Bonus Episode - Preserving Rock n' Roll, Solo Beatles, and Remembering John Lennon

This week in the After Party, Jake looks back at John Lennon and gets your take on which Beatle had the best solo career. Next week, we're bringing you the story of a true rock n' roll original, Shane MacGowan, and in honor of his classic song "Fairytale of New York," we want to know: what are your favorite holiday songs? Tell Jake your favorites and why at 617-906-6638, [email protected] mailto:[email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and he'll curate a killer Disgraceland holiday playlist based on your recommendations! 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 41 - Iggy Pop Episode 97 & 98 - Eagles Episode 117 - 50 Cent 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://cms.megaphone.fm/organizations/c83125d2-8508-11ed-bd28-ff0aff7ee233/podcasts/efca2ef8-85f9-11ed-8fe3-bb208936046f/episodes/d117e93e-5e36-11ef-8745-5373bae4c0ff/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.

• 0:10Jake Brennan?

  Double Elvis.

• 0:15Speaker 02

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• 0:44Speaker 03

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• 1:29Speaker 03

  in the nose, flu or flu-like symptoms, joint pain, or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at Extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.

• 1:46Speaker 04

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• 2:16Jake 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 Afterparty.

• 2:42Jake Brennan?

  Welcome to the DisgraceLand bonus episode, a little thing we like to call the afterparty. 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 this week's subject of the DisgraceLand full episode, John Lennon and his early 70s politics. We are also talking about rock and roll animalism in the true spirit, not of Christmas, but of rock and roll. 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.

• 3:32Jake Brennan?

  All right, what's up, Discos? I hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving with your families. I did. I got to chill. I got to do a little work as well. I had some time to start this poster project that I've been noodling on. I've been talking to different designers about designing a new DisgraceLand poster. It's not fully thought out in my head, but it's basically the literal manifestation of DisgraceLand as a place. It's an image that is filled with vice, grime, crime, and of course, rock and roll. And in my head, as I'm trying to picture this, so that I can articulate it to these designers that I'm talking to, who will ultimately create it, who have the real talent.

• 4:17Jake Brennan?

  As I'm picturing it, you know, through all this death and destruction, there's a path, almost like Chutes and Ladders, like a Chutes and Ladders type of path, or like some sort of board game. It's like a winding path, and the path has a beginning and an end. And in my head... I was having a hard time figuring out what the path was for at first, why I kept going back to it. In my mind, I was like, there has to be this path, you know, I don't know why. It's just something I'm thinking about. And then it hit me because it's obvious. The path is the hero's journey, the hero from our stories. And what's at the end of the path, that also became obvious to me. Because in most cases in our stories, what's at the end of the path is redemption.

• 5:03Jake Brennan?

  That's what happens to most of the subjects that we discuss in Disgrace Land. In most cases, despite the awful horrible things that these musicians and entertainers do, and despite the awful and horrible things that happen to them, at the end of the line, even if there's death, there's usually redemption. And that's a powerful thing. It's a powerful thing in storytelling. It's a powerful thing in life itself. It's what makes these human stories that we tell so dramatic, I think, and so resonant. And I bring this all up because in this week's John Lennon episode, or I should say in this week's John Lennon episodes, because we've got a couple rewinds coming your way as well. This theme of redemption is certainly the case.

• 5:48Jake Brennan?

  The episode on John's political efforts from the early 70s. In the end, John's a shell of himself, but he's closer to redemption. And spoiler alert, even though John Lennon dies by the end of the 1970s, by the end of 1980, December 8th, in fact, by that date, John Lennon is most certainly redeemed. He becomes what he was supposed to become all along, which is a family man. A family man who is expressing his love for his family in his art. Personally and creatively, he's at peace with himself finally. Now, of course, John Lennon has always been completely authentic, almost to a fault. He's always, he always expressed his love of family, his love of Yoko. In some ways, you know, before the end of the 70s, his love of Sean and Julian.

• 6:35Jake Brennan?

  And his mother. But by the end of the 1970s, he's really got it, got it all clicking creatively. Double Fantasy is an incredible record and it's the realization of John Lennon, I think, redeeming himself personally and creatively. He's finally at peace with himself. Finally, these stories, as dramatic and entertaining as they are, they're also cautionary tales. For me, they are anyways. They're big glaring blinking lights, warning us of what can happen if we let the things in our lives that are important, if we let our priorities slip, if we give into our base nature to the darkness and ignore the light inside of all of us that is propelling us, propelling us forward, propelling us on our path. That's what I get

• 7:20Jake Brennan?

  out of these stories when I'm researching them and I'm writing them anyways. And I know you guys do as well, because I hear it from you. But these stories, they're fading. We've established here, pretty much anyway, I think we've established that rock and roll is dead. Where are the modern day John Lenins? Where are the modern day Martin Scorsese's for that matter, the subject of last week's episode, The Last Waltz. Scorsese literally tried pushing himself toward death in service of his art. That's what that whole episode was about. John Lennon risked deportation to support the political causes that he believed in and relevant to today anyways. John Lennon spent a lot of money on, on, on, on the political causes that he, he supported, which is a lot different than what we see celebrities

• 8:04Jake Brennan?

  doing now. I don't, I don't want to retread in that water. But anyways, both these guys, my point, both these guys, when they were doing this, were at the vanguard of popular culture at the time. They weren't fringe artists, Martin Scorsese and John Lennon in the 1970s. They were making chart topping music and films and living like the rock stars that they were born to be. And where are the rock stars and the rock star artists and entertainers who live in the wildest and freest ways imaginable? Where are they today? Where are the wild, feral, true rock and roll animals struggling to fit themselves into functioning society while they create, who are always striving, always pushing themselves to make the best art possible and ultimately be the best versions of themselves possible? Where

• 8:49Jake Brennan?

  are they now? Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Shaboozie, Kendrick Lamar, no offense to any of these artists, but by comparison to the musicians and entertainers that we cover here in disgraceland, most modern artists live safe, normal lives by comparison. I suppose we can look at the insanity of hip hop, of modern hip hop, I should say. We could look at their, the modern hip hop's connection to crime. But that behavior is so unoriginal and predictable by now that it seems to me to almost be like an act, like a rite of passage. The real ones do what they have to do on the street, level up and leave the street bullshit behind. And that at least is interesting

• 9:30Jake Brennan?

  to me. See 50 Cent, for example. And Fiddy isn't exactly modern hip hop. And Sean Combs' behavior notwithstanding, this, this guy Diddy, he's an outlier. And I'm not sure there's going to be any redemption for Diddy. If there is, it's gonna be a hell of a story. Anyways, I think what I'm saying is this. In some weird way, these John Lennon episodes and this poster that I'm designing have caused me to realize something about disgraceland that I guess I always knew, but that I never articulated. With disgraceland, we're preserving rock and roll. Not in an academic way. We're preserving rock and roll lore. Okay, rock and roll is dead. It's dead on the charts. It's dead on the airwaves. It's dead as a cultural force. Today's pop, today's country,

• 10:15Jake Brennan?

  by the way, what's the difference? Today's hip hop, the genre doesn't really matter. It's all really just safe, corporatized music for the masses. I'm not trying to be cynical. I'm not, but that's what it is. It doesn't move me in any way, hardly at all. It's, it's corporatized music for the masses. It's sad, but corporate America is what's propelling us culturally. I can't believe I'm saying that, but it's the truth. There's nothing subversive about any of it. There's nothing compelling about any of it. And that's what's sad. We don't need subversion for the sake of subversion. But the beauty of subversive art is that it's compelling and it forces us to think and it forces us to create as a culture.

• 11:00Jake Brennan?

  I don't see any of that right now. The rock and roll animal does not exist in popular culture as it once did. And I don't think it ever will again. Where did you go, Jim Morrison? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you and to Jimmy Page and to David Bowie and to John Lennon and Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain. And the list goes on and on and on, but it stops somewhere around the mid 2000s. So as I look at the beginning of 2025 and as I look at the 209 DisgraceLand stories and counting that we have in our archive, stories of real rock and roll spirit, of real rock and roll animalism and redemption from both literal rock stars and artists

• 11:42Jake Brennan?

  and actors and athletes who behaved in rock and roll ways. What I'm realizing is that we are quite literally creating a space where rock and roll doesn't have to be dead, where rock and roll lives, at least through storytelling. And yeah, I mean, come on, country, hip hop, classic country, classic hip hop, classic jazz, you know what I'm saying? Rock and roll spirit. Okay, I'm not talking strictly about, you know, five guys in a band with guitars. Again, what I'm realizing is that we are quite literally creating a space where rock and roll doesn't have to be dead. And I'm using the word we instead of I intentionally. Discos, listen, we are preserving rock and roll. It's not just me, it's you guys as well.

• 12:24Jake Brennan?

  Some of my favorite emails that I get from you guys are the ones where you tell me about listening to DisgraceLand with your family and friends, or the ones that tell me that you listened to the episode so that you can tell your brother or your sister or boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife about the story that I just told you. This is exactly what I did as a kid. I would read Rolling Stone or some nictocious book or some fanzine that I sent away for or annoy the shit out of my dad and his bandmates until they told me the stories that I was looking to hear. And then I would hang out with my friends and tell them these wild stories myself. Starting DisgraceLand was just formalizing that process, adding some bells and whistles with sound and story structure, and spreading the word widely to you guys beyond my friend

• 13:09Jake Brennan?

  group. And you guys are spreading these stories beyond my reach through the listening with your family and friends, like I said, through the sharing of these stories on social, through the reviews. So, we quite literally are preserving rock and roll here in DisgraceLand. That's what is occurring to me here, six years into this podcast. It's pretty incredible. I talked about the word "we" because, like I said, we're in this together. I should also talk about the word "preserve." Preserve. When thinking about this in my head, I went to that song "God Save Rock and Roll" by Kid Rock. And no shade on Rob, but saving rock and roll, saving rock and roll, isn't what this is about. There is no saving rock and

• 13:51Jake Brennan?

  roll. It's gone. But we can preserve it. We can pass on these incredible stories of what once was and what likely will never be again. It's not a secret, but it kinda is. When we tell these stories, people look at us in disbelief. "Did you know John Lennon signed over the royalties from one of his songs to the IRA?" No shit. Seriously, it happened. I heard it on DisgraceLand. These unbelievable stories of rock and roll animalism and redemption are worth preserving for that alone, but also because, like I said at the top, they're not just entertaining, they're cautionary tales, and they're stories that bind us, stories that have formed us. Because we're all rock and roll in our hearts. These are

• 14:34Jake Brennan?

  stories that are preserving a little bit of who we are. That's how I'm seeing it anyways. I don't know. It's that time of year, or I don't know what's going on. Christmas, as you can see, has got me in a reflective mood. Maybe it's because we're coming up on the end of the year, and that's just my nature. I'm grateful to be here with you guys in this space. I'm grateful you're here with me, and I'm stoked about the holidays. We've got an incredible episode coming up next week on Shane MacGowan from The Pogues. Talk about a rock and roll animal, talk about a rock and roll spirit. Shane MacGowan embodies it as much as anyone before or since. This is a Christmas episode. It's one of a few that we have coming your way in December. And Shane co-wrote one of my favorite Christmas songs, "Fairy Tale of New York." So when you're listening to this Shane MacGowan episode,

• 15:18Jake Brennan?

  Be thinking of your favorite Christmas song and be sure to hit me up and let me know what it is because I'm gonna want to know so that I can put it on my disco holiday mix and I can share it with you. Get your favorite Christmas songs to me, alright? Try to keep it to one and I want to know why because then I can talk about it here. We can come back next week in the after-party, we can talk about it and it'll be fun, okay? That's what the holidays are all about. So, what is it about the holiday song that makes you love it? Let me know. Let me know what the song is. Get in touch. I'll play your voicemails. I'll read your texts and your DMs right here in this space. And like I said, I'll get a mix together that we can share and vibe on for the holidays, knowing that we put it together. All, you know, we all contributed to it. I think that's pretty

• 15:57Jake Brennan?

  cool. 617-906-6638. Voicemail and text at disgracelandpod on the socials. Okay, though, before Shane MacGowan for the rewind episodes this weekend, this Friday and Saturday, we're rewinding the first two John Lennon episodes we ever released, which chronologically take place after this Lennon episode that we just released yesterday. So you're getting a full picture of John Lennon in the 70s and you're getting it chronologically. These are being released because of course, this weekend is the anniversary of John's death, December 8th. And both these episodes deal with the assassination of Lennon at the deranged hand of Mark David Chapman, okay? So be sure to check those out. Even

• 16:42Jake Brennan?

  if you've already heard them, I guarantee you'll hear them with fresh ears this time. They're so packed with information, you're gonna get more out of it on repeat listening. And I don't know, John Lennon just, just forever reminds me of, of Christmas, probably because he died during this time when I was a little kid and it's just singed in my brain. Fun fact about these next two Lennon episodes, though, when I wrote them, I was totally in a flow state, head down, just blast furnishing words out of the old brain hole. And when I finished and I looked up, I did a word count and I was like, holy fuck, what have I done? It was so long, what I had written. And it occurred to me, hey, dummy, just make it a two-part episode.

• 17:25Jake Brennan?

  So that's what I did. And the first two-part Disgrace Land episode was born. Anyway, that's coming your way next in the feed. And as a reminder, if you happen to be listening to this bonus episode way off in the future, not during its original time of release, and there's a good chance that those Lennon rewind episodes that I was just talking about have shifted back into the feed to the time of their original release. So if you're having trouble finding them, we have preserved all of our episodes by their original release dates and by season on our website, disgracelandpod.com. See what I did there? We have preserved. Okay, back in the flash with your voicemails, your texts, your DMs on which Beatle had the greatest solo careers? Was it John? Was it George? Was it Paul? Come on, it was Ringo.

• 18:10Jake Brennan?

  Anyways, we're gonna find out. Talk to you in a few.

• 18:23Speaker 02

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• 18:53Speaker 03

  Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture, Depomocamab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year, just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including Steroids, unless told by your doctor. Report if you have a parasitic infection.

• 19:36Speaker 03

  Common cold, sinus infection, inflammation in the nose, flu or fluke-like symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extensure. Learn more at extensure.com or call 1-833-393-3678.

• 20:03Jake Brennan?

  All right, guys, we are back. Thanks for being here with me. I want to, I want to hit you to something we have going on in December here, December 12th, that's next week. We've got a special, what's called a drop, happening on our Patreon, in our Patreon, I should say. If you remember, we were gonna do this, this digital live event a couple of weeks ago, but the hurricane happened. This is actually last month, two months ago, the hurricane happened and we weren't able to pull it off. So what we're doing is we created this documentary as part of that event that we were going to host live digitally. We don't have a home for it now, so rather than reschedule the whole event, it's the

• 20:45Jake Brennan?

  holidays, it's a weird time, it's, you know, everybody's busy right now, we're just gonna put the doc in the Patreon. And if you're a Patreon member, this is gonna drop on December 12th at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. I will be in there when this drops, I'll be in the chat. We can talk about it, we can talk about the movie as we're watching it. It's, it's short, and believe me, I'm putting air quotes around documentary, I'm not a documentary filmmaker, but it's basically a visual version of a Disgraceland podcast on Tom DeLonge from Blink 182 and UFO UAP Disclosure. It's, just imagine a visual version of the Disgraceland podcast and we're gonna watch

• 21:28Jake Brennan?

  it at the same time together and we can geek out on it, we can beavis and butthead it, we can, we, I'll be in the chat, this is happening December 12th at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. The doc is called "We Are Not Alone." Music won't save us, but Tom DeLonge might. And I'm excited for you guys to check this out. Like I said, I will be in there with my popcorn and my bourbon, uh, watching this take place. I hope you join me again. That's December 12th, 8:00 PM Eastern Time. You gotta be a Patreon member, but you can be a free member. It will be available for free members and for paid members as well. So if you have not yet signed up for our Patreon, this is, it's a great reason to go to disgracelandpod.com/membership.

• 22:09Jake Brennan?

  You can sign up there and, uh, once it's over, uh, it will remain there for paid Patreon members. But free members, you only get this one chance to watch it. And that's, uh, that's when it drops live on, livish on, on December 12th at 8:00 PM. So join me, okay? There'll be future reminders, but mark your calendar now, December 12th, 8:00 PM, uh, in the Patreon chat. I'll see you there. All right, listen, you guys don't want to stop talking about JFK and that's awesome.

• 22:44Jake Brennan?

  The rabbit hole is getting deeper and deeper and deeper. Every voicemail that I've received in the last week has been about JFK. Not everyone, but most of them. And we received not a one voicemail on who your favorite Beatle is, but we, we did receive a ton of incoming DMs on the Beatle topic. And I'm going to read some of those now. I'm also going to, uh, remind you guys to go to our Instagram, at disgracelandpod and check out the recent, um, the, the conversation that's developed around the recent John Lennon reel that we dropped this past Tuesday to coincide with the episode release. It is wild. I'm not going to really, I'm not going to read those comments, but you can dive in there.

• 23:28Jake Brennan?

  People are pretty worked up over it. Uh, we've got more Lennon content coming by the end of the week, but let's get to the question of which Beatle had the greatest solo career. All right, dumb rolling stone on Instagram. If you're not following dumb rolling stone, you should be. Um, I think it's at effing good music. Uh, he, he posts good content on there. I like this kid a lot. Uh, he's always got something thoughtful to say. He says here, uh, on the question of which Beatle, he writes, uh, John's inner life and emotional arc can be summarized in three songs. Run for your life, jealous guy and woman. And I think that's, I bring this up not because dumb Rolling Stone is sitting here going like,

• 24:09Jake Brennan?

  yo, John's, John's my favorite solo Beatle artist, but because I really like the framing. And I like what it says about my choice here. Okay. So run for your life. You've got Lennon in his Beatles, Beatles days, talking about abusing a woman, really. Really, that's what it is. Jealous guy, which is the sort of emotional turmoil of the, the lost weekend era Lennon in the, in the early to mid seventies. And then woman, which is his love for Yoko, which is an imperfect love, of course, which is in part what makes it so damn compelling

• 24:49Jake Brennan?

  and keeps us glued to it now, some almost 50 years later. And I say this because if you asked me the question of which Beatle had created my favorite body of solo work, if you asked me this question last year, I probably would have said George. In fact, I think we did talk about this in the after party last year. I probably would have said George. If you asked me five years prior to that, I definitely would have said Paul. For my wife's 30th birthday, I hired a band, my friend Corin's band, and I paid them to learn and play Paul McCartney's Ram album from start to finish at my wife's 30th birthday

• 25:33Jake Brennan?

  party. And it was pretty damn awesome. But that speaks to the level of my Paul McCartney solo love and hers, I should say, more than mine. But yeah, I love Paul's solo and was obsessed with Paul's solo and Wings about five, 10 years ago. And prior to that, I'm not embarrassed to say I had a solo Ringo phase. And prior to that, of course, it was John. And now I'm right back with John. Okay. I don't know how it happened, but it happened. And I think I vibe on John's solo work more than I vibe on any of the other Beatles. And you know, dumb Rolling Stone here, help me figure that out. Okay, attaboyjames underscore on Instagram writes, George, George, George, the only answer is George.

• 26:14Jake Brennan?

  Guys, lot of George love, almost, not almost, definitely more George Harrison choices here than anyone else, except on X. I did a poll on X and Paul came out in the number one spot with, with George in second, I believe. I need to, I'll check that, let you know. Eddie James on Instagram writes in, "A good couple of members of my family are avid Beatle haters," which is sacrilege, I know. I don't hate them, but I do like to say I do, just for a little light ribbing. On that note, I will say, "Yellow Submarine is the best song ever written," which you would not believe the look on people's faces when I say that. And then Eddie goes on, Eddie's not a Beatles fan,

• 26:57Jake Brennan?

  really begrudgingly enjoys a couple of songs, but that's it, and likes to troll his family members who I guess do hate the Beatles. How do you hate the Beatles? Come on, man. Come on, Eddie. Gotta educate your family. Shitter's full, said Eddie. Cynthia Menatola on Instagram, Menatolo, Menatol, am I saying that right, Cynthia, writes in, "Hey, beautiful, we love John Lennon. Love for the Beatles and Paul McCartney." And then there's this nice little note here from Cynthia, "You know, I live nearby a theater in Brooklyn called The Roulette and Sean Lennon plays here constantly with his friends. I saw him twice this past year. I've seen him live playing. Seeing him live playing is like looking at John Lennon alive. He looks like John so much.

• 27:42Jake Brennan?

  It's incredible. I felt I was seeing a ghost. Very talented and disturbed man at times. You can see Yoko played a number on him. He definitely grew up hearing that sound at home. He's weirded out by his mother." Okay, Cynthia, I like, I like the idea that you can just roll down to your local theater and check out a Sean Lennon set. I gotta say, I'm kinda, kinda jealous of that. JT Mangoo, always good for a good, a good DM on Instagram writes in, John was always my favorite Beatle. There you go. And JT is, has hit me to this, this book about Elliot Mintz, sorry, book by Elliot Mintz, John and Yoko's longtime publicist, I believe. This just came out like this week. And if any of you have read it, let me know. I'm

• 28:24Jake Brennan?

  excited to read it and check it out. Jamie Smith on X writes in, George, George is my fave, especially if you can chuck in the traveling Wilbury's, that would be a bonus. I think we're definitely including traveling Wilbury's, just as we're including Wings. And that pushes George pretty high up on the list. But again, I go John number one. And just so you know, the X poll came in, Paul number one at 39%. Like I said, George at 32%, John at 25, and Ringo down at four. Ringo has a new album coming out, guys, produced by T-Bone Burnett. Again, just lots of George stuff here, at Disgraceland Pod, fun subject. Who's your favorite Beatles solo career? But let's move on, okay? Let's move on to

• 29:04Jake Brennan?

  next week's subject of the week. Let's move past JFK, past that wormhole. You guys have gone further than JFK, okay? I'm getting Flat Earth stuff from you guys. I'm getting from the 540, I mentioned that because it's right up in front of me here. I'm getting the lizard under the Denver airport, or the ice ring at the North Pole that hides all the rest of the world that we don't get to see. Yeah, listen, I'm into the concept that yesterday's conspiracy is today's fact. I think there's truth in that, but I don't think there's truth in a lot of these conspiracies. And I do think there's a line we can draw to talk about this stuff, but I don't want to go too far with it. Okay? I don't want

• 29:49Jake Brennan?

  the tinfoil hat is what I'm saying. All right. Disgraceland Pod 617-906-6638 for next week's question of the week, guys, which is a very simple one. What's your favorite Christmas song and why? Let me know. Get your answer in. Quick text 617-906-638, or you can leave me a voicemail. I'll play it here on the show. And more importantly, I want this because I want I want to put together a disco playlist, okay? A disgraced playlist. Why? Because we are preserving the spirit of rock and roll even during the holidays. We aren't taking any time off. Get it at me, 617-906-6638. I'm gonna take a quick break. I'll be back in a flash with your emails and more.

• 30:37Speaker 02

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• 31:07Speaker 03

  Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture, Depomocamab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year. Just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including steroids, unless told by your doctor. Report if you have a parasitic infection, common cold, sinus infection, inflammation

• 31:52Speaker 03

  in the nose, flu or fluke-like symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.

• 32:14Jake Brennan?

  All right, guys, we are back. [email protected]. Hit me up on email. Got this one here from Gemma Layton or Layton. "Hi Jake, I always try to be objective when answering this question of best solo Beatle, and it's something I could debate for hours, but as I've got limited time, I'm just going to say this in the simplest way I know how. John Lennon songs just mean more. At least that's what I think. There's more emotion, a message, substance, and purpose. They're not just silly love songs. I think it's a lot easier to write a love song than a protest one. And there's an argument there for George, dark horse indeed, but Lennon gets my vote. I wish I had the time to go deeper, but it'd be like reading an essay. Love the show. Keep on keeping on." From Gemma. Gemma, I

• 32:57Jake Brennan?

  love the email. Like the structure of it, pretty sound. I like, I like the thesis.

• 33:05Jake Brennan?

  I even like the way you laid it out. A lot of great spacing in this email. You guys can't see it, but I'm telling you, Gemma's email. Chef's kiss. You're gonna get a lot of shit here from George listeners, I think. But yeah, I'm with you. I am. I agree. I agree. I love the McCartney stuff. I really do. But you know, the McCartney stuff, the reason I love the McCartney stuff is the weirdness of it. McCartney's a weird motherfucker. Even back in the Beatles, I said this before, "Why don't we do it in the road?" That song came on the other day, we were driving with our kids, and my wife changed the channel, changed the song, skipped the song, I should say. And I looked at her, like, what are you doing? And she just gave me a look like, you know. And she's right. I knew. We didn't

• 33:49Jake Brennan?

  have to say it. I didn't want to explain to my 10-year-old what Paul McCartney was talking about, what it was that he was trying to do in the road. He's a fucking weirdo, can I say? Ram is weird. It's really weird. The wing shit is weird anyhow, but to Gemma's point, do those songs mean as much as John's? I go for the Lennon authenticity more than anything. I heard the songs I heard. First time I heard Jealous Guy as a kid, I think I started crying. I'm not trying to be a wuss about it, but that's the truth. Just fucking hit me, man. Alright guys, this is [email protected]. You want to hit me up with anything, any conversation at all, any topic at all. We can continue to talk Beatles, but like I said, I want to get into

• 34:32Jake Brennan?

  Christmas songs next week with Shane MacGowan. So hit me up with your favorite Christmas songs. [email protected], at disgracedpod on Instagram, X, and Facebook. And I want to read this Facebook message that I got. This is from Hannah Victoria, and it's, it's more like an email, which is why I saved it for this section. It's a little long, but it's, uh, it has to do a little bit about what we were talking about in the B block here. Alright, unless it's not about the Beatles. It's, uh, it's less about that. So Hannah goes on to say here, "Listen, long time listener here. And first, I have to say, thank you for being a steady, calming voice through these chaotic years. You get this rare knack for delivering even the most bizarre stories with a tone that soothes no matter how dark the content. I just finished listening to the 86 Mets episode, Friday, November 8th,

• 35:17Jake Brennan?

  and I was struck by words that were haunting yet inspiring. Quote, 'The best this country has always had to offer is its people who,' unquote. Today, those words resonated more than ever, as I, along with my country and the world, try to process everything that's unfolded in recent days, wondering what lies ahead. I shared those lines from the episode with family and friends, even social media, an uncommon move for someone who's typically a quiet voice online. I'm clearly moved by your words, and I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation. Thank you, not just to you, but to the entire production team and your families who support this work. The effort you put into creating such an engaging and thoughtful show means a lot. Thank you for being real and relatable. Thank you for giving my family something we can bond over, as we all live and breathe

• 36:02Jake Brennan?

  for sports, history, and music.'" That's from Hannah Victoria.

• 36:07Jake Brennan?

  And that speaks directly to the point I was trying to make earlier, the whole sharing these stories, preserving these stories as we go, sharing them with our family and our friends. I've received a couple of these emails. I receive a lot of them throughout the year, but a couple of them around this Mets episode in particular. And, and, and, but Hannah really laid it out there in a way that that hit me and made me very grateful for this whole space, like I said, that we've created here. So guys, you can get at me any way you want. This is DisgraceLandPod on the socials. Like I said, [email protected]. That's the email. You know about the reviews. You leave a review. I read it here on the air. You get in touch with me and I get you some merch out in the mail. All right. So

• 36:49Jake Brennan?

  this one comes from Sharon Stavoy. This is on Apple Podcasts titled Jake Knows Things, five stars. Like many others, I can't remember exactly who told me about DisgraceLand. I think it might've been the ladies of My Favorite Murder, but if you aren't listening to them, you should be. My father used to warn me that the people I idolized in entertainment were not what I thought they were. I scoffed at him in the worst teenage way. Turns out he was right. And Jake delivers it all in the most captivating way. Always a conversation starter. I have told so many about this incredible show. If I could leave 10 stars, I would. Sharon, you're the best. I appreciate you getting in touch. [email protected] or hit me up on the socials at disgraceandpod. I appreciate the review. We'll get you some

• 37:30Jake Brennan?

  merch. You can also hit us up on Spotify. You can leave a comment there. Spotify Wrapped is out now. I see you guys are sharing your Spotify Wrapped on Instagram with DisgraceLand on your list of top listened to podcasts. I really appreciate that. That's fucking cool of you. Thank you so much. Ob Hesch on Spotify writes, in response to last week's rewind episode on David Bowie, Ob Hesch writes in, I once owned The Following by Aleister Crowley, Book 4777, and Liber via leges. I think I'm saying that right. I actually also had a CD version of The Book of the Law. Call me curious and a bit of a seeker, I suppose. All of the above items wound up in a donation pile in the alley behind my

• 38:13Jake Brennan?

  house. Was it because I got freaked out by some dark and powerful force? Nope. It was due to boredom. I found Crowley to be the most self-involved, boring pseudo-intellectual that I ever encountered. What a waste of money and time. Obesh, I have to agree with you there. For those of you who are wondering why we're talking about Aleister Crowley in relation to David Bowie, it's because David Bowie believed in this occult, I'm blanking on the name of it right now. It's right on the tip of my tongue. I think it was called the Order, something like that. And Crowley was part of this sort of early 20th century. The guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes was part of this. A couple other notable folks, mainly over in England, they believed in dark

• 38:55Jake Brennan?

  power, in the occult. They had a bunch of meetings, they wrote a bunch of books, they did a bunch of cocaine, way before people did cocaine, or a lot of people did cocaine, I should say. And I have been exposed to these occultists through rock and roll, through David Bowie, like I said, through, we get into this in the Led Zeppelin episode as well, because Jimmy Page was deeply into this, through Jim Morrison as well. And to Obesh's point here, they're pseudo-intellectuals. It's a bunch of bullshit. Mainly, I think what they were doing was actually creating a permissive structure for themselves to behave like complete fucking animals and just do whatever the hell

• 39:38Jake Brennan?

  they wanted. That's what I get out of it. So, Obesh, you're right on point. Appreciate the comment. All right, this episode, guys, it is nearing its end, but the after-party is going to continue for our All-Access members. Sign up today. You're going to hear an extended version of the after-party. I'm going to get into John Lennon in a little bit more detail here. I'm going to give you some behind the scenes. I'm going to give you some information on some folks I heard from who were connected to John Lennon after I released these episodes originally. And I'm going to share a little bit about the controversial sources that I used for these episodes and how they were validated firsthand for me, okay? That's coming up in the All-Access portion of this here bonus episode, which, if you're an All-Access member, you're going to get to hear.

• 40:21Jake Brennan?

  If you're not an All-Access member, you're not going to be able to hear it unfortunately, but you can go to disgracelandpod.com/membership and sign up today. You're also going to get ad-free listening and the extra exclusive full episode of Disgraceland every month. All right, guys, back in the flash.

• 40:51Speaker 02

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• 41:19Speaker 03

  Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture, Depamocumab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year. Just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including steroids, unless told by your doctor. Report if you have a parasitic infection.

• 42:02Speaker 03

  Common cold, sinus infection, inflammation in the nose, flu or fluke-like symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.

• 42:28Jake Brennan?

  Okay, we are back and I want to thank you guys for checking this episode out. Remember, December 12th, 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, in the Disgrace Land chat on Patreon, you, me, and the Disgrace Land documentary, "We Are Not Alone", "Music Won't Save Us But Tom DeLonge". Mike, mark your calendars, we'll get into it. I cannot wait. Listen, if you're not a Patreon member, you can become one right now. Just go to disgracelandpod.com/membership and sign up. All right. This episode, we mentioned Iggy Pop. Iggy Pop in the Archive, for those who are interested who have not heard that episode yet, that's episode 41 from October 15th, 2019. We also mentioned the Eagles in the bonus section of this episode, that's a two parter, episodes 97 and 98, released

• 43:10Jake Brennan?

  March 8th and March 29th, 2022. 50 Cent came up in this episode as well, he's episode 117 from February 14th, 2023, all in the archive, all ready for you to re-listen to and play and share with your friends. Rock and roll, preservation, baby. That's what we're talking about. That's it. All right, I gotta get out of here. So let's recap, shall we? Number one, right now in your feed, our episode on John Lennon in the 70s. Number two, coming tomorrow, our rewind episode on the John Lennon assassination. That's two episodes, actually. Number three, merch winners, get in touch, you know who you are. Number four, 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

• 43:50Jake Brennan?

  subject on John Lennon, me, reading you, the billboard charts from the day Beatle John died, December 8th, 1980. Number one, Lady, Kenny Rogers, last week, one, peak position, one, weeks on chart, 10. Number two, More Than I Can Say, Leo Sayer, last week, six, peak position, two, weeks on chart, 11. Number three, Another One Bites the Dust, Queen, last week, four, peak position, one, weeks on chart, 17. Number five, Master Blaster,

• 44:32Jake Brennan?

  Jam, Stevie Wonder, last week, seven, peak position, five, weeks on chart, 12.

• 44:55Speaker 05

  Quit talking and start mixing.

• 44:58Jake Brennan?

  Hold on, Matt. My wife's making a smoothie.

• 45:00Speaker 03

  Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture, Depamocumab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription-maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year. Just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including steroids, unless told by your doctor. Report if you have a parasitic infection, common cold, sinus infection,

• 45:45Speaker 03

  inflammation in the nose, flu or flulike symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.

• 46:01Jake Brennan?

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