The Completely Ignored Podcast

To close out our 5th season, we're presenting a very dusty episode of the Completely Ignored podcast and in spite of a bit of audio crackle, we manage to pull out a fun chat with Canadian singer/songwriter Damhnait Doyle. The focus is Lucinda Williams and her much-decorated Car Wheels on a Gravel Road full-length. An album that doesn't sound any more or less fresh than it did 20 years ago, we chat Damhnait up about the enduring appeal of this style of music (Americana?!?) and the concept of being a "overnight sensation" after 10+ years in the industry (and yet we didn't really mention Shelby Lynne). There's also a shitload of talk about Steve Earle and lots of fun banter about interactions and little chats with Willie Nelson. 

Wikipedia calls him "a Canadian film, television, and voice-over actor as well as a producer of television, film and music". We call him a kick-ass guest. His name is Stu Stone and his album of choice is OK Computer, the 1997 opus from famously moody dudes Radiohead. This is a great episode about a great album with Stu talking about how his relationship with this band evolved through high school, his California years and back through the present day. There's also a few details about Stu and Cam moshing to Radiohead during The Bends tour (this show!!!), Chicago (the band, not the city), Cayne's Super Housewares and Billy Corgan hitting people in the head with guitars. Lots of range. 

From the inner circles of politics, art and activism to the friendly confines of the Completely Ignored Podcast, Canadian music advocate Lanrick Bennett Jr. brings plenty of humour and heart to this episode. In it, we're talking about the Dears and their 2008 full-length Missiles. Beyond just sharing his thoughts on why this album kicks much ass, Lanrick gets personal about how his whole family has embraced this band and its music over the years. He also offers his thoughts on various non-Dears topics, namely the state of live music in Toronto and general why art fucking matters. Very smart, sincere stuff here! 

I wanna be the girl with the most cake... and I want YOU to be amongst the first to listen our latest podcast. It features comedian Elisabeth Bailey and a deep dive into Hole's 1994 sophomore full-length Live Through This. This is a deep, thoughtful chat about one of the most loved and most miscategorized albums of the early-ish 1990s. Elisabeth gets personal with her own POVs about what it was like discovering this band and this album at a young age plus her thoughts on assumptions that Kurt Cobain actually "did" this album and many other topics. We also talk P.J. Harvey, Liz Phair, Echo and the Bunnymen and (strangely) Tina Yothers. Someday, you will ache like I ache... unless you give this a listen pronto! 

This episode is neither rosy nor grey as Toronto podcast icon Toronto Mike joins the fellas to talk Lowest of the Low. This, of course, is the band who has served as the longtime outro music on the Toronto Mike'd podcast and will be the musical guest at Mike's next Toronto Mike'd Listener Experience. Lots to like here as part of a deep discussion of the band's 1991 debut Shakespeare My Butt. Personally, we think the "Did LOTL resonate outside Toronto?" chats are most interesting with Sammy bringing plenty of Winnipeg POVs. We also talk about a pile of 1990s Toronto rockers (including hHead) and share memories, moods about the passing of Dave "Bookie" Bookman. 

After an (extended) break, Cam and Sammy roar back for Season 5 of the podcast. In fine style, they've brought in Toronto-based, world-renown rock icon Danko Jones to help prime the pump. In discussion is the late 20th century guitar weirdness of Blonde Redhead and their third full-length Fake Can Be Just as Good. A great chat that goes deep on some nerdy stuff and some gnarly stuff about indie music (and all music) at the turn of the last century. Also includes a deep chat about "brushes on drums" and how Steve Shelley inspired a small cohort of drum dorks to ditch their sticks for a time. 

In this special bonus episode, we spend over an hour with Canadian TV mainstay Pat Mastroianni, best known for his portrayal of the fedora-lovin’ Joey Jeremiah on Degrassi Jr. High, Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation. We talk about the music of the Degrassi universe, both the real stuff and the fake stuff: the Zit Remedy, the Gourmet Scum, the Savages (the fake Degrassi universe band), Savages (the real British indie band), the Pogues, Pink Floyd, Images in Vogue, the Spoons, Gowan, Harem Scarem, Drake and (strangely) Dean Martin. We also chat about the legendary Fantastic Voyage program from Ryerson's CKLN, how Jonathan Torrens played a key role in the Degrassi reboot (and eventually shapeshifted into “Shane”) and the healthy appetite for face time w/ Degrassi alumini amongst the Comic-Con/Fan Expo crowd.

Cam and Sammy wrap their 4th season of the podcast with a look at TV on the Radio and their third full-length, 2008’s Dear Science. Lots of New York talk and lots of talk about bands who can pull off sprawling multi-genre music… and bands who can’t. This somehow parlays into some words about the dying days of buying CDs, music collectible shows and vintage Canadian artists w/o large digital footprints, including the Sons of Freedom, Ray Condo, the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and many more. It’s neat! The episode and the season ends with a quick chat about Boards of Canada and the greatness and the weirdness of Prince’s self-titled 1979 effort. See ya later! 

Let's get hazy, dreamy, swoony and spacey with Bloom, the 2012 fourth full-length from Beach House. Cam and Sammy love this band and it shows! They touch on the fleetingness of anticipating new music that comes with age, the timeliness of Beach House itself and do a 101 on French composer Michel Legrand and whether movie scores and title tracks qualify as "hits". The episode wraps with a chat about new tunes from Stephen Malkmus, a detailed discussion about the video for Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" (including the scary mask and scary James Woods parts) plus a really quick shoutout to Ric Ocasek and the Cars. 

We’re going to France and our passport... is... uh... music! It’s the third studio full-length from Air and it’s called Walkie Talkie, a sadly under-remembered album that sounds as smart and sophisticated in 2018 as it did in 2004. Cam and Sammy remember the times Air were basically the soundtrack to cafe livin’ in the late 1990s and early 2000s, why some bands (i.e. this band) don’t need to be seen live plus why comparing Air to Daft Punk is lame and lazy. The episode ends with a look at Lana Del Rey (her music and her marketing) plus Twin Shadow and a teeny tiny chat about Doug and the Slugs (again).