In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 261: Pee-Wee's Playhouse Turns 40, Famous Fictional Bands, The US Festival(9-23-2026)

 

The simultaneous success and failure of the US Festival. Pee-Wee's Playhouse hits the Big 4-0. Some famous fictional bands.

Episode 261 welcomes fall with a show featuring varying shades of GenX nostalgia.

It all begins with what could have been the next big evolution in music festivals. The US Festival had some of the biggest names in music and technology in the early 1980s. In many ways it was a resounding success, but financially it was an abject failure. What happened? We will look into the whole story.

This week's secret word is forty, as in forty years. Pee-Wee's Playhouse entertained and, yes, educated 1980s kids. From the mind of Paul Reubens, this mashup of many different types of entertainment took Saturdays in the 80s by storm. We celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pee-Wee's Playhouse this week.

The Top 5 is real, but none of the musical acts featured in it are. We are going to look at some of the most famous fictional bands ever. Fun fact: three of these bands scored number one hits.

This week, we also have a brand-new This Week In History and Time Capsule looking back at when the fictional cartoon band The Archies scored a #1 hit song.

To support me and the show, become a member on Patreon. 

Or you can support my work and Buy Me A Coffee!

Helpful Links from this Episode

• Buy My New Book, In Their Footsteps!
• Searching For the Lady of the Dunes True Crime Book
• Hooked By Kiwi - Etsy.com
• DJ Williams Music
• KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
• MSFTS Community
• Kingfisher Hotels Cape Cod
• Christopher Setterlund.com
• Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store
• Subscribe on YouTube!
• Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog
• CJSetterlundPhotos on Etsy
• Pee-Wee Park

Listen to Episode 260 here

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 260: The Muppet Show, 1970s Music Fails, A Bus That Acts Like A Dog?, 2Pac(9-16-2026)

 

The debut of The Muppet Show. Some of the music fails of the 1970s. A school bus that acts like a dog?

Summer is ending, but the Gen-X nostalgia continues with Episode 260.

We start off with a look back to the debut of the original Muppet Show, which occurred 50 years ago this month. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and so many more classic characters burst onto television sets and became cultural icons. This segment gives an overview and is only the beginning of the Muppet content.

A school bus that acts like a dog? What sort of acid trip created that idea? Who knows. What we do know is that this is the main plot behind the odd 1970s educational short film The Big Yellow Fellow. We will review this insanity and see if there are any valuable lessons to be learned. 

The 1970s had some amazing music. From Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd, all four Beatles' solo work, and more. This week's Top 5 will have none of them. Instead, we will look at some of the biggest musical fails of the 1970s. Lots of bad music and bad choices abound.

There is also a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule looking back at the life and career of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur 30 years after his death.

To support me and the show, become a member on Patreon. 

Or you can support my work and Buy Me A Coffee!

Helpful Links from this Episode

• Buy My New Book, In Their Footsteps!
• Searching For the Lady of the Dunes True Crime Book
• Hooked By Kiwi - Etsy.com
• DJ Williams Music
• KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
• MSFTS Community
• Kingfisher Hotels Cape Cod
• Christopher Setterlund.com
• Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store
• Subscribe on YouTube!
• Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog
• CJSetterlundPhotos on Etsy
• 9/11 25 Years Later

Listen to Mixtape #5 here

Goodbye Dolly

Live your life in a way that, when you pass, hundreds of millions of people feel like they have lost a loved one. That is the sentiment I felt while scrolling social media after the death of music icon and humanitarian icon Dolly Parton at age 80 this week.

Her music touched generations, but her contributions to society touched so many more. She made life better for countless people whom she never met. I have been reading dozens of stories from celebrities and ordinary people about their interactions and connections to Dolly.

Anything I could write about her life and career could easily be found by doing a quick Google search. I won’t waste time telling you things you could easily find yourselves. I never met her. I don’t have any stories of interacting with her. However, one thing I can do is explain why she had meaning to me in my life.

At the root, it’s actually quite simple. Dolly Parton reminded me of my Nina, and vice versa. They both were tiny, smart, beautiful, full of fire, and owners of a lot of blonde hair that may or may not have been theirs.

When I was a kid in the 1980s, my Nina felt to me like she was a mix of a whole lot of Dolly and a large dash of Tina Turner. No, she wasn’t a celebrity. She did run the first all-women’s fitness center on Cape Cod, and she was a great jazz singer, along with my Grampa, but not famous. Above all else, she was a genuinely loving and caring person who made you feel like you mattered when you were around her. That, I believe, is how Dolly made people feel.

There were times throughout my life when I felt like in some alternate timeline Dolly Parton was my Nina and my Nina was a world-famous entertainer. My Nina definitely could command a room, and Dolly had said that because she couldn't have children, she was 'everybody's mother.' So maybe I wasn't too far off.

It’s interesting. I have never shared that story or those thoughts ever. I’m not sure why. Maybe it sounded weird to compare my grandmother, who I knew, to celebrities I likely would never meet. Maybe I was afraid of being mocked or ridiculed. Not by my family, mind you; I am sure my Nina would have found it flattering. I mean, after all, I was comparing her to two titans of the entertainment world. Still, I kept that little anecdote locked away until now.

To sum it up, in a small way, losing Dolly Parton felt like losing my Nina again.

My Nina and Dolly Parton at roughly the same age, around 40.

My introduction to Dolly was through her seminal film 9 to 5. It was released in 1980, when I was three years old. I didn’t see it then, but it was on rotation on cable during the mid 1980s. Having a young mother and three sisters meant that I was dealt a heavy dose of female-led movies. 9 to 5 was one among many, including Dirty Dancing and Mannequin.

I can remember seeing Dolly in 9 to 5 and being amazed at how much she reminded me of my Nina. Granted, I was probably seven or eight, but that young perception became reality.

As I grew up, I learned of how important and accomplished she was almost by accident. When I heard Whitney Houston sing ‘I Will Always Love You,’ I learned that Dolly Parton wrote it. When I heard this really great Hawaiian jam called ‘Islands In the Stream’ by a group called Ten Feet, I learned that Dolly Parton sang the original with Kenny Rogers.

Later on in adulthood, I learned of her enormous impact outside of music. I was battling depression and questions of self-esteem and self-worth throughout my twenties. This is where I began to seek out inspirational quotes and just general quotes about life and healing.

When you feel lost, confused, maybe a bit worthless, you look for something, anything, to provide a little clarity. I didn’t look to just anybody. I looked for words of wisdom from people who not only succeeded, but did it as genuinely good people.

This is where Dolly Parton played her second important role in my life. She provided comfort and familiarity since I saw her in some ways as a stand-in for my Nina as a child. Then, as an adult, her words provided light in dark times.

Sure, there were other people whose quotes helped to part the dark clouds around my mind, but Dolly was as important as any of them. I am certain that there are so many others like me who were shown care without her even realizing it.

Dolly left such a wide range of gifts to the world that I think it would be hard not to be moved or inspired by something she did. Her skill as a musician, a lyricist, a singer, and an overall presence likely was enough. Her philanthropy, at the very least, equaled her musical prowess.

For me, there are a few of Dolly’s quotes that remain important in my life. I mentioned earlier battling depression off and on throughout my adulthood. I also have been on a creative journey for decades.

I wanted to be a writer from the time I was eight. I wanted to be a filmmaker starting in high school, even purchasing a big, bulky Sears camcorder in 1994. I always felt my path didn’t involve a (no pun intended) nine-to-five job. I always wanted, no needed, to be something more than that.

Maybe that goes back to the self-worth and confidence issues stemming from childhood. Maybe I felt that if I wasn’t greater than expected, I would be seen as far less than. But how do you chase your dreams and still stay true to who you are inside? Ask Dolly Parton.

The quotes that feed my soul have to do with each of those things I mentioned.





Those both speak to me. One, in terms of dealing with the hard times, for me, the bouts of depression and self-doubt. Secondly, the feeling that walking the same path as most others just didn’t fit who I wanted to be.

Many of you reading this likely have other Dolly quotes that speak to you. That’s the idea. We might all enter this orbit of grief and admiration from different roads, but they all end up connecting in the end.

That might be Dolly’s greatest gift. She unified so many people. Her death felt like losing a loved one to likely hundreds of millions of people. There are very few celebrities who are as universally loved and admired as Dolly Parton.

I have seen many people I admired in the entertainment industry pass away; very few have I felt the urge to write my own thoughts about. Even as I write this, I periodically stop and scroll social media to read stories of Dolly from fans and other celebrities.

She might have left this world, but there are still gifts from her to come in the years ahead. I have read things about a musical of her life, dolls, dog treats, coffee, and best of all, an unreleased song. That last one we have to wait until her 100th birthday in 2046, though.

Dolly Parton might be gone, but the stories told of her will keep her alive. Just as my Nina might be gone, but I do my best to keep her memory alive. This includes sharing a very private, if not a little embarrassing, story of how she reminded me of Dolly and vice versa. 

Goodbye Dolly. You left an impact on this world far greater than most people could ever dream. Thank you for reminding me of my Nina. Thank you for your words to remind me that “if you tell yourself enough nice things, eventually, you’ll believe them too.”

If you happen to bump into my Nina, maybe you could sing a duet, lead a fitness class, or exchange hair tips? We will always love you, Dolly. And I will always love you, Nina.

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 257: Super Nintendo's Debut, Legacy of the Original Woodstock, 1990s Celebrity Crushes(8-19-2026)

 

The original music festival. The follow-up to the king of video game consoles. Some favorite 1990s celebrity crushes.

Episode 257 has a batch of Gen-X nostalgia, hot and fresh out of the oven like Poppin' Fresh dough.

It starts with a look back at the original, and many say, greatest, music festival. Woodstock occurred this week in history in 1969 and changed not only music but the culture of a generation. However, it ended up being a success pulled from the jaws of failure. A larger-than-expected crowd, food shortages, bad weather, and more could have sunk the event before it happened. Instead, it helped make it one of the most important events in music history.

Now you're playing with power...super power. How do you follow up the most successful video game console ever made? If you are Nintendo, you take your time. 35 years ago this week, the 16-bit Super Nintendo made its debut in America. Sega Genesis had a two-year head start, so how would the SNES fare? Far better than they could have imagined. 

How many of these celebrities adorned the walls of your bedroom? This week's Top 5 is all about the biggest 1990s celebrity crushes. Male, female, actors, musicians, it's all covered here.

Of course, there is a brand-new This Week in History and Time Capsule, featuring the ultimate bad-luck story of a person being struck by two consecutive foul balls at a baseball game.

To support me and the show, become a member on Patreon. 

Or you can support my work and Buy Me A Coffee!

Helpful Links from this Episode

• Buy My New Book, In Their Footsteps!
• Searching For the Lady of the Dunes True Crime Book
• Hooked By Kiwi - Etsy.com
• DJ Williams Music
• KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
• MSFTS Community
• Kingfisher Hotels Cape Cod
• Christopher Setterlund.com
• Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store
• Subscribe on YouTube!
• Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog
• CJSetterlundPhotos on Etsy
• Retro Games.cz

Listen to Episode 256 here