🎧Episode 136: Rick Springfield Deep Cuts, King Crimson Prog Thunder & Robert Palmer Burnout

<p>Episode 136 jumps from pop-rock deep cuts to full-on prog-rock chaos, then winds its way through original-version history and a song that got absolutely cooked by overexposure.</p><p>Jonathan opens with Rick Springfield he really doesn&#39;t like, bringing a polished early-career cut with plenty of melodic pop craftsmanship. Curtis follows with King Crimson, heading straight into one of prog rock’s defining statements—jagged, intense, ambitious, and still capable of making normal classic rock sound like it forgot to do its homework.</p><p>For the category songs, Jonathan brings an <strong>Original Version</strong> with George Benson, spotlighting the earlier soul-jazz side of a song many listeners know from a much bigger later recording. Curtis then returns to the podcast’s original category, <strong>Burnt To A Crisp</strong>, with Robert Palmer, revisiting a massive ’80s hit that became so unavoidable it practically needed its own fire extinguisher.</p><p>Pop-rock polish, prog rock madness, original-version discovery, and a perfectly roasted overplayed classic—Episode 136 has range, volume, and a little smoke damage.</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>