How you ain't gonna listen? It's CVC! For our third ever artist deep dive, we take that (Ludacris) and rewind it (his discography) back, celebrating one of the weirdest, most boisterous, most joyous vulgarians in hip hop history. DTP!
We try to convince each other that our treasure isn't the other host's trash. Featuring music from Billie Eilish, Solange, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and more.
50 episodes. 50 states. 100 songs. Two wives. Two wife guys.
Featuring music from Loretta Lynn, Nina Simone, Violent Femmes, Wu Tang Clan, Lightning Bolt, Ronny James Dio, Howlin' Wolf, The Shins, and so much more.
We explain the meaning of life. Spoiler alert: it’s subscribing to our show. The categories are: (1) birth; (2) youth; (3) adulthood; (4) death. Tune in to find out which of these stages your hosts have experienced! Featuring music from T. Rex, Faye Webster, Indigo de Souza, and more.
On the role of humor in music, where we make sure in the process to be as absolutely unfunny as possible. Given your hosts, that wasn't a challenge. The categories are: (1) a funny song that is good; (2) a good song that is funny; (3) an unintentionally funny song. Featuring music from The Lonely Island, Tom Lehrer, Disturbed, and more.
Charles Frantz returns for our very first sequel. In the first "Guilt," we hedged our bets; we weren't vulnerable enough. So, like in any good sequel, we went Bigger, Bolder, Meaner, Braver. In a word: Guiltier. Featuring songs from Limp Bizkit, Fergie, John Mayer, and more.
Hop in with your hosts for one last look at ten tracks (and then some) that made 2022 a great musical year for twenty-twenty-me and twenty-twenty-you. Featuring music from Djo, Doechii, Spoon, Steve Lacy, Katie Sin, and more.
It's our superlatives episode, and we're foreseeing the future of music with some classic yearbook prediction phrases: (1) most improved player; (2) class clown; (3) most likely to succeed. See you at the pool party! Featuring music from Beyoncé, Wet Leg, Tyler the Creator, and more.
We make like Leo DiCaprio and point at things we recognize, celebrating the art of art that talks about other art, or, in other words, songs that reference: (1) another song's lyrics; (2) another song's musical idea; (3) something from another medium. Featuring music from Amy Winehouse, Built to Spill, Danny Brown, and more.
An examination of that timeless truism: necessity is the Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention (exact phrasing still under review). Our three categories are about what happens when musicians impose limitations on their creative processes, and how that can enrich their modes of expression: (1) songs that use only one chord; (2) melodies that use only one note; (3) songs that use only one instrument. Featuring music from Harry Nilsson, The Killers, Dean Martin, and more.
We’re humbled to be joined by all-around creative supernova Jeffrey Lewis (tinyurl.com/jeff-lewis-cvc) to choose three songs each that tell an amazing story. Featuring music by The Fall, Slick Rick, Bobbie Gentry, and more. (The interview in this episode has been edited and condensed for clarity).
Returning champion Evan Salazar helps us veer off the beaten path with demos, b-sides, and other rare delights from artists we love. Our categories are best: (1) b-side; (2) demo; (3) alternate recording. Featuring music from A.M. Gately, Joni Mitchell, Gram Parsons, and more.
A tour through the birth and re-births of audio recording technology, and how the media of listening to music have shaped, exploded, and rearranged the ways in which people make the music itself. The categories are the four distinct epochs of sound recording: (1) The Acoustic Era; (2) The Electric Era; (3) The Magnetic Era; (4) The Digital Era. Featuring music from Mamie Smith, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Madonna, and more.
We rappel into the uncanny valley to explore songs that violate expectations and have certain qualities that don't seem like they belong. Our categories are songs that are: (1) oddly pretty; (2) oddly moving; (3) oddly familiar; (4) oddly successful. Featuring music from Caetano Veloso, Sly & the Family Stone, and more.
On the concept of missing elements from music. Our categories are songs that are missing: (1) bass; (2) drums; (3) key band members; and (4) the musician themselves. Featuring music by The Replacements, Connie Converse, Lenine, and more.
Do you like bass? Well, so did Carol Kaye, one of the dozens of legendary session musicians we'll be profiling on today's episode, where we explain the hidden histories behind the following squads of hired-gun studio instrumentalists: (1) The Wrecking Crew; (2) The Nashville A-Team; (3) The Funk Brothers; (4) The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Featuring music from The Association, Roy Orbison, The Gants, and more.
Hey, scene kids: is your favorite pastime telling anyone who'll listen that you were one of five people present at Commander Venus' first show at the Sokol? Did you live in Athens in 1981 and know Michael Stipe's acupuncturist? Were you in gym class with Timbaland? Were you always... there? Then let's talk about four small American towns that, against all odds, have produced some of the most important music of the past 50 years: (1) Omaha, NE (2) Athens, GA (3) Virginia Beach, VA (4) Bakersfield, CA. Featuring music from Cursive, Aaliyah, Merle Haggard, and more.
We're joined by bard of all things brütal Luke Henley (Sex Headaches, Fibber) to discuss songs that rock, songs that stink, and the important ways in which artists sequence the music on their albums. Our categories are: (1) best first track; (2) best ‘side A’ closer; (3) best final track. Featuring music from In Solitude, Baby Huey, Lauryn Hill, and more.
We're joined by Charles Frantz to explore what it actually means to feel guilty about the media we consume, touching on songs by problematic faves, shameless sugar pop, room-clearing nuisances, and evilest of all: Shaggy. The categories are: (1) guilty guilty pleasures; (2) guiltless guilty pleasures; (3) should I feel guilty about this?