Backtracking

Space Kimonos 1977 - 1981

Welcome to Backtracking – the podcast where two old friends take a second listen to influential bands' catalogs. For our first season, we've selected none other than legendary Canadian power trio Rush.

The night is turning thing, the saint is turning to email: backtrackingrox@gmail.com.

S1E38 Rush "Snakes and Arrows" Sides C&D Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

All my life I’ve been workin’ them emails: backtrackingrox@gmail.com.

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM:
Rush “Snakes and Arrows”

CHAPTERS:

0:00: Left what?

0:15: Le Script Petite

0:42: Not Burning for Buddy

5:55: Side A, Track One: “The Way the Wind Blows”

19:30: Side A, Track Two: “Hope”

24:40: Side A, Track Three: “Faithless”

31:10: Side B, Track One: “Bravest Face”

38:12: Side B, Track Two: “Good News First”

42:20: Side B, Track Three: “Malignant Narcissism”

46:25: Side B, Track Four: “We Hold On”

52:40: Play along at home!

55:28: Raf’s got a tee time, kids. Let’s wrap it up.

ERA CHEAT SHEET PLAYLISTS:
Bell Bottoms 1974 - 1976
Space Kimonos 1977 - 1981
Skinny Ties 1982 - 1987
Black Tees 1989 - 1997
In the End 2002 Onward

SOCIALS:- Twitter: @backtrackingrox- Instagram: @backtrackingrox- Reddit: u/backtrackingrox

Rush "Snakes & Arrows" (2007), Sides A&B: Far Cry, Armor and Sword Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Rush's 2007 album "Snakes & Arrows", Sides A and B: "Far Cry", "Armor and Sword", "Workin' Them Angels", "Spindrift" and more.

We lay out our plans for the rest of Season 1, cover the basics and the Hugh Syme question, and push on through "The Larger Bowl" and "The Main Monkey Business". Two hours in, only halfway there.

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM:

Rush “Snakes and Arrows”

CHAPTERS:

0:00: Your Kernel of Cold

0:41: Tastee Scripts

3:35: Our plans for the rest of Season 1.

8:50: Raf’s Personal Info for Stalking Purposes

12:10: The Basics

14:30: No time for Syme?

25:05: Rascal Linux?

33:40: Side A, Track One: “Far Cry”

49:18: Side A, Track Two: “Armor and Sword”

1:03:53: Side A, Track Three: “Workin’ Them Angels”

1:16:53: Side B, Track One: “The Larger Bowl”

1:37:53: Side B, Track Two: “Spindrift”

1:44:44: Side B, Track Three: “The Main Monkey Business”

1:50:50: Two hours in / only halfway there / take my hand / we’ll make it I swear

ERA CHEAT SHEET PLAYLISTS:

Bell Bottoms 1974 - 1976

Skinny Ties 1982 - 1987

Black Tees 1989 - 1997

In the End 2002 Onward

SOCIALS:

- The Tragically Hip “Day for Night”

All my life I’ve been workin’ them emails: backtrackingrox@gmail.com.

The Tragically Hip "Day for Night" (1994), Side B: Scared, Emergency Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

The Tragically Hip's 1994 album "Day for Night", Side B: "Thugs", "Inevitability of Death", "Scared", "An Inch an Hour" and more.

Plus "Emergency", "Titanic Terrarium" and "Impossibilium", the cover, JW's Backtrack Retrack, and the good and the bad.

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM:

CHAPTERS:

- 0:00: Recycling

- 0:08: O Canada!

- 1:00: Babies Got Back to Side B

- 3:55: Cover the Cover, Sponsored by Michael

- 8:33: Side B, Track 1: Thugs

- 12:00: Side B, Track 2: Inevitability of Death

- 14:45: Side B, Track 3: Scared

- 21:22: Side B, Track 4: An Inch an Hour

- 25:52: Side B, Track 5: Emergency

- 28:47: A Side B Disclaimer

- 30:02: Side B, Track 6: Titanic Terrarium

- 35:09: Side B, Track 7: Impossibilium

- 37:55: JW Presents the Backtrack Retrack

- 40:18: Goodman, Badman

- 42:59: Time to Tragically Dip

BACKTRACKING SOCIALS:

- The Tragically Hip “Day for Night”

BAND LINKS:

- The Tragically Hip Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Welcome to Backtracking – the podcast where three old friends take a second listen to influential bands' albums, track by track. For our third season, we've each selected five albums that we think deserve a good old Backtracking.

Growing up in a biosphere, no respect for bad email: backtrackingrox@gmail.com

The Tragically Hip "Day for Night" (1994), Side A: Grace, Too Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

The Tragically Hip's 1994 album "Day for Night", Side A: "Grace, Too", "Greasy Jungle", "Fire in the Hole" and "Nautical Disaster".

We cover the basics, CanCon, Gord Downie and his orchestra, the band and the production, and "Daredevil", "Yawning or Snarling" and "So Hard Done By."

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM:

CHAPTERS:

- 0:00: Ro-Cha-Cha

- 0:15: The Tragically Introed

- 1:06: America Is Our Copilot

- 7:22: Hoosekeepin’

- 15:22: The Basics, and Raf Opines

- 23:05: CanCon & Canned Ham

- 31:13: Gord Downie & His Orchestra

- 35:32: La Banda y El Producto

- 44:34: Overall Impressions

- 53:30: Side A, Track 1: Grace, Too

- 1:08:45: Side A, Track 2: Daredevil

- 1:09:49: Side A, Track 3: Greasy Jungle

- 1:16:12: Side A, Track 4: Yawning or Snarling

- 1:21:08: Side A, Track 5: Fire in the Hole

- 1:26:15: Side A, Track 6: So Hard Done By

- 1:33:00: Side A, Track 7: Nautical Disaster

- 1:39:20: Side Eh is over, eh?

BACKTRACKING SOCIALS:

- Candlemass “Tales of Creation”

BAND LINKS:

- The Tragically Hip Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

That’s awful close, but that’s not email: backtrackingrox@gmail.com

S3E1 Season Premiere & Albums Reveal Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Wide Awake in Email: backtrackingrox@gmail.com

LISTEN TO THE ALBUMS

CHAPTERS

0:00: The Coldest Opens, the Deepest Sighs
0:11: A New Intro, a New Era, a New Theme Song?
1:14: Breaking Backtracking Boundaries
4:33: Keeping the House
9:44: We Reveal the Album Reveal
10:30: Raf’s 1st Pick: Ozzy Osbourne “Blizzard of Ozz”
13:24: JW’s 1st Pick: Men at Work “Business As Usual”
16:45: Raf’s 2nd Pick: Asia “Alpha”
18:45: Raf’s 3rd Pick: U2 “Wide Awake in America”
21:45: JW’s 2nd Pick: The Chameleons “Strange Times”
24:45: JW’s 3rd Pick: Felt “Forever Breathes the Lonely Word”
28:58: JW’s 4th Pick: Dumptruck “For the Country”
32:00: Dan’s 1st Pick: Candlemass “Tales of Creation”
36:02: Dan’s 2nd Pick: Sting “The Soul Cages”
39:31: Raf’s 4th Pick: Barenaked Ladies “Gordon”
42:12: JW’s Final Pick: Cardinal (Self-Titled)
45:47: Raf’s Final Pick: The Tragically Hip “Road Apples”
50:10: Dan’s 3rd Pick: Mind Science of the Mind (Self-Titled)
54:40: Dan’s 4th Pick: Idaho “Three Sheets to the Wind”
57:25: Dan’s Final Pick: Gang of Youths “Angel in Realtime”
1:01:59: The Most Diverse List of Albums Ever*
1:04:04: Hasta la Album

BACKTRACKING SOCIALS

SEASON 3 BAND DIRECTORY

Season 3 Band Directory

Asia
Official Website | Facebook | X (Twitter)

Barenaked Ladies
Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Candlemass
Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Cardinal
Official Website | Bandcamp | Facebook

Dumptruck
Bandcamp | Facebook

Felt
Bandcamp | Instagram

Gang of Youths
Official Website | Instagram | X (Twitter)

Idaho
Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Men at Work
Official Website | Facebook

Mind Science of the Mind
Bandcamp

Ozzy Osbourne
Official Website | Instagram | X (Twitter)

Sting
Official Website | Instagram | Facebook

The Chameleons
Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

The Tragically Hip
Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

U2
Official Website | Instagram | X (Twitter)

Candlemass "Tales of Creation" (1989), Side B: A Tale of Creation Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Candlemass's 1989 album "Tales of Creation", Side B: "The Edge of Heaven", "Somewhere in Nowhere", "Dawn" and more.

Plus "Into the Unfathomed Tower", "Through the Infinitive Halls of Death" and "A Tale of Creation", a Wilco-versus-Rush bulletin, and the doom worst and the epic best.

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM:

CHAPTERS:

- 0:00: All Things Considered

- 0:24: Epic Doom Intro

- 1:21: Tubi’s Sports Talk

- 5:55: Housekeeping Bulletin: Wilco vs. Rush

- 14:10: Cover the Cover Brought to You by Michael

- 30:00: Side A, Track 6: Into the Unfathomed Tower

- 42:29: Side B, Track 1: The Edge of Heaven

- 54:20: Side B, Track 2: Somewhere in Nowhere

- 1:02:10: Side B, Track 3: Through the Infinitive Halls of Death

- 1:11:14: Side B, Track 4: Dawn

- 1:17:47: Side B, Track 5: A Tale of Creation

- 1:25:10: The Doom Worst and the Epic Best

- 1:33:07: The Apocalypse of this Episode

BACKTRACKING SOCIALS:

- Candlemass “Tales of Creation”

BAND LINKS:

- Candlemass Official Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Into email, misery and death, pain and sorrow: backtrackingrox@gmail.com

Candlemass "Tales of Creation" (1989), Side A: Under the Oak, Tears Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

Candlemass's 1989 album "Tales of Creation", Side A: "The Prophecy", "Dark Reflections", "Voices in the Wind", "Under the Oak" and "Tears".

We also get into an unexpected trilogy, a textual examination, the classic lineup and the tempo debate, and the fade-out problem.

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM:

CHAPTERS:

- 0:00: We best the competition. Period.

- 0:29: Epic Doom Intro

- 1:27: An Unexpected Trilogy

- 2:10: A Textual Examination

- 3:55: The Classic Lineup & the Tempo Debate

- 6:06: The Fade Out Problem

- 7:37: Track 1: The Prophecy

- 17:30: Track 2: Dark Reflections

- 28:30: Track 3: Voices in the Wind

- 33:40: Track 4: Under the Oak

- 42:05: Track 5: Tears

- 48:15: We await in purgatory until our next trial.

BACKTRACKING SOCIALS: