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Episodes
J and Tim dig into the grunge, alt-rock, and indie albums that changed everything—the forgotten classics, the underappreciated masterpieces, and the legends worth hearing again. One album at a time. Let’s dig it out.
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 27, 2017
Tuesday Jun 27, 2017
For our last review of June 2017, our Patreon patrons selected from one of four albums from June of 1997, and settled on Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, the third album by Spiritualized. Much has been written about the album, from reviews to anniversary retrospectives detailing the creation and recording of the massive achievement that finds Jason Pierce and crew exploring gospel, soul, britpop, blues, psychedelia, noise, experimentation and more, including an orchestra. It’s a headphone album of sprawling proportions one moment and cacophony worthy of a stadium the next. We try to figure out which works better for us, if at all.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Come Together
10:07 - Cop Shoot Cop...
13:46 - Cool Waves
20:15 - I Think I’m In Love
Outro - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Tuesday Jun 20, 2017
Tuesday Jun 20, 2017
We don’t often get a chance to check out bands from the 90s where the terms ragtime or waltz get tossed around, but The Whitlams qualify. We’re checking out the 1997 album Eternal Napcap by this Newtown, Australian band. Led by vocalist/pianist Tim Freedman, The Whitlams can tow the line between indulgent Rufus Wainwright-style balladry and Ben Folds-esque pop, remaining radio friendly with mature lyrical content. Does it all work for us? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - No Aphrodisiac
11:42 - You Look Like Louis Burdett
15:09 - Life’s A Beach
20:23 - Charlie No. 1
Outro - Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 3)
Tuesday Jun 13, 2017
Tuesday Jun 13, 2017
Previously we chatted about movie soundtracks of the 1990s, so this week we’re switching to the small screen and hosting a roundtable discussion on television soundtracks of the 90s. The best and memorable, the one’s that surpassed the show and stand on their own, and the one’s that were HUGE at the time but maybe haven’t aged all that well. We talk about them all (or all that we can squeeze into an hour). To help us do so, we’re joined by two veterans of our program, Eric Grubbs and Joe Royland, to talk My So-Called Life, Friends, Melrose Place and much more. Yes, even Cop Rock.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts (from Friends)
9:53 - Teenage FBI by Guided By Voices (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
25:36 - Good Intentions by Toad the Wet Sprocket (from Friends)
51:22 - Down in the Park by Foo Fighters (from The X-Files)
Outro - Here and Now by Letters to Cleo (from Melrose Place)
Tuesday Jun 06, 2017
Tuesday Jun 06, 2017
This week we chatted with Jody Porter, who just released his third solo album this past March, Pacifier. Jody started out in the early with The Belltower, a dreamy/shoegaze band featuring Britta Phillips (later of Luna) that garnered positive press in the UK but ultimately dissolved. However, a late addition to the band named Adam Schlesinger would later form Fountains of Wayne, who Jody would join after their debut was recorded. Spending the rest of the run with the band until they ended in 2013, Jody released his first solo album Close to the Sun in 2008, followed by Month of Mondays in 2013 via Kickstarter. We talk about all that, his vast guitar collection, his earliest musical recollection learning instruments and playing bands all the way up to recording demos on Garageband for the latest release.
Download Pacifier at CDBaby / Stream it at Spotify
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Valerie Sometimes by Jody Porter (from Pacifier)
7:22 - Lost In Hollow by The Belltower (from In Hollow EP)
38:31 - In The Beginning by Jody Porter (from Pacifier)
48:51 - The Last Chapter by Jody Porter (from Pacifier)
Outro - Supercollider by Fountains of Wayne (from Welcome Interstate Managers)
Tuesday May 30, 2017
Tuesday May 30, 2017
This week a requested review gives us a chance to revisit the 1995 debut album Whirligig by The Caulfields. A confection of jangly guitars, story-telling lyrics and power pop melodies might remind some of 70s and 80s masters like Elvis Costello or Cheap Trick, but The Caulfields forge their own path, for better or worse. When done well, they have few peers among 90s bands. Unfortunately, the highest highs are betrayed by some pretty low lows. We try to sort it all out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Devil’s Diary
10:17 - Alex Again
14:00 - Hannah, I Locked You Out
20:59 - The Day That Came and Went
28:06 - Alex Again
Outro - Breathe Under Water
Tuesday May 23, 2017
Tuesday May 23, 2017
We gave our Patreon patrons the opportunity to vote one four different releases from May of 1997, and the consensus winner was eclectic soundtrack from the Batman & Robin movie starring George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Alicia Silverstone and more. A mixed bag for sure, there are some clear gems and some awful groaners. We sift through track-by-track and try to find more of the former than the latter. What is worth a revisit? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - The End Is The Beginning Is The End by The Smashing Pumpkins
10:53 - Look Into My Eyes by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
13:46 - Gotham City by R. Kelly
21:12 - Lazy Eye by Goo Goo Dolls
27:08 - The Bug by Soul Coughing
34:15 - True to Myself by Eric Benét
Outro - The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins
Tuesday May 16, 2017
Tuesday May 16, 2017
The winner of our first quarter Patreon contest stops by with his free requested review pick - 1995′s Cockamamie by Jennifer Trynin. Though part of a fertile 90s Boston music scene, Jen Trynin is a bit of an anomaly, self-releasing her debut album prior to a major label bidding war. Her guitar playing shifts between familiar alternative pop and more angular riffing with a rock solid rhythm section. But ultimate, it’s the songs that matters. She managed to score a minor hit with “Better Than Nothing,” but how does the rest of the album fair? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Better Than Nothing
5:17 - Happier
8:59 - Knock Me Down
17:54 - Do It Alone
Outro - One Year Down
Tuesday May 09, 2017
Tuesday May 09, 2017
We’re back with another “In The 90s” roundtable, our chance to revisit a popular artist from the 1980s and see how they navigated the shifting musical landscape of the 1990s. With fourteen Top 40 hits and two number one singles in the U.S., Duran Duran were one of the most successful artists of the 80s. However, they entered the new decade on the decline, their fifth album Big Thing failing to resonate with fans or critics the way their previous four releases had. How did their 90s output fare in comparison? To help us navigate through their catalog, we’re joined by Annie Zaleski (Salon, AV Club), Chip Midnight (Kids Interview Bands) and Keith Sawyer (WMBR).
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Duran Duran Medley (Come Undone, Ordinary World, Electric Barbarella)
9:21 - All She Wants Is (from Liberty)
18:23 - Too Much Information (from Duran Duran/The Wedding Album)
28:36 - 911 is a Joke (from Thank You)
36:31 - Out of My Mind (from Medazzaland)
Outro - White Lines (from Thank You)
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Musician, label owner, DJ, writer, teacher - you name it, Marko DeSantis has probably done it. You probably know him as the guitarist in pop punk band Sugarcult, and he shares the history of their formation, as well as his involvement in bands such as The Ataris, Nerf Herder, the Swingin Utters, Bad Astronaut. Marko shares his experiences growing up in Santa Barbara, CA, and contributing to the upcoming Sweet Relief “Strange 80s” benefit show.
Make sure to visit our Patreon page for bonus content.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Pretty Girl (The Way) by Sugarcult
Outro - Lately by The Ataris
Tuesday Apr 25, 2017
Tuesday Apr 25, 2017
Our Patreon subscribers helped us pick an album from April of 1997 to review, and thanks to a tie-breaking coin flip, we’re checking out the self-titled Cheap Trick album. It’s actually the second self-titled album from Cheap Trick, the first being their debut from twenty years earlier. To help us dissect this record and provide historical context on this era of the band, we’ve enlisted Colin Gawel of Watershed, League Bowlers and formerly Why Isn’t Cheap Trick In The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame? to lend a hand.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Say Goodbye
9:12 - Anytime
15:05 - Carnival Game
17:51 - It All Comes Back To You
Outro - You Let A Lotta People Down