Talking Heads: Punk Rock, New Wave, Blackouts, and Psycho Killers (Rewind)

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DISGRACELAND 45 min 7 speakers 3 chapters transcribed 1 month ago
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Unknown 0:01
This is exactly right.
Nancy Glass 0:13
I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 3 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous situation that destroyed two families. It's a scorched earth war that shows just how far someone will go to get what they want.
Paul (Paulie) 0:29
Cindy said I had to choose between the truth and my family, and I had to choose the truth.
Nancy Glass 0:34
Listen to Season 3 of Burden of Guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Unknown 0:44
Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield, the host of The Girlfriends. I'm back with more one-off interviews with some truly kick-ass women on The Girlfriends Spotlight. I'm going to climb this. Is badness hereditary? Let's see how we can stop killing. I'm not too intimidated by her. What are you talking about?
Okay.
Unknown 1:08
Listen to The Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Amy Brown 1:20
There was no anything inside those eyes. They turned black. It scared the hell out of me. Evil, wake up. I'm the one that saw the murder take place by Krivak and DePippo.
Brit Prawat 1:36
Anthony DePippo showed no signs of remorse, appearing unfazed after being sentenced to the maximum.
Unknown 1:43
I said I'm not guilty. I'll take it to the grave. Listen to The Devil's Quarry and the Bone Valley Feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Jake Brennan 2:02
Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.
Jake Brennan 2:21
This is a story about the band Talking Heads. But it's also the story about a singer and a serial killer. It's a wild story. A story that involves six murders unsuspecting young people snuck up on in the darkness and shot in cold blood by a psycho. And it's a story about a singer trying to channel that detached psychotic feeling into song. A story about punk rock, the new wave, the New York Yankees, the Mets, a garbage strike, and a blackout that brought terror and violence. All that aside, this is also a story about great music. Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my Mellotron called Fears of a Clown, MK2. I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Kiss and Say Goodbye by the Manhattans.
Jake Brennan 3:21
And why would I play you that particular slice of backseat, dark end of the street cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on July 29th, 1976. And that was the day that David Berkowitz kicked off a murderous rampage that terrorized New Yorkers for over a year. a year during which Talking Heads recorded their landmark first album and their signature song, Psycho Killer. On this episode, a singer, a serial killer, the son of Sam, and Talking Heads. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland.
Jake Brennan 4:40
Snare drum, hi-hat, bassline. It was a groove so loud and so low that you didn't even hear it. You just felt it there in your chest. It's the kind of groove that animates bodies. Those kinds of records, they get the crowd on the dance floor and then they keep them there. These were the kinds of records that Tony Amato spawned at the Peachtree. Right now at 10.30 p.m., Tony was keeping the tempo at a moderate 95 beats per minute. By 1 a.m., he'd work it all the way up to 140 bpm, as thousands of kids in their late teens and early 20s boogied down. Then Tony gradually relaxed the pace and cooled them all out by closing time. It wasn't Studio 54, but in 1976, in the suburb of New Rochelle, New York, the Peachtree was as close as it got to that midtown feel.
Jake Brennan 5:42
Besides, New York City was a cesspool. It was dangerous, and it was dirty. The suburbs were safer, and this gig was easier, and based on the pair of brunettes that just walked by, the Peachtree was plenty good enough for Tony. Just then, a young guy in a wrinkled button-down shirt shuffled into the DJ booth holding a glass of water for Tony. Normally, the DJ booth was Tony's sacred space. No guests and no requests. But he felt sorry for this quiet young guy with the intense black eyes and the wild hair. He always came to the club alone and he never danced. He just hung at the edge of the DJ booth and watched Tony work.

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