Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music Podcast

This week, we place our focus on songs that one established artist wrote for another artist. And what better ceremonial Third Lad than Robert Ellis Orrall, a songwriter who has not only penned his own hits ("I Couldn't Say No" with Carlene Carter - #32 Pop, 1983; "Boom! It Was Over" - #19 Country, 1992; "A Little Bit of Her Love" - #31 Country, 1993) but has also written many hits for other artists like Shenandoah ("Next to You, Next to Me" - #1 Country, 1990), Clay Walker ("What's It to You" - #1 Country, 1993), Reba McEntire ("What If It's You" - #15 Country, 1997), Olivia Newton-John ("I Don't Wanna Say Goodnight", 1998), Lindsey Lohan ("Ultimate", from the 2003 Freaky Friday soundtrack), and many more. What more, you ask? Oh yeah, REO was also instrumental in the formative years of an up-and-coming artist named Taylor Swift (you may have heard of her), co-writing and/or co-producing a number of songs including "A Place in This World" and "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" from her 10x platinum debut album.

Even with all of the great songs he's written for other artists, Orrall's latest album, Wonderland, is a vital reminder that he's saved plenty of great songs from himself. The album collects nine previously unearthed unrequited love songs from his seemingly endless creative vault, plus an introspective new version of "I'm Only Me When I'm With You," performed through the lens not of a teenage girl, but as a man 45 years into a loving marriage.

REO continues to record and tour with the same band he had on his string of '80s albums for RCA - which featured an eclectic bunch of new wave songs inspired by Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Todd Rundgren, and Joe Jackson, and found them opening for U2, The Kinks, Psychedelic Furs, and countless others. He also co-founded the label Infinity Cat Records with sons Jake and Jamin, who make up the beloved indie rock band JEFF the Brotherhood.

Plus, REO comes with a bonus Top 5: the Top 5 Songs He Wishes He Had Written.

It's O3L...in Wonderland!
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This week, we're slaying the proverbial demons of jangle pop with Andy Jossi (Switzerland) and Gretchen DeVault (USA) from transatlantic "jangle gaze" duo The Blue Herons!

The Blue Herons create wistful dreampop with a cinematic sense of space and emotion, lit by sparkling layers of guitars and clear, expressive vocals.

Since their debut in 2020., their music has drawn comparisons to The Sundays, Alvvays, Hatchie, and Sea Lemon.

Their latest album, Demon Slayer (Shelflife Records), broadens their sonic palette and emotional range. Written over the course of a year, the album took shape through an inspired back-and-forth between two prolific songwriters trading sketches, melodies, and ideas across time zones. The result feels immediate and deeply collaborative: two distinct musical voices weaving texture and melody into something greater than the sum of its parts. What emerges is a sound rooted in melody but driven by feeling.

Plus, join in on a brand new O3L game - "Jingle Jangle" - in which your favorite jangle pop artists meet commercial jingles. Not to give any spoiler alerts, but...point for Andy!

Thanks to Ed Mazzucco from Shelflife Records for the introduction.

Jangle on, friends!

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Are you ready to rumble?!? Very few topics seem to provoke as much heated debate as power pop - what (and who) is power pop? This week, we dare tackle our Top 5 Power Pop Songs of the '90s. Raise your pitchforks!

Nah, we're not worried...because, truth be told, power pop during the decade would have looked drastically different without our Third Lad this week, Dean Brownrout. As the co-founder of the crucial indie label Big Deal, Dean is responsible for releasing some of the greatest power pop records of the era, including The Wondermints, Gladhands, The Vandalias, the indispensable four volume compilation series Yellow Pills, and many more.

Dean recounts his quarter century’s worth of adventures in the music business in his witty, nostalgic, honest memoir No Big Deal (Guernica Editions Inc.). From his beginnings promoting metal and hardcore shows to running pivotal labels, No Big Deal offers a revealing glimpse into the triumphs, tribulations, and tragedies of the last of the record industry’s glory days.

No big deal, eh? It's a REALLY big deal 'round these parts, buddy!
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In the '60s, thousands of young rock n' roll hopefuls picked up instruments and took to the garage to play music that was loud, raw, primitive, and spiked with attitude. It was a sound that was later branded as "garage rock", and it became massively influential when these wild records were rediscovered by a new generation of bands through seminal compilation albums like the Lenny Kaye-curated Nuggets compilation (Elektra, 1972). Many bands included garage rock staples in their repertoire and released cover versions, which is our focus today.

One of the songs on the Nuggets album that grabbed younger listeners by the jugular was "Let's Talk About Girls" by The Chocolate Watchband, with its driving rhythm, fuzzed-out guitar, and snarling vocals. What many didn't realize was that the Watchband's version was a cover of a 1967 song by Tucson, Arizona garage punks The Grodes (released under the name of The Tongues of Truth), written and sung by the band's guitarist/songwriter and this week's Third Lad Manny Freiser.

From 1965-1968, The Grodes racked up a series of local hits and future garage classics, including the oft-covered "Cry A Little Longer", "Uh Huh Girl", and "Love Is A Sad Song". After the demise of the band, Manny and his second wife Patti McCarron headed west to LA to record as the folk-rock duo Fire & Rain, best known for their Billboard Top 100 version of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger". While working as a record executive for A&M Records in the '80s, he also recorded as the mysterious Ian Messenger, and continues to write and record new material.

If that weren't enough (oh yeah, did we also mention he was an attorney?!?!), he's recently chronicled his life through the end of the '60s in his memoir Tracks in the Sands of Time. It's a warm, witty, nostalgic, and sometimes lascivious tale of the other side of the era - from the perspective of someone who didn't quite "make it big" but has plenty of stories to tell. It's an entertaining and fascinating page turner that will leave you thinking, "what happened next?" Fortunately, Volume 2 is coming soon!
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In the 1980s, college radio served as a vital alternative to increasingly corporate and playlist-driven commercial radio. These stations became incubators for emerging alternative genres, provided early exposure for artists who would later become influential acts, and championed independent labels, local scenes, and adventurous programming.

In a tenth anniversary book issued in 1989, CMJ, the trade journal for college radio, published a list of the Top 250 most played songs from the publication's first decade (1979 - 1988). These week, we are picking our Top 5 lists from the CMJ chart.

The full list is here:
https://pulsemusic.proboards.com/thread/171053/cmjs-top-singles-1979-1989?

Joining us is an indie rock icon who is no stranger to college radio airplay. Tammy Ealom is the force of nature behind one of the coolest indie bands ever to roam the earth and part of the Elephant 6 collective, Denver's Dressy Bessy. After a few singles and EPs, Dressy Bessy released their classic 1999 debut, Pink Hearts Yellow Moons, which many listeners discovered through prominent placement in Jamie Babbit's cult film But I'm A Cheerleader (starring Natasha Lyonne). In 2017, Tammy played a solo gig at the Athens Popfest under the name of The Tammy Shine; in February 2026, the first album by The Tammy Shine, OK Shine OK, was released by Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records. It's a showcase of Tammy's "clutterpunk" vision, balancing toughness with vulnerability, and grit with melodic charm.

Plus...the single dumbest O3L game? You be the judge, as the gang TRIES to get through the radio call letter game "KO3L".

Thanks to Mike Turner from HHBTM for the introduction, and John Hill (Tammy's husband, Dressy Bessy bandmate, and Apples In Stereo guitarist) for the coordination!

Proud members of the Pantheon Podcasts family.

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