In 1995, having changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, the artist formerly known as Prince released an album combining pop, funk, rock, soul, and jazz that grinds, pulsates and ROCKS like only he can. Returning guest Garry Messick makes the case for it's eclectic brilliance, and we turned it up and went along for the ride. "Only my enemies call me 'Prince.' Only those that want to hurt or offend me call me 'Prince'. 'Prince' is dead. I killed him." - Prince Rogers Nelson, 1995

Old friend - and former bandmate - Sam Fogarino (Interpol) returns with a record that briefly set the world on fire but ultimately fell victim to a somewhat unfair backlash: The Knack's multi-platinum debut "Get The Knack"! As power-pop records go it's a masterclass in super-catchy - if at times lyrically problematic - songwriting and dynamically energetic playing, and it provided a partial blueprint for young Sam's own powerfully precise drumming. Turn it up!! Spotify episode playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1uPOPwShugVEZKdZqo70c8?si=ff54333b5c564a29

Singer/songwriter Peter Norris phoned in all the way from Glasgow, Scotland to discuss "East Side Story" by Squeeze. Are songwriting duo Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford REALLY the "new wave heirs to Lennon and McCartney's throne"? We don't know about that, but you'd be hard pressed to find a finer collection of pop-rock songs, with notes of R&B, blue-eyed soul, Merseybeat and rockabilly baked right in! Spotify episode playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5FVKRM3x4ipEqP95I54WV3?si=1ddf1308712f4503

Legendary rock and roll magazine Trouser Press was a big part of my musical coming-of-age, so I was super excited to have founding editor/publisher Ira Robbins on the show to discuss a record that expanded HIS artistic horizons as a NY teenager: "Urban Spaceman" by Bonzo Dog Band. A collective as much as a band, the Bonzo's combined an absurdist mix of pop, cabaret, and Dada to create a surrealist portrait of late-60s England and beyond. Spotify episode playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oHV5QxS9bYZr8bjFIDbds?si=d10a331b079e4199

You might not draw a straight line between Chicago singer/songwriter Steve Dawson's (Dolly Varden)music and Stevie Wonder, but when he first heard Wonder's 1973 record "Innervisions" as a teen living in Idaho it seriously freaked him out. But in a good way. This is the sound of musical prodigy 'Little Stevie Wonder' growing up and tackling real-life themes such as drug abuse, inequality and systemic racism, expanding the boundaries of what popular music could be. Higher Ground indeed! Spotify episode playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mFb9QKQCTEP3OUvITQxzy?si=b648e72d19994898

Aylesbury, UK resident Paul Marfleet first heard "Meat Is Murder" by The Smiths on a cassette in his family's home, and their politically strident/musically adventurous second album took hold of his young ears and wouldn't let go. Our romp through the 80s continues with this 1985 gem... "I wish I could laugh, but that joke isn't funny anymore" Spotify Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1EF9nwioyvjJ7uAXHMSxTl?si=4e08db4e40e14d0e

Returning guest, artist/musician Beatriz 'Betty' Monteavaro wears her 80s heart on her sleeve. For this episode, she again set the controls for 1981 and brought a record that melded Burundi beats, spaghetti westerns, Native American imagery (and some questionable cultural appropriation) into the campy one-of-a-kind chart-topper "Kings of the Wild Frontier" by Adam and the Ants. "You might not like us now, but you will!" Spotify episode playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7IBmGTf9fFSpUSsYlEnCHy?si=761f58a250f84d83

This week's guest Eric Lazier makes the case that British performer and Fairport Convention co-founder Richard Thompson is woefully unheralded as both a guitar player and songwriter. As evidence, he brought us Thompson's 1991 release "Rumor and Sigh". Case closed! Spotify Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2jNlSWY19fmH5WGrohm8kU?si=13137db76c604c77

When he's not tearing faces off in various musical projects - 'To Live and Shave in LA' & 'NH Meth' to name two - Tom Smith leads a genteel life in Hanover, Germany, so it's only fitting that he brought Hanover's own 39 Clocks and their sophomore classic "Subnarcotic" to the table for perusal. Their songs of urban decay and rainy night insanities sung - subversively for 1982 - in English set them apart from the German New Wave of the time, and they managed to turn their love of the Velvets, Suicide and 60's garage-rock into their own "psycho-beat" sound that STILL sounds weirdly ahead of its time! Spotify Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0nuGkgwlbGudOR86XRbPhV?si=a0087348127e4e82

MuteAnt Sounds Netlabel owner Jay Reeve was your average New Jersey teen in the early 90s, listening to metal and whatever was considered alternative at the time - until he heard Fugazi. With 1990s "Repeater", Ian MacKaye and co. opened up his mind - and ears - to a sound he didn't even know he needed...but he did. "...when we have nothing left to lose, you will have nothing left to use." Spotify Episode Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0AqfpcV92NusARm9GsyBGb?si=ba869e72a0c64e10