By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio 
Welcome to the very first episode of our new, exclusive show, Two Als Talking Tunes. Once a month, give or take, Beatlefan Executive Editor Al Sussman (pictured at far right) and I will get together to talk in-depth about three songs apiece. We’ll wax poetic about each song’s significance, relate pertinent chart information and anecdotes, and just generally rap about what makes our song choices oh so very special.
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This month, Al and I engage in a timely discussion of songs that are especially appropriate to play on and around Halloween. They’re not necessarily the songs you might normally hear on the radio at this time of year, although a few of them are; a few others are songs you might not necessarily associate with All Hallow’s Eve. All are very cool examples of the art of Halloween-appropriate pop.
Below you will find two official Two Als Talking Tunes playlists so you can listen to the songs we talk about (O.C. Smith and Dickey Lee’s songs are not available in their original versions on Spotify, so they are offered as YouTube links).
Listen to the very first edition of Two Als Talking Tunes by clicking the play button on the following player, or click on the Pure Pop Radio button to the left to download (then right click and choose “Save audio as” to save the file to your computer). (This interview is presented in scoped format; the songs have been removed due to copyright concerns.)
The Official Two Als Talking Tunes Playlists for Episode One: Perfect Spins for Halloween
Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/1214510552/playlist/4OfbfWsaLcHci6ThYZ7ZEN
YouTube Playlist:
* “The Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp” | O.C. Smith
* “Laurie (Strange Things Happen)” | Dickey Lee
Please let your friends know about Two Als Talking Tunes. We hope you enjoy the show.
Pure Pop Radio’s signature shows, Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, playing the latest and greatest melodic pop songs from today and across the decades, and Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere Internet melodic pop talk show, air weekly on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Tune in to Pop that Goes Crunch Radio by clicking on the following snazzy-looking button:
Building on previous duo shows broadcast under the Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation banner, Beatlefan Magazine Executive Editor Al Sussman (pictured at left) and yours truly have joined forces for a brand-new series of programs to be broadcast exclusively here on purepopradio.com, the first of which premieres this Thursday, October 26.
On the docket are six songs; Al and I have each chosen three. We talk about them and you listen to them by clicking on the supplied links in the official Two Als Talking Tunes playlist. You’ll thrill to tunes from Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Dickey Lee, Tiny Tim, and O.C. Smith, who essays the sad story of “The Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp.”
From 1967 albums by The Young Rascals (Groovin’) and Buffalo Springfield (Again) to Eric Carmen’s Boats Against the Current (1977) and Fountains of Wayne’s Utopia Parkway (1999), Al and I get deep inside some top-flight long-players that define the artists who made them.
We offer to you, as November gets ready to morph into December and work of a holiday nature within these hallowed halls continues apace, a trio of our regular specialty shows to keep things of all sorts on track. Your nighttime soundtrack on Pure Pop Radio? Why, we don’t mind if we do.
Tonight at 8 pm ET, Jammin’ James Riley fires off another summer-infused set of sun-drenched tunes on Catching a Wave. Perched in front of your Internet radio receptacle, you will delight in Jammin’ James’ spins from artists such as Keith Sykes, Eddie and the Showmen, Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, Dick Dale, and many more.
For this week’s The Weird and the Wonderful, hitting the Internet airwaves at 1 pm ET on Wednesday, Scott McPherson’s gathered up quite the catchy lunchtime meal composed of catchy, top-flight songs, including sumptuous specimens from Jellyfish, Aimee Mann, Paul McCartney, KC Bowman, the Semantics, and George Harrison. Much more, too? Certainly, but you’ll have to tune in to find out the score.
Thursday night’s all-new gathering, at 8 pm ET, of our Beatles experts on Things We Said Today sees Ken Michaels, Steve Marinucci, Al Sussman and Allan Kozinn greet Chip Madinger, co-author of Lennonology, Strange Days Indeed – A Scrapbook of Madness. Chip joins in on an in-depth look at John Lennon’s Imagine album, currently celebrating its 45th anniversary.
This being a short week, what with Thanksgiving looming large in our legend (your obligatory George Harrison reference for today), we’ve got just two, tasty specialty shows for you, sure to spice up any festive holiday spread (and let us not forget, our music library is 9,100-plus tunes strong).
Tomorrow night’s first-run Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation (8 pm ET) finds Alan Haber catching up with Beatlefan Executive Editor Al Sussman in a wide-ranging 90-plus minute show during which the topic is songs that hit and should have hit number one in the years 1964-1969. Al looks at each song played during the show from a historical perspective, touching on its popularity and the reasons why it made the chart grade, or almost hit the mark. If you’re a chart history buff, this is a must-listen-to episode.
Looking ahead to December (we simply can’t believe the year is only 41 days from becoming 2017), we’ve got our third annual Holiday Popapalooza coming up. We’ll be spinning Christmas pop songs from noon on December 24 through to the last moments of Christmas day. You’ll hear all kinds of pop and roll from across the decades, including new releases such as a sprightly holiday tune from Somerdale, just signed to the Jem Records label. And, of course, your favorite pop artists will check in with custom holiday IDs to help make your season merry.
Al Sussman, Beatlefan executive editor and co-host of the weekly Beatles roundtable Things We Said Today, heard here on Pure Pop Radio, returns to Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation next Tuesday, November 22 at 8 pm ET to talk about classic chart hits and near hits.
And now, to get our week’s worth of programming off and running, we’re pleased as punch to announce that Pure Pop Radio is the first affiliate to air tonight’s all-new edition of Ken Michaels’ Beatles get-together, Every Little Thing, starring the Weeklings. Ken talks to the Weeklings themselves and plays two sparkling tracks from the group’s new album, Studio 2, which comes out this Friday via Jem Records. Also on tap tonight, beginning at 8 pm ET: the usual top-flight group of songs from the Beatles, from their group and solo years.
You can read all about this week’s double shot of all-new episodes of Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, featuring the Legal Matters and the Nines’ Steve Eggers, by 
