The Great Albums

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The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile Jun 15, 2015

Show notes

Brian flies solo this week to talk about one of rock's most misunderstood albums, Smiley Smile (1967, Brother) by The Beach Boys. He attempts to recontextualize the album's importance in music's "back to basics" movement of the late 60s as The Boys transition from their signature lush, orchestral pop into something more primal. And somewhere in there, Brian realizes, quite aggressively, that Sgt. Pepper's might not be quite as good as the rest of the world thinks it is. This and more as he talks about what makes the album great, one track at a time.

Bonus Song Thursday - Q-Tip "Billy Joel v. Phil Collins Tangent" Jun 11, 2015

Show notes

While Bill and Brian come in and quickly cover Tip's song, "Let's Ride," from the album Amplified (1999, Arista), things suddenly go awry as the audience is treated to a little bit of the outtakes that don't always make the final cut. We touch on the Grisworld family Christmas and attempt to answer the age old question: Who would you rather go out with, Billy Joel or Phil Colins?

Q-Tip - The Renaissance (w/ guest host Jim McGee and guest "Iron" Mike Bacon) Jun 08, 2015

Show notes

Brian and guest host Jim McGee (from our Neil Young episode) lead a tangent-filled podcast exploring the difference between "rap" and "hip hop," the ins-and-outs of hip hop culture and one thing you NEVER do while DJing a party. "Iron" Mike Bacon is our guest as we explore Q-Tip's opus, The Renaissance (2008, Universal), as always, one track at a time.

Bonus Song Thursday - Green Day "21 Guns" Jun 04, 2015

Show notes

Brian, Bill, and special guest Ryan Hanratty forget about the podcast's "fans-not-critics" criteria of content for a little bit as they talk about Green Day's "21 Guns" from the album 21st Century Breakdown (2009, Reprise). Before that though, they have a little bit of an addendum to the GnR episode. We discuss how "21 Guns" was here and gone thanks to the legacy of American Idiot and its smash success. And finally, Ryan points out why that guitar solo may sound a little familiar to you...

Green Day - American Idiot (w/ guest Ryan Hanratty) Jun 01, 2015

Show notes

Guitarist, singer-songwriter, and videographer Ryan Hanratty of Wolfasaurus Rex, Catch Me If You Can, and Frosted Green Interviews (respectively) travels down from Long Island to discuss Green Day's American Idiot (2004, Reprise) with Brian and Bill. Coming 10 years after the band's breakthrough album Dookie, American Idiot saw Green Day cement their superstardom as they released their hit rock opera. Ryan ends up being the best person to discuss this with because he hit his prime punk rock years of adolescence when this album was released. We break down the 3 acts, debate the use of the "other F word," discuss the political climate of the time, and find out the lewd story behind what is "frosted" and "green." All this and more in our second longest episode yet!

Bonus Song Thursday - Pearl Jam "Crown of Thorns" May 28, 2015

Show notes

It's another Bonus Song Thursday! Bill amd Brian take a weekly break from going in depth and overlong on a whole album to instead focus on a single song. This week, we discuss Pearl Jam's cover of Mother Love Bone's "Crown of Thorns." As we discussed on Mondays episode, Pearl Jam was formed out of the ashes of MLB, and at their 10th anniversary show in Las Vegas, PJ paid tribute to their predecessor. We delve a little into the band's background, knowing where you came from, and how to pronounce the word "elegiac" (which we get totally wrong) as we listen to this single track!

Pearl Jam - Ten (w/ guest Frank Lettieri) May 25, 2015

Show notes

Multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Frank Letteiri of The Paper Jets (thepaperjets.com) and Dust of Days (dustofdays.com) joins Bill and Brian to help us talk about what makes Pearl Jam's Ten (1991, Epic) so great! After the tragedy that led to the end of Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament's previous band Mother Love Bone, they sought out some new people to play with, finding Mike McCready and Eddie Vedder who completed the core of the band. On their first album, the band already showed passion and an ability to create unique sonic lanscapes. As we make our way through the album track by track, Brian gives us a lesson on how to write like Eddie Vedder, Frank makes an argument for the latter half of the album, and Bill tries not to geek out too much (and fails).

Bonus Song Thursday - Guns'n'Roses "Street of Dreams" May 21, 2015

Show notes

It's another Bonus Song Thursday! Bill amd Brian take a weekly break from going in depth and overlong on a full album to instead focus on a single song. On Monday, podcaster and DJ Ralph Sutton gave us some great analysis on what should have been an Axl Rose solo album instead of the first Guns'n'Roses album in 17 years, Chinese Democracy. In this episode, Bill and Brian tackle a track from that album: "Street of Dreams." Featuring a whole new band (including one of our favorites, Tommy Stinson), this new version of GnR left a little to be desired... We talk about that, and the state of the music industry (c. 2008) that thought Chinese Democracy was going to be a hit, as we break down this single track!

Guns'n'Roses - Appetite for Destruction (w/ guest Ralph Sutton) May 18, 2015

Show notes

Podcaster and DJ Ralph Sutton (of theSDRshow.com and The Tour Bus) helps Bill and Brian get out of their comfort zone of indie rock and college radio by discussing the hardrocking debut album from Guns'n'Roses, Appetite for Destruction (1987, Geffen). Ralph gives us a peak at what it was like to be at the prime age of adolescence when this music hit the scene. We discuss GnR's impact on the state of music in the 80s, how they are better than the hair metal of the day, Ralph's idea for a Jewish tribute band, and Ralph shares some of the inner workings of being a DJ for terrestial radio. All that, plus a bit of an analysis on Chinese Democracy (!) as we discuss this album track by track!

Bonus Song Thursday - The New Pornographers "War on the East Coast" May 14, 2015

Show notes

It's another Bonus Song Thursday! Bill amd Brian take a weekly break from going in depth and overlong on a single album to instead focus on a single song. Monday's episode saw us breaking down indie-pop supergroup the New Pornographer's twin Cinema, and this episode has us continuing the theme by discussing "War On the East Coast" the lead single from the band's latest album, Brill Bruisers. We discuss the band's new direction and production acumen, Dan Bejar's fantastic songwriting, and how indie bands have started making an impact on the charts.

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