Explore every episode of the podcast You, Me and An Album
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 161. Tasmin Archer Discusses Daniel Lanois, Shine | 15 Sep 2024 | 01:08:32 | |
British pop/rock vocalist and songwriter Tasmin Archer joins Al to discuss Daniel Lanois’ 2003 album Shine. Tasmin talks about how she became a fan of Lanois’ music, and she breaks down the elements of Shine that make it one of her favorite albums, highlighting some of her favorite tracks along the way. She also revisits the making of her 1992 signature hit “Sleeping Satellite” and reveals which band indirectly influenced its sound. The conversation concludes with Tasmin talking about her upcoming album A Cauldron of Random Notes, which will be released in late 2024 or early 2025. To keep up with news on Tasmin’s album release, sign up for her newsletter and much more, check out tasminarcher.com. You can also follow Tasmin on X at @tasminarcher and on Facebook at tasmin.archer. Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/. You can also support the show on Buzzsprout at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542814/episodes or at the link at the bottom of these show notes. 1:15 Tasmin joins the show 1:45 Tasmin talks about the Lanois track that hooked her on his music 2:52 Tasmin recalls the moment she knew “Sleeping Satellite” was going to be special 5:13 Tasmin explains how she initially got exposed to Lanois’ music 7:52 Tasmin and Al talk about how they responded to the album’s sequencing 11:55 Tasmin explains how Shine gets better with repeated listens 14:03 Tasmin talks about the timeless quality of Lanois’ music 18:58 Tasmin identifies what she likes about Lanois’ vocals 24:59 “Shine” is one of Tasmin’s favorite tracks on the album 26:54 Tasmin and Al discuss “I Love You” and “Falling at Your Feet” (with a brief Genesis detour) 31:53 Tasmin and Al talk about Lanois’ take on reggae 34:56 Tasmin shares her reaction to some of Lanois’ lyrics 38:49 Tasmin expects that Lanois will continue to make great music 41:57 Tasmin explains how Lanois may have influenced some tracks on her new album 44:17 Tasmin talks about some of the other influences on “Madame Joy” 48:41 One of Tasmin’s new songs reminds her of U2 50:36 Tasmin discusses the process of making A Cauldron of Random Notes 58:57 Tasmin explains where the title for A Cauldron of Random Notes came from 1:00:57 Tasmin talks about her initial reaction to “Sleeping Satellite” as it was being written 1:03:55 Tasmin discusses the possibility of upcoming live performances Outro music is from “Sleeping Satellite” by Tasmin Archer. | |||
| 160. Will Rigby Discusses Cheri Knight, The Northeast Kingdom | 01 Sep 2024 | 00:58:59 | |
For this episode, Will Rigby—drummer for the seminal indie rock band the dB’s—introduces Al to Cheri Knight’s 1998 album, The Northeast Kingdom. Will talks about his experience of playing on the album, breaks down aspects of the recording process and discusses why he loves the album and is proud to have played on it. He also talks about the 2024 reissued versions of the dB’s first two albums, Stands for Decibels and Repercussion, and the band’s upcoming tour. Keep track of all things dB’s at https://thedbs.com/! You can also follow the band on Instagram at @wearethedbs. As Will mentions on the show, you can find his solo music on Bandcamp at willrigby.bandcamp.com. Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/ 1:17 Will joins the show 2:36 Will talks about the trajectory of Cheri Knight’s musical career and his place in it 5:12 Will explains why he wanted to talk about The Northeast Kingdom 8:49 Will talks about the band Knight toured with 12:14 Knight’s experience with farming is a key theme of the album 15:32 Will and Al discuss one of Knight’s sequencing choices 19:48 Will talks about Steve Earle’s contributions to the album 26:16 Will and Al talk about the heavier sound of “Sweetheart” 27:14 Will delves into the guitar sounds on the album Going into detail on specific tracks: 29:28 The Northeast Kingdom 38:12 The Hatfield Side 41:47 Dead Man’s Curve 43:19 Will thinks the band rehearsed just the right amount before recording the album 44:18 Will is also a fan of the cover art 45:47 Will talks about the reissues of the dB’s first two albums 49:33 Will discusses the upcoming dB’s tour 53:22 Will the dB’s ever record new music again? Outro music is from “Ask for Jill” by the dB’s. | |||
| 151. Julia Massey Discusses The Black Tones, Cobain & Cornbread | 05 May 2024 | 00:51:38 | |
Julia Massey—the vocalist and keyboardist for the Seattle-based band Warren Dunes—comes to YMAAA to discuss The Black Tones’ 2019 album Cobain & Cornbread. Julia talks about how Cobain & Cornbread is one of a small number of albums that are a part of her “musical DNA,” and why the album resonates with her so strongly. She also discusses her friendship with The Black Tones’ Eva Walker and how Eva has influenced her own music. Julia and Al try to categorize Warren Dunes’ sound and delve into their new album Aquamarine. To keep up with Julia and Warren Dunes, be sure to follow them on Instagram at @warrendunesband. They are also on Facebook (@welcometowarrendunes) and X (@warrendunesband). To keep up with Julia’s parrot, follow Bacon the Bird on TikTok. Warren Dunes has a website, too! warrendunesband.com For more information on Warren Dunes’ Pool Party Patreon, as discussed on this episode, go to patreon.com/warrendunes. Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/ 1:05 Julia joins the show 1:27 There are just a few albums that Julia goes back to again and again 4:18 Julia talks about her reaction after hearing Cobain & Cornbread for the first time 5:48 The album is a reflection of Eva’s personality 7:56 The songs on Cobain & Cornbread are deceptively long 10:31“Rivers of Jordan” and “The Key of Black (They Want Us Dead)” really grabbed Julia’s attention 14:46 Al and Julia were also impressed by “Striped Walls” 16:18 Julia explains how Cedric Walker became the Black Tones’ drummer 18:43 Julia points out the part of “The Key of Black (They Want Us Dead)” that hits her the hardest 21:05 Julia says Eva and Cedric capture the live sound of “Welcome Mr. Pink” 23:26 “Mama! There’s a Spider in my Room” has a quality that is also present in Julia’s music 26:24 Julia’s favorite part of “Plaid Pants” doesn’t have to do with the lyrics 28:17 Julia talks about how Eva has influenced her music 32:10 Julia is impressed by how The Black Tones combine whimsy with power 33:21 Al talks about his reaction to hearing Aquamarine for the first time 35:34 Does Warren Dunes play beach music or “PBS metal”? 41:27 Julia explains why she won’t listen to Aquamarine again for a while 42:18 Julia discusses the Aquamarine launch party and the Warren Dunes “Pool Party” 45:50 Julia talks about upcoming projects for her and for Warren Dunes Outro music is from “Take the Train” by Warren Dunes. | |||
| 61. (NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT) Sean Inderbitzen Discusses Sufjan Stevens, Illinois | 20 Feb 2022 | 00:55:56 | |
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 30:22 A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, but for Very Good Reasons 32:34 Prairie Fire That Wanders About 33:52 Casimir Pulaski Day (again) 34:55 The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! 35:31 Chicago (again) 39:48 Come On! Feel the Illinoise! 46:32 Why didn’t Sean choose a Machine Gun Kelly album? 48:26 Digging further into the album will require more than the usual effort for Al 50:11 Sean talks about a project he’s excited about | |||
| 60. Mara Davis Discusses The Chicks, Taking the Long Way | 13 Feb 2022 | 01:02:51 | |
Radio/TV/podcast host and talent booker Mara Davis introduces Al to the The Chicks’ (formerly The Dixie Chicks) Taking the Long Way, released in 2006. Several of the tracks address the backlash to lead singer Natalie Maines' comments about President George W. Bush made three years earlier, and Mara talked about how The Chicks’ response to the incident helped to make her a fan of the group. She also highlighted her favorite tracks on the album, discussed the Spotify-Joe Rogan-Neil Young controversy and talked about the VOTEHER podcast that she co-hosts with Georgia state senator Jen Jordan. You can find all of the episodes of Mara and Jen’s VOTEHER podcast right here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voteher-podcast-with-jen-jordan-and-mara-davis/id1529098225 While you’ve got your podcast app open, you owe it to yourself to check out The Jump with Shirley Manson (Mara books the guests for this show!): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jump-with-shirley-manson/id1469077859 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 0:50 Mara joins the show 1:48 Mara talks about The Chicks’ crossover into more pop-oriented music 3:52 Mara appreciates how The Chicks dealt with the George W. Bush controversy 6:43 Mara was only slightly familiar with The Chicks prior to the controversy 7:45 The Chicks' albums were not representative of the type of music that Mara previously listened to 9:14 Mara had no doubt about which album to discuss 10:55 Mara and Al don’t respond to "The Long Way Around" the same way 13:49 Mara discusses some of her other favorite tracks from the album 17:40 Mara also admires Kacey Musgraves 19:42 The Chicks have not been welcomed back the way that Morgan Wallen has been 22:48 Mara is also impressed by The Chicks as a live act 25:00 Mara gets back to some of her other favorite tracks 27:48 Al has some opinions about the album’s track sequence 29:41 Mara contrasts the current Spotify controversy with the treatment of The Chicks 37:44 One more track that Mara loves: “So Hard” 39:34 The tracks that stood out to Al 44:00 Mara talks about why she connects with the female artists she loves 45:33 The one track that Mara skips sometimes 47:00 Mara and Al talk about the album’s writing collaborations 48:52 Mara now listens to a lot more country music 52:43 Mara explains how she started the VOTEHER podcast with Jen Jordan 58:55 Mara talks about booking talent for Shirley Manson’s podcast, The Jump | |||
| 59. Kevin Brown Discusses Kacey Musgraves, Golden Hour | 06 Feb 2022 | 01:04:51 | |
ESPN and Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown makes his return to You, Me and An Album, after first appearing on episode 15 (with Lindsey Adler) to discuss Oasis’ Definitely Maybe, This time, Kevin chose Kacey Musgraves’ 2018 album, Golden Hour. Kevin talked about how he got into this album, which tracks are his favorites and what makes this album one that he still goes back to listen to regularly. Corrections and clarifications: Kevin asked me how many other repeat guests have been on the show, and I wasn’t sure of the exact number. I can now confirm that he is the fourth guest to have appeared on two episodes of this podcast. I referred to there being auto-tune at the beginning and end of “Oh. What a World.” Kevin noted that those sections featured vocoder, and in retrospect, I realized that I mistook vocoder for an auto-tuned vocal. I will be writing more on this in the upcoming edition of YMAAA: The Newsletter. I misspoke in my analysis of “Happy & Sad” I said it was “simplistic but not simple,” but I actually meant to say it the other way around. In any event, I was just trying to say it’s a great song. 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 1:14 Kevin joins the show 4:34 Listening to Kacey Musgraves — and country music generally — is a bit of a departure for Kevin 8:17 Al and Kevin had similar experiences with their first listens to Golden Hour 11:19 Kevin explains why he decided to give Golden Hour a try 13:55 Al wouldn’t mind doing a whole episode just on “Slow Burn” 15:48 Kevin loves the production on Golden Hour Reactions to the album’s tracks 17:20 Slow Burn 21:19 Lonely Weekend 24:41 Butterflies 26:34 Oh, What a World 31:59 Mother 34:15 Love Is a Wild Thing 37:26 Space Cowboy 40:44 Happy & Sad 44:01 Velvet Elvis/Wonder Woman 46:43 High Horse 48:28 Golden Hour/Rainbow 52:08 Kevin recaps Golden Hour’s great moments 53:04 Kevin recommends another Kacey Musgraves album 54:46 Kevin talks about writing about his memories of listening to Meat Loaf and emotional connections to music 57:07 Al tells his own Meat Loaf-related story 58:55 Kevin is staying busy even in the absence of baseball activity | |||
| 58. Annie Zaleski Discusses Arcadia, So Red the Rose | 30 Jan 2022 | 01:10:26 | |
Music writer — and author of the 33 1/3 book on Duran Duran’s Rio — Annie Zaleski joins Al for a discussion of Arcadia’s So Red the Rose. In addition to diving into the album itself, Annie makes the inevitable comparisons with Duran Duran, from which Arcadia temporarily split off, and provides insight as to how the experience of making So Red the Rose may have impacted future Duran Duran recordings. Annie also talks about how she became a music writer and a Duran Duran fan, and the path leading to the publication of her Rio book. Annie writes a lot of cool stuff! To keep up with it, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @anniezaleski. Also, be sure to check out Annie’s website, anniez.com... …and her 33 1/3 book on Rio! https://anniez.com/order-rio-book/ While you’re at it, there’s a whole bunch of books in Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series worth checking out: https://333sound.com/33-13-series/ 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/ 2:01 Annie joins the show 2:46 Annie started writing about music in high school 4:56 Annie could (and may) literally create a website with just the pieces she has written about Duran Duran 6:27 MTV and alternative rock radio were instrumental to Annie’s Duran Duran fandom 10:27 Annie was persistent in her quest to publish her book on Rio 12:51 The story of Rio’s success was a complicated one 17:04 Annie talks about some non-Duran Duran-related bands she could have discussed on this episode 18:10 Al got hung up on trying to understand Arcadia’s musical identity 22:10 Annie thinks So Red The Rose stands up well against Duran Duran’s albums 24:09 Annie breaks down the specific things she likes about So Red the Rose 26:22 So Red the Rose is basically a time capsule of everything musical from 1985 32:30 Producer Alex Sadkin was key to Arcadia’s sound 35:14 Annie and Al discuss Roger Taylor and Steve Jordan’s drum work on the album 38:03 The guest musicians played an important role in shaping Arcadia’s sound 40:26 Al explains why he had never given Duran Duran a fair chance as a listener 41:24 Annie thinks Arcadia may have been trying to address Duran Duran’s critics 42:34 The album can be viewed as a showcase for Nick Rhodes 46:47 Al has opinions about how the sequencing could better reflect Arcadia’s mission 53:00 Annie is pretty fond of "Election Day" 55:32 If you’re looking for So Red the Rose to be distinct, there is plenty to focus on 56:51 So Red the Rose hints at changes you can hear in Simon Le Bon later on 1:01:39 "Ordinary World" has reshaped Duran Duran’s legacy 1:04:31 Annie talks about the Duran Duran-Japan connection 1:07:37 Annie discusses her upcoming projects | |||
| 57. Jamie Campbell Discusses Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One | 23 Jan 2022 | 01:11:42 | |
I have had many exchanges with Jamie Campbell about music, and I have always found his observations interesting and informative, so I wanted to get him to share them on the show. He obliged for this week’s episode, in which we discussed one of his favorite albums — I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One by Yo La Tengo. In addition to discussing this album, Jamie talked about the role that radio played in shaping his musical tastes, and the formative role that ‘90s music played for him in general. You can find Jamie and his musical commentary on Twitter at @spacegauche. 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/ 1:20 Jamie joins the show 1:59 Jamie explains the baseball-related origins of Yo La Tengo’s name 4:11 Jamie really started digging into bands he liked in the early ‘90s 7:11 Both Jamie and Al listened to WHFS during formative music-listening periods 10:48 Jamie tells Al of WHFS’s demise 12:42 Al wonders why he doesn’t remember hearing YLT on the radio 13:42 Jamie became less reliant on radio as the ‘90s progressed 15:57 Little Honda was Jamie’s entry point into YLT 17:05 Becoming a YLT fan was a long-term project for Jamie 20:12 Al wonders if he would have heard Beating as One differently with more knowledge of YLT’s catalog 23:27 Jamie explains why he chose Beating as One for this episode 25:00 Al and Jamie find Beating as One to be both eclectic and consistent 25:59 Stockholm Syndrome as an outlier on the album 32:01 Jamie likes how YLT vocals are more like just another instrument 36:01 The songs Jamie liked in his initial listens to Beating as One 38:24 The Georgia Hubley songs 40:07 The songs that were growers for Jamie 44:44 The one track that Jamie is still ambivalent about 51:06 What changes would Jamie make to shorten the album? 55:09 My Little Corner of the World 57:14 We’re An American Band 1:00:17 Al highlights his favorite tracks so far 1:04:19 Deeper Into Movies | |||
| 56. Meredith Tarr Discusses Rachael Sage, Character | 16 Jan 2022 | 01:17:48 | |
Meredith Tarr of MPress Records (A&R, Label Promotions) joins Al for a discussion of Rachael Sage’s 2020 album, Character, but this episode is about a lot more than just digging into a beloved album. Meredith talks about the role she played in sequencing Character and, more generally about her professional relationship with Rachael, who is the president and founder of MPress Records. She also discusses the path that led her to the music business, as well as her journey as a music fan. I made a reference to listening to Meredith’s interview with Gable Music Ventures. You can check that out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wba1V2JlEUo&t=696s Meredith alerted us to Rachael’s YouTube page, but here's the URL for easy reference! https://www.youtube.com/c/rachaelsage She also mentioned the video that captured the recording of Rachael's version of "Both Hands." You can find that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJC3-yLw2YI And here is the lyric video for "Catch the Light" that Meredith worked on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b40AnXqEDS4 Follow Meredith on Twitter! She’s at @mpressmeredith. 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/ 1:10 Meredith joins the show 1:30 Meredith brings a unique perspective to this episode 3:10 Meredith’s tweet about Adele catalyzed a conversation between her and Al 4:20 A couple of childhood friends played a big role in shaping Meredith’s musical tastes 8:58 Kate Bush’s music literally changed Meredith’s life 10:52 How Meredith went from music fan to working with musicians 16:16 How Feist wound up playing in Meredith’s living room 20:29 Meredith hears similarities between Rachael Sage and Kate Bush 23:01 Meredith explains how she first heard Rachael’s music 24:41 Rachael made Meredith an offer that brought her into music full-time 28:16 Meredith explains how she got involved in Rachael’s recordings 30:57 Meredith talks about her approach to sequencing 33:22 Meredith explains what she loves about Character Reactions to and sequencing observations for selected tracks 35:44 Blue Sky Days/Bravery’s On Fire 43:23 Character/Ohio 47:19 Meredith discusses Rachael’s forays into covers 50:21 Character (again) 51:30 Be The Same/Atmosphere/Catch The Light 54:04 Meredith talks about how the sequencing accentuates the album’s dynamics 57:43 Both Hands 1:00:17 The segue from Ohio into Cave 1:02:08 Open The Door 1:03:50 Catch The Light (again) 1:05:56 Al and Meredith talk about the importance of giving albums a second chance 1:11:36 Meredith alerts us to upcoming releases from MPress Records | |||
| 55. Nando Di Fino Discusses Judgment Night: Music from the Motion Picture | 09 Jan 2022 | 01:05:32 | |
Fantasy sports writer and editor Nando Di Fino (currently The Athletic, previously CBS Sports, ESPN and others) joins Al for what is possibly their first-ever discussion about music, even though they’ve been friends and colleagues for more than decade. Nando chose the soundtrack from the movie, Judgment Night, as the topic for their conversation. Along the way, Nando discusses his mother’s record collection, his love of Christmas music and the extremely cool set of experiences he had when he was a student at Boston College. I mistakenly said that the album features 22 different artists across 11 tracks, but Cypress Hill appears on two different tracks, so the total number of artists is 21. Nando talked about a Christmas village in Washington state, and I guessed the location was George, but I think he was referring to Leavenworth. The R.E.M. song I was trying to think of but inexplicably blanked out on was Radio Song, which featured KRS-One. Nando made a reference to "Mistadobalina" by Del the Funky Homosapien. I did not realize until researching it that the titular line that is repeated throughout the song was originally recorded by The Monkees for their song, “Zilch.” It's not too late (or early) to read the latest piece that Nando and Brandon Funston did on Christmas songs for The Athletic. Check it out here: https://theathletic.com/3001436/2021/12/16/top-100-christmas-songs-ranked-sias-instant-classics-ray-charles-at-no-1-plus-holiday-themed-playlists-and-more/ You can find Nando at Twitter at @nandodifino. 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. 1:16 Nando joins the show 2:11 Nando and Al never talked about music…until now 3:31 Nando knows Christmas music 6:49 Nando found a lot of great music in his mom’s old records 9:37 Nando also discovered some great songs by researching samples 10:54 If Nando hears a song he likes, he tries to learn as much as he can about the artist 12:51 Al almost vetoed Nando’s album choice 16:25 Guster gets a shoutout for a second straight episode 17:26 Nando recalls the hype that preceded the release of the Judgment Night soundtrack 18:35 Nando explains why he chose this album for the episode 20:02 Nando’s love of this album is a reflection of his varied musical tastes Reactions to specific tracks 24:44 Real Thing 27:52 Fallin’ 28:33 Just Another Victim 30:21 Fallin’ (again) 31:14 Judgment Night 31:33 Another Body Murdered/Me, Myself & My Microphone 35:03 Al has an idea for the 30th anniversary edition of this soundtrack 36:59 Disorder 42:25 Come and Die 46:27 Freak Momma 48:09 Missing Link 49:44 Al wonders if Real Thing was made the final track for a purpose 52:28 Nando had a backup album (or maybe more) 54:06 Nando talks about his experiences with booking shows in college 1:00:38 Nando talks about his plans for 2022 | |||
| 54. Josh Gondelman Discusses Method Man and Redman, Blackout! | 02 Jan 2022 | 01:16:02 | |
Stand-up comedian and writer Josh Gondelman drops by to get Al caught up on Method Man and Redman’s 1999 album, Blackout!. In addition to discussing what he loves about this album, Josh talks about being a co-creator of a viral Twitter account, how his musical tastes got shaped growing up in the Boston suburbs and what he has in store for us in the coming months. You can follow Josh on both Twitter and Instagram at @joshgondelman. You should also give the defunct-but-still-hilarious account he co-created, Modern Seinfeld, a follow at @SeinfeldToday. 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. 1:14 Josh joins the show 3:07 Josh was a co-creator of one of the greatest Twitter accounts ever 6:02 Josh talks about working on Last Week Tonight 7:30 Josh’s friends from summer camp and MTV influenced his childhood musical tastes 12:19 Later on, Josh got familiar with underground hip-hop 13:42 Josh explored some other musical off-ramps, including the “Sons of Springsteen” 16:57 Josh and Al share their appreciation for They Might Be Giants 18:36 Josh explains how he got bullied into his comedy career 22:23 Josh outlines his reasons for choosing to discuss Blackout! 26:28 Discussing Blackout! represents a major shift from the last couple of episodes 28:42 Josh connects Method Man and Redman with Cheech and Chong and Adam Sandler 32:50 Josh talks about the first times he listened to Blackout! 34:58 Josh helps Al with finding credits for samples 36:50 Al shares his reaction to the album 39:34 Josh and Al enjoyed the pop culture references on the album 42:20 The density of lyrics created a challenge for Al Reactions to selected tracks 44:29 Cereal Killer 50:16 Blackout/Well All Rite Cha 51:35 The album’s middle portion 53:25 4 Seasons 55:00 Tear It Off vs. DMX’s Party Up 58:42 Josh talks about the casual misogyny on the album and how it affects his listening experience 1:02:05 22 years later, Blackout! doesn’t come with a lot of baggage 1:05:58 Josh thinks Blackout! would have fit the cultural zeitgeist better if it came out a few years earlier 1:09:44 Al revisits the part of his life where he mostly listened to hip-hop 1:12:59 Josh tells us what we can expect from him in 2022 | |||
| 53. Celeste Headlee Discusses The Gospel At Colonus (OCR) | 19 Dec 2021 | 00:58:15 | |
Journalist, author and musician Celeste Headlee pays You, Me and An Album a visit to introduce me to the 1988 original cast recording of The Gospel At Colonus. In addition to discussing an album that she has listened to hundreds of times over more than three decades, Celeste talks about the experience of seeing the show live as well as her career in journalism, the musical influence of her maternal grandparents and her new book, Speaking of Race: Why Everyone Needs to Talk About Racism -- and How To Do It. Celeste mentioned that she hosts the National Gallery of Art's Sound Thoughts on Art podcast. You can find the episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-thoughts-on-art/id1552618916 You can keep up with Celeste and her many projects on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. She's at @CelesteHeadlee on both platforms. Also be sure to visit Celeste's website, celesteheadlee.com, which includes a calendar of her upcoming events. 1:17 Celeste joins the show 2:02 Celeste explains how she got her start in radio journalism 3:12 Celeste’s skill set as a musician has helped her as a journalist 7:05 Celeste talks about the musical influence of her famous grandparents 9:39 How Celeste came up with the idea for her TEDx talk 13:26 Celeste explains why she thinks it’s important to have difficult discussions about race 16:58 Why did Celeste pick the OCR for The Gospel At Colonus for this episode? 19:44 Celeste expounds on what the stage performance gains from the musical score 24:12 Is Oedipus at Colonus a tragedy? 27:27 Celeste sees a relatable message in Oedipus at Colonus Breakdown of selected tracks 29:57 Live Where You Can 35:45 Never Drive You Away 36:24 Sunlight of No Light 37:56 Lift Him Up 39:10 Now Let the Weeping Cease 42:33 Lift Me Up 43:30 Numberless Are the World’s Wonders 45:38 How Shall I See You Through My Tears 47:33 Eternal Sleep/Stop Do Not Go On 50:41 Celeste’s advice for those who have not yet listened to the album 52:39 Celeste reveals which album she thought about choosing instead of The Gospel At Colonus 54:24 Celeste’s current and upcoming projects | |||
| 52. Nat Cassidy Goes On The Hero's Journey with Genesis, Green Day and Titus Andronicus | 12 Dec 2021 | 01:36:04 | |
After discussing Green Day’s American Idiot on a previous episode (Ep. 48), Al became fixated on a couple of questions. Did Green Day send Jesus of Suburbia on a Hero’s Journey? And were they telling essentially the same story that Titus Andronicus told in The Monitor (Ep. 34) and that Genesis told in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway? Here to help Al grapple with these questions is playwright/novelist/actor/musician Nat Cassidy, who makes his return after appearing on Ep. 27. Nat breaks down the aspects of each album that fit the pattern of a Hero’s Journey and those that don’t, as well as discuss what he loves about each album and the many projects that he has been working on of late. You can follow Nat on Twitter at @natcassidy and on Instagram at @catnassidy. You can find out even more about Nat’s work at natcassidy.com. 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. 1:17 Nat joins the show 2:35 Al explains why he wanted to do an episode on these three albums 4:35 Nat summarizes the plots of all three albums 13:04 Are these plots examples of the Hero’s Journey? 19:35 Nat talks about how these albums allude to other pieces of pop culture 21:04 Each protagonist shares the experiences of being lost and being “punk” 23:01 Al and Nat discuss their relationship with punk rock 28:14 None of the protagonists want to fit in 29:56 Does the Civil War theme obscure the message of The Monitor? 33:49 The protagonists from American Idiot and The Monitor both revel in other people thinking they’re losers 35:19 Al highlights some of the similarities and differences between the protagonists 39:06 Jesus imagery plays a key role in each of these stories 40:48 Nat and Al ponder the role of nihilism in these stories 46:28 Nat argues that Jesus of Suburbia did change by the end of American Idiot 49:34 Nat thinks doing a rock opera helped take Green Day’s sonic journey to a more varied, interesting place 52:10 Nat sees Genesis embracing chaos throughout The Lamb 54:00 Nat thinks The Monitor’s protagonist may go on a Hero’s Journey after all 57:10 To what degree are these protagonists’ journeys a reflection of their times? 1:10:59 Nat wonders if The Monitor is asking whether a Hero’s Journey is even possible now 1:12:23 Al asserts that Patrick Stickles’ New Jersey is not the stereotypical New Jersey 1:16:36 Does Nat have a favorite among these three albums? 1:27:04 Nat discusses his current and upcoming projects | |||
| 150. Adrian Sutherland Discusses The Killers, Pressure Machine | 21 Apr 2024 | 01:00:49 | |
(TW: brief mention of lyrics referencing suicide) There’s a lot to keep up with in terms of Adrian’s work, but visiting his website is a good place to get started! https://adriansutherlandmusic.com/ Also, It’s easy to find Adrain on social media…just look for him at @attaboyadrian on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube and TikTok. Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/ 1:26 Adrian joins the show 3:14 Pressure Machine is not a typical Killers album 7:40 Adrian explains why he wanted to discuss Pressure Machine—and Nevermind 13:19 The interviews included between songs help paint the picture of Nephi 16:31 Adrian related to the aspects of religious life depicted in Pressure Machine 18:34 Adrian talks about the musical elements of the album he likes 24:41 Al was impressed by Brandon Flowers’ vocal versatility 26:20 Adrian notes a couple of his favorite tracks from the album 29:09 Adrian and Al discuss their responses to songs that cover difficult topics 35:12 Adrian relates to the process The Killers went through making an album during the early part of the pandemic 40:00 Adrian compares the processes in making each of his first two solo albums 46:21 Adrian talks about working with Colin Linden as a producer 50:15 Adrian discusses the making of his video for “Precious” 52:29 Adrian explains why he is writing a book about growing up in Attawapiskat 55:53 Adrian talks about some other current and upcoming projects Outro music is from “Precious” by Adrian Sutherland. | |||
| 51. Michael Elliott Discusses John Hiatt, Bring the Family | 05 Dec 2021 | 01:14:55 | |
Ever since hearing the title track of Slow Turning back around 1990, I’ve been curious about John Hiatt and his career, but never did much actual exploring. I am fortunate to have Michael Elliott, author of Have a Little Faith: The Story of John Hiatt, join me for this episode to walk me through one of Hiatt’s most important and critically-acclaimed albums, Bring the Family. Michael talks about his roughly 30 years of work in the radio industry, the process behind writing his Hiatt biography and his thoughts about the featured album. You can follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram at @mikejelliott. As Mike mentioned, if you visit his site, michael-elliott.com, you’ll get to see what he has been up to, with links to his blog and latest pieces in No Depression, Pop Matters and several other publications. 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. 1:22 Michael joins the show 3:37 Michael talks about his career in radio 9:19 Al and Michael geek out over King Crimson 10:09 One of Michael’s sons introduced him to mashups 12:35 Michael and Al bemoan radio’s diminishing role in helping people discover music 15:04 Al learned about John Hiatt at a time when many others did, too 17:28 Michael explains how his book on Hiatt came to be 23:30 Michael’s book gave Al an appreciation for Hiatt’s contributions to music 25:40 Michael illustrates why Bring the Family holds a key place in Hiatt’s discography 29:50 The themes of Bring the Family reflect a new level of maturity, introspection and vulnerability for Hiatt Breakdown of the album’s tracks 35:29 Stood Up 39:58 Your Dad Did 40:59 Michael explains how Hiatt got the band he had for Bring the Family 47:23 Have a Little Faith in Me 48:22 Learning How to Love You 50:58 Memphis in the Meantime 53:51 Your Dad Did (again) 54:57 Thing Called Love 59:09 Alone in the Dark 1:01:06 Lipstick Sunset 1:03:58 Thank You Girl 1:05:29 Tip of My Tongue 1:08:18 Michael talks about playing in cover bands 1:11:10 Michael discusses his current projects and future plans | |||
| 50. Mary Beth Melchior Discusses Opetaia Foa'i and Lin-Manuel Miranda, We Know the Way (You, Me and a Song) | 28 Nov 2021 | 00:25:31 | |
You, Me and a Song makes its return to the podcast, as political scientist/teacher/contact tracing manager Mary Beth Melchior (and, yes, also my wife of 32 years) breaks down her favorite song from one of her favorite movies. We discuss "We Know the Way" from Moana, as performed by Opetaia Foa’i and Lin-Manuel Miranda. She talks about her reasons for loving this song and what she learned by digging deeper into the movie’s soundtrack. 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. 1:07 Mary Beth joins the show 2:07 Mary Beth takes Al far out of his comfort zone for this episode 3:38 Not every song from Moana resonated with Mary Beth 4:56 Mary Beth explains why "We Know the Way" is one of her favorite songs 7:53 Mary Beth and Al learned some things about Opetaia Foa’i and Te Vaka 11:18 Mary Beth sees "We Know the Way" as a breakthrough song 15:02 Mary Beth gives Al some musical features of the song to pay attention to 19:37 Does Lin-Manuel Miranda’s presence on the track make it a better song for Mary Beth? 21:59 "We Know the Way" is a “heart song” for Mary Beth | |||
| 49. Joe Adragna Discusses The Monkees, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. | 21 Nov 2021 | 01:19:17 | |
Are The Monkees a real band? Does any one of their vocalists stand out above the others? These are just a couple of the questions that Joe Adragna of The Junior League and Sadabouts addresses on this episode of You, Me and An Album, which is centered on The Monkees’ 1967 album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Joe also talks about working with Jay Ferguson, Scott McCaughey and Casey Neill, why he decided to write about New York for his latest Junior League album, the Monkees tribute band he plays in and what’s next for him musically. You can keep up with Joe and his musical projects on Twitter and Instagram at @thejuniorleague (on both platforms). You can find The Junior League discography on Bandcamp at https://thejuniorleague.bandcamp.com/. 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. 1:06 Joe joins the show 1:18 Joe said something that reminded Al of a gift he got from his grandparents 50 years ago 4:57 Joe never planned on moving to New Orleans, but it’s become his home 6:49 Joe discusses meeting and collaborating with Jay Ferguson of Sloan 9:15 Scott McCaughey has played a key role in Joe’s career 13:28 Joe explains how he wound up writing an album full of songs about New York 17:03 Joe and Casey Neill went for a different sound on their Sadabouts EPs 19:49 Joe talks about his songwriting process 21:45 Hearing the Beatles was a formative experience for Joe 23:31 Did Joe ever not think of The Monkees as a “real band”? 26:00 Watching their show deepened Joe’s appreciation for The Monkees 30:26 Joe plays in a Monkees tribute band 31:48 Unlike Al, Joe likes the production on Pisces 36:31 Joe and Al break down Salesman’s appeal as an album opener 42:28 Joe likes the “mixed mode” of the Monkees featured on Pisces 45:28 Joe is impressed by Mike and Mickey’s vocals 49:29 The album’s sequencing and song selection makes Pisces a great album for Joe 53:20 Did the Monkees influence Todd Rundgren? 55:17 Joe and Al admire Mickey’s drumming 59:33 Pisces was one of the first recordings to feature a Moog synthesizer 1:01:47 Joe likes Daily Nightly for more than just the Moog 1:03:33 What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round is a standout track for Joe and Al 1:06:18 Social media has helped to bring Monkees fans together 1:07:36 Joe appreciates how Pisces gives each band member a spotlight 1:11:06 Cuddly Toy helped to raise Harry Nilsson’s profile 1:12:30 The Monkees did not get respect in the American Rock Mock 1:14:35 Joe has updates on The Junior League and Sadabouts Outro music is from Hart Island by The Junior League. | |||
| 48. Ray Castronovo Discusses Green Day, American Idiot | 14 Nov 2021 | 00:58:31 | |
This week’s guest, Ray Castronovo — frontman and guitarist for Streetwise and the founder of DayQuest Records — joins me to dig into Green Day’s 2004 rock opera, American Idiot. We talk about what appeals to Ray about Green Day and this album in particular, as well as his recent return to a music career and the musical roots he developed growing up in Brooklyn. I had mentioned that I had seen an interview of Steve Vai where he talked about auditioning for Frank Zappa. I couldn’t find the video that I saw, but I did find this one where he essentially tells the same story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx1RguHA4XE I did recall correctly that Rick Beato made a What Makes This Song Great video on Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It’s definitely worth 19 minutes of your time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSy8JbvNYCM Follow Ray and Streetwise on Instagram at @streetwisenyc! You can also keep up with Streetwise at their website, streetwiseny.com. 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 Ray joins the show 1:17 Ray talks about his decision to put his music career on hold for 30 years 6:59 Ray names the musicians who influenced Streetwise’s “music stew” 9:09 Ray talks about his connection with Warren Cuccurullo and Frank Zappa 13:02 Al’s ignorance of 2000s rock led him to overlook the impact of American Idiot 14:38 Ray explains why Green Day, and American Idiot in particular, have impressed him 17:11 Should the shorter bits on American Idiot have been expanded into longer songs? Track-by-track breakdown 22:35 American Idiot 24:00 Jesus of Suburbia 28:07 Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams 32:17 Are We the Waiting 33:43 St. Jimmy/Give Me Novacaine 37:29 She’s a Rebel/Extraordinary Girl/Letterbomb 41:49 Wake Me Up When September Ends 44:18 Homecoming 45:57 Whatsername 50:41 Ray admires how “in the pocket” Green Day is 55:48 What’s next for Streetwise? Outro music is Live For the Moment by Streetwise. | |||
| 47. Scott Pianowski Discusses Pretenders (self-titled) | 07 Nov 2021 | 01:18:59 | |
Scott Pianowski of Yahoo Sports joins me on this episode to discuss the Pretenders’ 1979 debut album. In addition to breaking down this classic album in depth, Scott talks about how he got started playing fantasy sports, how he embraces variety in both sports and music and how sees the Pretenders’ musical legacy beyond their first album. Random notes: I’d commented that the band is listed as “Pretenders” on all of their albums, but on some, they are listed as “The Pretenders,” including on Learning to Crawl — an album I actually owned. I have few pet peeves greater than hearing someone say “Chrissie Hyndes,” so I was mortified to hear myself pronounce her name that way at 36:30. Kudos to our dog, Branny, for providing sound effects at 41:36, when I was talking about “being floored” by Talk of the Town. That’s the sound of her trying to open the door to my podcasting room. Scott mentioned that there is an oral history of MTV. I’m assuming that he was referring to I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780452298569 Scott mentioned the Breakfast Table podcast he does with Michael Salfino. You can find episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-breakfast-table-fantasy-sports-podcast/id1027990226 You can access Scott’s work — both columns and podcasts — right here: https://sports.yahoo.com/author/scott-pianowski/ Follow Scott on Twitter! @scott_pianowski 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. 1:10 Scott joins the show 1:47 Scott enjoys covering a variety of sports 3:20 Scott’s obsession with baseball stats set the stage for playing and writing about fantasy sports 6:58 Scott absorbed a lot of musical knowledge in high school and college 11:24 The Pretenders were part of a great cohort of new bands in the late 70s 13:35 Scott sees the Pretenders’ debut as fitting in with a pattern of debut albums being a band’s best album 14:08 Scott sees Chrissie Hynde’s versatility as a key part of what makes Pretenders a great band 16:27 Scott cites some albums he also considered discussing on this episode 19:16 Scott explains why he did choose the Pretenders’ debut 23:06 Scott and Al shared the formative experience of listening to music on vinyl 24:06 Scott talks about the ‘80s movie that references the Pretenders’ debut 27:10 Pretenders or The Pretenders? Track-by-track breakdown 27:55 Precious 33:00 The Phone Call 37:36 Up the Neck 39:23 Tattooed Love Boys 41:14 A brief discussion of Talk of the Town 44:24 The Tattooed Love Boys video and the early years of MTV 46:18 Space Invader 49:43 The Wait 52:27 Stop Your Sobbing 56:12 Kid 58:12 Private Life 1:02:05 Lovers of Today 1:04:33 Mystery Achievement 1:07:13 Scott and Al take an R.E.M. detour 1:09:19 Brass In Pocket 1:10:09 How does Scott view the rest of Pretenders’ discography? | |||
| 46. Steve Wynn Discusses Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cosmo's Factory | 29 Oct 2021 | 01:16:19 | |
What better time than the World Series to sit down and have a chat with Steve Wynn of The Baseball Project and The Dream Syndicate? Steve chose Cosmo’s Factory as his album to discuss on this episode. In addition to breaking down the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic, he talked about wanting to be a sportswriter growing up (and how he is essentially living out that dream), his chance encounter with Astros manager Dusty Baker and what’s in store for The Baseball Project, the Dream Syndicate and his solo work. I’d mentioned a Los Angeles Times video on the 40th anniversary of Fernando Valenzuela’s rookie season with the Dodgers, and the phenomenon of Fernandomania that accompanied it. A segment featuring Steve begins at 2:20. Here’s the link: There are lots of places where we can keep up with Steve’s many projects. He is on Twitter at @stevewynn and on Instagram at @cultartist. As he noted on this episode, Steve maintains a Facebook page for his solo work, and there are Facebook pages for Dream Syndicate and The Baseball Project. Finally, check out stevewynn.net for more information on all of his projects. 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. 1:19 Steve joins the show 1:45 Al attended a Dream Syndicate concert that was an important show for the band 3:25 Fernandomania was key to Steve becoming a Dodger fan 7:07 Neither Steve nor Al is excited about the 2021 World Series 8:47 Steve had an encounter with Dusty Baker when he was with the Dodgers 10:17 The Baseball Project’s favorite teams were well represented in the MLB postseason 11:16 Steve and Al remember the first World Series they watched 12:55 Punk rock ended Steve’s aspirations of pursuing a career in sportswriting 14:41 The Baseball Project approach songwriting like sportswriting 16:53 A Baseball Project update! 17:44 Steve’s first indoor shows since the start of the COVID pandemic were in Italy 22:45 Steve provides an update on the upcoming Dream Syndicate album and tour 24:12 Cosmo’s Factory impacted Steve right when it came out 27:18 Ramble Tamble influenced Steve’s writing for The Days of Wine and Roses 29:38 Ramble Tamble may have been the first anti-Reagan song 30:16 Ramble Tamble was a pleasant surprise for Al 33:40 It’s not always easy to figure out what music influenced John Fogerty 35:48 Steve appreciates when an album opens with a long song 36:46 The covers on Cosmo's Factory helped Steve to learn about other music 39:20 Cosmo’s Factory has a lot of emotional resonance and mystery for Steve 41:38 Some of the segues feel choppy to Al 44:09 Steve found the cover to Cosmo’s Factory compelling 45:24 Steve found inspiration in CCR’s version of Heard It Through the Grapevine 48:49 Steve ponders why CCR chose to do an 11-minute version of Grapevine 53:35 Steve cites his favorite tracks on Cosmo’s Factory 58:45 CCR did not frontload Cosmo’s Factory with the hits 1:01:32 Steve and Al are stumped by the source of a percussive sound 1:05:16 Was CCR a commercial band? 1:10:04 Would it have been better if CCR hadn’t disbanded so quickly? Outro is from Halloween by The Dream Syndicate. | |||
| 45. Stephen Deusner Discusses Drive-By Truckers, Decoration Day | 24 Oct 2021 | 01:33:16 | |
Stephen Deusner, author of Where the Devil Don't Stay: Traveling the South with the Drive-By Truckers, drops by the show to talk about — who else? — the Drive-By Truckers and their acclaimed 2003 album, Decoration Day. In addition to breaking down each of the album’s 15 tracks, Stephen reflects on how he became a music journalist, how being a music journalist shapes his music-listening habits and when he first had the idea to write a book about DBT. You can keep up with Stephen on Twitter at @stephenmdeusner and on Instagram at @stephendeusner, as well as on his website, https://www.stephendeusner.com/. 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. 2:48 Moving around a lot has informed Stephen’s understanding of how place can impact music 4:55 When Stephen reviews an album, he tries to listen to it in several different places 7:03 Stephen prefers listening to older music when not listening for work 10:32 Stephen didn’t set out to become a music journalist 13:43 Stephen has had the idea to write a book about Drive-By Truckers for a long time 17:13 Stephen and Al were both initially put off by DBT’s name 22:39 The songs from Decoration Day became familiar to both Stephen and Al very quickly 24:40 Stephen thinks the way DBT tells stories makes the songs easier to remember 27:20 Stephen recounts how Jason Isbell joined DBT Track-by-track breakdown (clustered by songwriter) 30:48 Outfit 36:09 Decoration Day 40:49 Marry Me 45:53 Sounds Better in the Song 48:17 Loaded Gun in the Closet 52:17 When the Pin Hits the Shell 54:43 Do It Yourself 56:30 Careless 58:31 Your Daddy Hates Me 1:02:34 Heathens 1:07:08 The Deeper In 1:11:53 Heathens (again) 1:13:45 My Sweet Annette 1:17:38 Sinkhole 1:23:59 Hell No, I Ain’t Happy/(Something’s Got To) Give Pretty Soon 1:26:27 Listening to DBT gives Stephen a sense of mission 1:29:40 Stephen has already started to think about his next projects | |||
| 44. Betsy Wright Discusses Bob Dylan, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (soundtrack) | 17 Oct 2021 | 01:00:22 | |
Betsy Wright of Bat Fangs and Ex Hex takes You, Me and An Album to another dimension on this episode, marking the first time a guest has brought a soundtrack album to the show. Betsy and I dig into Bob Dylan’s 1973 soundtrack for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and along the way, we discuss Betsy’s progression from folk guitar and jazz piano to the D.C. and Charlottesville rock scenes, the soon-to-be-released album and upcoming tour dates for Bat Fangs, the songwriting process for Ex Hex and the extra material available on the outtakes for the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack. As promised, here is the link to the complete outtakes from the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz58FT6WsbE You can and definitely should follow Betsy on Instagram at @betsybooots. If you also give the @batfangs IG account a follow, you can find information on their tour dates, or you can go to the Don Giovanni Records website at https://www.dongiovannirecords.com/tour. 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. 1:12 Betsy joins the show 1:30 Betsy sets the record straight on Bat Fangs’ upcoming album release date 2:05 The release of Queen of My World is fortuitously timed 3:08 Betsy was into folk guitar and classical piano growing up 5:45 Betsy played her first rock show with The Childballads in her early 20s 8:45 Betsy prefers teaching guitar to voice coaching 10:16 Ex Hex’s songwriting process shifted between the first and second albums 12:53 Betsy and Al talk about which Ex Hex album they like better 15:00 Al asks Betsy if there will be a third Ex Hex album 15:40 Betsy clears up an Ex Hex lyric that Al misheard 18:01 Betsy explains how Bat Fangs formed 21:29 Betsy discusses her reasons for choosing Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid for this episode 25:31 Betsy thinks the soundtrack has a magical sound 28:03 The four Billys 31:36 Betsy doesn’t recommend that we watch the movie 32:57 Betsy listens to the album for relaxation 34:55 Back to the Billys 40:41 Betsy is a big fan of Bob Dylan’s — not just this album 43:28 The instrumentals 49:29 Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door 55:21 Wagon Wheel was derived from a song on the outtakes | |||
| 43. Sweet Megg and Ricky Alexander Discuss Billie Holiday and Lester Young, A Musical Romance | 03 Oct 2021 | 00:58:19 | |
Sweet Megg and Ricky Alexander take this episode further back than this podcast has gone before, as they introduce me to the Billie Holiday and Lester Young compilation, A Musical Romance. Most of the songs on this compilation were recorded in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s, and Megg and Ricky talked about how they came to love jazz and swing decades after its heyday, as well as their love of the music that Holiday and Young made throughout their careers. They highlighted their favorite songs from the compilation and discussed what made Holiday and Young's music special and important. Megg referred to a video of Billie Holiday and Lester Young performing Fine and Mellow, and you can click here to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaZiijPbnP8. Ricky is on Instagram at @rickyajazz, and you can get more information about his music on his site, https://www.rickyalexanderjazz.com/. Megg is on Instagram at @sweet.megg, and to watch and hear her perform, just go to her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SweetMegg. 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. 1:39 Megg and Ricky join the show 2:09 Megg and Ricky talk about how they came to work together 3:53 Megg and Ricky explain why they picked A Musical Romance for this episode 4:49 Ricky’s love for jazz grew throughout his childhood 8:40 Megg’s father encouraged her to perform as a blues singer 12:02 Megg has become a die-hard country fan 13:18 Megg explains anti-folk to Al 15:11 Ricky and Megg explain why they chose this particular compilation (as compared to others) for the show 17:23 The recording of Fine and Mellow on the compilation was important and unique 21:25 Megg and Ricky talk about the friendship between Billie Holiday and Lester Young 23:08 Megg hears complexity in all of Billie Holiday’s performances 27:38 Ricky highlights some favorite songs and some qualities of the music that he enjoys on this compilation 34:10 Megg appreciates the interplay between Billie Holiday and the bands she played with 36:07 Megg discusses how Foolin’ Myself wound up on her and Ricky’s album 39:22 Megg cites some of her other favorite Billie Holiday songs 41:32 Ricky admires the contributions that Teddy Wilson and Buck Clayton made to the songs on the compilation 44:55 Ricky explains why vocalists started getting more attention during World War II 47:18 Emulating Billie Holiday’s timing is not easy to do 49:33 Megg recommends that new jazz listeners focus on the musicians other than the vocalist 51:55 There is no substitute for listening to live jazz 54:02 Ricky talks about how Lester Young provided the foundation for the groove we hear in music today | |||
| 42. Antony Johnston Discusses Paradise Lost, Draconian Times | 26 Sep 2021 | 01:39:46 | |
Novelist, video game writer and musician Antony Johnston (The Coldest City, Resident Evil Village) not only introduced me to a band and album I’d never heard of, but also educated me on the subgenre of doom metal. Antony chose Paradise Lost’s Draconian Times as this week’s featured album. He also discussed his soon-to-be-published book and upcoming album, the similarities between the prog bands and metal bands he loves and the unusual circumstances by which he first listened to Draconian Times. Antony mentioned his heavy metal podcast, Thrash It Out. You can find the episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thrash-it-out/id1008480723 He also made reference to his own musical project, Silencaeon. Take a moment and check out his Bandcamp page! https://silencaeon.bandcamp.com/ You can find Antony on both Twitter and Instagram at @AntonyJohnston. It’s a great way to find out about Antony’s various projects, but you can also learn more from his website, antonyjohnston.com. 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. 1:17 Antony joins the show 1:45 Antony explains what distinguishes doom metal from other metal subgenres 3:28 This is the second time Antony and Al have had a conversation about an album on a podcast 4:42 Antony talks about the projects he has been working on, including his soon-to-be-released book 9:40 Antony explains why he enjoys writing mysteries and thrillers 12:46 Antony likes how prog bands like Genesis and Marillion create a sense of drama 14:07 Hearing Black Sabbath was life-changing for Antony 16:17 A big part of Genesis’ appeal for Antony is how they tell stories in their songs 18:02 In his first exposure to Paradise Lost, Al was reminded of three other bands 20:02 Antony explains why he chose Draconian Times for this episode — and where it fits in the progression of Paradise Lost’s releases 25:32 Antony notes the influence that Draconian Times has had on other bands 26:30 Antony got to experience Draconian Times for his first listening in a unique setting 31:40 Antony explains what was novel about Paradise Lost among metal bands Track-by-track breakdown 34:09 Enchantment 39:58 Hallowed Land 46:18 The Last Time 50:26 Forever Failure 56:19 Once Solemn 59:45 Shadowkings 1:06:18 Elusive Cure 1:12:04 Yearn for Change 1:15:32 Shades of God 1:19:05 Hands of Reason 1:21:02 I See Your Face 1:24:24 Jaded 1:29:51 Antony recommends some Paradise Lost albums to explore after this one 1:35:33 Paradise Lost has had several different drummers Outro is from Place by Silencaeon. | |||
| 149. Mark Egan Discusses John Coltrane, A Love Supreme | 17 Mar 2024 | 01:14:08 | |
Jazz bassist Mark Egan (Pat Metheny Group, Gil Evans Orchestra, Elements) introduces Al to John Coltrane’s 1965 classic A Love Supreme. Mark talks about how he first got acquainted with the album and why it’s a significant album for him personally. He discusses playing with devotional musician Krishna Das and how that connects with his affinity for A Love Supreme. Mark also talks about his experience of playing on Arcadia’s So Red the Rose, as well as the process of writing and recording his new album Cross Currents. Keep up with Mark’s music releases and tours at markegan.com... …Or check out Mark’s music on Bandcamp: https://markegan.bandcamp.com/. Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/ 1:35 Mark joins the show 2:02 Mark talks about the music he listened to in his teen years 5:31 Mark discusses the period where he first immersed himself in jazz 7:25 Mark explains how A Love Supreme changed his life 11:14 Mark highlights some unique aspects of the album 17:47 Mark explains how A Love Supreme influenced his musical development 24:01 Mark recommends Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue as a prerequisite to listening to A Love Supreme 27:06 Mark explains why he revisits jazz records over and over 30:55 How does Mark hear A Love Supreme when he listens to ti now? 33:14 Mark talks about the process of writing songs for Cross Currents with Shawn Pelton and Shane Theriot 40:51 Once the songs were written, Cross Currents came together quickly 43:29 Cross Currents also benefits from multiple listens 45:51 Mark talks about working on Arcadia’s So Red the Rose 58:04 Mark talks about his work with Krishna Das, and how it connects with A Love Supreme 1:05:17 An eclectic Boston radio station laid the foundation for Mark’s love of A Love Supreme Outro music is from “Cross Currents” by Mark Egan. | |||
| 41. Jordan Stepp Discusses U2, Pop | 19 Sep 2021 | 01:44:37 | |
It's rare that I get to talk about a band I know as well as U2 on this podcast, but I got a real education on the band and on their Pop album from Jordan Stepp of Athens Music Junkie. In addition to walking me through the dozen tracks of Pop, Jordan talked about working for an academic press, writing as a freelance music journalist and the important place that Pop holds in U2's discography. You can (and should) follow Jordan on Twitter at @AthMusicJunkie. Also, check out Jordan's fantastic site, Athens Music Junkie, especially if you want to know what's going on in the Athens music scene. It's at athensmusicjunkie.com. 1:26 Jordan joins the show 2:04 Jordan talks about some of the music books that were pitched to UGA Press 4:56 Jordan recounts writing about music on MySpace and for Flagpole 7:33 We pondered whether it’s best to not revisit one’s own past writing 9:51 For better and worse, U2’s albums have been marked by perfectionism 13:58 Jordan urges Al to listen to the Passengers album 16:38 Jordan talks about being introduced to U2’s music 19:41 Al views ATYCLB differently now that he’s heard Pop 22:55 Seeing U2 on the War tour made Al a fan 24:35 Al checked out on all of his favorite bands around the time that Pop was released 26:59 Jordan likes Pop as U2’s “misfit” album 28:55 U2 tends to shy away from playing tracks from Pop live 30:13 Pop was a unique album for U2 because of its “meanness” Track-by-track breakdown 33:08 Discothèque 39:42 Do You Feel Loved 46:27 Mofo 53:50 If God Will Send His Angels 57:01 Staring at the Sun 1:03:03 Last Night on Earth 1:09:04 Gone 1:15:45 Miami/The Playboy Mansion 1:20:14 If You Wear That Velvet Dress A brief departure from the album… 1:22:35 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me 1:26:10 Please 1:30:38 Wake Up Dead Man | |||
| 40. Mike Skill Discusses The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. | 12 Sep 2021 | 01:27:37 | |
A classic artist from the ‘80s (and beyond) joins Al to discuss a classic album from the 70s. Mike Skill of The Romantics provides insight into what makes The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. such an important album in their catalog. In a wide-ranging conversation, Mike also explores his Detroit rock ’n roll roots, the great music that has come out of his adopted home of the Pacific Northwest, how two of The Romantics’ greatest hits came to be written and much more. I referred to an appearance Mike made on the T-Bone’s Prime Cuts podcast. If you want a more in-depth discussion on his work with The Romantics and his solo work, check it out here: https://www.tbpcpodcast.com/episode-3-mike-skill-of-the-romantics/ You can follow Mike on both Twitter and Instagram at @mikejskill. You can get more information on Mike’s releases on his website, https://www.mikeskill.com/home. Get Mike’s music on Bandcamp! https://mikeskill.bandcamp.com/music 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. 1:23 Mike joins the show 1:30 Al explains how Exile on Main St. was one of the inspirations for this podcast 2:58 Mike explains why Exile is an important album for him 5:36 Mike talks about the circumstances under which Exile was recorded 6:52 Mike has tried to approximate the type of non-linear feel that Exile has in his own work 8:54 Mike has a solo album coming out in October 10:37 Mike describes how What I Like About You was written 12:28 Mike details how Talking In Your Sleep got written 20:16 Mike tells us what is special to him about The Stones 23:25 Mike talks about the Detroit musicians who inspired him What Mike likes about Exile on Main St. 27:34 Leaving the frayed edges in 29:36 How Mick Jagger came around to Keith Richards’ more spontaneous style 31:10 The blues influence 36:20 How The Stones gave a voice to the estranged of society 41:54 The dirty guitar sound 44:31 Mike talks about how rock ’n roll culture isn’t as prominent as it was 46:57 Mike talks about Detroit and Portland as rock ’n roll towns 53:03 Mike explains how Keith Richards created the guitar magic in the intro to Happy 57:29 The origin of the Ventilator Blues 59:07 Mike and Al like the spooky sound of I Just Want To See His Face 1:02:00 When the album came out, FM stations played a broad range of songs from Exile 1:04:37 Are albums really on the way out? 1:06:28 Final thoughts on Exile and on The Stones in general 1:14:28 Mike gives props to the producer and engineers on Exile 1:18:24 Al has been listening to The Stones differently since Charlie Watts’ death 1:20:41 What is Mike listening to these days? Outro music is from ’67 Riot by Mike Skill feat. Wayne Kramer | |||
| 39. Michael Lazar Discusses Britney Spears, Blackout | 05 Sep 2021 | 01:29:54 | |
This week, Miami-based recording artist, producer and visual artist Michael Lazar joins me to chat about Britney Spears’ 2007 album, Blackout. Michael talks about his experience of learning to play music using the Suzuki method, why he decided to move on from musical theatre, how he came to be a self-produced recording artist and why Blackout is one of his favorite albums. You can find the singles Michael has released from his upcoming album, 51/49, on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/michaellazarmusic. You can also find out more about Michael and his work on Twitter and Instagram at @artbylazar. Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and on both Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast. 1:04 Michael joins the show 1:42 Michael and Al bemoan the commute between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale 4:20 Michael’s path as a musician started with childhood piano lessons in Massachusetts 9:53 Michael started writing songs while in high school 13:01 Michael's difficulty with getting Broadway roles led to him making his first album, 51/49 14:28 51/49 is about love, loss and time 15:34 An explosion in Michael’s childhood home changed his life 17:39 Michael’s musical training, the influence of his favorite artists and his knowledge of his production software combine to create his sound 20:26 If Michael had picked an album to discuss other than Blackout, what would he have picked? 25:02 Dave Matthews gets mentioned on the podcast yet again 25:52 Michael loves Blackout because of its “accidental genius” 30:36 Britney Spears helped to start a revival in music videos 31:47 Michael finds the music, including the vocals, on Blackout to be beautiful 34:09 Michael’s favorite Britney Spears songs are not on Blackout Breakdown of (nearly) all tracks 38:11 Gimme More 44:52 Piece of Me 49:50 Radar 55:12 Break the Ice 1:01:21 Heaven on Earth 1:08:30 Get Naked (I Got a Plan) 1:10:21 Freakshow 1:12:03 Toy Soldier/Hot as Ice 1:12:57 Ooh Ooh Baby/Why Should I Be Sad 1:18:36 Michael finds Britney Spears’ story compelling — especially as she tells it on Blackout 1:21:39 Michael finds inspiration in great artists who make it onto the Top 40 1:24:21 Michael talks about the singles from 51/49 Outro music is from Few Breaths Away by Michael Lazar. | |||
| 38. D.K. Lyons Discusses The 1975, I Like It When You Sleep... | 29 Aug 2021 | 01:13:06 | |
My awakening from sleepwalking through the 2010s musically continues on this episode, as singer/songwriter D.K. Lyons introduces me to The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. D.K. talked about his eclectic yet immersive music-listening habits, his connection to Tom Petty’s music, his love for watching and making music videos and what he loves (and doesn’t love so much) about the featured album. Got questions or comments for D.K.? Check out (and follow!) @DKLyonsMusic on Twitter and @D.K.LyonsMusic on Instagram. Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and on both Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. If you follow either @youmealbum account, you will find out which guests and albums are coming up on the show. 1:08 D.K. joins the show 2:28 D.K. went through a lot of musical phases before starting to listen to more recent music 5:00 Headphone-sharing was key to D.K. learning about different kinds of music in high school and college 6:21 D.K.’s dad introduced him to Tom Petty’s music at a young age 9:02 D.K. had a hard time choosing which songs to put on his album 12:33 D.K. announces his upcoming releases 13:50 D.K.’s sister introduced him to The 1975 just after he graduated college 16:11 We took a different approach to selecting tracks for discussion on this episode 16:50 D.K. cites three tracks that fit the album’s theme especially well 19:09 Al notices how I Like It When You Sleep sounds like a quintessential ’80s album
20:01 Somebody Else 23:08 She’s American 25:58 The Sound 32:13 Ugh! 36:01 The 1975/Love Me 38:58 This Must Be My Dream/Loving Someone 41:45 She Lays Down/Nana 42:42 Lostmyhead 47:39 Paris/She Lays Down (again) 55:21 If I Believe You 59:50 The Ballad of Me and My Brain 1:02:53 Al asks D.K. which would be the next album from The 1975 to explore 1:05:39 Al considers whether he should structure this podcast differently | |||
| 37. Casey Neill Discusses Marianne Faithfull, Before the Poison | 22 Aug 2021 | 01:32:39 | |
Portland-based guitarist, singer and songwriter Casey Neill (Casey Neill and The Norway Rats, The Minus 5, Big Bridges) joins the show to talk about Marianne Faithfull’s 2004 album, Before the Poison, which includes major contributions from P.J. Harvey, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. In addition to delving into each of the albums 10 tracks, we talked Casey’s current studio work, his return to playing live music, why Before the Poison is a special album for him and why he has been doing a lot of reading about Marianne Faithfull. Note: I mistakenly called Damon Albarn “Damien.” Realized it as soon as it came out of my mouth, but I couldn't undo it. Got a question or comment for Casey or just want to give him a follow? He is on Twitter at @caseyneill and on Instagram at @casey_neill. Find Casey’s music on his Bandcamp page: https://caseyneill.bandcamp.com/ To sign up for Casey’s newsletter, go to http://www.caseyneill.org/index.html Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and on both Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the latter account for updates on the show, including announcements of upcoming guests and featured albums. 1:04 Casey joins the show 2:11 Casey has been enjoying playing live again 7:00 Casey explains where his band’s name, The Norway Rats, comes from 9:39 Casey has had several friends expose him to music that he still loves today 13:50 Casey saw Nirvana play in some unusual spaces while attending Evergreen State 17:12 Casey’s loved Before The Poison from the first listen 20:51 P.J. Harvey, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have been involved in Marianne Faithfull’s work for many years 23:26 The themes of Before The Poison can be interpreted as both personal and political
25:49 The Mystery of Love 30:50 My Friends Have 35:52 Crazy Love 40:41 Last Song 50:14 No Child Of Mine 59:16 Before the Poison 1:04:29 There Is A Ghost 1:09:16 In The Factory 1:14:47 Desperanto 1:20:11 City of Quartz 1:26:04 Casey loves Marianne Faithfull’s music because of how she inhabits it 1:27:48 An update on the upcoming Casey Neill and The Norway Rats album Outro music is from Savages by Casey Neill and The Norway Rats. | |||
| 36. Ryan Shupe Discusses The Best of New Grass Revival | 15 Aug 2021 | 01:13:02 | |
Country rock and bluegrass musician Ryan Shupe introduces me to the world of progressive bluegrass by way of The Best of New Grass Revival on this episode. We discussed some of Ryan’s favorite songwriters, the influence that New Grass Revival has had on Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband and several of his favorite tracks on this 1994 greatest hits compilation. Note: On this episode, we had discussed the timing of the covers of Angel Eyes by New Grass Revival and Jeff Healy Band but weren’t sure which came first. It was the Jeff Healy version that came out first, as a track on the See The Light album, which was released in September 1988. New Grass Revival’s version was on their Friday Night in America album, which came out in 1989. You can find Ryan on Twitter at @ryanshupe and on Instagram at @theryanshupe. As he noted on this episode, you can also contact him by submitting a message on the contact form at https://ryanshupe.com/contact. Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and he is also on both Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Those latter accounts are where he announces upcoming guests and featured albums, so give those accounts a follow if you want to be in the know! 1:02 Ryan joins the show 1:33 Ryan talks about his son’s ordeal with COVID-19 and MIS-C 3:24 Ryan has been playing music since the age of 5 4:37 Ryan formed Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband in college 6:01 Ryan and Al could have talked about Bruce Springsteen instead 9:13 Some may think calling New Grass Revival a bluegrass band is blasphemous 12:46 Ryan’s goal with the Rubberband is to take the New Grass Revival concept a little further 13:40 Ryan admires New Grass Revival for their songwriting and arranging 16:56 Al asked Ryan about genres that are hard for him to warm up to, and his answer surprised him 19:05 It could be easy to miss some of the nuances of bluegrass 20:32 Finding unique musicians and bands in any genre requires some work 26:51 Ryan’s skater friends from Germany didn’t just stick to skater music 28:20 Ryan felt like picking a greatest hits compilation might have been a cop-out Breakdown of selected tracks 29:42 Callin’ Baton Rouge 36:39 Revival 43:49 Hold to a Dream 45:11 In the Middle of the Night 50:07 Love Someone Like Me 52:50 Metric Lips 58:05 You Plant Your Fields 1:01:41 I’m Down 1:04:22 Angel Eyes 1:08:22 Ryan has kept his band’s tour close to home | |||
| 35. Kate Schutt Discusses Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book | 08 Aug 2021 | 01:30:46 | |
Songwriter/guitarist/vocalist/producer/arranger Kate Schutt nudges me out of my comfort zone for this episode of You, Me and An Album, as we discuss Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956), the first pre-1960s album featured on this podcast. We talked about Kate’s latest album (Bright Nowhere), how she absorbed Ella Fitzgerald’s music by osmosis during her childhood, Cole Porter’s unique place among songwriters and her thoughts about selected tracks from the featured double album. I mentioned Kate’s TEDx talk on helping friends and family who are grieving. It’s a must-watch, and you can find it here: https://youtu.be/IfDV103duCM Kate recommended that we all check out Ella Fitzgerald’s famous performance of Mack the Knife — the one where she forgot the lyrics. I put a brief clip in the show, but you can hear the whole thing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OkasoG1gtc Kate is easy to find on Twitter and Instagram at @kateschutt. You can find out more about her and her music, art and book on her website, kateschutt.com. Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and on both Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the latter accounts for announcements of upcoming guests and albums. 1:22 Kate joins the show 2:33 Al breaks one of his rules with this album 3:28 Kate worked with Rob Mounsey on her latest album, Bright Nowhere 5:59 Kate wrote the songs for Bright Nowhere while her mother was in remission from ovarian cancer 9:37 Kate hopes to be able to play her songs live again soon 11:42 Kate heard Ella Fitzgerald a lot growing up 15:30 Kate’s musical taste is eclectic; she just likes great songs 16:29 Herbie Hancock’s The River is a great example of songs that are just as great with different vocalists singing them 17:22 This Ella Fitzgerald double album went a long way towards making Cole Porter’s songs a part of the Great American Song Book 18:48 The Red, Hot and Blue compilation brought Cole Porter’s songs to a new generation 20:27 Cole Porter’s style of writing lyrics and his economy with words remains distinctive 23:28 How did Kate wind up writing a book about songwriting? 28:52 Which Ella Fitzgerald song is Kate’s favorite? 31:11 We’re not discussing the entire double album Breakdown of selected tracks 32:17 Anything Goes 38:05 Miss Otis Regrets 45:27 Too Darn Hot 49:41 I Get a Kick Out of You 52:07 How do Cole Porter and Ella Fitzgerald help Kate with her songwriting? 59:19 Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love 1:01:43 One of Those Things 1:04:51 Begin the Beguine 1:08:56 You Do Something To Me 1:13:19 Ridin’ High 1:15:47 Love For Sale 1:21:45 It’s De-Lovely Outro music is from Roll the Stone Back by Kate Schutt. | |||
| 34. Scott Thomas Discusses Titus Andronicus, The Monitor | 01 Aug 2021 | 01:38:37 | |
Actor (I Know This Much Is True, Red Dead Redemption II) and Infinity Podcast co-host Scott Thomas introduces me to an album that is epic in nearly every possible way. We discussed Titus Andronicus’ second album, The Monitor, a Civil War-themed treatment of grappling with life as a young white man in an “uptight” North Jersey suburb. We talked about Scott’s current projects, the experience he had listening to The Monitor for the first time and what (nearly) each of the album’s 10 tracks means. I had a first-of-its-kind fail on this episode. I unintentionally skipped the track, Theme From “Cheers,” so my apologies to those looking forward to a discussion of that song. For those who don’t know this album, it isn’t actually the theme from “Cheers.” In No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future, Patrick Stickles sings a line “senior year in Mahwah,” which I had interpreted as his (or his character’s) senior year at Mahwah High School. I later realized that, given that Stickles attended Ramapo College in Mahwah, he was probably referring to his senior year of college. In discussing the reference in A More Perfect Union to the Newark Bears baseball team, I had said they were or may still be an independent league team. The Bears folded in 2013. Scott had recommended the series that the Dissect podcast did earlier this year on on Kanye West’s YEEZUS. You can stream those episodes here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2b025hq3gJ17tQdxS3aV43?si=uacvnmMDQqmG768nvvPKBg&nd=1 1:18 Scott joins the show 2:19 Scott has been working on several projects, including a short film 6:44 Scott cites some other albums he could have discussed on this episode 10:31 Titus Andronicus did not make a great first impression on Scott 12:56 Scott chose listening to The Monitor for the first time over a family dinner 16:19 Al’s first impression of The Monitor was nearly identical to Scott’s 18:04 Patrick Stickles gets his points across through a wide variety of cultural references 20:20 Delineations between songs on The Monitor are almost arbitrary 21:41 The Monitor requires a lot more listens than what Al gave it 24:13 Is Titus Andronicus a punk band? 31:23 The album touched a nerve for Al, who grew up near where Patrick grew up 33:05 Scott grew up with the members of Fall Out Boy 35:06 The Bergen County-specific references on The Monitor made the listening experience different for Al 38:24 The themes of The Monitor touch on ideas associated with white male privilege 41:41 The parallels between the inner conflict within white American men and within the larger American society begin at the very start of the album Track by track breakdown 44:09 A More Perfect Union 47:46 Titus Andronicus Forever 49:55 No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future 55:28 Richard II or Extraordinary Popular Dimensions and the Madness of Crowds (Responsible Hate Anthem) 1:03:00 A Pot in Which to Piss 1:10:57 Four Score and Seven 1:16:07 To Old Friends and New 1:18:32 …And Ever 1:20:18 The Battle of Hampton Roads 1:32:09 Scott recommends a way to listen to The Monitor that makes it easier to digest 1:34:18 Will Scott see Titus Andronicus play The Monitor in its entirety on their upcoming tour? You can find Scott on Twitter and Instagram at @OGScottieT As he mentioned on the show, you can also reach Scott by email: scottthomas101@gmail.com Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB. You can also find him on both Twitter and Instagra | |||
| 33. Danielle Salinger Discusses Prince, 1999 | 25 Jul 2021 | 01:28:35 | |
I know Danielle Salinger from her writing and tweeting on mental health and as a member of the fantasy sports community, and on this episode, we all get to know her for her love of music and of Prince. Danielle chose the first double album to be covered on a You, Me and An Album episode, as we discussed Prince’s 1999. In addition to discussing all four sides of this decade-shaping album, we talked about the progression of Prince’s music throughout his career, how Danielle was introduced to his music and the important role that music can play in mental health. As she mentioned on this episode, Danielle has a blog, and you can find it here: https://beingrealwithdanielle.com/. Danielle talked about the mental health meetup that she has created. If you are interested in learning more about this group or joining, please DM her on Twitter at @MrsDSalinger. Danielle is also a great follow, so give that Follow button a click! You can follow me (Al) on Twitter at @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum, and I’m also on Instagram at @youmealbum. The @youmealbum accounts are where I announce upcoming guests and albums, so if you want to do some homework before the episodes, be sure to follow me there. 1:32 Danielle joins the show 2:10 Danielle is enjoying her first season of playing fantasy baseball 5:29 Danielle is getting ready to blog about mental health again 7:37 Danielle created an online mental health meetup 9:21 Music’s ability to create connection is important to mental health 12:33 Danielle was introduced to Prince’s music at an inappropriately young age 18:44 Al didn’t know much of 1999 beyond the radio hits 19:48 Danielle’s favorite Prince music is generally from the era of his commercial peak 21:40 Danielle took part in a Prince song draft 23:05 Danielle is also a fan of several Prince songs that were performed by other artists Track by track breakdown 24:44 1999 32:55 Little Red Corvette 40:14 Delirious 42:43 Let’s Pretend We’re Married 48:09 D.M.S.R. 53:48 Automatic 58:52 Something In the Water (Does Not Compute) 1:03:03 Free 1:06:16 Lady Cab Driver 1:12:07 All the Critics Love U in New York 1:18:00 International Lover 1:21:30 Al remembers Prince’s music getting maligned after the success of 1999 and Purple Rain 1:24:40 Prince was able to challenge his listeners while entertaining them | |||
| 32. David Greenman Discusses The New Pornographers, Electric Version | 18 Jul 2021 | 01:08:25 | |
Actor/writer David Greenman (Gilmore Girls, Bones, About Last Night) introduces me to the Canadian supergroup, The New Pornographers, and their second album, Electric Version. In addition to discussing this album, we talked about The New Pornographers’ upcoming tour, David’s love of 80s music and the projects he has been working on recently. Correction: I had talked about how a couple of extra beats were added during the track, From Blown Speakers. I had said they came at the beginning of the pre-chorus, but they are actually right before the chorus. Be sure to follow David on both Twitter and Instagram at @greenestman. David also recommends that you follow his wife, Julianna Strickland, on Instagram at @julianna_strickland. You can follow Al on Twitter, both at @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. If you follow the latter account, you will get announcements of upcoming guests and albums. Also, check out the show on Instagram at @youmealbum. 1:18 David joins the show 2:07 David has been working on a pair of interesting projects 4:19 David’s favorite music growing up was a cross-section of everything that was big in the ‘80s 6:33 Every song on Electric Version is an earworm for David 7:21 David discovered New Pornographers through a community that traded live recordings 9:51 Why David chose Electric Version for this episode 12:37 David considered discussing other albums for this show 13:30 Al’s shameful admission about his record collection 14:26 Al considers a change of format for the show 15:36 Al reveals whether he liked Electric Version 17:04 Al and David don’t always understand the meaning of the lyrics on Electric Version Track by track breakdown 18:42 The Electric Version 25:27 From Blown Speakers
33:02 The End of Medicine 37:28 Loose Translation 39:51 Chump Change 44:33 All For Swinging You Around 47:08 The New Face of Zero and One 51:59 Testament to Youth in Verse 54:17 It’s Only Divine Right 56:31 Ballad of a Comeback Kid 58:27 July Jones 59:42 Miss Teen Wordpower 1:04:17 David thinks Electric Version is the best album for starting an exploration of The New Pornographers’ catalog | |||
| 148. Jim Wilbur Discusses The Triffids, Born Sandy Devotional | 03 Mar 2024 | 01:00:09 | |
Superchunk guitarist Jim Wilbur joins Al and introduces him to The Triffids’ 1986 album Born Sandy Devotional. Jim talks about how he first heard the album when he was a college DJ, which tracks he gravitated towards and why he still listens to the album now. He and Al compare their impressions regarding both the album’s music and lyrics. Jim also discusses what’s in store for Superchunk in the coming months, including the Merge 35 Festival. Keep up with Superchunk on Merge Records' website! https://www.mergerecords.com/artist/superchunk Also be sure to check out their music on Bandcamp: https://superchunk.bandcamp.com/ Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/ 1:16 Jim joins the show 2:01 Jim talks about discovering Born Sandy Devotional as a college DJ 4:31 The album almost defies description 7:40 Jim hears all of the album’s songs as relating to a single character 10:00 Jim talks about the connection between the Triffids and Nick Cave 11:49 Jim and Al make note of the lighter and darker sides of Born Sandy Devotional 14:57 Jim explains how the album reminds of him where he grew up 16:58 Jim talks about what it was like to DJ at a small college radio station 19:54 Jim recalls some other bands he played as a DJ 21:26 Jim extols the merits of listening to the album straight through Discussion of specific tracks 23:19 The Seabirds 27:14 Tarrilup Bridge 30:00 Lonely Stretch 33:44 Life of Crime 35:10 Stolen Property 37:27 Jim shares his perspective on the role of David McComb’s lyrics 39:32 Jim talks about what gives Born Sandy Devotional a timeless quality 41:57 Jim’s relationship with rock music has changed over time 43:47 Jim explains why he likes to listen to classical music 45:36 Jim talks about David McComb’s difficult life 48:19 Jim recommends some other Triffids albums to check out 50:14 Al was surprised to see that Born Sandy Devotional was produced by Gil Norton 51:43 Jim provides an update on Superchunk’s upcoming recording and tour plans Outro music is from “Everybody Dies” by Superchunk. | |||
| 31. The Follow-Up Episode | 11 Jul 2021 | 00:46:50 | |
Over the course of doing 30 episodes of You, Me and An Album, there have been parts of each conversation that have stuck with me long after the episode got published. There have been a few of those that I continue to think about frequently, because I have been puzzled as to why I had such a different reaction to a song than my guest did. I went back to seven of those songs and gave them several more listens, and on this episode, I talk about what changed in my impression of those songs after giving each of them another chance. Also, given that Ep. 30 was nearly about Hum’s You’d Prefer An Astronaut, it felt appropriate to give that episode’s guest, Michael Govier, a chance to express his feelings about the life and recent death of Hum drummer Bryan St. Pere. Corrections: I made a couple of Sleater-Kinney-related errors on this show. I referred to their new album, Path of Wellness as “Path To Wellness.” Given that I’ve had the album on heavy rotation since its release, I’m not sure how I managed to mess that up. Also, I referred to the verse of The Remainder that begins “There is an absolute zero” as the second verse, but it’s the third verse. 0:18 The premise of this episode 1:32 How Rebecca Clay Cole’s encounter with Jeff Mangum has helped to inform my music listening
Revisiting previously-discussed tracks (including excerpts from guests on previous episodes) 4:26 Kinks, Waterlook Sunset (Ed Masley) 8:54 Sleater-Kinney, The Remainder (Mariana Timony) 13:24 Frank Ocean, Nikes (Andrew Brown) 17:16 Neutral Milk Hotel, Holland, 1945 (Eric Gilde) 22:02 John Cale, Darling I Need You (Mike Lord) 26:33 Oasis, Slide Away (Kevin Brown) 30:32 Built to Spill, Time Trap (Michael Govier)
34:16 Some music requires even more patience than I thought, but it’s worth it 35:40 What are your experiences with not “getting” certain albums? 37:08 Michael Govier’s tribute to Bryan St. Pere
Find Al on Twitter at: @almelchiorBB and @youmealbum. Be sure to follow the latter account for updates on the show, including announcements of upcoming albums and guests. | |||
| 30. Michael Govier Discusses Built to Spill, Keep It Like a Secret | 04 Jul 2021 | 01:34:25 | |
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 | |||
| 29. Rat Discusses Public Service Broadcasting, The Race for Space | 27 Jun 2021 | 01:10:23 | |
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 | |||
| 28. Rudy Gamble Discusses Old 97's, Too Far To Care | 20 Jun 2021 | 01:29:17 | |
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. 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 | |||
| 27. Nat Cassidy Discusses The Daddies, Rapid City Muscle Car | 13 Jun 2021 | 01:20:20 | |
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 | |||
| 26. Rebecca Clay Cole Discusses Jimmy Buffett, A-1-A | 06 Jun 2021 | 01:28:47 | |
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. 1:30 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. | |||
| 25. Nick Pollack Discusses The Devin Townsend Band, Accelerated Evolution | 30 May 2021 | 01:19:01 | |
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 | |||
| 24. JB Brubaker Discusses Weezer, The Blue Album | 23 May 2021 | 01:11:45 | |
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! | 16 May 2021 | 01:18:53 | |
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 | |||
| 22. Rebecca Clay Cole Discusses Jimmy Buffett, The Great Filling Station Holdup (You, Me and a Song) | 09 May 2021 | 00:42:43 | |
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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| 147. Mary Timony Discusses Untame the Tiger | 18 Feb 2024 | 00:29:53 | |
This is the second of a two-part conversation with Washington, DC-based singer, guitarist and songwriter Mary Timony (Autoclave, Helium, Wild Flag, Ex Hex, solo). Mary talks about the difficult circumstances under which she made her new album, Untame the Tiger, and how her parents’ illnesses and deaths gave her a new perspective. She also discusses the experience of recording parts of the album on the legendary Sound City mixing board and working with drummer Dave Mattacks. Mary explains how writing songs as a member of Wild Flag has played a critical role in Ex Hex’s sound. (Her discussion of Ex Hex first appeared on Ep. 131.) Give Mary a follow on Instagram (if you don’t already)! @marytimony Also be sure to visit Mary’s website: marytimonymusic.com Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/ 0:52 Al’s introduction to Part 2 of the conversation with Mary 2:08 Mary explains how difficult circumstances led her to make Untame the Tiger 7:11 Mary talks about the people she worked with on the new album 12:35 Mary discusses making the album while dealing with her parents’ illnesses and deaths 16:54 Mary explains how that period helped her to put life into a different perspective 18:05 Mary talks about writing and playing with Ex Hex 20:40 The experience of writing songs for Wild Flag changed her songwriting process 24:58 Mary compares the two Ex Hex albums Outro music is from “Dominoes” by Mary Timony. | |||
| 21. Jason La Canfora Discusses Fishbone, Truth and Soul | 02 May 2021 | 01:13:24 | |
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 36:24 Ma and Pa 39:30 Question of Life 42:54 Pouring Rain 45:29 Deep Inside 47:24 Mighty Long Way 49:18 Bonin’ In The Boneyard 53:56 One Day 55:23 Subliminal Fascism 58:35 Slow Bus Movin’ 1:01:02 Ghetto Soundwave 1:05:49 Change
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| 20. Mariana Timony Returns to Rank Sleater-Kinney's Albums | 25 Apr 2021 | 00:54:34 | |
Back when I was recording Episode 16 (Quasi, Field Studies) with Mariana Timony of Bandcamp Daily, I had promised that there would be a second part of our discussion forthcoming. This is that second part! Mariana and I spent nearly an hour discussing Quasi drummer/vocalist Janet Weiss’ other band (though, sadly, one she is no longer a part of), Sleater-Kinney. We each offer our rankings of the band’s studio albums and discuss some of our favorite (and least favorite) tracks from each along the way. Note: I made a comment about Sleater Kinney’s The Hot Rock reminding me of “mid-period R.E.M.,” and then went on to cite Fables of the Reconstruction and Life’s Rich Pageant as specific albums it reminded me of. As soon as I said this, I realized that, by any reasonable definition, those albums were a part of R.E.M.’s early period. I do think of Murmur and Reckoning as constituting a separate era in the band’s discography but failed to come up with a better term for the era I was trying to describe (late-early?). Mariana is on Twitter, and you can follow her at @marianatimony. You can find her writing for Bandcamp Daily here, https://daily.bandcamp.com/contributors/mariana-timony, and her newsletter, The Weird Girls Post, here, https://weirdgirlspost.substack.com/. You can find me (Al) on Twitter at @almelchiorBB or at the account I created for this show, @youmealbum. Would love to hear any comments or questions you have about this episode or the show in general. Since I brought it up several times on this episode, let me know if you’d be interested in hearing Mariana and me talk about Sleater-Kinney’s One Beat for a separate episode. 1:20 Mariana (re)joins the show 2:02 Mariana ranks the Sleater-Kinney albums 26:14 Al counts them down
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| 19. Eric Gilde Discusses Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea | 18 Apr 2021 | 01:34:22 | |
Actor/writer/director Eric Gilde stops by to discuss Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, an album he had on repeat for an entire summer and one that still intrigues him nearly two decades later. We discuss Eric’s latest projects, some of his favorite underrated albums and this particular Neutral Milk Hotel album in great detail. You can find Eric on Twitter and Instagram at @ericgilde. Be sure to listen to Eric and Ellen Adair’s baseball movie podcast, Take Me In To The Ballgame! The archive is here, but you can also find episodes where you get your podcasts…https://underdogpodcasts.com/category/tv-film/take-me-in-to-the-ballgame This podcast has a Twitter account! Would greatly appreciate a follow at @youmealbum. Every week, I announce the next guest and album several days ahead of time.
1:19 Eric joins the show 4:29 What projects has Eric been working on? 7:10 Three albums that Eric thinks are underrated 13:35 What is it about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea that Eric finds most appealing? 19:02 Is Neutral Milk Hotel a band? 22:44 Jeff Mangum’s inspiration for In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 24:03 Al’s initial impressions of the album 26:26 Jeff Mangum’s voice is a big reason why Eric loves this album 30:22 Parallels between Neutral Milk Hotel and R.E.M. 35:31 Eric’s favorite tracks
Track-by-track breakdown 36:51 King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1 43:34 King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 & 3 49:20 In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 51:53 Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 1 56:10 The Fool 58:25 Holland, 1945 1:04:12 Communist Daughter 1:05:58 Oh Comely 1:11:16 Ghost 1:17:11 Untitled 1:18:53 Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2
1:23:33 The mystique around In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
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