Triple Tune Challenge

We start season two with a blockbuster episode that spans over 4,000 years, 6,816 miles, and half the world’s population.  It’s International Women's Day and Month and we’ll be recognizing the many awesome women drummers in popular music, be listening to Hang On the Box, an all-girl punk band from Beijing, and be sampling songs from the three all-girl bands in my collection, The Roches, Ars Nova, and Northern State.   We'll play a group of new challenge songs for episode 2 and start the new season on a strong note.  (Get it.... "note" like both a musical note and a metaphorical noun indicating a positive beginning point?)  Yea, I'm groaning too.

While TTC is getting ready for Season 2, here are some of the season 1 Spotlight segments.

While TTC is in between seasons, I will be reissuing the Spotlight segments from Season 1.

This episode of Triple Tune Challenge is chock full of songs, any of which you likely heard the first time while wearing pajamas, I know I did.  If there is a common theme throughout the show it’s TV and Movies, and to be exact, television cartoons from the recent past and superhero movies from anytime.  I don’t want to give away too much, otherwise you’d just read the eloquent summaries and not have to listen, and according to the TTC Bylaws, that’s not allowed.  Why don’t you fetch a pencil and paper, get ready to raise your hand, stick your gum under the desk for safe-keeping, and pay attention as it’s time for a pop quiz.

My fascination with One-Hit Wonders runs deep.  There’s something noble about achieving the pinnacle of success only to tumble, or sometimes plummet, to obscurity.  OHW’s are not a new phenomenon, nor are they limited to music.  Artists of all types, athletes, CEOs, and just about anyone can experience the feeling. That’s why we can all relate.  Carl Douglas’ success with Kung-Fu Fighting is no different than my neighbor’s high school football heroics, well except Carl Douglas rakes in hundreds of thousands annually from royalties while Bert, my neighbor only got an MVP trophy.  From there we’ll hear from tUB rING and their song Killers in Love.  tUB rING, while one of my faves, is best known for their tourmates over the years, including Sleeptytime Gorilla Museum, Grayceon, Dog Fashion Disco, Clutch, Estradasphere and more.  So, release the emergency parachute, deploy your safety goggles, protect your mid-section and enjoy the view as it’s time for episode 15 of Triple Tune Challenge!

Who knew Britany Spears got her start by appearing on Star Search when she was 10 years old?  I did, that’s who, but only after researching the challenge answer for this episode.  And how are The Beatles, The Tremeloes, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, Paul Anka, One Direction and Justin Bieber connected? If you answered as examples on Triple Tune Challenge, then you are correct.  Right after learning those artists and bands got their start, we’ll take a moderate to shallow dive into Bruford’s One of A Kind release from 1979.  So don’t touch that dial, because Triple Tune Challenge is the only podcast where you can hear Funk, Soul, Pop, Jazz Fusion, Progressive Rock, and even some awesome classical piano.

Where else can you hear music from the 1600’s to the early 21st century, from Mozart to Genesis, with stops in Germany, Austria, Sweden, France, the U.K., and the U.S?  Nowhere except Episode 13 of Triple Tune Challenge.  Doctor Demento helps answer the Episode 12 challenge with some zany novelty songs, then it’s off to the land of the Prog epic for the spotlight of the week, and on the way out you’ll hear the songs for this week’s challenge.  So, pull down the shoulder bar, check your lap belt, prepare to be amazed and let your hands and feet do whatever they want because Episode 13 is going to be a wild ride! S1E13 Show Notes

The music you’ll hear in episode 12 is near and dear to my musical heart. Answering last week’s challenge, we’ll stop by California’s capital, Sacramento, my hometown.  Several name artists and familiar songs originated in Sacramento, and I even took the opportunity to throw in an Exotica artist, see episode 11 for more on the genre.   The spotlight album is Lulu’s Back in Town by Mel Tormé and Marty Paich Dek-Tette, one of my favorite all-time Jazz singers with a sweet supporting band.  Tormé is super versatile, rooted in Jazz, putting his own spin on Pop Standards, genius improvisation skills, drummer extraordinaire, and a well-respected entertainer.  The challenge songs this week are No Milk Today by Herman’s Hermits, Harry Nilsson singing Without You, and Brian Hyland’s Sealed with a kiss. So, button up your drawers, tune the piano, clean behind the fridge, and settle in for Episode 12

This episode contains no censorship which infuriates Tipper Gore and the PMRC.  We’ll learn more about evil rock and roll from the late 1980’s, wonder at the magic of the greatest group of session musicians ever assembled, and learn about a Prog band from Detroit named Discipline.  I’ll also throw down the gauntlet with challenges featuring Blondie, Bjork, Simple Minds and more.  Unbuckle you boots, lift your nose off the grindstone, and dive into Episode 9. This episode contains language that may be inappropriate for children.

What could be more exciting than Elsa of Frozen joining forces with the Beach Boys to the tune of Tiptoe Thru the Tulips? Episode 8 of Triple Tune Challenge answers that question and more. I'll reveal the answers to last week's challenges, talk about High on Fire and their song King of Days during the Spotlight and introduce 2 new challenges, including tunes from Madonna, The Beach Boys, Tiny Tim, Sheena Easton and more. Throw on your kilt, grab the bagpipes and get listening!

S1E7 - This week I pay tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto, legendary Japanese composer known for his work with YMO, innovative solo albums, and numerous film scores. The answers to E6 challenges are revealed and two new challenges are issued, including tunes from Peggy Lee, Chumbawamba, 10cc and more. So put on your treble clef thinking cap and join the fun. Complete show notes, including song list and links, can be found here.

Triple Tune Challenge Episode 4 Last week the challenge was to find the connection between Steely Dan's - Aja, Barbra Streisand's cover of - Grandma's Hands, and Henry Mancini's - Love's Theme/TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) Medley . Similar to week 2, we received a submission with a connection that I hadn't considered, "each artist has won the Grammy for album of the year".  Steely Dan for Two Against Nature in 2001, Barbra Streisand for The Barbra Streisand Album in 1964 and Henry Mancini for The Music from Peter Gunn in 1958, Breakfast at Tiffany's in 61, and again in 63 with Our Man in Hollywood. Great job Paul. Here are TTC we count that as a win. Your prize, a big pat on the back as we continue to think about building a budget to maybe have prizes one day. As I was building out this challenge for the intended connection, Larry Carlton plays guitar on each song, I literally had 100 artists and songs to choose from. The fact that we have two connections identified shows how intertwined the popular music ecosystem has become. Carlton is a jazz fusion guitarist with over 50 albums of his own released between 1968 to today and over 3,000 studio session credits. Over the years he's played with artists ranging from The Fifth Dimension to Michael Jackson, John Lennon to Dolly Parton, and of course the three artists from last week's challenge. Among his numerous awards are 4 Grammys, one of which was for The Hill Street Blues Theme shared with Mike Post. We are 4 episodes in and I am going to introduce a few changes to the podcast. The Triple Tune Challenge operating committee have approved the following amendments, the first being to accommodate varying degrees of difficulty by doing one of two things each episode. Either having two challenges, a regular Triple Tune Challenge set to moderate difficulty alongside an expert level one, or having one challenge with two connections, one somewhat easy to identify and one much trickier. They also allowed me to fill each episode with hidden clues to the answers. You might have noticed I've purposely selected background music related to the challenges.  For example on the Long Beach episode I used The Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands song It's Raining Here In Long Beach and last week the background song was Larry Carlton's Sleepwalk. I'll continue to try to be clever with background music and on top of that will add hidden clues in my scripts. The committee rubber-stamped these additions but I had to veto one of they're proposal of adding a subliminal hypnotic vocal track repeating the answer over and over using my best meditation voice.