Rob Harvilla's 60 Songs that Explain the 90s

not at all

i have been one of those ppl from day 1

perception of pj was/is classic rock earnest macho whatever but there’s still a lot of feels that a teenager could get from their music AND hole
they served diff purposes and said different things but still had a similar cathartic effect at its core bc of their honesty
personally speaking anyway

I think Courtney's just reacting to decades of dismissal by grunge bros. But I'm sure there are lots of people with both Hole and Pearl Jam CDs.

it seems like some beef she has w Cameron Crowe, maybe bc of something in the PJ20 doc or old Singles grudge
who the hell knows

Too bad... imagine Courtney in Elizabethtown.

Per your collective recommendation I listened to a couple of these in the car yesterday, and they were tons of fun. Maybe more fun than informative or anything, but fun>facts. What I did *not* like were either of the guests he had on for further discussion; neither of them brought anything interesting to the table and both of them were more annoying than illuminating. Was kind of a bummer, especially the one who kept getting things really wrong (name of band members, name of albums, etc.), but at least the format of the podcast makes them easy to skip. Going forward I think I'll just listen to the Rob monologue bits and then move on to the next ep.

agreed. the guests can be good and the guests can be bad. it would be nice to have, like, a true superfan of a band as opposed to someone with name recognition ... i can't remember which one it was, but one of these i listened to, the guest was basically like "yeah, this is one of my least favorite songs by this band" ... oh, cool. can't wait to hear you talk about it, then.

I'm not sure I need a superfan or anything like that, just someone who can bring something to the conversation more than just further affirmation of a song that is already the subject of a generally laudatory and positive podcast, even when he's talking about ugly music or music that has been radically reappraised in the wake of the "everything is good" poptimist revolution. The two I listened to, I got a really nice feel for *why* he likes the song (even if I don't), but the two guests I (mostly) listened to failed on that front, or at the least seemed ill-prepared for the discussion.

some of the guests really enrich the song tho! Leslie Streeter on Hootie ep, also on Whitney ep, or Hanif Abdurraquib on Gin Blossoms, Yasi Salek on Hole etc etc are all really great

it can be patchy early on yes but that is not at all the rule in my experience of the series as a whole. skip at your peril imo

I think the only guest I've actually bailed on is David Chang

same

I did like the Depeche entry — then again I’m name checked in it. But also the detail about DJing for a college radio station only available on cable, as I’ve been there.

it can be patchy early on yes but that is not at all the rule in my experience of the series as a whole. skip at your peril imo

I don't want to name the two guests I heard, because I don't want to hurt any feelings here in case someone is buddies with them, but they were from 2021. Is that early? Neither guest enriched the song at all, but I may have simply listened to a couple songs that didn't really have much to enrich? I'll try a couple of others, maybe the ones you mentioned.

Hanif Abdurraquib on Gin Blossoms, Yasi Salek on Hole

Very much enjoyed both of those. The most obnoxious I've heard was Jay Caspian Kang on "Basket Case," which was weird because he more or less liked Green Day but hated that song. And also just didn't really have much interesting to say. (Music is not really his area of expertise.)

But to the point, yeah, I kind of consider the episode over when the guest appears, and then I keep listening if it's somebody interesting and not if not.

yes, Kang was the one i was thinking of.

"superfan" was a poor word choice on my part ... but Kang is a good example of someone they should've ditched.

enrichment is great, of course, but i'm happy with knowledge of the band and enthusiasm. basically, just nerd out with Rob.

The Oakland guys on the Luniz episode was a good example of the guests really bringing some expert knowledge.

Okay, I just listened to the New Radicals one, and Rob Sheffield is a good guest, not least because this sort of thing is totally in his wheelhouse as a guy who excels at showing boundless enthusiasm for pretty much everything.

Ha! Rob has kind of amazing ability to do that and still keep his dignity totally intact. A friend and I have interacted with him in a certain trivia league several of us ILX0rs are on and briefly ended up on the receiving end of that enthusiasm as a result which felt really good.

Also he's good in reverent mode, but the ones where he can loosen up are a bit more fun (listening to the Oasis one now, lol)

Interviews are hit or miss for sure, but VG is right that the good ones really add something.

I hit my first "backfire" episode. Previously my feelings about Counting Crows consisted of mild unexamined nostalgic affection, but now I think they're legit terrible and Duritz is an all-time awful singer and irritating whiner. I still enjoyed the ep though! I didn't bother with the Simmons interview; his Pumpkins appearance was one of the early ones that made me think the interviews were a waste of time.

Feel free to toss out good eps in this thread, at this point I've listened to most of the ones that I was drawn to, but you never know which ones are going to be surprisingly good based on the tangents and other artists he pulls in for background.

Yeah, same here!

I listened to the Oasis one, and it was ... OK. Oasis is innately funny, so there's that. But it's one where I made it through the whole thing (well, not much of the interview) without ever figuring out if Harvilla is at all a fan. Same thing with the New Radicals one, come to think of it. He just spends the whole time amusingly making fun of the group (however fair or good natured he may often be), but when he emerges on the other side I have no sense where he really stands. I'm not sure it matters, of course, just some cognitive dissonance on my end when he seems to have more affection for, say, Limp Bizkit than he does for an equally (or, more likely, less) shitty band. I listened to the Tool one, too, and he seemed to show some actual legit enthusiasm for the group, but right now it's an outlier among the ones I have heard.

I do like how each individual episodes sometimes seems to only glance at the state theme of the podcast, but taken as a whole they appear to be amounting to a good portrait of a period of time I remember well, even if I have no nostalgia for any of it, at least not in a "remember the '90s?" sense.

The most reliable ones, imo, are the rap and rnb episodes. I don't think I've disliked any of those so far and moreover they tend to be peak eps for me (out of my recent listens, the DMX and Bone Thugs ones were both great), though I also find the whole project remarkably consistent so ymmv.

I liked the Oasis one, because I am embarrassed by my own brief but intense teenage love for them, so that tone worked. But that plus the Pulp one suggests he's maybe better off focusing on American music (Spice Girls ep wasn't bad though iirc?); all three of those were a little too focused on the UK music press. Compare to the Tori and Fiona Apple eps, where the (heinous) US media coverage is important but not quite as dominant in the analysis.

I thought the Alice in Chains one was good. Definitely made me appreciate the band more than I ever have, and I thought Chuck Klosterman was a fine guest.

I bet Bone Thugs one is great, got the Ohio connection! I think my problem is that the ones I have been looking forward to the most I have, ironically, been saving for later (like Missy, or Tori, NIN - more Ohio!, or Fiona, or Aaliyah, or Pearl Jam, or "Torn").

NIN was great, "Torn" was really good for the backstory and different versions (all the more so since I've never liked that song).

"Macarena" also fun for backstory and tracking the versions.

For sure, same for Whoomp! There It Is.

listened ages ago so memory may not be reliable but I enjoyed the guests on Billy Ray Cyrus and Brandy/Monica episodes v much - didn't see how he could get lots of mileage out of either song but they added a new dimension

have only listened to a few of these but i highly recommend the one on "mind playin' tricks on me"

xp yeah the guest for Billy Ray was really great

I have actually found that I like the episodes more for songs I don't like very much compared to songs I do enjoy.

For sure, same for Whoomp! There It Is.

Yeah, using Whoomp to talk about the whole history of Miami bass and 2 Live Crew was really good and interesting.

I have actually found that I like the episodes more for songs I don't like very much compared to songs I do enjoy.

Same, that's why I haven't listened to the Missy, Aaliyah, etc. eps and I'll probably listen to Limp Bizkit before those.

fwiw, the Missy and Aaliyah episodes are both good.

my favorites for either Rob’s telling, the guest’s input, or both

Mary J Blige -Real Love
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
Gin Blossoms -Hey Jealousy
Tom Petty - It’s Good To Be King
Hootie - Only Wanna Be w You
Erykah Badu - Tyrone
Bonnie Raitt - I can’t make you love me
Hole - Doll Parts

i’ve missed a bunch but these are the one’s immediately to mind

I said upthread that I really liked the Sinead O'Connor and Tori Amos episodes, can't remember exactly why now though

And Alanis Morrisette

oh yes! Sinead & Tori both A++ episodes

Tori Amos one was great (didn't listen to the interview).

Fiona Apple one is even better, even liked some of the discussion.

Whoa, what a way to come back (have not listened yet).

Wow. I figured he was saving Teen Spirit for the final run, but it worked out because it gave time for Courtney to become a "60 Songs" fan. Looking forward to listening!

So I'm about 20 minutes into the interview, and I'm finding it... rather hard to listen to, in the most literal sense. Love is talking a mile a minute but mumbling like Juliette Lewis on Yellowjackets, and her Skype connection from England isn't the greatest. Nothing really revelatory so far -- more of the conversation so far has been about Billy Corgan than Kurt Cobain -- I think I might have to bail on this one, and maybe I'll come back and listen to the rest in small doses.

INCOHERENT

I went into her interview with Marc Maron a short while ago with the best of intentions, but I lasted less than 10 minutes.

I started to slag her without listening earlier but deleted because I thought that seemed a little shitty. But I wonder if he tried to get Grohl and couldn't. I would much, much, much rather listen to him talk about the song than Courtney Love.

I've made it through a decent chunk of the interview, and I mean, Courtney's is Courtney, but, I mean, Courtney Love is a force of nature and national treasure, right? She's a walking study in demonology! I think it's a good interview. Rob did a decent job trying to keep from getting thrown off this bucking bronco of pontification. I wish he had pulled out his bass when Courtney was trying to get him to accompany her on the Smells Like Teen Spirit draft lyrics. He has made no secret on this podcast of being a bass player in a former life.

"You know that thing, imposter syndrome?"
"Yeah."
"I've never had one day of it."

I would much, much, much rather listen to him talk about the song than Courtney Love.

Borrrrrrring. J/k but not really, I don't know that I've heard Grohl say anything especially interesting in all of his talking head appearances. I wasn't really bothered by rolling with Courtney's stream of consciousness in the WTF interview, at least with her you'll get some surprises.