Tune Change

We swapped microphones every few words for this one. Walk calmly but quickly away from Steven Tyler and ask: Were we supposed to do basslines for all of them? Which 30-year-old cheerleader is it not unlike? What does Jewel think about all this? For fans of: VH1 through the ages, authorial intent, and desperately grasping for Run DMC’s coattails. 

Joe Strummer is going to be so mad. Keep your voice down while we ask: Not English enough, ha? How can such a small island support so many supermarket chains? If the band doesn’t work, maybe film school? For fans of: Intended puns, all English everything, and superfluous ‘postrophes that’s all scatter’d 'round.  

Monoliths and Dimensions 

The producer is giving us the “stretch it out” signal. Come to the far north of…oh, America. That’s disappointing. But anyway: What kind of amps do y’all use? How much greater is the whole than the parts? Are we gonna do Stonehenge tomorrow night? For fans of: DUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN, commitment to the bit, and lying in the bed you made. 

The Golden Casket 

Let’s see what most of the boys have been up to. Push/pull from above and below the stars and dirt and ask: How many Modest Mouses are there these days? Did we give Jeremiah Green enough to do? Can the love of a child melt even the coldest of hearts? For fans of: Creative direction, things and the opposite of those things, and kidding because you love the major third interval.

Deguello 

Honestly, the unexamined life sounds pretty fun. Bring A MINIMUM OF one friend and ask: Does this everyday object remind you of anything? Can you play the blues without having them? Qualis artifex pereo? For fans of: Careful sequencing, incrementalism, and that sweet Donahue sound. 

Wait, I just got it. Wink at your art school friends and ask: evil robot space carnival? Pretty impressive, huh? What hath Paul wrought? For fans of: nearly one song per side, evil clowns who won’t cover you in root beer, and, if we’re being honest, lots and lots of keyboards. 

Programming note: Matt had a recording mishap, so he sounds a bit different this episode. The dulcet tones will return next episode.

Unnamed others are the disease, and Hatebreed’s got the cure. Look out for each other in the pit and ask: Are you talking to me? Does this read a little different in the current climate? Why don’t we just skip to the breakdown? For fans of: perseverance, undifferentiated sludge, and OK tastes that taste OK together. 

Songs from the Big Chair 

They made most of an album and we made most of an episode about it. Take your sweet time and ask: Will we ever laugh again? What if we slowed it down? Does this seem familiar to anyone else? For fans of: overthinking it, shouting it out, and occasionally requiring a jacket. 

The four coolest people on Earth got robbed, and now you’re gonna hear some poems. Prepare your guitars and ask: who’s paying for these poet dens? What do the cool kids talk about? Wait, are there other cities? For fans of: roughly six square blocks of Manhattan, a pre-9/11 world, and seeing how you do up there without all the assistance.

Madonna returns with a vocal coach and a newfound understanding that the world does not disappear when she closes her eyes. Open your heart and ask: who let all these guitars in here? Can anyone compete with this list of singles? Do our speakers suck? For fans of: kidding because you love, carefully produced drum loops, and belting it out.