You, Me and An Album

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30. Michael Govier Discusses Built to Spill, Keep It Like a Secret Jul 04, 2021

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Fantasy baseball analyst and podcaster Michael Govier comes aboard this week to share his love for Built to Spill’s 1999 album, Keep It Like a Secret. Michael and Al talked about Michael’s various podcasts, how his love for listening to and playing music has grown and waned and grown again over the years, and how he came to be a fan of this Boise-based band and this particular album.

Note: Michael and Al discussed the lyrics to Broken Chairs but did not mention that they were not written by Doug Martsch, but by the poet Uhuru Black. According Genius.com, Black was a friend of members of Built to Spill, and had no relation to the reggae band, Black Uhuru.

Another note: Al mentioned that he has been taking drum lessons via Zoom from Sara Lund, who was the drummer for Unwound and several other bands. If you are considering learning drums, Sara is an outstanding teacher. Check out her website here! http://www.saralundrum.com/

Here’s where you can find all of Michael’s various projects…

RotoFanatic: https://rotofanatic.com/

Hey It’s Enrico Pallazzo Fantasy Baseball (@pallazzopodcast on Twitter): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-its-enrico-pallazzo-fantasy-baseball/id1479953993

First Day (@FirstDayPod): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzXlTCikAUUYpeI1yovjmPQ/featured

Cinema 9 Pod (@Cinema9Pod): https://linktr.ee/Cinema9

Is It Safe? Podcast: https://www.audible.com/pd/Is-It-Safe-Podcast/B08K55ZL7L

Michael is a great follow on Twitter. If you’re not following him at @mjgovier, you’re missing out!

Al is merely ok on Twitter, and you can find him there at @almelchiorBB. You should definitely follow him at @youmealbum, because that’s where he announces upcoming guests and albums ahead of time.

1:06 Michael joins the show

2:53 Michael could be adding voiceover work to his résumé

5:36 How did Michael start each of his four podcasts?

10:04 Michael has been playing drums since the eighth grade

12:42 Michael comes from a musical family

13:34 Yancy Eaton (a friend of the show!) rekindled Michael’s passion for music

14:36 Michael talks about the bands he’s played in

16:30 Michael names a couple of his favorite drummers

18:21 Which tracks on Keep It Like a Secret are Michael’s favorites to drum along with?

20:40 Michael fell in love with Keep It Like a Secret while listening to it on the way to band practice

24:36 Al has gotten sucked into a Portland music vortex

26:58 Keep It Like a Secret didn’t fit Al’s expectations

29:22 Keep It Like a Secret reminded Al of Aeroplane Over the Sea in some ways

34:10 Michael and Al share some misheard lyrics

36:42 Keep It Like a Secret is a guitar-heavy album

Track-by-track breakdown:

38:59 The Plan

42:57 Center of the Universe

45:21 Carry The Zero

50:40 Sidewalk

52:50 Bad Light

56:14 Time Trap

1:02:01 Else

1:06:37 You Were Right

1:10:39 Temporarily Blind

1:12:14 Broken Chairs

1:17:37 Al is really enjoying catching up on late ‘90s/early ‘00s indie rock

1:19:58 Nostalgia can be important to building a connection with an album

1:24:58 Michael alerts us to a new music podcast

1:26:34 Michael’s thoughts on Built to Spill’s legacy

1:33:03 An addendum to the show

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29. Rat Discusses Public Service Broadcasting, The Race for Space Jun 27, 2021

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You, Me and An Album travels across the Atlantic for this episode, and then our guest takes us to the moon! This week’s guest is Rat, the guitarist for Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Obey Robots, and he delves into Public Service Broadcasting’s The Race for Space. In addition to discussing each track on the album, Rat explains how he became a fan of PSB, which guitarists have influenced his playing, when we can expect Ned’s Atomic Dustbin to play live shows and when we might get to hear the first Obey Robots album.

Find Rat on Facebook: ratjneds

Rat is also on Twitter: I incorrectly left out the underscore on Rat’s handle when providing it on the show. He is @rat_ned.

Al on Twitter: @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the latter account for updates on the show, including announcements of upcoming guests and albums.

Rat made a couple of references to PSB’s track, Spitfire. Check out the video for it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u4Md_aXVJE

I made a reference to PSB’s new video for People, Let’s Dance. It’s worth taking four minutes to listen to and watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0MTqhf9xPo

And here is the link to PSB’s performance on the KEXP YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rZNQppYngA&t=1115s

I have since found that they have made an even more recent appearance on KEXP, which includes a performance of Go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mScesON6Kx4

0:59 Rat joins the show

1:16 Rat has one degree of separation from Public Service Broadcasting

2:22 Public Service Broadcasting is not a typical band

3:25 When will there be an Obey Robots album?

6:55 Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s tour plans

10:34 Which guitarists were inspirations to Rat when he was growing up?

12:02 Which music has Rat been enjoying more recently?

13:40 Rat is a big fan of The Wonder Stuff

14:54 How Rat got into PSB

17:31 The specific aspect of PSB’s music that really appeals to Rat

18:55 PSB: prog or not prog?

19:36 Some of PSB’s venues were as unique as their music

Track-by-track breakdown

22:49 The Race for Space

27:10 Sputnik

29:02 Gagarin

31:53 Fire in the Cockpit

35:00 E.V.A.

40:49 The Other Side

43:52 Valentina

46:23 Go!

52:37 Tomorrow

59:51 Why Rat thinks the album needs to be listened to as a whole

1:01:23 Rat anticipates that PSB will continue to create great work

1:06:33 What does Rat carry over from music he loves into his own music?

Outro music is Cut Up by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin

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28. Rudy Gamble Discusses Old 97's, Too Far To Care Jun 20, 2021

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Rudy Gamble, co-founder of Razzball, pays the show a visit to introduce Al to Old 97's and the world of alt-country. His selection to discuss is 1997's Too Far to Care, the Dallas quartet's third album. He and Al not only talk about the album and dig into specific tracks, but Rudy also recounts his experiences with screenwriting and songwriting and his journey from classic rock fan to devotee of all types of alternative music.
Check out Razzball (and Rudy's statistical tools and headlines) at razzball.com.
Follow Rudy on Twitter! @rudygamble
Follow Al on Twitter! @almelchiorBB
If you want to know about upcoming guests and albums on this show, be sure to also follow Al on Twitter at @youmealbum.
1:14 Rudy joins the show

3:34 The origins of Razzball are intertwined with Rudy and Grey’s screenwriting

10:18 Rudy wrote songs steadily for several years

15:30 Rudy’s appreciation for good lyrics is a big reason for why he loves Too Far To Care

17:59 Rudy’s Pyramid of Song Realization

20:31 How Rudy’s musical journey from college forward led him to Old 97’s

36:01 What are the specifics of Old 97’s music that appeal to Rudy the most?

44:30 Rudy relates to Rhett Miller’s perspective as a lyricist

49:12 The album’s theme is perfectly exemplified by Streets of Where I’m From

53:19 Alt-country is a good entry point for Al to listen to more country

58:17 Al's complaint about Too Far To Care

1:01:22 Big Brown Eyes is a unique song on the album in a couple of ways

1:07:10 Four Leaf Clover is an appropriate closing track

1:09:54 In Timebomb, the drums help to tell the story

Rudy reviews a few of the album’s tracks

1:14:22 Barrier Reef

1:16:17 Melt Show

1:17:48 Streets of Where I’m From

1:18:42 Niteclub

1:19:38 House That Used To Be

1:20:50 Rudy thinks a lot of the best music is from bands in their 20s

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27. Nat Cassidy Discusses The Daddies, Rapid City Muscle Car Jun 13, 2021

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Actor/writer/musician/songwriter Nat Cassidy took Al somewhere on this episode that he thought he'd never go back to – the 90’s swing revival. He chose Rapid City Muscle Car by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (aka The Daddies), which to Al's surprise was more than just a swing album. They talked about the variety of genres represented on the album, what Nat loves about various tracks, what Nat looks for in music he listens to and the many projects he is currently working on.

To learn more about Nat and his work, be sure to visit natcassidy.com.

You can reach Nat on Twitter at @natcassidy and on Instagram at @catnassidy.

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the latter account for information on upcoming guests and albums. He is also on Instagram at @youmealbum.

1:15 Nat joins the show…and with a purpose

2:01 The various projects that Nat has been working on

4:04 The difficulties involved in acting on a podcast

6:51 Without live shows to play, Nat has learned some new musical techniques

10:10 All of Nat’s favorite music meets two criteria

14:55 How Nat wound up listening to The Daddies despite growing up in a “classic rock” home

23:25 Nat wasn’t sure which Daddies album to choose, because they are all so different

26:11 The three complaints that people tend to have about The Daddies

29:10 Al dreaded listening to this album for a really bad reason

31:35 Nat acknowledges that the album does not get off to a great start

Breakdown of selected tracks

34:47 The Search

38:05 The Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line

42:29 Chrysalis

45:10 Skyline Drive

47:18 Impossible Dream/Come Back to Me

52:30 Inertia Rhapsody

57:06 Equus

58:54 Johanna of the Spirits

59:40 Bobby Kennedy

1:04:03 Lovers Understand

1:11:28 Does Nat have a favorite Daddies album?

1:15:38 The last two episodes have taught Al an important life lesson

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26. Rebecca Clay Cole Discusses Jimmy Buffett, A-1-A Jun 06, 2021

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Rebecca Clay Cole (The Minders, Wild Flag) returns to You, Me and An Album, picking up where she left off...discussing Jimmy Buffett! This time, we're chatting about his 1974 album, A-1-A. In addition to breaking down the album's tracks, we talk about how the Elephant 6 collective came together, Rebecca's mom's cool musical tastes and how Jimmy Buffett helps both of us to reflect on time we've spent in Florida and the tropics.
1:06 Rebecca joins the show

1:30 How Rebecca got her start in music

3:49 How Rebecca wound up in Denver and with The Minders

4:48 Jimmy Buffet and the Caribbean were a part of Rebecca’s childhood

6:52 Debussy and FM radio were also important to Rebecca when she was growing up

8:35 Rebecca felt at home with the musicians in the Elephant 6 collective

10:00 How Rebecca came to play drums with The Minders – with very little experience

11:01 Rebecca’s bias against drum fills

13:09 Rebecca is glad she didn’t rebel against her mom’s musical tastes

14:50 Rebecca didn’t realize Jimmy Buffett’s music was considered uncool

16:46 If Rebecca didn’t pick a Jimmy Buffett album for this show, she would pick…

Track-by-track breakdown

18:15 Makin’ Music for Money

24:03 Door Number Three

30:14 Dallas

36:05 Presents to Send You

39:34 Stories We Could Tell

45:12 Life Is Just a Tire Swing

51:31 A Pirate Looks At Forty

1:03:49 Migration

1:08:49 Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season

1:13:00 Nautical Wheelers/Tin Cup Chalice

1:17:19 Jimmy Buffett conveys a sense of timelessness and being in the moment

The outro music is from Red Bus by The Minders.

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25. Nick Pollack Discusses The Devin Townsend Band, Accelerated Evolution May 30, 2021

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Nick Pollack, the founder and president of Pitcher List (https://www.pitcherlist.com/), threw me a curve on this episode, sending me into the genre of progressive metal -- a world I had barely explored. He chose The Devin Townsend Band’s Accelerated Evolution as our album to discuss. We talked about Nick’s own history as a guitarist, how one bridges the gap between progressive rock and progressive metal, Townsend’s career as a solo artist and as a member of Strapping Young Lad and how we responded to each track on this album.

In my haste to get to the discussion of this album, I completely forgot to mention the Pitcher List YouTube channel. You can find Nick’s videos right here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pitcher+list. I was also extremely remiss to not mention Nick’s outstanding podcast, Nick Pollack & Friends, especially since he was gracious enough to have me on as a guest recently. Check out all of the episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nick-pollack-friends-podcast/id1553698497.

Also, my apologies to Strapping Young Lad and their fans for referring to them as “Strapping Young Lads.”

Nick had recommended that we all check out Devin Townsend’s EMGtv performance of Kingdom, so here’s the link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nubJjB95VdY

0:58 Nick joins the show

2:59 Nick’s journey as a guitarist

6:47 The Five-Percent Rule

8:10 Nick loves riffs

9:22 Which guitarists are Nick’s favorites?

13:39 What does Nick love about progressive metal?

18:01 How Nick got into Devin Townsend

19:23 Al has tried – and failed – to get into progressive metal

Track-by-track breakdown

24:33 Depth Charge

31:48 Storm

34:42 Random Analysis

39:24 Deadhead

42:57 Suicide

47:52 Traveller

53:05 Away

55:59 Sunday Afternoon

1:00:00 Slow Me Down

1:01:49 Nick recounts some of the experience of seeing Devin Townsend live

1:03:59 How Al came to like Accelerated Evolution a lot more after repeated listens

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24. JB Brubaker Discusses Weezer, The Blue Album May 23, 2021

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JB Brubaker, lead guitarist for the Grammy-nominated metalcore group August Burns Red joins me for this episode of You, Me and An Album. He introduces me to Weezer’s 1994 debut album, aka The Blue Album. More accurately, JB introduces me to 70 percent of the album – that is, the portion of the album that didn’t get played on the radio. We discussed his musical evolution as a guitarist, which really began with listening to The Blue Album, August Burns Red’s possible return to touring and each track from Weezer’s debut.

JB recommended that I watch the video for Undone -- The Sweater Song. He did not mention that it includes some very good dogs. You can (and should) watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHQqqM5sr7g.

I’d mentioned that Rivers Cuomo had grown up in an ashram. In explaining what an ashram is, I referred to it as a Buddhist place of refuge. It is actually not exclusive to Buddhism, but rather applies to Indian religions in general.

You can find JB on Twitter at @jbbrubaker and on Instagram at @jbburnsred.

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorbb and at @youmealbum. He is also now on Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the @youmealbum accounts to get the latest updates on the show, including upcoming guests and albums.

1:03 JB joins the show

2:09 How JB’s fantasy teams are doing so far

3:11 August Burns Red has made the most of no touring and no record label…

5;53 …but touring may resume this fall

6:59 JB discovered music he liked by hearing the albums his sister played

8:40 Weezer is (sort of) responsible for Al’s two-year Toto binge

10:56 JB’s evolution from listening to Weezer to listening to punk

14:02 Learning from Between the Buried and Me

16:07 Why JB chose The Blue Album for this episode

17:10 The Blue Album is an incredibly confident-sounding debut album

Track-by-track breakdown

18:55 My Name Is Jonas

25:45 No One Else

29:23 The World Has Turned and Left Me Here

33:18 Buddy Holly

37:56 Undone – The Sweater Song

42:52 Surf Wax America

44:54 Say It Ain’t So

49:43 In The Garage

52:15 Holiday

55:55 Only In Dreams

1:05:22 JB’s favorite tracks on The Blue Album

Outro music is from Empire by August Burns Red.

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23. Patrick Grant Discusses Devo, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! May 16, 2021

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Patrick Grant, creator of Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars, introduces me to an album that I long avoided because I thought it might be “scary,” but his quest is to show us that it's just scary good. The album in question is Devo’s “Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”, and Patrick breaks down the album’s many innovations. We also talked about Switched On Bach, Patrick’s interactions with Devo and Robert Fripp and his project, Tilted Axes.

Patrick referred to alternate versions of some of the tracks on Are We Not Men. You can listen to those B Stiff EP versions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhwCQdBK2XY.

Here is a link to the Devo performance on SNL that was the starting point for Patrick’s fandom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04pbtf5t_LU.

Places online to find Patrick: patrickgrant.com, strangemusic.com and tiltedaxes.com

You can find me on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. I have just joined Instagram and have created an account for the show there: @youmealbum. Come give me a follow...there will be content soon!

1:10 Patrick joins the show

2:16 Patrick and Al’s mutual connections

4:02 Songcrafting and creating Tilted Axes as a “musician’s revenge”

7:37 The path that took Patrick from A Clockwork Orange to Bach to King Crimson to Devo

15:55 How Patrick wound up working with Robert Fripp

25:50 Patrick had something to talk about with the members of Devo

26:06 Devo’s message had hippie roots

28:30 Devo initially put art in the foreground and music in the background

30:25 Patrick notes Devo’s liberal use of “found art”

33:40 Devo’s sound involved both distant and human elements

37:50 Patrick’s tortured introduction to Are We Not Men?

Track-by-track breakdown

43:25 Uncontrollable Urge

47:15 (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

48:02 Praying Hands

50:11 Space Junk

52:16 Mongoloid

54:13 Jocko Homo

57:32 Too Much Paranoias

59:47 Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)

1:00:43 Come Back Jonee

1:03:44 Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’)

1:05:44 Shrivel-Up

1:07:51 Whip It got misunderstood

1:11:59 Devo did a number of cover songs

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22. Rebecca Clay Cole Discusses Jimmy Buffett, The Great Filling Station Holdup (You, Me and a Song) May 09, 2021

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On this episode, You, Me and An Album becomes You, Me and a Song. Back in late March, Rebecca Clay Cole (The Minders, Wild Flag, Telekinesis) posted a tweet in which she bemoaned that Jimmy Buffett’s The Great Filling Station Holdup didn’t hold a more beloved place in the country music canon. On this episode, Rebecca makes her case for that song’s deservingness in a longer, more detailed format. She also discusses her close connection to Neutral Milk Hotel and her time with the indie rock supergroup, Wild Flag.

Here’s Rebecca’s tweet about The Great Filling Station Holdup: https://twitter.com/RebeccaClayCole/status/1376298393459249153

If you haven’t seen Wild Flag’s Electric Band video – which we discussed in this episode – stop what you’re doing and click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ge32E0xLg0

Rebecca and her piano renditions of Jimmy Buffett songs are on Instagram at @rebeccaclaycole.

You can also find Rebecca on Twitter at @RebeccaClayCole

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the latter account to find out who the upcoming guests and featured albums are.

1:00 Rebecca joins the show

1:11 Why I’m doing You, Me and a Song

3:13 Rebecca’s long-standing connection with Neutral Milk Hotel

10:03 What Rebecca has done musically in the absence of touring

13:27 Rebecca is emphatic about her Jimmy Buffett fandom

14:06 The Great Filling Station Holdup represents a critical turning point in Jimmy Buffett’s career

16:09 Rebecca likes how TGFSH takes her back in time

17:35 Rebecca explains why the harmonica part is so important to the song

18:16 Why Al hasn’t liked Jimmy Buffett’s music

21:24 Al did appreciate both the musicianship and storytelling of TGFSH

23:15 Jimmy Buffett sang about a different type of outlaw – the South Florida outlaw

24:14 Rebecca breaks down the brilliance of the “Krystal” verse

27:10 Rebecca explains how the music is a part of the storytelling

29:49 A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean might be viewed differently if not for the work Jimmy Buffet did afterwards

31:22 Rebecca explains the idea behind the Wild Flag video for Electric Band

34:45 Al makes a comparison between Wild Flag and GTR

38:18 Al reveals whether he likes TGFSH

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21. Jason La Canfora Discusses Fishbone, Truth and Soul May 02, 2021

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Football writer, radio host and podcaster Jason La Canfora has had eclectic taste in music going back to his teen years, so it’s only appropriate that he chose a band with a range of eclectic sounds to discuss on this episode of You, Me and An Album. Jason introduced me to Fishbone’s Truth and Soul, which features ska, soul, funk, metal and punk across its dozen tracks. In addition to this 1988 album, we talked about Jason’s work with CBSSports.com, the musical influences he encountered at Baltimore’s skate parks, the D.C. punk scene and too many other topics to mention.

You can find Jason on Twitter at @JasonLaCanfora (though, as we discussed on the show, I will pass along any messages that you send me regarding this episode).

Jason’s archive of columns for CBSSports.com are here: https://www.cbssports.com/writers/jason-la-canfora/.

Check out Jason’s podcast about bad baseball teams! He, along with Heather Linington-Noble and Matt Mikolas, hosts Positive Spin Rate. Episodes are here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/positive-spin-rate/id1561013028.

You can reach me on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. Be sure to follow me on the latter account if you want to know which albums are going to be discussed ahead of time!

1:10 Jason joins the show

1:42 Other albums Jason considered discussing on the show

7:26 What Jason is up to on TV, the internet and radio in his work for CBS and Odyssey

8:27 Jason talks about his Orioles-inspired baseball podcast

11:05 How Jason learned about music growing up in Baltimore (without the benefit of MTV)

17:28 Jason was into the not-too-distant D.C. punk scene

19:45 How Jason was introduced to Truth and Soul

23:23 Radio didn’t know what to do with Fishbone, even during their heyday

26:42 Truth and Soul sounds like it could be from different eras

27:53 Jason has a hard time picking his favorite tracks

Track-by-track breakdown

29:43 Freddie’s Dead