Bonus Episode - Chilling Words Diddy Allegedly Said Before Jay Z and He Did What? Plus Shane MacGowan and More

This week in the After Party, Jake dives into the recent allegations against Jay-Z and hears from you about your favorite Christmas songs. Plus, we've compiled (thanks to djonnit) all your favorites in a special Spotify playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Dr096tjVcolcSebOmpeod?si=43cd4be4b1c34e5e! Next week, we're bringing you a special Christmas-themed episode on one of the great rock n' roll myths: the tragic story of Memphis R&B singer Johnny Ace. We want to know: what are some other great rock myths? Which myths need busting? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, [email protected] mailto:[email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. Join us on Patreon for the premiere of "We Are Not Alone: Music Won't Save Us, But Tom Delonge Might," our first documentary-style video episode of Disgraceland! This premiere event will be available to all Patreon members (free and All-Access) on Thursday, December 12, at 8 PM EST, and Jake will be there in the chat to chop it up with you! Visit the Disgraceland Patreon page for more information https://www.patreon.com/posts/we-are-not-alone-117226594. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive into our extensive archive, including such episodes as: Episode 51 - Jay Z Episode 39 - Led Zeppelin Episode 151 - U2 To hear an extended version of the After Party and to hear more from the DISGRACELAND community, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. https://disgracelandpod.com/membership. Visit www.disgracelandpod.com/merch https://www.disgracelandpod.com/merch to see the latest Disgraceland merch! Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER https://mailchi.mp/doubleelvis/disgraceland-email-newsletter Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/disgracelandpod/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@disgracelandpod X https://twitter.com/disgracelandpod (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/491024204626127/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This is exactly right.

• 0:13Speaker 01

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• 0:47Speaker 02

  She'd throw things, wander, and started hoarding. Mom's Alzheimer's was already so hard, but then we found out she had agitation that may happen with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. And that was a different kind of difficult. So we asked her doctor for more help. Seeing symptoms like these in a loved one? It could be time to ask their doctor about Rexulti, Rexiprazole 2mg, the first FDA-approved treatment for this condition. Rexulti is proven to reduce agitation symptoms. Rexulti should not be used as an as-needed treatment. Elderly people with dementia-related psychosis have increased risk of death or stroke. Report fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, which can be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. High blood sugar can lead to coma or death. Weight gain, increased cholesterol, unusual urges, dizziness on standing, falls, seizures,

• 1:31Speaker 02

  trouble swallowing, or sleepiness may occur. Learn more about these and other side effects at rexulti.com. Tap ad for PI. I'm glad I asked for help. Ask your loved one's doctor about Rexulti.

• 1:45Jake 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.

• 2:13Jake Brennan?

  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 backyard to dig into the dirt. On this bonus episode, we are talking about the recent allegations against Jay-Z. Bit of conversation on this week's full episode about Shane MacGowan of The Pogues. And we hear from you on your favorite Christmas songs, and of course, we are diving into your voicemails, texts, and more. And as always, a whole lot of Rosie. All right, discos, let's get into it.

• 3:02Jake Brennan?

  All right, this past Sunday, Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside his buddy, fellow billionaire hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. I detailed this Combs allegation a couple of weeks ago here in the after-party. A quick refresh, though, it's the year 2000, MTV Video Music Awards are happening in Manhattan, Diddy throws an after-party. A young girl is invited off the street via one of Diddy's chauffeurs. The girl attends the party, she's drugged, she passes out in one of the bedrooms, Sean Combs enters, sees that the drug has taken effect on the young girl. The plaintiff, who was groggy at the time from the drug, was not completely passed out, and according to her, remembers Jay-Z entering the room

• 3:45Jake Brennan?

  with Sean Combs, a maniacal-looking Sean Combs, by the way, who looks her into the eye and says, "You are ready to party."

• 3:57Jake Brennan?

  Now, the accuser then claims that Combs violently threw her against the wall, and alleges that that's when Jay-Z ripped off her clothes, held her down, and raped her, while yet another celebrity, a female, a female celebrity, watched this all happen. And when the quote-unquote "God MC," gross, I hate that, I hate that nickname, finished, at that point, when Jay-Z was done, Sean Combs then raped this 13-year-old as well, and Jay-Z allegedly watched with the female celebrity watching as well.

• 4:36Jake Brennan?

  Now, it has to be said that these are just allegations. It has to be said that Sean "Diddy" Combs has adamantly denied this specific allegation and all allegations of abuse against him. Now, it also needs to be said that Jay-Z has also denied this accusation, saying this past Sunday, when news of the lawsuit broke, the following, and I'm going to read you Jay-Z's entire response to these charges because it's important. The guy's not guilty yet, okay? No matter what you think, guilt by association, you like the guy, you don't like the guy, he's still innocent until proven guilty. And this is what he is saying in response to the allegations against him.

• 5:20Jake Brennan?

  Quote, "My lawyer received a blackmail attempt called a 'demand letter' from a quote-unquote 'lawyer' named Tony Busby. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and public scrutiny would make me want to settle." You have to excuse the, the, the poor writing here and bad grammar and usage. This, I'm reading in verbatim. The quotes go on to say, "No, sir. It had the opposite effect. It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are, in a, all caps, 'VERY PUBLIC FASHION.' So, no, I will not give you, all caps, 'one red penny.' These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one." Two exclamation points. "Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away.

• 6:05Jake Brennan?

  Would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case. This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics. I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human, Mr. Busby, but I promise you, I have seen your kind many times over. I'm more than prepared to deal with your type. You claim to be a Marine. Marines are known for their valor. You have neither honor nor dignity. My only heartbreak is for my family, my wife, and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims and explain the cruelty and greed of people." I mourn yet another loss of innocence.

• 6:47Jake Brennan?

  Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit. My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit. You have made a terrible error in judgment, thinking that all celebrities are the same. I'm not from your world. I'm a young man who made it out of the projects of Brooklyn. We don't play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children. You seem to exploit people for personal gain.

• 7:28Jake Brennan?

  Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, that's right, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me. If not, for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids would be laughable. I look forward to showing you just how different I am. Unquote. I have so many thoughts, guys. First of all, what the fuck was that? Okay? I get that he's, he's saying he didn't do it. I get that he's going after Tony Busby personally. And he should. This is a very personal issue. But he knew this was coming. And he seems to have had this statement prepared based on how quickly it came out on Sunday.

• 8:12Jake Brennan?

  But dude, let me tell you about this thing called grammarly.com. Run this thing through a copy edit. Matt Bowden right now is fucking dying inside, having, having to let this grammar and usage go forth in a disgraced land episode. But a couple of serious things here.

• 8:36Jake Brennan?

  He does say fake physics, by the way. I think he meant to say fake psychics. And I just, I got a comment. Jay-Z called himself a young man. He's 54. God love him. Jay-Z is a master of the media. He is a ruthless businessman. So when you hear this, take all of that into account and I'm not going to pass judgment, but I'm just giving you the information. All right. Okay. So that's where we're at with this story, sort of. More news has broken since the allegations and since Jay-Z's response. But I want to hit on a couple of things relevant to what we just spoke of here. Okay. Jay-Z is accusing the attorney, Tony Busby, who filed this lawsuit of extortion.

• 9:18Jake Brennan?

  Busby has issued a statement denying that he is extorting Jay-Z and claiming that he simply sent a demand, what's called a demand, to Jay-Z on behalf of his client seeking mediation. In other words, Busby is saying, no, Jay-Z, I didn't extort you. I'm not trying to blackmail you. I simply, I'm not even looking for money. My client wasn't even looking for money. We just wanted to get you to come to the table with a mediator to discuss these allegations and to come to some sort of settlement. Right?

• 9:51Jake Brennan?

  Busby, he's issued a formal statement. Like I said, I'm not going to read it to you. Busby's statement here that I just depicted, it's true, but it's also disingenuous. I've read the demand and at the risk of turning this into a legal podcast, which I don't want to do, I'm not going to read it to you in full like I just did Jay-Z's response. But I can tell you that the demand from Busby is kinda extortion-y. It basically gives Jay-Z, like I said, the right to come to the table to negotiate this matter out of court. It's not black and white. It's very carefully worded and it's also kinda clever. Now, does that mean Jay-Z is innocent? No, doesn't mean he's guilty either. Does that mean that Tony Busby is crooked?

• 10:35Jake Brennan?

  No, and it doesn't mean that he's on the level either. It means he's a lawyer. He has a client. He's trying to do right by her. And I'm sure that settling this out of court for millions of dollars, rather than going through a million dollar trial, that'll undoubtedly result in this claimant's identity coming out and her life getting turned upside down, that's more preferable to Tony Busby professionally.

• 11:01Jake Brennan?

  Now, it should be noted that Jay-Z has countersued Tony Busby. However, it should also be noted that Tony Busby is welcoming the fight. And it seems he's also got the goods on Jay-Z's attorneys, who he claims have been harassing local Texans who are familiar with Busby and his firm, attempting to pay them $1,000 a pop, minimum, to go on record, to talk shit about Tony Busby, to create a narrative here about Tony Busby being a bad guy, being a liar, being full of it, being an unscrupulous dishonest attorney. I want to point out, though, that the sourcing on this piece of the story, the sourcing that I've seen on this particular claim about Tony Busby, where he's saying that he's got Jay-Z's attorneys, representatives,

• 11:46Jake Brennan?

  on tape, trying to essentially bribe people who know him to come out and speak against him. I gotta say, I'm gonna say it right here, in the numerous instances on the internet where I've seen this story pop up, the sourcing is light, it is thin. But, but, just because it's weak, it doesn't mean it's not true. Okay, as we've already seen here, there's been numerous moments when elements of this Diddy story have popped up where weak, weakly, should I say, thinly sourced information ended up proving to be true. But we've seen the opposite as well. Case in point, that Jamie Foxx Netflix thing hit last night,

• 12:27Jake Brennan?

  and what people on the internet thought was coming about Diddy did not come. Okay, so, big fat disclaimer on this piece of the story that allegedly has Jay's lawyers attempting bribery against Tony Busby. That said, Busby has not given an inch. And Jay-Z, unlike Sean Combs, is opting for a scorched earth response to Busby's client's allegations. Now, Busby isn't an idiot. He had to have known that Jay-Z's response was a possible possibility. And if he was gonna go down this road against a multi-billionaire, one of the most powerful men in entertainment, he's got to have evidence to prove out his client's case. Otherwise, well, I don't know. Otherwise, it's a shocking act of hubris and just stupidity. So, what could the proof be?

• 13:12Jake Brennan?

  DNA, perhaps, maybe? Seems like a stretch. This happened 24 years ago. Video footage, always a possibility, but the year 2000 was a much different time than 2024, and it just seems too easy that there would be video footage of this incident. A corroborating eyewitness, someone at the party testifies that they saw these individuals all go into the room together. I guess that's possible. What about testimony from the third person in the room, the unnamed quote unquote female celebrity? What if that female celebrity is not just a known name, but a person who has credibility with us, credibility with

• 13:52Jake Brennan?

  the public, a person who she came out, sat down in front of a camera on a big budget, trusted, legacy media news program and laid all the cards on the table and, you know, had a story that went something like, you know, I was young, I was drugged myself perhaps, I was drunk, I was easily impressed upon, I didn't know what was happening at that time, I was an addict, I'm now clean, I found God, all this stuff, and yes, I'm okay now, but Jay-Z, Sean Combs, you know, I don't know. I mean, that could be very compelling for the American public, could be very compelling for a judge, for a jury, okay? That could

• 14:33Jake Brennan?

  be interesting. But I doubt, however, that that person, that celebrity, that female, that A-list celebrity, would be collaborating with Tony Busby in a civil case as opposed to collaborating with authorities in a criminal case. Because what's the leverage? I suppose the leverage is Tony Busby will make her name public, but I don't know, I mean, maybe that's powerful enough. You know, in a civil case, which this is, this case has nothing to do with law enforcement. In a civil case, the burden of proof is much lower because the judgment is just financial damages, it's not jail time. But what can happen in a civil case, and I believe what has already happened as

• 15:15Jake Brennan?

  it pertains to the Sean Combs legal drama, is a civil case can become so damning and can have so much evidence attached to it, that that civil case can compel a criminal prosecutor to bring charges. Remember Cassie Ventura's lawsuit that Sean Combs settled out of court for $30 million? That was a civil case. And that civil case and that settlement inspired numerous other civil cases to quickly be filed against Sean Combs, including the one from Rodney Little Rod Jones. Those civil cases, more specifically, the evidence within those civil lawsuits, I believe, inspired federal prosecutors to raid Sean Combs' house and ultimately to indict him under federal law.

• 15:57Jake Brennan?

  If you read the Cassie Ventura indictment, and you read the Little Rod Jones indictment, which I have, and then read the federal indictment, which I also have, you quickly see that they're all part of the same piece. The charges and the details and the federal criminal complaint are so similar to the Ventura and Jones civil lawsuits, that it would not surprise me at all to learn that Cassie Ventura and Little Rod Jones are cooperating with feds against Diddy. So what does this mean? If I know this, then Jay-Z's lawyers definitely know this, and that means that the smart play for Jay-Z is to go full Gladiator retaliation to Tony Busby regardless of whether he's guilty or not. He has $2.5 billion, he can take his chances fighting this thing.

• 16:41Jake Brennan?

  In the process, the benefit of that risk is he's sending a message to future claimants. Don't fuck with me, I'm Jay-Z, the God MC. I will rain down upon thee with furious vengeance in the form of an army of lawyers. And this contains the issue for Jay-Z, and it keeps it from sprawling into the mess that Diddy has created for himself by settling with Cassie Ventura. That's what kicked it all off for Sean Combs, what blows all of this up. Like I said, if Busby has proof that comes out in court, if Busby has other victims of Jay-Z's, or just other victims in general of Jay-Z's, or witnesses come out,

• 17:25Jake Brennan?

  they go public, or if they go directly to the feds, if more information gets out there, despite Jay-Z's scorched earth Gladiator legal response, and once again, the feds are put into a box, and if that info gets out there, the feds are going to be compelled to bring a case against Jay-Z, just as they have against Sean Combs. And I'm not saying that's going to happen. But what I am saying is that Jay-Z's legal team, they know every which road this thing can spiral down, and they are playing against those possibilities. And that is very much part of Jay-Z's response, whether or not he is actually innocent or actually guilty.

• 18:09Jake Brennan?

  Regardless of what happens, this story, the Jay-Z part of the story is far from over. He's not backing down, and neither is Tony Busby. That is a lot. It's a lot of information, guys. It's only been, what, four or five days since this news broke? We're gonna get a lot more of it. And I'll have, I'll have a little bit more of this in the all access portion of this episode on Jay-Z that we can get to. I gotta say this, I released the Jay-Z episode back in 2020, and man, oh, man, has my opinion of this guy changed since. I'm not saying that Jay-Z is guilty. I legitimately do not know. If I'm betting, I'd say the odds are even.

• 18:54Jake Brennan?

  That's not good. My gut, in other words, tells me that there's a 50% chance that Jay-Z is a bad dude. And I can, in the all access portion of this, I'm gonna talk a little bit more about what I mean by that. It's my gut, all right? It's, you know, you know, all qualifiers go with that. If I thought this back in 2020, then that Jay-Z episode would have come out much differently. Back then, I was kind of in awe of Jay-Z, as not only an artist, but as an entrepreneur. I gotta say this too, I fucking love Jay-Z's music. I love it, all right? I think he's a genius. I really, truly do. And in that episode, I make the case that he's kind of a modern day Sinatra. But man, I don't know. It's different now.

• 19:36Jake Brennan?

  Anyways, that episode, it's available for you in the archive. You can check it out if you want to get a bit more backstory on Jay-Z. Even if you've already heard it, if you want to revisit it, the nightclub stabbing, how he handled that. Similar, big, big, super high-profile criminality. Not a criminal case, I almost said criminal case, but still, high-profile, front page of all the tabloids. Coincidentally, at the exact same time, at the exact same time the news of the nightclub stabbing with Jay-Z broke, back in the late 90s, Sean Combs was on trial for a nightclub shooting. Interesting, huh? These guys are close. More on that, like I said, in the all-access portion of this. But anyways,

• 20:21Jake Brennan?

  if you want a little more on Jay-Z's backstory, you want to have it in mind while all this current news is filling your feeds, check out the Jay-Z episode of DisgraceLand. All right. Speaking of rewind episodes, it's Christmas time, and that means we have our Mariah Carey episode coming your way right after this one. Mariah and her bags of money that she makes every year from her annual chart topping, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," song that is currently number one on the Billboard Hot 100, as it usually is, at least for a couple of weeks every year come this time. Anyway, check out the dark story of the Christmas miracle that keeps on giving, Mariah Carey and her bananas relationship with her wackadoo husband, music mogul Tommy Mottola. That's coming up in this week's rewind episode, which will be next in your feed after this episode that

• 21:06Jake Brennan?

  you're listening to right now. And as always, if you're listening to this bonus episode sometime in the future, and you can't find the Mariah Carey rewind episode, well, that just means that it's shifted back into its rightful place in the archive. You can search your player, you can search the web for DisgraceLand and Mariah Carey, or you can just go to our website, disgracelandpod.com. All right, next week, on Tuesday, one of my favorite episodes that we have created to date. I feel like I say that every week. You know, what that means? It means I love my job. It means I'm psyched. I'm creatively plugged in. I love this. I haven't heard the mix yet. Matt, Matt's mixing it, I think, as we speak. But I've written it and I'm pretty pumped on it. And if you like rock and roll myths, this is for you. It's on Elvis Presley and Johnny Ace. Okay. If you like rock and roll myths,

• 21:47Jake Brennan?

  if you like conspiracy, if you like gangster stories, this story is for you. And it also, bonus, takes place at Christmas. So I cannot wait for you to hear it. And when you're listening, be thinking about the rock and roll myths. Okay. Which ones are your favorites? Which ones are the most unbelievable? Which ones are you aware of are not true and have been busted? Let me know. Rod Stewart in the stomach pump, Mama Cass in the ham sandwich, Michael Hutchinson, the, you know, hit me up, hit me up, whatever myth you think of related to music, because I want to dive into them at next week's after party with you right here in this space. All right, I'm gonna take a quick break. I'll be back on the other side with your voicemails, texts, and DMs.

• 22:35Speaker 01

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• 23:08Speaker 04

  She'd throw things, wander, and started hoarding. Mom's Alzheimer's was already so hard. But then we found out she had agitation that may happen with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. And that was a different kind of difficult. So we asked her doctor for more help.

• 23:23Speaker 02

  Seeing symptoms like these in a loved one, it could be time to ask their doctor about Rexulti, Rexiprazole 2mg, the first FDA-approved treatment for this condition. Rexulti is proven to reduce agitation symptoms. Rexulti should not be used as an as-needed treatment. Elderly people with dementia-related psychosis have increased risk of death or stroke. Report fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, which can be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. High blood sugar can lead to coma or death. Weight gain, increased cholesterol, unusual urges, dizziness on standing, falls, seizures, trouble swallowing, or sleepiness may occur. Learn more about these and other side effects at rexulti.com. Tap ad for PI.

• 23:58Speaker 04

  I'm glad I asked for help.

• 24:00Speaker 02

  Ask your loved ones doctor about.

• 24:13Jake Brennan?

  All right, guys, we're back. Can you hear that? I don't think you can hear that. I don't think you can hear that. I record these after-party episodes differently than I record the full episodes because it's a different type of thing. I do them from my desk. I do them in the studio that I am currently building, though. Construction has ceased. It's about to pick up again in January. But outside right now, they are building my neighborhood as we speak. And there's some trucks, and I apologize if you're getting any of that noise. Matt has found some handy AI device that can clean up the sounds around my microphone. I'm doing a very poor job of explaining that. But we should be good to go. But these trucks are frickin' loud.

• 24:56Jake Brennan?

  I'm trying to stop and start record to make sure that you're not hearing the noise. If you do get some of that, there it is. Hear that? You hear that? That little sneaky fucker? Perfect timing. If you hear any of that, I apologize. But we're doing our best to clean it up and keep it out. Anyhow, we're back. Like I said, before we get to your calls, before we get to your texts, before we get to your DMs, I have a question for you. Did you know Shaneé isn't Shaneé's name? I mean, it is, but it isn't. It's actually the name of her band, Shaneé. The singer, we've been calling Shaneé, her name is Helen. Yes, Helen. Helen has been singing Smooth Operator to you all these years

• 25:39Jake Brennan?

  and not the super sexy Shaneé. Shaneé, again, is a name of the band, but it's also part of Shaneé's name. Helen Full of Shaneé Adu. I didn't know that. Now I do, and now you do too. Or maybe you already knew it. I just thought it was interesting. Thought it was worth sharing. Speaking of sharing, Ben from the 803 called in to share the following.

• 26:01Speaker 05

  Jake, this is Ben from the 803, man. I discovered, uh, Disgrace Lane a few months back. Went back, started episode one and have dug my way through the entire catalog till I am current. Just wanted to weigh in on this week's, uh, question, sir. The greatest Christmas song ever written, hands down, bar none, is Merry Christmas from the Family from one Mr. Robert Earl Keen. It's, um, everything that's cool about outlaw country, red dirt country, whatever you want to call it, Americana. Um, like I said, it's, uh, it's bold and it's, uh, offensive in parts, but it's only offensive because it hits so close to home to so many others. I, uh, guarantee, check it out. It will be on your playlist. Keep

• 26:44Speaker 05

  doing what you're doing, brother. You're amazing. Love your work.

• 26:48Jake Brennan?

  Ben, thank you for joining us. Robert Earl Keen. I have never heard this song, but I am intrigued. Now I want to. Um, thank you for the message. Appreciate, appreciate the new listening as well and the call. 617-906-6638. If you guys want to connect with us like Ben. Uh, Ben's call on favorite Christmas songs in response to the question we asked in last week, the end of last week's Shane MacGowan episode. Shane MacGowan, of course, wrote one of, if not my absolute favorite Christmas song, Fairy Tale of New York. And the episode is largely about that. It's also a little bit about Shane's background. I hope you guys get a chance to check it out if you have not already. And on the sort of, uh, this question, we're going to talk about a bunch of your favorite Christmas

• 27:31Jake Brennan?

  songs here in a bit, a bunch of your recommendations. And in the Patreon, uh, we've got a good little, good little back and forth going in the chat on favorite Christmas songs. And one of the discos, Chris On It, that's not his real name, that's a stage name or DJ name. Chris has put together a, uh, massive Spotify playlist called Disgrace Lane Christmas Songs. It's got all of your songs that you've recommended here and elsewhere. Chris has been curating this. Go to Spotify and just search Disgrace Lane Christmas Songs. Chris, if you're listening, uh, I hope you add these new songs in there. And Chris, just shout out, man. Thanks for doing this. Appreciate you. I appreciate the crowded house vinyl that you sent me that I have not been able to listen to yet because my record player, uh, is currently on the fritz.

• 28:17Jake Brennan?

  I might listen to it. My, my son's got this little, uh, Third Man Records record player. It's like one of those old school toy record players with the speaker right in the same, uh, same kind of suitcase with the, with the turntable. Um, it sounds like shit, but it sounds like shit in a cool way. I don't know. Maybe I'll check out the Crowded House final on that. Anyways, Chris, appreciate you. 617-906-6638. Scott from the 562.

• 28:41Speaker 06

  Jake, Scott from the 562. My favorite Christmas song is 2000 Miles by The Pretenders. It's not really a Christmas song. It's more of a tribute to James Honeyman Scott, our guitar player. And I think it's just a beautiful song. And I'm from Ohio and when I go back sometimes at Christmas time, it just, it's very melancholy. Okay, Jake, love the show. Thanks. Bye.

• 29:13Jake Brennan?

  2000 Miles from Pretenders, amazing song, incredible song. And, uh, we're going to do a Chrissy Hind episode. We got real close to doing it this, this year. We didn't. We're going to do one soon, I believe, in the new year at some point. Scott, thanks for the call. 617 writes in, Jake, you're going to cover why Fairy Tale of New York is probably the best, all caps, Christmas song of all time, but a close second is The Waitresses, The Waitresses Christmas wrapping, excuse me. Four minutes and 30 seconds to tell an entire year of missed connections and opportunities wrapped up with a serendipitous meeting in a New York bodega lyrics, music, storytelling skills are all off the charts.

• 29:55Jake Brennan?

  Well, now I am super intrigued and I can't wait to check this out. 312 writes in, good morning, Jake. I'm just catching up with the Disgraceful episodes and heard your soliloquy about how rock and roll is dead and it's never coming back. And this is a crazy false statement. It's not as dominant as it once was, but it's still there. There are a lot of new, exciting bands putting out quality stuff. We just won't hear them in the top 40 again, but screw the top 40 and let the gatekeeping begin. Have a great day. Your podcast is the best out there. I have your book from a few years back and hope that you'll put something out there again. Uh, 312, really appreciate the text because it gives me an opportunity to explain this a little bit better. Um, I agree with everything you're saying, but you're missing my point. My point is exactly, exactly this.

• 30:42Jake Brennan?

  Rock and roll is dead because it is not on the top 40. Rock and roll is dead because it is not pushing mainstream culture in the way that it once did, and I don't think it ever will again. And if you listened last week, like you did, 312, I think in addition to the music sort of becoming relegated to a sort of subgenre of popular music in the way that jazz has become, I think that's the fate of rock and roll. It'll never die out completely. I'm totally aware that there are incredible rock bands out there killing it nightly in clubs, even in stadiums. But still, it doesn't erase the fact, doesn't negate my point that rock and roll no longer drives popular culture.

• 31:26Jake Brennan?

  It doesn't, it just does not. And I don't think it will again. And that's a frickin' bum out 312. It really bums me out. And like I said, I do believe that the trajectory is it will be relegated to a subgenre of popular culture in the same way that jazz, swing, you know, big band music, all genres that once dominated the top 40. That's where rock is going. And I think what will happen is a lot of these stories will be forgotten. A lot of these larger-than-life personalities will fade with time. And part of what we're doing here right now is preserving that. It's at the core of this storytelling.

• 32:10Jake Brennan?

  And in a way, 312, those bands that you're talking about that are out there killing it right now, they're doing the same thing. And my hat's off to them. All right, over on X, BK Kremel, Kremel, be Kremel. I don't know what they call it. At 3WK Kramer, hit me up, says, "Listening to the Led Zeppelin story this morning, and I gotta say, I don't think I'll be able to hear them quite the same way again without feeling a dark cloud of knowing, and some things can't be unseen. Like Jimmy Page was 30 years old." Yep, you're absolutely right. The Led Zeppelin one is a tough one when considering our support of the art versus

• 32:55Jake Brennan?

  the artist, based on Jimmy Page's behavior back in the day.

• 33:00Jake Brennan?

  Side note, real quick, over on X, any of you over on X who are from New Jersey or DC area, and you got eyes on these drones that are going on, these UAPs, these UFOs? Get at me at DisgracelandPod, alright? I want to know what's up. I'm seeing a bunch of stuff, it's freaking me out, I'm sure you're freaked out. To that point, we'll be looking, not at drones tonight, if you're listening on Thursday to this episode, because we're going to be looking at the Tom DeLonge little documentary that we made, Disgraceland Doc, called We Are Not Alone. This is going to drop live on Patreon at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, Thursday, December 12th, which is when this bonus episode that

• 33:45Jake Brennan?

  you're listening to right now is being released. I will be in Patreon, in the chat, chatting away, commenting on this, eating my popcorn, beavis and butthead editing this thing, as I like to say. We're going to be talking to UAPs, ufology, the whole bit. This documentary is going to be available only to Disgraceland Patreon All-Access members, but it's going to be available to paid members and free members. So go to disgracelandpod.com/membership and sign up, alright? And I hope to see you there. Alright, 617-906-6638 to leave me a voicemail, send me a text, @disgracelandpod. You can hit me up on X, you can hit me up on Instagram, you can hit me up on Facebook. I've been way more active on Facebook in the last week, you may have noticed. You know, it's

• 34:30Jake Brennan?

  one of those things, I woke up a couple of days ago, I looked at Facebook, we had attracted like 4,000 new followers in a month's time, without me even posting, just cross-posting reels over from Instagram. And there's a pretty active community over there. If you guys are over there on Facebook, I've been neglecting you, I apologize. I think what I'm going to start doing on Facebook, because it's a different medium, I think I'm going to be releasing some different videos over there that I'm not releasing anywhere else. Longer videos and the reels, but not quite as long as what you'd find on YouTube. You know, like in the, you know, two, three minute range, something like that. Just trying some different types of storytelling with, with visuals over there.

• 35:15Jake Brennan?

  There seems to be an appetite for it. So if you're, if you're on Facebook and you're listening to this and you're active on Facebook, give me a follow at disgracelandpod. Even if you're already following me, go to the disgraceland podcast page and engage. You know, like it, write a review, whatever. Just, you know, talk to me, comment, whatever. Because what's happening, I don't know if you know this, but when I post something on Facebook, 90% of the people who see it are not, you guys are not the followers. I don't know why this is, it's just the way that it is. But if you engage with me, you will get the content more regularly. The algorithm will figure it out. It's something that you want. Okay. Anyways, Troy Daniel on Facebook writes,

• 35:56Jake Brennan?

  "How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly is a song you may not get sent. Kelly is kind of Australia's Dylan and around here, the 21st of December is known as gravy day. Give it a spin. I reckon you'll dig it." Troy, I have spun it and someone from Australia turned me on to this last year. And I love the song. It's great. And I love it so much. I thought it, I thought your message worth reading here because if anyone has not heard this, you need to check it out. Paul Kelly, gravy by Paul Kelly. Okay. Christmas tune. Go check that out. On Instagram, at disgracelandpod, Anastasios Daskalopoulos, my Greek brethren writes,

• 36:41Jake Brennan?

  "Hey Jake, AD from the 410 for best Christmas rock and roll song. Merry Christmas. I Don't Want to Fight Tonight by The Ramones. Such an honest song." So many of us can immediately relate to it. Yes, yes, we can. There's nothing worse than fighting with your loved one on Christmas. Okay. I can't say it happens to me. My wife and I got a good thing going, but it has happened to me in the past. Girlfriends, et cetera. And it's a fucking drag. No one wants tension around the holidays. If you guys, you're heading into a tense situation this holiday, you know, whatever it is, bad family history, you don't want to talk about, politics, you don't want to talk about, just talk about Sade.

• 37:26Jake Brennan?

  Just, you know, lighten the mood, let people know Sade is not actually Sade's name. I mean, it is her name, but it's not her name. You know what I'm saying? It's the band's name. It's kind of her name. You know, you can do, you can pull from any number of crazy disgraceland factoids that I've given you to sort of distract from not fighting. Merry Christmas. I don't want to fight tonight. All right, guys. 617-906-6638 to leave me a voicemail, send me a text, at disgracelandpod, Facebook, X, Instagram. But this week, especially Facebook. Get at me. Send me your messages. Send me your comments. Send me your recommendations, your reviews, whatever you got. I'm here for it. Speaking of reviews, I'll be back in a flash.

• 38:14Speaker 07

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• 38:48Speaker 04

  She'd throw things, wander, and started hoarding. Mom's Alzheimer's was already so hard. But then we found out she had agitation that may happen with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. And that was a different kind of difficult. So we asked her doctor for more help.

• 39:03Speaker 02

  Seeing symptoms like these in a loved one, it could be time to ask their doctor about Rexulti, Rexiprazole 2mg. The first FDA-approved treatment for this condition. Rexulti is proven to reduce agitation symptoms. Rexulti should not be used as an as-needed treatment. Elderly people with dementia-related psychosis have increased risk of death or stroke. Report fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, which can be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. High blood sugar can lead to coma or death. Weight gain, increased cholesterol, unusual urges, dizziness on standing, falls, seizures, trouble swallowing, or sleepiness may occur. Learn more about these and other side effects at rexulti.com. Tap ad for PI. I'm glad I asked for help. Ask your loved one's doctor about Rexulti.

• 39:51Jake Brennan?

  All right, guys, as an independent podcast, you know the drill. We live and die by the power of audience recommendation. So get out there, and if you've left a review for Disgraceland, I thank you very much. If you have not, I encourage you to, because every week I read a couple of reviews right here, and I reward you reviewers who get in touch with me with some free merch. Sometimes it's a t-shirt, though not always. Sometimes it's just a pin, okay? Sometimes it's a poster. Depends on what we have, all right? And if you have written to me, and because I read your review here, and you have not yet received the merch, I thank you for your patience. It's a virtue. It's a hard one for me, so I get it.

• 40:36Jake Brennan?

  But I am telling you, the stuff is coming. It is the holiday season. Things are a little backed up here at Casa de Disgraceland, the Double Elvis offices, but you will receive your Disgraceland merch. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for the review. We got this one here from Carl on this week's Shane MacGowan episode. Carl says, "This episode is my top five on a wider scale regarding the Disgraceland podcast. Regardless that the subject matter is in my wheelhouse, production, content, and delivery is solid gold and the standard that all other podcasts should be measured. To Jake and the wider Double Elvis team, keep up the world-class work. It's fantastic and wildly appreciated, and I'm spreading the gospel according to Saint Jake." I am no saint, Carl, but I appreciate you, and I appreciate the review on Spotify.

• 41:21Jake Brennan?

  Thank you. I know the guys and gals here at Double Elvis do as well. Andrew is present over on Apple writes, "Love three O's. Love this show. I work a lot of hours doing mind numbing work, not mentioning what I do because I don't want anything to happen to me. That would be a disgrace." Hmm, I'm intrigued now, Andrew. Andrew goes on to say, "I just became a member and I wake up excited to go to work because I know that I'm going to listen to the shows. So many interesting facts, stories and people. Jake's storytelling and narration is captivating. I love the music and dispersed throughout the episodes as well. It's uplifting, gets me happily through the day and night as I plug along. This has made my day to day life so much livelier."

• 42:03Jake Brennan?

  Four O's. And so, listen, Andrew, I appreciate this. I really do. Get in touch. We'll get you some merch. And Andrew, I don't know what you do for a living. I'm going to imagine, however, that you're a CIA analyst and you're plugging away out of Langley. Is that where the CIA is? Langley, Virginia? Or is that the FBI? I don't know. Where, I guess the CIA, you know what? I bet the CIA, they're just in these nondescript, you know, business office buildings we see on the side of the highway. I imagine you're in one of those, Andrew, just plugging away, you know, going through your data, monitoring us, making sure we're not speaking truths that you don't want us to. No, just kidding. Andrew, thank you so much. I don't know what you do for a living,

• 42:46Jake Brennan?

  but I'm intrigued. All right. Another way to get at me is through email, [email protected]. This one comes from Christopher Pogue, subject Pogues, message, "Hey Jake, just listened to your Shane MacGowan podcast. Fucking awesome. You have noticed my name is Pogue, so I've been familiar with Pogues music for a while. I do standup comedy, so I have a bit about my name. How no one pronounces it right because it has a silent U in it. Only so many words have a silent U, so it's vague. Sorry, it's vagoo."

• 43:24Jake Brennan?

  I also get into the band, The Pogues, Pog Mahone, and what Pog means and how it has a cool background. So if anyone wants to make fun of my name, they can Pog my ass. So anyway, I also do a stand-up podcast called Comedy Anarchy on Spotify. I was hoping for you to check it out and give it a shout out. I just shouted it out there. Christopher Pog, I appreciate your email. Kind of hysterical. All right, guys, [email protected], 617-906-66638, at disgracelandpod. Those are the ways you get in touch. Those are the ways we communicate. These are the ways we keep the true spirit of rock and roll alive. All right, this episode is nearing its end, but the after-party comes for all

• 44:05Jake Brennan?

  of you. Who are our All-Access members? All right, if you're not an All-Access member, you're not only not getting the extra bonus section of this after-party, you're also not getting ad-free listening. You're also not getting me in the chat, you know? And they're talking, we're talking all kinds of shit in there. Get in there. Come on, what are you waiting for? disgracelandpod.com/membership. You can sign up. And listen, you gotta sign. Now's the time. Sign up right now, today, because tonight is when we're, it's the only place you're gonna see this Tom DeLonge documentary that we put together. And if you want to get in, it's happening tonight. So again, disgracelandpod.com/membership.

• 44:56Speaker 01

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• 45:29Speaker 01

  She'd throw things, wander, and started hoarding. Mom's Alzheimer's was already so hard.

• 45:35Speaker 02

  But then we found out she had agitation that may happen with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. And that was a different kind of difficult. So we asked her doctor for more help. Seeing symptoms like these in a loved one, it could be time to ask their doctor about Rexulti, Rexiprazole 2mg, the first FDA-approved treatment for this condition. Rexulti is proven to reduce agitation symptoms. Rexulti should not be used as an as-needed treatment. Elderly people with dementia-related psychosis have increased risk of death or stroke. Report fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, which can be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. High blood sugar can lead to coma or death. Weight gain, increased cholesterol, unusual urges, dizziness on standing, falls, seizures, trouble swallowing, or sleepiness may occur. Learn more about these and other side effects at rexulti.com. Tap ad for PI.

• 46:19Speaker 02

  I'm glad I asked for help. Ask your loved one's doctor about Rexulti.

• 46:33Jake Brennan?

  Okay, we are back. We spoke about Jay-Z, of course, in this episode, and our Jay-Z episode is number 51 from March 24, 2020. If you want to check that out in the archive. As I mentioned before, we also mentioned Led Zeppelin in this episode. Led Zeppelin is episode number 39 from October 1, 2019. We did not mention U2, but we did talk a lot about Irishman Shane MacGowan. And I'm fully aware Shane MacGowan was from London, his family's from Ireland, and he identified as an Irishman, which is why I'm saying that. So if you want to hear a story on some other Irishmen, check out episode 151 on YouTube.

• 47:13Jake Brennan?

  That's from November 14, 2023. Speaking of our archive, our friends over at Apple Podcasts, they're featuring a DisgraceLand collection on their browse page right now. If you scroll below the fold over on Apple Podcasts, if you're an Apple Podcasts user, you will see a bunch of our episodes in a collection. This collection of episodes has been curated by Apple. It's a cool way into the show for new listeners and a cool way for you OG listeners to revisit the archive. All right. Go to Apple Podcasts and check out their browse page. Thank you, guys, as always, for the calls, for the voicemails, for the reviews. I gotta jump, but before I do, let's recap, shall we? Number one, right now, on your feed, our episode on Shane MacGowan of The Pogues. Number two, tonight, Thursday, December 12th, jump in the Patreon with me.

• 47:58Jake Brennan?

  Watch our documentary on Tom DeLonge and ufology, I can't wait. Number three, coming tomorrow, a special rewind episode from our archive on Mariah Carey. Number four, Elvis Presley and Johnny Ace, coming up, new episode on Tuesday. I want to know from you, guys, I want to hear from you on your rock and roll myths. Get in touch, number four, merch winners, you can also get in touch as well. You know who you are, number five, remember, no one cares about preserving the spirit of rock and roll more than you do, and well, that's a disgrace. All right, in honor of this week's episode on Shane MacGowan, this is me reading to you the current top 100 Christmas singles chart, holiday and Christmas singles chart in the UK, right now, per iTunes. I don't know if this is the actual chart, but goddamn it, it's close enough.

• 48:42Jake Brennan?

  And the number one is an incredibly timed single. Here we go. Number one, The Pogues, Fairy Tale of New York, featuring Kirsty McCall. Number two, Merry Christmas, Ed Sheeran and Elton John. Number three, Under the Tree, From That Christmas, by Ed Sheeran. Number four, All I Want for Christmas Is You, Mariah Carey. Number five, One More Sleep, Leona Lewis. Number six, Underneath the Tree, Kelly Clarkson. Number seven, Merry Christmas, Everyone, single version, Shaky Season. Number eight, Feliz Navidad, Jose Feliciano.

• 49:27Jake Brennan?

  Number nine, Snowman, Sia. Number 10, Last Christmas.

• 49:42Speaker 07

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• 50:15Jake Brennan?

  Hey guys, time to dust off your detective skills while unwinding in the Caribbean on Virgin Voyages' second true crime voyages. Back by popular demand, this five-night, adults-only escape sets sail March 20, 2027, to Grand Turk in the Beach Club at Bimini. The difference between this year and last will be that I will be on the cruise this year, along with Zeph, and he and I will be taping a live version of DisgraceLand along with podcast hosts from Exactly Right's Buried Bones, Podcast of the Year Award winners Wisecrack, and other fan favorites. Get on this cruise with us, guys, and enjoy live podcast recordings, behind-the-scenes storytelling, exclusive meet-and-greets, and immersive true crime programming throughout this one-of-a-kind voyage.

• 51:00Jake Brennan?

  Head over to www.virginvoyages.com/trucrime to secure your spot.

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