Amanda has been fascinated with murder ballads for many years, so in this episode she's telling you (and Ben and Mike) all about them! This isn't an exhaustive overview of the genre, just the backstories behind a few great songs. From a couple of murdered girls in 18th-century England to a stolen hat in 20th-century America, these tragic stories have been transformed into compelling songs that we're still singing today.

Some notes:

• Mike wishes to note that the phonograph era was well underway in 1911; he just meant there weren't exactly DJs yet.
• You really must read Paul Slade's book Unprepared To Die if you want the full stories, plus more! At the very least, check out his website.
• We'd really like to hear Skyclad or somebody similar do a cover of "Pretty Polly."
• Turns out "Matty Groves" isn't based on any real events, it's just a great story.
• Nick Cave did not include "Stagger Lee" in the shows Amanda and Mike saw, but Kylie Minogue did sing "Where the Wild Roses Grow" when Rich saw her at Madison Square Garden!

The songs:

• The Louvin Brothers - Knoxville Girl
• Sandy Denny - Pretty Polly
• Lloyd Price/Nick Cave - Stagger Lee
• Sam Cooke - Frankie & Johnny
• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Where the Wild Roses Grow

Intro: Nazareth - The Ballad of Hollis Brown (of course)

Outro: A bit of dialogue from David Rawlings & Gillian Welch after their excellent rendition of "Pretty Polly"

Cohosts: Amanda Rodgers, Ben Marlin, Mike DeFabio

More bonus episodes! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod

You might think we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel by choosing The Present for our annual Moody Blues episode, but that’s not true at all. Even though the band themselves hated it, and it’s quite polarizing among Moody Blues fans, all of us here at Discord and Rhyme think it’s terrific. As with Long Distance Voyager, you need to be prepared for the ultra-slick ‘80s production, but underneath that gloss there are some top-notch Moody Blues songs and super great instrumental details, including Patrick Moraz’s keyboards. If you’re a The Present skeptic, we hope you’ll listen to this episode and end up convinced that it’s a truly great album. 

Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/163-the-moody-blues-the-present-1983

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Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

Discord & Rhyme kicks June off with a feel good hit of the summer. Join Dan, Mike, and Rich for a ride through Queens of the Stone Age’s 2000 sophomore release Rated R, an album that seemed like a refreshing antithesis of mainstream rock trends at the turn of the millennium. Building off the desert rock DNA of Josh Homme’s previous band Kyuss and infusing elements of psychedelia, pop, and punk with a healthy sense of creative, quirky arrangements, Rated R endures as one of the most exciting hard rock albums of the 2000s. 

Cohosts: Dan Watkins, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/162-queens-of-the-stone-age-rated-r-2000

Interludes by Lincoln the Lawyer: https://samply.app/p/ARnksp90BrZuhtmQm8Hh

Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod

Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

Whether you’re a fan of ‘60s jazz, ‘70s funk, ‘80s electro, or things inspired by any of the above (or you just watched a lot of Sesame Street growing up), the music of Herbie Hancock has probably affected your life in some way. So Mike thought it was time to take us all on a good old fashioned head hunt. 1973’s Head Hunters redefined the course of Hancock’s career, was enormously influential on music as a whole, became the first jazz album to ever go platinum, and to this day remains a blast to listen to. If you’re a rock fan who’s long been intimidated by jazz, this warm, funky, colorful album just might be the one that captures your head.

Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, John McFerrin, Dan Watkins

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/161-herbie-hancock-head-hunters-1973

Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod

Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

Nick Drake was an outstanding artist: a gifted songwriter, a wonderful singer, and one of the greatest guitarists you’ll ever hear. But his personality was entirely unsuited to the world of popular music, and his art didn’t gain the popularity it deserves until decades after his death. Ever since he unwittingly helped Volkswagen sell cars in 1999, more and more music lovers have discovered his beautiful sincerity, and he’s more popular now than ever. Amanda, Mike, and Rich are among Nick Drake’s many fans and we’re here today to talk about what makes his music so special.

Cohosts: Amanda Rodgers, Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/160-nick-drake-bryter-layter-1971

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Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

In this episode, Phil takes Discord & Rhyme further down the spiral with an album that is a harrowing descent into one man’s decaying psyche. If that sounds like a blast, you’re in good company with the millions of people who bought Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral in 1994. It’s one of the bleakest, most pitch-dark albums to ever achieve massive commercial success, and it still sounds great in 2025, owing to the coherence of Trent Reznor’s sonic vision and ingenious production by Flood. Reznor has gone on to become an Oscar-winning soundtrack composer in the decades since this album, but it still stands as one of his signature achievements, and Phil has invited Rich and Mike along to talk about an album that, from top to bottom, sets out to make you hurt. Now doesn’t that make you feel better?

Cohosts: Phil Maddox, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/159-nine-inch-nails-the-downward-spiral-1994

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Rich, Ben, and John answer a super-sized mailbag of listener questions, with subjects including jukebox musicals, James Bond themes, songs that give them the happy chills, sample-based hip-hop producers, the usual suite of Moody Blues questions, and a philosophical discussion on how we all listen to music and how this has changed as we've gotten older. This episode also features an interlude on experimental music from Producer Mike, and a listener-submitted puzzle! 

Co-hosts: Rich Bunnell, Ben Marlin, John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio 

Spotify playlist of the songs clipped in this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ew48yCf2JAnroOVFlaLCv?si=yPstIGylTUOanMidd-cPlA

Everyone has an opinion about the Doors - whether you think they’re transgressive and mind-blowing, or you find them silly and overrated, or - like Ben - you just think they made some killer music. With invaluable help from Amanda, Dan, and Mike, Ben makes the case that the Doors’ 1967 self-titled debut album contains more killer music than many people realize. It might even blow your mind a little, too. 

Cohosts: Ben Marlin, Amanda Rodgers, Mike DeFabio, Dan Watkins

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/158-the-doors-the-doors-1967

Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod

Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

It’s taken us nearly seven years, but the time has come. Midnight Oil, one of Australia's quintessential bands, is probably best known for its tireless political activism as expressed through hits like "Beds Are Burning" and "Blue Sky Mine," as well as the on-stage acrobatics of their 6′4″ frontman, Peter Garrett. But behind the sloganeering and agitprop, the Oils are a fiendishly creative and charmingly oddball band, and their 1982 Australian breakout album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, recorded at a make-or-break moment for the group, was when they first really landed on their unmistakable aura. Rich has been an Oils fan literally since he was a teenager, and he’s called in Ben and returning special guest Dave Weigel to deconstruct 10 to 1 and all of the power and the passion that went into these incredible songs. 

Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Ben Marlin, Dave Weigel

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/157-midnight-oil-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1982

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Discord & Rhyme continues its slow walk through the world of Post-Rock with an examination of the 1996 album Millions Now Living Will Never Die by the Chicago-based group Tortoise. John has been fascinated by the concept of Post-Rock for many years (even if many of the acts associated with it, Tortoise included, rejected it as a useful descriptor), and a large part of this fascination stems from a love he has had for this album for over 20 years. In this episode, John, Mike, Rich, and Dan try to make sense not only of how one should define one of the most ambiguous genres out there, but also of why an instrumental album in that genre (possibly), mostly lacking clear traditional melodies and traditional song structures (the opening “Djed” is 21 minutes by itself), is clearly one of the best albums any of us have ever heard.  Regardless of whether Tortoise is Post-Rock, Prog, both, or neither, this is an album worth learning about, and Discord & Rhyme is up to the challenge.

Cohosts: John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Dan Watkins

Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/156-tortoise-millions-now-living-will-never-die-1996

Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod

Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod