John Maynard

It's a shame that the only thing a person can do for eight hours a day is work. Can't eat for eight hours; can't drink for eight hours; can't make love for eight hours. The only thing a person can do for eight hours is work.

So it makes sense that we would have a national holiday dedicated to work and working people, and an episode of iconic and quirky worky songs.

Music and working out seem to go together. But instead of working out this week we burn calories with a quick trip down the (short) memory lane of notable exercise music. (Please consult a physician before attempting any of these exercises. If you fracture your fundibula, we can’t be responsible.)

Things are so bad, a picture is now only worth 200 words. People are using the sun to get a tan. Everyone is downsizing — CEOs are even playing miniature golf.

Recession has us in depression, and we are certainly not going to let a good crisis go to waste, hence this week’s episode on songs about hard times ...

This week RBR takes a look at the money train of the music industry and the mysterious world of song royalties.

This one sounds like an urban myth, but it’s true: Michael Jackson really did acquire the rights to most of the Beatles songs. It’s a strange and sordid tale, but it’s hard to feel too sorry for people who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars …

This we talk about the weather, but as usual, don't do anything about it ... except offer some favorite sayings for your amusement, starting with the classic, definitive bad opening line of all time:

It was a dark and stormy night.
– Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Back in the early 1960's, a string of motels along Seattle's Aurora Avenue North sprang up to accommodate tourists pouring into town to visit the Seattle World's Fair. Real Estate Appraiser Richard Hagar tells KPLU's John Maynard that a lot of this property is being redeveloped.

Political figures have frequently used pop music for an image boost. Bill Clinton played Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow,” and President Obama used the Allen Toussaint song “Yes We Can Can” to great effect.

But the musicians aren’t always so keen on the idea ...

Until about 120 years ago, if there was music, an actual person was playing it. There weren’t rock stars and music heroes, because there weren't machines to reproduce music and radios to broadcast it.

But technology has not only changed music, it's also changed our relationship to it ... not always for the better of the music.

Believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid," summer was also considered to cause "fevers, hysterics and frenzies." But, there are  some redeeming values, including beer and bikinis.

Actually neither of us drink beer or wear bikinis, but that was the first thing to come to our mind(s).

One small step for man ... and one giant leap of believability. As many as 25% of us Earthlings think the moon landings were a big fake, staged by Stanley Kubrick on a Hollywood sound stage.

For the Fourth of July, we cover our Top Ten Patriotic Songs of All Time, ever, at least 'til next year. And it’s amazing what you can find when you dare to look beneath the surface…

For a grab bag of irony, it’s hard to top “God Bless America."

We have nothing against school. Between the two of us we have 27 years of schooling and 3 ½ degrees. But now that school’s out, it’s time to cut loose with some of our favorite apophthegms…Look it up…

For Father's Day we put together an episode of Good Dads and Bad Dads...you be the judge.

Here are some ponderables for Dad's Day...

This week it’s stories about artists with diseases, disabilities and injuries who have had great success in the music biz. From Beethoven to Def Leppard with stops in between at Django Reinhardt and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

The good news is that some sellers in the current real estate market are getting multiple offers on their property but buyers are being much more choosy when it comes to deciding on a new home.