Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Mike Wilner KOTJ: Toronto Mike'd #243

Episode Date: June 20, 2017

Mike and Mike Wilner play and discuss Wilner's ten favourite songs....

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 And right now, right now, right now it's time to... Take out the jams, motherfuckers! I'm in Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm from Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm a Toronto Mike, wanna get the city love My city love me back, for my city love Welcome to episode 243 of Toronto Mike A weekly podcast about anything and everything Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery A local independent brewery producing fresh craft beer.
Starting point is 00:00:47 And propertyinthesix.com. Toronto real estate done right. I'm Mike from torontomike.com. And joining me this week is host of Jay's Talk, Mike Wilner. Welcome back for the third time. I know, this is serious, huh serious huh thank you this is an exclusive club the three-timer club do i get a jacket that's the fifth time all right just be glad you're gonna end up with some beer and a beautiful pint glass in a moment but uh i'm gonna tell
Starting point is 00:01:18 the people at home who are hearing wilner wilner's gonna kick out the jams. You brought your 10 favorite songs. But if people want to hear you and I kick out retro J's songs. We played a whole bunch of old 1980s, early 90s Blue J's songs in episode 136. So that's
Starting point is 00:01:39 where people go to hear that. And I apologize for not having any of those on the list. You know, when I do my top 10, I'm sure half of them will be from those 89 to 92 Jays albums. I considered Help Us Mookie. Help Us Mookie reminds me of 1989, of course. This season sort of reminds me of 1989. So I'm glad you mentioned Mookie, but we'll get to that.
Starting point is 00:02:01 I want to tell people, they want to hear the A to Z of Mike Wilner's illustrious career. They want to hear the story of Mike Wilner's life. That's episode 96. See, I did my homework. For Hebsey, he came in first. By the way, did you hear Hebsey kick out the jams last week? I have not had the opportunity, but I look forward to it.
Starting point is 00:02:19 I wondered if you sized up, just so you can say, I wanted to go in blind i really did that's it's funny i've had some people send me their list of 10 upcoming guests and they in the email they give you a bit of a story of why they like the song and i had to tell one person i had to tell them i don't actually want that right yeah i want to hear it live which is why i was reluctant to do that to you when we were trying to cull the list from 18 to 10. Which wasn't easy for you. I had to send you the stories of the ones that I wasn't sure about
Starting point is 00:02:50 and let you choose from them. I purposely did not really read those stories because mostly these episodes are great fun for me because I have to know the songs because I load them in my soundboard. But hearing you tell me why, I don't want to fake enthusiasm or interest because I'm not a good actor.
Starting point is 00:03:09 I'm going to be like, oh, I heard that well. And I want to hear it for the first time with you live. So that's what we're going to do. But first, because I have you in my basement for the third time, can we do like a very brief little synopsis of where the Jays are at?
Starting point is 00:03:25 What is this, like mid-June? Yeah, they're 69 games in right now, so close to half the season. And the season started horribly? Yep. At its worst, what was it, 2-13? 2-11. 2-11, okay.
Starting point is 00:03:40 And how many games under.500 are we now? One. Yeah, that's right. We keep nibbling at that. So my question for you is when people tweet at you that it's early, do you have a good sense of humor about that, or does it piss you off a little bit? It pisses me off a little bit because they always do it sort of sarcastically.
Starting point is 00:04:00 And what's weird is that the last three years, that's when this whole thing happened, right? They've never started well. It's incredible that the Blue Jays have the worst record in the major leagues in April for the last five years put together. So every year in April, people are sort of falling all over each other to be the first one to say, I told you the season was over on April 10th. That's right. I think a lot of people think that when I say it's
Starting point is 00:04:30 early, that means they're still going to make the playoffs. It doesn't. It just means that there's a lot of time left to recover from this. One would think that in each of the last three years, I've sort of been vindicated with this stance that the season doesn't end in April, but people continue to take shots regardless.
Starting point is 00:04:49 This season, for example, it would be really easy, and I saw a lot of people I know and trust and love were basically calling this season over before May 1st. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like a lot of people. April 15th. And to me, this team, which is primarily very similar to last year's team, it's proven it can win. And it is early. In April, it is early. There's a lot of games to go.
Starting point is 00:05:10 So I kept bringing up the 1989 team in that that was a good team that started 12 and 24. And they made a coaching change. And Mookie came over. And that was before wild cards, though. To me, the fact is, it's easier to make the playoffs today than it was in 89. Oh, much. Much. There were four teams that made it back then. There are 10 now. And back in 89, and the season
Starting point is 00:05:32 has reminded me of that season so much, not just because of the crappy start, but because of the whole battle with 500. And I looked it up. The Jays didn't get more than one game over 500 until August 16th of that year.
Starting point is 00:05:48 Wow. And between July 20th, I think, and August 15th, they played 20 games in which they were either at 500, a game under, or a game over. And I remember us killing ourselves back then, thinking, what's going on? Are they ever going to get over this hump? Is this ever going to happen?
Starting point is 00:06:07 And they wound up winning the division, which is not to say that this year the Jays are going to win the division, but we're two months earlier than they were then having this battle with 500, and it really does, it feels so much the same. It's nuts. And as a, I mean, it's your job. You're going to be there regardless, but for guys like me, it's really
Starting point is 00:06:24 important that when you head into September that you're in the race. I just want to be in the race. And it did look, uh, I mean, it's your job. You're going to be there regardless. But for guys like me, it's really important that when, you know, you head into September that you're in the race. Like, I just want to be in the race. And it did look like, obviously if that trend had continued, the whole like, oh,
Starting point is 00:06:33 I got to tune in tonight feeling isn't there. You got lots going on in the world, but now that there actually looks like, you know, in August and September, there'll be a race. It's just nice that there's, you can always tap into a Jays game,
Starting point is 00:06:44 which is a great pastime of mine. We're always nice that you can always tap into a Jays game, which is a great pastime of mine. We're always there for you. But yeah, you're right. And that was some of the overboardness of the early stuff. When they were 2-11, there were people who were insisting, this team's going to lose 120 games and it's going to be the worst ever.
Starting point is 00:07:00 If this keeps up, well, how can you say if this keeps up? And my answer was, well, it's never. Nobody's ever been this bad, ever. You know, terrible teams will win one third of their games. Right. Yeah, it's baseball.
Starting point is 00:07:11 But I got to say, it did feel, in the early days, it did feel like we would never win again. It's just interesting to get that 2-11 stretch out of the way early, I guess. Hopefully that's the only one
Starting point is 00:07:23 that happens, yeah. Seriously. Have you ever, I know you go to every Jays game at the way early, I guess. Hopefully that's the only one that happens, yeah. Seriously. Have you ever, I know you go to every Jays game at the Dome, I guess almost every Jays game, but have you ever been to a TFC match at Beamer Field? No, never have. Never have. The last live soccer game I saw was at Varsity Stadium in 1982, I want to say.
Starting point is 00:07:44 Was it the Blizzard? It might have been the Blizzard. I think it was Juventus in town, and I can't remember who they played. But I don't know if it was the Blizzard. But I remember I had friends from Israel who were in, and we thought, oh, they like soccer, so let's take them to this.
Starting point is 00:08:00 And we took them, and they thought it was awful. I guess if you're used to a certain caliber. Yeah. I always say, so I i went i was at tfc saturday night and i just got to say and when the jays are i've been to jay's games during you know like in 2015 in september i went to see and it was something special like everyone's into it and it's just a different vibe it's amazing but there's something unique about this tfc, like in terms of the, I'm in the supporter section, and the fan involvement and the chants and the songs that come from the fans. And you saw a bit of this like in the Nashville hockey games
Starting point is 00:08:34 that you watched in the playoffs. But I got to say, there's something remarkable that happens during TFC matches with that crowd. And you got to get yourself to a game. I think it's quite the experience. At some point in time, I definitely will. I've only been to one Toronto Rock game, and I sort of felt that way at the time about that,
Starting point is 00:08:52 that the fan experience was really, really cool back then, but that was a long time ago. Was that back when we just won title after title? Yes. Yes. And that's, for me, with TFC, I'm really happy for all the fans that the team is finally good
Starting point is 00:09:09 and finally doing wonderful things and got to the finals last year because, you know, for years, it was the same raucous, loud singingness for a team that was absolute, just awful. They had protest days, like where everybody in the supporters section would wear black, for example,
Starting point is 00:09:23 to let management know this is not cool. And yeah, apparently, because I don't follow it that closely, but I saw a great match on Saturday night, apparently we're the cream of the crop right now, like number one. Which is great, right? They've earned. I mean, the fans have really, really turned up for this
Starting point is 00:09:40 team. And I thought for a long time it was just an excuse to go out and drink and yell and scream. And maybe it was, but now they're rewarding them at least. Are you familiar with the email newsletter 1236?
Starting point is 00:09:56 I have heard of it. I've never been exactly sure what it was. I know that 1236 has been on your show. Every quarter he's coming in on every quarter. So he's coming in Thursday, I believe. But I would never have known
Starting point is 00:10:11 who it was if I hadn't seen your tweet today. So you've seen my tweet. That explains that twinkle in your eye there. I thought maybe you liked my haircut. Mark Weisblot is the gentleman behind 1236 and he tells me he went to high school with you, and I was just going to try to find out now
Starting point is 00:10:27 whether you remember a Mark Weisblot. Oh, yeah, for sure. No, is that true? Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, it's a tiny high school, right? Okay, so you do. Yeah, so we all knew each other. Okay.
Starting point is 00:10:36 And our year was like, we were in the same grade, Mark and I, but it was a weird year, and I think only people who were born in 1969 or 70 will remember this, but the government took out grade 13, and they put it back in, and they took it out, and then there were OACs.
Starting point is 00:10:58 Yeah, I had OAC. Right, so we were that merge year where the year ahead of us, we graduated with a lot of the people in the year ahead of us because we had the OACs and they didn't. Yeah, they got rid of that OAC because my kids only go to grade 12. Right, right. And a lot of us only went to grade 12 with the OACs.
Starting point is 00:11:23 But only the smart kids. Well, only the ones who wanted to take a course in the summer and a course at night, which a lot of us only went to grade 12 with the OACs. But only the smart kids. Well, only the ones who wanted to take like a course in the summer and a course at night, which a lot of us did. But yeah, so our graduating class was a little bigger, but it was still probably less than 200 people. We went to a tiny little private Jewish high school. So yeah, I don't know that we were really good friends back then or anything, but we certainly knew each other and had a bunch of friends in common. Think about that, though. Two of my guests this week went to the same tiny little high school. That's a small world. I know it's Toronto.
Starting point is 00:11:57 It's a crazy small world. And I've followed him since, you know, I saw when I was at CIUT, he was doing something. I can't remember whether he was at CIUT2 a little later or whether, and then later he did like a. 640, he had some stuff at 640. Yeah, and he did a media blog or something. Yes, well, he did something with the Toronto Star called paved.ca, I believe. And then he had the Better Living Centre, which was his own. He's had a few different things I followed through the years. But now he's focusing on his 1236 newsletter. So you should sign up.
Starting point is 00:12:30 If you want another small world story. Yeah, go ahead. Of course. You ever get Danny Shulman in here? Have you had? I haven't been able to give him a proper invitation yet. But I definitely want Danny Shulman in here. He and I went to the same small, private elementary school,
Starting point is 00:12:45 which I find to be kind of crazy. He's like four or five years older than me, so we didn't know each other then, but I knew his sisters. It's a very small world. There's only so many people who will call a Blue Jays inning this year, you know what I mean? You're a very small collection
Starting point is 00:13:02 of people who will do that. And by the way, good on you. I know Jerry had some throat issues or something. Yeah, he lost his voice. And you had a lot of mic time. You were great. Thank you. I know you're great, but I just want you to know I'm not just saying that because you're sitting there.
Starting point is 00:13:20 I actually thought you were really good. And I mean, I don't know. Rogers hasn't told me. But to me, if they need a succession plan when Jerry decides to retire, it should be you. Fingers crossed. That would be awesome. It would be
Starting point is 00:13:33 far more than a dream come true. But don't worry, Jerry, because it's early. Yeah, it's not happening for a while. It's early. Now, you mentioned earlier Toronto Rock. Do you know which beer company sponsored the Rock Games this past season? This past season?
Starting point is 00:13:50 It's a loaded question for you. Is it the Great Lakes Brewery? It is the Great Lakes Brewery. That only smokes. You're good at trivia. Great Lakes Brewery sponsored Toronto Rock Games. So they sponsored three things that I know of. Toronto Rock Games last year.
Starting point is 00:14:02 They sponsored the Lakeshore Santa Claus Parade. They put a float in there. Very nice. And they sponsored Toronto Mike the Podcast. Well, why wouldn't they? They're just wise people. But they're going to send that beer home with you. They want you to enjoy that.
Starting point is 00:14:14 Wow, a five-pack. I'm very impressed. Thank you. And if you're nice to me, if these jams kick out effectively, I could maybe make that a six-pack. Five is lovely. It's five because
Starting point is 00:14:28 I wanted an empty slot for your new pint glass that you're taking home with you. Brian Gerstein has sent that over for you to bring home. It's lovely. And in fact, you know what? It is the same format as the glasses that I have at home, some of which my children have broken.
Starting point is 00:14:50 So this will be a perfect addition to the collection. That's pretty good. He did say he did his homework, so he got it custom made for you. So it says propertyinthesix.com on the side. That's from Brian Gerstein. We're going to start with this piano ditty. Brian says the current market favors condo owners over detached homes. Now is the perfect time to move up by selling your condo for a max price and being able to buy a house for less than a million. Call Brian at 416-873-0292 to find out how as time is running out for this rare opportunity. So give Brian a shout again it's property in the six.com i gave you the number
Starting point is 00:15:45 416-873-0292 brian gerstein is a real estate sales representative with psr brokerage you are you a homeowner in the gta is that a private question gta but not in the six unfortunately i'm on the other side of the creek. Yeah. I'm closer to you than I am to, or than you are to downtown. But yeah, I'm in the 9. Well, okay, so the Etobicoke Creek is the border there. Yeah. I know it runs through Marie Curtis Park. Yes.
Starting point is 00:16:19 You ever go for a walk or whatever? I bike through that almost every day. Really? Great park, yeah. My kids both used to go to, there used to be a daycare place on the corner of Dixie and Lakeshore. Oh, yeah. Called Pippi's World.
Starting point is 00:16:34 It's gone now. But they both went there and there were constant walks with the kids to Marie Curtis and they would hang out and there's this huge playground where there used to be water there. Well, there's still a water park going on there.
Starting point is 00:16:49 It didn't work then. I saw it. It's working. I saw it. And maybe they renovated it since those days. But definitely saw it working earlier this summer. I saw the kids all there in the water for sure. But, yeah, it's a cool park, Marie Curtis.
Starting point is 00:17:03 And I know that's like half of it's in Mississauga and half of it's in Etobicoke. Yeah, and I used to, when I was on my occasional health kicks, try to go for a five-mile walk, and that would take me through Marie Curtis Park always. And there's a really, you would know it, the bike path that takes you out to Lakeshore heading west. It's really cool in there.
Starting point is 00:17:26 Absolutely. And if you want a really long walk, you can keep going and get the port credit if you're looking for a real long walk during a health kick. Just the time. You don't have the time. I know. That's why I bike. It's faster. Mike Wilner, are you ready to kick out the jams?
Starting point is 00:17:42 I have always been ready to kick out the jams. I'm afraid they won't be hoppy or boppy enough for people. Well, let's dive in and see. I think they're pretty damn good, but we'll talk about it. guitar solo Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion unobtrusive Plays that song that's so elusive And the magic music makes your morning moon Rush, spirit of radio. I want you to know that I hit that post in my head when it was playing there.
Starting point is 00:18:58 This was the theme song for my first show, which was on CIUT. This was the theme song for my first show, which was on CIUT. It started in 1988, maybe 89, when I finally got a half-hour show. But yeah, that was the, I always thought, the perfect intro music. And I used it after that for years. I would love to have it as a Blue Jays broadcast intro music, but I don't think they'll move to that. Which is cool, because Geddy Lee is a huge Blue Jays fan. I was going to say, he scores his own games, right?
Starting point is 00:19:29 That's a hardcore fan. I've had the privilege of getting to know him a little bit through Dave Bedini. We've gone to lunch a few times, went a couple of times with Alex Anthopoulos, a couple of times with Gibby. He's very cool, and he's phenomenal. He's really into the deep, deep dives into the game.
Starting point is 00:19:46 And they don't tour anymore. So he has more time, I would think. Yeah, but he spends a lot of time in London. I think he spends like half the year in London and half the year here. And he's traveled a ton. I think he went to New Zealand this year. And it's cool. You know what?
Starting point is 00:20:00 Not only is it cool because he's a huge Jays fan, but we grew up in the same neighborhood. He's a little older than me. But I mean, all his spots growing up are the same spots as mine growing up. But it's just regardless of any of that stuff, Rush is an incredible band and this is a phenomenal song. Now, rumor has it that this song is about CFNY. Really? Because the slogan for CFNY was Spirit of Radio in the David Marsden era.
Starting point is 00:20:31 I did not know that. Next time you're having lunch with Getty, ask him to confirm or deny these allegations. But yeah, I believe the Spirit of Radio in question is 102.1 CFNY. I thought it was just a screed against over promoting and begging for listeners and compromises and all that stuff.
Starting point is 00:20:56 But yeah, if we should have another one of those lunches, I will definitely ask him. Your kids are older, but two of my kids, one especially, is really into this movie called Trolls. Okay, so Trolls. Mine have no interest in seeing that one. No, your kids are older now,
Starting point is 00:21:13 so they probably graduated from trolldom. But one of the songs that's covered in this is The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. So, you know, I always hear echoing from the trolls, I'll hear, you know, the words of the prophet were written on the subway walls, and of course Rush takes that lyric and it's on the radio walls, so there's a little homage
Starting point is 00:21:34 there to Simon and Garfunkel. But it's different prophets though, right? Yeah, it's different prophets. It's salesmen, right? Right. Yeah, and I think that's very cool too, that they sort of lifted, that Neil sort of lifted and changed that lyric. Great first choice, Mike Willner, and thank you for some CanCon. Hebsey was low on the CanCon, but you start off with one.
Starting point is 00:22:01 I wanted to get as much CanCon in there. I didn't start off. You picked the order. Did I? I took it out of your email, but maybe it off with one. I wanted to get as much CanCon in there. I didn't start off. You picked the order. Did I? Okay. I took it out of your email, but maybe it was just random. Yeah, totally random. And by the way,
Starting point is 00:22:10 don't brag about your CanCon because I'm looking at the list now. I got four, no? I see two. Oh, yeah, you have three. I see three. I see three. But no, we don't want any spoilers,
Starting point is 00:22:20 but maybe you'll correct me and say, well, I see three, but we'll see. Excellent. We cut a Blue Rodeo one, too, though. We cut Blue Rodeo. And maybe at the very end we can talk about some of the cuts we had to make. Honorable mention time.
Starting point is 00:22:33 Number two for Mike Wilner kicks out the jams. guitar solo We walked on the beach Beside that old hotel They're tearing it down now But it's just as well I haven't shown you everything a man can do So stay with me, baby I got plans for you This is the time to remember
Starting point is 00:23:39 Cause it will not last forever These are the days to hold on I wish I had my lighter with me. This is Billy Joel, This Is The Time. And this is, for me anyway, this is the only song that provokes an intense emotional reaction for me. You can see I'm welling up a little bit hearing this. It's just, Billy Joel has always been a favorite of mine from
Starting point is 00:24:07 Piano Man on. But even just all the lyrics of this song. This was a song that I sang to my babies when I was trying to get them to sleep. And just this line here, before you came into my life, it's some kind of miracle that I survived. At the end he says, holding you close is like holding the summer sun I'm warm from the memory of days to come and I thought that was it's gorgeous it's a beautiful song and you know I can't sing but every parent can so this brings back memories of trying to rock the one, 2, 3, 4 month olds
Starting point is 00:24:46 to sleep at 4 o'clock in the morning and not to push non-terrestrial radio but for a while there Sirius had a Billy Joel channel and I had the satellite radio in my rental car at spring training a couple of years ago and I was driving to some road game somewhere and this song came on and i hadn't heard it in years and i literally started crying in the car listening to this song um i don't know if it's if it's so good that it
Starting point is 00:25:21 deserves that but the the memory that it brings back. Well, that's the beauty of music, right? It's evoking those memories and bringing back old emotions. I mean, I was welling up when you were talking. You know what's funny? Gord Depp is coming over in the next couple of weeks, and I have it all loaded up for his episode. I got it loaded in my soundboard already.
Starting point is 00:25:43 That's a cool song. Romantic Traffic, too. I tell my kids about that one all the time because my mom lives at Young and Shepherd and they filmed that at Shepherd Station.
Starting point is 00:25:51 It's a great video, right? Apparently it's like a super low-budget thing and people still watch it and enjoy the old Subway video, if you will. Yeah, here's that lyric at the end. This beach is so cold
Starting point is 00:26:02 on winter afternoon Ah, but holding you close at the end. This is the time to remember Cause it will not last forever I love hearing your story about when your kids were younger and singing this song, because tomorrow, Fred Penner is visiting. Awesome. And yeah, I have memories too. There's an obscure, and I'll play it on this episode tomorrow, so no spoilers here, but he wrote an obscure song
Starting point is 00:26:43 for a show called Tippy Tales, which was about Ojibwe people and it aired briefly on treehouse like back when my oldest was a baby and I'd watch it with him and there's one song that this bear sings in one episode that I I've had four kids and I've sang it to all four whenever they have a they're scared of something or they have a boo-boo I sing in fact I'm well enough now it's my turn but I'll sing this song. And as recently as yesterday, I sang it to the three-year-old. And I can't wait to talk to Fred about this,
Starting point is 00:27:15 the emotions it evokes in me, the song he wrote for Tippy Tales. Yeah, it's incredible. Billy Joel's great. This is great. And for me, when you invited me to kick out these jams, I tried to balance, but it's not about whether the song is particularly great or not for the most part, but for me, it's about the memory that it brings back. And those sense memories with music are incredible.
Starting point is 00:27:37 And that's what makes this so interesting to me is because it's so subjective, and I love to hear, what are the songs that Mike Wilner loves and why? By the way, this whole project, if you will, came about because of a tweet you wrote about Pearl Jam 10.
Starting point is 00:27:50 And it's just, you probably, you probably tweet a hundred times a day or whatever, maybe more. And then I saw this tweet about Pearl Jam 10 and somebody was criticizing the album. Like, first of all,
Starting point is 00:27:59 I hate people who say like your favorite band sucks. Right. Like, what's this? Like, if I want to like Nickelback, I can like Nickelback. You're certainly allowed. You're allowed to.
Starting point is 00:28:09 You know, to face the consequences, but you're allowed to. That's right. Maybe that's a bad example. And we don't have any Pearl Jam on the list. I was thinking about putting Black on there. But that's sort of an old line that I've gone to a few times, that the 10 was the last good album made. Because music did, for me anyway,
Starting point is 00:28:25 start to suck for a while after 1994. But it has come back and there's been some stuff that I've enjoyed that my kids like listening to now, surprisingly. But I don't want to be that old guy with the whole back in my day with everything. I've used this line a lot lately, but the music you loved as a teenager
Starting point is 00:28:45 will never leave you, and you'll always love it. It's like... Same with baseball players, right? When you're 12 years old. Here's my George Bell poster. It's somewhere here. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:28:54 It's a good analogy. Let's hear your third jam. guitar solo Who's gonna tell you when It's too late Who's gonna tell you things Aren't so great You can't go on Thinking
Starting point is 00:29:49 Nothing's wrong What the Who's gonna drive you home Tonight The Cars Drive. It's hilarious, I think, for me. And this is sort of a trend for me, that my favorite songs by certain bands
Starting point is 00:30:12 are sung by not their lead singer. I remember, I used to listen to those countdowns all the time and top 40 lists and stuff I was really a music top 40 music geek which is weird right because most radio right so like you're talking like like 1050 chum back in the day. CFTR always had their top six at six. You know but I lost a lot of respect for CFTR I'll tell you why which is funny because it's the first place I worked in commercial radio but I lost a lot of respect when Islands in the Stream was their number one song.
Starting point is 00:30:48 I thought, you know, what are you doing? It wasn't even on the chump chart at all, as it should have been. But this was, I was listening to like, I can't remember who carried it. Probably some American station had the American Top 40 Casey Kasem's show. And this song came on as one of those, hey, it's not on the Top 40 yet, Kasem's show and this song came on as one of those hey it's not on the top 40 yet but it's on the way I can't remember what he called that but I listened to it I thought wow this is an incredible song and so I think you might think which is off the same album heartbeat city was
Starting point is 00:31:20 like climbing the charts or number one or something like that. It had that video that got constant play. That I never knew until years later was censored in Canada. It was? At the end of the You Might Think video, there's a close-up of Rico Kasich's face. And if you were watching it on Toronto Rocks, then you saw him just sort of click on the side of his glasses and put his hand down and that was it.
Starting point is 00:31:43 On MTV, when he clicked on the side of his glasses, his face came off and stuff started pouring out. I know, yeah, I had no idea. We never got to see that in Canada. So that was climbing the charts. I came to the cars really late. Heartbeat City was the first album that I listened to and then you go back and you hear the stuff like
Starting point is 00:32:02 My Best Friend's Girl and all that stuff. But this song really, i thought this is very rarely have i had that sort of this is the first time i've heard this and this is an incredible song um and this is ben or may he rest in peace on lead vocals um sticks my favorite stick song is too much time on my hands with tommy shaw on lead vocals and not dennis deYoung. But this was the first concert I went to. I saw the cars at the X in the grandstand. Yeah, yeah. Went with my brother, I want to say
Starting point is 00:32:32 85, might have been 84. But yeah, and it was because of this that got me into them. Very cool. That You Might Think video though, whenever Much would do these like top videos of all time thing for the longest time, this was always guaranteed. This one in Sledgehammer
Starting point is 00:32:47 by Peter Gabriel were always top 10 surrounding the typical Michael Jackson and this and that. Excellent. By the way, when you first sent me the list and you said Drive, you never said it was the cars. For some reason, the first thing I thought of was the R.E.M. song called Drive.
Starting point is 00:33:03 Yeah, and I didn't know there was an R.E.M. song called Drive. Which I always liked. And I'm like, oh, he's got the R.E.M. song called Dry yeah and I didn't know there was an R.E.M. song called Dry which I always liked and I'm like oh he's got some R.E.M. in there nope I don't like them because too many people like them that's right that was our chat before we started recording I'm kidding we had a nice fun chat that once a band
Starting point is 00:33:20 is too popular there are some people who will stop listening to them which doesn't make any sense to me let's hear your fourth song, Mike. I hear the drums echoing tonight And she has only whispers of some quiet conversation She's coming in 12.30 flight The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me toward salvation I stopped an old man along the way
Starting point is 00:34:26 Hoping to find some old forgotten words Or ancient melodies He turned to me as if to say Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you It's waiting there for you. Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you. There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do. I miss the rains down in Africa.
Starting point is 00:35:06 Gonna take some time to do the things we never had Toto's Africa. Yeah, am I giving myself away too much with the vintage of all these songs? No, it's all good. You love what you love. That's what I love about music. One of the reasons I like this song is because I was a big lyrics geek too. And this has one of the greatest lines, and it's coming right up here,
Starting point is 00:35:29 right after he says, I know that I must do what's right. I must do what's right. Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti. I found that to be a fantastic line. Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.
Starting point is 00:35:46 And I wanted, as part of this jam kicking out, to pick a real 80s song, and this was it, with a great lyric. I had to, in the email to you, I was deciding between this and Authority Song by John Cougar Mellencamp, because that also has a fantastic one line, which is
Starting point is 00:36:08 growing up leads to growing old and then to dying and dying, to me, don't sound like all that much fun, which I thought was hilarious. But this is great, too. And another thing about the lyrics geekery of me is I still can't figure out what they're saying at the end of the chorus.
Starting point is 00:36:23 Because it's going to take a lot to do the things we never had doesn't make any sense and I love Duran Duran and their music makes no sense at all but I have no idea what they're saying and
Starting point is 00:36:38 I don't know if the sound he makes at the end is something else to add to the lyric but it's really confusing to me and I dig that kind of stuff let me makes at the end is something else to add to the lyric, but it's really confusing to me, and I dig that kind of stuff. Let me ask you this. Is Toto a one-hit wonder? No, they had Rosanna. Oh, yeah, of course.
Starting point is 00:36:53 Yeah, that's right. And then there was one other one. They were a super group, I think. They were one of the first super groups, but I don't know which groups came together to do it. The greatest one-hit wonder of the 80s, I think. Dexys Midnight Runners. Yeah Dexys Midnight Runners, yeah. Yeah, because you can't name a second song.
Starting point is 00:37:07 Right, Tapao, too. Remember Tapao? What's Tapao's hit? Heart and Soul? Oh, yeah, yeah. A bit of heart and soul. And the thing about Africa also, which is what put it over to get it on this list,
Starting point is 00:37:20 is that last week I was driving to work and I was listening to CHFI, and they played this song, but it was done by Pentatonix, which is that a week I was driving to work and I was listening to CHFI and they played this song but it was done by Pentatonix oh yeah which is that acapella group and again that's like my kids used to be so far into Pentatonix uh more than anything else and I got um they came and they did like a private ish performance for kiss and CHF I a couple of years ago and I managed to get passes and I brought my children to this Pentatonix thing this would have been December of 2015 nice and it was a tiny little nothing. There were
Starting point is 00:38:08 maybe a hundred people there. Wow. And we were right up close and they got to ask questions afterwards and my youngest daughter, my oldest daughter brought some art that she'd made for them and I know
Starting point is 00:38:24 that this is audio brought some art that she'd made for them. And I know that this is audio only, but I have never seen my children happier than... I'm going to show you a picture of my older daughter just looking at them playing and the smile on her face. That's happiness. Right. And so that was, I mean...
Starting point is 00:38:41 Nothing as a fellow father. Seeing your... I've taken my daughter to some shows. And Selena Gomez once, I mean, that was unbelievable. Nothing as a fellow father. Seeing your, like I've taken my daughter to some shows, and Selena Gomez once, for example, and my daughter just was screaming along to the song. So I'd be like, nothing's better than bringing joy to your children. Yeah, no, and that's what... It's a way to leverage that Rogers hookup. You bet.
Starting point is 00:38:59 Yeah, good for you. Any chance I could do that. All right, buckle up. Here we go with Wilner's fifth jam. I'm going to go ahead and turn it off. the sky didn't have a care in the world mommy and daddy standing by but happily ever after fails we've been poisoned by these fairy tales lawyers dwell on small details since daddy had to fly Oh, but I'm to a place where we can go I'm still untouched by men So watch the clouds roll by The tall grass fades in the wind
Starting point is 00:40:21 And you can lay your head back on the ground Don Henley, End of the Innocence Don Henley, End of the Innocence And I can tell you that this song came out in 1989 because the reason that it's on this list is that year I did the Welland Pirates and they were a short season A-ball team, a Pittsburgh affiliate, and I was the second chair volunteer play-by-play guy for them and i had to get there myself and back and so i drove to welland or niagara falls or
Starting point is 00:41:12 st catherine's or jamestown new york or all these little you know little a-ball places um and every single time i drove out this song was on the radio every single time I drove out, this song was on the radio. Every single time, whether going out there or coming back, and I used to listen to McCowan doing Jay's talk if there was time on the way back, if I finished early enough. But it was this one song brings me back to that year and doing that minor league baseball for the first time on see how with Pete Marina, 1470 and brought to you by Seaway pools or whatever it was.
Starting point is 00:41:55 The, the new well in sports complex and all that stuff. And I, I firmly believe that for every one of the 30 games, this song was on the radio on my way there and on my way back. Massive, massive hit and great song. It is a great song. You know, he had a few great ones.
Starting point is 00:42:13 I don't know if he gets the attention he deserves. He did Center Field, right? No, that was John Fogarty. All She Wants to Do is Dance. He did Boys of Summer, which has nothing to do with baseball, but is a very good song nonetheless. Yeah, he had some big solo hits there in the late 80s.
Starting point is 00:42:32 Don Henley. How come Centerfield's not... This is a spoiler alert, but there's no Centerfield on your list. No, there's no Centerfield. I mean, I like that song. But Rock and Roll Girls is a better song off that album from Fogarty, if you ask me.
Starting point is 00:42:46 Or Talkin' Baseball by Cashman, right? Yeah, that's it. I mean, that's sure. The Blue Jays version. Or I was going to say the Simpsons version, right? Talkin' Softball. Wilner's sixth jam. And in the pool, I think some people at a pool, when would Duran Duran show up?
Starting point is 00:43:02 I think it's number six. Wild Boys! The wild boys are calling On their way back from the fire In August moon surrender to A dust cloud on the rise. Wild boys falling far from glory. Reckless and so hungered. On the races that you trail. Because there's murder by the roadside.
Starting point is 00:44:02 In a sore a freight new world They tried to break us Looks like they'll try again Wild boys, never lose it Wild boys, never chose this way Wild boys, Duran Duran. Yeah, this is a phenomenal song. And I'm thinking of the video as we're listening to it,
Starting point is 00:44:43 which was elaborate and crazy. And I thinkon was spinning and getting whipped on a wheel while he was upside down and there was fire and out of some crazy devil head or whatever i mean they were big on elaborate videos duran duran but um this is you know i knew i had to have a duran duran song in there because they were as sad as it sounds, my favorite band. People compared them to the Beatles. They were the Beatles of the 80s. They kind of were, right? Which is nuts. But this was it
Starting point is 00:45:13 for them. I think this, and I saw them play in, I don't know if it was in the 90s or later, I saw them at the amphitheater. My brother actually won tickets from Chum FM to watch them in concert in 84 at the Gardens when they filmed the Reflex video.
Starting point is 00:45:31 Right, where the water comes. Yeah, so he's in the Reflex video somewhere. That's a great track, Reflex. You know, I used to choreograph breakdancing moves to the Reflex. I didn't want to go with that song because I thought that was too on the nose. This is the one band that I'm going to play music snob with as much as one can for Duran Duran. But I originally had wanted to go with Cracks in the Pavement, which might be my favorite song of theirs.
Starting point is 00:45:56 It's off of the third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger. But nobody knows it, and I didn't want to be that guy. But I also didn't want to do the Reflex. But I mean, their early library, those first three albums. So here's where I can contribute. The very first piece of vinyl I bought on my own was a copy of Rio. Really? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:15 Very nice. I loved Duran Duran as a young man. How could you not? I thought they were the coolest. And I loved Rio. And I loved, What's the... Hungry Like the Wolf? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:29 That track, I could play that over and over again. I heard that the other day. New Moon on Monday. Yeah. New Moon on Monday is a phenomenal song. I didn't love Union of the Snake, but that was about the only one. Planet Earth is a great song. Is there something I should know?
Starting point is 00:46:40 And Save a Prayer. It's not Save a Prayer. Save a Prayer. Is it called Save a Prayer? It's a phenomenal song. Yeah. What's the Madonna song called then? Like a Prayer. Like a Prayer. Save a Prayer. Is it called Save a Prayer? It's a little song, yeah. What's the Madonna song called then? Like a Prayer.
Starting point is 00:46:47 Like a Prayer, great. Save a Prayer, which was released twice, right? Because it was released twice. Yeah, there was this super extended version and another one. But the Wild Boys, I don't know if it's Wild Boys or The Wild Boys. I think it's Wild Boys. This is the end. This song was released on their Greatest Hits album,
Starting point is 00:47:03 which came after the first three, and then they broke up. They went to Arcadia and Power Station. Didn't they have an album? They had an album called Arena. Yeah. But this is not on that? No.
Starting point is 00:47:14 My brain, it's because I'm, you know, the whole memories are. Unless the Arena was a concert album. You know, I'm going to trust you. You're the Duran Duran guy, except my memory bank is that the album after Seven and the Ragged Tiger, I remember that having Wild Boys on it.
Starting point is 00:47:28 And that was Arena. It may have because Wild Boys was never on an album, right? It was never on an album of original music. But then they broke up. They got back together in various iterations. They had Notorious and Ordinary World, those songs. Right. And the White Lines, they did White Lines or something.
Starting point is 00:47:46 And there was another one that just came out a couple of years ago that was not half bad, but it's not, you know, you got to have the core five there, the three Taylors and Simon and Nick. Yeah, that's a great band for 80s, if you love 80s music,
Starting point is 00:48:02 yeah, Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger, you got to have those albums in your collection. And Wild Boys is a great track. Good job. Thank you. Number seven is the first time you overlap with Hebsey, by the way. Really? Well, not the same song, but the same band.
Starting point is 00:48:16 Hebsey also had a band. I also had a song by this band. Let's hear it. When I call you up, your line's engaged I have had enough, so act your age The Beatles, You Won't See Me. And can we count this as half CanCon? Why? Because the only reason that I went and found this song by the Beatles was because I was introduced to it with an Anne Murray cover. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:49:19 I still can't count that as half CanCon. That's a good argument. Anne Murray. So, okay, so Beatles have, I don't know, 250 songs or whatever in their catalog. So tell me why this one? Because of the Anne Murray connection. Because my father loved the Beatles and loved Anne Murray too, but for some reason I heard her version first a bunch of times.
Starting point is 00:49:43 And I remember I can still see his album collection in his apartment at Don Mills and York Mills. No, Leslie and York Mills. And he had the blue album and the red album of the Beatles, and he had Hippo in My Bathtub by Anne Murray. I had that too. They're like beside each other. Had Teddy Bear Picnic on that?
Starting point is 00:50:10 Yeah. Yeah, I had that one too. And I just, I remember, and I used to do on the radio, every once in a while they would ask me to host a show and we would have giveaways and they would say, figure out how to give this away. So I did it with cheesy 80s music trivia and it was like who covered this beatle song and and this was ann murray the carpenters covered ticket to ride which was another one on the thing
Starting point is 00:50:34 um and you know i wanted to have a beatle song and i wanted to have there are so many and there are so many awesome ones and so many awesomer than this maybe but I think this is a fantastic song and I was just so surprised when I found out that it was a Beatles song because I'd always thought of it as an Anne Murray song that's funny so I wanted to throw that in there
Starting point is 00:50:57 Anne Murray apparently is a great golfer yeah and a huge Blue Jays fan she sang the anthem on the opener in 77 and then the World Series in 92. Yeah, she's very much into the Blue Jays. I would love to discuss this song with her someday if she ever wants to.
Starting point is 00:51:19 Well, you know, if you reach out to her, see, that's the difference between you and I. You say, hey, I want to talk to you. I heard you had in Seattle, you had a caller from Seattle named Erin. Yeah. Is that what I heard? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:31 Well, but we worked together, Erin Davis and I. And she was wonderful. I'm a huge fan. She's been a huge supporter of mine since, like, the beginning. So I'm greatly indebted to Erin Davis. It was awesome to have her on the show. Speaking of those old retroro J songs, she's responsible for at least three of them. Really? Yeah, she did three of those.
Starting point is 00:51:50 I'm trying to think which three. If I could do this real quick, it's on my head, but Go Blue Jays Go, sort of a Johnny Be Good version of Go Blue Jays Go she did, and she did a couple of others that are escaping me right now. Since I remember that cheesy 80s music trivia I used to do,
Starting point is 00:52:06 would you like one question? Yeah, please. All right. You and I are not quite... I think I'm a little older than you. You've got a few years, yeah. So hopefully... I'm sure you know the song, but you might not.
Starting point is 00:52:16 Okay, let's go for it. The question is this. What cheesy 80s tune, and it is definitely an 80s tune that reeks of cheese, Cheesy 80s tune, and it is definitely, it is an 80s tune that reeks of cheese. What song advocated for the colonization of Venus in order to avoid overpopulation and nuclear destruction? Oh, crap, Wilner.
Starting point is 00:52:41 I'm going to have to edit this out now. Just kidding. I have a deer in the headlight look to me. Yeah, I can see the gears grinding. Okay. Cheesy 80s track. I thought I'd be pretty good at cheesy. It is a huge arena rock tune.
Starting point is 00:52:55 It's played at every sporting event, every hockey game for sure. And it's not Rock and Roll Part 2? No, no. That's got a whole other connotation to it. That's true, Gary Glitter. Poor Gary. Well, not poor Gary.
Starting point is 00:53:08 We'll just leave Gary out of this. We'll move on. Tell me so that people don't have to listen. It's The Final Countdown. Oh, I should have got that, of course. And it's also Job's theme on Arrested Development. Have you ever caught Arrested Development? The Final Countdown?
Starting point is 00:53:23 Yeah, because he's a magician and that's his theme song. Wow. The final countdown. Great piece of trivia there that I totally bombed off. I'll get the next one. I'll get the next one. Let's return to CanCon with your seventh jam. You see my hands are standing
Starting point is 00:54:04 You've seen my face before Soon you can take your last look And they'll close the door I stand accused before you I have no tears to cry And you will never break me Till the day I die A criminal mind is all I, all I've ever known
Starting point is 00:54:52 They tried to reform me, but I'm made of cold stone My criminal mind. And not the radio edit. I like it. This is, I pulled it out of my own personal collection. Nice job. This,
Starting point is 00:55:16 I never know. That was when he was Gowan and we didn't have to call him Lawrence back then. They called him Larry every once in a while. Now it's all Lawrence Gowan. It's fancy now. I remember this video played quite a bit on Much Music. Fantastic.
Starting point is 00:55:28 Tell me about Criminal Mind. Wow. I mean, this is a great 1980s song off of that Strange Animal. I bought the Strange Animal album, probably one of those $4.99 sales that Sam the Record made on Saturday mornings. And I met Gowen a few years ago. the record man on Saturday mornings. And I met Gowan a few years ago.
Starting point is 00:55:47 And like I said before, I'm a lyrics geek, but I did occasionally mishear the occasional lyric. And this song has, I don't, yeah, it's coming up right here. Right there. He says, I'm numb to pain. And of course, this is digitally remastered and we have a beautiful
Starting point is 00:56:21 sound system and we can hear it very nicely. And when I heard this song the first time and probably the next 50 times, I thought that line was, and I love to paint. And, you know, because you're in prison, right? You got time on your hands. You can pick up a new hobby.
Starting point is 00:56:40 So I figured, hey, he loves to paint. Fine. So he's happy in prison. But apparently he's numb to pain. So I met Gowan a few years ago. There was a Maccabi Canada fundraiser. Danny Shulman hosted it. I don't know what brought Gowan there, but he was there,
Starting point is 00:56:54 and we talked for a while, and I told him this. I said, you know, I love a lot of your stuff. He was really impressed that I knew the name of Cosmetics because he says everybody thinks that song is called High Fashion Model Magazine. But whatever. So that was kind of a cool moment. You earned points right off the bat. I earned points. And I said in a
Starting point is 00:57:11 criminal mind, I used to think the line was I love to paint until I found out much later. And he was like, you know what? That's not bad. I'm going to use that. There's a term for this with the commonly misheard lyrics like there's a bathroom on the right right and uh jimmy hendrix uh excuse me while i kiss this guy and there's a bunch and there's a term
Starting point is 00:57:31 for what that's called and sometimes bands will play the missed like it becomes so popular the misheard version sometimes bands are known to actually play the misheard version on purpose and i can't remember what it's called i have a couple of those books or i used to anyway with books full of misheard lyrics, but some of them were just, I thought, no, they made this up. Nobody actually heard it that way. But the fact that he said he might actually perform it that way,
Starting point is 00:57:53 that was really cool. I bet you he did too. He's with Stix now, right? He did a lot of work with Stix as their lead singer. Nice. You know what? I'm afraid to have Gowan over here because I won't know you. Lawrence, Larry, can I call you Gowan? It would be too confusing.
Starting point is 00:58:08 What do I call this? Three options. Yeah. I would go with Gowan. Gowan. I actually have a cousin with the last name Gowan. So there you go. Great choice.
Starting point is 00:58:19 Great choice. And it's good to get a second CanCon. There will be one more. But first, let's hear your ninth. Let me shut down Larry. Sorry, Larry. Let's hear your ninth jam. I'm a ramblin' man Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can And when it's time for leavin'
Starting point is 00:58:51 I hope you understand That I was born a ramblin' man My father was a gambler down in Georgia And he wound up on the wrong end of a gun And I was born in the backseat of a greyhound bus Rolling down Highway 41 Lord, I was born a rampant man Trying to make a living and doing the best I can Lord, I was born a ramblin' man.
Starting point is 00:59:29 Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can. When it's time for leavin', I hope you'll understand. That I was born a ramblin' man. Awesome. Ramblin' Man, Allman Brothers. There's a little bonus track. I thought we'd cut this one, but I'll take it. I'll take it. You might have another bonus track coming up, but it was very difficult to get Mike Willner down to 10 songs,
Starting point is 00:59:55 so we've reached a compromise. This part right here, this long solo is why I picked this song. As we can hear, there's a good 20 seconds with no lyrics except for the all right. This is from 1995 when I was working for the Hardware City Rockettes. And if you go back to, I think you said episode 96, where you hear the story of my career, you'll hear that when I got the job with the Hardware City Rockettes, which was New Britain, Connecticut, a double A team in the Eastern League, that I believe is now the Hartford Yardgoats, they told me that I was going to be the pre and post game show host and the fill-in play-by-play guy and get about 10 or 15, 20 games of play-by-play,
Starting point is 01:00:44 which was really, really cool. And then when I got there, they said, oh, yeah, and you're also going to be working in a studio off-site. You don't get to go to any of the games. You have to produce and engineer the broadcast, and you have to build all the bumpers. And this was the day before digital. Right.
Starting point is 01:01:01 It was carts and razor blades and scotch tape. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And so I had to search through the library of this radio station because we weren't allowed to use any music that had lyrics in it. We could have anything at all. It didn't have to be public domain, but there was no talking allowed. Gotcha.
Starting point is 01:01:20 Only music. So I searched through the library to find songs with long solos that they deemed appropriate for our bumper music and this is the only one I remember finding. Great track. I went through like a southern rock phase and this is one of the tracks I would always put on my southern rock mixes because it's just a fantastic you know, Greg Allman only passed away I think about a month ago. Yeah, great guitar work. Great, great jam from a great band.
Starting point is 01:01:48 It's a cool pick. Jessica's another one that's instrumental, I think. I think it's, yeah, it's called Jessica. They should have just cut up YYZ and done it for all the bumpers. That's great. But yeah, Southern Rock is outstanding. I'm not hugely into it, but I don't listen to a lot that I don't like when I hear whether it's
Starting point is 01:02:06 Allman Brothers or Skinner or CCR sure yeah I mean yeah CCR is fantastic CCR I think has a record for most hits that never hit number one
Starting point is 01:02:17 really I don't think they ever hit one but they hit two like a dozen times or something that's amazing something like that yeah they had a good
Starting point is 01:02:24 they were like a comet. You know, they burned very bright for a very short period of time, the CCR. I don't think they're, as a band, I don't think they were around that long. I think it was like a decade at the most. I can't fade out of rambling, man. That's too cool.
Starting point is 01:02:38 But you, my friend, we've advertised this and we promoted it as your 10 jams. I got to be honest with the audience, I've loaded 12 tracks into the soundboard. So when you hear this number 10 now, you've got to stay tuned. There's two more coming.
Starting point is 01:02:53 But this is the 10th jam from Mike Wilner. I'm going to go ahead and close the show. I wanted to be with you alone And talk about the weather But your distance I can trace Against the cloud in your face Won't escape my attention But your tensions I can trace against the trot in your face Won't escape my attention You keep your distance, me the system of touch And gentle persuasion
Starting point is 01:04:00 I'm lost in admiration,, I need you this much Oh, you're wasting my time You're just, just, just wasting time Something happens and I'm head over heels I never find out Did I hurt nobody? Something happens and I'll head over heels I won't take my heart, don't break my heart Don't, don't, don't throw it away
Starting point is 01:04:31 Head Over Heels, Tears For Fears Who were in town last night Yeah, they actually played last night with Hall & Oates And I wish I could have been there But I'll take working at Blue Jays win over that But yeah, this song and again we talked earlier about how it's more about the memories and what it brings you back to and I don't know if Lime Ricky's was a Toronto was, where I met my future wife, now ex-wife.
Starting point is 01:05:10 I have one of those, too. Yeah. Though she's lovely. Yeah, mine is, too. Yeah, perfect. But one day, I just remember being at Lime Ricky's and working, I don't know, whatever shift it was. And there were probably five of us wait staff and four cooks and the managers. And this song came on in the kitchen and everybody just stopped what they were doing and just started belting it out the whole restaurant.
Starting point is 01:05:36 And this is one of those sorts of belty out kind of songs. But that's what this song, every single time I hear it, takes me back to the kitchen at Lime Ricky's. Lime Ricky's. You know, the Thor Burger and the kitchen sink and the Sunday and all that stuff. Do you remember Lime Ricky's? I don't remember being inside of one,
Starting point is 01:05:57 but I remember the name Lime Ricky's. There was one at Yonge and Eglinton, really Yonge and Holly Street, which is where the fan was at the beginning. There was one at the Eaton Center. I worked at the one at young and steels and there was another one in mississauga my ex closed down all four of them she she was she was she actually hired me to work there we wound up getting married which was pretty cool and spent almost almost 20 years together and had two wonderful daughters. But then when the head office started closing them down,
Starting point is 01:06:34 they would send her to each one to close it. So she was kind of like the Grim Reaper of libraries. She was the Grim Reaper, yeah. That's funny. Is this the video that was filmed at the U of T library? I don't know. There is a Tears for Fears video
Starting point is 01:06:50 and I think it might be this one that was filmed at the U of T library. By the way, is this the song? Is this track from Songs from the Big Chair?
Starting point is 01:06:58 I believe so. What an album. It's funny. My buddy Elvis was in here on the weekend. He took me to the TFC match and we were talking about because he felt like a lot of people were overrating Tears for Fears,
Starting point is 01:07:08 which is because they were coming to town, is what happens when a band's coming to town. And I said, well, you know, for its time, I don't think there was a bigger album that year than Songs from the Big Chair. It was a monster album. I remember getting that as a bar mitzvah gift from a cousin of mine. But I thought Tears for Fears was really underrated as a band because
Starting point is 01:07:26 you know the hurting was a great album pale shelter was a fantastic song so was mother's talk uh and and when you talk about tears for fears all people want to talk about a shout right which is their biggest song but i think maybe the worst of all the the big hits that they had sowing the seeds of love was an amazing song. That is an amazing track. That was like that Beatles track, right? They tried. They said they were trying really hard to make a Beatles song. And it does sound a lot like it.
Starting point is 01:07:51 And the Walrus or something like that. Yeah, it sounds a little bit like that. But it's a great track. Sowing the Seeds of Love is a great track. Yeah. And I'm trying to remember the other hits off songs from the Big Chair. But Shout, of course, and this one, Head Over Heels. But there were more.
Starting point is 01:08:02 There was one more really big one and I don't remember what it was in Tears for Fears what does the other guy do again because it's Roland is the guy who takes all the deep breaths
Starting point is 01:08:12 that you can hear is it like a Wham thing as a Wham fan as a kid I always wondered what Andrew Ridgely was doing or Hall & Oates
Starting point is 01:08:21 there's a lot of bands like that well Oates has a big role to play in Hall & Oates but yeah Andrew I wondered what Andrew did and the other guy I mean he has lead Or Hall & Oates, right? There's a lot of bands like that. Well, Oates has a big role to play in Hall & Oates. Yeah, I get to play big. But yeah, Andrew, I wondered what Andrew did. And the other guy, I mean, he has lead on Pale Shelter. Okay.
Starting point is 01:08:33 And he has... Oh, Mad World is another track from... But what's that? There's another song from Songs from the Big Chair that... Oh, well. This is why we should... People will tell us on Twitter. We should be Googling live, but they'll tell us later. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:08:44 We're not cheating at all. No. Otherwise, I would have got the people will tell us on Twitter. We should be Googling live, but they'll tell us later. Yeah. We're not cheating at all. No. Otherwise, I would have got the final countdown. It's funny. You played a song called Africa. Yeah. And then we talked about a song from Europe. From a band called Europe.
Starting point is 01:08:56 That's right. So we're getting there. We're leaving together. That's the first line. And he means they're leaving in a rocket ship for Venus. Now I know the rest of the story. So that's 10 tracks, but we got two more. They're leaving in a rocket ship for Venus. Now I know the rest of the story. So that's 10 tracks, but we got two more.
Starting point is 01:09:09 Let's play your 11th. And Hepsi's going to be mad. I only gave him 10, and I made him do 10. And look, that's what happens. Hepsi got to do it first. Someone had to go first. Damien Cox, last update I got, he was down to 60. So you thought you had trouble.
Starting point is 01:09:22 He's trying to get down to 10. But let's hear your 11th jam. We have no bananas. We have no bananas today. We've got string beans and onions and big juicy lemons and all kinds of fruit and say we've got an old-fashioned tomato a long island potato we have no bananas we have no bananas today Tell the good people what they're listening to here. I think it's Louis Prima with a little Yes, We Have No Bananas. And there's a lot of cool stuff about this song.
Starting point is 01:10:18 The first thing is that as part of my trying to get my kids into music, I fed them a lot of Beatles, and I made a few what I called the fun CDs. And I mentioned this to my daughter the other day when we were talking about this thing. I said, do you remember what was on the fun CD? And she was like, oh, the fun CD.
Starting point is 01:10:40 And she started to well up a little bit. That's great. But I mean, it had stuff like Purple People Eater and Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weeny, you know. Like novelty songs. Yeah. And I thought they would dig that. But there's more to it than this.
Starting point is 01:10:53 This song also, because it has become this pop culture debate, is a hot dog a sandwich. This song answers that question, is a hot dog a sandwich, which we'll hear towards the end when this Woody Allen sounding guy comes in and orders, he wants bananas. But also this takes me back to the Muppet Show because this song was performed on the Muppet Show back in the 70s and that was my maternal grandmother's favorite show. She watched it all the time. And that was how I got introduced to a lot of modern contemporary really good music.
Starting point is 01:11:31 And she did too, right? I remember vividly Elton John performing Crocodile Rock on The Muppet Show and a lot of other great bands in there. It's a great show. Yeah, it was a great show.
Starting point is 01:11:46 And this song was part of that, too. But yeah, it was, I mean, it's the fun CD. And that's what made me put this on the list. But you'll hear. And celery. And olives. But we got no bananas today. Here, I think we solved the mystery.
Starting point is 01:12:03 Who asked you for bananas anyway? Who asked you? I only want a hot dog sandwich. Hot dogs are better than bananas. I always say, ain't it? There you go. In the 1950s, a hot dog sandwich. It's definitive proof, I'd say.
Starting point is 01:12:18 That's right. This is good enough for me. We have solved the, we have answered the debate right here. The debate is now, I believe it's, it is now over.
Starting point is 01:12:32 That debate is over because a hot dog is a sandwich. Last jam for Mike Wilner happens to be by my favorite band of all time.
Starting point is 01:12:41 Ooh. Here we go. Here we go. I don't know how old I am If I'm armoring my belly From the 16th century Conquistador of things I don't know how old I am If I'm armoring my belly Pashing out a machine I'll land if I'm armoring my belly
Starting point is 01:13:25 Dashing out of machine revving tension Dashing out of machine revving tension Rushing by the machine revving tension Rush in by the machine revving tension The tragically hip locked in the trunk of a car. If memory serves, this was the first single off of Fully Completely. I believe you're correct. And this takes me back to the end of my days at U of T and my buddy Aaron Lobel with whom I did a Cable 10 show.
Starting point is 01:14:08 Let's Talk Sports. Let's Talk Sports. Which I watched. Really? We talked about this night episode 96. Amazing. I phoned in once to try to win like a pizza. You were giving away a pizza.
Starting point is 01:14:16 We give away all kinds of stuff. Yeah, go ahead. It's amazing. It was a great show. We did it for five years, and we were really good friends. I would hang out in his condo all the time. He lived on St. Charles right off campus
Starting point is 01:14:31 and Bay Street. Can I tell you, I lived at 30 Charles Street West when I was at U of T. Really? Because they had family. Family got a subsidized, if you were a family going to U of T,
Starting point is 01:14:41 and I was married quite young, and I had subsidized rent at 30 Charles Street West. Which building was that? The one right over top the Uptown Theatre, across from the Brass Rail. Oh, okay, so this was farther. He lived right at the corner of Charles and Bay. Yeah, this is Young and Charles.
Starting point is 01:14:56 Yeah, and I don't know why I said St. Charles, but Charles and Bay, where there's a subway now in the basement of that one. And he had a buddy, and this is all kinds of things he had a buddy who got me hired at the pickle barrel from whence i was fired four times back in the day um but this we we heard this song while we were driving back and forth to the the show uh we bought fully completely we played the hell out of that album you had a cousin of mine made me a mixtape of tragically hip which went all the way back to like small town bring down um and all the way up hide highway girl on there and yeah i mean it was it was amazing and you know i used to do public address at at u of t um everything basketball everything, basketball, hockey, football, water polo, volleyball, all of it. And there was a player on the Varsity Blues,
Starting point is 01:15:53 just sort of a nondescript, he was a bench guy on the basketball team, and his name was Amar El Maragi. And every time I hear this song, don't know how old I am, they found Amar El Maragi. That pops into my head. That's great. So there are a lot of great hip songs. I was lucky enough to be at their last concert in Toronto.
Starting point is 01:16:09 So you were at the, because I was in the middle one. Yeah, because they announced that one late. I thought I purposely got tickets for what I thought was the last Toronto concert. And then they added later, they added the Sunday gig. So I was at the Friday, I guess it was. I think it was Thursday, Friday, Sunday that they played. It was the only hip concert I've ever been to. And it was amazing. And it was emotional. And it was I think it was Thursday, Friday, Sunday that they played and it was the only hip concert I've ever been to and it was amazing and it was emotional
Starting point is 01:16:28 and it was wonderful the only bad thing is when they played Bob Cajun Gord's mic died for one night in Toronto that was the only line you couldn't hear in the whole concert and that would have been so cool
Starting point is 01:16:43 maybe he intentionally doesn't sing that line because the crowd sings it. The crowd wasn't singing. And I think the chord popped out of the mic because you saw him kind of fiddling with it. Okay, because as a veteran hip in Toronto guy, I think 12 times in Toronto, when that line comes up in Bob Cajun that night in Toronto, the crowd sings it, screams it at the top of their lungs in Toronto. So I always wonder if that was
Starting point is 01:17:07 on purpose. But that, man, that was an emotional concert, right? It really was. Thanks to Joey Vendetta for helping me find a way to get tickets to that. See, you've got to know the right people. I was a sucker. I'm on Ticketmaster trying to get a ticket for me and my oldest, and I only ended up getting one
Starting point is 01:17:24 because it was impossible to get two. But I should have called Joey Vendetta. Should have called Joey Vendetta. Joey Vendetta hooked me up. I mean, they were still $400, but he managed to find me a pair of tickets, which was particularly awesome. See, that story, when it was Joey Vendetta hooking you up, I envisioned free tickets.
Starting point is 01:17:42 But then when it became $400, I wasn't as excited. I have to tell you, I envisioned free tickets, too. It's became $400, I wasn't as excited about that. I have to tell you, I envisioned free tickets too. It's like, oh, I got you tickets. That's amazing. Yeah, $400. Oh, thanks for that. That's still the hip, right?
Starting point is 01:17:54 Well, you had to go. Yeah, you had to go. I can't believe you hadn't seen them yet. I know. You had to see them. But I can't really do a lot of things. My calendar is often quite booked up. But bands tour in the winter too. There's lots of ACC shows that they would do in the of things. My calendar is often quite booked up. But that band's tour in the winter, too.
Starting point is 01:18:06 There's lots of ACC shows that they would do in the winter, too. Mike, I got to say, this was a heck of a lot of fun. Yeah, I had a blast. Thank you very much for this. I'm glad to have inspired you to do this. I think when Hepsey listens to this,
Starting point is 01:18:22 he's going to be, uh-oh, Wilner also brought his A-game. Well, thank you. By the way, Nick, you've got to come back. Maybe, I'm thinking, maybe your brother has to come in and kick the jams, too. He would have some very interesting jams to kick. Absolutely. And we could do a whole other show
Starting point is 01:18:38 from the Honorable Mentions, too. Oh, you're right. We could do a part two for you. By the way, tomorrow, I'm going to say this right now, tomorrow's Fred Penner. Then the day after tomorrow is Mark from At 1236 catching us up on everything. But then I have Bob Makowitz Jr. coming in Friday
Starting point is 01:18:56 to talk about his new podcast with Matthew Cause. He's not going to kick jams out? No, here's my rule. You don't get to kick jams out your first visit. We need to do it. Yeah, you have to come back a second time to kick Jams. So Cox is coming back a second. Sofia Yurskovich is coming back a second time. She's wonderful.
Starting point is 01:19:13 That's another reason she's coming back. She's fantastic. She's fantastic. She's coming back. And that brings us to the end of our 243rd show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. And Mike Wilner is at Wilnerness590.
Starting point is 01:19:32 Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. And propertyinthesix.com is at Brian Gerstein. See you all next week. And your smile is fine and it's just like mine And it won't go away all next week.

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