Avsnitt
-
Peter Gabriel is a favorite artist of many of us here at Discord & Rhyme, but we’ve saved him for our own 138th Episode Spectacular. Peter Gabriel III (aka Melt, so called because half of Gabriel’s face on the album cover looks like a melting candle) isn’t just John’s favorite Peter Gabriel album; it’s an album that made him reconsider (in a favorable light) the entirety of popular music in the 1980s and the concept of using the production studio to create entirely new sounds, and John leads a very enthusiastic discussion on an album that we love very much. Join John, Amanda, Rich, and Mike as we gush over an album that transformed solo Peter Gabriel into something greater than “the guy who used to sing for Genesis”; a dark noisy hellscape frontier of an album full of burglars, assassins, and not one cymbal anywhere.
Cohosts: John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers, Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/138-peter-gabriel-peter-gabriel-iii-1980
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Hear that? There goes the siren that warns of the air raid – or maybe that’s just Bruce Dickinson’s voice. This week, Mike continues his quest to make Discord & Rhyme more metal with the album Powerslave by Iron Maiden. In the popular consciousness, Maiden are known for their goofy album covers and hits like “Bring Your Daughter … to the Slaughter.” But if you dig just a little deeper, they were vanguards of the new wave of British heavy metal, with a seven-album run in the ‘80s that ranks among the greatest winning streaks of the album era, metal or otherwise. Powerslave is arguably their peak, boasting some of their greatest compositions and brainiest lyrics, with subjects running the gamut from The Prisoner to the military-industrial complex to the dawn of British Romanticism. But most importantly, it rocks, and Mike has invited Phil, John, and Rich to discuss eight amazing songs that will put you at a losfer words.
Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Phil Maddox, John McFerrin, Rich Bunnell
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/137-iron-maiden-powerslave-1984
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Saknas det avsnitt?
-
Kylie Minogue had a big comeback last year with the Grammy-winning TikTok hit “Padam Padam,” so Rich decided that it was finally time to give the Discord & Rhyme treatment to one of his favorite divas. Kylie’s 2007 album X wasn’t just an artistic comeback, but a physical and emotional one, recorded in the wake of her grueling but successful treatment for breast cancer. At the time, there was a groundswell of anticipation for her next big move, and X was the first album Kylie conceived as a singular project, rather than the latest entry in a production line of releases. Accordingly, there’s a certain vivaciousness and a willingness to try anything on this album that makes it unlike anything in her catalog, with songs that evoke Timbaland, Serge Gainsbourg and ‘90s R&B sitting alongside Kylie’s trademark Eurodisco. Some of the experiments work better than others, but the album as a whole is a fascinating portrait of a moment in time, both for mid-2000s pop music as well as Kylie herself. And Rich has invited returning guests Jen Carman and Dave Weigel to help elaborate on why you, too, should be so lucky to become a Kylie stan.
Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Jen Carman, Dave Weigel, Mike DeFabio
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/136-kylie-minogue-x-2007
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Amanda has been threatening to talk about bluegrass on the podcast for years, and we finally settled on the perfect album to start with: Live!!!! Almost!!! by the Dillards. Half a comedy album and half a virtuoso performance by expert musicians, it’s a fantastic introduction to the genre. It was recorded in front of an audience completely unfamiliar with bluegrass music, so the band chose songs that were catchy and accessible, then made it even more engaging by adding Smothers Brothers-style jokey commentary in between. The result is an interesting and very entertaining live album that stands a good chance of winning over any bluegrass skeptics, and even if it doesn’t, it gives us a chance to explain why we like it.
Cohosts: Amanda Rodgers, Ben Marlin, John McFerrin
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/135-the-dillards-live-almost-1964
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Uriah Heep were never critical darlings, but for a brief period in the early seventies, they were making some absolutely killer fantasy-tinged rock. Phil has always had a soft spot for 1972’s Demons And Wizards, which is probably the best example of what could happen when this band was truly firing on all cylinders. He, along with Dan and Mike, makes the case for why this album should be a staple of any respectable early seventies hard rock collection.
Cohosts: Phil Maddox, Mike DeFabio, Dan Watkins
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/134-uriah-heep-demons-and-wizards-1972
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma! was a massive hit on Broadway in 1943. It changed musical theater forever and inspired a well-remembered 1955 film. Ben hasn't seen the musical or the film, and he doesn't know the plot or the names of the characters. But he loves the music. He and Rich and John dive into a 1964 studio recording of the Oklahoma! soundtrack and make a case for why the show’s musical numbers endure.
Cohosts: Ben Marlin, Rich Bunnell, John McFerrin
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/133-rodgers-and-hammerstein-oklahoma-1964
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were gifted musicians with a deep and complicated personal relationship, which makes them perfect subjects for a Discord & Rhyme holiday episode. Their magnum opus, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was a huge hit in 1970 and is still as beautiful, innovative, and occasionally silly as it ever was. Ben, Amanda, Rich, and John love this album dearly, and discussing all its strengths and arguing over its few flaws was the perfect way to wind up Discord & Rhyme’s sixth calendar year. Happy holidays, everyone, and may all your relationships be less acrimonious than Simon and Garfunkel’s.
Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Ben Marlin, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/132-simon-and-garfunkel-bridge-over-troubled-water
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
1 2 X U! As punk was just beginning to take off in the UK, Wire was already looking ahead, itching to push the genre toward artsier, more abstract frontiers. Their 1977 LP Pink Flag planted the seeds for post-punk and hardcore before most kids had even had a chance to spike their first mohawk. Boasting a dizzying 21 tracks at an economical 35 minutes, Wire packed more into one album than some of their peers managed in a career. Join Dan, Phil, Mike, and Rich as they discuss how it holds up as one of the boldest debuts of the punk era.
Cohosts: Dan Watkins, Phil Maddox, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/131-wire-pink-flag-1977
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
It’s time for a psychedelic podcast extravaganza, five years and two recordings in the making! The album Chips from the Chocolate Fireball by XTC’s alter-egos the Dukes of Stratosphear was supposed to be our fifth episode, but technical difficulties turned the episode into a splendid cream bun. But Rich, Ben, and Mike are finally back for a second round discussing a collection that perhaps isn’t XTC’s definitive artistic achievement, but it’s possibly the most pure fun you can have in their discography. Artistically adrift in the mid-’80s, the band adopted goofy pseudonyms and recorded a loving tribute to the ’60s music of their youth, produced by psychedelic engineering wizard John Leckie. If you enjoy Pink Floyd, the Byrds, the Small Faces, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, and especially the Beatles – which you most likely do, because you’re listening to this podcast – you owe it to yourself to take a bike ride to the moon with the Dukes.
Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Ben Marlin, Mike DeFabio
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/130-the-dukes-of-stratosphear-chips-from-the-chocolate-fireball-1987
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Gentle Giant comes up so often on Discord & Rhyme, especially considering how obscure they are outside the world of hardcore prog rock fandom, that it’s amazing we haven’t covered them yet. Many 1970s prog rock bands aspired to combine rock with classical (and jazz among other things), but unlike most of their contemporaries, Gentle Giant actually knew enough about classical music to make the combination something more than rock crossed with a touch of 19th century Romanticism. John’s pick for their best album is Octopus of 1972, an album that fires ideas at the listener so rapidly that the various songs (and these are all songs, in the 3-6 minute range) become extremely memorable, even as they’re sometimes among the most complex and bewildering music to come out of the 1970s. Come listen to John, Mike, and Phil tell you why they’ve fallen in love with this band and with this album.
Cohosts: John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio, Phil Maddox
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/129-gentle-giant-octopus-1972
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
For this year’s Halloween episode, we wanted to go with an artist who scares the living daylights out of us, and what better choice than Nick Cave? After all, this is a man who once recorded an entire album of murder ballads, and whose legendary single “The Mercy Seat” charts a killer’s stream of consciousness as he is led to the electric chair. We could have picked almost any of Cave’s albums with the Bad Seeds, but Mike threw a curveball and chose the covers album Kicking Against the Pricks, because sometimes the best way to get to the essence of an artist’s work is examining the way they interpret and curate the work of other artists. The album boasts a truly eclectic set of songs, with pitch-dark Delta blues sharing a tracklist with light pop by Tom Jones, Gene Pitney, and the Seekers, all cloaked in the one-of-a-kind, macabre atmosphere that Cave’s fans have come to know, love, and fear. Yet by the time this carnival is over, you’ll have a sense of the light that glows beneath the darkness of his music. Happy Halloween!
Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Amanda Rodgers
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/128-nick-cave-and-the-bad-seeds-kicking-against-the-pricks-1986
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Beatles For Sale is a relatively obscure album, to the extent that any Beatles album could be called obscure. This album was recorded at a time when the Beatles were creatively exhausted and almost half of it is covers, which is why it’s often dismissed as one of their weaker efforts. But we don’t think that’s fair. It’s not world-changing, that’s true enough, but it doesn’t have to be. They were still writing interesting, exciting originals, and the covers are (mostly) very well chosen and excellently performed. Once you’ve listened closely, you’ll realize that tracks like “Rock and Roll Music,” “Eight Days a Week,” and “Every Little Thing” are absolutely essential to understanding the Beatles, and even the tracks that aren't as important are still tons of fun.
Cohosts: Amanda Rodgers, John McFerrin, Ben Marlin, Dan Watkins
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/127-the-beatles-beatles-for-sale-1964
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod -
Slint are a true one-of-a-kind band - they showed up seemingly out of nowhere, singlehandedly defined an entire genre on a single album, and disappeared before that album was even released. What happened? Why is Spiderland so influential? And, beyond its influence - does the album still hold up today? Phil certainly thinks so - in his opinion, its grandeur has been frequently imitated, but never duplicated. He, along with Mike, Rich, and Dan, are here to talk about just what makes this album so special.
Cohosts: Phil Maddox, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Dan Watkins
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/126-slint-spiderland-1991
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod -
It's Discord & Rhyme's 125th episode, and we are marking the occasion with one of our favorite recording strategies: tackling a famous band by discussing two of their albums while making an end-run around their most critically acclaimed period. In this episode, Ben talks about the 1964 Beach Boys album All Summer Long, where the band really shifted into second gear, while John talks about the 1970 Beach Boys album Sunflower, a beautiful album released during a period when very few people had any time to add the Beach Boys to their day. Rich and Phil join Ben and John to share their thoughts on these two lesser-known albums from one of the greatest (and secretly weirdest) bands one can find in this whole world, and spoiler alert, everybody here agrees that the Beach Boys are terrific (except maybe when Uncle Jesse is prominently involved). It's about time we got around to this band, but we promise this episode will put a smile on your face.
Cohosts: Ben Marlin, John McFerrin, Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/125-the-beach-boys-all-summer-long-1964-amp-sunflower-1970
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
-
Whether he likes it or not, Warren Zevon will forever be most remembered for his surprise hit “Werewolves of London,” but he’s a far more complex and interesting songwriter than most folks are aware. Forever a musician’s musician, Zevon’s unique voice has influenced scores of artists although he himself has remained something of a cult figure over the decades. While 1978’s Excitable Boy does indeed feature his biggest hit, it is also home to some of the most sharp-witted and acidic songs he ever wrote. Join Dan, Mike, Rich, and returning guest Libby Cudmore as we discuss Zevon and his cast of psychopaths, mercenaries, screwups, and lycanthropes.
NOTE: There's some strong language and dark subject matter in here, so be mindful of that if there's anyone around who shouldn't be hearing it.
Cohosts: Dan Watkins, Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio, Libby Cudmore
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/124-warren-zevon-excitable-boy-1978
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod -
Are you ready to do the Dap Dip? This week, the Discord & Rhyme Super Soul Revue travels back to 2005 to discuss Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, who play sunny R&B that sounds like it came straight out of the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. But despite the retro sound, there’s nothing retro about this band, who were just playing the music they loved and recording it the way they loved it. And Sharon Jones herself was the real deal, a classic diva who was born in the South literally across the state line from James Brown. The world lost Sharon Jones to cancer in 2016, but her voice lives on in the Dap-Kings’ catalog, which includes six wonderful studio albums and innumerable covers recorded for hire. So put a fish in your dish and join Rich, Mike, and Dan to talk about an album that will make you fall in love with soul all over again.
Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio, Dan Watkins
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/123-sharon-jones-and-the-dap-kings-naturally-2005
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod -
We're on summer vacation after finishing our King Crimson episode, so please enjoy this release from the Patreon vault! We call these our Mad Libs episodes, where we pick a category and discuss songs that fit that category somehow. This is one of our favorites, so we hope you like it! (Please note that we recorded this in September '22, before we did the Rumours episode and before Gordon Lightfoot passed.)
More Mad Libs episodes: https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers
Songs: Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund FitzgeraldFunkadelic - Get Off Your Ass and JamRoxy Music - AmazonaSteely Dan - Reelin' In the YearsNeil Young - Like a HurricaneSt. Vincent - Huey NewtonFleetwood Mac - Big Love (Live)Guitar Slim - The Story of My LifeMetallica - OrionJanet Jackson - Black CatChicago - Free Form GuitarThe Beach Boys - All I Wanna Do
Extras: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! St. Vincent plays "Forty Six and 2" Lindsey Buckingham plays "Big Love" Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn explain their fingerpicking styles Sister Rosetta shreds The Hidden Beach Boys by Mixmaster Ben Marlin -
It's only talk! This week, Mike rounds out our fifth-anniversary triad of King Crimson discussions with some dialogue, duologue, diatribe, dissension, and declamation about the band's 1981 album Discipline. On this album, bassist Tony Levin and guitarist and vocalist Adrian Belew joined Crimson veterans Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford to produce some of the most complicated music in the Crimson oeuvre, with every musician devoted to making their instrument produce sounds you’ve never heard. But paradoxically, it's also one of their catchiest albums, dabbling in new wave and world beat in the same musical sphere as Talking Heads, who were part of the same New York scene as Fripp in the late ‘70s. Discipline may sound like a sharp, disorienting left turn for King Crimson on first listen, but the album did a lot to cement the band’s music as a living document to be iterated upon. Join us as we break it down, frame by frame!
Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox, John McFerrin
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/122-king-crimson-discipline-1981
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod -
Part two of the Discord & Rhyme celebration of King Crimson brings us to the 1974 album Red, the band’s final studio(-ish) album before it disbanded for 7 years. John’s history with King Crimson began with this album, and while he didn’t initially like it, it’s long become his favorite King Crimson album, and the ‘72-’74 King Crimson lineup especially has long become one of his favorite bands. This episode examines how everything in King Crimson’s turbulent history to this point made this album possible, and how the band’s refusal to get pigeonholed as “progressive rock” allowed it to create some of the heaviest, most powerful, and most awe-inspiring music ever made under the general umbrella of “rock” music. Also, “Starless” might be the best song ever recorded, and we're happy to tell you why.
Cohosts: John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers, Mike DeFabio, Phil Maddox
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/121-king-crimson-red-1974
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod -
As frequently as we mention King Crimson on this podcast, you’d think we would have done a proper episode on them by now. But we wanted to hold off until we could really do it up right, so this is the premiere of our three-episode series on the greatest pioneers of progressive rock. They didn’t fully invent prog, but they did more to solidify the genre than any group that had come before them, to the point where each song on their debut album spawned a different prog subgenre - so, while this isn’t the first prog album, it might be the most important. Time to get started on this journey, because the cracked brass bells have rung to summon back all us fire witches to discuss The Court of the Crimson King.
Cohosts: Amanda Rodgers, John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio, Dan Watkins
Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/120-king-crimson-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-1969
Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod
Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod - Visa fler