Episodes

Dave and Milt fire up the time machine to revisit Billboard’s Top 10 for the week ending September 10, 1988, amid banter about insomnia, last week’s “Freedom Rock” episode (and Finley the wonderdog), and some period trivia (Hurricane Gilbert, Jerry Lewis’s telethon, Kevin Bacon marrying Kyra Sedgwick, and Elm Street 4 topping the box office). They debate Kenny Loggins’ Caddyshack II soundtrack hit, declare fatigue with “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” praise New Edition’s Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis upgrade, ...

Dave and Milt record in person at Casa Wolfe for a special Past 10s episode that ditches the usual Billboard Top 10 format to start a “Freedom Rock” breakdown, inspired by the endlessly replayed 1987 TV ad. They explain the compilation’s formats (four LPs, three cassettes, or two CDs; 40 songs) and begin covering the first 10 tracks in order, rating each with ChatGPT’s absurd “Freedom Rock score” of 1–5 vans, plus … Footloose! Seinfeld! Vans! Vomiting! Let’s go! Topics 00:42 Podcast Setup at C...

Dave and Milt riff on Taco Bell shtick, Dolly Parton’s legacy, a listener spat sparked by Professor David Gallant’s harsh Rock Hall takes, and Dave’s front-row Squeeze concert (plus a grim Adam Ant review). The time machine lands on the Billboard Top 10 for August 18, 1973, with context on Nixon’s first televised Watergate address, DJ Kool Herc’s early hip-hop party, a Soap Box Derby cheating scandal, and the blaxploitation film Coffy. They run through the Top 10—pick winners (Croce and McCartne...

Dave and Milt reveal the listeners’ survey-driven top 10 forgotten ’80s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-worthy artists, noting the oddly neat result that—like the ’70s episode—about 10 acts clear a “put them in” majority threshold. The B-52s brought the beehives, The camp, the kitsch, the fun, But was weirdness enough when all was said and done? Steve Winwood had that golden voice, From Traffic to MTV, “Higher Love” was cool but twice-inducted? Must he be? Then Mötley Crüe came crashing in, With h...

Dave and Milt reveal results from a listener poll rating which ’70s artists deserve Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, after briefly sharing comments on last week’s 1983 substitution episode (including an Ally McBeal/Robert Downey Jr. “Every Breath You Take” clip). Using a 1–5 scoring system, they count down the top 10 Hall “snubs” and also-rans. Topics 00:37 Sticks Snack Debate 02:15 Survey Results Setup 02:43 Listener Comments Roundup 10:59 How The Voting Worked 13:54 Countdown Begins B...

Dave and Milt introduce an episode built around listener survey results rewriting the Billboard Top 10 for July 30, 1983, after voters overwhelmingly chose to boot Sergio Mendes’ “Never Gonna Let You Go.” They preview covering survey comments next week, plug pod617.com, and detour into Dave interviewing Battle of the Network Stars captain Greg Evigan on a Beatles podcast. The listener-created countdown replaces the original Top 10 with your choices, with anecdotes about ads, lyrics, MTV videos, ...

Dave and Milt detour from Billboard to TV, counting down the top 10 shows for a week in July 1983 while arguing about pie, cheesecake calories, and why Five Guys “small” fries aren’t small. They plug a survey to rewrite the July ’83 Hot 100 top 10 using songs that never made the real top 10 (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GFG7SWG) The TV list includes Simon & Simon, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, Newhart, Cagney & Lacey, 60 Minutes, The Jeffersons, Trapper John, M.D., Hart to Hart, and the #1 “...

Dave and Milt celebrate seven years of Past 10s the only way they know how: by embarrassing themselves with old stories, reading listener shout-outs, and convincing everyone to fill out another substitution poll (vote here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GFG7SWG) for an upcoming listener-driven episode. Then it's into the Past Tens time machine for the Billboard Top 10 from the week ending July 30, 1983—a summer that gave us the Pine Tar Game, the debut of Friday Night Videos, National Lampoon's...

If you thought we were done talking about 1976… think again. Dave and Milt kick things off by emptying the mailbag from our "all substitutions" listener episode, reading your comments, handing out a few well-deserved shout-outs, and revealing the song listeners were most eager to kick to the curb: "Misty Blue." That officially closes the book on one of our favorite summer experiments. Then it's off to the movies as the guys head back to July 1986 and count down the biggest box office hits light...

ave and Milt revisit the week ending July 10, 1976, letting listeners vote on a replacement Billboard Top 10 drawn from 25 Hot 100 songs that never reached the top 10. They count down the survey results including the majesty of Steely Dan; the funk of Parliament; the whimsy of ABBA; and a poppy Queen. Once and for all, what were the Doobies doing dancing with Rerun on TV? Why is Milt talking about his hot buns? Did Billie Joe and Bobbie Sue get away with it or die in a hail of bullets? WHAT WILL...

Dave and Milt announce a listener survey to vote on a new “substitution” Top 10 for the July 10, 1976 chart as part of their bicentennial-week trilogy, sharing shout-outs (including a Spotify playlist by Jason Hedman) and an email from Richard Holmes in Hawaii. For this episode they instead count up the Billboard Hot 100 “bottom 10” (positions 91–100) for that week, discussing each track’s background: Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.’s “I Hope We Get to Love in Time,” John Handy’s jazz crossover ...

This week on Past Tens, we celebrate America's 200th birthday the only way we know how—by firing up the musical time machine and heading back to the Billboard Top 10 for Bicentennial week, ending July 10, 1976. But first, there are pressing matters to address. Why has Burger King effectively been outlawed in Milt's house? Did Thelma the bird finally convince her babies to leave the nest? And perhaps most importantly, was Milt secretly replaced by AI on last week's episode? Listener feedback pour...

Buckle up. Weird episode. But ultimately a great list of underrated 70s tunes.

Dave and Milt hop into the Past 10s time machine and travel back to the Billboard Top 10 for the week ending June 14, 1986. But before they even hit the charts, they celebrate the emotional madness of the Knicks’ incredible Finals comeback, debate why sports are better when you suffer and celebrate with others, and give some love to the loyal Past 10s listeners. Once the time machine lands in 1986, Dave and Milt set the scene: the nation is still processing the Challenger disaster report, a rol...

This week on Past Tens, Dave and Milt welcome a fresh face to the show: new intern Jason, a Tulane University student possibly as obsessed with music as the Past Tens bozos. Jason talks about catching A$AP Rocky's "Don't Be Dumb" Tour at TD Garden, surviving the madness of Jazz Fest, and introduces Dave and Milt to the wonderfully bizarre world of YouTube legend Nardwuar. Meanwhile, Dave finally crosses a major movie off the bucket list, sharing his thoughts after watching 2001: A Space Odyssey...

Dave and Milt crank up the Time Machine and head back to the week ending May 30, 1970, but not before detouring through spam-text “pig slaughtering” scams, listener banter, and a recap of Stephen Colbert’s farewell show, complete with Jack White, Eminem, and a fire-marshal joke that somehow made perfect sense. Meanwhile, Milt delivers a major life update: Thelma the bird has likely become a mother, making him a proud and slightly obsessed bird granddad. Once the charts arrive, it’s a heavyweigh...

Dave and Milt hit record for a special edition of Past 10s marking the end of an era: the final episode of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show. But instead of hopping into the Billboard Hot 100 time machine, the boys pivot to late-night television, counting down their Top 10 Gen X-era talk-show hosts — complete with favorite moments, grudges, nostalgia, and the occasional completely unnecessary tangent. Along the way: Michael speed-runs a Chinese-food dinner before airtime, Dave delivers another rivetin...

Dave and Milt fire up the Top 10 Time Machine and head straight for the week ending May 20, 1989 — but this time they ditch the Hot 100 in favor of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, because apparently Aqua Net, guitar riffs, and sleeveless denim vests deserved their own economy. Along the way, they revisit a bizarrely packed week in history featuring Gorbachev’s visit to China, the disappearance of Costa Rica’s golden toad, the death of Gilda Radner, and the cultural majesty of See No Evil, H...

Dave and Milt plug into one of rock nerd-dom’s favorite barstool arguments: Rolling Stone’s freshly dropped list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever. Naturally, they treat it less like gospel and more like a karaoke machine somebody spilled beer on. Using the list as a launching pad, the boys unveil their own rankings, judging solos not by how many fingers caught fire, but by the stuff that actually matters — memorability, emotional punch, whether the solo lifts the song into another zip code,...

Milt’s off living his best life at Jazz Fest, so Dave taps in Deirdre McCarthy as guest co-pilot, and—folks—we fire up the time machine to May 5, 1979. It’s Laverne & Shirley on TV, Alien in theaters, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on nightstands, and questionable taste on the Billboard charts. We run the Top 10 gauntlet: Sister Sledge (“He’s the Greatest Dancer”), Cher (“Take Me Home”), Wings (“Goodnight Tonight”), Chic (“I Want Your Love”), Village People (“In the Navy”), Suzi Quatro & ...

Dave and Milt open with banter about expensive VIP options, coffee vs. tea, and then discuss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class heavy with British performers (Phil Collins solo, Billy Idol, Oasis, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Sade), plus Wu-Tang Clan and Luther Vandross, and hip-hop influence picks like Queen Latifah and MC Lyte. Inspired by the Brit-heavy class, they switch the podcast format to the UK singles chart for week ending 18 April 1987, counting down: “Living in a Box” by Li...

Dave and Milt crack open a special Past Tens where the subject is none other than the human moonwalk, Michael Jackson—timed nicely with the looming biopic that’s about to remind everyone just how absurdly dominant this guy was. We’re talking voice, moves, mystique, and that little side project with Quincy Jones that somehow turned into the most unfair three-album heater in pop history. Ground rules: solo MJ only. Sorry, Jackson 5—you’ll always have “ABC,” but you’re sitting this one out. From t...

Dave and Milt fire up the Top 10 Time Machine and land squarely in April 3, 1982—a week where the Falklands War is just getting started, Space Shuttle Columbia is touching down in the desert like it missed its exit, Michael Jordan is hitting that NCAA shot, and America is somehow supporting both Porky's and Chariots of Fire at the same time. A simpler, weirder time. The boys break down a Top 10 that is equal parts iconic and “wait… really?”—from Key Largo (featuring a sidebar into Bertie Higgin...

Dave and Milt are doing what they do best: arguing about music like it matters (because it does). This time, they’re counting down their favorite opening lines from 1970s songs — with Milt, naturally, gravitating toward lines that drop you immediately into a vibe, a scene, or a full-blown attitude problem. They go back and forth like two guys at a bar who won’t let the other finish a sentence, firing off picks like “Life in the Fast Lane,” “Renegade,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “He’s Misstra Kno...