Episode 5: Work It Out

This week, your Regarding…Slang hosts Wolfie, Scotzo, podcasting overlord Corey, and Chaz welcome back Van Halen expert David "Loud Dave" Criblez from the Dave and Dave Unclained podcast, as they tackle Def Leppard's second single from Slang: "Work It Out."

It's straight into why this Vivian Campbell-penned track might be Def Leppard's most commercial underrated gem—or at least the one song that proves Joe Elliott doesn't need to hit the stratosphere to sound great.

The song itself? Written entirely by Vivian Campbell, it sits perfectly in Joe's lower register and strips away the signature Mutt Lange production sheen for something that feels like you're watching the band rehearse. It's got industrial touches without going full Nine Inch Nails, a 40-second instrumental section that lets the music breathe, and lyrics about actually working through relationship problems instead of just rocking out or walking the effin dog or taking out the trash...

This episode features:

🎸 David's passionate breakdown of why this is Joe Elliott channeling his inner Iggy Pop

🤔 The eternal Def Leppard dilemma: half experimental songs, half playing it safe, like Joe's mullet "business up front, party in the back"

🗳️ The revelation that this was Chaz's only Def Leppard song to make his wedding playlist

🎵 Bonus tracks: Vivian's original Dublin demo

🎵 🎵 B-side "Move With Me Slowly"—a Stones-flavored jam that sounds like five guys who actually know how to play their instruments

Hidden throughout: Mullet references, Michael Anthony's "flag on the back of his head" hair, and the growing realization that when Def Leppard strips away the candy coating, they're capable of so much more than their hit formula suggests.

Special Bonus: The episode includes "Move With Me Slowly," a track so effortlessly cool and Stones-influenced that it becomes everyone's new favorite Def Leppard song by episode's end. It's proof that sometimes the best music happens when a band just plugs in and jams. Pay attention, Kevin Brown.

The Show

Three guys who are various stages of Def Leppard fans, and a guy who's just heard the hits (maybe...some of them.) Join the guys over a plate of Buffalo Chicken Wings as they give Def Leppard's 1996 album Slang an honest listen and try to figure out just what the hell "Slang" means anyways. Is it too late for love or can we work it out to find a way to get Slang the love and affection it deserves? Listen as we listen so you don't have to, and discover for yourself. Proudly sponsored by podcastle.ai and fourstringmedia, not by Romney's Everest Kendal Mints or Buffalo Chicken Wings in general. Do you like Def Leppard? We like Def Leppard. Yep.

GO BONELESS

Certified boneless in the state of Ohio by the Boneless Podcasting Network. Go Boneless. Boneless Makes a Better Podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 4: All I Want Is Everything

This week, your Regarding…Slang hosts Wolfie, Scotzo, podcasting overlord Corey, and Chaz are joined by Michael Pastore as they tackle one of Def Leppard’s saddest turns into balladry: “All I Want Is Everything.”

Before the song even spins, the guys detour through RushFest Toronto stories, bot-spam in the DMs, and a full-on Chazgasm about why Joe Elliott should get more credit as a lyricist. From there, things go off the rails: Corey calls the track “U2-like” and “Tom Petty-esque,” which is basically the podcasting equivalent of pushing Kevin Brown off a cliff in a straight-jacket. Somewhere out there, Kevin’s ears are bleeding while Chaz argues this is a dirge, Wolfie swears it’s hopeful, and Michael Pastore just wants to call it a breakup song.

The song itself? A stripped-back, unusually sad moment in the Slang experiment, or even the entire Def Leppard catalog, with Joe saying it’s about “birth, death, and divorce” while Rick Savage once claimed it was about a man dying of AIDS. Whatever the truth, there’s no sugar or sparkle—just regret, grief, and one of Leppard’s rawest ever recordings.

This episode features:

🎸 A fight over whether Joe Elliott’s lyrics are Dylan-esque genius or just “serviceable”, and why Paul Simon is a "punk"
🥁 Why the stripped-down recording makes it sound almost live in the studio
🤔 Debating why Peter Gabriel gets praised for world music experiments while Def Leppard gets their nuts roasted
📻 A completely unnecessary but inevitable and enjoyable digression into Traveling Wilburys fan casting
🗳️ No clear verdict—just confusion, conflict, and the creeping suspicion Kevin Brown may never speak to Corey again

Hidden gem? Funeral dirge? Def Leppard’s most un-Leppard moment? Whatever it is, the Tom Petty-esque comparisons will send Kevin Brown screaming off a cliff — and we’ll be listening for every second of the fall...

The Show

Three guys who are various stages of Def Leppard fans, and a guy who’s just heard the hits (maybe...some of them.) Join the guys over a plate of Buffalo Chicken Wings as they give Def Leppard’s 1996 album Slang an honest listen and try to figure out just what the hell “Slang” means anyways. Is it too late for love or can we work it out to find a way to get Slangthe love and affection it deserves? Listen as we listen so you don’t have to, and discover for yourself. Proudly sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcastle.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fourstringmedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, not by ⁠⁠Romney's Everest Kendal Mints⁠⁠ or Buffalo Chicken Wings in general. Do you like Def Leppard? We like Def Leppard. Yep.

The Show

Three guys who are various stages of Def Leppard fans, and a guy who's just heard the hits (maybe...some of them.) Join the guys over a plate of Buffalo Chicken Wings as they give Def Leppard's 1996 album Slang an honest listen and try to figure out just what the hell "Slang" means anyways. Is it too late for love or can we work it out to find a way to get Slang the love and affection it deserves? Listen as we listen so you don't have to, and discover for yourself. Proudly sponsored by podcastle.ai and fourstringmedia, not by Romney's Everest Kendal Mints or Buffalo Chicken Wings in general. Do you like Def Leppard? We like Def Leppard. Yep.

GO BONELESS

Certified boneless in the state of Ohio by the Boneless Podcasting Network. Go Boneless. Boneless Makes a Better Podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 3: Slang

This week, your Regarding… Slang hosts Wolfie, Scotzo, podcasting overlord Corey, and Chaz are joined by Middle-Earth's own, podcaster Kevin Brown — a man who openly loathes Joe Elliott’s voice — as they take on the funky, polarizing, and utterly un-Leppard title track: “Slang.”

But before we get to the track, there’s a winding path through podcasting mission statements, Chaz’s questionable decision-making as a Def Leppard evangelist, Kevin’s blunt assessments of Joe’s pipes, and the age-old question: What the hell is wrong with Chaz for trying to sell a hater on one of if not the weirdest song this band ever released?

The song itself? It’s got Rick Allen on a full acoustic kit for the first time since his accident, guitars that pop and snap instead of roar, and lyrics that may or may not be about phone sex. The band thought it was a bold lead single. The fans? Well…

This episode features:
🎸 The song’s origins - a Phil Collen/Joe Elliott bass groove with a “Billie Jean” feel, aiming for a band-in-a-room vibe rather than Mutt Lange’s polished assembly line.
🥁 Rick Allen’s return to acoustic drums – and why it changed the song’s feel completely
🤔 The ongoing mystery - what the hell is “slang” in this context? Phone sex? Throwaway lyric?
🗳️ A unanimous Fade Away vote – proving that even if it’s funky, it’s not for everyone

As the Regarding… crew digs into “Slang,” they wrestle with its identity: a noble experiment, a funky misfire, or just Def Leppard having a mid-90s identity crisis? And more importantly — can Raw Joe make Kevin Brown flinch a little less? With more wank than Spanked, it's Corey's go-to to stroke his...desire for a Leppard sound he finds familiar, like a creepy Uncle's hand on your knee...he just doesn't want to get his hand's dirty. Join us for an utter cluster-cluck of a listen. Yeti-Yeti-Yeti-Yeti-Yo

The Show

Three guys who are various stages of Def Leppard fans, and a guy who’s just heard the hits (maybe...some of them.) Join the guys over a plate of Buffalo Chicken Wings as they give Def Leppard’s 1996 album Slang and honest listen and try to figure out just what the hell “Slang” means anyways. Is it too late for love or can we work it out to find a way to get Slang the love and affection it deserves? Listen as we listen so you don’t have to, and discover for yourself. Proudly sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcastle.ai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fourstringmedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, not by ⁠⁠Romney's Everest Kendal Mints⁠⁠ or Buffalo Chicken Wings in general. Do you like Def Leppard? We like Def Leppard. Yep.

The Show

Three guys who are various stages of Def Leppard fans, and a guy who's just heard the hits (maybe...some of them.) Join the guys over a plate of Buffalo Chicken Wings as they give Def Leppard's 1996 album Slang an honest listen and try to figure out just what the hell "Slang" means anyways. Is it too late for love or can we work it out to find a way to get Slang the love and affection it deserves? Listen as we listen so you don't have to, and discover for yourself. Proudly sponsored by podcastle.ai and fourstringmedia, not by Romney's Everest Kendal Mints or Buffalo Chicken Wings in general. Do you like Def Leppard? We like Def Leppard. Yep.

GO BONELESS

Certified boneless in the state of Ohio by the Boneless Podcasting Network. Go Boneless. Boneless Makes a Better Podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.