Bonus Episode: POV in Storytelling, 1970s Actors, and Sarah Vaughan vs. Ella Fitzgerald

Summary

DISGRACELAND Bonus Episode: POV in Storytelling, 1970s Actors, and Sarah Vaughan vs. Ella Fitzgerald
[Released July 25, 2024]

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Episode Overview

In this interactive bonus “After Party” episode, host Jake Brennan brings listeners into a chill, conversational space, riffing on everything from the nature of musical greatness to what makes storytelling compelling—and mixing it up with plenty of listener feedback. This week’s main threads dive into the persistent debates over the “greatest” jazz and 21st-century singers, the power of point of view in storytelling, and a classic question: Who is the greatest actor of the 1970s? Brennan’s tone, per usual, is irreverent, curious, occasionally combative, and always seeking a deeper understanding—not just of music or movies, but of why we care so much about ranking our influences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Jazz Canon and the Greatest Singer Debate

[03:06–11:57]

• Brennan reminisces about his college course “Survey of African American Music,” guided by the quirky but influential Professor Brown.
• Vivid recollections of a provocative classroom exercise—a student recruited as a “prop” in a reenactment of an 18th-century slave auction—lead into a deeper appreciation for jazz’s role in American culture (“America’s first artistic contribution to the world, jazz music” [05:21]).
• The show covers how questions like “Who’s the greatest?” are ultimately prompts for curiosity, discovery, and taste evolution—not hard-and-fast answers.

  “These questions of who is the best, they're silly, but they're useful... They prompt discovery. And that’s what me doing this podcast is all about for all of us, for you and for me.” —Jake Brennan [07:55]

Sarah Vaughan vs. Ella Fitzgerald

• Brennan shares Professor Brown’s dogmatic exam question: “Who is the greatest singer in the history of music?” with the only “correct” answer being Sarah Vaughan.

  • “He told us that...if we did not claim that Sarah Vaughan was the greatest singer in the history of music, we would get the question wrong and lose a third of our exam’s grade and be well on our way to failing.” [10:33]
  • Brennan admits he went with Vaughan to pass the class—but ultimately argues Fitzgerald is objectively “the answer,” cheekily calling out Professor Brown:

    “But the professor was of course wrong. The answer is of course Ella Fitzgerald, not Sarah Vaughan. You can fight me, Professor Brown.” [11:25]

  • Notes that despite the “correct” answer, Sarah Vaughan’s actual greatness wasn’t discussed in depth, making the exercise kind of hollow.

• Takeaway: The point isn’t about settling the best—Brennan’s real goal is to use debate as a vehicle for deeper engagement and discovery.

The Ongoing “Greatest Singer of the 21st Century” Poll

[11:57–13:34, 18:42–27:02]

• Brennan reiterates that his personal answer is Amy Winehouse, but only for the 21st century—many misunderstood and suggested 20th-century singers.

  “Amy Winehouse, you may recall, is my answer to that question. And again, 21st century, not the 20th century. A lot of people got that mixed up.” [12:13]

• Invites listeners to recommend their favorites and to sell him (with specifics) on artists or songs he might otherwise overlook.

  “I want to get you guys to teach me about the artists and the entertainers that you love, and I want to know why you love them. Because that's going to provide me with an on ramp to get me into other music, other films, et cetera.” [12:53]

Standout Listener Suggestions

• Florence Welch: Lauren from the 208 describes listening to her as a “spiritual experience…something I really didn’t feel since my teen years listening to Tori Amos.” [18:52]

• Imelda May (from listener JQ): Cited for her “amazing psycho-billy sound,” with Brennan noting he’s “woefully ignorant” of the genre but wants recs.

• Jazmine Sullivan (from listener Quincy R. Tuggle): A video of her “singing her actress ass off” prompts more requests for specific song or album recs.

• Adele (from Jesse Rachmat): “Adele is just on a different level. I’ve never been as emotional as I have been with her songs.”

• More suggestions via Facebook, including Sia, Kate Miller-Heidke, Amy Lee, and Billie Eilish. Listener Keely Diggleman details how these women “really hit me in the soul and give me shivers…” [26:00]

• For all recs, Brennan requests a “gateway” song or album to experience these artists through the listener’s perspective.

  “Give me the songs. Give me the one Adele song that you cannot live without. If you’re going to play one Adele song…which Adele song is it? Even if it is the most obvious.” —Jake Brennan [25:45]

The Greatest Actor of the 1970s — Pacino and Beyond

[13:34–14:59, 27:02–28:19, 41:08–43:54]

• Brennan floats a new “question of the week”: Who is THE greatest actor or actress from the 1970s?
• He frames Al Pacino (with Godfather I & II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon) as his own repeat-watch icon, but actively solicits debate and new lenses from listeners:

  “Which films make you believe that your actor or actress is better than Al Pacino in the 1970s? Or at least which 70s films your favorite 70s actors keep driving you back to watch over and over again?” [13:47]

• Shouts out possible contenders: De Niro, Meryl Streep, Shelley Duvall, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Paul Newman.
• Urges listeners to leave a voicemail/text with their answers, trying to “narrow this down to one.”
• Teases next week’s episode dedicated to Pacino’s near self-destruction in Hollywood.
• Recommends films to get (back) in the zone: Godfather I & II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Heat (“How good is Heat, by the way? We don't talk about Heat enough as a society.” [41:19])
• Invites feedback and predictions for the next main episode: “Is Pacino the greatest, or who takes the crown for you?” [42:26]

Point of View in Storytelling: Why It Matters

[34:35–40:58]

• Brennan reflects on the importance—and increasing rarity—of strong point of view in storytelling.
• Calls out the prevalence of “neutral” or fact-only content tailored for algorithms, noting it pulls big audiences but “is not interesting to me, okay?”

  “All great storytelling, in my opinion, comes from incredible point of view… That goes from anything from a 60 second reel on Instagram, from a content creator that you’ve never heard of, to Martin Scorsese’s Last Temptation of Christ. Okay, it’s just point of view is what is going to make the storytelling.” [36:00]

• Acknowledges that “fence-sitting” content is algorithmically rewarded: “If you are neutral, if you're just like, here are the facts…there is a massive audience that is going to gravitate toward you…But again, that is not interesting to me.” [37:37]
• Credits Disgraceland’s audience for their “organic promotion”—sharing the show, arguing about it, bringing it up at bars and walks:

  “The only way that Point of view storytelling survives on these algorithms is because of you guys.” [36:35]

• Concludes with gratitude and a promise to keep doing what he’s always done—“but I need you guys to keep doing it as well.”

Listener Engagement & Show Development

Throughout episode

• Encourages ongoing, passionate listener participation—as discoverers, recommenders, and argument-starters.
• Rolls out new show merch based on episode art, promising fresh releases and chances to win freebies through engagement: “I'm gonna send you some free merchandise as a thank you.” [28:31]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On discovery and taste:

  “These questions of who is the best, they're silly, but they're useful. There is, of course, no right answer, no wrong answer. But these questions prompt discovery.” —Jake Brennan [07:55]

• On the Sarah Vaughan exam:

  “Professor Brown was of course wrong. The answer is of course Ella Fitzgerald, not Sarah Vaughan. You can fight me, Professor Brown. Just listen to side one of Ella singing the Cole Porter songbook and then come talk to me.” —Jake Brennan [11:25]

• On point of view:

  “All great storytelling, in my opinion, comes from incredible point of view.” [36:00]

• On Heat:

  “How good is Heat, by the way? We don't talk about Heat enough as a society. I mean, we do, you and I, but I just feel like it doesn’t get mentioned as the great movie. It's not up there on the Mount Rushmore. It should be.” —Jake Brennan [41:19]

• Listener Lauren from the 208, on Florence Welch:

  “Listening to her is an absolute spiritual experience, something I really didn’t feel since my teen years listening to Tori Amos.” [18:52]

• Keely on Facebook, on why certain singers matter:

  “I love music because it makes me feel things and these women really hit me in the soul and give me shivers.” [26:00]

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Key Timestamps

• [03:06] Jazz storytelling, Professor Brown, and debates over jazz vocalists
• [10:33] The infamous Sarah Vaughan exam anecdote
• [11:57] Brennan’s take on “greatest” lists as prompts for taste and discovery
• [13:34] Framing the 1970s actors debate, Al Pacino’s legacy
• [18:42] Listener feedback begins (voicemails: Florence Welch, the Jackson family, Jenny Rivera, Teddy Pendergrass)
• [24:10] DMs about Imelda May, Jasmine Sullivan, Adele, and more
• [34:35] Merch announcements and show development
• [36:00–40:58] On point of view in storytelling; algorithms; audience advocacy
• [41:08] Episode wrap-up: Pacino preview, best-of-70s, Billboard chart flashback

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Final Takeaways

Jake Brennan uses this bonus episode to champion debate and passionate discovery over dogmatic “best-of” answers, whether in jazz, rock, soul, or film. His ask: Don’t just tell him who’s best—show him, bring receipts, argue your perspective. The show remains a celebration of storytelling with a strong point of view, powered as much by its audience’s engagement as by Brennan’s curiosity and wit.

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Listener prompts for the future:

• Who is the greatest actor of the 1970s, and what performances prove it?
• What’s the one song/album by YOUR favorite 21st-century singer everyone should use as the gateway?
• Any musical or true crime subjects you want Disgraceland to tackle next?

Contact:
Voicemail/Text: 617-906-6638
Socials: @disgracelandpod
Website: www.disgracelandpod.com

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Jake Brennan]

Hey discos, need a little more Disgraceland in your life? Just a touch to get you through. Yeah, me too. This is the podcast that comes after the podcast. Welcome to Disgraceland. The After Party. Welcome to the Disgraceland bonus episode. A little thing we like to call the after party. This is the show after the show. The party after the party. The bridge to get you from one full episode of Disgraceland to the other the the backyard. To dig into the dirt on this bonus episode, we are talking about incredible jazz artists. We're also talking about dumb questions from smart people and Al Pacino and the greatest actors from the greatest decade in filmmaking, the 1970s. And of course, your voicemails, your texts and more. And as always, a whole lot of Rosie. All right, discos, let's get into it. All right guys, welcome into the show this week. I'm pumped to be here talking to you. I'm on vacation. I'm recording in an undisclosed location on a spooky lake up in the wilds of New England and I am in a basement right now. An empty dark room looks like somewhere you would stow away a kidnapper. If the recording sounds a little boomy. That is because I'm recording in this non studio environment. But I wanted to get you guys this after party episode this week. So here you go. I hope you can bear with me. Listen, when I was in my second year of college at Northeastern University, I took a class called A Survey of African American Music. It was a great class. Covered everything from field haulers and slave chants from the 1700s all the way up to modern day hip hop. Our professor, he was a jazz guy, though I think he played with Alice Coltrane at some point. I'm not sure. Even so, I didn't understand at the time how cool that was then. I now do. Of course. I also remember our professor was friends with Max Roach, the great jazz drum. And he even had Max come speak to the class. And that type of coolness I understood immediately. Professor Brown, that was our teacher. He was reasonable, he was thoughtful, he was measured, if not a bit dramatic. The first day of class, I remember, he grabbed the best looking, most athletic looking white boy in the classroom and made him stand up on his desk. And then the professor proceeded to reenact an 18th century slave auction using the kid as the student, as a prop. It was heavy, and the white boy handled it well. And I remember being impressed with both professor and the kid. Professor Brown was a weird cat, but he had great tastes, especially in jazz music, from Dixieland to standards to bebop to Harbop to Afro Cuban to fusion. Whatever the style, Professor Brown had a great way of explaining the evolution of jazz from genre to genre and in human terms, objectively. Now, my tastes, along, of course, with some of my classmates, expanded rapidly because of this class, and so did my understanding of America's first artistic contribution to the world, jazz music. I still love jazz music, of course, and I'm still trying to understand it. Not in technical terms. I've never cared much for that. That's not my thing. But in human terms. And that's what our Miles Davis and Billie Holiday and Chet Baker and Sonny Rollins episodes are about. They're about me trying to understand the men and the women who made this incredibly unique and incredibly inspiring music that they quite literally dedicated their lives to and for most, died in the pursuit of their creations. Now, was Miles Davis the best trumpet player to ever work in the genre? Was Billie Holiday the best vocalist? The best female jazz vocalist? I can certainly make a case for both. I can't for Chet Baker, by the way, as a trumpet player, but as a singer, perhaps. I'm still learning about Sonny Rollins, even after releasing our episode on him. These questions of who is the best, they're silly, but they're useful. There is, of course, no right answer, no wrong answer. But these questions prompt discovery. And that's what me doing this podcast is all about for all of us, for you and for me. Be it the Johnny Cash reel we released this week on Instagram about Johnny Cash being literally the first American to learn of Joseph Stalin's. That's a big revelation for a lot of people. They didn't know that. My wife even was like, are you sure this is true? I'm like, I'm sure it's true. Look it up. It's a fact. And that's discovering these facts, these quote, unquote, holy shit moments that happen in music history or in the history of entertainment. It's just as much discovery for me as it is for you guys. And these questions that we ask in the after party, they're also about discovery. They're meant to prompt discovery. I asked this question to you guys last week here in the afterparty and on social media of who the greatest singer of the 21st century is not. Because I'm interested in proving my take to be right. I could give a shit about that. Amy Winehouse, you may recall, is my answer to that question, by the way. And again, 21st century, not the 20th century. A lot of people got that mixed up. I was specifically talking about the last 24 years. But I asked these questions in part because I want to learn more about these other artists who would not be my choice. I'm soliciting education, in a way. I want to get you guys to teach me about the artists and the entertainers that you love, and I want to know why you love them. Because that's going to provide me with an on ramp to get me into other music, other films, et cetera. So because of you guys, I will be listening to Pink and Adele with fresh ears. Something that wouldn't have happened had this question not come up and had you guys not so passionately responded. Now, back in that survey of African American music at Northeastern University, I remember we had a big exam. It was a midterm or a final, I can't remember which. And our professor told us that there would be only three questions on the exam. And I don't remember necessarily what the first two questions were exactly, but the answers were somewhat subjective answers where we had to demonstrate in an essay that or an essay's broad understanding of the music that we learned in the course, along with some indication of how our tastes had evolved. The answer to the last question, however, was also subjective, but only from the professor's point of view. He told us that the final question on the exam would be, who is the greatest singer in the history of music? And that there could only be one answer to the question of who the greatest singer in the history is of music was. And that that answer was Sarah Vaughan. Now, he also said that if we got cute and we tried to answer anything else, try to argue anything else, try to argue that maybe it was another singer, Billie Holliday, Chet Baker, perhaps even arguing for other artists that we had learned about in his class, that if we did not answer Sarah Vaughan, that if we did not claim that Sarah Vaughan was the greatest singer in the history of music, we would get the question wrong and lose a third of our exams grade and Be well on our way to failing. I remember thinking that the question and the stubbornness around the quote unquote answer was bold. I liked it, and I'm pretty sure I aced that exam. But the professor was of course wrong. The answer is of course Ella Fitzgerald, not Sarah Vaughn. You can fight me, Professor Brown. Just listen to side one of Ella singing the Cole Porter songbook and then come talk to me about Sarah Vaughan. All right, I'll do respect. But the bummer of that class and that exam and that weird question is that for as much as we covered in that class, I don't really remember covering Sarah Vaughan. I don't really recall being taught any examples of Sarah Vaughan's greatness, of what songs I should listen to to consider her greatness, of what albums I should listen to. The question, as bold as it was, and the silly forced answer didn't prompt any evolution in taste. And that is what I'm hoping to accomplish with the questions that we ask and discuss in and around these bonus episodes. So to the question of who the greatest singer of the 21st century is, like I said, my answer was Amy Winehouse. And if you want my reasoning, if you want to start somewhere to discover Amy's greatness, then look no further than her second lp, Back to Black. There literally isn't a bad song on it. And in the meantime, I'll be checking out some of the recommendations from you guys on on who you believe the greatest singer of the 21st century is. Also later in this episode, I'm going to have some specific follow ups to your answers. But for now, I have another question. Next week's full episode of Disgraceland is on Al Pacino. And the story is about how Al nearly derailed his incredible one of a kind acting career before it even really gets started. So coming into this episode, as I was organizing my thoughts, I was thinking that I could ask something cheeky about like what Al Pacino movie could you absolutely not. Not live without. But I don't like that question. It's, it's, it's hard to even form the question. So that's probably an indication that it's not a good question. I want to get more basic here because basically you can argue that Al Pacino is the greatest actor from the greatest decade in filmmaking, the 1970s. Now, at least if you were to survey my movie watching history over the course of my life, I think that Al Pacino movies from the 1970s, the Godfather 1 and 2, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, these films are among my most watched, most loved movies. But I want to look at 70s movies through your eyes. So I want to know, who do you think is the greatest actor or actress from that decade, from the 1970s? And very important, please tell me which films of theirs that I need to watch, even if it's super obvious and you're going to be like, oh, well, he's definitely seen the Sting with Robert Redford and Paul Newman, which I have. But if you write me this impassioned answer or leave me a voicemail about why the Sting puts Paul Newman over the top when considering the best actors of the 1970s, I'm now going to watch the Sting with a little bit of your point of view. And that's what I'm looking for. Okay, which films make you believe that your actor or actress is better than Al pacino in the 1970s? Or at least which 70 films your favorite 70s actors keep driving you back to watch over and over again? Who are those actors? Who are the best? Who is the best? Who is the single best representation of the greatest acting, the most compelling acting in the decade of the 1970s? Is it Robert De Niro? Is it Meryl Streep? Is it Shelley Duvall? Is it Robert Redford? Dustin Hoffman? Faye Dunaway? Paul Newman? Which actor or actress owned the 70s? For you, let me know. 617-906-6638. You can leave me a voicemail with your answer or you can send me a text with your answer. You can hit me up at Disgracelandpod on Instagram, X, Facebook and TikTok. I'm going to take a quick break and I'll be back in a flash.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Sponsor Announcer]

Support for the show comes from public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers, growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comdisclosures

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[Jake Brennan]

All right, we are back. I want to dive right into your voicemails here. This is Lauren from the 208 on the subject of the greatest female singers of the 21st century.

[Listener]

Hey, Jake. This is Lauren from the 208. I think we're missing Florence Welch and the greatest female singers from the 21st century. Listening to her is an absolute spiritual experience, something I really didn't feel since my teen years listening to Tori Amos. She's just incredible. So I think she definitely needs to be added to that list. Love what you do. Keep up the good work. Thanks. Bye.

[Jake Brennan]

Lauren, thanks for the call. Florence Welch is admittedly someone that I don't know that much about, but someone that I am excited to get into. I don't know much about Florence, but everything I've heard from her just in passing has kind of stopped me and been like, oh, I gotta know more about this artist. So thanks for the prompt. I appreciate it. The 505 on the Jacksons. Let's hear from the 505.

[Listener]

Hey, Jake, Nile Style from Santa Fe. You know when one time, a long time ago, you mentioned that you had something that was going to take a whole lot more than one episode, it was going to take a whole series. And I thought, okay, he's finally going to do the Jackson family, including the father, I think. But I think it ended up being Wu Tang. You don't talk about Michael much, or Janet or their dad or any of the other kids. But there's stuff there. We know there's stuff there. Anyway, loving what you do. You have a good, beautiful, beautiful day.

[Jake Brennan]

Okay, here's the thing. There's. There's not a reason, really, that I have not covered Michael Jackson. Except actually, that's not true. There is a reason. There's so much there, and I honestly cannot pick a lane. Elaine. Excuse me. I have a point of view, but it's changed dramatically from time to time. And maybe, perhaps, if I'm being totally honest, if I'm speaking honestly, I'm a little bit intimidated on the subject of Michael Jackson. I think that I have many conflicting thoughts on Michael in the supposed transgressions that surround him. And I've read a lot. I've watched a lot. And I've heard a lot, even secondhand, excuse me, firsthand from folks. And it's just. It's just a lot. And I feel like it's the type of subject that could swallow me up for an entire, you know, three months trying to figure out the research for. And that's happened to me before, and it's not fun. That happened to me two summers ago with Serge Gainsburg. I researched and outlined an entire season on Serge Gainsbourg that we were going to produce and voice and a French actor was going to voice. We're going to release it in France. And I spent all this time on this one artist and it ate me up. Needless to say that that series never came out. We ended up doing a single episode on Serge and my point of view on him was completely screwed up from the. Just the weight of that subject matter. 505, you know, you're talking specifically about doing a longer series on the whole family and yeah, that could be interesting. But I just feel like there's so much to bite off with Michael alone that it would be weird to dedicate time to his brothers and sisters and even his dad. And I know what his dad. I know the stories about his dad. But with Janet, I'm curious what you're talking about. Other than the nip slip from the Super Bowl, I don't really know what, if any, transgressions are there regarding Janet Jackson. Of course, now people are gonna bombard me and just fill my inbox with the Janet Jackson has pulled off in her career and I'm here for it. So let me know and anyone else if you have any interesting takes on how to cover the Jacks. Excuse me, how to cover Michael Jackson. I'm here for that as well. 5, 6, 2, let's hear from 562 and some suggestions.

[Listener]

Hey, Jake. Anyway, again, stories do. Would love to hear something on Jenny Rivera. You know, she has an interesting life. A lot of people don't know that she even did journalism as well as a singer and all the other stuff. So if you could cover that, that would be really great. Also, Teddy Pendergrass, definitely think. Would that be an interesting story? Would love to hear something about Teddy. If you've already done something, you know, I'll listen to you say that and I'll look for it. Otherwise, hey, have a great day and look forward to more stuff from you.

[Jake Brennan]

I've literally never heard of Jenny Rivera. So listen, five, six, two, I want you to get back in touch and I want you to give me One song to listen to. Teddy. Teddy Pendergrass, for sure. There is an episode there, and I'm interested in learning more about Teddy from the little that I do know. I know that we can get an episode out of that subject, and I'm excited to perhaps try to figure that out. All right, guys, 617-906-6638. Be like the 208, the 505, and the 5, 6, 2. And hit me up with your voicemails. You can hit me up on anything. You hit me up on the question of the week. We're talking about who the greatest actor is of the 1970s. We want to narrow this down to one. Okay. All right, let's. Let's do some DMS. Okay? JQ. DMS us on Instagram. That's @graceland. Pod. He says, I agree that Amy Winehouse, best female artists of the 21st century so far, but would like to give an honorable mention to Imelda May. From her amazing psycho belly sound to the soul breaking black tears, she deserves some of your audience's love and appreciation. Imelda May, you say? Jq, thanks for the dm. Never heard of her. And I'm going to use. I picked your message because the psychobilly genre is one that I am woefully ignorant of. And I don't. I can't even. I mean, I'm up on garage music, just psychobilly. There's a, you know, rockabilly. I'm up on rockabilly. I just psychobilly. It's kind of a void. So hit me up with some recommendations. You can start with hitting me up with some Imelda May. When you say Soul breaking Black tears, is that a song I want to know? Jq, get back at us and let me know. Quincy R. Tuggle DMs us on Instagram just sends a video of a female singer named Jasmine Sullivan singing her actress ass off. And I've never heard this artist before. Guys, I need more. This is the point I was making in the earlier block. Quincy, get back to me. Let me know where to start. What album do I start with of Jasmine's or what? What. What other song besides this? This live clip that you sent me? Jesse Rachmat. I think I'm saying that correctly. R A C H M A T dm's Us on Instagram. Adele. Adele is just on a different level. I've never been as emotional as I have been with her songs. They are good, gut wrenching. All right, Jesse, give me the songs. Give Me, the one Adele song that you cannot live without. If you're going to play one Adele song for one person, that person being me. Which Adele song is it? Even if it is the most obvious. Her biggest single, whatever it is, Rolling in the Deep, Whatever. I want to listen to it through your ears now. Okay, hit me up. Mark R. Yazagir. I believe I'm saying that pronouncing that correctly. Mark tags us on X and says, today I learned that Johnny Cash as an Air Force wireless operator, may have been the first American to learn of Joseph Stalin's death via Disgraceland pod. You are correct, Mark. That is something that I've learned. I learned a couple years ago when I was researching the Johnny Cash episode of Disgraceland, which lives on in our archive, which I encourage you, Mark, to check out. Keely Diggleman on Facebook writes, hey Jake, I usually don't respond as I always think with Facebook being the least used social, it'll probably get to you too late. Anyway, just wanted to weigh in on best female singers. I love music because it makes me feel things and these women really hit me in the soul and give me shivers. Obviously Amy Winehouse loved her since the moment I heard her. But here's the others. Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine. Any album, any song. I can listen to her all day. Favorite song is Dog Days are Over. Number two, Amy Lee from Evanescence. Beautiful, talented artists three and four, Sia and Kate Miller Heike, both amazing artists. Number five, Billie Eilish. The amount she has grown since starting is wonderful. She is highly talented from the way she puts her songs together to how she wants her music videos produced. The documentary on her is great. Few of her songs bring so much emotion out in me that I find tears welling up. This is fantastic. This is a great message. I appreciate it. Keely. I'm going to dig into these recommendations, guys. Hit me up disgracelandpod. You can hit me up on the questions of the week that we're asking. Even if they're old, you're still giving me fodder to reevaluate my listening taste with. And I appreciate that. But also we got this question of the week that we're gonna be discussing in next week's after party. And that question of course is who is the greatest actor from the greatest decade in filmmaking, the 1970s? Let us know.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Now.

[Jake Brennan]

We dropped some new merch couple about a month ago. We did the Disgraceland just straight up white logo on a black T shirt. And we did the Rocka roll of T shirts. We're gonna just. I'm gonna do my best to just keep these stocked. These are, like, basic merch items. They're there. They're in the merch store for you. We got some pins as well. Grab those. One of the things we're gonna start doing ASAP right now, as a matter of fact. We are in it. We are doing it. We're making it happen. I can't believe we haven't figured this out before. And all props to Disgraceland's executive producer extraordinaire, Matt Bowden, for being like, yo, motherfucker, why aren't we doing this? We have all this incredible episode art for every episode of Disgraceland, over 170 episodes, there's 170 pieces of art or something like that. And from Avi Spivik, who's fantastic. So we've been laboring for the last couple months to just use this art to create different merch specific to the episode. So if you love the, I don't know, Amy Winehouse episode of Disgrace Lane, you can get that art specifically on a T shirt. If you love the Johnny Cash episode of Disgrace, and you can get that episode art, that great Johnny Cash illustration that Avi created on a T shirt, we're gonna be rolling that out in the next few seconds. Okay, keep. Keep an eye on our socials for that. That'll be out shortly. And I'm going to start doing my best to be engaged with the merch side of things, just like I was in the beginning of Disgraceland. And we did this thing way back in the day where we would. It was. It was a cool way for me to engage directly with you guys. You guys would leave reviews on Apple podcasts, and I'd pick a reviewer every. Every month or. Sorry, every week. You also leave, you know, shout us out on social media and tag us at disgracelandpod about an episode that you were into, and then I'd send you some free merchandise as a thank you. Now, listen, this isn't for everybody. This is just, you know, I pick a couple listeners every week and pick you out of a hat, and it's like, yo, hey, just a little thank you. I'm gonna send you something cool. So that's what we're gonna keep doing here. We're gonna continue doing that. We're gonna do it with more regularity. And when I come back after the break, I'm going to talk about a couple of you listeners who have recently reviewed the show. And if you hear your name, you're going to get in touch and I'm going to send you some merch. All right, Back in the flash.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's Stock up savings time now through March 31st. Spring in for store wide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Hunts, Nerds, Pillsbury, Lowry's, Breyers, Quaker and Culture Pop. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery restrictions apply. See website for full terms and conditions.

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[Jake Brennan]

Okay, we are. We are back. And as promised, some reviews here on Apple. Podcast listener Andy Girl, that's three L's writes I love, love love this podcast. Familiar, fascinating stories told with insight and details I've not heard anywhere else. I'm addicted. So listen, Andy Girl, thank you first and foremost. Get in touch and we've got some merch that we want to send you, okay? Sunbury also writes on Apple. Madly entertaining. Jake is a wonderful storyteller. Oh, thank you. Sunbury goes on to say, I've learned so much about artists and actors that I thought I knew. This is my go to podcast to work out to or to go walking to by far. Sunberry. If you hear your name, and I hope you do, I hope you're on your walk right now. You're hearing your name and you're getting pumped. Get in touch. Hit us up@graceland pod disgracelandpodmail.com Same for you, Andy Girl. Get in touch and we've got some merch for you, okay? I'm not going to sit here and read a bunch of reviews to you guys about the show. More than what I've just done. Trying to be a little humble here, but one of the things that I've come across in these reviews over and over again, and it really warms my heart, is the mention of point of view and how we have our own point of view. And listen, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. Sometimes you're going to agree with my point of view in the storytelling and sometimes you're not going to agree with it, but it is compelling one way or another. And I have found this thing to this, this recent phenomenon in content creation that is happening and it is widespread and it is this. There is a style of storytelling that is everywhere, on Instagram, on TikTok, on, especially on YouTube, that is completely devoid of point of view. It is the opposite of what we do and it is massive. And I actually saw a content creator, I won't name them, have pretty much have a. The equivalent of. It was nearly a nervous breakdown in public over the comments and reviews that he was receiving based on his opinions and his point of view. And I'm not making fun of this person. In fact, I have a lot of empathy for this person. I felt really bad for this person. This person has a ton of followers too. And this is their livelihood like it is mine. And basically their solution was to abandon point of view and to just present facts as they are, just present the story as it is. And that's certainly a choice. And that is a choice that I'm not going to knock anyone for taking. It's not the choice I would make because it's not interesting to me. It's not interesting for me to create, it's not interesting for me to consume. All great storytelling, in my opinion, comes from incredible point of view. And that goes from anything from a 60 second reel on Instagram, from a content creator that you've never heard of, to Martin Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ. Okay, it's just point of view is what is going to make the storytelling. But we live in a world now where algorithms drive distribution, they drive discovery, they drive people hearing and learning about the content that you are creating. So if you are, let's say, sitting on a fence as a content creator, if you are neutral, if you're just like, here are the facts, this is the thing that happened, these are the facts that we know. And you walk away from it, leave everything on the table, there is a massive audience that is going to gravitate toward you. There is a massive audience that is going to accept what you're giving them, take it, digest it and move on. And that's fine. But again, that is not interesting to me, okay? And like I said, the algorithms reward that type of content creation because it is safe and because it is going to appeal to more people. Therefore, they will promote it more. Now, the only way that Point of view storytelling survives on these algorithms is because of you guys. Because you guys share it. Because you guys go, yo, this might not be for everybody, but I fucking love it. And I'm going to screenshot this podcast and I'm going to put it in my story and Instagram. Or, yo, I. I'm going to sit at the bar on Saturday night next to my drunk uncle who thinks he knows everything about fucking music, and I'm going to school him on some shit because he has no idea what I just learned about in Disgraceland or, hey, I just. I'm going for a walk with my wife. I want to talk about something interesting that I just found out about. And you talk about what we're creating here because the point of view compels you. It's not just, here's the facts, ma'. Am. You know what I'm saying? Anyways, all I'm saying, I guess, is I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing, but I need you guys to keep doing it. And I appreciate all of the love, all of the organic promotion that you guys do for this show. It means everything to us. Okay? Thank you, thank you, thank you. So on Point of View and storytelling, I'm going to take a quick break and then when I come back, we get into the all Access portion of the show. I'm gonna talk about the book that I'm reading right now, which is the Exorcist. And I'm reading that because, like I said, I'm staying on a spooky lake, but we have an Exorcist episode that's coming out in October. I'm gonna talk about that storytelling because it's fucking great. If you guys want in on the all access version of this episode, you wanna hear the extended version of the After Party where we get into more. We also get into more of your texts and voicemails. And again, like I said, dive deeper into these stories. Just, you know, All Access membership. It's not only gonna get you that, but it's also gonna get you ad free listening and an extra full episode per month. It's easy to sign up. It's not expensive. It's $5 a month. We greatly appreciate it. You can sign [e-mail].

[Listener]

Foreign.

[Jake Brennan]

Welcome back. I'm about to get out of here, but before I do, before next week's Al Pacino episode, get pumped, okay? Go watch the Godfather 1 and 2, okay? Watch Serpico. Watch Dog Day Afternoon. Watch Heat. How good is Heat, by the way? We don't talk about Heat enough as a society. I mean, we do, you and I, but I just feel like it doesn't get mentioned as the great movie. It's not up there on the Mount Rushmore. It should be. Who's read the new Heat book? I heard it's amazing. I have not read it. I'll probably move on to that after I finish this Exorcist. Okay? So, yeah, if you've read it, let me know. Get in touch. In the meantime, let's recap, shall we? Number one, there's more after party to listen to right now. All you gotta do is go to the show notes and click the link to become a member. Number two, right now in your feed, last week's brand new episode on Donny Hathaway. Number three, coming tomorrow, a special rewind episode from our archive. We're talking Al Pacino, like I said, next week. And I'm already In a heavy, heavy 70s state of mind over it. And if you want more of that 70s vibe, more of that 70s New York vibe, we got you covered in the archive, in the Disgraceland archive, with episodes on Blondie, the Ramones, New York Dolls, recent episode on Talking Heads, of course, which we were just talking about. Get into them this weekend. Get hyped for the Prince of the 70s, Al Pacino. Number four. I want to know, is Al Pacino the greatest actor of the 1970s? Let me know who you think is. 617-906-6638. Call me on the telephone, Leave me a voicemail or text me. Hit me up. Disgracelandpod on the socials. Number five. Remember, no one cares about great storytelling more than you do. And, well, that's just a disgrace. All right. In honor of Al Pacino's first Oscar win for best supporting actor in the Godfather, going back to March 27, 1973, I give to you the Billboard charts from that week. Number one, Love Train, the OJS. Last week, three peak position one weeks on chart 10. Number two, Killing Me Softly with his song Roberta flack. Last week, one peak position one weeks on chart nine. Number three. Also sprach Zarathustra, 2001, Deodato. Last week four peak position three weeks on chart eight. Number four. Neither one of us like Gladys Knight and the PIPS number 2 killing me song position with his 4 weeks on chart last song 1 position. Number six Quit talking and start mixing Cut it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Jake Brennan]

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