Stay ConnectedThe Radio Ga Ga Podcast is a weekly album review podcast that explores why we like the music we like. Host Justine Piehowski dives into each album in depth, with artist backgrounds, song-by-song meanings, and notes from the recording studio. The goal of the Radio Ga Ga Podcast is to help you as the listener feel more knowledgeable and connected to the music you love, and maybe even music you didn’t know you would.
Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
https://radiogagapodcast.com/
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released only 22 songs together during 1969 and 1970, many of which have become standards in the classic rock canon. In Part I of our series, I talk about how CSNY got together amidst frustration with their former bands, and the first moment of vocal harmony between Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Also, why they refused to call themselves a "band," the good life in Laurel Canyon, and the events, heartbreak, and drug use that all had a deep effect on the making of "Deja Vu."
Maroon 5 went from being a small-time high school band to selling out stadiums, playing the Super Bowl, and crashing weddings. In this episode, we'll highlight the trajectory of one of today's most popular bands, beginning with their debut album, "Songs About Jane." Jane's a real person, so we'll discuss her relationship to Adam Levine. We also talk about all the other non-Levine guys who make up the hit machine that is Maroon 5, and discuss the band's influences from Stevie Wonder, Aaliyah, and John Mayer.
My Bloody Valentine's groundbreaking "Loveless" remains one of alternative music's most influential albums. In this episode, we discuss MBV's pioneering of the shoegaze genre and its defining production characteristics, the interesting/amazing effects this album has had on my mind, the idea of 'horror vacui' as it pertains to music, and why it took 22 years for the band to follow up "Loveless." Also, stereo v. mono recording, pink noise, and how the Valentines used sleep deprivation to their advantage.
Happy Halloween! John Carpenter is one of the most famous horror filmmakers of all time, creating the "Halloween" franchise, as well as films including "The Thing," "Christine," and "The Fog." But he also composed nearly all the scores to his own films, with a distinct style that's become one of the most iconic in the genre. In today's episode, we'll discuss why we love being scared by horror flicks, Carpenter's process of scoring his films, and what he's up to lately.
"Louie Louie" is one of the most covered songs of all time, with a reported 2,000+ official recordings. So how did "Louie Louie" go from the bargain bin and "Worst Record of the Week" on a popular radio show to one of the most popular rock songs of all time? For one, the FBI investigation of the song in 1964 probably helped. We'll discuss the origins of "Louie Louie," its use of the most popular chord progression in pop music, and the most popular covers of the song, from Otis Redding to Black Flag.
At the beginning of 1998, Jeff Mangum released his masterwork, "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea," now one of the all-time indie records. But by year's end, he would walk away from music, only to be heard from on rare occasion for the next two decades. In today's episode, we discuss how to create distortion without an electric guitar, why Mangum was completely derailed by Anne Frank's diary, and why I've changed my tune about Neutral Milk Hotel. Kind of. My King of Carrot Flowers, D.J. Piehowski, guests.
One of the most important album art designers of our time, Storm Thorgerson counts amongst his credits "Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here," "Houses of the Holy" and about a million more. In this episode, we're diving into Storm's history as a high school friend of Pink Floyd, and we'll detail how he concepted and shot some of his most iconic album covers. We've got 40-foot pig balloons flying high over Heathrow, a mustache getting burned off, inspiration from Arthur C. Clarke... this is a fun one.
The Shins had a lot to prove with "Wincing the Night Away." This was the album that would decide whether the Shins would stay in the indie pop conversation, or if their inclusion in Zach Braff's film "Garden State" was just a brief lucky break. The Shins are a band I'm literally always in the mood to listen to, so we'll explore why that is. We'll also discuss the meanings I find in the cover art, James Mercer's songwriting style, and how his insomnia affected the writing and recording of "Wincing."
Karen Carpenter's voice is one you know instantly, and makes you feel like the only one listening. Though on the surface the Carpenters seemed like a squeaky clean brother-sister duo, their story is wrought with family drama, painful emotional scarring, and tragedy. We'll discuss the Carpenters' rise to popularity, as well as Karen's eating disorder, her mother, failed relationships, and Sonic Youth. Karen is one of my biggest influences as a musician, so this is a special and emotional episode for me.
Ween can feel very overwhelming to get into. Their discography is endless, their music odd, and there's an intimidating amount of vocabulary words, culture, and backstory related to these two best friends from New Hope, PA. I'm hoping to detangle it all in this episode with guest Paul Gutkowski, long-time Ween fan and host of the "God Ween Evan" podcast. We discuss lyrics, pants-pooping, love songs, voice modulation, the concept of brown, and the popular cartoon that "The Mollusk" inspired. Hail Boognish!
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