Discord and Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Available Episodes

5 of 255

Seven Thousand Million Questions (Listener Q&A VII)
Rich, Ben, and John answer a super-sized mailbag of listener questions, with subjects including jukebox musicals, James Bond themes, songs that give them the happy chills, sample-based hip-hop producers, the usual suite of Moody Blues questions, and a philosophical discussion on how we all listen to music and how this has changed as we've gotten older. This episode also features an interlude on experimental music from Producer Mike, and a listener-submitted puzzle! Co-hosts: Rich Bunnell, Ben Marlin, John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio Spotify playlist of the songs clipped in this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ew48yCf2JAnroOVFlaLCv?si=yPstIGylTUOanMidd-cPlA
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2:35:33
158: The Doors - The Doors (1967)
Everyone has an opinion about the Doors - whether you think they’re transgressive and mind-blowing, or you find them silly and overrated, or - like Ben - you just think they made some killer music. With invaluable help from Amanda, Dan, and Mike, Ben makes the case that the Doors’ 1967 self-titled debut album contains more killer music than many people realize. It might even blow your mind a little, too. Cohosts: Ben Marlin, Amanda Rodgers, Mike DeFabio, Dan WatkinsComplete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/158-the-doors-the-doors-1967Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpodSupport the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
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2:14:26
157: Midnight Oil - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982)
It’s taken us nearly seven years, but the time has come. Midnight Oil, one of Australia's quintessential bands, is probably best known for its tireless political activism as expressed through hits like "Beds Are Burning" and "Blue Sky Mine," as well as the on-stage acrobatics of their 6′4″ frontman, Peter Garrett. But behind the sloganeering and agitprop, the Oils are a fiendishly creative and charmingly oddball band, and their 1982 Australian breakout album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, recorded at a make-or-break moment for the group, was when they first really landed on their unmistakable aura. Rich has been an Oils fan literally since he was a teenager, and he’s called in Ben and returning special guest Dave Weigel to deconstruct 10 to 1 and all of the power and the passion that went into these incredible songs. Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Ben Marlin, Dave WeigelComplete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/157-midnight-oil-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1982Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpodSupport the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
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2:01:08
156: Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996)
Discord & Rhyme continues its slow walk through the world of Post-Rock with an examination of the 1996 album Millions Now Living Will Never Die by the Chicago-based group Tortoise. John has been fascinated by the concept of Post-Rock for many years (even if many of the acts associated with it, Tortoise included, rejected it as a useful descriptor), and a large part of this fascination stems from a love he has had for this album for over 20 years. In this episode, John, Mike, Rich, and Dan try to make sense not only of how one should define one of the most ambiguous genres out there, but also of why an instrumental album in that genre (possibly), mostly lacking clear traditional melodies and traditional song structures (the opening “Djed” is 21 minutes by itself), is clearly one of the best albums any of us have ever heard. Regardless of whether Tortoise is Post-Rock, Prog, both, or neither, this is an album worth learning about, and Discord & Rhyme is up to the challenge.Cohosts: John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Dan WatkinsComplete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/156-tortoise-millions-now-living-will-never-die-1996Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpodSupport the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
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1:59:52
155: Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)
If you only know Talk Talk for their ‘80s night staple “It’s My Life,” you might well wonder what an experimental weirdo like Mike is doing hosting an episode about them. However, if you know a little more about their strange and fascinating career trajectory, it makes perfect sense. The sparse, atmospheric Spirit of Eden couldn’t be more different from Talk Talk’s synth-pop origins or from anything else in the musical landscape of 1988, and it more or less doomed the band’s career when it came out, but the sound of rock music in the 21st century wouldn’t be the same without it. Listening to Spirit of Eden is an experience that’s almost impossible to relate by means of such quotidian devices as “words,” but Mike, Phil, Rich, and John are all going to try anyway.Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox, John McFerrinComplete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/155-talk-talk-spirit-of-eden-1988Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpodSupport the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
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1:51:10