This Is Not Happening - An Album Of The Month Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

We've hit the BIG 5-0 and we're still speaking to each other. It's delight to welcome to Episode 50 of This is Not Happening (TINH).  An Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, David introduces the latest album from one of my favourite obsession artists, 'My Method Actor' by Nilifur Yanya.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, we return for our quarterly visit to the theme of 'New Music' ... anything released since August 1st.

Part 1 | Nilifur Yanya | My Method Actor

This is the third full length studio album from Yanya. She is a super interesting artist blending soul, jazz, indie and a bunch of other sounds and influences in there. This album is something of a departure for her following her last 2 albums that perhaps embraced the indie side of her influences. This album is a super smart melding of all of her influences, definitely leaning more towards the soul and jazz side of her music. It feels like a return to some of her earliest EP releases and I love it for that fact.

• Listen to the album ... HERE
• Watch a video of her performing a track from her 2nd EP back in 2017 on the BBC Introducing stage ...  HERE
• 2 Tracks from the new album get a very low-fi video, watch them both HERE and HERE
• The obligatory Jimmy Fallon performance link is ... HERE
• Interesting interview on 'The Talk.Com', this is a quick read and enlightening ... read it HERE

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Music

Super-simple, we all chose a track that we love from the last couple of months and ask each the simple binary question, Spin It or Bin It?

• Joey chose Wristwatch by MJ Lenderman
• Guy chose Zero Sum by The Smile
• Nolan chose Dafodil by Jamie XX and friends
• David chose Neon Signs by The Weather Station

See you on Episode 51 ...

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 49 of This is Not Happening (TINH).  An Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, Nolan goes back to his spiritual home, Hip Hop and has picked an album that the genre has been waiting decades for - Common and Pete Rock, The Auditorium Vol. 1.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme sounds simple but it turned out to be deceptively divisive. This month we delve into 'Power Ballads' ... but what actually is a Power Ballad?

Part 1 | Common & Pete Rock | The Auditorium Vol. 1

If you're age (old AF) and you like Hip Hop then you've probably been listening to these two legends for 30 odd years. Common is 52, Mr. Rock is 54. They've been at the top of their games for decades but does the combination deliver synergy or something a little less?

• Listen to the album HERE
• Watch some videos HEREand  HEREand HERE
• Guy references the performance of 'When the Sun Shines Again' on Jimmy Fallon.
• If you've got 4 hrs then watch this monster chat with the pair onDrinks Champs
• I reference a NY Time Popcast Episode discussing what 'What's an ageing rapper to do'
• Guy references 

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Power Ballads.

So what is a Power Ballad? We all know the classics, but if we try and bring something a little different then first we have to have some sort of definition. We've picked 4 tracks that aren't on many Power Ballad playlists ... 

• Guy chose Nothing Compares 2U by Sinead O'Connor.
• David chose The Way That You Do It by Gerry Rafferty. 
• Joey chose Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo.
• Nolan chose Roar by Katy Perry. 

See you on Episode 50 ... 

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 40 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where we usually review an album in depth and play something called 'Spin It or Bin It' ... but not this month.

We're celebrating our big 4-0 in style. It's end of year review time. We select our top 10 albums of 2023 and each pick our Track of 2023.

Part 1 - 2023 Top 10 Albums

We all independently picked our top 10s. We run those choices through a series of deep learning models commonly known as 'Algo Dave' and we create a mathematically generated combined Top 10. We made our selections and recorded this pod WAAAAAY ahead of any body else's lists coming out so we are not influenced by the mainstream musical media (which is why our list looks SO different to everyone else's). We're super proud of our 10 and chuffed to bits that our No.1 is an album that we all love and one that we've loved since the start of the year. No recency bias here my friends.

Part 2- 2023 Tracks of the Year

We each select a track of the year. Simple as that. We explain why it's our track of 2023 and have a little critique of each others choices.

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 39 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, we get stuck in TINH favourite, Sufjan Steven's latest release  'Javelin'. Wow. Is there a lot to talk about. I hope we do it justice. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'Unconventional Love Songs' where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others 'Spin It or Bin It'.

Part 1 | Sufjan Stevens | Javelin

It's David's choice this month and a record 3rd time that we've reviewed an album by the same artist. On one hand this Sufjan doing Sufjan things ... and then on the other, it's a heart breaking, gut punch of an album that takes you to beautifully uncomfortable places. It's genuinely spectacular. 

• Listen to the album here.
• Watch some videos here.
• Buy some stuff here.
• In the chat we reference Sufjan's Instagram, that can be found here.
• A rare and recent (ish) interview with Sufjan on his health condition is here.

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Unconventional Love Songs

Who are we to judge what 'conventional' means, what 'love' means ... what a 'song' is? The interpretation of 'unconventional love songs' was left wide open this month.

We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here.

• Nolan chose - 'The Night' by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• Joey chose - 'Ms Fat Booty'   by Mos Def
• Guy chose - 'Chateau Lobby #4 (for 2 virgins)' by Father John Misty
• David chose - 'Where Dreams go to Die' by John Grant

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 38 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? 

This month, we get stuck in Noname's latest release  'Sundial' in Part 1. It's a short album but there's a lot to talk about. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'New Music' where we all chose a track released since 1st August 2023 and present it for judgement.

Part 1 | Noname | Sundial

It's Nolan's choice this month and he's chosen the new album from Noname, 'Sundial'. It's an interesting, uncompromising album with a challenging cover from an unapologetic, controversial artist.  It's only 30 mins long but packs a big punch and brings a lot to the party! 

• Check out Noname's Insta here  and her Twitter here 
• Listen to the album here or here 

Here are some links to check out if you want a little more background

• Check out the album's metacritic page here 
• Check out a few opinions on some Noname controversy here 

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks

It's a simple theme this month. New Music. We all chose tracks that have been released since August 1st 2023. We all chose a track that fits the theme then ask the others a simple question 'spin it or bin it?'

We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here.

• Guy chose 'More' by Pale Blue Eyes - listen here.
• Nolan chose 'Glory Glory'  by Little Brother - listen here.
• David chose 'Annie Pick a Flower' by Saya Grey - listen here.
• Joey chose 'Mindful Solutionism' by Aesop Rock - listen here.

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 37 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, we get pretty emotional about Julie Byrne's latest album 'The Greater Wings' in Part 1. In Part 2, Spin it or Bin it theme is 'no human sounds'. All will be explained ...

Part 1 | Julie Byrne | The Greater Wings

It's Joey's choice this month and for the 2nd time in This is Not Happening history he chooses a beautiful album by Julie Byrne. We're in the indie-folk-ambience hinterlands from a stylist perspective. From an emotional perspective we're right at the intersection of beauty, grief, loss, hope and reflection. We talk about what this album is, how there's more than one way to experience it, our favourite tracks and what it means to us.

• Visit Julie Byrne's website here
• Listen to this stunning album here
• Buy some of Julie's stuff here

Here are a few links for some background;

• The Metacritic page for 'The Greater Wings'
• Marty's Music Talk interview with Julie is here 
• Another interview with Julie, this time on KEXP Podcasts

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'No Human Sounds'

This one was way harder than it sounded at first. The theme this month is 'No Human Sounds'. We started with no vocals, then decided no human sounds at all, then we added that it couldn't be 'dance music'. Joey suggested we define 'dance music', he got laughed at ... then we got into an argument about all of Guys choices being dance music. 

We all chose a track that fits the theme then ask the others a simple question 'spin it or bin it?'

• Guy chose Vision of Self by Rival Consoles
• Nolan chose Time is the Enemy by Quantic
• Joey chose Transitions by Beastie Boys
• David chose Speed of Life by David Bowie

In order to select our tracks we shortlist 4 each and create a 16 track playlist that can be found here.

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 36 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, we get stuck right into Creep Show's 'Yawning Abyss' in Part 1 and in Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It with the theme 'Super-Producers'.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | Creep Show's 'Yawning Abyss'

It's Guy's choice this month and he choses a bleak little oddity by Creep Show called Yawning Abyss. Creep Show are a 'Super Group' of John Grant, Phil Winter (Tuung), Stephen Mallinder (Caberet Volataire) and Ben 'Benge' Edwards (Prolific Producer). This is their 2nd album as a collective and they channel the dark, the dystopian and the hopeless across 9 tracks and 40-ish minutes of music. There are elements of each individuals previous work but there is distinctive sound that the band capture themselves. 

• Listen to the album here or some tracks here.
• Visit their Bandcamp here.

Here are few links to provide a little background.

• Read a very short interview with Creep Show here and another here. 
• Watch Creep Show play 'Yawning Abyss' live at latitude here.
• The Metacritic album page can be found here.

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It? | Super-Producers

What is a Super-Producer? It turns out we all have a different definition, no surprises there I guess! But collectively we kind of agree that a Super-Producer is (i) successful (ii) prolific (iii) has had a significant impact on music (iv) spans numerous artists and perhaps genres.

• David chose 'I never loved a man' by Aretha Franklin (Jerry Wexler)
• Joey chose 'Gamma Ray' by Beck (Dangermouse)
• Nolan chose 'NY State of Mind' by Nas (DJ Premier)
• Guy chose 'Weird Fish / Arpeggi' by Radiohead (Nigel Godrich)

In order to select our tracks we shortlist 4 each and create a 16 track playlist that can be found here.

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

This month we're doing things a little differently. In this episode we are celebrating Hip Hop's 50th Birthday by each choosing our favourite Hip Hop album. We're not choosing 'the best' or 'the most important' we're choosing our personal favourites. We take it in turns to introduce our favourite album and discuss what everyone else thinks.

Listen Here - 16 track playlist, 4 tracks each from our 4 favourite Hip Hop albums.

Nolan's Favourite Hip Hop Album | ATLiens by Outkast
Straight out of the blocks is our resident Hip Hop expert Nolan's with his selection, Outkast's 2nd album, 1996's ATLiens.

• You can find an introduction to this album by Nolan on our blog - read it here.
• You can listen to the album - here.
• ATLiens 25th Anniversary You Tube page and videos can be found -here.

Joey's Favourite Hip Hop Album | Buhloone Mind State by De La Soul
Choosing a classic TINH album from the past, Joey counters with his favourite, going back 3 years and selecting De La Soul's 3rd album, release 30 years ago in 1993, Buhloone Mind State.

• You can find an introduction to this album by Joey on our blog - read it here.
• You can listen to this gem - here.
• Have a look here at De La Soul's You Tube account for videos - here.

David's Favourite Hip Hop Album | Reachin' by Digable Planets
This one was a real pleasure to be re-introduced too. We're staying in 1993 with David's selection Reachin' by Digable Planets. The 'most-David' Hip Hop album evs.

• You can find an introduction to this album by David on our blog - read it here.
• You can listen to this beauty - here.
• Watch the video to the track that kicked the whole thing off - here.

Guy's Favourite Hip Hop Album | Renaissance by Q Tip
After some deliberation, Guy chose an album that divided opinions at the time but has aged very well and is a lovely choice by Guy. 2008's Renaissance by Q Tip.

• You can find an introduction to this album by Guy on our blog - read it here.
• You can listen to this rediscovered gem - here.
• Watch Mr. Tip doing his thing - here.

So, these are our 4 favourite Hip Hop albums of all time. What do you think? Do you know these albums? What are your favourites? Hit us up, let us kno

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we get to grips with the enchanting 'Wait Til I Get Over' by Durand Jones. We talk all things soul and share our opinions. In Part 2 we play a one-off version of Spin It or Bin It that we're calling 'Love/Hate'. We each pick a track that we love but we think the others will hate.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | Durand Jones | Wait Til I Get Over

It's David's choice this month and he's chosen an album by and artist that none of us have any history with or knowledge of. The album is very much a soul album in every way that you could possibly define that word.  If you want it to be, it's a very easy to listen to soul album that fits nicely into the sun we've been enjoying. But it's also a deeply personal and emotionally moving album if you go a little deeper.

• Go listen to the album - Here
• Go watch some videos - Here
• Go buy some of their stuff - Here

Some links that we reference and recommend; 

• 'The Show on the Road' this is a great interview! - Click Here
• 'Bedroom Beethovens' ... another interview - Click Here
• Sound and Vision interview that we reference - Click Here

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Love/Hate

So. This is a new one. We all pick a track that we love and will defend to the hilt ... but that we think the other 3 of us will hate. It sounds easy, but it's actually not.

• Joey Chose - B.Y.O.B by System of a Down
• David chose - Come all Ye by Fairport Convention
• Guy chose -Army by Ben Folds Five
• Nolan chose - I'm still trying by Matthew Fowler

Here's a handy playlist of the 4 chosen Love/Hate tracks

In order to chose our tracks we create a long list, then a short list of 4 tracks each. Each of our 4x track short lists are collated here ... have a listen ... but approach with caution, this makes no sense whatsoever!

*** Enjoy the episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we explore the new Everything But The Girl album Fuse,  and ask is it worth the 24 year wait? In Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It? The theme this month is new music ... tracks that have been released since Feb 1st 2023.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | EBTG | Fuse

It's Nolan's choice this month and we go with the long awaited / not even expected 12th studio album from Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It's rare that we get to talk about an artist that we all have a significant relationship, but this is a great example. In January we got treated to the track Nothing Left to Loose but the album offers much more. It's got just about every type of EBTG track you can think of and some of their best tracks ever.

• Go listen to the album - Here
• Go watch some videos - Here
• Go buy some of their stuff - Here

Some links that we reference and recommend; 

• Pitchfork interview - Click Here
• BBC Radio 5 Live interview - Click Here
• EBTG in conversation at Rough Trade - Click Here

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Music

It's been a few months since we did new music so here we go. There's a definite whiff of summer in the air!

• Nolan chose - Amplify by Rodriguez Jr.
• David chose - Mo Se B'ola Tan by The Estuary 21 
• Joey chose - Sandrail Silhouette by Avalon Emerson 
• Guy chose - Everybody's Saying That by Girl Ray

In order to chose our tracks we create a long list, then a short list of 4 tracks each. Each of our 4x track short lists are collated here ... have a listen. 

*** Enjoy the episode ***

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/