Offbeat Tracks

Sharon Brown is an interesting story. A talented session musician turned dance music diva, and our first subject who has also been on The People's Court!

Would a band named after a Nietche principle ever truly live up to its philosophical name? Surprisingly, yes -- but Florida Man and his army of singers made some great dance music and pop ballads along their journey.

You probably know Lulu from a hit movie and theme song from the 1960s, but today we're looking at her personal declaration of independence in the form of a '90s eurohouse album.

Today we're looking at the Cincinnati group that launched the career of two legendary producers.

In 1987, Liza Minnelli wanted to make a pop album, so her record label set her up with the Pet Shop Boys. This was the result.

The one and only pop album released by Carrie Fisher's half-sister in 1990, and boy does it just SCREAM 1990!

It's no secret by now that Alanis had a couple of pop albums before she was the Alanis that the world knows. We decided it was time they get the respect they deserve.

In our 2019 retrospective, we recount our favorite offbeat discoveries of the year!

Before there was Big Time Rush, and significantly after there were The Monkees, there were the Guys Next Door. And boy were they cheesy.

Now known as a versatile at-least-quadruple threat, the great Vanessa Williams kicked off her music career with an album chock full of delicious dancepop and beautiful ballads.

She may have recorded one of the greatest ballads in the history of pop music and kickstarted the career of one of pop music's all-time greatest singers, but we spend most of this episode pining for the release of the song she sings in Beat Street.

Two guys approach superproducer Arthur Baker with the idea of making an entire album based on the Dhar Braxton single "Jump Back (Set Me Free)," and he jumped right on it.

Are Propaganda more German than Kraftwerk? At what point must a band record under a different name? We're back from our summer break, and we tackle this and more in our most German episode yet!

Doing proper justice for one of the all-time great pop divas.

A rare '80s soundtrack that really deserves to be counted among the classics!

The two-hit wonder that you probably thought was a one-hit wonder! (Though we still aren't convinced their second hit actually exists.)

It's that time again! Connor is back with us, and we're perusing all the oohs, ahhs, and wtfs of Eurovision 2019.

It's time for a Superlatives episode, and this time we're tackling non-dance songs that were covered as club cuts (mostly in the '90s, because people couldn't seem to stop doing it then for some reason).

One man retires from a life of academia to make an album in his bedroom, and ends up being credited by many as the lone savior of dance music.

A Jesse-Johnson-formed band that spent two albums exploring the dancepop side of the Minneapolis sound.

Did you know that Paula Abdul's feline friend made an album of his own? He's kind of a bad kitty.

The incredibly fascinating story of how a young mobile DJ, a budding producer, and an accounting student changed the face of dance music.

You know two of their songs, but have you ever heard any of the others? There's some good stuff here. Also, they aren't British - who knew! (Not us.)

In 1984, a 15-year-old girl from New York gets signed to a big band label after her dad sends in a demo tape. She then makes three albums of fabulous pop music before fading into obscurity, except for once to make a theme song to an SNL movie.

Serving additional duty as both a pop culture snapshot and perhaps the soundtrack to Danielle's intimate moments, several popular artists, bands and composers collaborated in 1984 on a soundtrack album for the Olympic Games.

First emerging in the late '70s as part of the Philly sound, this week's artist quickly grew into her chops as a singer-songwriter in the fabulous world of disco and Hi NRG.

A look back at Evelyn "Champagne" King's 1985 album that never even cracked the Billboard 200, and we don't understand why, because it's pretty darn fantastic.

Have a big job interview? About to talk to a hottie who intimidates you? About to carry the creme brulee you just made down three flights of stairs to your car and drive it to your mom's house? Whatever the situation, these are the songs that get us pumped up, and we're sure they'll work for you too.

You probably know her from her bout with Freddy Krueger and her haunting horror theme, but today we're gonna talk about the rest of her music career!

Shedding some light on the enigmatic group and their mysterious frontwoman responsible for a couple of the most recognizable dance hits of the early '90s.

Three sisters and the funkiest No Wave you've ever heard!

Why, if there are indie musicians who own the rights to their own songs, might they have 'Til Tuesday to thank? What video game character does Danielle think Aimee Mann should play in a movie? Listen to this week's episode for these answers and more!

Can you name more than one of their songs? If not, listen to this week's episode, because you've been missing out!

Two important firsts this week on Offbeat Tracks: Our first interview, and our first resurrection. Both with the same guy.

The most modern artist we've covered, but we think you'll agree that they fit in. Join us as we discuss this most mysterious yet incredibly charming synth songstress.

This week we're discussing a truly unsung legend of pop music, specifically the part of her career where she was, in fact, singing.

His name may have only been one letter, but he put out three very different albums in his (relatively) short career under this name, and we're breaking them down this week. Did he creat the world's first synthpop song? You decide along with us.

This week we're discussing our favorite songs to listen to while driving!

Two for the price of one this week as we discuss a lesser-known Vince Clarke project that produced a second lesser-known Vince Clarke project!

This week we're discussing one half one tenth of the DeBarge family discography, because Chico's two '80s albums were pretty damn fantastic.

What happens when the New York pop art scene collides with the burgeoning technology of sampling? Ebn-Ozn, that's what.

Perhaps the only band that gets called a one-hit wonder for two different songs in two different countries, we review the first three albums by the British art school kids who got their band name from Star Trek.

A panned movie that happens to have an incredible Hi-NRG aerobics soundtrack! John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis crotch thrusting in '80s workout attire - why are you not listening yet??

A sexy model making killer late '80s pop -- have we discovered Offbeat Xanadu?

Our first-ever listener-submitted episode idea! We're discussing the incorrigble, goofy, and oh-so-stylish sisters from Hackney who dominated the UK charts in '87 and '88.

Staying in England this week, but we're talking about a very interesting fella with a big heart, leftist politics, and a Tascam 4-track recorder.

Two lads from England who spent the '80s recording under two different band names but staying both very British and very '80s the entire time.

Back already, it's another edition of the Offbeat Trivia Challenge! This time, we quiz each other about the artists we've covered and our favorite absurd comments over the last two years. Thank you so much for listening to us for 100 episodes!

A woman whose unmistakable voice you've no doubt heard, just maybe not in song (yet). How did she survive her busy 1985?

From her early days making mellow gold softballs to her heyday in hard-hitting Hi-NRG, this week we scope out the career of (probably) the only person whose real name sounds faker than her stage name.

A model-turned-pop-techno act and another entry in the "Europeans making records in other languages than their native one" binder. Stay until the end for a special message.