Well, this week’s episode of The Fred Minnick Show is a bit different. Instead of an interview and whiskey tasting with a guest, Fred took the airwaves to vent, in a way. Think of it as podcast therapy for Fred’s soul. His gripe? That Billy Idol never won a Grammy AND has never been inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Hey, we all know Fred is a music nerd, and when he learned this news recently, well, he decided to let off some steam in defense of the 1980s hitmaker, whose tunes include “White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell,” among others. For whiskey, he pairs whiskeys with his favorite Billy Idol songs.

Whiskey Pairings:

• “Dancing With Myself” – Woodinville
• “Rebel Yell” – Rebel Yell (duh!)
• “Mony, Mony” – Maker’s Mark
• “White Wedding” – Jack Daniel’s
• “Night Crawling” – Weller 12 Year Old
• “Eyes Without a Face” – Booker’s
• “Cradle of Love” – Tequila
• “Flesh of Fantasy” – Pappy Van Winkle
• “Catch My Fall” – Blade & Bow

EPISODE SUMMARY

Fred covers these topics:

• Fred’s two passions: Whiskey and music, which is why his show exists in the first place, to pair the two.
• Three Grammy nominations in his career? No wins. Fred’s not happy, and he calls out the industry for snubbing the spike-haired rocker. (Although in 1984, Idol lost to Bruce Springsteen, who pretty much owned America that year. But to lose in 1986 to Robert Palmer? Come ON.)
• Fred then moves through his favorite Billy Idol songs, pairing them with bourbons (see pairings above). During the podcast, he explains why he made his choices. (There’s one big surprise.)
• Also, Fred reminds listeners to check out his new show on DASH Radio, called “Minnick Minute.”
• He also urges everyone to check out his new whiskey club at CraftShack.com.
• Fred reveals his favorite Billy Idol song may just be “Eyes Without a Face,” in part because it was his first taste of the artist’s music.
• He pairs “Flesh of Fantasy” with Pappy Van Winkle because he feels the song showed the world Idol’s true singing talent, while Pappy bourbon showed the world the true promise of bourbon.
• Fred also notes that he has some exciting guests coming up, including NFL legend Charles Woodson, along with plenty of musicians with names you’ll know.

QUOTABLES

“I look at Billy Idol’s career and I think to myself, ‘This guy is a rock/pop icon.’ He completely changed the culture of what we think of as punk … He’s just got so many things that changed music.”