PODCAST

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast

Jason Ek

Welcome to Stuck in the Middle - the podcast about the music, movies, and culture of Generation X.

society & culture music history

All Episodes

52:31

The Best Christmas Music

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/12/21

Mele Kalikimaka, Slackers!This week is all about Christmas music. Not "carols" or hymns, honest to goodness rock, pop, metal and even some big band Christmas music! I give my top 10 Christmas albums and the standout tracks on each record. While some songs are decades old classics, others are new or soon to be classics. What are some of your favorite Christmas albums? I will post a new Christmas Playlist later this week with all of my selections!Subscribe today!

35:52

Die Hard IS a Christmas Movie

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/12/14

Yippee-Ki-Yay, Slackers! Is it or isn't it? That's the million dollar question. In my humble opinion, "Die Hard" is absolutely a Christmas movie! The setting, themes, and overall story arc...all the ingredients are there for a Christmas movie. It's a little Hallmark, a little "Home Alone", with lots and lots of explosions and generally chaotic action fare. What's not to love? But "Die Hard" isn't the only Christmas themed action flick. A recent Mel Gibson vehicle has made its way into my holiday

44:55

Christmas Catalogs & Toys We Loved

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/12/07

Ho, ho, ho, Slackers! As the Christmas season is upon us, I harken back to days of old and the Sears Wish Book. Perhaps it was the JC Penney Christmas Catalog. Remember taking hours to carefully consider those items that you wished would end up under the tree? Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, Big Wheels...at one point or another those were THE hot gifts of the year. What did you circle in those catalogs? Was there ever a gift that your really wanted and never received? Was there one gift that you

63:16

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/11/30

From Looney Tunes to the Super Friends, who didn’t love the weekly ritual of getting up early on Saturday mornings for a few hours of animated goodness?! Perhaps paired with a bowl of sugary cereal, or maybe even a full breakfast over at Grandma’s?On this episode I share some of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons from childhood, as well as some related memories, like remembering exactly where the tv was located everywhere you lived (we moved a lot), or the sights and smells of the house when you

51:01

The Case For Weezer

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/11/23

It's Turkey Time, Slackers!There is a band that gets tons of negative reactions from the so-called purists of power pop, pop-punk, alternative pop, whatever term you want to use…but I'm talking about Weezer! They are frequently used as an example of either “selling out” or just being too “polished and commercial”. My experience with Weezer is a little different because I spent some time in the Boston indie rock scene of the 90s. With a classic debut album, Weezer became darlings of MTV and

54:31

Whatever Wednesday

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/11/16

It’s “Whatever Wednesday”, Slackers! What is “Whatever Wednesday”, you ask? It’s an episode dedicated to whatever I am thinking about this week and wherever that my lead.Some topics that I touch on this week: Billy Corgan, the National Wrestling Alliance, Butch Vig, Steve Albini, grunge, indie record labels, Jawbreaker, Sam Black Church, the Afghan Whigs, and other nonsensical ramblings.- [ ] Subscribe today!

46:47

I Want My (Dial) MTV

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/11/09

It’s what we all wanted, Slackers! We wanted our MTV! And from the 80s through the early 90s, the M stood for music.My favorite era of MTV was the “Dial MTV” era. From 1986 through 1991, this was our chance to vote for our favorite music videos of the day. This was appointment viewing, with the iconic, head banging VJ, Adam Curry as our host.There were so many bands that would become my favorites that I saw for the first time on "Dial MTV". Poison. Stryper. Warrant. A lot of the "hair bands" did

44:36

Women Who ROCK

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/11/02

What is up, Slackers?! While it has often been said that rock music has been a male dominated industry, there have been so many amazing women who have broken through the glass (rock?) ceiling. On this episode I discuss some of my favorites, with the simple parameters of:1. The music needed to have been composed in my lifetime OR 2. Created by actual Gen X artists. As it turns out, some of the GREAT female voices of all time come from our generation, and frankly, I’m not surprised. But rest assured,

54:56

The Halloween Episode

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/10/26

Happy Halloween, Slackers!For the first Halloween episode of the pod, I make my case for Gen X being the first real slasher movie generation and delve into the motivations of the great slasher movie villains of the 80s & 90s. I mean, they can’t all be purely evil, right? Right?Plus, I shout out all of the great horror movies of the 90s, where many of the writers and cast members were firmly Gen X. In particular the “teen” movies of the 90s and early 2000’s, with titles like “Scream”, “I Know What

67:00

The King of Pop

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/10/19

Cause this is Thriller, Slackers!I was thinking about MTV and classic videos, plus it being so close to Halloween, and "Thriller" came to mind. But I realized that as much as the video for "Thriller" is legendary, the man behind the music was beyond being a legend...he was an icon. He was the "King of Pop". While he was a troubled (possibly dangerous) man and artist, Michael Jackson left a major mark on the music world. Starting at the age of 6, MJ had a four decade career, culminating in his

45:14

Gen X Tropes, Cliches, & Stereotypes (According To...

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/10/12

Whatever, Slackers, whatever...according to the inter webs, and even some Gen Xers, we can be distilled down to the word "whatever". Using a good old Google search, I checked out some websites that claimed to have the definitive list of what characteristics, traits, and cultural markers make up Gen X. Some of these lists are just cliches that don't exactly line up with my own experiences growing up. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely things here that I can't really dispute...I'm just not sure

43:53

The Rap/Rock Connection

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/10/05

Yo! Listen up, Slackers! Rap. Rock. Rock. Rap. These are two distinct genres of music that have been intertwined since the earliest days of the NY rap scene. With groups like Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy embracing and working with rock and metal artists like Aerosmith, Slayer, and Anthrax, these seemingly disparate collection of artists paved the way for what would eventually become Nu-Metal.Regardless of what you may think of that sub-genre, it can't be denied that great music has

43:20

Worst Gamer

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/09/21

Game time, Slackers! In this week's episode I share my favorite video games from 1986 - 2001, back when I was a regular gamer. But I was never a particularly good gamer. In fact, I might actually be the worst gamer ever!Now with my recent purchase of the Steam Deck, I have rediscovered some long lost gems, and that got me thinking about all the games that really grabbed my attention throughout the years. My picks are from multiple platforms/consoles, with selections from the NES, Sega Genesis,

56:38

Horror Movie Scares

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/09/14

Fall is in the air, Slackers! And that can only mean one thing - Halloween is fast approaching! This time of year is prime time for new horror movie releases, but what about the classics from our childhood? And I do mean childhood!In this episode I recount some of the movies and horror characters that left an impression on me, particularly the moments that I was way too young to see. I'm looking at you Donald Sutherland!I focus on films that came out before I was born through around 1984, when I was

42:46

Foo Fighters

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/09/07

This week’s episode is all about a band I had planned covering from the very beginning of the podcast - The Foo Fighters! With this past weekend’s Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, I thought now was the right time for this episode. As much as I appreciated Dave Grohl’s work with Nirvana, the Foo Fighters music was much more interesting and captivating to me. Really from the first self-titled record I was hooked, with “The Colour and the Shape” solidifying my fandom. They are easily

48:00

The Big 4 of Thrash

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/08/31

It's metal thrashing madness, Slackers! Slayer. Megadeth. Metallica. Anthrax. The "Big 4" of American ThrashWhile I am FAR from an expert, I have always enjoyed some good old school thrash metal. With Anthrax and Megadeth currently on tour, and making NEW music, I wanted to take a little journey through my first exposures to the genre (when I was about 9 years old) and how by 1988, I was a full blown fan. I give you my personal favorite tracks, as well as my general take on each band. What are YOUR

102:38

Record Rumble - Van Halen's 1984 vs. 5150

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/08/24

Are you ready to rumble, Slackers?! What happens when you take two classic albums from a legendary band and pit them against each other in a duel for the ages? The only way to find out was for me to bring Carlos back on the show for the first ever “Record Rumble”!Carlos is one of the biggest Van Halen fans I know, and his fandom never wavered, even after Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth. Me on the other hand, I was a “Diamond Dave” guy, and didn’t listen to Sammy’s first record with the band

46:41

Summer Songs

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/08/17

It’s Summertime, Slackers! Although it is rapidly coming to an end, this is a vacation week for me and I was thinking about the sounds of summer. I decided to discuss my own personal top 10 favorite Summer Songs, with a few “honorable mentions”.I initially had some pretty strict rules for inclusion but that was quickly discarded and some newer, looser rules used to make this list. The only hard and fast rule was songs had to have been released at a time where I could have heard them and remembered

33:20

Olivia Newton-John Was An Icon

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/08/10

Hey, Slackers. The news of the passing of Dame Olivia Newton-John reminded me of some of my earliest memories and how she was a HUGE star for basically my entire life!From teen singer, to movie star with Grease and Xanadu, to the massive success of her reinvention album, "Physical", Dame Olivia was a fixture in entertainment throughout the 70's and 80's.She then faced a long term battle with breast cancer, starting in 1991 until she passed away at the age of 73...but not without a fight. Dame Olivia

70:30

INXS "KICK" - Is It A Perfect Record?

Stuck In The Middle - A Gen X Podcast ·

2022/08/03

Last week I mentioned that perhaps INXS “KICK” was in contention for the title of “perfect album”. With no less than four top 10 hits, with at least one other single in the top 40, “KICK” was a juggernaut, and evidence of a band fully coming into their own.Michael Hutchence. Andrew, Jon, & Tim Farriss. Kirk Pengilly. Garry Gary Beers. They were all at their creative peak with this record!Now, I’m not sure if the “perfect record” exists, but I needed to test this record and see how it ranks. So, I

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