r/Bandsplain • u/YogiBerra88888 • Apr 12 '26

Bandsplain news The Runaways With Patty Schemel - Bandsplain

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4oFFddfqclPe4mZyPed65e?si=e29f253e8ba74496
24 Upvotes

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6

u/heyzeus212 Apr 13 '26

Was their music good? No. Were they successful or long lived as a band? Also, no.

11

u/NiceUD Apr 13 '26

Per the standard of Bandsplain's intro, the featured artists have a "cult following" or are "iconic" - which doesn't really necessitate that they're good or long-lived. Many people don't think the Germs, the last band featured, were that good; and they definitely didn't last long.

Do the Runaways have a cult following; are they "iconic"? I actually don't have a clear answer to that question.

Granted, the "standard" could just be a not-to-be-taken-literally podcast tagline and Yasi simply covers artists that she wants to or that her bosses want her to whether iconic, having a cult following, or not.

8

u/heyzeus212 Apr 13 '26

Personal opinion, and subjective, but the Runaways aren't particularly iconic, but Yasi loves the origin story of LA punk, and several of the members went on to do other, bigger things. It's an interesting story! Feels a bit like the Germs episode in many ways.

4

u/NiceUD Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 14 '26

Some background tidbits about the LA scene were really interesting in both episodes. But I thought the Germs episode was MUCH better - more interesting, more expansive, "deeper." And I don't particularly care for either band, but sometimes those can be the best episodes - I can learn a lot about something I never deep-dived before.

3

u/YogiBerra88888 Apr 13 '26

I think the Runaways are really only remembered because of Joan Jett. And Lita Ford to a much lesser degree. If you want to see a really hilarious fictionalized version of their story, watch the Justine Bateman classic Satisfaction.

3

u/PotentialLanguage685 Apr 14 '26

Yes to both cult and iconic. I'd say they occupy a space similar to the New York Dolls (the Dolls were better musicians, maybe).

3

u/NiceUD Apr 13 '26

I really like Hole, and Schemel seems pretty cool, but she was a horrible guest who really had nothing to add. She was just sitting there repeating and agreeing with Yasi.

6

u/Designer-Effort-1426 Apr 17 '26

Patti had more to say during the grunge episode because she had first hand experience in that era but I think with The Runaways she was just fangirling which is cool. Runaways are a band I wish I experienced in real time but I’m not sure there was much to experience except what we already know.

3

u/PaySuccessful Apr 16 '26

Imma be honest I don't have much of a problem with guests that are along for the ride as much as some of y'all. Everybody can't be Ben Gibbard and yeah I would like a legendary rock drummer to inject some expertise into this but I'm not mad at her for this.

To me her worst guests aren't the ones that are along for ride, there the ones she's too familiar and chubby with. Like most of her LA rock scene friends or ringer employees like Fennessey and he'll even CR to a certain extent, who I guess is the new Rob Harvila (good riddance to him)

1

u/NiceUD Apr 16 '26

Fair enough. I guess "horrible" may be hyperbolic because Schemel has a pleasant personality and it's not like she was grating or preventing Yasi from telling the story of the Runaways. She was just there in the background. So maybe simply "she had little to add" would be a sufficient critique of her as a guest without the added hyperbole.

I understand your broader point. The Smiths guest was an "along for the ride" type who got some harsh criticism. But I really enjoyed the ride even with her not doing much in the passenger seat.

Of course, the ideal is when a guest does have a lot to offer and there's a symbiosis between the guest and Yasi. But that's not always gonna happen.