DISGRACELAND – Bonus Episode: Spooky Stories and Superbowl Shows

October 2, 2025
Host: Jake Brennan (with contributions from Dr. Zeff Lundy, listener voicemails & texts)

Overview

This bonus "Afterparty" episode of DISGRACELAND is a lively, interactive dive into the intersection of music myth, spooky folklore, infamous Super Bowl halftime shows, and the personal musical journeys of listeners. Host Jake Brennan riffs on the state of the Super Bowl’s musical choices, teases upcoming episodes about haunted musicians, and invites listeners to share their musical “Sherpas.” The show leans into its October “spooky season” vibe, featuring ghost stories, mysterious band lore, and first-person tales from fans who were there for some of rock’s wildest moments.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Super Bowl Halftime Show Debate

Timestamp: 02:36 – 10:52

• Modern Choices vs. Classic Expectations:
  Jake laments Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s selection of Bad Bunny as the next Super Bowl halftime performer, noting the disconnect between the artist’s global popularity and the tastes of core NFL fans:

  "Do you hear Bad Bunny when you walk through the stadium at Orchard Park in Buffalo on Sundays while Bill's Mafia is tailgating?... That's football, man. That's professional football."
  (Jake Brennan, 05:10)

• San Francisco’s Homegrown Talent Overlooked:
  He suggests local legends like Metallica would have been a more culturally relevant choice for the game’s Bay Area location:

  "Dude, Metallica. The choice was right there. It was perfect. It's a chip shot from 15 yards out, Jay-Z. Metallica is from San Francisco. And Metallica is still completely relevant."
  (Jake Brennan, 08:30)

• Commentary on Corporate Expansion:
  Jake criticizes the NFL's efforts to appeal to “future fans” at the expense of their core audience, reflecting on when the halftime show wasn’t such an event:

  "They're sacrificing the needs of their current fans for what they perceive are the desires of their future fans. I can't stand it when brands do this."
  (Jake Brennan, 06:50)

2. Spooky Season Stories

Timestamp: 10:52 – 21:53

• Led Zeppelin & Haunted Headley Grange:
  Teases the week’s main DISGRACELAND episode—Led Zeppelin Part 2, focused on the allegedly haunted mansion where the band recorded:

  "This week in our Part 2 Led Zeppelin episode about the haunted Headley Grange where Jimmy Page and the boys recorded many of their biggest... songs, I should say."
  (Jake Brennan, 11:40)

• Upcoming Halloween-Ready Content:
  Next up, a DISGRACELAND dive into doom metal band Pentagram, and a rewind of the horrifying Peter Tosh story.

• Listener Ghost Stories:
  Listeners call in with chilling experiences—haunted houses, spectral fears, music as exorcism—prompted by recent episodes.

  • Germ (619): Shares about house cleansings, shooting an exorcist-themed band video at his own haunted home.

    "I got more spooky stories than a human should have. I've done house cleansings. Our house is haunted."
    (Germ, Caller, 15:38)

  • Dave (801): Relays a tale of spiritual dread relieved by a friend’s uncanny guidance and gospel music.

    "He said, I got this feeling from God to call you and walk you through this... He says, pick up your car and sing a song to Jesus."
    (Dave, Caller, 18:41)

  • Jake’s Personal Haunted House:

    "Our house in Massachusetts, an old colonial from 1763, was so haunted that we sold it. I'm too scared to even really talk about it."
    (Jake Brennan, 17:12)

3. Listener Mailbag: First-Person History & Musical Sherpas

Timestamp: 21:53 – 28:34

• Onstage at Depeche Mode Riot:
  Scott (623) recounts living through the infamous Violator album release chaos in LA.

  "We were inside the store helping facilitate the band and things happening and people started breaking through the windows... Then it just. All hell broke loose."
  (Scott, Caller, 22:29)

• Genesis, Deep Cuts, and Music Community:
  Michael Murphy requests a DISGRACELAND episode on Genesis, sending Jake into a riff on his current obsession with "Misunderstanding" and confusion over the band's many incarnations:

  "I listen to 'Misunderstanding' by Genesis now every single day. I don't know what's up with that song, but it has owned me for the last few weeks."
  (Jake Brennan, 14:04)

• Musical Sherpas:
  Jake solicits tales of the people (“musical Sherpas”) who opened listeners’ eyes to new bands:

  "Who turned you on to great music when you were a kid? Was it an older sibling? Was it someone at a record store? Was it your cousin who smoked you up on Thanksgiving?"
  (Jake Brennan, 12:56)

• Fan Memories: Seeing Led Zeppelin, Book Recs & More:

  • Jules from Seattle recounts seeing Zeppelin in 1977, describing the chaos and intensity.

    "First thing we see upon entry? Bodies passed out along the curved wall. Stupid suckers too wasted to see Led Zepp. The show was totally unbelievable. Mind bl."
    (Jules, 24:55)

  • Listener book suggestions fuel Jake’s brief literary detour—enthusiasm for "We Begin At The End," "Blood Meridian," the link between Cormac McCarthy’s writing and Metallica’s music.

    "You just gotta kind of submit to this dude's style of writing... you can expect that it's going to be loud."
    (Jake Brennan, 26:05)

4. Current Obsessions: TV & Hollywoodland

Timestamp: 28:30 – 32:12

• TV Show "Black Rabbit" Rave:
  Jake praises Netflix’s "Black Rabbit" as if it were made for him specifically, ponders an episode on Bateman and Law's careers.

  "It's almost as if they took me and they put me in a lab and they studied exactly what would appeal to me and then they went off and they made a television limited series about it…"
  (Jake Brennan, 29:36)

• Robert Mitchum & Hollywoodland:
  Teases Dr. Zeff Lundy's new DISGRACELAND Hollywoodland episode on Robert Mitchum, highlighting quotes and linking the star’s attitude to his own struggles with people-pleasing.

  "There just isn't any pleasing some people. The trick is to stop trying."
  (Dr. Zeff Lundy quoting Robert Mitchum, 30:50)

5. Community, Housekeeping, and Looking Ahead

Timestamp: 32:12 – end

• Listener Engagement:
  Multiple prompts for fans to call/text with answers to questions of the week, haunted stories, and personal musical journeys:

  • "Who was your musical Sherpa?"
    (Jake Brennan, 33:13)
  • Call or text: 617-906-6638.

• Patreon & All Access:
  Sign up reminders for ad-free content and exclusive mini episodes. Price hike coming soon—lock in $5/month rate.

• Upcoming DISGRACELAND & Hollywoodland Content:

  • Led Zeppelin Part 2: (Now live)
  • Peter Tosh two-parter: (Rewind next in-feed)
  • Pentagram Episode: (Next week)
  • Hollywoodland’s Robert Mitchum Story: (Live now)
  • Bonus "rap party" episodes on Hollywoodland

• Music History Throwback:
  A quick spin through the Billboard Top 5 from September 1968, the date of Led Zeppelin’s first show as the "New Yardbirds."

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the current state of Super Bowl halftime shows:

  "I'm probably not seeing the excitement because my feeds are calibrated to show me what I'm interested in. And, well, I'm just not interested in Bad Bunny or his music. But a lot of people are. The question, however, is, are those people NFL fans?"
  (Jake Brennan, 04:30)

• On haunted houses:

  "I'm too scared to even really talk about it, and maybe I will as October progresses. I've never really talked about it publicly."
  (Jake Brennan, 17:23)

• Literal music history in the room:

  "We were inside the store helping facilitate the band and things happening and people started breaking through the windows... then it just. All hell broke loose."
  (Scott, 22:29)

• On book recommendations:

  "Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy... you just gotta kind of submit to this dude's style of writing... you read a Cormac McCarthy book, you gotta. You expect you're gonna be pulled into the slipstream and he's in charge."
  (Jake Brennan, 26:23)

• Fans as the show's true heart:

  "Your voice keeps us digging into the dark corners of music. So keep calling, keep texting, get at us with your answers to this week's question of the week."
  (Jake Brennan, 33:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:36 – Main Show Kickoff: Super Bowl / Bad Bunny debate
• 10:52 – Led Zeppelin haunted house tease & upcoming episodes
• 12:56 – "Musical Sherpa" question of the week
• 15:32 – Listener ghost stories
• 21:53 – Depeche Mode riot eyewitness account
• 24:55 – Fan memory: seeing Led Zeppelin, book talk
• 28:30 – TV obsession: Black Rabbit, Hollywoodland preview
• 30:35 – Robert Mitchum quotes & attitude
• 32:12 – Community updates, listener engagement, upcoming content

Final Thoughts

This Afterparty episode delivers the trademark DISGRACELAND blend of offbeat music history, real-life drama, listener participation, and genre-mashup storytelling—for listeners who want both the stories the industry would rather forget and the sense of belonging that comes from obsessing over music’s strangest dark corners. As always, the tone is curious, irreverent, and community-driven, insisting: this isn’t just content, it’s a movement.