You, Me and An Album

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70. Maggie Serota Discusses The Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro May 22, 2022

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Music journalist Maggie Serota (formerly of SPIN) pays Al a visit to get him acquainted with the 1980 debut album from The Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro. Maggie delves into what she loves about this band and this album, breaks down some of her favorite tracks and discusses the many dramas that surrounded this short-lived band and its frontman, Julian Cope.

Be sure to give Maggie a follow on Twitter at @maggieserota!

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

Al has recently launched You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter. You can subscribe for free to get Al’s monthly posts, but paid subscriptions give you access to weekly posts and much more. Please consider trying a paid subscription as it also helps to support this podcast! https://youmealbum.substack.com/

1:05 Maggie joins the show

2:01 Kilimanjaro takes Al right back to 1980

5:21 Maggie explains how she wound up getting into The Teardrop Explodes

9:10 Maggie and Al talk about The Teardrop Explodes’ tumultuous history

12:07 Al identifies a song he might skip

14:41 Maggie is fascinated by Julian Cope’s contradictions

18:38 Maggie discovers the meaning behind a cryptic Cope lyrical reference

21:25 Maggie likes some of the tracks on the deluxe version of the album

25:20 Maggie and Al talk about the album’s closer, “When I Dream”

28:06 Al stuns Maggie by admitting he has never done karaoke

31:05 Al likes the keyboard sound on “Thief of Baghdad”

32:54 Maggie likes how seamless the album’s sequencing is

34:57 Maggie talks about the Julian Cope-Ian McCulloch rivalry

37:31 Maggie explains why she chose Kilimanjaro for this episode

42:09 Maggie and Al take a detour to talk about U2

47:42 Maggie brings up another Julian Cope rivalry

48:33 Maggie and Al each have a track where they have trouble focusing

49:32 “Poppies in the Field” reminds Al of The Police

52:18 Maggie recommends that Al explore more of Cope’s solo work

55:02 Maggie revisits a piece she wrote about So I Married an Axe Murderer

59:21 Maggie talks about recent changes in her work situation

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69. Willie Heath Neal and Kira Annalise of The Waymores Discuss Waylon Jennings, Honky Tonk Heroes May 15, 2022

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Country musicians Willie Heath Neal and Kira Annalise, who perform as The Waymores, introduce Al to an album by their band’s namesake, Honky Tonk Heroes by Waylon Jennings. Willie and Kira talk about why this album is so special to them, and they also tell Al about their farm in central Georgia and discuss their new album, Stone Sessions.

Be sure to follow Willie and Kira on Twitter at @TWaymores and on Instagram at @thewaymores!

As they mentioned, they also have a YouTube channel. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWGJRTKouBz7IO3YkUJD4Q.

You can also find out more about the band’s music and tour dates on their website, thewaymores.com.

1:22 Willie and Kira join the show

1:49 Willie and Kira cite the other albums they considered for this episode

3:05 Willie and Kira talk about the origins of The Waymores

8:23 Kira and Willie revisit Kira’s introduction to Honky Tonk Heroes

13:03 Willie thinks about Honky Tonk Heroes as a concept album

13:33 Willie recounts his first experience of closely listening to Honky Tonk Heroes

16:00 Kira and Willie explain why they think the album is brilliant

17:58 Al had trouble focusing on the music on the album

19:25 Waylon Jennings’ message and vocal delivery made the album meaningful for Kira

21:09 Shoddy production is part of the album’s charm for Willie

23:06 Willie and Kira delve into the particulars of Waylon’s vocal delivery

26:28 Willie talks about his long-standing fixation with Honky Tonk Heroes

29:00 Kira tells the story behind the partnership of Waylon and Billy Joe Shaver

34:31 Kira and Willie laud the quality and uniqueness of Waylon’s voice

37:37 Willie repeats a story told to him by Billy Joe Shaver

Discussion of selected tracks:

39:35 We Had It All

42:00 Ain’t No God in Mexico

42:44 Low Down Freedom/Omaha

46:59 Kira and Willie talk about a particular lesson they take from Waylon’s songwriting

49:21 Honky Tonk Heroes was an aberration for a country album in the early ‘70s

50:56 Kira and Willie talk extensively about “outlaw” vs. “outcast” country

55:29 Willie likes how spacious Honky Tonk Heroes is

57:19 Kira and Willie appreciate the way Waylon paints a picture with his songs

1:00:56 Kira and Willie talk about their farm and their love of animals

1:08:06 Kira and Willie talk about their new album, Stone Sessions

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68. Adam Aizer Discusses Aerosmith, Get a Grip May 01, 2022

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The man who taught Al everything he knows about podcasting — podcast and video host Adam Aizer of CBSSports.com — pays a visit to the show, and he introduces Al to Aerosmith’s 1993 album, Get a Grip. In addition to discussing the album and nearly all of its tracks in detail, Adam and Al reminisce about their time podcasting together for CBSSports.com and explore the lack of overlap in their musical tastes.

Al made a reference to a Misheard Lyrics video for Pearl Jam’s Yellow Ledbetter. He and Adam highly recommend it. Give it a watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLd22ha_-VU

1:07 Adam joins the show

1:48 Al acknowledges his debt to Adam

2:27 Adam recalls a tense podcast that he and Al did

4:56 Adam and Al are continuing previous conversations about Get a Grip

6:18 Adam explains how he got into Aerosmith and Get a Grip

10:07 Adam and Al talk about the videos Aerosmith made for tracks on Get a Grip

12:12 Al discovers why he hasn’t liked Aerosmith more

14:48 Adam describes how he sees the evolution of Aerosmith’s personality

19:03 Adam addresses one criticism of Get a Grip

19:38 Al has lumped Aerosmith in with several ‘70s artists who changed their style in the ‘80s

21:46 Adam and Al disagree on who is the best American rock band

23:30 Adam reveals something about his music-listening habits

24:52 Al — and not Adam — picked this episode’s album

25:23 Adam also liked the albums Aerosmith released after Get a Grip

27:33 Adam talks about why Get a Grip is his favorite Aerosmith album

Observations about specific tracks:

29:09 Amazing

31:34 Crazy

33:13 Livin’ on the Edge

35:55 Adam ranks his six favorite tracks from the album

37:04 Eat the Rich

41:46 Adam brings up the most unfortunate part of the album

43:33 Shut Up and Dance

45:00 Line Up

47:05 Gotta Love It

48:31 Al compares Eat the Rich with Livin’ on the Edge

50:16 Adam thinks the sequencing of Get a Grip is interesting

52:29 Al takes another crack at comparing Eat the Rich and Livin’ on the Edge

54:46 Al sums up his opinion of Get a Grip

55:20 Adam recommends another album for Al to listen to

56:38 Adam discusses his work with CBSSports.com

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67. Marissa R. Moss Discusses Margo Price, Midwest Farmer's Daughter Apr 17, 2022

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Music journalist Marissa R. Moss, author of the soon-to-be-released Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be, stops by to get me acquainted with Margo Price’s 2016 debut album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. Marissa talks about the circumstances that brought her to Nashville, how she became acquainted with Price’s music, and what makes Midwest Farmer’s Daughter a special album.

Give Marissa a follow on Twitter and Instagram at @marissarmoss!

You can also learn more about Marissa and her work at her website, https://www.marissarmoss.com/.

1:12 Marissa joins the show

2:22 Marissa explains why she moved to Nashville

7:14 Marissa first saw Margo Price with Buffalo Clover

10:43 Margo Price’s music isn’t necessarily easy to categorize

12:42 Marissa knew Midwest Farmer’s Daughter was special almost instantly

Observations about (nearly all of) the album’s tracks:

14:16 Hands of Time

19:57 Marissa helps Al understand the distinction between Americana and country music

24:05 Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)

25:19 This Town Gets Around

26:15 Since You Put Me Down

30:27 Tennessee Song

32:46 Four Years of Chances

38:26 Hurtin’ (On the Bottle), again

41:55 How the Mighty Have Fallen

48:35 Weekender/World’s GreatestLoser/Desperate and Depressed

55:38 Marissa talks about why she wanted to tell the story she tells in Her Country

1:00:58 Marissa discusses her upcoming plans

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66. Joan Holliday Discusses Al Stewart, Modern Times Apr 03, 2022

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You, Me and An Album takes the show on the road for this episode, recording at WRSI The River studios in Northampton, Mass. The station’s program director, production director and afternoon host, Joan Holliday, was not only gracious enough to join me on this episode and introduce me to Al Stewart’s Modern Times, but also to provide a wonderful venue for our conversation. In addition to talking about the tracks from this 1975 album, as well as some others from Stewart’s discography, Joan discussed her friendship with Stewart, her career in radio and The River’s unique approach to programming.

As Joan mentioned on the show, you can reach her via mail: joan@wrsi.com.

1:01 Joan joins the show

2:25 Joan explains how she chose Modern Times for this episode

3:37 Joan recounts how she became an Al Stewart fan

4:52 Joan talks about her friendship with Al Stewart

9:49 Joan contrasts Modern Times with Year of the Cat

12:35 Joan appreciates how Al Stewart can embody different characters in a song

13:22 Joan and Al discuss how albums like Modern Times don’t become pop albums anymore

15:03 Joan highlights the aspects of Al Stewart’s music that she loves

17:46 Joan has seen Al Stewart perform too many times to count

Reaction to (nearly all of) the album’s tracks:

19:05 Apple Cider Re-Constitution

21:29 Not the One

24:25 Sirens of Titan

25:46 Carol

28:12 What’s Going On?

30:37 The Dark and the Rolling Sea

34:54 Next Time

38:10 Joan implores us to explore more of Al Stewart’s catalog

42:10 Joan talks about how Al Stewart’s sound changed after the success of Year of the Cat

44:04 Does Tony Banks sound like Al Stewart?

45:24 Joan talks about how she started at The River

46:43 Joan describes The River’s approach to programming

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65: Rain Perry Discusses Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska Mar 20, 2022

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Al has had issues with Bruce Springsteen’s music for more than 40 years, and singer/songwriter Rain Perry is here to help him work through them. She introduces Al to Springsteen’s first solo album, Nebraska, and analyzes his particular approach to songcraft. Rain also talks about how she became a Springsteen fan, as well as what she doesn’t like about his music. She also delves into her soon-to-be-released A White Album.

Correction: Al cites April 15 as the release date for Rain’s new album and the tax filing deadline in the U.S. While this is the correct date for Rain’s album release, Tax Day is actually April 18 this year.

Buy Rain’s music! https://rainperry.bandcamp.com

While you’re at it, sign up for her mailing list at rainperry.com.

Also, you can follow Rain on Twitter and Instagram at @rainperry.
Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

0:59 Rain joins the show

1:37 Al feels like the only person in the world who doesn’t like Bruce Springsteen’s music

3:24 Rain talks about her formative musical experiences

6:51 Springsteen’s music resonates with Rain because of the way he tells personal stories

8:22 Rain identifies which Springsteen album she first got into

9:26 Rain explains why she chose Nebraska instead of another Springsteen album

11:53 The track “Johnny 99” highlighted Al’s sense of disconnect with Springsteen’s songs

14:53 Rain talks about her initial impressions of Nebraska

17:01 The six major themes of Springsteen’s songs

Reactions to selected tracks:

18:16 Johnny 99

22:11 Highway Patrolman

27:46 Nebraska

30:13 Reason to Believe

33:45 Atlantic City/Used Cars

37:21 Open All Night

38:42 Springsteen on Broadway left an impression on Rain

42:11 Springsteen inspires Rain to write from other people’s perspectives

47:27 Rain talks about what she likes and dislikes about Springsteen’s songs musically

54:56 Rain and Al discuss her new record, A White Album

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64. Glen Phillips Discusses Dirty Projectors, Lamp Lit Prose Mar 13, 2022

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Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket pays Al a visit to talk about Dirty Projectors’ ninth and most recent album, Lamp Lit Prose. Glen explains why he loves this album, what lessons he takes from it for his own work and what’s in store for him in the studio and on the road. He also talks about other artists he admires, other albums he thought about discussing here and a past project of his that Al just discovered.

Al’s notes:

As I mentioned on this episode, Glen was Brian Koppelman’s guest on his podcast, The Moment, several years ago. It’s a great conversation, and they get deeper into Glen’s career than he and I did on this podcast. Check it out here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/glen-phillips-9-6-16/id814550071?i=1000519286763

Glen made reference to “the Bob Schneider songwriting game.” I admit I had to look this up after recording the episode. Glen described it well here, but if you want to know more about it, this article is a good place to start. https://www.npr.org/2013/11/24/246755925/for-a-few-musicians-beating-songwriters-block-is-all-in-the-game

Websites:
http://www.glenphillips.com/
https://toadthewetsprocket.com/.
https://toadthewetsprocket.bandcamp.com/

Though Glen said he doesn’t use social media much, you can still give him a follow on Twitter at @glenphillips. You can access his weekly livestream concerts there or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/glenphillipsofficial.

1:03 Glen joins the show

1:32 Glen talks about how he has been influenced by Talk Talk and Peter Gabriel

3:03 Glen discusses his EP, Secrets of the New Explorers

5:21 Glen has known Brian Koppelman since his late teens

6:16 Glen and Al talk about how much they love Talk Talk

9:52 Glen lists other albums he thought about picking for this episode

12:11 Glen talks about how he got into Dirty Projectors

14:51 Al shares his reaction to Lamp Lit Prose

Reactions to selected tracks:

15:43 That’s a Lifestyle

20:53 I Feel Energy

23:54 I Found It In U

24:46 Zombie Conqueror (and a discussion of drummers who play out of the pocket)

31:01 Right Now

38:03 Al talks about exploring other Dirty Projectors albums

40:56 Right Now (cont., and a discussion of hocketing)

44:23 Break-Thru

48:13 Glen talks about how different his songwriting approach is compared to David Longstreth’s

51:24 Glen considers whether Dirty Projectors has influenced his music

56:59 Glen also admires the work of Bjork and tUnE-yArDs

58:45 One of Glen’s favorite musicians almost never performs

1:01:14 Glen enjoys leading a community choir

1:05:18 Al explains why he dug further into this album than others discussed on this podcast

1:06:33 Glen talks about the solo project he’s been working on and the upcoming Toad the Wet Sprocket tour

Outro music is from “The Best of Me” by Toad the Wet Sprocket (featuring Michael McDonald).

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63. Sam Wirsching Discusses Tonio K., Life in the Foodchain Mar 06, 2022

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There have been few episodes to date where Al has never heard of the artist or the album being discussed, but fantasy baseball analyst and pet supply store proprietor Sam Wirsching chose an album that fits that category. Sam selected Tonio K.s Life in the Foodchain for this episode, and it’s an album that played an important and memorable role in his childhood. In addition to analyzing several of the album’s tracks, Sam talks about how well the album has held up for him, other artists he listened to growing up and his new podcast, Peace Love Baseball.

Sam mentioned a clip he had seen of Janis Joplin performing “What’s New Pussycat” with Tom Jones, but I was unable to find it. I did find this performance of “Raise Your Hand,” and it’s definitely worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZmiefQ5y4U.

I was also able to locate the clip of CSNY and Tom Jones performing “Long Time Gone” that I had mentioned (though I incorrectly said it was CSN). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIDzA0YDso8

Find and follow Sam on Twitter! @SamFBB1

Sam’s Peace Love Baseball podcast has a Twitter account. Follow his show at @plbpodcast.

Al has recently launched You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter. You can subscribe for free to get Al’s monthly posts, but paid subscriptions give you access to weekly posts and much more. Please consider trying a paid subscription as it also helps to support this podcast! https://youmealbum.substack.com/

1:11 Sam joins the show

2:29 Sam explains why he chose Life in the Foodchain as his album

3:03 Sam and Al try to find ways to describe Tonio K’s music

5:21 Sam likes the album’s irreverent tone

7:31 Al shares his initial reaction to the album

Reactions to (nearly all of) the album tracks:

8:53 The Funky Western Civilization

12:40 Life in the Food Chain

14:51 Al and Sam wax nostalgic about music from the late 70s

17:47 Sam and Al highlight what makes Tonio K. unique

20:44 Sam and Al wind up taking a detour to talk about Tom Jones

23:29 Life in the Food Chain (cont.)

28:55 Willie and the Pigman/The Ballad of the Night the Clocks All Quit (And the Government Failed)

36:55 H-A-T-R-E-D

43:03 A Lover’s Plea

47:40 How Come I Can’t See You In My Mirror?

50:53 Better Late Than Never

53:15 Sam talks about some other artists he listened to growing up

58:26 Sam discusses his new baseball podcast

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62. Mike Lord and Tom Roche Discuss Phil Collins, Testify Feb 27, 2022

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Mike Lord and Tom Roche — co-hosts of Tabletop Genesis — take a busman’s holiday from their own podcast to have a Genesis-adjacent conversation on this podcast. Mike, Tom and Al discuss Phil Collins’ seventh solo album, Testify — an album that Al had never explored despite being an ardent Genesis and Phil Collins fan. Mike explains why he recommended this album to Al, despite its less-than-glowing reviews, and Tom discusses his own journey with the album. The whole crew reveals where they would rank Testify among Phil’s albums.

Some assorted notes:

I criticized Phil for having a lyrical theme that was too close to that of a big hit by The Police. Then I referred to “Every Breath You Take” as “Every Step You Take,” which was a far greater offense than the thing I was criticizing.

I could not find a link to the Toyota Avalon commercial with "Can’t Stop Loving You." In my searches I did, however, learn that Taylor Swift did her own cover version in 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6FXmdoGut8

I recommended a couple of YouTube channels, so here are the links!

Tim Pierce: https://www.youtube.com/c/timpierceguitar

Leland Sklar: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs5yDeiOgkyRZGZGphlSbIw

And here is the episode where Lee tells the story about playing on Leo Sayer’s version of “Can’t Stop Loving You.” It starts at 16:26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I74es0kSFlw&t=1062s

Follow Tom and Mike on Twitter!

Tom Roche is @burningfirebush

Mike Lord is @zorknapp

Their Tabletop Genesis podcast is on Twitter, too! Follow them at @GenesisTabletop

The show also has a Facebook page (Tabletop Genesis) and a website, http://tabletopgenesis.com/, where you can get the podcast, take their polls and learn more about the program.

(To the tune of Follow You, Follow Me) You can follow them, will you follow me…

1:16 Mike and Tom join the show

3:01 Al and Mike explain how this episode came to be

6:47 Tom hadn’t listened to Testify much before preparing for this episode

8:53 Al didn’t even know Testify existed until several years after its release

9:49 Al wonders if he can evaluate Testify fairly and enlists Tom and MIke’s help

16:40 Mike and Al consider whether they would have liked Testify 20 years ago

17:54 Phil Collins’ albums often reflect his mood at the time he records them

18:47 Testify has a different sound than Phil’s other albums

Reactions to the album’s tracks (slightly out of order)

20:14 Wake Up Call

26:37 Testify

30:38 Come with Me

35:47 Don’t Get Me Started

40:34 Swing Low

44:28 It’s Not Too Late

50:46 This Love This Heart

53:08 Driving Me Crazy

57:55 The Least You Can Do

1:00:27 Can’t Stop Loving You

1:06:58 Thru My Eyes

1:09:31 You Touch My Heart

1:11:36 Tom, Mike and Al consider how to re-sequence the album

1:13:48 Tom, Mike and Al determine where they’d rank Testify among Phil’s albums

1:22:24 Mike was pleasantly surprised at his Twitter feed’s reaction to us doing this podcast

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61. (NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT) Sean Inderbitzen Discusses Sufjan Stevens, Illinois Feb 20, 2022

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NOTES: This episode includes some discussion of graphic and disturbing lyrics during the section on the track, “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” beginning at the 9:47 mark.

Also, there were some issues with audio quality on this episode. I apologize for the quality in some spots and hope you can bear with them (I think you’ll find it’s worth it!).

Behavioral health therapist Sean Inderbitzen joins Al for this episode, as he introduces him to Sufjan Stevens’ critically-acclaimed 2005 album, Illinois. Sean discusses why he chose this album and how he came to love it. Sean also delves into how he sees the album’s songs as a reflection of the times they were created in and the more timeless meaning that they hold for him.

1:32 Sean joins the show

1:44 Al explains how he and Sean know each other

3:28 Al consciously avoided listening to Sufjan Stevens’ work

4:21 It took Sean several years to appreciate Sufjan’s work

6:12 “Chicago” was the gateway for Sean “getting” this album

9:47 Sean is fascinated by “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” (WARNING: Includes discussion of graphic and disturbing lyrics)

14:50 Sean and Al have a hard time finding something to compare Illinois to

18:59 The intensity of Illinois reflects the time in which it was made

22:09 Sean reflects more on the message of “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”

Reactions to additional tracks

24:00 Casimir Pulaski Day

26:21 Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois