26. Saxophone in Rock Music, It's-It, Triscuits

We add saxophone in rock music, It's-It (the frozen dairy treat) and Triscuits to the List of Every Damn thing.

Show Notes

Phil and Jake add some soulful notes to the List of Every Damn Thing by ranking saxophone in rock music, the Bay Area-based ice cream cookie sandwich It’s-It, and Triscuits (aka "electricity biscuits").

If you have something to add to the List of Every Damn Thing, let us know by sending an email to [e-mail] (or get at us on Twitter and Instagram).


SHOW NOTES:

• Kurtwood Smith is an actor from the TV show Patriot. He’s perhaps best known for playing Clarence Boddicker, the villain of Robocop (maybe it’s more appropriate to say he’s the miniboss of Robocop, with capitalism being the villain). On the show he plays a management-type at a pipe company and he delivers this stunning monologue about piping which is just beautiful. Phil does a pretty good rendition of the monologue at the beginning of this episode.
• "Yakety Yak" by The Coasters is a delightful tune, mainly due to the humorous verses but also because the music is so playful. SongwriterJerry Leiber referred to it as “a white kid’s view of a black person’s conception of white society.” Like many of the songs discussed in this episode, it’s borderline rock ‘n’ roll. Leiber said that The Coasters’ songs were R&B hits that white kids were attracted to, which became rock ‘n’ roll if they sold enough albums.
• Phil usually has Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” playing in his head. Wouldn’t it be better if there could be a Public Dancer who gets federal subsidies? Also there’s a cover by Peaches which Phil found while looking for the Tina Turner video. We’d like to see someone do an upbeat or Kidz Bop of it.
• Tim Capello is the buff guy who played sax for Tina Turner, including on “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”. Phil is right about there being a saxophonist in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, but it’s not Capello. Capello is however in The Lost Boys performing his song “I Still Believe”.
• The E Street Band performed on most of Bruce Springsteen’s albums in the late 70s and the 80s, though they were never credited as a group. The band split with Springsteen for a decade starting in 1989, so Jake is probably right that Bruce didn’t release many saxy songs after the 80s.
• “I Want A New Drug” by Huey Lewis & The News doesn’t actually start with sax, but Jake remembers all the lead guitar and / or keyboard parts from that band as sax parts.
• Jake claims that “Yakety Sax” (by Boots Randolph) was used in the opening sequence of The Benny Hill Show. It actually played over the end credits.
• We talk about the amusement park that used to be at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, referring to it as "Playland-by-the-Sea". It was actually called Playland-at-the-Beach (or just Playland), but was preceded at its location by a squatter’s settlement called Mooneysville-by-the-Sea. Playland is pictured on the It’s-Its wrapper. It’s also in the final scene of The Lady from Shanghai.
• According to wikipedia, Jake is right that the It’s-It cappuccino flavor was introduced in the 80s, as were chocolate, mint and strawberry. Strawberry isn’t a permanent thing like others, so it wasn’t around for many years.
• Phil was 100% wrong about The Fat Boy, he was thinking of the Big Daddy! Hey smart guy, how about you record yourself talking for an hour about ice cream and see how many things you get wrong! They look the same! They’re both “what if an ice cream sandwich but thicc and square?” so he’s not embarrassed one bit.
• Regional food products that we mention include Nehi soda, Yuengling beer and Faygo soda. The Chicago cake-milkshake that Phil brings up is from Portillo’s. Jake always gets a veggie Chicago dog from America’s Dog when he’s at O’Hare Terminal 1.
• It’s-It doesn’t make a vegan version of their ice cream sandwich, but you can find similar products.
• Friend of the show Donovan pointed out that of course there’s a tropical bird who’s a familiar for a wizard: Jaffar's friend Iago from Aladdin. Phil recently saw the Thief of Baghdad, which Aladdin borrows liberally from but in that film Jaffar doesn’t have a bird. Phil is as usual trapped in an Anglo-mindset for fantasy adventures.
• The Road to Wellville by TC Boyle and the movie based on it are about Battle Creek, Michigan during the first health-food gold-rush in America.
• Sage Boggs is the writer who researched Triscuits and published his findings here.
• Here’s the shocking Triscuits ad that Jake talks about.
• The train movie that Phil & Jake discuss was of course the Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat. While it’s an extremely visceral and realistic depiction of a train arriving, a train will not come off your screen when you watch it.
• Phil’s wife Beth is working to establish an Anti-Racist Library in their home town of Petaluma.

ALSO DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:
Clarence Clemons * “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen * “Careless Whisper” by Wham! * “Rio” by Duran Duran * “Who Can It Be Now?” by Men At Work * “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS * Phil Spector * “Walk On the Wild Side” by Lou Reed * onions * harmonica * scatting * “Back That Azz Up” by Juvenile * “Tulsa Time” by Don Williams * “Long As I Can See The Light” by Creedence Clearwater Revival * cubed ice * The Cliff House * Chips-It * Watchmen comic * crows * shredded wheat * Wheat Thins * Crocs * sardines

Below is the List of Every Damn Thing as of this episode (for the most up-to-date list, go here):

1. Dolly Parton - person
2. Clement Street in San Francisco - location
3. Prince - person
4. It’s-It - food
5. Cher - person
6. Donald Duck - fictional character
7. Hank Williams - person
8. air - substance
9. Watchmen - comic book
10. onions - food
11. “Midnight Train to Georgia” - music
12. sex - idea
13. Boxer (dog breed) - animal
14. ducks - animal
15. firefighters - people
16. Shakira - person
17. The Three Stooges - comedy act
18. Christmas trees - seasonal decoration
19. Trading Places - 1983 film
20. intro to “Back That Azz Up” - music
21. The Truman Show - movie
22. dilapidated shacks - structures
23. shirtless men wearing elaborate angel wings, gold lamé shorts & furry cha-cha heels - idea
24. plants - life form
25. handkerchiefs - accessory
26. nail clippers - tool
27. rye bread - food
28. saxophone in rock - music
29. cubed ice - substance
30. Antoni Gaudi - architect
31. Run the Jewels - music group
32. Popeye - fictional character
33. land - substance
34. Charmander - fictional character
35. A-shirts (aka “wifebeaters”) - clothing
36. “Dancing Queen” - music
37. Watchmen - TV series
38. Jessica Rabbit - fictional character
39. Volkswagen “Bug” - vehicle
40. Cheech and Chong - comedy act
41. “Tulsa Time” - music
42. brief - idea
43. cold brew shandy - beverage
44. Jersey Shore - location
45. crows - animal
46. sea - substance
47. coffee - beverage
48. eggs (chicken) - food
49. Whoppers (candy) - food
50. national debt - idea
51. band t-shirts - clothing
52. Crocs - clothing
53. Ice Cube - person
54. wind chimes - decoration / instrument
55. moist - word
56. Nerf guns - toy
57. lightning rounds - idea
58. zipper jeans - clothing
59. generation ships - idea
60. seedless watermelon - food
61. sardines - animal/food
62. Triscuits - food
63. peanut butter ice cream - food
64. Top Ramen - food
65. whale tail - animal appendage
66. Tommy Bahama shirts - clothing
67. commandos - people
68. no-show socks - clothing
69. zipper jeans  worn with no underwear - situation
70. Barry Bonds - person
71. man-bun - hairstyle
72. toe shoes - clothing
73. “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” - song
74. Watchmen - movie
75. blood - substance
76. Oreos - food
77. calamari - food
78. The Last Starfighter - movie
79. crushed ice - substance
80. pigeons - animal
81. Daylight Saving Time - idea
82. rats - animal 
83. capitalism - idea
84. sports team jerseys - clothing
85. Josta - beverage 
86. Gambit - fictional character
87. Surge - beverage
88. Double Stuf Oreos - food
89. Jenny McCarthy - person
90. Hank Williams, Jr - person
91. McRib - food
92. cigarettes - drug
93. QAnon - idea

Theme song by Jade Puget. Audio mastering by Luke Janela. Graphic design by Jason Mann.

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What is Every Damn Thing?

Phil and Jake rank everything.