Explore every episode of the podcast The James McMahon Music Podcast
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
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| Episode 293: Kathy Sledge, Sister Sledge | 28 Aug 2024 | 00:24:02 | |
Kathy Sledge is an American singer–songwriter and producer. She is best known as the youngest and founding member of disco soul legends Sister Sledge.
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| McMahonologues #18: Return of the Mack | 22 Aug 2024 | 00:28:12 | |
Forgot to say this in the episode because I'm an idiot. Why not subscribe to The James McMahon Music Podcast Patreon?
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| Episode 285: Grant Nicholas, Feeder | 30 Apr 2024 | 00:41:25 | |
Feeder are a British rock band formed in Newport, Wales, in 1994. On this episode I speak to singer and guitarist Grant Nicholas.
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| Episode 206: Rose Elinor Dougall, The WAEVE | 03 Dec 2023 | 00:28:25 | |
Rose Elinor Dougall is an English singer, songwriter and musician. She was a member of The Pipettes and has written and performed with Mark Ronson. Since 2022 she has been a member of The WAEVE, alongside partner Graham Coxon.
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| Episode 205: Andrew Harrison on the secrets of Select Magazine | 02 Dec 2023 | 00:52:38 | |
Andrew Harrison is the Group Editor of Podmasters, home of Oh God What Now?, The Bunker, Paper Cuts, and more. Formally the editor of Q and Word, he worked in a variety of roles at Select magazine - my favourite music magazine of the nineties, because NME was a paper then and thus doesn't count - between 1990 and 1995. Show theme by Bis.
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| Episode 204: Saul Galpern, Nude Records | 02 Dec 2023 | 01:05:47 | |
Saul Galpern owns Nude Records. Best known for signing Suede, thereby igniting the scene that would come to be known as Britpop, Nude also had success with releases by Black Box Recorder, Geneva, Billy Mackenzie, and my personal favourites Ultrasound.
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| Episode 203: Rick Witter, Shed Seven | 30 Nov 2023 | 00:42:19 | |
Rick Witter has fronted Shed Seven since 1990. Between 1994 and 1999 the York based band had fifteen UK Top 40 singles and four UK Top 20 albums. They return on January 5th, 2024, with a new album, A Matter of Time and celebrate their 30th anniversary in July with two hometown shows at York Museum Gardens.
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| Episode 202: Andy McCluskey, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | 29 Nov 2023 | 00:41:16 | |
Andy McCluskey is the bassist and lead vocalist in British electronic pop pioneers OMD, and the only constant member since their formation in their native Wiral, Merseyside, in 1978. Having sold to date over 40 million records globally, the group recently released their fourteenth studio album, Bauhaus Staircase. They tour in the UK in 2024.
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| Episode 201: Ian Broudie, Lightning Seeds | 28 Nov 2023 | 00:42:22 | |
Ian Broudie is the singer, songwriter, and guitarist, in The Lightning Seeds. A former member of Big In Japan, and the producer of classic records by Echo & the Bunnymen, the Fall, and the Coral, he recently released his first book, Tomorrow's Here Today: Lightning Seeds, Football and Cosmic Post-Punk on Nine Eight Books.
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| McMahon's Musings #14: Some words about that 'new' Beatles song | 10 Nov 2023 | 00:12:54 | |
I went on the telly.
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| Episode 200: The Futureheads (Part two) | 08 Nov 2023 | 00:38:27 | |
Enjoy episode one of my conversation with The Futureheads? Look, I know this podcast thing is a one way conversation, but I’m going to presume that you did given that you appear to have come back for more. Yes, what follows is the rest of my conversation with The Futureheads’ Barry Hyde and Ross Millard, and it includes, among other things, some titbits about what the Sunderland band might do next.
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| Episode 199: The Futureheads (Part one) | 07 Nov 2023 | 00:45:22 | |
I can’t believe it took 199 episodes but I finally got, not just one of my favourite bands, but a group I grew up with – an outfit that I’ve known and championed for my entire career as a music journalist – on an episode of the podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, all who fall in between, on this episode I’m speaking to Ross Millard and Barry Hyde from Sunderland new wave punk pop art rock sensations, The Futureheads.
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| Episode 198: Jordan Bassett on the illicit thrills of Little Richard | 06 Nov 2023 | 00:59:39 | |
Jordan Bassett used to be a commissioning editor at my beloved NME. Now he’s written his first book. Part of the 33 1/3rd series, the recently released Here's Little Richard tells the story of the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer's 1957 debut, and does so with the flair and precision that I do so love about Jordan’s writing.
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| Episode 284: Howard Fishman on the search for Connie Converse | 29 Apr 2024 | 00:36:11 | |
Howard Fishman is an American author, culture writer, singer, guitarist, bandleader, playwright, and composer from Brooklyn, New York.
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| Episode 197: Paul Lester, Editor, Record Collector | 05 Nov 2023 | 00:49:08 | |
You probably know by now that I am obsessed with the music press, and so it was it was a treat to speak to Record Collector editor Paul Lester on this episode.
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| Episode 196: Alex Dunne, Crime in Stereo | 04 Nov 2023 | 00:35:19 | |
Okay, so there’s still two months to go, but I’m fairly certain that when 2023 is through, my favourite album released this year will be House & Trance by Long Island melodic hardcore champs, Crime In Stereo.
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| Episode 195: Will Sergeant, Echo & the Bunnymen | 03 Nov 2023 | 00:29:13 | |
Echo & the Bunnymen are, in my educated opinion, one of the best bands of all time.
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| Episode 194: Paul Rees search for the real Elliott Smith | 02 Nov 2023 | 00:32:02 | |
Paul Rees was editor of Kerrang! magazine two suckers before I was. Then he was editor of the forever missed Q. Then he wrote a book about West Brom Football Club that I thought was incredible despite having very little opinion on West Brom Football Club prior to reading it. Now he’s written a book about the late, great Elliott Smith, titled Shooting Star: The Definitive Story of Elliott Smith, for Nine Eight Books. Watch this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4voDRzdWpbo&t=2s
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| Episode 193: Olly Knights, Turin Brakes | 02 Nov 2023 | 00:33:30 | |
I was very fond of million unit selling, Balham band Turin Brakes when I was a younger man. In fact their first two records - 2001’s The Optimist and 2003’s Ether Song - soundtracked a lot of miserable times I spent in bedsits. It’s testament to the songwriting nous of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian’s group – and a bit of luck, cough, Take That – that they’re still making records all these years on. And good ones too! 2022’s ninth album, Wide-Eyed Nowhere, is one of their best releases to date. They’re a band who’ve been on my podcast wishlist for ages, and now, here they are.
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| Episode 192: Paul Hanley on the brilliance of Buzzcocks | 02 Nov 2023 | 00:30:38 | |
Paul Hanley used to be in The Fall – he played on, amongst other seminal releases, one of my favourite records, 1982’s Hex Enduction Hour, and with brother Steve, also a member of Mark E Smith’s hugely influential avant garde pop outfit, now hosts the Fall podcast Oh! Brother – but he really, really loves Buzzcocks, who happen to be one of my very favourite bands too. I enjoyed Paul’s first book Leave The Capital hugely, and so when I learned he was writing a book about Pete Shelley’s genius pop punk outfit, titled Sixteen Again: How Pete Shelley & Buzzcocks Changed Manchester Music (and me), I was keen to get him on the podcast for a chat.
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| Episode 191: n0trixx | 01 Nov 2023 | 00:42:04 | |
The mysterious n0trixx hails from Russia, though she now lives in Turkey after fleeing her homeland and Putin’s thugs in the wake of an anti-war protest she attended in Moscow’s Red Square after Mother Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. This is why she now, in public, wears a mask. She also has dissociative identity disorder, a controversial diagnosis to some, but a condition that today’s guest says has left two people inside her physical form, duking it out for control. Oh, and did I mention she makes excellent, unnerving, trap metal too? New EP Rejected arrives on November 17th, and goes a long way to capture the madness of the age. This interview is a wild ride. Do hang in there.
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| Episode 190: Cathi Unsworth on the high strange of goth | 01 Nov 2023 | 00:34:28 | |
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
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| Episode 189: Mariel Loveland | 31 Oct 2023 | 00:58:35 | |
The episode I published yesterday, number 188 with Sci-Fi Steven from Bis, featured the guitarist in my favourite ever band. And this one? It features one of my very best friends, Mariel Loveland from New Jersey indie rock darlings Candy Hearts, electro pop wonders Best Ex, and now… um… just Mariel Loveland!
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| Episode 188: Sci-Fi Steven, Bis | 30 Oct 2023 | 00:59:59 | |
Well it took almost 200 episodes, but I finally got my favourite band – like, favourite ever – on the podcast.
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| Episode 283: Scott Lavene | 26 Apr 2024 | 00:43:11 | |
Scott Lavene is a singer-songwriter from Essex, England.
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| Episode 187: Mark Trotter, Lonely The Brave | 29 Oct 2023 | 00:34:42 | |
Right, I’ll keep this brief because I waffle on a bit too much at the start of this episode, but on November 10th, epic Brit songsmiths Lonely The Brave return with their new, fourth album, What We Do To Feel. It might be - no really - their best record yet.
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| Episode 186: Peter Hooton, The Farm | 28 Oct 2023 | 00:36:55 | |
I’ve wanted to interview Peter Hooton – lead singer in Liverpool’s The Farm – as long as I remember. Recently returned with their first new music in almost 30 years, Peter is one of British music’s great working class heroes. Football fan, fanzine editor, and author of some of the early 90s most interesting indie music, he’s got a lot to say, and I was honoured to be given a little bit of time to hear him say it.
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| Episode 185: Tim Wheeler, Ash | 28 Oct 2023 | 00:57:42 | |
We're back, baby! I missed you guys!
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| THE FINAL EPISODE | 07 Sep 2023 | 00:29:13 | |
Thankyou to everyone who has listened. Spoken to me. Or helped me get a microphone in-front of the people I've spoken to. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.
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| McMahon's Musings #13: Oliver Anthony goes on Joe Rogan, some frustrations with the music press, some fury about the homogenisation of opinion | 31 Aug 2023 | 00:25:13 | |
This one is a bit depressing.
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| McMahon's Musings #12: I went on the telly to talk about Eminem, Vivek Ramaswamy, Oliver Anthony, and the Republican Party | 30 Aug 2023 | 00:09:46 | |
Hey, I've been meaning to ask, have you subscribed to Brain Worms yet?
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| McMahon's Musings #11: Oliver Anthony and the out of touch, elitist arrogance of Billy Bragg | 23 Aug 2023 | 00:27:32 | |
Subscribe to Brain Worms here.
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| McMahon's Musings #10: Sex Pistols designer Jamie Reid RIP, how can I get Grimes to come on the podcast?, and I went on the telly to talk about AI! | 09 Aug 2023 | 00:10:54 | |
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| McMahon's Musings #9: Gary Numan, Foo Fighters, Skindred, Lee Scratch Perry, Fear Factory and Miles Kane | 08 Aug 2023 | 00:18:55 | |
Yeah, I know I said 'record' when I meant 'song' at one point. I've had too much coffee.
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| McMahon's Musings #8: Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Post Malone (and Metallica): is being famous in 2023 as rubbish as it looks? | 03 Aug 2023 | 00:09:44 | |
No really, come hang on Reddit!
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| Episode 282: Cam Cobb takes a trip with Skip Spence | 24 Apr 2024 | 00:40:28 | |
Cam Cobb is a university professor and rock journalist from Canada. His music writing has appeared in such magazines as Record Collector, Shindig!, and Ugly Things.
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| McMahon's Musings #7: Mitski, Low, Royal Blood, Pee-wee Herman, Matty Healy | 01 Aug 2023 | 00:12:45 | |
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| Episode 184: Ian Richard Devaney, Nation of Language | 01 Aug 2023 | 00:30:27 | |
Do you know what? I think Nation of Language’s new album, Strange Disciple, is the best record I’ve heard so far this year.
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| Episode 183: V V Brown | 31 Jul 2023 | 00:52:48 | |
V V Brown is back after what feels like an age away. It’s actually eight years, with little seen or heard of the Northampton born singer since the 2015 release of her third record Glitch. Now back and with a new record, Am I British Yet?, due for release on October 27th, the V V Brown that returns in 2023 is a different kind of Vanessa Brown that what we’ve seen before.
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| McMahon's Musings #6: RIP Sinéad O'Connor | 26 Jul 2023 | 00:08:44 | |
<3
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| McMahon's Musings #5: Some late night thoughts about EMF, aliens, Sade, my mum's favourite new soul act Lady Blackbird - but to be honest, mostly EMF | 26 Jul 2023 | 00:09:27 | |
This podcast has a Reddit now. Come say hello! https://www.reddit.com/r/jamesmcmahonmusicpod
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| McMahon's Musings #4: The new Blur album, The Ballad of Darren, reviewed | 24 Jul 2023 | 00:15:21 | |
Will someone please let me interview Damon Albarn?
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| McMahon's Musings #3 (Why Glastonbury should be shut down, Michael Jackson, Uri Geller, the time Pete Doherty asked me to buy heroin for him, and why I think dogs at festivals is neoliberal nonsense) | 22 Jul 2023 | 00:15:40 | |
I'm asking nicely, please leave a rating/review on Spotify/Apple.
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| McMahon's Musings #2 (NME is back in print! There's a new Code Orange song! And some thoughts on Lily Allen vs the tabloids!) | 20 Jul 2023 | 00:09:53 | |
It seems that you liked the new thing.
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| McMahon's Musings #1 (Blur, Pulp, Travis, Magazine, OCD, NME, and when was the worst era of pop music?) | 19 Jul 2023 | 00:08:26 | |
A new thing. Hope you like.
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| Episode 182: Brian McClair (Manchester United, Celtic, and Scotland football legend) | 19 Jul 2023 | 00:49:28 | |
Something a bit different for you today… footballer, podcaster – I can’t recommend his Life With Brian podcast highly enough – and one of my childhood heroes, Manchester United, Celtic and Scotland football legend Brian McClair!
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| Episode 281: Scott Hill, Fu Manchu | 23 Apr 2024 | 00:33:04 | |
Fu Manchu is an American rock band formed in Orange County, California, in 1985. On this episode I speak to founding guitarist turned lead vocalist Scott Hill.
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| Episode 181: Dino Cazares, Fear Factory | 17 Jul 2023 | 00:38:11 | |
2023 sure is an interesting time to be talking to a member of Fear Factory, specifically guitarist Dino Cazares, who – after the departure of long-time vocalist Burton C. Bell in 2021 – is now the last founding member of the influential LA band.
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| Episode 180: Andy Cizek, Monuments | 15 Jul 2023 | 00:47:13 | |
I would have got around to speaking to Andy Cizek, the singer in British progressive metal champs Monuments since 2019, at some point, I’m sure, but when back in January he took to Twitter and said, “being in a band feels pretty stupid now. the culture is embarrassing and nothing about it is cool anymore. Make almost no money and half my old heroes are disgraced perverts. I’ve worked my whole life for this and all I feel is ashamed, broken down and obsolete. Barely hanging on,” he not only verbalised what I’ve been feeling about music culture for ages now, but sped up the process of getting him on Zoom to record an episode.
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| Episode 179: Local Natives | 12 Jul 2023 | 00:35:11 | |
Local Natives released their fifth record, Time Will Wait for No One, last Friday and so I thought I better get them on the podcast pronto for a chat.
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