At First Listen

Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad is one of the seminal albums of the mid-2000s, spawning several gigantic hits, but more importantly, this record helped entertain Diamond while she got her wisdom teeth extracted. 

On this episode, Andrew and Diamond look back on the album that made Rihanna a bonafide pop superstar with hits like "Umbrella," "Shut Up and Drive," "Don't Stop the Music," "Hate That I Love You" and "Rehab." We explore what made Rihanna so intriguing at the time and how she's maintained such a high approval rating for so long. 

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(Episode 20.)

Longtime radio voice of the Brooklyn Nets Chris Carrino joins the show to reveal the depths of his obsession with Pearl Jam!
 
Chris was fascinated by Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, in 1991, but points to the band's second album, Vs. (1993), as what cemented his lifelong fandom.
 
We discuss how on Vs. Pearl Jam tried to distance itself from the riotous success of the debut album, how the band has always put its fans first and Chris points out Pearl Jam's serendipitous connection to the New Jersey Nets.
 
For the last segment, we talk basketball! Chris explains his beef with Carmelo Anthony and his expectations for the 2024-25 Brooklyn Nets i.e. how he will keep his spirits up through what could be one of the worst seasons in Nets franchise history.   
 
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(Episode 19.)

In Part 2 of our At First Listen / Ken Dashow’s Beatles Revolution crossover episodes, we dig into The Beatles Abbey Road track-by-track! We discuss how the Beatles challenged fans' expectations over the years, the band members' struggles with fame and what ultimately ended the band. 
 
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(Episode 18)

In Part 1 of our At First Listen / Ken Dashow’s Beatles Revolution crossover episode, our cohost Diamond meets the Beatles!
 
We explore the complicated history of the Beatles' final two albums – Abbey Road and Let It Be — the fraught relationships within the Beatles by the late-‘60s, the extraordinary cultural impact of the band and how Abbey Road comes across in 2024 to a fan of contemporary pop music, like Diamond.
 
We also spend A LOT of time on the background of the Beatles and the drama behind the scenes, so look out for the rest of this episode in Part 2!

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(Episode 17.)

Play-by-play announcer and Action Network host Maria Marino joins the show to share one of her favorite albums by The Black Keys — the band's 2010 breakthrough Brothers.

The Black Keys' rootsy, blues-influenced Americana sound made the band an indie darling in the mid-'00s, but it was 2010's Grammy-nominated Brothers album, with hits like "Howlin' for You" and "Tighten Up," that drastically changed the band's fortunes and rocketed The Black Keys to mainstream "alternative" success. 

Brothers found Maria during a formative period in college, and The Black Keys have been with her ever since. But will hearing the album for the first time inspire the same loyalty in Andrew and Diamond? Will Diamond forgive Maria for rooting for the wrong New York baseball team? Listen to find out!

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(Episode 16.)

Andrew and Diamond agree that it's time to explore the blues, so they go straight to the King of the Blues himself, B.B. King, for some education with B.B.'s classic 1964 live album, Live at the Regal.

B.B. King is arguably the most famous blues musician of all-time. He began building his following in the early 1940s (!) and continued performing live for his fans for over 70 years (!!). A winner of 15 Grammy Awards (!!!), B.B. is one of the best-selling blues musicians ever and one of the most influential electric guitarists of all-time. 

Andrew and Diamond discuss how B.B.'s personality shines on Live at the Regal and play two new guessing games — Is he 83? and How much was $10 worth in 1964? Subscribe so you never miss an episode of At First Listen.

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(Episode 15.)

Andrew has never heard a Nicki Minaj album, and Diamond is pretty sure he will hate it ... nonetheless, Nicki's debut album Pink Friday (2010) is the topic of today's podcast!

There was a time when Diamond considered herself a Barb (a Nicki Minaj fan), and while her support of Nicki has waned in recent years, she wonders if Pink Friday will hold up. We also learn that Diamond's longtime go-to karoke song is on this album. 

Will Andrew find anything redeeming on Pink Friday? Could it backfire on Diamond and she kinda hates it too? Subscribe so you don't miss an episode of At First Listen.

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(Episode 14.)

One of the faces of Fender's new Player II series, bassist April Kae (Fever 333), joins the podcast to share one of her biggest musical inspirations: British rapper, singer and producer M.I.A.

From her visual art to her social media creation to her music, April Kae strives to create intrigue with her own work, and she finds a wealth of inspiration from other powerful women who march to their own beat. April found the Matangi album through the hit single "Bad Girls" and was immediately struck by how untethered and unconventional it sounded as a complete work.

Diamond and Andrew were both surprised that April chose an album with no electric bass on it (!). But did they find the same empowering message on Matangi as April? Listen to find out!

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(Episode 13.)

Although Diamond loves the song "Enter Sandman," she's always been too dubious of heavy metal to venture further into Metallica's catalog. 

But we face our fears here on At First Listen, and challenge ourselves (we are so brave). So on this episode of the podcast, we're digging into Metallica's seminal 1991 self-titled album — affectionately referred to as the Black Album.

Does Diamond deem Metallica a one-hit-wonder or will she find some sleeper standouts on the Black Album? Will Andrew's masterplan of turning Diamond into a metalhead begin to take shape or will it blow up in his face? 😈

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(Episode 12.)

After 10 episodes (and 11 albums), Andrew and Diamond take this week to recap some of their favorite music from their At First Listen podcast era. 

If you're weighing what episodes to listen to or where to start with our show, this should put you on track with our highest recommendations (and hottest takes) so far. 

Also, Andrew tried to get some real music on the show with a combination of an unplugged electric guitar and hours of frustrating production at home.

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