NO ENCORE

Let's get scared.

Halloween is upon us - or just over if you prefer listening to this podcast after the weekend - and so it's time to get all seasonal with our Top 5 theme.

Ace film and TV critic Chris Wasser returns to NO ENCORE HQ with a musical accompaniment of horror's most successful scribe - Stephen King.

Chris' list takes in a range of the songs associated with the man's extensive body of work, from movies to TV shows to, but of course, the books themselves.

Elsewhere, Dave and Adam report back from a lively Bank Holiday Monday at Dublin's 3Arena and there's plenty of news to get through, also.

Speaking of scary cinematic engagements, do not miss the latest NO ENCORE Film Club as Dave and Andy sink their teeth into the Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt nocturnal epic Interview With the Vampire - sign up to the Patreon now for a mere fiver, you won't regret it!

As for this week's offering...

ACT ONE: Macklemore - and friends - conquered Dublin as the first night of the Free Palestine tour got underway. Dave and Adam review accordingly.

ACT TWO (22:27): Enter Chris, and a quick "best and worst films of 2026" shootout with Dave ensues.

ACT THREE (43:37): A lengthy Billy Corgan interview provokes numerous headlines, Donald Trump sizes up superfan Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX links up with Martin Scorsese, and what's the world like without headphones? It's the news.

ACT FOUR (1:15:57): Top 5 Stephen King Songs.

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Pick up the four-string - or five-string if you're a nu metal icon - because it's time to get into the groove.

Highly in-demand bassist Dara Abdurahman hits up NO ENCORE HQ with one of the most beautiful records of the year under his belt, and a collection of his most influential musicians worth cataloguing for this week's Top 5.

But before all that...

ACT ONE: One week on from release, Dave and Adam dive into a lengthy assessment of Dopamine Chamber, the overall Fontaines D.C. phenomenon, and the seemingly endless avalanche of sky-scraping media hype.

ACT TWO (45:47): Dara Abdurahman joins the pod to discuss new project d_abdu and his spellbinding album we're still down here, looking up.

ACT THREE (1:16:05): Top 5 Bassists.

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Hey kids, remember Top of the Pops?!

Spawned in the 1960s, the weekly BBC broadcast quickly became an undeniable staple of pop culture, evolving alongside the music it played host to over the decades.

Nothing lasts forever, naturally, and so today TOTP is largely confined to the realm of nostalgia.

This week's Top 5, courtesy of returning arch poptimist Jenn Gannon, acts as something of a history lesson of the show's notoriety and indeed the many memorable performances that took place under its studio lights.

Elsewhere on your NO ENCORE mixtape this week...

ACT ONE: Adam joins Digger Nation and Jenn bids farewell to a long-running gig.

ACT TWO (17:53): The news gods bless us this week with a host of wild and wacky stories. We've got Kim Kardashian's Formula 1 redemption arc, Kelly Clarkson's feud with a hipster arts and crafts emporium, Olivia Rodrigo's White Stripes splash, James Hetfield's strange onstage outburst, the 'nobody asked for this' reunion of Kid Rock and Eminem, those bizarre AI Glen Hansard posts you've been seeing online, a mind-numbing sit-down between Harry Styles and Thom Yorke, and why Creed has been bothering the Instagram algorithm.

ACT THREE (54:12): Top 5 Top of the Pops Performances.

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Please have your ticket ready for inspection.

A last-minute schedule change sees the boys transform into gruesome twosome mode as they dispense with the Top 5 and keep it real-time cultural. Enjoy.

ACT ONE: Your preamble takes in Tom Cruise box office disaster Digger, Dave's Nine Inch Nails listening party experience, and BUDGET 2027.

ACT TWO (44:53): The news round-up brings together Ed Sheeran's new opening act, Zach Bryan's t-shirt statement, Electric Picnic-shaped investigative journalism, Mark Zuckerberg's parenting style, and Justin Timberlake's vocal contrition.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for a preview of the latest bonus episode, available exclusively at Patreon.com/NOENCORE.

Sign up to NO ENCORE on Patreon for the full episode, weekly bonus episodes, show previews and early and ad-free access to all NO ENCORE episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for a preview of the latest bonus episode, available exclusively at Patreon.com/NOENCORE.

Sign up to NO ENCORE on Patreon for the full episode, weekly bonus episodes, show previews and early and ad-free access to all NO ENCORE episodes.

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Roll up, roll up, the audio circus is back in town.

Adam leads the Top 5 charge this week as he details the hidden gems and eyebrow-raising engagements that have taken his musical fancy in recent times.

Having failed the assignment, Dave focuses instead on delivering a bustling news section.

Don't miss out on the latest bonus content on Patreon, by the way - there's a new Film Club in the wild, while Dave's '31 horror movies to watch in October' two-hour special will be with you imminently, followed shortly by Adam's extensive sit-down with producer Rocky O'Reilly.

As for this week's main attraction...

ACT ONE: The preamble in which Dave reports back from Overhead, The Albatross.

ACT TWO (11:14): Macklemore unveils the Free Palestine tour, U2 turn 50 years young and everyone loses the run of themselves, Taylor Swift drops a divisive deluxe edition, and Slipknot announce a polarising tour - it's the news.

ACT THREE (1:03:08): Top 5 Unexpected Surprises.

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