Mega64 Record Club Ep. 48 - The Pretenders - Pretenders (#152)
Added 2024-02-08 14:00:07 +0000 UTCHello everyone! Did you know anything about the band The Pretenders? It turns out Shawn didn't so he learned a lot this week? Will he be able to relay what he learned or will it be a jumbled mess? Who KNOWS!!!!
Comments
I’m gonna second your take on the tracklisting BS, it’s one thing when there’s demos tacked on at the end (easy skip unless I’m really feeling it) but something like the Bob Marley compilation is a little annoying. (Or like how that stupid Jerry Lee Lewis thing had to be found in playlist form because it was’t available streaming as a set.)
Mary and Steve
2024-02-09 12:11:31 +0000 UTCThis album made me realize I have a soft spot for new wave rock. Like Shawn said, this has a great balance of influences. It hit a sonic pocket that's all warm and fuzzy in my memories. Great record. Side rant: I am sick of trying to figure out original track lists for so many of these albums. The streaming services only carry the remasters and reissues from which record companies can milk the most. Meanwhile, I have to go to Wikipedia to find out what the album was actually like when it came out. It's like trying to watch the original fucking Star Wars.
Burke
2024-02-09 06:20:05 +0000 UTCThank you so much!!
Mega64
2024-02-09 04:58:49 +0000 UTCAll I knew about The Pretenders was that they made Brass in Pocket and I thought that was a dope 80’s song. I never knew of this album, which is crazy because it has perfect scores from almost every music review outlet. After listening to it recently I wish I would have listened to more of this band sooner. I love 80’s new wave and this was a great listen for me. New wave is really very punk inspired in a lot of ways. Some take more of the synthy/poppy influence sound wise, but I feel like this album does a good balance of everything. Really dig Chrissie’s singing and guitar work as well as the guitar/keyboard work of Honeyman-Scott. Very good guitar work and I can easily see why Johnny Mar of The Smiths was a fan of this band. From song to song I feel like the whole band is really on point here. Really enjoyed the varied song writing. There’s so many artists that I can see taking inspiration from this band. It’s really sad knowing what happened to James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon. I really believe they would have gone on to be bigger and do even more cool things musically. I’m glad we were able to get this one and the second Pretenders album at least. My favorites from this one are The Phone Call, Space Invader and The Wait. I give it 4 pieces of vinyl. Also CCR is a dope band! I can’t wait for you to get to them more in the future. I agree that the original version of this song is better though. I think it’s crazy you picked the Bob Marley album. When you were talking about not liking Private Life I flashed back to other moments from Record Club where you also didn't care for dub/reggae style music (Sandinista for example). So this will be an interesting one for sure. Great episode despite the hiccups, keep up the great work Shawn! 🙂
DoflamingoSnailPhone
2024-02-08 22:54:59 +0000 UTCAs for this album, I was also surprised how punk it was after only having heard Brass in Pocket before. I liked it more than I thought I would. I'd give it a 3-3.5/5 and I think my favorite songs were Brass in Pocket, Precious, and Kid. Excited for next week!
Cannonball
2024-02-08 18:55:42 +0000 UTCI just wanted to say I signed up for the Patreon just for Record Club after I heard the ones you guys had up on the archive channel. I've been going back and catching up on all the past episodes. It's been so great hearing Shawn talk about all these albums and listening along. Record Club is my new favorite Mega64 content!
Cannonball
2024-02-08 18:47:31 +0000 UTCI enjoyed this album. Really consistent listen, really fun overall. I'd give it a 3.5/5. Not much else to say lol, but I guess I enjoyed the punkish vibe of the record. Only ever really heard Brass In My Pocket, pleasantly surprised with the rest.
Tyler Lajevardi
2024-02-08 16:13:21 +0000 UTCI liked it the most on my first listen, I'm not sure how often I'll return to this album but I still enjoyed it quite a bit! 💿💿.𝟓/𝟓 Shawn gettin cheeba'd out his fuckin mind for next week's episode
Garrett Vacation 🔪💖🩸
2024-02-08 15:23:11 +0000 UTCIn the Twin Cities sometimes they play Bob Marley at 4:20, other times it’s Afroman but usually I heard Bob Dylan’s Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Everybody Must Get Stoned)
Mary and Steve
2024-02-08 15:19:41 +0000 UTCAnother great episode Shawn 👍 I was not into this album when I listened to it over the week but every time you played a clip of a song, it would start and I would be like “oh yeah this song rules” but then the vocals would come in and kinda ruin it for me. So yeah the instrumentation was up my alley but the lead vocals were not. 2/5 for me. Also yeah I didn’t expect it to be so punky, I was expecting more new wave
Pearstrike
2024-02-08 14:48:27 +0000 UTCI actually saw the Pretenders live back in 2007 (they were on tour with the Stray Cats and ZZ top, which is a bizarre line-up) and they sounded pretty good! The review in the paper next day said ‘the best part was when they played Brass in Pocket’ and they DIDN’T!! I’m not mad they didn’t perform the song but I am mad the writer was wrong and I still hold a little grudge lol When I first turned on this album I was confused by The Wait because apparently I grew up listening to the single version. Both versions are excellent, the single feels a little more polished IMO. Mystery Achievement, Precious and Space Invader are my top picks. Chrissie Hynde’s deeper voice is gorgeous, I love it against the jangly guitars. I’m thinking I’ll listen through the rest of their discography eventually but I have a few other performers queued up first. Looks like Legend is the first compilation of 2024!
Mary and Steve
2024-02-08 14:42:49 +0000 UTC
