Three on the Ones and Twos

We asked our friend Lars Nagel to be our guest on Episode 9 and he picked the fantastic Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen to discuss.  Unfortunately, he was unable to make it to the shooting of the episode, so the three of us went ahead and talked about Nebraska in his absence with the intention of having him on in the near future to discuss a second pick (guaranteed to be another great record.)  Though it ended up being Springsteen’s sixth studio album, Nebraska was recorded in his home on cassette as a demo.  Most tracks use little more than an acoustic guitar and lyrics written more like monologues from the perspective of troubled characters resulting in a haunting compilation of stories laced together by the common thread of blue collar Americana.  The starkness of Nebraska creates a sound that is both heartbreaking and beautiful.  We hope you enjoy this episode and, if you haven’t already heard the record, it encourages you to give Nebraska a listen. 

I first heard No Pocky for Kitty around '93 or so, while hanging out at the pool at my ex's house. (It was the house he grew up in. Nothing that extravagant ... "hanging out at the pool" sounds very fancy!) I was immediately taken with the punk energy and melodicism, both which reminded me of the very early Green Day stuff (I was a big fan of 39/Smooth; a skater friend had made me a dub of it my freshman year of college and it was probably the first exposure I had to any sort of pop-punk music). Superchunk then led me to the Chapel Hill indie scene ... Zen Frisbee, Pipe, Jennyanykind, Archers of Loaf ... I'm not sure I would have heard of any of them without first getting so into that 'chunk record. It also made me aware of Merge Records, still one of my favorite labels. Seeing what they did to put the Chapel Hill scene on the map was a big inspiration for me starting my own label back in 2000. I feel like the whole thing came full circle when I met Jerry Kee around 2000 or so. He engineered the very first Superchunk album and now I'm super stoked to be making the next Good Graces album with him. No Pocky remains one of my favorite albums and was truly life changing for me! – Kim Ware (of Kim Ware and the Good Graces; cofounder of Kimono My House)

From Billy Inman: When I was a teenager discovering punk rock, I learned about Television’s “Marquee Moon” and the band’s history before I ever heard the record. I knew they were seminal to the ’70s New York punk scene and one of the first bands to play CBGBs. In my muddled adolescent mind, I imagined their sound was like the “three chords and the truth” minimalist punk of their contemporaries, The Ramones.

Then I listened to “Marquee Moon,” and it turned everything I thought “punk” was on its ear. Turns out, you can be punk and be supremely talented musicians (guitarist Richard Lloyd palled around with Velvert Turner, a student of Jimi Hendrix. Or so goes the legend). You can be punk and have an almost 10-minute title track (so not punk that it is punk). And you can be punk and record a timeless opus that is as sonically relevant, authentic and influential today as it was in 1977.

“Marquee Moon” is an absolute classic — lightning struck itself. It transcends punk or any other label or idiom. More than any other recording, it set a teenage me on down a path of musical discovery that has never stopped. I’m sure I’m not alone in that regard.

From Sue Joyce: The first time I heard an IDLES song, I hit repeat at least ten times to keep hearing it.  "Never Fight A Man With A Perm" was my gateway into the IDLES universe and it's a universe I've embraced wholeheartedly.  Did I think I'd be joining a fan club in my 40's (shout-out to the AF Gang)?  I did not.  Did I think I'd fly to NY to see them and stay in a hostel?  I also did not.  But sometimes bands, and your devotion to them, cause you do things you normally wouldn't and cause your life to open up in an unexpected way.  IDLES makes me get in a pit in a show, IDLES makes me cry in the car on the way to work and record a podcast admitting my fandom.  IDLES make me think about their lyrics and the perspective they bring to social issues, while continually challenging my own.  I'm here for all of it and grateful to Spotify for their magic algorithm that pointed them my way. 

“I picked this record because not only is it a pivotal record in AC/DC's catalog, but it also had lasting repercussions for the Hard Rock genre as a whole.  AC/DC is one of the most important bands in their genre as them, KISS, and The Rolling Stones are still to this day the big 3 when it comes to the Hard Rock genre.  Powerage in particular is the purest example of the band firing on all cylinders despite charting relatively low.  I chose this album over the standard fare of "Back in Black", "The Razor's Edge", or even "Highway to Hell", as I think this album is the true torch-bearer of what made AC/DC, AC/DC.  Powerage is a record that may have flown under the radar for some, but is a rock-solid example of what happens when Blues-based Rock N' Roll, heart-felt emotion, and pure raw electricity flows through the Marshall Amps of the time.” - Matthew Darrow (Director of Photography and Media)

 We hope you enjoy this episode and thank you to Matthew Darrow for being our first guest and for his work on the show, as well as his selection of this awesome record.  Cheers!

Listen to Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) by Brian Eno

From James: I have a soft spot for bands that at their core started as best friends or brothers/sisters growing up together and playing music. Minutemen had D. Boon and Mike Watt, Devo had the Mothersbaugh and Casale brothers, and The Gun Club had Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Kid Congo Powers. Except in the case of The Gun Club this process was interrupted when Kid Congo joined The Cramps before they could record their first album, Fire of Love. This continued through their second album Miami, but then Kid came back for the third album, Las Vegas Story, which is my favorite. All of their albums are special, but I think the combination of Jeffrey Lee and Kid Congo on guitars and The Bags rhythm section of Patricia Morrison and Terry Graham was the best lineup they ever had. Also, for this album they moved past their blues/punk origins and ventured into new territory, stretching out artistically and making an amazing album in the process. Las Vegas Story is one of my favorite records of all time and an underdog even with Gun Club fans. I hope you enjoy the music and our music nerd discussion!

Listen to the expanded version of the album here: Las Vegas Story by The Gun Club

From Cassy: Since my late teens, The Jam has been one of my favorite bands (actually, it's pretty safe to say they top the list) so I knew my first pick was going to be one of theirs. I went back and forth for a couple of weeks deciding which specific record to choose but I finally settled on Setting Sons because I think it best highlights Weller's mastery of songwriting and all three of the band member's skills as musicians. I enjoyed connecting back to what made me fall in love with The Jam so many years ago and if you're not already a fan I hope this encourages you to have a listen and maybe you'll fall in love with them, too.

From Tom Cheshire: I picked "Sandinista!" by The Clash to do as our first record to review. I love this record but I haven't always loved it. In fact for the longest time, it confused me. At first, it seemed too long, and a lot of the songs didn't sound like or feel like songs, they sounded like late night unfinished ideas. Now the record is 40 years old, and I am older, and those same things I mentioned are the things I love about the record. To me it has aged really well, and i wanted to discuss it with my co-hosts. I hope you enjoy the episode.

Also check out the "soundtrack" to the episode here: Sandinista! plus all B-Sides and interviews