Episodes

Longtime Patron and returning guest Rory Cox Zoomed-in all the way from Slovenia to discuss Athens, Georgia band Drive-By Truckers and their incendiary 2016 album, ' American Band '. Overtly political - and as timely today as the day it was released - this is protest music with the guitars turned to eleven! Songs discussed in this episode: The KKK Took My Baby Away (Ramones cover) - Drive-By Truckers; Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd; Ronnie and Neil - Drive-By Truckers; Green Grass & High Tides - Th...

Seattle singer/songwriter Robert Deeble brings us British band Mojave 3 and their 2003 release ' Spoon and Rafter '. Borne from the ashes of their previous band Slowdive , its core members Neil Halstead , Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon dialed-in the dream pop/folk with stunning arrangements and a feather-light touch. Songs discussed in this episode: Love From Room 109 at the Islander (Tim Buckley cover) - Mojave 3; Hi-Lo and In Between - Neil Halstead; My Life In Art - Mojave 3; Orphan Song -...

Writer, comedian, musician Aug Stone joins us this week to unpack The Afghan Whigs and their stunning 1996 release: ' Black Love '. Leader Greg Dulli and company mine themes of vengeance, remorse and self-loathing on a record that manages to be both ferocious AND soulful. Songs discussed in this episode: The Bed (Lou Reed cover) - Afterhours (feat. Greg Dulli); Written In The Stars - Aug Stone & The Love Conspiracy; Premonitions - Damien Youth; Rachel On The Rooftops - Aug Stone; Debonair - The ...

This week, returning guest - and founder of Rochester New York's Carbon Records , Joe Tunis - brings us a subject near-and-dear to his heart: the music of the New Zealand underground. This essential compilation, ' Xpressway Pile=Up ', is a great snapshot of the late 80s/early 90s New Zealand underground music scene and the artists involved. Songs discussed in this episode: Quiet In The Village - Eye; Anything Could Happen - The Clean; What Goes On - The Velvet Underground; Midnight Blue Vision -...

What more can be said about the much maligned 1978 musical film ' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ' that hasn't been said already (11% on Rotten Tomatoes)? But this week's guest, multi-instrumentalist, artist and songwriter Robbie Gennet , contends that the movie - and especially its accompanying soundtrack - deserves a second look. Featuring the Bee Gees , Peter Frampton , and a slew of guest artists covering Beatles songs (AND produced by none other than George Martin!), as well as a mur...

For our first episode of 2026, we talked the New York Dolls and their eponymous 1973 debut with special guest Jerid O'Connell . As a Connecticut teen sneaking into New York City to see the Dolls play places like Club 82 and Max's Kansas City , Jerid - who eventually played drums in NYC band Rousers - was instantly smitten by their raw, high energy sound/delivery and never let go. Turn this episode up!! Songs discussed in this episode: Personality Crisis (New York Dolls cover) - Teenage Fanclub &...

For our final episode of 2025, we asked our Patrons to send in their favorite - and unlikely - musical collaborations. As usual, they did NOT disappoint! Songs discussed in this episode: Wanted Man (Take 1) - Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash; Living Doll - Cliff Richard and The Young Ones; Mama - My Chemical Romance w/Liza Minnelli; Perfect Day - Lou Reed & Luciano Pavarotti; Don't Give Up - Willie Nelson & Sinéad O'Connor; Mad John - The Small Faces; Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby & D...

When Grammy-nominated Louisiana Zydeco musician Corey Ledet offered to discuss Bruno Mars ' multi-platinum third album ' 24K Magic ', TRGMH host and part-time music snob Rob braced himself for a painful week. But Mars' tight, 9-song attempt to capture the sound of the 80s/90s R&B, funk and New Jack Swing he listened and danced to during his childhood - the same music Ledet listened to as a teen growing up in Houston, TX. - quickly won him over. Seriously, if this record doesn't make you feel a L...

Detroit-born artist Josh Hight - now based in Lewes, East Sussex - brings us The Cure and their enigmatic third record, ' Faith '. For this 1981 release, Robert Smith and co. reached deep down into their souls and produced an album of dark, melancholically bleak-yet-beautiful music. Songs discussed in this episode: Primary (The Cure cover) - The Dandy Warhols; Atrocity Exhibition - Joy Division; Plainsong - The Cure; In His Wake - PINES; Facing - IRONS; I Was Only Fifteen - PINES; The Holy Hour,...

Poet/Songwriter Sara Mae Henke (The Noisy) brings us Japanese Breakfast and their 2021 album, ' Jubilee '. The third release by musician/author Michelle Zauner , it's a gloriously joyful slab of indie pop with a side-helping of catharsis. Songs discussed in this episode: Neckline (Deluxe Version), Twos, Tony Soprano - The Noisy; Chamomile - Larlene; Tropical Jinx - Little Big League; Everybody Wants To Love You, Paprika, Be Sweet - Japanese Breakfast; Nightshade - The Noisy; Kokomo, IN, Winter I...

Renowned producer/engineer Larry Crane ( Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith ...as well as editor and founder of Tape Op Magazine ) brings us Wire and their groundbreaking, highly influential third album ' 154 '. A favorite of a diverse array of artists including Robert Pollard, Johnny Marr and Michael Stipe to name a few, this heady slab of post-punk vignettes rewards repeated listenings. Songs discussed in this episode: The 15th (Wire cover) - Mike Watt; Curl Up an...

One of our favorite returning guests, Miami drag icon Shelley Novak (aka Tommy Strangie) , joins us to once again explore his life-long obsession with all things Chrissie Hynde as we discuss The Pretenders and their third studio album, 1984s ' Learning To Crawl '. "Now come on, baby Get in the road..." Songs discussed in this episode: Absent Minded Me - Chrissie Hynde; Tommy Strangie - The Boas; Cuban Slide, Middle Of The Road - The Pretenders; Long Long Time - Linda Ronstadt; Back On The Chain ...

Named after the back seat of his family's car where he recorded the vocals to his early albums, Will Toledo's solo-project-cum-band Car Seat Headrest went from Bandcamp indie-darlings to headlining Coachella in a relatively short time. This week's guest, musician/songwriter Brendan Wright (Tiberius) , brings us CSH's transitional 2014 release - and final one before signing to Matador - ' How To Leave Town '. Brimming with both existential doubt and unbridled wanderlust, the record works as a dar...

This week, we Zoomed all the way over to the medieval wine country of Romagna, Italy to discuss The Flaming Lips and their beloved 2002 release: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots with musician/artist Lucas Ward (The Silver Snails) "All we have is now All we've ever had is now All we have is now All we'll ever have is now" Songs discussed in this episode: Do You Realize (Flaming Lips cover) - Willie Nelson; No Name #3 - Elliott Smith; Evanessence, Galen's Song - The Silver Snails; Race For The Priz...

Arguably one of the most important groups of the 1980s, St Paul Minnesota punk rock trio Hüsker Dü paved the way for 90s indie superstars Nirvana and a host of others while never quite reaching anything close to that level of success in their short 9-year existence. This week's guest, Reno, NV musician and writer Mark Earnest (Kanawha, Manchild), joins us to discuss their sixth - and final - studio release, Warehouse: Songs and Stories . A sprawling, sonic battlefield between dual songwriters Bo...

This week we're joined by Tate Brooks and Silas Lourenco Lang (two-thirds of the New Haven, CT band The Problem With Kids Today ) as we unpack Jon Brion 's long lost debut album, ' Meaningless '. Initially released independently by Brion in 2001 on his own "Straight to Cut-Out" label and sold through his website and CD Baby, it finally became more widely available in 2022 when it was re-released on Jealous Butcher Records. This collection of catchy power-pop tunes are a perfect representation of...

Returning guest, singer/songwriter Oscar Herrera ( The Sleep of Reason, Black Tape for a Blue Girl ), brings us Bauhaus and their 1980 debut full-length: ' In The Flat Field '. Often cited as a foundational release in the Goth-rock genre, there's no denying this darkly theatrical, often ferocious collection of songs STILL packs an unsettling punch. Happy pre-Halloween! Songs discussed in this episode: Dark Entries (Bauhaus cover) - Revolting Cocks (Feat. Gibby Haynes); I Have A Task - Oscar Herr...

What is it about multiple voices singing a beautiful melody together that just GETS to us? For this special BONUS Episode, we asked our Patrons to send in a song with amazing vocal harmonies...that got them high! Caution: Ear-candy ahead... Songs discussed in this episode: You Still Believe In Me (Isolated vocals) - The Beach Boys; Live In Favor Of Tomorrow - The Lemon Twigs; Blue - The Jayhawks; Oh So Many Years - Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones; A Good Feelin’ To Know - Poco; In The Court O...

Returning guests Allan & Barb Vest of Oklahoma City-based doubleVee bring us a record considered by many to be one of the key alternative rock albums of the 1980s, ' Doolittle ' by Boston's Pixies . Released in 1989, this collection of 15 short-but-potent songs was a thrilling shot of adrenaline that laid the groundwork for much of the nineties indie-rock to follow. Songs discussed in this episode: Here Comes Your Man (Pixies cover) - Teenage Fanclub; Modern Times - doubleVee; Doe - The Breeders...

Hailing from Cork, Ireland, songwriters Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan formed the band Microdisney in 1980. After relocating to London in 1983, the band recorded six Peel Sessions for BBC Radio and released their debut album for Rough Trade called ' Everybody Is Fantastic' . This week's guest, musician, filmmaker, podcaster and radio host Alexei Shishkin , joins us to discuss the band and that record. The duo's combination of lushly orchestrated pop paired with wryly poetic, at times biting ly...

Returning guest Garry Messick ( American Doom Podcast ) brings us Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians ' 1991 release, ' Perspex Island '. His third album for A&M records, it's yet another sterling example of Hitchcock's quirkily original - but always charmingly catchy - songwriting. Songs discussed in this episode: She Doesn't Exist (Robyn Hitchcock cover) - Vic Chesnutt; American Doom Podcast Teaser - American Doom; Underwater Moonlight - The Soft Boys; Sitting Still - REM; My Wife and My Dead Wi...

In November 1973, Rolling Stone record reviewer Stephen Davis infamously slagged Elton John 's double album ' Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ', calling it - among other things: "a big fruity pie that simply doesn’t bake". Ahem. Now often regarded as Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin 's magnum opus, returning guest and music-biz veteran Ralph Cavallaro joins us as we unpack the record that recently ranked number 112 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Go figure. Songs...

For one of our first episodes back in 2018 (S1E3), we discussed ' Hunky Dory ' by David Bowie with then co-host Barry Stock. Honestly, though, for our first 20 episodes or so we were still finding our way and weren't even playing any music clips at that point. So when this week's guest, musician David J ( Bauhaus, Love and Rockets ), suggested taking on Bowie's fourth studio album, we couldn't resist revisiting this stone cold classic with such a thoughtful, well-informed guest. Essential listen...

New York City singer/songwriter Robert Scheffler joins us this week with an artist Rob somehow slept on all these years - Aimee Mann . Her second full-length, 1995's " I'm With Stupid ", is the one that did it for Robert, and her deceptively biting songcraft and the record's dense, layered guitars made a true believer of your humble host. Songs discussed in this episode: Voices Carry ('Til Tuesday cover) - Gang Green; Always, Excuse The Mess, Basher - Robert Scheffler; Up The Junction - Squeeze;...