The Great Albums

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Bonus Song Thursday - REM "Hope" Jan 05, 2017

Show notes

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.

Leonard Cohen - A Career Restrospective (w/ guest Justin Pope) Jan 02, 2017

Show notes

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 bad version of "Hallelujah" is even possible as we make our way through 11 great Leonard Cohen tunes!

Bonus Song Thursday - Year End Wrap Up Dec 29, 2016

Show notes

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!

Bonus Song Thursday - Lowlight "Where Do We Go from Here?" Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

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!

Top 10 Albums of 2016 Dec 19, 2016

Show notes

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!

The Beatles - Part IV Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

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!

The Beatles - Part III Dec 12, 2016

Show notes

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.

The Beatles - Part II Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

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 Lennon's death.

The Beatles - Part I Dec 05, 2016

Show notes

Bill and Brian have finally decided to do it! Here it is, us talking about the Beatles. But how could we do just a single album? Where would we start? Every album they put out could be featured on the podcast, so now they will be. This is part 1 of 4 in which we discuss every single Beatles album (UK versions). In this episode we discuss Please Please Me, With the Beatles, and A Hard Day's Night. We are joined by several guests (and will continue to be as we make our way through all the albums) including musician Chris Nova of Ruby Bones (ruby bones.bandcamp.com), musician Ben Resnick from We're Ghosts Now (wereghostsnow.com), journalist Ed Magdziak from youdontknowjersey.com, musician Brian Stabile of Casino Sundae (casinosundae.bandcamp.com), and singer/songwriter Jesse Elliot (jesseelliot.com).

Bonus Song Thursday - Bruce Springsteen "Streets of Philadelphia" Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

Bill and Brian close out Massive Album November with Bruce Springsteen's Oscar winning ballad "Streets of Philadelphia" from the Tom and Hanks/Denzel Washington film Philadelphia soundtrack. We talk about how this helped close the second chapter of Bruce's career before reforming the E Street Band a few years later, revitalizing his tours and studio albums. We also read some more listener emails about great album opener/closer combos and Dark Side of the Moon and drugs. We discuss our own experiences with music and 'gummy bears' before giving a quick Tom Hanks career retrospective!

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