It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week, Bill and Brian break down Tori Amos' cover of Slayer's "Raining Blood," and wonder whether or not it started the trend of rock songs getting turned into haunting ballads to accompany certain films. Along the way, Bill discusses a new podcasting trend happening in the month of March while Brian shares his first experiences with Tori Amos and other badass female artists via his very first girlfriend. All this and more on this week's Bonus Song Thursday episode ...
Mar 23, 2017•20 min
Publisher and author DX Ferris (6623press.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Slayer's entry into the metal class of '86 Reign in Blood (1986, Def Jam). Ferris talks about taking his fandom to the extreme, from discovering the band as a teenager in Pittsburgh in the 80s, to having the opportunity to write two books on the band - one being the entry for this album in the acclaimed 33 1/3 series. Bill, Brian, and Ferris then discuss the influence of Rick Ruben and Andy Wallace on the record, Dave...
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr 57 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week, the boys tackle Lady GaGa's recent single, "Perfect Illusion" which features Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on guitar. In this episode, we mention how GaGa - taking a page from Beyonce's book - enlisted a number of high-profile collaborators in order to create a varied, interesting-sounding new record. We dive into whether or not GaGa is currently beefing with other A-List pop stars all the while concluding - once and for all - if Bruce Springsteen was ...
Mar 16, 2017•20 min
Musician Adam Bird (facebook.com/adambirdmusic) joins Bill and Brian to discuss hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf (2002, Interscope). Adam talks about discovering the band via their connection with Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and how his enjoyment of the band blossomed through this album. Bill, Brian, and Adam discuss how Josh Homme attains his unique guitar tone, the dichotomy of bassist Nick Oliveri's screaming and singing, Mark Lanegan and Alai...
Mar 13, 2017•2 hr
It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week Bill and Brian discuss how this Prince-penned song struck that sweet spot of early 90s production and - yes - also about the other thing O'Connor became known for once it became a hit. They also make a few corrections regarding T. Rex's origins and hit on what exactly can be defined as nostalgia. All this and more on this week's Bonus Song Thursday edition of The Great Albums podcast!
Mar 09, 2017•28 min
Podcaster Bill Ackerman (nowplayingnetwork.net/supportingcharacters) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Prince's multimedia spectacular, Purple Rain (1984, Warner Bros.). Bill talks about falling in love with this music as it saturated the airwaves in his youth, and then revealing that access to this film and album would have been denied to him if it not for a precocious baby sitter willing to collude with him. The Bills and Brian discuss the Minneapolis scene, First Avenue, the Revolution, Wendy &...
Mar 06, 2017•2 hr 2 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! The boys discover a mid 80s Replacements version of this T. Rex classic and Bill loses his chill (in all the right ways) at just how hot they sound! Also on the show, a listener figures out how much he loves Taylor Swift, Bill and Brian revisit the pronunciation of the word "timbre," and Brian announces a free live music event that features no fewer that six previous guests! All this and more on this week's Bonus Song Thursday edition of the Great Albums Podcast!
Mar 02, 2017•18 min
Singer Nikolina the Terrible of the Production (theproductionband.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss T. Rex's Electric Warrior (1971, Reprise). Nicole talks about how this album is one of her earliest memories and how she grew up listening to T. Rex. Bill, Brian, and Nicole then talk about how T. Rex didn't quite cross the pond with the same success they enjoyed in the UK, Marc Bolan's unique voice, Tony Visconti's production, what exactly glam is, and more as we make our way through the album...
Feb 27, 2017•1 hr 42 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian talk some more about the Beastie Boys and how their song, "Sabotage," soundtracked their youth and reminded them of Rage Against the Machine. This leads us into analyzing the late 90s rap/rock boom before we get into some listener emails about New Zealand NPR and Ryan Adam's new album. Make sure to check out Tweed at tweed-nz.com!
Feb 23, 2017•26 min
Dan LeRoy, the man who literally wrote the book on Paul's Boutique (both the 33 1/3 entry and a follow up For Whom the Cowbell Tolls), joins Bill and Brian to talk about the Beastie Boys and their 1989 sophomore album. Dan talks about discovering the band as an early adopter of rap and then loving this album in his college days. Dan also shares his experience of writing his books and working through the many samples present on this album. Dan, Brian, and Bill discuss the Dust Brothers and Matt D...
Feb 20, 2017•2 hr 10 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian follow up Sleater-Kinney with some more Sleater-Kinney, by talking about "A New Wave" off 2015's No Cities to Love. We talk about how the band didn't miss a beat in its 10 year hiatus and a bunch about how cool Bob's Burgers is. Then we delve into a bunch of emails responding to our divisive Kanye West comments on last week's episode!
Feb 16, 2017•29 min
Musician Nick Palmer (thedangeros.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Sleater-Kinney's 'breakout' 7th album, the Woods (2005, Sub Pop). Nick describes discovering the band while working at Journeys in the mall, and then thinking the distortion on his pirated copy was a mistake until he bought the album and the liner notes told him that Dave Fridmann was the producer. We talk about Janet Weiss's drumming skills, Carrie Brownstein's rockstar presence, Corin Tucker's soaring vocals, why the band d...
Feb 13, 2017•1 hr 54 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian start off this episode with a rousing debate about the merit's of Kanye West in which Bill allows himself to disregard the spirit of the podcast for a few moments and come across as a little critical. Luckily, Brian defends Kanye's art admirably, and they end up comparing and contrasting the song to the CAN tune it samples! Additionally, we read some listener emails about great albums from the 80s and aughts and then debate the merits of the Killers (this...
Feb 09, 2017•32 min
Drummer Colin Ryan (Lowlight, Roadside Graves) joins Brian and Bill to discuss avant-garde German rockers CAN and their landmark album Future Days (1973, United Artists). Colin talks about how his former bandmates convinced him that listening to CAN was a good idea, forever influencing his own playing. Bill, Brian, and Colin discuss how Jaki Liebezeit's drums and Irman Schmidt's keys hold the sound of the band together, Damo Sazuki's unique vocal style, Bill makes up a story about an android whi...
Feb 06, 2017•1 hr 40 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill chat about Brian's favorite Spoon song "Utilitarian" off 1998's A Series of Sneaks. We stumble into a conversation about what the 90s sounded like before reading some listener emails about some 2000s albums, Drive By Truckers, Levon Helm's musicianship, and whether or not we think John Mayer is a complete BS musician.
Feb 02, 2017•30 min
Musician Chris Nova (rubybonesband.com) joins Brian and Bill to discuss Spoon's tongue twister of an album title Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007, Merge). Chris talks about discovering the band through hit teen drama the OC. Then we discuss how consistent the band is, Brian's favorite Spoon album A Series of Sneaks, Bill's problem with the band, Britt Daniel and Jim Eno's influence on the production of the album, and much more as we make our way through the album track by track.
Jan 30, 2017•1 hr 53 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill chat a bit about the Band's version of "Atlantic City" from their 1993 album Jericho. We fill in some of the group's history up through the 90s and marvel at Levon Helm's musicianship. We then read a listener submitted fun fact about James Mercer and Elliott Smith. And to round it out, we make a request of the listeners for some details on what they want to hear us talk about!
Jan 26, 2017•17 min
Bill and Brian welcome thegreatalbums.com blogger Chris Villalta to the the podcast to talk about the Band's Music from Big Pink (1968, Capitol). Chris talks about discovering the Band at the LA Grammy museum and thinking they looked like a bunch of dudes from the 1920s. The we get into Richard Manuel's unique voice, the Band's effortless musicianship, the friction between Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, an interesting narrative that Chris weaves through the album's lyrics, Garth Hudson's influ...
Jan 23, 2017•1 hr 55 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill talk about the Shins' "New Slang," which is really a way to spend time talking about the 2004 Zach Braff film Garden State. We talk about whether the film holds up, how it's important to people from different generations, and how it has stuck with us over the years. Then we read some listener emails about great, recognizable drum parts, cellos, and the maturity of Nirvana's In Utero. Also, make sure to check out Make Dad Read Comics where Bill got to talk...
Jan 19, 2017•31 min
Bill and Brian go sans guest for the first time in months to discuss an album that came to us around the same time back in our college days, The Shins' Chutes Too Narrow (2003, Sub Pop). The band formed as primary songwriter James Mercer's new project out of a band called Flake Music back around the turn of the century. Quickly signed to indie Sub Pop, the band had modest success with their first album, 2001's Oh, Inverted World. With Chutes Too Narrow, they gained some buzz and finally broke th...
Jan 16, 2017•1 hr 40 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian talk about Dave Grohl's introduction to the world as a lead singer with the Nirvana b-side "Marigold." We talk a little bit about the "what ifs" that surround the career of Nirvana had Kurt Cobain lived and how this song got recorded during the In Utero sessions. Also, we reveal a winner for our Neil Young/Lookout Joe contest and read an email from a former guest on the podcast!
Jan 12, 2017•18 min
Bill and Brian are joined by musician/singer-songwriter Tyler Plazio from Soldiers of Suburbia (soldiersofsuburbiaband.com) to talk about Nirvana's In Utero (1993, DGC). A couple years after the enormous success of their major label debut, Nevermind, the band and frontman Kurt Cobain felt pressure to craft a worthy follow up that also represented their artistic vision. They hired producer Steve Albini, kept recording time to a minimum, and attempted to maintain their punk ideals with a noisy and...
Jan 09, 2017•1 hr 55 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian follow up our conversation about Leonard Cohen with an REM song that curiously has Cohen listed as a writer although there was no collaboration between the artists. This leads us down memory lane as we discuss our college days and out first band together. Then we read a listener email about how we joined him on a Christmas day adventure and his own additions and recommendations for great albums that came out in 2016.
Jan 05, 2017•25 min
Bill and Brian kick off 2017 with an appreciation for the late songwriting titan Leonard Cohen. They are joined in studio singer/songwriter/voiceover artist Justin Pope (justinpopemusic.com), a lifelong Cohen fan. Along the way, the trio discusses why it might not be the best idea to follow your idol to the same college, especially when said idol graduated 44 years earlier and hasn't lived there in nearly as long. We also opine on the difference a producer can make and whether or not recording a...
Jan 02, 2017•1 hr 57 min
Bill takes some time to send out one last podcast in 2016 before we launch into 2017! He talks about "Auld Lang Syne" and makes a few corrections about Wilco and the Beatles before launching into a bunch of emails ranking and discussing the Beatles albums. Then he shares a listener's year end top 10. And to round it all out he gives some thanks and talks about what exciting things will be happening with the Great Albums podcast in 2017!
Dec 29, 2016•33 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! And Bill and Brian close out the year by discussing one of our favorite local (to New Jersey) releases, "Where Do We Go from Here?" from the album of the same name by Lowlight. We discuss what the band's unique sound is and how it evolved before jumping into some listener emails about Wilco and Bruce Springsteen. Also, be sure to check out friend of the podcast Jim Laczkowski's new podcast Voices & Visions at voicesvisions.net!
Dec 22, 2016•20 min
Bill and Brian (really just Brian) count down their top picks of the albums released in 2016. We chat about the albums on last year's list, specifically what stood out and stayed with us. Bill challenges Brian with what a "best of" list really means and if they can be created without a subjective bias. Brian answers by sharing some of his criteria that went into his selections for this year. We then make our way through the list, album by album!
Dec 19, 2016•1 hr 31 min
Part 4 of 4 is finally here! Bill and Brian welcome a new set of guests to close out our discussion of our favorite songs from every Beatles album. Joining us are musician Jim McGee (thearrivist.bandcamp.com), blogger/freelance journalist Ryan Carey (the Inappropriate Thesaurus), musician Ed Pratico (bassist for Jesse Elliot's band), and blogger Beanie Zee (sirkaytheawesome.com) as we talk about the White Album, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, and Let It Be!
Dec 15, 2016•1 hr 17 min
In part 3 of 4, Brian and Bill continue the album by album review of the entire Beatles catalog. In this episode we cover Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Magical Mystery Tour with musicians Chris Nova and Ben Resnick and bloggers Ed Magdziak and Beanie Zee (sirkaytheawesome.com). WE talk about psychedelia, experimentation, George Martin, what would make Sgt. Pepper's better, and the film Across the Universe.
Dec 12, 2016•1 hr 15 min
Bill and Brian continue the epic conversation (part 2 of 4) as we take on the task of having the conversation about being a fan of each and every Beatles album by discussing Beatles For Sale, Help!, and Rubber Soul. Joining us in this round of conversation are Kim and John from Casino Sundae (casinosundae.bandcamp.com) and Ed Magdziak, writer for youdontknowjersey.com! Not only do we discuss our favorite songs off these albums be we also sneak in a bit about Pete Best and some ruminating on John...
Dec 08, 2016•1 hr 11 min
