It's the concluding part of our 1988 Hip-hop battle this week as we cross over to the West Coast to give our take on the album that gave birth to Gangsta Rap, N.W.A.'s 'Straight Outta Compton'. And boy there's a lot to get our teeth into. We talk about what brought the group together, what broke them apart, and pretty much everything that came in between. We tiptoe our way through some fairly delicate subjects and spend the best part of 10 minutes talking about a single track (hmm, I wonder which one it could be...)

Along the way we find out that Dr Dre's brushes with the law may not have been quite as gangsta as he would have us believe, we talk about some very good films to have starred Ice Cube (and some fairly ropey ones), and we lift the lid on which member of N.W.A. entered the adult film industry after the group split...

In our latest 'video killed the radio star' feature we take a look at what Rosamund Pike got up to after the success of 'Gone Girl'.

Also this week we have our usual light hearted ephemera, including:

- Hot on the heals of 'Fruit & Veg Clash', we strike gold with the next two podcasts in our 'Clash' stable (look out Stakhanov, we're coming for you);

- We spend far too long talking about Saturday morning kids TV from the 80s (and in the process does Kev reveal Banksy's true identity?); and

- Our 'favourite' critic is at it again... 

Finally, it's Kev's turn to pick the albums for our next clash. And we're going in a somewhat different direction...

This. Is. ALBUM CLASH!

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We start a new clash this week, taking a trip to 1988 as we take on two of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time. First up it's Public Enemy whose second album 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back' goes under the microscope. As we dissect the album with our usual irreverence we count the number of James Brown songs sampled on this album, marvel at just how many times the tracks on this album have themselves been sampled, and remind ourselves of Flava Flav's stay in the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house...

We have another instalment of our 'Can't get you out of my head' feature in which Kev discusses what happens when Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl come together to record a song (nothing good), and Tim reveals why he will never watch 'Battlefield Earth' (because it looks terrible). We also talk about some stuff we like.

Also this week:

- Tim tells the story of how he came to be in possession of Chuck D's hat;

- Kev vetoes a potentially titanic future clash between an all time NBA great and a Premier League legend; and

- Tim confesses to a murky past of Durstism...

This. Is. ALBUM CLASH!

In our latest episode we bring you the conclusion of our Bowie Battle as we take a look at Iggy Pop's 1977 solo debut 'The Idiot' (and again spend more time talking about David Bowie than the actual artist whose album this is). Along the way we take in all sorts of ephemera, including the story of what happened when Iggy Pop was paid a visit in rehab by David Bowie  Dennis Hopper and/ or Dean Stockwell (depending on whose account you read), some top notch Henry Ford chat (as promised last week), and a nice little anecdote about what happened when Bowie met Iggy's folks.

Also this week, having previously championed the work of one of our favourite directors, in the latest instalment of our 'video killed the radio star' feature we get stuck in to someone to whom the concept of subtlety seems to be nothing more than an abstract hindrance.

Other snippets to look forward to this week include:

- Tim reveals his irrational hatred of an 80s synth-pop icon;

- We (repeatedly) use several adjectives to basically make the same point about the songs on 'The Idiot'; and

- Kev struggles to deal with the fact that Tim might not agree with his opinion of one of these two albums...

Finally, we bring the whole bloated mess to an end by revealing which two albums will be going head-to-head in our next clash.

This. Is. ALBUM CLASH!

**NEW CLASH ALERT!!**

This week we start a brand new clash as we take a look at Lou Reed's 'Transformer' in the first leg of our battle of the Bowie produced albums, where we probably spend more time talking about David Bowie than we do Lou Reed. Soz about that. As we meander through the album we ponder what it is that fans of skiing find so fascinating about cowbells, we wonder if this album unintentionally inspired Craig David, and we reveal what connects Lou Reed to 'Dad's Army'...

We introduce another instalment of our 'can't get you out of my head' feature where we discuss U2's enthusiasm for corporate sponsorship and then serenade you with a late 90s pop classic...

Also in this weeks show:

- We get angry at another music critic;

- We lament our lack of prowess on the recorder;

- Tim tries again to get 'Fruit & Vegetable Clash' off the ground; and

- Kev insults all Instagram users.

This. Is. ALBUM CLASH!!

In the second part of our French Electronica clash Kev leads us through our review of Air's 1998 debut album 'Moon Safari'. As usual we get distracted by a variety of tangential and irrelevant nonsense, including reminiscence about the BBC's flagship science and technology programme 'Tomorrow's World', recollections of this album playing endlessly in countless pretentious bars around the turn of the century, and bewilderment at how Kevin's research led him to the website for Tranquillity Cremations.

We give a second airing to our 'Video Killed the Radio Star' feature in which we pay further tribute to the works of Spike Jonze and in particular his collaboration with one of our favourite bands.

Also in this week's show we have more red hot typeface chat, we ponder the bizarre 80s trend of sitcom stars performing the theme tune to their own show, and our favourite music critic stuns us with his choice of language.

Most incredibly of all we finally have an actual clash, as for the first time Tim & Kev disagree over which is the better album - and Kevin accuses Tim of coercion.

Finally, Kev introduces the two albums that will be going head-to-head over the next two shows.

This is ALBUM CLASH!!

Voici LA BATAILLE DES ALBUMS!! Alors que nous commencons un nouveau bataille, et que nous entrons dans L'ANNEAU DE LA MORT sont deux geants de la musique electronique francaise.

Right, that's proving far too difficult so let's go back to English. This week we don our robot helmets and pay tribute to the now departed Daft Punk by talking a load of wiffle about their debut album 'Homework', from 1997. During which, we ruminate on what went on at a 1993 rave at Euro Disney, Tim confesses to a murky past of music piracy, and we have a big old chat about some of the mad songs that were sampled on this album. 

We also have another round of our 'can't get you our of my head' feature in which Kev tells us about when he saw Atomic Kitten perform live.

Also on this week's show:

- Tim laments the fact that he will never be as cool as Ryan Gosling;

- Kev affects a questionable generic BeNeLux accent;

- We speculate on the musical tastes of the moose population of Saskatchewan; and

- We expressly invite you to troll us on social media (anything for those sweet sweet clicks...)

This is ALBUM CLASH!

This week it's the second part of our battle of the live albums, in which Kev guides us through Aretha Franklin's 1972 tour de force 'Amazing Grace'. 

As well as sharing our thoughts on the album we have a big old chat about why it took almost 50 years for the accompanying concert film to be released (aside: go and watch it; it's incredible), during which Tim mansplains the concept of clapper boards.

Also in this week's show, we introduce yet another new feature to proceedings which leads us into some niche 90's football chat (sorry @QuicklyKevin...)

In other titbits to look forward to:

- Kev offers his unique take on why Rogers & Hammerstein are better than Gilbert & Sullivan (if you know, you know); 

- We explain why we will never review a 'Mumford & Sons' album (spoiler: it's because we hate them);

- Tim gets rather annoyed at one particular critic's review of this album; and

- We deconstruct the end of the classic 1981 sports film and Sylvester Stallone vehicle 'Escape to Victory'.

Oh yeah, and obviously we reveal which of our two classic live albums will emerge victorious from THE RING OF DEATH!

This is ALBUM CLASH!

This is ALBUM CLASH!

We start a new clash this week as Tim introduces the first half of our 'live albums recorded in unusual venues' matchup by taking us through Johnny Cash's 1968 classic 'At Folsom Prison'. As we talk about the album with our usual meandering whimsy we take in all sorts of peripheral matters, including:

- A lovely chat about going to gigs in churches (which, in hindsight, would make more sense on next week's show),

- Tim goes all Michael Douglas in 'Falling Down' over the tuning of Johnny Cash's guitar,

- One of us reveals their love of Sports Entertainment,

- And (as seems customary) we have another load of chat about drugs.

Also in this week's show, in a continuation of our 'can't get you out of my head' feature, find out how a coffee machine put Kev in mind of a piece of throwaway 80s synth pop, and Tim harks back to a time when TV talent contests were not dominated by a man with a high waistband and distressingly white teeth. We also talk about some music that we like.

*** TRIGGER WARNING - one of the songs on this week's album contains themes of domestic violence. If you are affected by this then please know that there are people who can help. In the UK you can contact Refuge on 0808 2000 247 (24-hours a day) or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk (live chat available Monday - Friday 3pm - 10pm) ***

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 1997.  

A day that will live long in the memory (and not just because that's the day Tim & Kev got their GCSE results...)

That's the day that Oasis released the album that was hyped (mostly by Noel Gallagher) as the greatest thing to happen to music since 'Rock me Amadeus': the behemoth that was 'Be Here Now'. 

In the second leg of our 'disappointing albums by Manchester indie bands' clash, Kev 'enthusiastically' guides us through Oasis' third album. 24 years after its release, has it stood the test of time?  (Spoiler alert: No.) 

See if you can notice Kev getting increasingly exasperated while telling us the exact length of each song, hear what we have to say about the album that was heralded as being the 'death of Britpop', and find out whether it will emerge victorious over 'Second Coming' (bet you can't guess which way this one's going...) 

Also this week you can find out why Kev labelled Tim as "the worst human ever", we share our views on what happens when a band goes on tour supporting U2, and the latest in our series of unintentional product placements has us referencing 80s adverts for peanut butter. Oh, and there's a load more chat about cocaine. 

Finally, we reveal the two albums that will be entering the ring of death in our next head-to-head. This is ALBUM CLASH!

Our second clash is all about much hyped albums from Manchester bands, as The Stone Roses' 'Second Coming' goes up against Oasis' 'Be Here Now' inside THE RING OF DEATH! Oh, and drugs. It's also about drugs.

This week, Tim takes us through 1994's 'Second Coming' - after a hiatus of over 5 years, would the Roses be able to recapture the magic of their 1989 debut which was an iconic part of the 'Madchester' scene and the second summer of love?

Also this week, in an attempt to look like we have some sort of plan for this show, we introduce a brand new feature! In which Kev laments the misappropriation of a classic Giorgio Moroder riff, and Tim repeatedly misquotes the name of a Huey Lewis and the News song while talking about the "inspiration" behind Ray Parker Jr's theme tune to Ghostbusters.

As well as all that, you can look forward to:

LOTS of chat about cocaine (and not for the last time on this clash);

Delving into the depths of Ian Brown's twitter feed (so you don't have to); and

Kev accidentally coming up with a great idea for a potential spinoff pod...

This is ALBUM CLASH!