The Asylum Podcast

Each Kousin brought three “Now Listening” songs to the table, and Kousin Marvin spread his “Let Me Know” throughout the show. Many things were heard for the first time, and some memories were brought back, as well as some old faves.

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Jem From Alabama, and Bruno From Sunny South Africa.

What have you been listening to lately?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

While listening to the Paul Di’Anno albums a few weeks back, one of the Kousins mentioned grading Iron Maiden albums. So, that’s what the Kousins are doing. They are grading the Mark I (“the Di’Anno years,” Iron Maiden, Killers) and Mark II (“the Bruce years, part one,” Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, No Prayer for the Dying, Fear of the Dark) versions of the band. The grades are cumulative averages given each Kousin’s individual grades. The grades can be from A+ to F.

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Nick Provenzano From Northern California, Bruno From (once again) Sunny South Africa, and Jem From Alabama.

No “Now Listenings” this week.

How would you grade the albums listed above? What’s your fave?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

So, this week is Halloween-ish. We could have done Trick or Treat or other films of that ilk. But, no. Kousin Ray knew about the Rocky Horror Picture Show but had never seen it. His wife and stepdaughter took him to see it live with “shadow players,” props, scripts, and more. Kousin Tim, Kousin Gary, and Kousin Marvin had all seen it on video but never live. The soundtrack is terrific and was prime for a good listening party. So, that’s what happened. Perhaps we’ll see you all “over at the Frankenstein Place?”

All four Kousins had “Now Listenings.”

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Eugene B Sims, Jem From Alabama, and Bruno From (usually) Sunny South Africa.

What was your favorite Rocky Horror moment, song, or character? Did you even like it at all?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

The Hard Rock community lost original Iron Maiden singer, Paul Di’Anno this past week after bouts with illness over the past several years. So, the Kousins listened through the first two Iron Maiden albums, the band DiAnno, and the Paul Di’Anno later year things, including selections from his last solo record that was released this past September.

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Communal Steve, Nick Provenzano From Northern California, and Jem From Alabama.

What are you favorite Paul Di’Anno moments in music?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

A few weeks ago, the Kousins did a retrospective of music (and other pop-culture things) from 1985, which focused on the hard rock genre (which can be found here). The Kousins will be visiting other years. But before we all move on, it was time to grade the top hard rock albums of 1985 (in their opinion). Kousin Marvin was not on the show but sent his grades beforehand.

The albums that were graded were (in no particular order):

Megadeth – Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good.

Calls from Eugene B Sims, Jim From Irwin, and Jem From Alabama.

What were your grades for the hard rock albums of 1985?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

Yes, two listening parties in a row. Kousin Ray is out this week for “Mandatory Fun.” Led Zeppelin’s third album, cleverly called Led Zeppelin III (1970), has its 54th anniversary on Saturday. KR “respects Zep” but doesn’t like to listen to them because the local classic rock stations (like just about every classic rock station in the country, if not the world, play them almost non-stop). It was an opportunity to give it some love with KR being out, so that happened.

The three Kousins gave their “Now Listenings.”

Calls from Eugene B Sims, Jim From Irwin, and Jem From Alabama.

What are your thoughts on Led Zeppelin III? What’s your favorite song?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

Staying with the 1985 theme after a week off, the Kousins thought that Mötley Crüe’s Theatre of Pain was an underrated album and needed some love. It is the general consensus that other than one track (which really isn’t that bad), the album is a gem. Was it glammy? Yes. Was it muddy? Yes. Does the album get a bad rap? Absolutely. Buy why? Stick with us and enjoy an excellent album with some hidden treasures.

All four Kousins gave their “Now Listenings.”

Calls from Bruno From (mostly) Sunny South Africa, Jem From Alabama, and Jim From Irwin.

What is your take and/or thoughts on Theatre of Pain?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

Dateline – The Asylum. The Year… 1985. With 1983 and 1984 being such “powerhouses” in music, 1985 had much to live up to. One of the Kousins (privately) called it “meh” compared to the previous two.  There are some landmark albums from 1985. Some represent the biggest or perhaps most widely known in some artists’ careers. It may not be the most remarkable year in music, but it didn’t stink. Not that anyone said it did. In addition to all the great music, not just hard rock but pop, alternative, and post-punk, the Kousins take on a snippet in time and talk about what 1985 meant to them. Not only is music on the menu for the Kousins, but they also talk about movies, television, sports, and even video games.

No “Now Listenings” because there was a lot of music to go through.

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Jem From Alabama, Eugene B Sims, Bruno From Sunny South Africa, and a special call from DAC.

What was your favorite albums from 1985? What was going on with you in 1985?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

The Kousins made a Top 4 list that somehow wasn’t a “Mount Rushmore” list. Each Kousin picked their top 4 Hair Metal bands. Well, sort of. Three of the Kousins did; one did something a little different. Each entry got two songs played, and there were controversies throughout, but the episode was a lot of fun. The lists weren’t consolidated to form a proper Top 4, though.

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Eugene B Sims, Bruno From Sunny South Africa, and Jem From Alabama.

No “Now Listenings” because there were already a lot of songs.

What are your top four Hair Metal bands?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).

The latest Kousins Top 10 episode is all about “non-makeup” KISS albums. In this episode, the Kousins give their individual Top 10 of songs from Lick It Up (1983), Animalize (1984), Asylum (1985), Crazy Nights (1987), Hot in the Shade (1989), Revenge (1992), and Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997). The ranking was weighted by number and put into a spreadsheet, and a few computations later, we had a collective Top Ten (or in this case, thirteen). Some may surprise you, but hey, this is the Kousins; it probably won’t. There were three ties that were thrown to the “Extended Asylum Family” to break.

All four gave their “Now Listenings.”

Calls from Jim From Irwin, Bruno From Sunny South Africa, and Eugene B Sims.

What would your top ten songs be from 1983-1997?

Let us know by calling the TLDNetwork (KUZZ Army) hotline and leaving a message for the Kousins at 336-422-NUMB (6862).