Somebody Likes It

To paraphrase Ryan, Peepshow by Siouxsie and the Banshees is the only record we’ve talked about that on first listen is disappointing because of how high a bar the opening track sets.

We first came across Canadian group Land of Talk last year during Chris Cox’s visit to the show when I picked their song “Quarry Hymns” for A Few Minutes With.

A tribute to the late, great David Bowie.

When Ryan suggested we listen to Clarence Carter’s 1986 ode to sexy time Strokin’ I couldn’t wait! Not only had we never devoted an entire show to just one song, but this song in particular is chockablock with subtlely and context!

Listen closely (or not that closely if that’s how you prefer to listen) to the beginning of this episode and I clearly state that I expect everyone to stick to a discussion of Workingman’s Dead and to try and stay away from those all too iconic Grateful Dead live show images.

Tahiti 80 are nothing if not pleasantly contradictory, or, at least, that’s what we’re more or less led to believe after basking in the warm glow of their debut album, Puzzle.

Wherein the boys share some of their fondest memories and "favorite" tunes from Christmases Past.

Remember that shitty song Everything Zen by Bush? Awful awful song. Well this album isn’t that. It’s like the opposite of Bush. Zen Arcade (the seminal 1984 record by Hüsker Dü) landed in our laps this week, and let’s just say it definitely wasn’t what we expected it to be.

This week we listen to the album Sylvan Esso by the band “Sylvan Esso”…well, not exactly a band, but it is two people making music, so not exactly a solo act. I guess I could have said “duo”, but somehow that just doesn’t feel right.

Somewhere around the time dinosaurs walked the earth and Prince Charles started wearing Lady Diana’s clothes, I spent a summer working in radio. Those were odd days — or nights rather — plugging in commercials in the middle of the night to avoid the radio tax shows we were running (aka ‘ratings juggernaut’), and I used to take chances, mostly to keep myself awake beyond the darkness.