The (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make?

Paul Rees Was Raised On Radio

Paul Rees was a young lad living in Scotland during the heyday of Album Oriented Rock (AOR). From a distance, Paul became a fan of American radio and the artists played on those stations, which led him to write the book Raised On Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola – the AOR Glory Years 1976-1986.  It's an oral history of the golden era of critically derided, yet monumentally popular radio rock, when Journey, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Toto, and others ruled the airwaves. Paul joins the podcast to chat about his book, and to fanboy about his favorite artists from this era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please Refer To Roddy Bottum As The Royal We

Roddy Bottum is one of the founders and keyboardist of the iconic band Faith No More. In his memoir, The Royal We, Roddy shares his coming-of-age and out-of-the-closet stories in a pre-tech-boom San Francisco. He joins our podcast to chat about the bands, his upbringing, his addictions, and how he managed to survive it all with a sense of humor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Valentine's Day 80s music favorites

We at What Difference Does It Make love love and what better way to say it, than with a song from the 80s? We discuss a number of our favorites that make us feel all warm inside. Happy Valentine's (and Gal-entine's) Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arielle Nissenblatt Podcasts On This And That

Arielle Nissenblatt, Founder and Head Curator of Earbuds Podcast Collective AND a 2026 Podcast Hall Of Fame Inductee, joins our podcast to share her origin story, and insights into the industry. She then steps out of her comfort zone and into our favorite topic, 80s music! Arielle offers up her Millennial opinion on music from 1989 based on Los Angeles radio station KROQ's year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andy Greene: Rolling Stone Magazine's Secret Weapon

Andy Greene, Senior Writer for Rolling Stone, has been with the storied magazine since 2004. Andy shares with us his origin story of how a shy, young boy from the suburbs of Cleveland finds his way to New York City to write about his idols and rub shoulders with artists like Phil Collins and Bruce Springsteen. We also asked his opinion on the music played on Los Angeles radio station KROQ in 1989, specifically songs 100 to 91 from their year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices