Shaking off their holiday hangovers, Matt and Jim return with another round of album anniversaries. There were a couple of pleasant surprises from the poll that they were ready to dig into. It's not often they get to chat about Led Zeppelin so they take full advantage. The Pretenders debut, Bob Seger delivers classics, and Phil Collins begins his reign over the charts and award ceremonies. Jim shares a great story about a Black Crowes classic and Matt finally has his moment with Rush. Join in as they revisit, experience, and review classic albums from 25 years and beyond.
It might have been a mistake for two old guys to try to dive into emo music, but Matt and Jim decide to go for it. From it's post hardcore roots in the 80s and the underground Midwest emo scene in the 90s to the explosive pop (punk) emo sounds that overtake the airwaves in the 2000s, Matt and Jim try to decipher why they felt like they had been yelling at kids to get off their lawn. Rites of Spring, American Football, Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, Paramore....this list goes on. It's the genre that has continues to reshape it's sound and refuses to go away. Their final verdict? Jump in and listen to a few surprising revelations and a few opinions that remained unchanged.
New Year: same 'ol Matt and Jim. The guys come back to the original format to wrap up the best of 2024. There were a lot of surprises to be found. Jim discovered country music and Matt discovers The Cure! Women dominated the music scene once again in almost every genre and rightly so. While the year had some great new releases, they found that the beginning of the year was heavily weighted with the good stuff, while the second half left much to be desired. Matt and Jim share their favorite new songs, a few albums, and give their opinions on the songs chosen by the audience poll. 2024 might not go down as a classic year in music, but there was still a lot worth adding to the collection.
Two for the price of one you say? Everything love a good deal around Christmas. Unfortunately, not everyone likes to release new music. Who wants to compete with Mariah for the Number One spot? Matt and Jim combine the months of November and December and still manage to salvage some amazing music. Pink Floyd builds The Wall, Wham Makes It Big and London Calls The Clash. They also share a little TLC and discuss what the Dr. was prescribing for 2001. But Seriously, what do they really think of Phil Collins? Show a little holiday spirit and give this episode a listen!
What really goes behind making an album? Does all of the magic belong to the artist? Absolutely not. In this episode, Matt and Jim explore the few producers who are behind some of the biggest albums recorded in the past 50 years. They discuss style and sound. Names like Quincy Jones, Rick Rubin and Mutt Lange are closely related to Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, Def Leppard and so many more. Come listen as the guys discuss producers crossing genres from rap to country and metal to pop as they attempt to create the legacy sound that the fans will always recognize.
The days are getting shorter as stick season approaches, but there are still a lot of great albums celebrating anniversaries in October for Matt and Jim to discuss. They revisit well-known classics along with a few surprises chosen for the show by the audience. Billy Joel's sun is setting on the horizon, Tom Petty is hitting his stride, and U2 is a step away from worldwide domination. Matt brings a childhood favorite as his pick for the month. Jim gets philosophical about the bond music can create between friends and how the best memories can give us the music we will always go back to first. There's a little rule bending as they go along, but isn't that what rules are made for?
When an artist achieves the number one position on the charts, it can be the pinnacle of their career. But is every number one deserving of that sacred chart position? Or are some songs on the charts for so long, they overstay their welcome. Matt and Jim polled the audience to see what they thought were the least deserving number one songs of all time and the choices were surprising. From Elton John to Starship to the Black Eyed Peas, the Matt and Jim go through each song and share their own verdict. It's not pretty, but it's pretty funny.
Fresh from their Hair Metal episode, Matt and Jim turn to the month of September. Matt is still trying to establish a Part 2 of the previous episode, but Jim tries to shift his focus. Some big albums reach new milestones. Jim questions if they are the best that could have been chosen for the show. Matt and Jim both are pushed outside their comfort zone and find themselves at odds with a couple of albums. Janet Jackson, Aerosmith, REM and more are in the mix. So join Matt and Jim as they get into the nitty gritty of the music.
Welcome to the Hair Metal special! This is also known as Jim's Day Off and Matt's Dream Episode. Originally intended to be a derogatory reference, "Hair Metal" has been a label embraced by loyal fans for over 3 decades. On this episode, Matt and Jim dive into the history and influences of hair metal. They discuss when they think it peaked and what else besides the rise of grunge led to its demise. Matt has a name-dropping marathon as he reconnects to the music that helped define the core of his musical journey. Oh, but sorry Sandy, he forgot to mention Europe.
July has come and gone, but not without some great (and not so great) albums celebrating anniversaries. Some lesser known but personal favorite bands like Reverend Horton Heat and 311 get their due praise. The Beastie Boys have a sophomore slump in sales with Paul's Boutique, but the album went on to huge critical acclaim. The birth of Jim Jams arrive with hits from New Edition. Matt finally gets to talk about a lot of metal! Metallica, Dio, and even Quiet Riot! Who did the B-52's inspire? Why do Matt and Jim struggle with Eric Clapton? When did Jim become Encyclopedia Brown? Drop in and find out in another fun anniversary episode!
Welcome to the new format...based on the old format. Once a month Matt and Jim will dive into albums celebrating anniversaries of 25 years or more. They'll cover albums that have impacted their personal musical journey as well as ones that were just making a big splash in the moment. What was celebrated in June 2024? Some seminal albums from Prince and the Boss. Pop punk began it's chart domination 25 years ago. Cher had a second turn in her legendary career and one hit wonders arrived that remain radio staples today. Join the guys as they return the show to it's fun and nostalgic format.
Also, check out their new theme song: 1995 by The Dumbanimals!
It's that time we wrap up the month of May and as always, Matt and Jim have found plenty of new music to talk about. Slash releases a collaboration of classics. AI revives the amazing voice of Randy Travis. Is the return of Slim Shady all nostalgic hype? For the first time in months, the ranting cools off. Maybe it's because of the smooth jazz they found when they stopped prejudging bands by their names. Matt and Jim also find fresh punk, great covers, and discover that Childish Gambino has released their summer anthem.
It's finally summertime and what is synonymous with summer? The music festival! Matt and Jim have been asked by a listener to create their very own music festival. Before they do though, they run through the history of the music festival and share some pretty entertaining stories about some of the craziest things moments that have occurred. Then they each get three stages with eight bands and no rules. What can they dream up? The outcome is quite surprising. So pitch your tent and get down to the main stage, because the show starts now!
When talented people come together, great things can often come of it. Popular music has a rich history of duets, production collaborations and supergroups. Matt and Jim dig into some of the greatest of these but quickly realize they could create an entire new podcast around this theme. So they decide to have some fun in this episode and each build a dream supergroup they would love to see collaborate. A couple of their choices seem obvious, but they bring some head scratchers as well. They celebrate some of the greatest duets of the 80s and pull the Scooby-Doo mask off of mash-ups.
It's time to wrap up all of the great new music again and the month of February left Matt and Jim with plenty of love hearts to hand out. There is a very early 80s feel from many older bands making triumphant returns to younger artists picking up the torch of that sound. Rant alert! Jim has something to say about Beyonce creating country music and it may surprise you. Pearl Jam returns in strong form and Billy Joel turns the light back on. There are still a few new artists discovered as well. Matt and Jim saw their shadows which means you won't have to wait 6 weeks until the next episode, so be sure to listen to this one now!