Bill and Frank’s Guilt-Free Pleasures
There’s no shame in the music you love. Join us as we celebrate the open-hearted songs of the past 50 years (with a focus on the songs that made us who we are from the 80s and 90s).
Episodes
Don’t worry - the drop dead chord is paradoxically not lethal; it actually brings to mind all the joy that is found in the best parts of life. Our story begins with an American pop star who falls victim to the British Invasion, only to climb back to the top by conquering Britain himself. Neil Sedaka’s “Laughter In The Rain” is a triumphant comeback.
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFG...
There's so much to praise about this song. Bonnie Raitt's later period success suprised everyone with "Nick of Time," but then came Luck of the Draw. And then "Something to Talk About" changed everything. We work through our own feelings about this song in high school, as well as how it continues to speak into our lives. We also take the time to praise songwriter Shirley Eikhard and we hope you get to know more about her through th...
This is an earlier episode drop than usual, in hopes of capitalizing on the total eclipse frenzy that is currently happening in our part of the world. There is not a better song to feature for this time of year than Bonnie Tyler's immortal (like a vampire!) and timeless hit. We've been waiting to do this one for years: the time is now!
Mixtape
We are ending our special series on our favourite soundtrack music with this classic track from 1987's Mannequin. Now, this Andrew McCarthy vehicle was certainly no award winner, but it remains surprisingly watchable 37 years later. Grace Slick may have written off "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," but we won't turn our backs on this positive anthem to the enduring power of love!
We always knew that we had to feature this song on our podcast, but we weren't ready until this moment. Welcome to our episode on "Glory of Love" by one of the most iconic voices in soft rock history: Peter Cetera. We deep dive into The Karate Kid Part II and Rocky IV as we trace the fascinating history of how this song arrived into our world. Let us be the podcast that fights for your honour!
We continue our special series on movie music with one of the great montage sequence songs in 1980s film: Joe "Bean" Esposito's "You're The Best." We discuss its history (and connections to Rocky III) as well as Esposito's remarkable career. Besides analyzing the song, Frank proposes a crossover series that may be one of the greatest ideas we've had on this podcast: The Karate-Rock Universe.
*Note: Bill realizes now that "Never Sur...
We are continuing our special music movie series, and we've brought Kate Angle back to discuss this banger from Young Guns II. I'm not sure if we use the word "bonkers" or "auspicious" more in this episode, but we are certain that Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" is great, while Young Guns II is not!
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFGuiltFree@gmail.com, too. Feel free to...
Welcome to our first episode in our special series on "Bill & Frank Go To The Movies!"
Bill and Frank are feeling the Kenergy this week as the Academy Awards approaches and our fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling is up for best supporting actor and best song. We are well aware that we are in danger of mansplaining the Barbie movie, but we are confident that our own Ken-like obliviousness will keep from offending any listeners.
We have finally brought Derek "Deekatello" Veenhof back to bring his thoughtful analysis of The Cars' "Drive" to our show. This is one of those songs that immediately transports you back to a time and place once those opening notes begin. We hope this episode brings you joy even as we examine the possibly sinister lyrics!
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at...
Deee-Lite struck it big with this sample-filled disco/funk/house/hip hop/dance/pop track. It would be a dizzying array of styles if it were not so fun! We discuss the history of the song and Frank comes to terms with his formerly conservative grade 8 self so he can finally declare his love for "Groove Is In The Heart."
Helpful links:
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFGui...
Dave Kitchen comes out of the bearded barley and joins us in the Winchester to discuss one of the sweetest (or most sinister???) songs of the past 30 years!
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFGuiltFree@gmail.com, too. Feel free to rate and review us wherever you listen!
Here is our Spotify playlist featuring ev...
We have so much goodwill for George Harrison that we had to do our best in this episode to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it right!
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFGuiltFree@gmail.com, too. Feel free to rate and review us wherever you listen!
Here is our Spotify playlist featuring every song we've featured.
Kool & The Gang's "Cherish" is a song that takes you back to a simpler time but also brings you forward to what heaven will sound like. We hope you can luxuriate in the moment while you listen to our episode!
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFGuiltFree@gmail.com, too. Feel free to rate and review us wherever you listen!
Here is our Spotify playlist featuring...
Our good friend Nathan Holmes joins us again to discuss the type of music that we have avoided so far in over 130 episodes: the dance song. We navigate the rules of the genre, discuss our younger selves' reluctance to like dance music, and try to find out if we can answer Haddaway's question.
Official Sexy Draculas Music Video
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and our website. You can email us at BandFG...
This episode is being initially published in the dead of winter, but we are turning up the heat! Sade's smooth voice surpasses even the shifty operator of the song, and we are here to revel in the glory of Sade (the singer and the band). We discuss the history of Sade (the singer and the band), analyze "Smooth Operator," defend dodgy geography, and cover as many categories as possible to keep you satisfied!
This song resounds so loudly for Frank that we're not sure what was left of him by the end of this episode. We're glad you've joined us for this examination of Paul Young's classic cover of a Hall & Oates deep cut (and as it turns out, a pretty "deep cut" in Frank's heart). At Bill and Frank’s Guilt-Free Pleasures, we take the shame away, but not the pain
We welcome Kahlin Holmes to The Winchester to discuss a song that she has recommended for our podcast: "Fly" by Sugar Ray. We have a lot of fun in this episode as we attempt to come to terms with our own relationship to the band (and Mark McGrath in particular) and the fact that we actually like this song. As Frank says, it does embody "that California sound that was sweeping the nation."
This is a short-ish episode from us, focusing on a Christmas (and beyond) mixtape just for you!
Ian McGlynn's "Our Favourite Christmas Movie" music video
Both bonkers and reverent, Boney M's "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" holds a special place in our hearts. We discuss the history of Boney M, the making of the song, and its enduring appeal. We also talk about Evie!!! Thank you for joining us, and Merry Christmas!
Your brother has to join the band meme
You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and our ...
Like ABC, we just couldn't stop talking about the voice of Smokey Robinson during this episode. When we finally do get around to talking about ABC's classic 1987 hit, we are able to finally decipher the lyrics to the song, and it turns out that Martin Fry is not fearing violence when he hears Smokey sing. Frank also brings perhaps our best plot to a Hallmark movie based on "When Smokey Sings." Thanks for listening!
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