Songs of Our Own: A Marital Tour of the Music That Shaped Us.

Hi Folks!  And now for something completely different.  For this months episode we listen to a jazz album but not just any jazz album.  We listen to 1956's (or 1957's depending on who you ask) landmark album "Saxophone Colossus" by Sonny Rollins. This album finds Sonny Rollins as bandleader to musicians Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins and Max Roach.  We talk about all of the music...

Hi Folks!  For this months bonus episode we listen to the song "S.O.B.".  Released in 2015 on their self titled debut album, "Nathanial Rateliff & the Night Sweats", "S.O.B." is a song that at its core is about drinking one's life away after a break up. Rateliff has also described "S.O.B." as a joke song and said he initially did not intend to recor...

Hi Folks!  For this months full episode we listen to Johnny Cash's 1968 album "At Folsom Prison".  The first in a series of live albums from Cash all recorded in prisons.  "At Folsom Prison" came at a pivotal time in Cash's career as the singer/song writer was trying to turn his career around after several years of limited commercial success. With June Carter, Carl Pe...

Hi Folks!  For this bonus episode we listen to Elton John's song 'I'm Still Standing'.  Released in 1983 on his album 'Too Low for Zero' this song has had somewhat of a resurgence in recent years thanks to Illumination Entertainment's 2016 film 'Sing'.  We discuss how this is more then just a break up song and how we could all use a reminder sometimes t...

Hi folks!  We are listening to Pink Floyd's monumental album 'Dark Side of the Moon'.  Perhaps the greatest concept album in history! This marked a big shift in Pink Floyd's sound and song writing.  With Roger Waters taking the helm we get an album that explores life as well as mental health, greed, consumerism, time, space, and death.  It is easy to see why this album has spen...

Hi Folks!  For this bonus episode we listen to TOTO's song "Africa".  Originally released in 1982 it was an instant hit and quickly landed at number one on the charts.  In recent years "Africa" has gained new popularity thanks to a cover from the band Weezer.  We will discuss both groups versions of the song and both band's music videos (yes TOTO's video is early...

Hi Folks! This episode finds us listening to the debut album from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, 'Up From Below'.  This album has a lot of fantastic songs (if you're only familiar with 'Home' that's okay) that cover a lot of topics from addiction to recovery, love to loss and what it means to be home.  We discuss all of this as well as how this album could have...

In honor of June being Pride Month here in the USA we are listening to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' song 'Same Love' featuring Mary Lambert.  We talk about the importance of this song to the LGBTQIA+ Community as well as its calling out of the Hip-Hop Community.  A song like this is of the utmost importance and we are so excited to talk about it with you.  Happy Pride All! Love is L...

Hi Folks!  For this full episode we are talking about Nirvana and their 1994 album 'MTV Unplugged in New York'.  This album was a departure from previous Nirvana albums and showcases some of the band's lesser known songs as well as some covers, played (mostly) acoustically. Full disclosure we love this album and have a lot to talk about from set design to recording and of course wha...

Hi Folks!  For this bonus episode we listen to a song that means an awful lot to us.  We discuss the 'Lava Song' from the Disney Pixar short 'Lava'.  Find out what inspired this song, the animated short and why it means so much to us.  Thanks for listening! Intro/Outro: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5011-upbeat-forever License: http...

There will only be one Jimi Hendrix. For this episode we look at Jimi's legacy and some of what he was able to accomplish with the release of this first album.  Released in 1967 'Are You Experienced' took the world by storm.  No one had every heard anything like what Jimi Hendrix and his band were playing.  We will discuss Jimi, the writing and recording process and we will try our...

For this months bonus episode we listen to The Mountain Goat's song "This Year".  Originally recorded in 2005 this song gained a lot of popularity in 2020.  We discuss the history of the band, song and take a deep dive into the lyrics.  We also celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast!  We also officially have a Facebook and Instagram page, just search Songs of Our Own Podc...

Hi Folks!  For this episode we look at Taylor Swift's "evermore" album the follow up to her Folklore album.  Recorded secretly and released as a surprise this album follows the stream of consciousness writing style that Taylor was using on Folklore.  Continuing her collaborative partnership with Aaron Dessner of The National "evermore" marks a departure from Swift's p...

Hi Folks!  Here in the United States April 1st is known as April Fools Day.  A day for lighthearted pranks and fun.  We decided to drop an extra bonus episode with two of our favorite funny songs to honor the day.  We take a listen to Bo Burnham's song "Love Is..." and Bob River's song "What If God Smoked Cannabis?", a spoof of the Joan Osborne version of the song &qu...

Hi Folks!  For this bonus episode we listen to Otis Redding's song "(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay".  Posthumously release this would be Redding's biggest hit.  We discuss our interpretations of the lyrics as well as provide background on the writing and recording process.  Join us in this look at an amazing artist who was gone too soon. Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Ke...

Hi folks!  For this months album  episode we take a listen to Bob Marley's "Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers" released in 1984.  We don't typically cover "Best of/Greatest Hits" albums but we made an exception for this one!  We discuss Bob's life and his inspirations for these songs as well as our interpretations and what these songs mean to us.  Fr...

Hi All!  For this bonus episode we discuss "If I Had $1000000" by Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies.  Who knew this song started in 1988 at a summer camp and lead to the band being pelted with Kraft Dinnger boxes on stage?!  All that and of course our stories and interpretations of the song. Thanks for tuning in! Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompete...

Hi Folks!  For this episode we look at Adele's album "21".  We cover favorite songs off of the album. Discuss our interpretations of Adele's lyrics and why the resonate with us.  We also have lots of notes on song compositions and production process. Thank you for listening! Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5011-upbe...

Greetings All!  This months bonus episode is on Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" a song I'm sure most of our listeners here in the United States can remember singing in elementary school.  We compare Woody's 1940 version, the Avett Brothers 2020 version and Tom Morello as the Nightwatchman's live version.  We discuss the often omitted fourth and sixth verses a...

Happy 2021 listeners!  To ring in the new year we take a listen to The Beatles' final studio album 'Let It Be'.  We talk about the crazy circumstances that this album was recored under and how a band on the verge of breaking up just wanted to "Get Back" to the simplicity of their early days.  Of course we chat about our favorite songs on the album and our hopes for what 20...

Hi Folks! Three episodes in one month, what!?! Yes, because Christmas is our holiday of choice around this time of year we wanted to do a bonus bonus episode.  Listen in and find out how this unlikely duet between Bing Crosby and David Bowie came to be. Of course we had to break down the video and cover a few of the parody videos too.  Happy Holidays! See you all in 2021! Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat...

Hi folks!  For December's bonus episode we are listening to The Dirty Heads' song "Sound of Change" off of the album of the same name. As this interesting year comes to an end we listen to this song with the hope that it will help set our sights and intentions on the new year ahead.  Thanks so much for listening and enjoy the episode. Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Kevin...

Hi folks!  Things get funky as we discuss Parliament's 1976 album "The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein".  We chat about the impact this album has had on funk music and hip hop.  You better believe we get into some Parliament lore as well.  So strap in as we get ready to take off on this wild and funky ride. Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmm...

Hi Folks!  On this months bonus episode we take a listen to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant". We discuss the role this song plays in family traditions and what its cultural impact has been.  We have our first ever guest interview as well! Thank you for tuning in and enjoy the season! Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/so...

Seeing as it's November of an election year here in the USA we thought it would be a great time to check out the Hamilton musical.  Thanks for listening! Intro/Outro Music: Upbeat Forever by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5011-upbeat-forever License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hi, Al here! When I’m not podcasting, I run a company called Better Human...