Pretty Much: the Podcast: Recent Episodes
Scott Clarkson
1997 and the end of the Sofa story. At least, as told by one member. I don’t even trust him to get it right. https://ia801507.us.archive.org/12/items/PM069IfItsGoingToRainThenLetItRainForDays/PM%20069%20If%20It's%20Going%20To%20Rain%20Then%20Let%20It%20Rain%20For%20Days.m4a
1996 was Sofa’s year in the wilderness: getting the bigger shows, gearing up to record another album, and trying to find some kind of balance… https://ia601508.us.archive.org/25/items/PM068SourceCrossfire/PM%20068%20Source%20Crossfire.m4a
1995 was pivotal for Sofa: two albums recorded and released, a host of shows played in the hometown, and the introduction to a new friend. (No. 3 in a series!) https://ia601505.us.archive.org/34/items/PM067SoAround/PM%20067%20So%20Around.m4a
(No. 2 in a Series! Collect ’em All!) In 1994 Sofa released their first album, suffered burglary, media indifference, and generally got darker and weirder. https://ia801507.us.archive.org/35/items/PrettyMuch066SomethingsOnYourSide/Pretty%20Much%20066%20Something's%20On%20Your%20Side.m4a
AT LAST IT CAN BE TOLD! The story NO ONE wanted (you) to hear! This is the chilling tale of four young men in a depressed and wild city, churning out the soundtrack to a thousand lonely nights. This is an epic calculated to drive you mad with missed opportunity and self-deprecation. This is Sofa. … Continue reading Pretty Much 065: No Wonder
- At some point one must question the viability of what keeps one alive. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/8/items/PrettyMuch064SkylabIsFalling/Pretty%20Much%20064%20Skylab%20is%20Falling.m4a
Coming to the halfway point of the 80s it was starting to look like the decade might have to be a write off for the kid looking for band to champion. Until he happened on a video that one day… https://ia801507.us.archive.org/2/items/PrettyMuch063NovemberGurls/PM%20063%20November%20Gurls.m4a
Hmm. Time to settle in and watch this Stranger Things show I’ve been hearing so much about. Dum de dum…so far so good – wait. No. They did WHAT? Prepare, I suppose, to be significantly less outraged than I was. https://ia801507.us.archive.org/33/items/PrettyMuch062PrettierThings/Pretty%20Much%20062%20Prettier%20Things.m4a
A late night bike ride through a small Ontario town calls to mind the moment long ago when the Boss really earned his title. https://ia801505.us.archive.org/26/items/PrettyMuch061AScaredAndLonelyRider/Pretty%20Much%20061%20A%20Scared%20and%20Lonely%20Rider.m4a
A watched pot never boils. And the person you expect to see around every corner never appears. Until you quit looking for them, of course. https://ia801508.us.archive.org/28/items/PM060...AfterAllTheseYears/PM%20060%20...After%20All%20These%20Years.mp3
The self-medicating Silver Fox of CTOX is back and musing on great men, past loves, and defunct basement bands. https://ia601504.us.archive.org/21/items/PM059TheUncalledForReturnOfChetManogian/PM%20059%20The%20Uncalled-for%20Return%20of%20Chet%20Manogian.m4a
In the deep shadow of years of heartbreak and abuse, we find proof of a man who cared and tried and failed. He wasn’t even the only one. But this time we tip our hat to Peter Henderson Bryce. https://ia601505.us.archive.org/32/items/PM058TheStoryOfANationalCrime/PM%20058%20The%20Story%20of%20a%20National%20Crime.m4v
From just the other side of history’s latest dividing line, a message. https://ia601501.us.archive.org/30/items/PM057ThePostcard/PM%20057%20The%20Postcard.m4a
Let the pigeons loose! Clark & Huey return with a Turning Tables episode devoted to the songwriting of Mr. Phil Collins! https://ia601504.us.archive.org/35/items/PM056PhilCollinsAndAll/PM%20056%20Phil%20Collins%20and%20All.m4a
Sometimes “getting the band back together” means exactly that. https://ia601500.us.archive.org/25/items/PM055HardTimesAndHardRocks/PM%20055%20Hard%20Times%20and%20Hard%20Rocks.m4a
Oh, like you’ve never listened in on the conversations of others. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/19/items/PM054TheListener_201508/PM%20054%20The%20Listener.m4a
Quickly now: Saga or Loverboy? Blondes or brunettes? Bugs Bunny or Charlie Brown? It’s 1984 and the stakes HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/23/items/PM053ThatWereTheGoodOlTimesAsYouCouldSayPart2/PM%20053%20That%20Were%20the%20Good%20Ol%27%20Times%20%28As%20You%20Could%20Say%29%20Part%202.m4a
In 1980 two 13-year olds half a world apart settle on some basic technology to keep in touch. https://ia601501.us.archive.org/3/items/PM052ThatWereTheGoodOlTimesAsYouCouldSayPart1/PM%20052%20That%20Were%20the%20Good%20Ol%27%20Times%20%28As%20You%20Could%20Say%29%20Part%201.m4a
Just what did a pulp detective send-up on the AM radio waves in the early ’80’s mean to one goofy kid? https://ia801500.us.archive.org/4/items/PM051JohnLockePrivateEye/PM%20051%20John%20Locke,%20Private%20Eye.m4a
A missing pooch becomes a big deal as we commemorate fifty episodes of Pretty Much: the Podcast! https://ia601500.us.archive.org/1/items/PM050FiftyNamesICallMyDog/PM%20050%20Fifty%20Names%20I%20Call%20My%20Dog.m4a
19 years ago, there were spookier things to worry about than ghosts and vampires and witches. https://ia601502.us.archive.org/21/items/PM049TheRothOversensitivity/PM%20049%20The%20Roth%20Oversensitivity.m4a
I hear my “insolent streak has its limits when up against global social culture.” The proof came in this week when I was nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Also: where are the songs for Lou Gehrig? https://ia601505.us.archive.org/3/items/PM048SomeKindaJerk/PM%20048%20Some%20Kinda%20Jerk.m4a
I hear my “insolent streak has its limits when up against global social culture.” The proof came in this week when I was nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Also: where are the songs for Lou Gehrig? https://ia601503.us.archive.org/28/items/PM048SomeKindaJerkMobile/PM%20048%20Some%20Kinda%20Jerk%20mobile.m4v
Before Will Smith in The Wild Wild West, before Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles, there was Herb Jeffries (aka Herb Jeffrey, aka Umberto Valentino) in Harlem Rides the Range, Harlem on the Prairie, and The Bronze Buckaroo: America’s first black singing cowboy! …PS: Maybe he wasn’t black. https://ia601500.us.archive.org/35/items/PM047TheBronzeBuckaroo/PM%20047%20The%20Bronze%20Buckaroo.m4a
Lucky me. Young enough to enjoy the fruits of the latest and greatest Golden Age of Television, but old enough to have experienced firsthand the Golden Age of the TV Theme Song. Ah, the burnish! The melancholy! https://ia601501.us.archive.org/4/items/PM046ThemeForToday/PM%20046%20Theme%20for%20Today.m4a
Clark and Huey are treading water in this week’s Turning Tables, and of course discussion turns to just how funny does Eric Clapton think he is? https://ia601503.us.archive.org/15/items/PM045ConsequencesOfSunshineOverAntarctica/PM%20045%20Consequences%20of%20Sunshine%20Over%20Antarctica.m4a
(What used to be) Canada’s Finest All-Male Hotel is undone by yet another fire, and this time there is no coming back. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/12/items/PM044PeoniesOnMackayStreet/PM%20044%20Peonies%20on%20Mackay%20Street.m4a
Advice for all you kids obsessed with going to space: keep an eye on the protractor. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/32/items/PM043TheAstronautsLongWalk/PM%20043%20The%20Astronaut%27s%20Long%20Walk.m4a
It may be a sign that winter is getting to you when you start talking to it. Making deals. Telling stories to hasten its departure. https://ia601501.us.archive.org/13/items/PM042AWindyTale/PM%20042%20A%20Windy%20Tale.m4a
Absolute pros, those Ray Conniff Singers. But they would have their mettle tested one night in the White House in ’72 when they had to deal with a substitute singer. And then face off with the greatest pro of all: Richard Nixon. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/11/items/PM041TheOobieDoobieGirl/PM%20041%20The%20Oobie%20Doobie%20Girl.m4a
Clark and Huey return to Pretty Much with a trivia contest that gets personal and turns ugly. https://ia601505.us.archive.org/35/items/PM040TurnTurnTurning/PM%20040%20Turn%20Turn%20Turning.m4a
Turns out the old guy with the Gene Kelly twinkle in his eye actually cut a helluva figure in a sailor suit. And may have been the only person I knew who could tell you what a tangle with a Nazi sub can cost you. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/30/items/PM039HMSNabob/PM%20039%20HMS%20Nabob.m4a
It isn’t what you think. A wedding weekend visit to a model railroad museum initiates thoughts of flight and what it means to be small in the world. https://ia801501.us.archive.org/28/items/PM038TheEscapeArtist/PM%20038%20The%20Escape%20Artist.m4a
Every good boy knows writing a letter home now and then is the key to getting good mail. https://ia601509.us.archive.org/16/items/PM037AHollerInTheQuagmire/PM%20037%20A%20Holler%20in%20the%20Quagmire.m4a
Your host skirts the edges of arithmomania and allows one thing to lead to…thirty-six things. And yes, apologies to Steve Nash. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/14/items/PM03636On36/PM%20036%2036%20on%2036.m4a
For some of us, 9/11 began with the phrase, “believe it or not…” It was a nice thought, that we ever had a choice. https://ia601504.us.archive.org/31/items/PM035FiveSensesof911/PM%20035%20Five%20Senses%20%28of%209:11%29.m4a
Unca Walt tells you how he had to come up with a new creation, and in a hurry. But as successful as the Mouse was, Walt would have to make a decision about character… https://ia601504.us.archive.org/27/items/PM034Loyalty/PM%20034%20Loyalty.m4a
It isn’t grave robbing if you say “yoink.” https://ia601500.us.archive.org/25/items/PM033TheAnnotatedGraveyard/PM%20033%20The%20Annotated%20Graveyard.m4a
Clark and Huey take us to the School of Rock once again. But are puny mortals qualified to lecture on the majesty of John Bonham? https://ia601503.us.archive.org/4/items/PM032GonzoForBonzo/PM%20032%20Gonzo%20for%20Bonzo.m4a
On the downside: 55 million people had no power. On the upside: 3 men had some dynamite vodka & tonics as they sat on a stoop in the Village and laughed their asses off. https://ia601507.us.archive.org/21/items/PM031LightsOut/PM%20031%20Lights%20Out.m4a
Drowning, it seems, doesn’t look like drowning. https://ia601500.us.archive.org/32/items/PM030InCommon/PM%20030%20In%20Common.m4a
Rain in eastern Ontario. On what else falls from the sky. And who notices. https://ia601509.us.archive.org/2/items/PM029Providence/PM%20029%20Providence.m4a
Clark tries to salvage the latest Turning Tables podcast. Huey has a beef with a certain blue-eyed soul master. https://ia601508.us.archive.org/6/items/PM028SympathyForTheDoobieBrothers/PM%20028%20Sympathy%20for%20the%20Doobie%20Brothers.m4a
Wrapping up the story of my night on the streets of Montreal in December ’86, you may well be looking forward to a moment of enlightenment and redemption, at last. What are you, kidding me? https://ia601504.us.archive.org/8/items/PM027TooStupidPart2/PM%20027%20Too%20Stupid%20Part%202.m4a
One worries about having the content to fill one’s weekly podcast, you know. Turns out we are not even close to running out of stories that display one’s own idiocy. By a long shot. https://ia601509.us.archive.org/35/items/PM026TooStupidPart1/PM%20026%20Too%20Stupid%20Part%201.m4a
That’s right. Birds are chirping. Bands are playing in the park. It’s summer in Canada, and that means two birthday parties in one week for us and our pals down south. (Plus, thoughts of mortality, separation anxiety, and historical impotence. It IS still Pretty Much.) https://ia601504.us.archive.org/34/items/PM025SummerBirthdays/PM%20025%20Summer%20Birthdays.m4a
Ah, the boys of summer. The floorboy steps in it once more. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/4/items/PM024Speedo/PM%20024%20Speedo.m4a
Clark and Huey have been pals since they started riding the school bus together in 1983. One thing leads to another, and that leads to their own podcast, Turning Tables. Turns out metal-loving Huey is an Ink Spots aficionado. Who knew? https://ia601502.us.archive.org/24/items/PM023TurningTables_201507/PM%20023%20Turning%20Tables.m4a
Drinks poured. Questions answered. Traps sprung. If it’s 1988 it must be time for the late night fox of CTOX: Chet Manogian. https://ia601500.us.archive.org/13/items/PM022TheTardyManifestoOfChetManogian_201507/PM%20022%20The%20Tardy%20Manifesto%20of%20Chet%20Manogian.m4a
Oh, the things we hang on to. Like voice messages. Not recordings – hand-written transcriptions. 1995 wasn’t that long ago. Was it? https://ia601504.us.archive.org/9/items/PM021NineMessages_201507/PM%20021%20Nine%20Messages.m4a
Down on his luck but always looking for the bigger stick, DJ Chet Manogian clues the populace in on the smoke and mirrors of his craft. (And offers a clue as to why he will never listen to Ozzy again.) https://ia601501.us.archive.org/13/items/PM020TheBitterPillOfChetManogian_201507/PM%20020%20The%20Bitter%20Pill%20of%20Chet%20Manogian.m4a
The fall of ’88. Driving down those southern Quebec roads late at night, you scan the high end of the AM dial and come across one bewildered man holding out against the changing times: veteran deejay Chet Manogian. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/17/items/PM019TheLongNightOfChetManogian/PM%20019%20The%20Long%20Night%20of%20Chet%20Manogian.m4a
A chance encounter with the tallest Oscar-winning actor. https://ia601501.us.archive.org/9/items/PM018ThereAreSomeWhoCallHim...Tim/PM%20018%20There%20are%20some%20who%20call%20him...Tim.m4a
A Top 40 Radio flashback leads (of course) to thoughts of memory and Charles Dickens’ 1842 visit to the ol’ hometown. https://ia601505.us.archive.org/2/items/PM017TwoThings.MaybeMore.IForget./PM%20017%20Two%20Things.%20Maybe%20More.%20%28I%20forget.%29%20.m4a
Believe it or not, there was a time when the TV networks didn’t care about ratings. Just that once, though. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/16/items/PM016TheRuralPurge/PM%20016%20The%20Rural%20Purge.m4a
It could never happen the same way again. But for a while there, some of America’s finest young actors were trained on Uncle Sam’s dime, having done their bit for democracy. Gilligan’s Island owes much to the GI Bill. https://ia601500.us.archive.org/14/items/PM015OnlyABill/PM%20015%20Only%20a%20Bill.m4a
Time to give the drummer some. And the guitarist. Pretty Much gets down to the music you hear every week, and throws in a bonus track to boot. https://ia601505.us.archive.org/7/items/PM014FirebirdBlues/PM%20014%20Firebird%20Blues.m4a
Does anyone commemorate events 96 years after the fact? Could one inch make a difference in the lives of dozens of people? Can there be another world? Is anyone listening? The answer must be…yes. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/28/items/PM013UnAutreMonde/PM%20013%20Un%20autre%20monde.m4a
Out like a lion? Time to take a little walk, clear the mind of RRSPs and taxes and where the next gig is coming from. Your mantra for today: you ain’t the first. You won’t be the last. https://ia601503.us.archive.org/7/items/PM012GreaterDepressions/PM%20012%20Greater%20Depressions.m4a
Being the First Movie Star runs you the risk of being the First Has-Been. This is (a bit of) the story of Toronto’s Gladys Smith, also known as Mary Pickford. Honest: she ruled the world. https://ia601508.us.archive.org/16/items/PM011AmericasSweetheart/PM%20011%20America%27s%20Sweetheart.m4a
A page from the floorboy’s journal. New Year’s Day 1995. Though short on sleep (from a night spent bowling, actually) our man encounters a guest from the south and gets to reconsider his surroundings. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/2/items/PM010OnDeafEars/PM%20010%20On%20Deaf%20Ears.m4a
Of quiz kids and Cagney, tunesmiths and shame, and what you consider an acceptable win/loss ratio today. https://ia601509.us.archive.org/25/items/PM009TheToppermost/PM%20009%20The%20Toppermost.m4a
A close listen to an audio cassette from many years ago reveals some surprises and offers some insight on the ol’ family unit. Boy howdy, I miss those people. https://ia601505.us.archive.org/2/items/PM008ButterfliesOfMississauga/PM%20008%20Butterflies%20of%20Mississauga.m4a
Think it’s hard, this show business thing? Richard B. Harrison probably had you beat. Born to fugitive slaves in London, Ontario, not quite welcomed into the fraternity of actors, he went it alone. Oh, and made his Broadway debut in a Pulitzer-winning play, when he was pushing 65. And ended up on the cover of … Continue reading Pretty Much 007: Richard B. Harrison
Canada’s Finest All-Male Hotel gets another visit as our floorboy learns a little too late that just because one has a thought doesn’t mean one should speak it. https://ia601500.us.archive.org/9/items/PM006JungleNights/PM%20006%20Jungle%20Nights.m4a
Too late by far. https://ia601506.us.archive.org/2/items/PM005ASongForMaryAnn/PM%20005%20A%20Song%20for%20Mary%20Ann.m4a
Hey. Ever hear about when I worked as a cleaner in Canada’s Finest All-Male Hotel? Oh. You did, huh? So maybe this one won’t interest you. Come back next week. https://ia601505.us.archive.org/19/items/PM004HazardsOfTheJob/PM%20004%20Hazards%20of%20the%20Job.m4a
In which the most wonderful time of the year gets a closer look, the liberal use of French in every day living is explained, and the word “detritus” is finally pronounced correctly. (This first appeared in the October 2008 issue of The Comedians.) https://ia601502.us.archive.org/35/items/PM003TalesFromTheBanlieue/PM%20003%20Tales%20from%20the%20Banlieue.m4a
Say, sport: who has been responsible for all your misery? Maybe it’s better not to ask, I dunno. Go brush your teeth.
Just what happened to the 34 Canadian servicemen buried in Cabbagetown’s Necropolis nearly a hundred years ago?