The Great Albums

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Pearl Jam - Yield (w/ guest Jim Hanke) Oct 24, 2016

Show notes

Podcaster Jim Hanke (vinylemergency.com) makes his second appearance on the podcast to help Brian and Bill talk about Pearl Jam's Yield (1998, Epic). Coming off a bit of a downturn in their career, some would say creatively as well as commercially (but not us), Pearl Jam went into the studio looking to use each member's songwriting contributions and came out re-energized with one of their best albums. Jim talks about the ubiquity of the band's music in his life before Bill, Brian, and Jim then discuss how Bill and Jim are mirror images as PJ fans, ripping off Led Zeppelin, Eddie Vedder getting precious lyrically, Brendan O'Brien's excellent production, the Dismemberment Plan, and much more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse "Body and Soul" Oct 20, 2016

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! With Brian jet setting about the globe (aka taking a long weekend trip to Chicago), Bill tackles some more Amy Winehouse by taking a listener suggestion and talking about her duet with Tony Bennett, "Body and Soul" from his 2011 album Duets II. Bill talks about the scene in Amy documentary where she has to overcome some initial nerves to create a wonderful performance. Also, Bill reads some lister emails about great track sequencing, the Rolling Stones, U2, Led Zeppelin, and Fran Zappa v. Tom Waits!

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (w/ guests David Hillier and Chris Barrett) Oct 17, 2016

Show notes

Bill and Brian welcome future podcasters (Indie Heroes, available soon) David Hillier (also a journalist) and Chris Barrett (who works in the West End) to the podcast to talk about Amy Winehouse's Back to Black (2006, Island). British singer songwriter Amy Winehouse was immediately noticed by the public, as much for her music and voice as for her tabloid escapades. With producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, she hit the charts in a big way with her second and final album before her untimely death at the age of 27. David and Chris talk about what it was like watching the British tabloids take hold of her before they really got to appreciate her music. Then Bill, Brian, David, and Chris make their way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - Norah Jones "The Long Way Home" Oct 13, 2016

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! And Brian and Bill continue discussing Tom Waits by...talking about Norah Jones? That's right, Norah Jones covered an obscure Waits song on 2004's Feels Like Home. We talk about how Jones tried to pull away from the glut of female singer-songwriters that dominated the early aughts as we analyze what makes this song cool. We also read some listener emails that help fill in some info we missed way back when we talked about Guns'n'Roses on the show. And we get talking about what albums we think are well-sequenced, prompting Brian to discuss the many virtues of the Beatles' Abbey Road!

Tom Waits - Bone Machine (w/ guest Joe Galuppo) Oct 10, 2016

Show notes

Bill and Brian are joined by podcaster and musician Joe Galuppo (diningroomradio.net and joegaluppo.bandcamp.com) to talk about Tom Waits' Bone Machine (1992, Atlantic). Waits, with his idiosyncratic musicianship and distinctive voice, emerged from a 5 year hiatus to create one of the tentpole albums of his career. Joe talks about how his cool dad, noting his son's taste for the unusual, pointed him toward Tom Waits. Brian, Bill, and Joe then discuss how death permeates the album as a theme, the echo-filled concrete studio it was recorded in, Wait's unique vocal performance, a train made of bones, Fight Club and masculinity, Frank Zappa, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - Stone Temple Pilots "Plush (acoustic)" Oct 06, 2016

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill talk about Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo's acoustic performance of "Plush" off their 1992 debut Core. We talk about the song's structure, Dean's chord style, Scott's excellent vocal skills, and whether or not Led Zeppelin was cool in the 90s. We also read some listener emails about our mind reading prowess while discussing Ben Folds and what musicians play like Elliott Smith.

Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (w/ guest Zach Calhoun) Oct 03, 2016

Show notes

Musician Zach Calhoun (from Cadet, cadetcadets.bandcamp.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Stone Temple Pilots transformative sophomore effort Purple (1994, Atlantic). After debuting with the 8 million-selling Core (home to mega-hits "Plush," "Creep," and "Sex Type Thing"), STP fell into grunge's bottom tier as far as critics were concerned. Purple was the band's successful attempt to right the ship and show the world there was quite a bit more to them than just power chords. Zach tells us how he discovered this album via his brother's cassette tape and it helped shape his love of alternative music. Bill, Brian, and Zach discuss the albums cool artwork, how people who say that only one song off an album is good don't get it, Weiland's powerful voice, the negative stigma surrounding the band, Dean's awesome chord voicings, Robert's wild bass playing, a little on Weird Al, Chester Bennington and the band's legacy, and much more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - Jimmy Eat World "Half Right" Sep 29, 2016

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! And Bill and Brian take a very circuitous route to keep talking about Elliott Smith by discussing Jimmy Eat World's cover of the Heatmiser tune "Half Right." The song was written by Smith and added as a hidden track to the band's last album, 1996 album Mic City Sons, as Smith left to pursue his solo career full time. Brian and Bill talk about how the song is a faithful recreation, the story of the EP that contains it, and how Brian himself covered the song in his first live performance of a complete set. We also read some listener emails about the Grateful Dead, Levon Helm, and the word "timbre."

Elliott Smith - XO (w/ guest Pete Stern) Sep 26, 2016

Show notes

Centennials and Rose Boulevard drummer Pete Stern joins Bill and Brian to discuss singer songwriter Elliott Smith's major label debut XO (1998, Dreamworks). Coming up in the Portland indie scene of the 90s, Smith eschewed the alt stylings of his band Heatmiser and gained attention with his folksy, DIY home recording. He got his big break when director Gus Van Zant included the song "Miss Misery" on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, and this album followed shortly after. Pete discusses hearing Elliott Smith first on MTVu but not really delving into his catalog until a few years later when his biography was released. Bran, Bill, and Pete then talk about the Oscars performance and Celine Dion, what Elliot's problem with Heatmiser was, Smith's 2003 suicide, the quality production of the album, the criminally underrated Jon Brion, a whole bunch of diving into Smith's dense lyrics, Joey and Lenny Waronker, driving to Nashville on shrooms while listening to Weezer's "Hash Pipe," Brian Wilson's love of "Shortening Bread," how we would shorten the album a bit, and much much more are we make our way through the album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - The War on Drugs "Touch of Grey" Sep 22, 2016

Show notes

It's Bonus Song Thursday! Brian and Bill continue talking about the Grateful Dead via the War on Drugs recent cover of "Touch of Grey" from the Day of the Dead tribute compilation. Brian talks about why he loves this song, the whole collection, and how it's helped him open up to being a fan of the Grateful Dead. Then we read some listener emails including a correction about us confusing Norway for Sweden and an interpretation of an Against Me! tune.

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