Have you tried the tastiest drink of the 80’s, “Remember Me” Soda? It’s a drink so good you’ll never forget its great taste! Don’t take our word for it, just ask Joy as she uses this beverage to quench her thirst while playing a brand new game. Grab your smarty pass to hear Pop of the Past. We guarantee you won’t forget it!

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Now entering Brains On headquarters.

[BEEP]

[DOOR OPENING]

JOY DOLO: Hey there, smarty pals. You just caught me opening a bottle of Remember Me soda. It's a super rare soda from the '80s well known for its taste and cool effect.

[GASPS] It's my favorite producers, Anna Goldfield and Ruby Guthrie! What are you two silly buttons up to?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Hey, Joy. Ruby and I are off to the ferret farm. Ruby said I couldn't juggle six ferrets, so I need to prove her wrong.

RUBY GUTHRIE: I didn't say "couldn't." I said "shouldn't." Those ferrets have a union now. And because of that, we aren't allowed to juggle them or any other animal.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Man, when did the critters around here get so organized?

RUBY GUTHRIE: Wait. Joy, what are you drinking?

JOY DOLO: Oh, this? It's just my vintage cola, Remember Me soda.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Holy legwarmers! I remember Remember Me soda.

(SINGING) It's got a refreshing taste you can't forget

RUBY GUTHRIE: Wow! What does it taste like?

JOY DOLO: Ruby, she just said it's a taste you can't forget.

RUBY GUTHRIE: OK, right. But what does that taste like?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: OK. So it tastes like not forgetting.

RUBY GUTHRIE: So, is that, like, sweet or sour?

JOY DOLO: No. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's a taste you can't forget. Remember when we told you that?

RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: That's what it tastes like.

RUBY GUTHRIE: You're saying this beverage tastes like remembering?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah.

RUBY GUTHRIE: How is that even possible?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Well, it was made in the '80s, just like me. Everything was possible back then. Where's the beef? Hi top fades, moonwalking. It was a wild decade. Joy, you remember how great the '80s were?

JOY DOLO: Ooh! I do now. Hey, Anna, remember this killer '80s song?

(SINGING) It's in the trees

It's coming

When I was a child

Running in the night

Afraid of what might be

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah, that's Hounds of Love.

JOY DOLO: It is! Great song.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Great album, honestly.

RUBY GUTHRIE: So, you're telling me you took a sip of the drink and remembered a song?

JOY DOLO: That's what's great about Remember Me soda. It makes you remember things, even things you never knew. Here, just to show you, we'll play a game of pop of the past. I'll take a sip of my soda, remember a super old song, give you two a sample of that song, and it'll be up to you to tell me what decade the song came from.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Are we even allowed to play popular songs on our shows?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: It's just like juggling ferrets, Ruby. If you only do it a little, nobody gets hurt.

JOY DOLO: Let's play! First, I'll take a sip. That's good. What a great song! OK, you two, tell me what decade this song came from.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Ruby, do you that the song is?

RUBY GUTHRIE: It sounds familiar, but I can't place it. But I love like, I don't know. I just picture I'm in a dim basement and someone's playing piano.

JOY DOLO: Oh, OK. OK. Here's a hint. Here's a hint of what the song is.

[VOCALIZING]

RUBY GUTHRIE: Aretha!

JOY DOLO: Yeah.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah, Aretha Franklin. So it's Motown. So it's '50s, '60s.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Or, yeah, maybe early '60s.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah. Late '50s, early '60s. I mean, the fact that we have to guess a decade makes me think that it's not like in a transitional year.

JOY DOLO: Yes.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: I think Motown, and correct me if I'm off on this, but I think Motown came a little bit after the Beatles first became, they were sort of co-- Little Richard came before the Beatles and influenced the Beatles a lot, and that was the early Motown sound. So I'm going to say '60s.

JOY DOLO: Ooh. That's really great.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, I would also agree. But to be different, I'll just say '50s.

JOY DOLO: You know what, Ruby? Good for you thinking for yourself. Unfortunately, Ruby, you're wrong. You shouldn't have done that.

RUBY GUTHRIE: I should have stuck with my gut.

JOY DOLO: So, this classic soul song came out in 1968, like a huge influential year in the United States. It was written by Franklin and is easily regarded as one of her best songs.

But funny enough, the song would gain greater prominence 12 years after its release. It would be played in the '80s classic comedy The Blues Brothers. Ask your parents. Yeah. Oh, you know.

RUBY GUTHRIE: My grandpa loves The Blues Brothers.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Man, I haven't seen that in decades.

JOY DOLO: Yeah, yeah. It's something for the parents and grandparents. In the movie, Franklin plays a waitress who sings the songs.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Is the song called Think?

JOY DOLO: It's called Think. Think by Aretha Franklin, yeah.

(SINGING) You better think, think, think

Think about what you're trying to do to me

Yes, think, think, think

All right. That's enough singing. I think it's time for round two. And that means I got to take another sip.

(SINGING) About a sip, sip, sip.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: (SINGING) You better drink, drink

JOY DOLO: Oh, yeah. It was so good. It just made me remember a tune. OK. Tell me what decade this ditty came from.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh, no. What is that?

JOY DOLO: Oh, yeah. If not, I've got a little Joy karaoke for you because I know this song, too.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Can we hear it again?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ANNA GOLDFIELD: It's like another soul classic, but--

RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, maybe if the last one was '60s, I'm thinking maybe this is '70s.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: I agree with you.

JOY DOLO: Do you think we'd make it that easy?

RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah.

[LAUGHTER]

RUBY GUTHRIE: Well, it's like when I think of '80s, that's very synthesizer heavy in my mind.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah, the beats are different.

RUBY GUTHRIE: And I think of '90s of being very grungy or more like hip hop or R&B. And this just feels like funky.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: No, this is soul.

RUBY GUTHRIE: And that's the '70s.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah.

JOY DOLO: All right. So we're going with the '70s. I will give you an extra credit point if you could tell me what the song is. Here's a little chorus.

[VOCALIZING]

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh, yeah, yeah. Gladys Knight & the Pips. Midnight Train to Georgia.

JOY DOLO: There it is! There it is.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Very nice, Anna.

JOY DOLO: Very good. This moving song came out in 1973 and has a fascinating history involving planes, trains, and actor Farrah Fawcett. So Midnight--

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh.

JOY DOLO: I know.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Not automobiles, OK.

JOY DOLO: So Midnight Train to Georgia was originally written by Jim Weatherly. And the story goes that back in the 1970s, Weatherly called his friend, actor Lee Majors, but his girlfriend, Farrah Fawcett, answered. The two talked a bit, and she mentioned she was packing her clothes and she was going to take the midnight plane to Houston to visit her family. The line stuck in Weatherly's head, and he wrote the song Midnight Plane to Houston.

So Weatherly-- this is good. Weatherly later gave the song to singer Cissy Houston, who then changed the name and lyrics for one particular reason, saying, "My people are originally from Georgia, and they didn't take planes to Houston or anywhere else." So they changed the song to Midnight Train to Georgia. And later, Gladys Knight & the Pips would make it a hit.

RUBY GUTHRIE: What a journey.

JOY DOLO: It's time for another sip. OK, here comes round three in just a quick little taste. Love that jam. OK, guys, tell me what decade this song came from.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[LAUGHTER]

RUBY GUTHRIE: The way I have no idea and the way everyone else is like, yep.

JOY DOLO: Ruby, can I ask you how old are you?

RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, I'm 27 tomorrow.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Wow. OK.

JOY DOLO: That makes sense though.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Yeah.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Which makes me think it's from the '90s.

[LAUGHTER]

ANNA GOLDFIELD: You are correct. This is the song where neither the title nor the artist is going to make any sense, so it's going to sound like I'm talking gibberish, but this is Tubthumping by Chumbawamba.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, this is Chumbawamba. Look, I do know about the--

JOY DOLO: Yes, Chumbawamba. I love a Chumbawamba.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: I don't know any other of Mr. Chumba or Wamba's other hits, but I know this one.

JOY DOLO: Well, yeah. I mean, you're right. It is the '90s. So this is a song by the band Chumbawamba, and it came out in 1997.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, my gosh. That's when I was born.

JOY DOLO: That's why you don't know it, Ruby.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, perhaps.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh, boy.

JOY DOLO: (SINGING) I get knocked down

But I get up again

You're never going to keep me down.

RUBY GUTHRIE: I know that song, yeah.

JOY DOLO: And the band says it's about how strong and resilient ordinary people are. That's why it really bothers the band when powerful people like politicians use the song at their events. They say politicians are the opposite of the audience they wrote it for.

They wrote it for us, Ruby. They wrote it for us, Anna. "I get knocked down, but I get up again." Chumbawamba.

RUBY GUTHRIE: (SINGING) You're never going to keep me down

I get knocked down

JOY DOLO: Now for round four. This one's for all the marbles. Wait. Oh, no.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Joy, what's wrong?

JOY DOLO: I'm all out of soda! I must have finished it with that last song memory, Chumbawamba.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Well, can't we get more?

JOY DOLO: No. They discontinued the drink back in the '80s.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Why?

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Oh. It's supposed to give you super bad hiccups, if I remember.

JOY DOLO: That's [HICCUPS] just [HICCUPS] a myth [HICCUPS].

RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, boy.

[THEME MUSIC]

JOY DOLO: This Smarty Pass episode was made by Aron Woldeslassie. Our executive producer is Beth Pearlman and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Bye-bye.

RUBY GUTHRIE: Bye.

ANNA GOLDFIELD: Bye.

[THEME MUSIC]

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