Brian is joined by thegreatalbums.com's blog author (and previous on-air guest) Jeff Fiedler to discuss the recent passing of Prince Rodgers Nelson who died suddenly and unexpectedly on April 21, 2016. They queue up six of their favorites, talking about his immense influence over the 80s and early 90s. Jeff talks about a fortuitous Prince-related Halloween experience and Brian recounts a fateful drive with his friends when he was only 18. Along the way they touch on the fact that Prince, even in...
May 02, 2016•56 min
We find John Lennon in the throes of wicked productivity during his "Lost Weekend." This time, instead of producing an album for himself or for Harry Nilsson, or writing with David Bowie, he's helming the boards for Mick Jagger on a funky version of an old blues standard. They are joined by Jim Keltner on drums and Cream's Jack Bruce on bass along with a host of Stones-related sidemen to produce what Brian believes is the best post-Exile Stones-related thing available.
Apr 28, 2016•13 min
Brian flies solo this week for a full episode, deciding to tackle one of John Lennon's less-regarded, but no less amazing albums; 1974's Walls & Bridges. Recorded during Lennon's legendary "Lost Weekend," W&B finds its creator at a personal and professional crossroads. And by the time we get to the end, Lennon has logged two Top 10 hits (including his first #1) and come to the realization that - while going out and having fun every night might be great for a little while - there's truly ...
Apr 25, 2016•54 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian discuss Gin Blossoms' "Til I Hear It from You" from the Empire Record soundtrack. Bill explains the legendary cult 90s film to Brian as they break down what makes the song great!
Apr 21, 2016•27 min
Bill and Brian delight in sharing their admiration for what may be a sometimes overlooked gem from the early 90s, the Gin Blossoms' New Miserable Experience (1992. A&M). Known as a hardworking band that loves the rigors of touring, the Tempe, AZ natives spent years toiling in obscurity, even spending over a year promoting this album, before they finally broke through to the mainstream with their third single "Hey Jealousy." The success was unfortunately timed, however, as founding member and...
Apr 18, 2016•1 hr 57 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian waxes rhapsodic about one of his favorite songs and how it manages to blend free jazz, rock and roll, classical, and the avant garde to create a profound new sound. He takes a few emails from listeners, as well, shedding insight into how exactly The Strokes drumming is so precise. Brian also touches on the Ice Cube v. Gene Simmons "Is rap music eligible for the rock hall of fame" controversy.
Apr 14, 2016•14 min
Bill and Brian had a lot to do as Easter came early and Bill was prepping for his extensive trip to India, so they made it easy on themselves by sitting down to talk about another 10 great songs! We discuss songs from the Dollys, Frank Sinatra, Emitt Rhodes, Scott Walker, Bob Dylan, Teenage Fanclub, Nada Surf, Plumtree, Band of Horses, the Decemberists.
Apr 11, 2016•1 hr 26 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! And that means Brian and Bill once again join forces to discuss a single song. This week, we follow up our conversation with Savannah Pope of SpaceCream (spacecreamband.com) about David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by discussing a slightly less regarded section of his discography in the 80s, "Let's Dance." We talk about Nile Rodgers and Stevie Ray Vaughn's influence on the song as well as Bowie's career trajectory through the 80s...
Apr 07, 2016•31 min
Savannah Pope, singer for LA based glam rock outfit SpaceCream (spacecreamband.com), joins Bill and Brian via the magic of Skype to discuss David Bowie's seminal glam album the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972, RCA). What more needs to be said about Bowie that hasn't been done in the months since his death in January? He was an iconic artist that defined glam rock for many. On this episode, Savannah shares how she discovered Bowie as a teenager at reform school and...
Apr 04, 2016•1 hr 48 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! And Bill regales everyone with a story of listening to Pavement via YouTube and first connecting with this song from their album Terror Twilight (1999, Matador). Additionally, we pulled an unaired excerpt from the episode on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain in which our guest, blogger Jim Appio (cooldadmusic.com), talks with Bill and Brian about success and what means for musicians and their art.
Mar 31, 2016•19 min
The cool dad himself, blogger Jim Appio (cooldadmusic.com), joins Brian and Bill to talk about Pavement's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994, Matador). The brainchild of singer songwriter Stephen Malkmus, the band grew it's reputation as indie alternative auteurs with a series of EPs before releasing their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, and becoming a touring band proper. They followed up with this "breakthrough" album that, although it only made a small impression commercially, has gone on t...
Mar 28, 2016•2 hr 1 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian follow up their conversation with Ed and Alice Magdziak from youdontknowjersey.com about the Beastie Boys debut album by cherry picking a huge hit from the middle of the band's career, "Intergalactic" from 1998's Hello Nasty. The gentlemen discuss why Brian isn't particularly a fan of the song, how the Beastie Boys no longer had to prove themselves, why John Fugelsang's VH1 Top 20 Countdown was better than Total Request Live, the song's cool video, and th...
Mar 24, 2016•24 min
Bill and Brian welcome bloggers Ed and Alice Magdziak from youdontknowjersey.com to help us talk about what makes Beastie Boys' License to Ill great. Formed by 3 teenage New Yorkers who held the burgeoning rap scene of the early 80s in the same regard as the hardcore punk they grew up on, the band went on to release a huge cross over hit that was only a hint at the critically acclaimed and influential series of albums they would produce. Alice and Ed discuss their very different experiences disc...
Mar 21, 2016•2 hr 3 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! And Bill goes solo to share a little more about his experience with Biggie Smalls' music by covering his nerdy middle school years and (poorly) dancing to this track at his school's monthly dances. Additionally, Bill reads a couple of listener emails where we learn how Billboard incorporates streams into their metrics, what bros do at Dave Matthews Band concerts, and what bros do at Pearl Jam shows!
Mar 17, 2016•15 min
A few weeks ago, Adam from the Driving in the Dark podcast kindly sent us an intriguing and convincing email on the virtues of rap music, pointing to The Notorious BIG's Ready to Die (1994, Bad Boy) as a great example of a singular vision executed with precision that would definitely benefit from the Great Albums treatment. So we immediately invited him to join us in a discussion. Adam turned out to be a well of knowledge about rap artists and the history of the genre's development over the last...
Mar 14, 2016•2 hr 29 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill welcome back musician Matt Pischl to discuss more Dave Matthews Band, focusing on the group's 2001 release Everyday and the song "The Space Between." We talk about the change in DMB's sound, Glenn Ballard, using some of these songs to entice a lady friend into making out, and we read a listener email addressing why we play songs and THEN talk about them on the podcast!
Mar 10, 2016•21 min
Musician Matt Pischl stops by to help Bill and Brian talk about what makes Dave Matthews Band's Before These Crowded Streets (1998, RCA) great. Formed when a shy songwriter approached the local musicians he admired to collaborate, the band has gone on to become a popular concert attraction and bestselling group. Matt tells us how playing the saxophone all throughout elementary and high school led to his ear taking note of Leroi Moore's contributions to DMB's unique sound and eventually transitio...
Mar 07, 2016•1 hr 59 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian continue talking about the Violent Femmes and analyze their newest release, "Memory" from the forthcoming album We Can Do Anything. The gentlemen discuss how the music is a continuation of their early sound and contrast it with their mid-career sound. We also read a listener email that helps us address why we on't always cover hidden tracks at the end of some of the great albums we've covered. Imogen Poots.
Mar 03, 2016•21 min
Brian and Bill welcome DJ Wendy Rollins (radio1045.com) and musician Paul Nance (theloudcompany1.bandcamp.com) from the Alter Natives podcast to help us discuss the Violent Femmes' self titled debut album (1983, Slash). Working as an acoustic trio, the band was discovered while busking outside a Pretenders concert. After playing a short set at that show, the band began work on this album, mostly written while primary singer/songwriter Gordon Gano was still in high school. Wendy and Paul share th...
Feb 29, 2016•2 hr 9 min
Bill and Brian welcome substitute guest (Ryan Carey unfortunately had to go have Valentine's dinner) Matt Pischl (who you'll be hearing talk about a group with the initials DMB in a couple weeks) to talk about "Dream of the Wild Horses" by Gary Lucas, a song which would have been worked into a collaboration between Jeff Buckley and Lucas if it weren't for the singer's untimely death halting progress on the follow up to Buckley's Grace. Brian, Bill, and Matt discuss how this song would have worke...
Feb 25, 2016•22 min
Bill and Brian welcome journalist and blogger (The Inappropriate Thesaurus) Ryan Carey to talk about Jeff Buckley's landmark but only album Grace (1994, Columbia). Although critically revered, the album never became a commercial success within his lifetime (he tragically died in a drowning accident in 1997 at the age of 30), but has since gone on to become one of the most respected and well known albums from the 90s. Buckley was the son of folk singer Tim Buckley, who gained attention in the 70s...
Feb 22, 2016•2 hr 4 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill discuss Alanis Morissette's as a continuation of the conversations from our episode on Jagged Little Pill by listening to and reviewing "Thank You" from Alanis' 1998 follow up Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. We talk about how Alanis addressed criticisms about her image by releasing an overtly positive song with a video that featured her singing in the nude. Additionally, we read some listener emails about Jens Lekman, how British bands are received in...
Feb 18, 2016•24 min
Singer, songwriter, ukulele player Devon Moore from folk/pop/reggae band Fun While You Wait (fwywmusic.com) joins Bill And Brian to discuss Alanis Morissette's landmark international debut Jagged Little Pill (1995, Maverick). Alanis started her career as a Canadian teen pop idol, but shed that image, incorporating rock, grunge, and folk song styles into the confessional and starkly honest music on this album. Thanks to the success of several hit singles, the album sold over 16 million copies in ...
Feb 15, 2016•2 hr 4 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian welcome back singer, songwriter, and musician Renee Maskin (lowlightnj.bandcamp.com) to continue talking about that guy/historical figure/musical genius Bob Dylan. Because it's Bonus Song Thursday, we focus on a single song, and this time it's "Pay in Blood" off Dylan's 2012 album Tempest. Brian, Bill, and Renee talk about the lyrics, the Christ and war imagery, how the song evokes a little bit of Tom Waits, songs about the Titanic that references the 199...
Feb 11, 2016•22 min
Singer, songwriter, and musician Renee Maskin (lowlightnj.bandcamp.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Bob Dylan's country-tinged Nashville Skyline (1969, Columbia). After becoming a historical icon in the progressive folk movement of the 60s, Dylan broke huge after "going electric" and embracing rock and other popular music. Tired of the spotlight, Dylan took some time off after a motorcycle accident sidelined him a while. He took that opportunity to revamp his sound too, culminating in this c...
Feb 08, 2016•1 hr 53 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill welcome back singer songwriter and musician Jeff Linden (jefflinden.bandcamp.com) to talk a little more about Queen and their collaboration with David Bowie, "Under Pressure." We talk about which Queen song we're sending to the aliens in outer space, legendary bass lines, "Ice Ice Baby" (briefly), the opening bass line to "Walk on the Wild Side," what the heck the song is about, and who came up with this bass line. Additionally, we have a little bit of a ...
Feb 04, 2016•22 min
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Linden (jefflinden.bandcamp.com) of Rose Boulevard and his own solo work (backed by the Black Spot Society) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Queen's A Night at the Opera (1975, EMI/Parlophone/Elektra). Probably the definitive album in the band's career, it was a great leap forward both sonically and in composition. With all four members contributing songs, it was an eclectic mix of progressive, hard rock, folk, and vaudeville all anchored by the ...
Feb 01, 2016•2 hr 13 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian follow up our episode on the Strokes' Is This It by talking about "Juicebox," off the band's third album First Impressions of Earth (2006, RCA). Representative of the turning point in the band's sound, the song is muscular and driving, a stark contrast to their earlier work. Brian and Bill discuss David Kahne's production and career, how the Strokes and the Gaslight Anthem have had the same problem, the Strokes side projects, Brian's discovery of the band...
Jan 28, 2016•21 min
From the Jabber and the Drone podcast (jabberandthedrone.podbean.com), Cassidy Robinson joins Bill and Brian to discuss the final installment of Debut Album January, the Strokes' Is This It (2001, RCA). Coming together in New York City and first gaining a following in the UK, the Strokes were a breath of fresh air during a period of nu metal, boy bands, and emo. We talk about when Cassidy first discovered the band, listening to them while riding the bus to school, and how it changed his outlook ...
Jan 25, 2016•1 hr 49 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill welcome Patrick from the Almost Education and Make Dad Read Comics podcasts to continue talking about Warren Zevon. This time we eschew the long conversation about a whole album to talk a Zevon's biggest and most memorable song "Werewolves pf London" off of the album Excitable Boy (1978, Asylum). We discuss how to rationalize this song as part of Zevon's whole career, whether or not this is a novelty, Kid Rock sampling the song, what happens when you put ...
Jan 21, 2016•34 min
