The Great Albums

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Bonus Song Thursday - Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll" Jun 01, 2017

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week, the B-squad revisits Yeah Yeah Yeahs a few years down the road as they continue to evolve their sound and - like Weezer before them - pick up a new generation of fans along the way. We discuss Karen O's pop culture icon status, Canada's hipster Mecca, and whether or not Ryan Adams ruined The Strokes. We also talk about a pair of live podcast events taking place this July and August, as well as the return of Bill's band, Small Planet Radio (http://smallplanetradio.com), this June!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell (w/ guest Amy Dickman) May 29, 2017

Show notes

Little Dickman Records' Amy Dickman (littledickman.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Yeah Yeah Yeah's debut Fever to Tell (2003, Interscope).

Bonus Song Thursday - Counting Crows "The Ballad of El Goodo" May 25, 2017

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week the B's tackle Counting Crows' cover of Big Star's immortal "The Ballad of El Goodo." They talk about how they actually prefer to hear Big Star's music covered fairly straight (as opposed to, say, via an electronica interpretation) and how Counting Crows come eerily close to the original. Along the way, they touch upon possibly the oldest "Great Album," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and of course, the untimely passing of beloved singer Chris Cornell. All this and more on this week's Bonus Song Thursday edition of The Great Albums.

Counting Crows - August and Everything After (w/ guest Frank Lettieri) May 22, 2017

Show notes

Musician Frank Lettieri (dustofdays.bandcamp.com) joins Bill and Brian as we finally set to tackling Counting Crows' August and Everything After (1993, Geffen). Frank talks about having this album gifted to him as a part of a long tradition of uncles introducing nephews to cool music. Then Bill, Brian, and Frank discuss what one of the engineers on the album shared about the equipment used to record the album, the importance of the band's SNL performance in January of 1994, Adam Duritz's exquisite cafe poetry, how producer T-Bone Burnett influenced the overall sound of the recording, the underrated rhythm section of Steve Bowman and Matt Malley, Charlie Gillingham as a Benmont Tench-esque secret weapon, David Bryson's memorable guitar hooks, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - Nancy Sinatra "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" May 18, 2017

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week, the B's talk about Nancy Sinatra's most enduring hit single and how her father Frank signed her to his (at the time) vanity imprint, Reprise. We get into the left-of-center tendencies of under-appreciated songwriter/producer Lee Hazlewood and how there are certain songs that transcend their creators. Along the way, we discuss favorite comeback albums, and Bill answers an email, putting to bed the reason we have yet to tackle OK Computer.

Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (w/ guests Right Said Fred) May 15, 2017

Show notes

Musicians Fred and Richard Fairbrass (aka Right Said Fred) join Bill and Brian to discuss Frank Sinatra's 10th studio album Songs for Swingin' Lovers (1956, Capitol). After getting the requisite conversation about their tour prepping and some of the trappings of being celebrities out of the way, Fred and Richard talk about discovering Sinatra through their parents, especially from the influence of their 'mum.' Bill, Brian, Fred, and Richard then discuss Nelson Riddle's arrangements, Sinatra's feelings about Elvis, the Beatles, and rock'n'roll, a little on Brian's favorite Sinatra album Watertown, how Sinatra found his voice as he matured, and a few of our favorite tracks from the album! Don't forget that Right Said Fred's latest album, Exactly!, is available in all the places you can find good tunes, including rightsaidfred.com.

Bonus Song Thursday - Pras (feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard and introducing Mya) "Ghetto Supastar (That is What You Are)" May 11, 2017

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week, Bill and Brian recount a track that, according to Bill, "was in the air" throughout 1998/1999. Pras, formerly of the Fugees, made his solo debut in grand fashion and had a hand from Mya and Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard. They discuss how - in total ODB fashion - he just kind of showed up one day and was asked to drop a verse (and took to the assignment admirably). Along the way, they talk about how the Fugees operated similarly to Wu-Tang, fostering members' solo careers following the success of a massively-influential group effort. Will Smith enters into the discussion and so too does superior LP side 2s. All this and more on this week's Bonus Song Thursday edition of the Great Albums podcast.

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers: the Dirty Version (w/ guest Patrick from Make Dad Read Comics and Almost Educational) May 08, 2017

Show notes

Podcaster Patrick from Make Dad Read Comics and Almost Education returns to join Bill and Brian in a discussion about Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers: the Dirty Version (1995, Elektra). Patrick talks about being heshera and a secret Wu Tang Clan fan who fell in love with their pop culture and kung fu movie references. Bill, Brian, and Patrick discuss the lasting influence of ODB's style and humor, RZA's style as a producer, whether or not Brian can name every member of the Wu Tang Clan (spoiler: he can't, stay tuned till the end of the episode for the correct memeber names), how the Wu Tang clan style present on this album is reminiscent of punk rock, the many features on this album, the album's scatological nature, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - Johnny Cash and Fiona Apple "Father and Son" May 04, 2017

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! This week the boys in broadcast are tackling yet another duet: Johnny Cash and Fiona Apple! Bill and Brian discuss how it reminds them of a different Johnny Cash partnership from the early 70s, how singular artists like Fiona and Cash are at their best when they "do their own thing" (even when they're working together), and what qualifies as overkill for posthumous recordings. Additionally, they uncover the origins of the mysterious voices on Tom Petty's Damn the Torpedos album, and Bill lists his most representative artists of each decade. NOTE: check out our friend Chris Nova's band Ruby Bones (http://rubybones.bandcamp.com) whose album comes out on 5/12. And catch their free-admission album release party at Asbury Park Yacht Club on Friday May 19, 2017.

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine May 01, 2017

Show notes

Bill and Brian get to spend a nice lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying each other's company without a guest, chatting about Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine (2005, Epic). Brian talks about discovering Fiona's moody, electric pop sound as a disparate soundtrack to some sunny summer days. Bill notes how he first heard of this album due to the producer and label controversy surrounding its delayed release. Bill and Brian then discuss Jon Brion's original vision, the sound Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew eventually brought to the final product, Questlove's funky drumming, seeing Fiona live on this tour, a surprising amount of lyrical analysis, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

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