#246: Interview with author/musician Jon Fine

Jon Fine, author of Your Band Sucks: What I Saw at Indie Rock's Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear), and guitarist of Bitch Magnet, joins us to discuss his newly released book. We talk the genesis of the book and what makes a good rock memoir, try to figure out what exactly is “indie rock,” chat about gear and how to properly dispose of guitars in disrepair, and so much more.

Songs in this Episode:

#245: Dyslexicon by Dandelion

After Jason’s pick last week, Tim takes a shot and brings Dandelion’s 1995 sophomore (and final) album Dyslexicon to the table on the strength of the single “Weird-Out.” The album owes a heavy debt to Nirvana, from the familiar vocal style to big drums and guitars. The question becomes: when does influence become imitation?

Songs in this Episode:

#244: Powertrippin’ by The Almighty

This week we’re getting to one of our own picks, and Jason has brought us some prime debate material - 1993′s Powertrippin’ by The Almighty. Down-tuned guitars, double bass drum pedals and Motorhead meets Alice In Chains riffage, this band made zero impact in the United States, but their sound is familiar to anyone who has listened to hard rock in the last 20+ years. Has all that time made the band sound derivative, or were they from the start?

Songs in this Episode:

#243: Shoegaze Round Table Discussion

The description “shoegaze” has been applied to My Bloody Valentine to Ride to Slowdive to Swervedriver to Lush. But what exactly is shoegaze, what links these bands and others to this late 80s/early 90s movement? To help us break it down we’re joined by Aaron Perrino, Andy Derer and Eric Grubbs to talk the bands, the sounds, the albums, the guitar pedals and much more.

Songs in this Episode:

#242: Tatoonie by Blind Mr. Jones

Next week will be hosting our round table discussion on shoegaze, so to get in the mood, this week we’re tackling one of the lesser known entries in the genre - the 1994 album Tatoonie by Blind Mr. Jones. Many of the things you come to expect from a shoegaze band are present - etheral vocals and guitars that switch from chorus clean to distorted chaos in an instant. As we dug deeper, we discovered some nods to power pop and early Britpop that make this album more intriguing that expected, but with a few issues to overcome.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Disneyworld

5:40 - History of the Band

10:33- Hey

15:12 - See You Again

17:59 - Mesa