🎧Episode 137: Steely Dan Soundtrack Cool, Doobie Brothers Smoothness & Rodney Dangerfield Rap

<p>Episode 137 settles into prime late-’70s studio-player territory, with Curtis bringing Steely Dan and Jonathan following with the Doobie Brothers for a double shot of slick production, soft rock polish, and yacht rock-adjacent groove.</p><p>Curtis opens with a Steely Dan cut built for radio mythology, full of jazz-pop sophistication, dry wit, and that unmistakable Becker/Fagen perfectionism. Jonathan keeps the smoothness going with the Doobie Brothers, bringing Michael McDonald-era soul, harmony, and AOR warmth into the mix.</p><p>For the category songs, Curtis returns to <strong>Sonic Holocaust</strong> with Rodney Dangerfield, proving once again that novelty rap and celebrity comedy records can be a very dangerous combination. Jonathan then brings <strong>#1 In Our Hearts</strong> with Van Morrison, spotlighting a classic that somehow never reached the top spot but still feels permanently installed in the American songbook.</p><p>Steely Dan cool, Doobie Brothers groove, Rodney Dangerfield chaos, and Van Morrison singalong royalty—Episode 137 is smooth, strange, and just a little damaged.</p><p><br></p><p>Curtis Gross is a self-employed video editor.</p><p>Jonathan Workman is an adult learning consultant based in Wichita, KS.</p><p>---</p><p>Make sure you are subscribed to Why Is This So Hard For You. Type Why Is This So Hard For You in your podcast provider, hit that subscription button, and leave us a five-star review. This will make it easier for other podcast listeners to find the podcast.</p><p>---</p><p>The intro music is the first 30 seconds of the Ornette Coleman tune &quot;Song X&quot; fed into AI software that attempts to output the song to a solo piano transcription. The outro music is the first 30 seconds of Sonny Rollins&#39; version of the tune &quot;St. Thomas&quot; fed into the same software.</p>