Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves

In October and November of 1964, The Kinks released their debut studio album, "You Really Got Me." The title track was raw and gritty with an enormous sound that caught the world off guard. This is the story of that song, how Dave Davies got that sound, the mystery girl who inspired Ray Davies' lyrics, and the rumor that Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin played that famed guitar solo.

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

Released in November of 1964, The Beach Boys Christmas Album saw America's biggest pop band blend their signature sunny surf rock with a California holiday. Over the last 6 decades, this album has come to include go-to Christmas music spanning generations. Today, we look at the surprising story of The Beach Boys Christmas Album.

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

The Stooges are pioneers of the proto punk movement, with Iggy Pop often hailed as the Godfather of Punk. In this album story, we explore the origins of the title, and trace it back to a bad decision -- something The Stooges kinda made part of their career. This is the story of how a painted guitar led to Iggy being crowned the Godfather of Punk Rock.

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

In the fall of 1999, Le Tigre released their self-titled debut album. The band stemmed from Riot Grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna's desire to create music more playful and light-hearted than that of Bikini Kill while also maintaining the inspiration from feminism and political activism of her other band. This is the story of that debut album, how the band formed, and the members within.

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

In 1973, legendary Krautrock band CAN lost their charismatic lead singer Damo Suzuki. A year later, in November of 1974, they remade themselves and gave us Soon Over Babaluma. This is the story of that album, how a band can indeed find success after their frontman leaves.

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

This is the unlikely story of how the sun-soaked sounds of The Beach Boys struck a cord with the cold, electronic stoicism in post-war Germany and influenced Kraftwerk's breakout hit "Autobahn."

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

The Smiths are among the most influential indie bands of all time. Led by confrontational artist Morrissey, the controversial frontman has never been one to keep quiet. He seemed to know this as far back as 1985, when he and Johnny Marr wrote "Bigmouth Strikes Again." This is the history of that song, the Rolling Stones song that inspired Marr's guitar riff, and the subtle nod to the Ancoats district in Manchester. 

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

On November 18, 1993, Nirvana took the stage for MTV’s Unplugged series—a moment in music history that no one could have predicted would become one of their most defining live performances. This is the heartfelt story of that show and the live recording that graced so many of our speakers when it was released a year later on November 1, 1994 on CD and vinyl, just months after Kurt Cobain's death.

Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves is a weekly podcast, YouTube series, and Substack blog hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. 

• Get the video version on my YouTube Channel.

The success of "Blue Monday" by New Order was a mistake. The song was a joke. New Order never intended for it to be a hit. In this week’s episode of Poetic Wax, we pull out the 1988 reissue of "Blue Monday" on vinyl and give it a spin.

We'll dig into the surprising history of the song that blended alt rock, new wave, and electronic dance music and changed the course of music history.

The Poetic Wax Podcast is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. What began as a weekly music history video series on his YouTube Channel can now be found on podcast platforms like this one with blog-form transcripts on his Substack.

Subscribe and follow along. New episodes go up each week!

When people ask The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, I push back and say give me The Kinks! This troupe began as mod rockers in the 1960s and came to weave theatrics into their music by the turn of the decade. Opening their 1967 album Something Else, "David Watts" plays into that playfulness with a slyness that makes you think. This is the story of David Watts and the inside joke between the Davies brothers that inspired it.

The Poetic Wax Podcast is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. What began as a weekly music history video series on his YouTube Channel can now be found on podcast platforms like this one with blog-form transcripts on his Substack.

Subscribe and follow along. New episodes go up each week!