Music A To Z

Wait! Who's that guy?? It's Steve... or maybe it's Doug! And the guys are covering The Dandy Warhols this episode! From indie underground to the bane of their label, the Dandy's have always made the music they want to make (whether it gets released or not is another story!). The guys also chat about experimental indulgences, a(nother) milestone for U2, and Steve's shocking birthday present.

We Used To Be Friends - Welcome To The Monkey House

Be Alright - Why You So Crazy

Bohemian Like You - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia

5:29 - Ladytron did an episode of "What's In My Bag?" with Amoeba Music, where they all shop at a record store and pick out their fave albums, then chat about them!

13:15 - The trailer for DIG!

​19:17 - Here is the interview of Zia McCabe by the Women Of Rock Oral History Project. It's a great insight.

20:15 - Vancouver Washington is right across the river from Portland Oregon, and it didn't make any sense for Zia to have moved up to Canada and get recruited into the Dandy's from there. Vancouver BC is about 5 - 6 hours away.

​22:09 - It's not obvious when spoken, but the label's name was Tim/Kerr

44:18 - As bad as that sounds, it's actually worse! Here's a clip from DIG! about how it went down

48:13 - Anyone else think Zoe is prettier than Cameron Diaz? The music video for "Every Day Should Be A Holiday" includes footage from the film "There's Something About Mary"

49:08 - The video for "Boys Better" has a very guerilla feeling to it, probably due to lack of label support (video is sorta NSFW)

54:37 - If you don't get that reference, your assignment is to watch all of Brooklyn 99

1:01:40 - Here's the Vodafone ad "How Are You?"

​1:26:07 - The Dandys perform "Bohemian Like You" at Top Of The Pops

1:28:19 - Check it out! Here is Duran Duran's "Planet Earth" and The Dandy's "You Were The Last High"

1:31:27 - It was also "We Used To Be Friends" on The O.C.

1:32:24 - Pitchfork sometimes needs to lighten up

1:54:52 - The incredibly fun and groovy music video for "Mission Control"

​2:02:49 - It's the same general gist, but it definitely sounds like the Dandys. Here's their take on the Mythbusters theme

2:29:32 - To get an idea of the musical repetitiveness, Doug referenced the Bubble Bobble soundtrack, which Angry Video Game Nerd covered in this video

2:37:09 - The unfortunate AI nightmare that is "I'd Like To Help You With Your Problem". It's got a great message behind it, but has all the trappings of bad AI - ghost limbs, scrambled characters, blob people, etc

Doug's Recommendations:

The Little Drummer Boy - The Little Drummer Boy / Silent Night single

Easy - Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

I Am Over It - The Dandy Warhols Are Sound

Shakin' - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia

Steve's Recommendations:

Sleep - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia

Everyone Is Totally Insane - Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

STYGGO - Distortland

Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia

The Dandy Warhols' Official Website

The Dandy Warhols' Bandcamp

Steve and Doug take a good luck at the history and discography of one of the biggest bands in the world! From playing pubs to selling out world tours, from concert to interactive music videos, from atmospheric rock to shameless pop, Coldplay has done it all. Also: mental illness, DUIs, kiss cams, and Gene Simmons getting pissy.

Music featured this episode:

Adventure Of A Lifetime - A Head Full Of Dreams

Lost! - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

Clocks - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

​Magic - Ghost Stories

6:37 - Gene Simmons said what we're all thinking... but as usual goes a little too aggressive in his assessment of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees

8:48 - Yes we did talk about Lauryn Hill quite a bit! Check out our episode on One Album Wonders

48:53 - Yeah, Pitchfork gave Parachutes a fairly neutered review. Ouch!

51:47 - With hindsight, it's easy to overlook Coldplay's American debut on Conan. But at the time, they must have been crushed.

1:03:34 - Here's the Royksopp Trembling Heart Mix of Clocks. Music is pretty groovy but the lyrics feel a little mismatched.

1:03:49 - And if you like the sound of them, here's our episode R Is For Royksopp

​1:10:10 & 1:10:20 - These are the openings of both versions of Talk (or Talk X and Talk Y as Doug proposes)

1:18:07 - Man these guys are really hard to please. Pitchfork give X&Y a pretty lackluster review.

1:19:04 - New York Times were pretty hard on Coldplay even at this point (sorry, article is behind a paywall!)

1:34:54 - Ed Sheeran demonstrates how he won his copyright court case on the Howard Stern Show

1:40:21 - White Town has three Christmas songs, but Doug is referring to Say You'll Be Home For Christmas

1:40:53 - The song is Puddleglum by Said The Whale

1:42:55 - I put in the song Blade Runner (End Titles) by Vangelis, because (let's be honest) it fits better

2:05:05 - Yes, tragically Avicii died by suicide

2:12:19 - Désolé by Gorillaz is such a great example of blending Western and World music, but it's a trick Gorillaz do often

2:16:47 - Doug will do impressions on commission if you ask

2:30:06 - Aardman Animation is best known for the Wallace & Gromit series and related spinoffs (like Shaun The Sheep)

2:32:07 - If you haven't seen Da Funk by Daft Punk, directed by Spike Jonez, you're missing out

2:53:56 - Even deaf people can love Coldplay, according to this insanely expensive music video for feelslikeimfallinginlove

2:57:17 - clown core is nuts but also fascinating

Doug's Recommendations

High Speed - Parachutes

Warning Sign - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

​Arabesque - Everyday Life

Steve's Recommendations:

Trouble - Parachutes

X&Y - X&Y

Major Minus - Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay's Official Website

Once again back across the pond to England, where we take a deep dive into the turbulent and fascinating career of Bloc Party. Rock, dance, electronic, experimental - is there anything these guys won't try? Steve and Doug also chat about the recent Newsboys fiasco, being a hero, and so many deluxe editions.

Music featured this episode:

The Prayer - A Weekend In The City

Octopus - Four

​Banquet - Silent Alarm

1:46 - You can watch the silly minute long reel on YouTube here

5:35 - The excellently named Don Ferguson would regularly portray Preston Manning in the Royal Canadian Air Farce. It's really dated at this point, but back in the 90's this was hilarious (this isn't the specific sketch Doug was referring to, but it's the same sort of thing)

6:16 - Here is the Legal Eagle video "How Swift Got Her Masters Back"

6:32 - Rick Beato interviewing Sting. If you love music, you should watch Rick's channel

7:29 - Steve got two stories mixed up, and both are stupid. John Fogerty was sued by his old label for recording a new song that sounded too much like a previous song, and Neil Young was sued by his then-current label for not sounding ENOUGH like himself

12:44 - I know it sounds made up, but it's true: here's the article about how a search for a distressed man in the woods turned up a solo camper just singing Nickelback

14:22 - Here is the full archive of all stories pertaining to Michael Tait on The Roys Report

17:18 - Here were our thoughts up to 2014 in N Is For Newsboys

27:40 - Here is Matt Tong's interview with 22 Grand Pod from 2024 

45:22 - Here is Bloc Party's live performance of Banquet on Conan in 2005

48:44 - Unfortunately "God Bless Bloc Party" is quite boring, but you can judge for yourself

1:05:27 - Here's the video for Flux

1:10:14 - Here is the bonus documentary of "The Making Of A Weekend In The City"

​1:19:13 - Listen to our conversation S Is For Stars

1:25:35 - In case you missed it, the disco track is called "Dance With You" by Carrie Lucas

1:40:34 - Here is one of many videos of Louise Bartle killing it on the drums

​1:53:10 - Huh?? What??? Here's NME's incredibly poor quality interview with Bloc Party

1:54:11 - Here is REMIC's ranking of the Bloc Party albums as of 2022

1:57:40 - You can read all about Help! A Day In The Life here

Doug's Recommendations:

Little Thoughts - Silent Alarm

V.A.L.I.S. - Four

Ares - Intimacy

The Present - Help! A Day In The Life

Steve's Recommendations:

The Price Of Gasoline - Silent Alarm

Talons - Intimacy

In Situ - Alpha Games

Bloc Party's Official Website

After months of research, Steve and Doug return to examine the full(ish) career of Ariel Pink in all his incarnations! Often hailed as a forefather of hypnogagic pop, Pink has dabbled in beach rock, lo fi, shoegaze, and experimental rock. The fellas also wax on evolution of sound, fostering a reputation, cancel culture, and the Death of the Author.

Music featured this week:

Diaper Duty - Never Made A Demo, Ever

Round And Round - Before Today

For Kate I Wait - The Doldrums

Kitchen Witch - Dedicated To Bobby Jameson

10:09 - Check out our episode on One Album Wonders!

11:55 - I've been a big fan of the works of Doug Harrison for a couple years now. Show him some love on his Slug Comparison Bandcamp and his FEN Bandcamp

18:16 - See for yourself! Here's Wikipedia's entry for Ariel Pink's Discography

 20:32 - Default's debut album was "The Fallout"

22:45 - If you haven't seen the trailer to Grindhouse, you're missing out

25:25 - It's "Dot's Vinyl Gone Bad" by Pogo

26:00 - You can read all about the D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L EP by Panchiko here

​35:42 - Upon revisiting this doc, it looks like the full group has been assembled by this point. This is "Raw Spice", if you're interested

43:56 - Here's the music video for "For Kate I Wait"

44:40 - No joke! Check out how low quality the video is for Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

45:54 - "Mariah Carey But She Needs To Sneeze"

​57:12 - Yeah, you heard him correctly. The lyrics are... really something

59:25 - The video for "Alisa" is down below

1:01:50 - Not much happens in the video for "Didn't It Click"

​1:15:30 - Here it is! All 10 tracks of Ariel Pink's Halloween on Spotify

1:31:20 - You can scope out the whole track here, it's "I Remember A Man" by Yeshimebet Dubale from 1980

1:37:07 - Here's the *not insanely priced* copy of Ku Klux Glam by R. Stevie Moore and Ariel Pink on Bandcamp (and here's the crazy one if you're interested)

1:38:39 - At least she had a good sense of humour about it! Geneva Jacuzzi is seen right at the beginning of "Only In My Dreams" kicking Ariel out of their apartment... or motel??

1:46:57 - Here's the full article from The Guardian: "I'm Not That Guy That Everyone Hates" from November 15 2014

1:55:15 - Take some time to check out the Myths 002 EP

​2:00:49 - Here's "White Stuff" by Royal Trux, and "Pink Stuff" by Ariel Pink

2:03:10 - Here's the trailer to "TFW No GF"

2:04:51 - Check out the video for "Burned Out Love"

​2:08:03 - Brake Check Podcast Episode 06: Ariel Pink (Spotify link)

2:11:45 - Wrong Opinion Podcast Episode 84: Ariel Pink (Spotify link)

2:13:45 - Here's Ariel Pink's appearance on the Adam Friedland Show

2:15:23 - TRIGGERnometry Podcast Episode Ariel Pink "I Lost My Career For Attending Peaceful Trump Rally" (Spotify link)

2:23:15 - Here's a link to an article by Pitchfork about the allegations, and then a follow up by The Guardian

 2:26:35 - Ariel Pink's interview with human wasteland Tucker Carlson

2:30:33 - If you haven't heard "Dracula's Music Cabinet" by The Vampires Of Dartmoore, you're missing out (Spotify link)

2:36:46 - Here's the Fox News segment where Ariel Pink and Winston Marshall talk about the Christmas single "Rudolph's Laptop", and here's the full music video by kingcon2k11

2:47:20 - If you're looking for something a little different, check out the Bandcamp page for Paul White

2:48:15 - The Roseanne Barr Podcast Episode 091: "Cancelled And Uncaged With Ariel Pink" (Spotify link)

3:01:34 - Here's Lindsay Ellis' two videos "Death Of The Author" and "Death Of The Author 2: Rowling Boogaloo". And yes, I know she had a really horrific experience with cancel culture (ironically), but no we're not getting into that right now

Doug's Recommendations:

​Immune To Emotion - Worn Copy

Not Enough Violence - pom pom

Round And Round - Before Today

Nonsequitar Segues - A Decade Deeper

Steve's Recommendations:

Bright Lit Blue Sky - Before Today

Trepanated Earth - Worn Copy

Baby - Mature Themes

​

Ariel Pink's Substack

Ariel Pink's Bandcamp

Darkside Family Jams on Bandcamp

Ariel Pink's YouTube Channel

Steve's in the mood to get a game going! The participants: Doug, father figure Stuart, and Their Friend Travis. The question? Do they know their Bond themes? Join the intrigue and silliness as the fellas get stumped or answer some teasers with ease. Which ones had you never heard?

Music featured this week:

James Bond Theme - John Barry & Orchestra (composed by Monty Norman)

Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey

1:21 - Stuart is referring to the episodes U Is For U2, Part 1 & Part 2

1:35 - Doug is correct! Both Travis and Stuart were around for our special episode on our Top Five Favourite Albums (although Stuart isn't in the picture)

​1:45 - You can listen to our special on One Album Wonders here

4:23 - Steve just managed to get that one. It was Mya who did the theme song for the video game "Everything Or Nothing"

4:28 - Esthero did the theme for "Nightfire" called "Nearly Civilized" and it's pretty great

5:10 - Monty Norman and John Barry are the two greatest influences to music in the Bond films, hands down

​7:12 - For the record "Millennium" by Robbie Williams is excellent

16:01 - In fairness, Shirley Bassey did THREE Bond themes. Can you name them?

17:47 - Dr, No doesn't have a dedicated theme song, per se. The opening credits open on the James Bond theme, before transitioning on Caribbean percussion (as heard in this clip), and then finally into a native rendition of "Three Blind Mice." This actually makes for a very stylized opening sequence.

24:31 - It was actually a huge bit of musical foreshadowing for the film. Those familiar with "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" would recognize that it signifies that Bond's newfound love was doomed.

29:00 - You can scope out the whole demo for "GoldenEye" by Bono and The Edge here

31:30 - You can check out Radiohead's "SPECTRE" synched up with the actual opening credit sequence here

​Stuart's Bond Theme Pick:

Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey

Travis' Bond Theme Picks:

Skyfall - Adele

Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey

Doug's Bond Theme Pick:

GoldenEye - Tina Turner

Steve's Bond Theme Pick:

You Know My Name - Chris Cornell

Calling a song or a band a one hit wonder can be dependent on region or even just faulty memory. But what about one album wonders? Steve and Doug take a look at bands who released just one glorious studio album, then faded away. Along the way they chat about AI Taylor Swift, strange live albums, and albums composed via mail.

Today's Albums:

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill - August 1998

New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too - October 1998

The Postal Service - Give Up - February 2003

Hird - Moving On - September 2004

Beast - Beast - November 2008

Kordan - The Longing - October 2010

Music featured this week:

Harry Nilsson - One

Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)

New Radicals - You Get What You Give

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

Hird - Keep You Kimi

Beast - Finger Prints

​Kordan - Mirror

8:31 - You can listen to it here: D is for dep

9:09 - You can take a look at Danny Peck's new album on his official website

​26:49 - The movie is 1998's Bulworth, starring Warren Beatty and Halle Berry. It's about a politician who sudden decides to be honest, truthful, and... urban

42:55 - We spoke at length about the amazing and varied career of percussionist Pat Mastelotto in our last episode. Although a prolific prog drummer for King Crimson, the world may know him best as the drummer for The Rembrandts, whose song "I'll Be There For You" is the theme song for Friends

49:01 - I think I've pronounced Danielle Brisebois's name three different ways by this point

54:14 - I'm thinking of "Tonight, Tonight" by Smashing Pumpkins

1:37:40 - Here's "Running Low" and "Deep Mod" by Hird

1:59:22 - You can check out Artur Flor's Bandcamp page here

2:03:03 - Here's the Soundcloud page for TAKE's "Mirror (No Reflection Remix)"

​2:09:00 - Kordan has done quite a few remixes. The early ones no longer available on their Bandcamp page includes "Endless Spring" originally by Houses and "He Was Worse Than The Needle He Gave You" originally by The Delta Mirror

2:13:10 - We did indeed! R Is For Remy Shand

​

​Lauryn Hill's Official Website

New Radicals's AllMusic Entry

The Postal Service's Official Website

Christoffer Berg's (aka Hird) Soundcloud

Beast's AllMusic Entry

Kordan's Bandcamp

Wrapping up this alphabet run (for real this time guys), Steve and Doug investigate the 90's hair metal band 21 Guns! The fellas also chat about podcast hosting (how exciting!), compilations, soundtrack albums, and music released in the wrong decade.

Six Degrees From King Crimson:

21 Guns -> Trapeze -> John Wetton -> King Crimson

Music featured this week:

Knee Deep - Salute

Blood Gone Bad - Demo-Lition

Mister Mofo - Nothing's Real

5:21 - It's true! We are on JioSaavn!

8:43 - Steve recommends it! Check out "Shine: How A MuchMusic Compilation Came To Define Canadian Alternative Music and Sell a Zillion Copies" by Mark Teo!

9:51 - Sloan's "The Good In Everyone" with an absurdly long intro

10:16 - Limblifter's "Ariel Vs Lotus"

​

12:24 - Here's the May 28th episode of Prog Rock Alley, where Doug shares an interesting discovery through a Spotify playlist

18:55 - If you haven't seen SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy with John Travolta, you really should

21:07 - Here's the video for "Method To My Madness" by A440

27:32 - You can find anything online these days. The August 22 1992 edition of Billboard. Salute is on page 82.

Doug's Recommendations:

Little Sister - Salute

King's Vengeance - Nothing's Real

Steve's Recommendations:

Battered and Bruised - Salute

Underground - Nothing's Real

Blood Gone Bad - Demo-Lition

21 Guns on Discogs

21 Guns on AllMusic

Wrapping up this fifth alphabet run (and thank you for bearing with us!), Steve and Doug explore the world of prog / arena / glam rockers Zon! Along the way they'll talk about bad newspaper reviews, riots, and all the good times.

Six Degrees From King Crimson:

Zon / Act III -> Rik Emmett -> Triumph -> Phil X -> Bon Jovi -> Tony Bongiovi -> Talking Heads -> Adrian Belew

Music featured this week:

Put On The Show - Astral Projector

Want My Baby - I'm Worried About The Boys!

Back Down To Earth - Back Down To Earth

Gods And Kings - Back Down To Earth

3:13 - Here's last year's episode Allie Hasn't... Heard Mid 2000's Music

10:46 - Over the next two days after recording this episode, Steve dug in and started distributing the show to other platforms, so take a look! We're probably on your fave one now!

11:35 - To hear the broadcast of Prog Rock Alley that Doug cohosted and curated the list for, click here!

11:55 - Steve's mostly joking

​15:00 - Watch it here! Check out Rock History Music's video "How Much Bad Luck Could One Band Possibly Have? The History Of Zon"

​19:33 - Steve's not even close. A&R stands for Artists & Repertoire. But he got the job right - the A&R person goes looking for talent

20:09 - Here's the full listing of nominees and winners of the 1979 Juno Awards, if you're into that 

57:00 - Here's a great article about the passing of Brian Miller

1:04:24 - Steve is referencing the negative feedback the guys got for **daring** to record an episode devoted to Queen City Kids. You can scope out that whole story here

1:05:15 - It's true! A Is For The Alan Parsons Project came out March 31, 2020

Doug's Recommendations:

Hollywood - Astral Projector

Just The Other Side Of Love - I'm Worried About The Boys!

Steve's Recommendations:

On The Road - Astral Projector

Point Of View / Spend My Dollar - Zon Live

​Zon's Discogs Entry

Howard Helms's Official Site

The duo are back to chat about post-punk turned dance electronic band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Along the way, the guys talk about the New York music scene of the early 00's, bands that come back from a long hiatus, cover art designed to make parents mad, and the nutty state of streaming services.

Music featured this week:

Zero - It's Blitz!

Maps - Fever To Tell

Burning - Cool It Down

0:46 - It was a 5 day hike over 50 km (30 miles) of rough coastal rainforest terrain. Incredible but exhausting. The Juan de Fuca Trail

2:56 - Here's the new single from The Hives: Bogus Operandi

​10:24 - Here's the trailer for "Meet Me In The Bathroom" if you're interested! Good luck finding it!

13:49 - Do you think of The Hives as punk? Why not listen to our full argument in our episode H Is For The Hives?

21:43 - No joke! Here's the list of notable alumni from NYU's Tisch School Of The Arts

29:17 - For reference, here's the music video for "Maps"

​37:09 - That writer is Max Martin, who wrote a solid majority of the pop songs from that time period

40:06 - Sorry, not a cover but an interpolation. The song is "Hold Up", and the line is "They don't love you like I love you"

41:00 - If you're serious about learning about music, it's hard to go wrong with Trash Theory. Here's the video "How Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Maps' Transcended The Post-Punk Revival"

42:25 - "There Is No Modern Romance" is a great little doc about their time touring for the release of 'Fever To Tell'

1:05:04 - Doug is, of course, quoting Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. It totally derailed Steve

1:06:25 - If blood-sucking bugs give you the heebie-jeebies, don't watch the music video for "Mosquito"

1:11:20 - We actually had this conversation about guest rappers a little more in-depth in our episode N Is For No Doubt

1:23:02 - Werewolves make music videos awesome. Here's "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" by The Flaming Lips

Doug's Track Recommendations:

Phenomena - Show Your Bones

Hysteric - It's Blitz!

Art Star - Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP

Steve's Track Recommendations:

Art Star - Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP

Heads Will Roll - It's Blitz!

Always - Mosquito

Y Control - Fever To Tell

Yeah Yeah Yeah's Official Website

Yeah Yeah Yeah's Bandcamp

Steve and Doug brush up on punk history this episode with a special request, X-Ray Spex, founded by fashion and music icon Poly Styrene. The guys also talk about mental illness, long-awaited reunions, and one killer sax. Also, screw Ticketmaster.

Six Degrees From King Crimson:

X-Ray Spex -> Falcon Stuart -> Adam & The Ants -> Chris Hughes -> Peter Gabriel -> Robert Fripp -> King Crimson

Music featured this week:

Oh Bondage Up Yours! - Oh Bondage Up Yours! single

Junk Food Junkie - Conscious Consumer

Germfree Adolescents - Germfree Adolescents

Party - Conscious Consumer

4:19 - Definitely check out our episode U Is For UJ3RK5

​10:04 - Hear our episode T Is For Tears For Fears

​22:35 - Steve and Doug are not orthodontists

30:22 - Lora Logic tells that and a bunch of more stories in this interview with The Guardian from November 2022

43:04 - No joke, check out the soundtrack to "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World"

48:48 - Just as a heads up, Steve has a degree in psychology, so he's not just stating a random opinion

​55:39 - Most notably in our episode N Is For Neon Indian

59:28 - This is "Is It A Dream" by Classix Nouveaux

59:47 - And this is "A Cry For Help In A World Gone Mad" by Agent Orange

1:00:08 - From the album Translucence by Poly Styrene, this is "Talk In Toytown"

1:01:08 - The obituary from the BBC has Boy George making this bizarre claim

1:03:36 - This was the smash, and many times sampled, his from The Waitresses "I Know What Boys Like" 

1:07:27 - AllMusic gives a pretty succinct biography of the band, but don't mention Conscious Consumer at all, which is a strange omission

1:09:25 - Here's Poly Styrene's interview with the Sunday Times, but it's behind a paywall so have fun with that

1:11:56 - Trash Theory did this great video on X-Ray Spex and their impact

1:20:15 - Here's Allie Hasn't Seen Batman: The Animated Series and Doug Hasn't Seen Teen Titans

Doug's Recommendations:

Obsessed With You - Germfree Adolescents

I Can't Do Anything - Germfree Adolescents

Crystal Clear - Conscious Consumer

Steve's Recommendations:

Highly Inflammable - Highly Inflammable single

Dog In Sweden - Conscious Consumer

I Can't Do Anything - Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex's Official Website

X-Ray Spex's YouTube Channel