Kick The Jukebox

When Frank Sinatra released "Into the Wee Small Hours" in 1955, he changed the trajectory of American popular music in a big way. This week, Louie and Kyle delve into what's arguably the first concept album of all time and explore the arrangements and emotions that make "Into the Wee Small Hours" so classic. 

Plus, the boys get into some musical shlock too as they have a lively discussion about a band fronted by a real British royal and another who were some sort of creepy cult!

Before Vince Guaraldi made his mark in pop culture with his iconic music for Peanuts, he released Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, which includes his wonderfully warm hit, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," his haunting cover of "Moon River" and more. This episode marks Louie and Kyle's first foray into the world of Jazz, and they are joined by their old pal, Jason Boxer! The trio discusses Jason running for his local school board, songs that may or may not secretly be psy ops and why Vince's music makes us feel so good.

Louie N Kyle take a trip to the world of the deeply psychedelic sixties band Love. Love lived communally in a Griffith Park castle, they horded guns and drugs and, most importantly, they weren't fucking around. Learn how they made one of the best albums of all time against insurmountable odds.

The world wasn't quite ready for McCartney II when Paul released it in 1980. It's cold and electronic sound is divisive among the hardcore fans. But for the very reasons that McCartney II was a tough sell when it was first released, it's influenced so many musical genres and artists. In this episode, Kyle and Louie analyze what happens when a Beatle goes New Wave.

We're joined by Liam Carroll, writer for The Spool, Rebeat Magazine, Newscult and founder of B-Movie review site Analog Scum to discuss his gateway album for his favorite band: 1995's Electr-O-Pura by Yo La Tengo. Liam gets into how Yo La Tengo embodies a bucolic New Jersey that is rarely written about, and why they've endured when so many other cool-kid indie bands haven't.

When Sly and the Family Stone sang "Stand!" on their 1969 classic LP, it was a command to get up, fight for your rights and dance. In this episode, we deep-dive into what we can learn from Sly Stone's wholly unique blend of funk, soul, rock and late-sixties socially conscious psychedelia.

We're joined by special guest Mike Joseph (Billboard Magazine's 2020 Pride List of Industry Shaping LGBTQ Executives, Detoxicity Podcast ) to talk about Public Enemy's explosive 1990 LP "Fear of a Black Planet," a battle-cry of a classic hip-hop album that marks a moment in time for the Black Power movement while deftly predicting its future.

The Cars' 1978 self titled debut was a huge hit for the power-pop/new wave outfit, with four charting singles that we still remember fondly today. We're joined by rock historian/WRUW Cleveland DJ Gretchen Unico to discuss what makes The Cars just what we needed.

When Burning Spear released Marcus Garvey in 1975, it took the world of Reggae, Roots and Dread by storm. Join hosts Kyle Gordon and Louie Pearlman as they explore what made this album so important historically and musically, and what it can help us understand about the current moment.

In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve decided to postpone the airing of our episode this week in order to use our space on the internet to amplify black voices and causes. We’ll be back next week but in the meantime, here are some ways you can support:

Donate to Campaign Zero at https://www.joincampaignzero.org/

Look up your local bail fund and contribute at the National Bail Fund Network, which can be found at https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/

Join a Black Lives Matter protest currently happening in your area: https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Thanks, and we'll see you next week.