🎧 Episode 112: Live Jazz-Funk Fire, Modern Fusion & Bowling Alley Nostalgia

This episode stretches from high-energy live funk to sleek modern fusion before detouring into bowling-alley memories and late-’80s cruising culture.Curtis opens with a live performance from Level 42, captured at Reading Concert Hall in 2001—tight grooves, virtuosic bass work, and the kind of stage chemistry that only gets better with volume. Jonathan follows with a polished, harmonically rich selection from Simon Oslender, showcasing contemporary fusion chops with serious melodic instincts.In the category songs, Curtis brings an At the Bowling Alley pick from Elton John and Kiki Dee—a track forever tied to childhood nostalgia, neon lights, and the smell of rented shoes. Jonathan counters with a new category, Cruisin’ The Square, featuring a dramatic, arena-ready selection from White Lion, perfect for slow laps around the parking lot with the windows down.Live musicianship, modern fusion finesse, retro pop memory, and hair-metal earnestness—this episode covers a surprising amount of ground.Curtis Gross is a self-employed video editor.Jonathan Workman is an adult learning consultant based in Wichita, KS.---Make sure you are subscribed to Why Is This So Hard For You. Type Why Is This So Hard For You in your podcast provider, hit that subscription button, and leave us a five-star review. This will make it easier for other podcast listeners to find the podcast.---The intro music is the first 30 seconds of the Ornette Coleman tune "Song X" fed into AI software that attempts to output the song to a solo piano transcription. The outro music is the first 30 seconds of Sonny Rollins' version of the tune "St. Thomas" fed into the same software.