaker 3:
[06:52] Yeah, I know what you mean. It's, you know, thank you for directing me to the complexity of that because I don't think I appreciated it fully in its time. Catchy song and then you go, oh, okay.

Speaker 1:
[07:03] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[07:03] A little deeper than anyone expected, right?

Speaker 1:
[07:05] Well, Bananarama, Robert De Niro is waiting. Banana Rama, Robert De Niro is waiting. I can remember being in clubs like the Anceteria in New York, and hearing that come from like three dozen speakers surrounding you in every area.

Speaker 3:
[07:57] Yeah, I like them too. They were, I guess, might have been called a guilty pleasure, but I never felt guilty about it. I always thought they were kind of cool.

Speaker 1:
[08:07] Yeah, absolutely. But again, why they need to continue as a duo well after their prom... I don't know. Nobody retires anymore.

Speaker 3:
[08:16] I know.

Speaker 1:
[08:16] But then again, we haven't either.

Speaker 3:
[08:18] No, we haven't. That's it for this bonus episode. For more full episodes, visit soundopinions.org. To sponsor the show, email sponsor at soundopinions.org. Sound Opinions is produced by Andrew Gill, Alex Claiborne and Max Hatlem. Our social media consultant is Katie Kott. Thanks for listening.

Speaker 2:
[08:37] Hi, I am Mandy Moore.

Speaker 3:
[08:39] Sterling K. Brown.

Speaker 6:
[08:40] And I'm Chris Sullivan. And we host the podcast That Was Us, now on Headgum.

Speaker 2:
[08:45] Each episode, we're going to go into a deep dive.

Speaker 3:
[08:47] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[08:47] From our show, This Is Us.

Speaker 6:
[08:49] That's right.

Speaker 2:
[08:49] We're going to go episode by episode. We're also going to pepper in episodes with different guest stars and writers and casting directors.

Speaker 3:
[08:58] Are we going to cry? Yes.

Speaker 2:
[09:00] A little bit.

Speaker 3:
[09:00] Are we going to laugh?

Speaker 2:
[09:01] A lot.

Speaker 6:
[09:02] A whole lot.

Speaker 2:
[09:02] That's what I'm hoping, man.

Speaker 1:
[09:04] Listen to That Was Us on your favorite podcast app, or watch full video episodes on YouTube or Spotify. New episodes every Tuesday.

Speaker 6:
[09:14] Sound Opinions is an independent production supported by listeners like me on Patreon. Join us in keeping independent music criticism in the world by clicking the link in this episode's description.