History in Music: Recent Episodes
Coldbow Productions
Music and lyrics have always been an important tool in passing momentous events from generation to generation. The bards of the past filled an important role: to immortalize these important historic events and figures. Believe it or not this tradition is still alive and strong today, and I've taken it upon myself to discover, dissect, and pay homage to the bards of our day. Maybe give them a little taste of their own medicine.
Tyler Magleby joins us for an uplifting discusson centered around Yellowcard's "Believe." The song, while written in 2003, praises the first responders that sacrificed and died during the 9/11 attacks in New York City in 2001. A much needed whitepill in today's cynical and negative world. The world changed 22 years ago (partially for the better and partially for the worst) as a result of this event. We recorded this episode wearing shorts. Link to the song: https://youtu.be/6ZREjBmh9yg?si=fOYsafnaboKdZQJ2 Check out Tyler's Nintendocore/chiptune band Crashbomb: https://crashbomb.bandcamp.com/ Follow Tyler on Youtube (especially if you're into calisthenics): https://www.youtube.com/@BayAreaCalisthenics_Kid Follow Scott and Sean on Twitter: Scott- @dotgiff Sean- @hashtagheybro If you've got a song you want to discuss on the podcast, send us a DM on twitter or email us at historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
Movie theater snack purveyor and 60's BritRock enjoyer Hot Buttered Popcorn (of Twitter fame) joins us for Episode 23; discussing The Kinks' 1969 song Shangri-La. The song, relevant today more than ever, was a sleeper when it was released 50 years ago. The Kinks sarcastically poke fun at normie mentality and the inflexibility of middle-classism and beg the question, what if it's all fake? Resonant with the ennui middle class men in the west wrestle with every day, the song also alludes to this being the cause of the Decline and Fall of the British Empire. Is it over? Has the West fallen? Is there a way to break from this stymied existence? Listen in and find out (spoiler alert: there is). Link to the song: https://youtu.be/6ZSVsRTMp1I Follow Hot Buttered Popcorn on Twitter: @popcornhot Check out the fraternal organization we discuss in the episode: https://exitgroup.us/ Follow Scott and Sean on Twitter: Scott: @dotgiff Sean: @hashtagheybro If you've got a song you'd like to talk about on the show, send us a DM on twitter or an email to: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
Oh you were canceled for your political beliefs anon? Imagine having your whole country canceled. Fellow podcaster Patrick Payne joins us for a riveting traipse through Rome's 2014 song One Fire from his album A Passage to Rhodesia. Despite Rome's (Jerome Reuter's) lefty sensibilities, his hauntingly mournful ode to the people and state of Rhodesia provided excellent fodder for a rousing discussion on post-colonial Africa and Communism. The country's history and the Rhodesian Bush War are given their proper respect. Load up your FAL, put on your brushstroke camo and come take the Rhodesia pill with us. Sit Nomine DIgna Link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tr3maxRqSE Check out, like, and subscribe to Patrick and Andrew's The Copybook Headings Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1VtrBMyo1YudzZ2rZHHr3K?si=48677ba55cfa4907 Follow Scott and Sean on Twitter: Scott - @dotgiff Sean - @hashtagheybro If you've got a song you'd like us to feature on the show, drop us a line!
Forget your political compass and Myers-Briggs tests, what's your favorite Napoleonic Wars Coalition War? If you're a Sixth Coalitioner, this episode is your episode. Scott and I were joined by veteran podcaster and barbecue enjoyer Joe McGregor to talk through Johnny Horton's 1959 The Battle of New Orleans. An in-depth discussion of the War of 1812, the eponymous battle, and it's later results follows.Anglophiles might want to sit this one out, this episode leans heavily American Exceptionalistic, Old Hickory would be proud. Break out your bacon and beans, load your 1795 Springfield and Remember the Eighth! Link to the song: https://youtu.be/50_iRIcxsz0 Follow Joe's history podcast Battle Rattle: http://battlerattlepodcast.com/ (available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts) Find Joe on his socials: Twitter: @josephmcgregor Instagram: @ministersofsmoke (for great BBQ recommendations). @jmcgregor (for photography and great burger recommendations) Follow Scott and Sean on Twitter: Scott - @dotgiff Sean - @hashtagheybro Think you've got a good song we should do a show on? Send us a DM on Twitter or an email: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
New Mexico stan, history buff, and fluent German-speaker New Mexico Supremacist joins us in third chair for another German folk song. Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen (We are Geyer's Black Company). The song, while written in the early 1920's, details the struggles of the common man in the German Peasants' War of 1524-1525 and specifically the only heavy calvalry unit to fight on the side of the peasants during the conflict: Florian Geyer's Black Company. The ballad is strongly anti-cleric and anti-noble and has been used by various groups in Germany to rally youth to their cause... oh the German Peasant's War? Yeah it's pretty obscure, you probably haven't heard of it. Spoiler alert: everybody dies. Link to the song (this is the version we used for the episode, there are many others out there): https://youtu.be/Pg8GlYeCWuM Follow New Mexico Supremacist on Twitter (and learn German!): @NMisBestMexico (https://twitter.com/NMisBestMexico) Follow Scott and Sean on Twitter: Scott - @dotGiff (https://twitter.com/dotGiff) Sean - @HashtagHeyBro (https://twitter.com/Hastag_Hey_Bro) Do you like any songs with historical context that you'd want to learn more about or discuss on the show? Send us a DM or an email. HistoryInMusicPodcast@gmail.com
In third chair we are joined by renaissance man and talented musician Beta Pvnk discussing his song suggestion Wind of Change by the Scorpions. The song holds a special place in his heart which comes through in our discussion. This rock ballad is one of the best selling singles of all time, did it also single-handedly bring down the USSR? Was the song actually written by the CIA as a psyop during the Cold War? Grab your balalaika and give us a listen to find out! Follow Beta Pvnk on Twitter: @LatterDayPVNK and check out his awesome music, shirts, and artwork! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BetapunkFilms Apparel: https://www.latterdaypunk.com/ Instagram: @latterdaypvnk Follow Sean and Scott: Scott - @dotGiff Sean - @hashtagheybro If you've got a song you'd like to suggest for the show, drop us a line on twitter or via email and we'll bring you on. HistoryInMusicPodcast@gmail.com Make sure to follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-bE0S8lTdUsDq5ltc6EBQ
Scott and Sean are joined by Andrew in third chair. We discuss The Pogues' 1985 cover of And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. The song while fictional, details the horrific slaughter wreaked upon ANZAC soldiers during the WWI Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. The song begs the question of a soldier's sacrifice and what was it all for? Originally written during the Vietnam War but set during The Great War, Eric Bogle's 1971 ballad treating the ultimate sacrifices paid by Australia's young men, was movingly covered by The Pogues (and many others), is anti-war but not anti-soldier. Heartbreaking in its realism and portrayal of lost and wasted youth, this is definitely a piece that will stick with you for a long time. Give it a listen! Link to the song: https://youtu.be/cZqN1glz4JY Link to the original by Eric Bogle: https://youtu.be/WG48Ftsr3OI Link to Waltzing Matilda (sung by Slim Dusty): https://youtu.be/FqtttbbYfSM Follow Andrew on Twitter: @ManlyFidelity Scott and Sean: @dotgiff @hashtagheybro Think you've got a song with some historical context that we should discuss on the show? Send us an email or DM and we'll bring you on the pod! HistoryInMusicPodcast@gmail.com
Derek joins Scott and Sean to discuss Young the Giant's 2010 song Garands (formerly called Garands at Normandie). While the song itself only vaguely references a soldier searching the woods during WWII, the lyrics inspire a larger discussion on the everyman placed in extraordinary situations. Derek enlightens us on Christopher R. Browning's 1992 book Ordinary Men and it's expose on the "ordinary men" of the German Reserve Police Battalion 101 in German-occupied Poland during WWII. A good thought exercise ensues. Give it a listen! Link to the song: https://open.spotify.com/track/2PFDOKSPOcZpOBvGBvBV0h?si=620554b9cb85486d Link to the original song (when Young the Giant was called The Jakes, and the song title was Garands at Normandie): https://youtu.be/yKtZK1nP5ZM Link to Christopher R. Browning's book Ordinary Men: https://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Men-Reserve-Battalion-Solution/dp/0062303023/ref=sr11?qid=1665172397&refinements=p_27%3AChristopher+Browning&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Christopher+Browning Find Derek on Twitter: @LatterDayDrums Follow Sean and Scott on Twitter: Sean - @hashtagheybro Scott - @dotGiff Think you've got a song we should discuss on the show? Send us a DM on Twitter or email us at: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
In this episode Scott and Sean are joined by esteemed podcast guest and published author Nim, in third chair. Spirited discussions ensue addressing Karl Freiherr von Manteuffel-Katzdangen's moving poem Die Grenzwacht hielt im Osten (AKA Die Baltenfahne) which was later set to music. Nim enlightens us on the Interwar period of Germany, Baltic Germans, and the Freikorps. Baltic Germans-where are they now? What's a Freikorps? Where is Courland? Why is there such a dirth of German Interwar folk songs in my Spotify playlist? Why am I crying in the club rn? Listen and find out. Follow Nim on Twitter: @AnchorStill Subscribe to his Nimstack: https://nimacheraghi.substack.com YouTube Link for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3iDCBQgvHQ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0RAhagdQoPoBAWoEgVtiXR?si=a8e859e122724f11 Follow Sean and Scott on Twitter: @dotgiff @hashtagheybro Think you've got a good song we should discuss on the show? Let us know: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
Matt Wilson joins us to discuss the Screeching Weasel deep track "El Mozote." We expound on the El Mozote Massacre from the El Salvadoran Civil War and the My Lai Massacre from the Vietnam War. Matt imparts his knowledge on the song he picked and the band that inspired so many more well-known punk bands. Join us as we delve deeper into this unknown (and horrific) chapter in El Salvadoran history. Link to the song on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ucCjy82c0KA Matt Wilson is the singer and lyricist for the bands Near Dark and Set Your Goals. Check them out: https://neardarkny.bandcamp.com/releases https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Ivw6FhAZpa7kiAXWztCq5?si=8VrKRZQhQWCTxzk7LNvckA Follow us on twitter: Scott: @dotgiff Sean: @hashtagheybro Think you know a good song we should discuss on the show? Drop us a line: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
In this episode Scott and Sean are joined by the great Brett Cain. We discuss Gordon Lightfoot's ballad (and his magnum opus) The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the maritime disaster that inspired it. Brett is a published author, artist, boxer, and huge Gordon Lightfoot fan. Think you know everything about Lightfoot's most popular song? Give this episode a listen, you may be surprised... Follow Brett on Twitter: @brettwcain Check out his awesome podcast The Ironside Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mXjly9zxM3RAzZUe3FlPM?si=12f69ddf0eb8420b Buy his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Brett-Cain/e/B07N96X35H/ref=aufsdpfta_dsk Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/536L9C0N7vhYdibCJx3cI2?si=0e39e449b0c14a88 Link with photos of the ship and it's final voyage route: https://www.theknightshift.com/2005/11/we-are-holding-our-own-thirty-years.html Have a song you want to talk with us about? Feel free to reach out to us: Scott: @dotgiff Sean: @hashtagheybro Email: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
Scott and Sean do a deep dive into 2003's "Fields of Athenry" by Dropkick Murphys. The song is a cover of an Irish folk song from 1979 discussing a fictional man who is sent to an Australian penal colony for stealing during the potato famine of the late 1840s. What do potatoes, corn, and libertarianism have to do with Celtic punk? Listen and find out! Find us on twitter: Sean- @hashtagheybro Scott- @dotgiff Song: https://youtu.be/t5VTeGWQyMs Paddy Reilly Version: https://youtu.be/_NlrsmEvv1Q Email: historyinmusicpodcast@gmail.com
Sean and Scott discuss Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, written by Warren Zevon and David Lindell. A song about a talented European mercenary who fought for The Congo in a civil war during the 60s... or did he? Links: The song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWCK9zGynA Cover (with war footage): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDGDw4GWcf4 Last performance on Letterman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhRRWwH3Fro
Troy and Scott discuss American Pie by Don McLean. A description of the transition between the innocence of the 50s to the unrestrained 60s. McLean pin points a specific tragedy as the "day the music died" or the beginning of this transition. Listen in to find out what he thought and how a horrific plane crash prompted one of the most recognizable songs ever. Links: Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yHTpGog0IY Tour schedule picture (mentioned): https://imgur.com/a/AA4gpPG