Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan

Sometime in the year 2000, seven-year-old Dov Brenner’s parents attended some random conference. Upon returning, they came back with a ruler that had the order of all the US Presidents. So Dov stared at the ruler most days, and quickly he became able to recite all the Presidents in order. It was at that moment, Dov realized that he had a gift. He realized he had an incredible memory and with that, great potential. So, did he use that ability to memorize advanced physics formulas? Nah. Did he use that ability to study and memorize key details of the French Revolution and ascertain its significance? Nope. Did he use that ability to memorize maps of the various cities he lived in? Negative. He used that god-given talent to memorize, well, random music facts from the songs and artists he grew up on. And with that, he is proud to bring you ”Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan,” a music history podcast focusing on the 90s where he gives unsolicited historical analysis, highly detailed lists, random facts, and staunch opinions about artists most people over 30 haven’t thought about in decades, and people under thirty have never really thought about, like ever. The show is comprised of Signature Song and Random Topic episodes, which 9 times out of 10 have to do with the 1990s. Artists he’s dedicated entire episodes to so far include Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, Alanis Morisette, and Blink-182 among others. Random Topics he has addressed include the Mount Rushmore of Butt Rock, the best year for music in somewhat recent memory, and the greatest 90s albums by artists you probably never thought of as ”90s artists.” So if you’re a 90s kid or a Gen Xer who never threw out the flannel shirt they wore to their first Pearl Jam concert, next time you’ve got a 3-hour flight and are burned out from watching reruns of Love is Blind, find an episode to check out and get ready for peak nostalgia.

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Episodes

Tuesday Jan 14, 2025

Y'all get a bonus episode! Free baseball! Hooray!
In this bonus endeavor, Dov and Ryan are joined by Alex Urbina who was the guest on episode #21. The boys team up to create a draft of the 10 greatest Pop-Punk songs of all time. So the episode functions like a fantasy draft but with choosing Pop-Punk songs instead of grown-ass adults that sweat a lot. The rules of the draft are as follows:
1. No songs can be repeated
2. Each participant can only reuse 1 artist. Therefore, each participant's list will consist of at least 9 different artists.
3. Every song has to be a banger.
At the conclusion of the draft, Dov, Ryan, and Alex sort through the list and come together to decide the winner of each round to ultimately compile Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan's official list of the 10 greatest Pop-Punk songs of all time. 
Also, whoever of three dudes chose the most songs that ended up on the final list gets crowned winner and gets a mug or something. 

Tuesday Jan 07, 2025

Playlist from this Episode
After reluctantly taking a five month break, Dov is back to his rambling ways as he somewhat chronologically covers nearly 40 years of Pop-Punk history. After spending way too much time talking about 70s Punk, he discusses a few important underground bands with funny names before identifying and detailing the five most important years in the development of Pop-Punk as a mainstream subgenre. He then is joined by his good friend, Alex, who is disgusted by Dov’s omission of one very important Pop-Punk band in the monologue portion of the episode. 
Side note, virtually every song mentioned in the episode is featured on the playlist linked above. 
Time Stamps:
Intro-00:00
Origins of Pop-Punk: 03:06
Pop-Punk becomes mainstream: 25:08
Pop-Punk explodes in the 21st century: 36:50
Interview: 45:14
Outro: 01:23:35

Tuesday Aug 13, 2024

On the podcast’s 20th episode, Dov shares his most vivid memories from his first time at a sleepaway camp before getting into the fascinating story of the legendary band, the Cranberries. He discusses their early days of listening to and emulating sad-boy British bands and then transitions into their early to mid 90s heyday. After Dov shares his take on the band’s signature song, he is joined by his good friend Zach Natale, who came prepared with an almost PhD level knowledge of the Cranberries. But of course he used his time to try to get Dov to rant about Fleetwood Mac’s antics.
 
Timestamps:
Intro: (00:00)
History of the Cranberries: (05:21)
The Band’s Signature Sound: (24:39)
Signature Song Runners Up: (27:53)
Signature Song Revealed: (36:06)
Interview: (40:30)
Zach’s Pick for Signature Song: (01:25:20)
Outro: (01:32:10)

Tuesday Jul 02, 2024


What do Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, and U2 being distastefully kind have in common? They are all discussed on the 19th episode of Hot Cakes from a 90s Stan. In this one, Dov brings back his good friend, Ella Hyder, to discuss the top five “Where Were You Moments” for 90s kids like them. Throughout the episode they discuss music events between the years 2004 and 2014 that are forever etched into their memories, for better or for worse. 
Time Stamps:
Introduction: (00:00)
Conversation with Ella: (06:18)
Outro: (01:32:53)
 

Monday Jun 03, 2024

On this signature song episode, Dov discusses the history of Green Day and the development of their career during the 90s. He highlights the unique trajectory of their success, but not without throwing in some ridiculous stories highlighting the band’s endearingly reckless behavior. 
He of course finishes his monologue by coming up with a detailed description of Green Day's 90s sound, before crowning their “signature” song for that decade. He then is joined by his co-host Ryan Gilman to talk all-things Green Day as well as Ryan’s cat’s recent UTI, for some reason. 
 
Timestamps
Intro: (00:00)
History of Green Day: (04:18)
Signature Sound: (19:37)
Signature Song Runners-Up: (22:53)
Signature 90s Song Revealed: (32:18)
Interview: (35:56)
Outro: (01:15:55)

Wednesday Apr 24, 2024

After yelling at him for over a year, finally Dov’s ride or die homie, Alejandro Castillo joins the podcast to discuss the greatest one-hit wonders of the 90s as they both unveil their Mount Rushmore of that category. Before the extended interview with Alejandro, Dov gives his shortest monologue yet where he briefly discusses the defining one-hit wonder of childhood, and what initially intrigued him about that song.
Make sure you check out the playlist on spotify, “Mount Rushmore of 90s One-Hit Wonders,” which includes all of the songs on both Dov & Alejandro’s respective Mount Rushmore as well as honorable mentions.
 
Timestamps:
Special Tribute (00:00)
Monologue (01:15)
Start of Interview (08:10)
Honorable Mentions (19:56)
Mount Rushmores (41:20)
Outro (1:58:27)

Monday Mar 11, 2024

In Dov’s sweet sixteenth episode, he finally breaks away entirely from rock, and instead focuses his attention on perhaps the most lionized rapper ever, 2pac. With such an eventful yet short life, he concentrates on 2pac’s early life, as well as his career as a solo artist. Since lyricism is such a key component of hip-hop music, much of the episode centers on the development of 2pac as a writer. Before naming a signature song, he first shares how he would describe the rapper at his finest. 
After the monologue, Dov is thrilled to be joined by his friend and coworker, Ashton Combs. Ashton is a music teacher, who has been involved in the music industry on the production side for years and has worked with famous names such as Lil Wayne, Sean Paul, and Trey Songz. Once Ashton stops laughing after hearing about Dov’s first memories of Hip-Hop, he shares his memories of 2pac’s death and speaks fondly of the impact of his life and music. 
 
Timestamps:
Intro: (00:00)
2pac’s Life & Career: (05:54)
Signature Sound/Signature Song Runners-Up: (23:55)
Signature Song Reveal: (34:08)
Interview with Producer & Musician, Ashton Combs: (38:37)
Outro: (01:09:17)

Monday Feb 05, 2024

On the third and final part of the “not exactly" 27 club episode, Ryan and Dov have a little fun and debate as to which 20th century male vocalists rank as the top 10 hard-rock singers. In the process, both Dov and Ryan inevitably imitate multiple singers on the list and Dov reveals which one is his doppelganger. Then the boys discuss the final member of the “not exactly" 27 club, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, who naturally wound up on both Dov and Ryan’s list. Within their back-and-forth, Ryan tells a story of how Alice in Chains became involved in a running joke in his high school friend group, and Dov mentions which animal he deems the “most metal.”

Monday Jan 22, 2024


On the second part of the “not exactly” 27 club episode, Dov is joined by unofficial co-host Ryan Gilman to update him on married life and tell him how Shannon Hoon played a key-role in his childhood back in Arizona. In addition, they each share the member that they feel most affected them as musicians. This discussion gives Dov the opportunity to tell Ryan a story about Jim Morrison that he’s probably told 16-thousand times. Dov also tells Ryan a few random 90s facts that somehow appear to have blown his mind. It really is wonderful they became friends. If not, Dov would just be sharing these useless facts to only his dog. 
 

Tuesday Jan 16, 2024

For the first of a three-part episode, Dov establishes a new group within popular musical lore, he calls the “Not Exactly” 27 Club. After relating an iconic blues trio from the 60s to the original member of the actual 27 club, Dov discusses the life and career of three tremendous rock frontmen that passed away far too young, but not exactly at the age of 27. Along with stories of each musician, Dov shares his own stories of how he became familiar with some of the members of this somber fraternity. Be sure to check out some of the songs mentioned on this episode by searching on spotify “Songs from the ‘Not Exactly’ 27 club.” 
 
Timestamps:
Introduction: (00:00)
Andy Wood (Mother Love Bone): (08:07)
Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon): (16:54)
Layne Staley (Alice in Chains): (27:18)
Conclusion: (45:21)
Outro: (46:43)

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