Discord and Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Our Africa series is done and we are back in familiar territory! Welcome to the next round of Motown episodes, in which our insistence on reading out the punctuation in song titles reaches its hilarious peak. The Jackson 5 - Mama's Pearl The Temptations - Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) Marvin Gaye - What's Going On The Jackson 5 - Never Can Say Goodbye Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (The...

On her junior album Homogenic , Björk (pronounced “Bjerk”) dumped the playful genre-bending of her earlier albums for a consistent palette of strings and volcano-like, almost proto-dubstep beats, and the result is almost universally considered the pièce de résistance of her career. But even more than that, the album is a mature, unique expression of Björk’s inner life, at a time when the press oft...

Sly & the Family Stone was in many ways the quintessential American band (and John’s pick as the greatest American band), a rags-to-riches-to-rags story of a San Francisco group that rose from obscurity to worldwide popularity and acclaim, only to implode from intraband conflicts and the excesses of fame. The 1973 album Fresh captures the band right before collapse, after it had survived a tra...

It's the final segment of our Africa playlist! This one features artists from Niger and Nigeria, and ended up being very accessible to our rock-trained ears. Mdou Moctar - Adounia Mdou Moctar - Tarhatazed Bombino - Amidinine Mamar Kassey - Karma Prince Nico Mbarga - Sweet Mother King Sunny Ade & His African Beats - Ja Funmi Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Zombie Complete playlist (Spotify): https:...

The song “Black Sabbath” on the album Black Sabbath by the band Black Sabbath is one of the rare occasions where the beginning of a new genre can be traced to one specific moment. We’re here to present the case that this is one of the most important records ever made, without which there would be no Iron Maiden, no Judas Priest, no Metallica, and no Def Leppard, and nobody wants to live in that wo...

The latest installment of our Africa playlist, concentrating on Senegal! Orchestra Baobab - Bul Ma Miin Youssou N'Dour - Immigres/Bitim Rew Youssou N'Dour - 7 Seconds (feat. Neneh Cherry) Baaba Maal - Lam Tooro Mumford & Sons and Baaba Maal - There Will Be Time Toure Kunda - Emma Toure Kunda - Emma Salsa Complete playlist (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Cs1jq3CaAI2ivZXTuBpnk?si=4...

Surprise! Due to some scheduling conflicts and the fact that we are all humans with lives, we weren’t able to record our scheduled episode in time. But luckily, back in April 2020, we decided it would be a good idea to record an emergency backup episode for just such an event! (Such is our dedication to you, the listener.) So we decided to tackle Revolver , an album that could only have been made...

Round 2 of the Africa playlist, this time concentrating on Mali!  Ali Farka Toure — Gomni (feat. Ry Cooder)  Ali Farka Toure — Debe (feat. Toumani Diabaté)  Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabaté — Queen Bee  Rokia Traoré — Laidu  Tinariwen — Tenere Taqqim Tossam  Ernest Ranglin — D’Accord Dakar  Complete playlist (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Cs1jq3CaAI2ivZXTuBpnk?si=4018d6cd5b044022 Cohos...

Discord & Rhyme gets the Halloween season started with spine-tingling tales of animals, air, and paper! Well, okay... admittedly, these topics sound a bit more unsettling in the hands of Talking Heads on their 1979 opus to paranoia, Fear of Music. Dan guides a packed panel of Phil, John, Mike, and Rich through Talking Heads’ weird, transitional album that bridges the gap from the band’s early...

This is the start of our next comp series, and it's a homemade one! You'll hear the whole story in the episode, but in a nutshell, this is our chance to get acquainted with some popular music from the African continent, mostly in West Africa. We're really excited to dive into this, and we hope you enjoy it too!  Gigi - Gud Fella  Gigi - Adwa Hamza El Din - Your Love Is Ever Young Amr Diab - Nour e...

Get ready for an Elvis podcast that doesn’t contain “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Heartbreak Hotel” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” or “All Shook Up.” Come on, you’ve already heard those songs on a hundred movie soundtracks and diner mini-jukeboxes. Instead, Phil is leading Elvis obsessee Ben and utter Elvis novice Rich through From Elvis in Memphis , the 1969 album that briefly put him back in th...

After spending the last couple of decades converting all of his friends into Camper Van Beethoven fans, Will is now doing the same for all of you - with the help of one of the band members! Victor Krummenacher, CVB bassist and swell guy, was kind enough to talk to Will about the making of Key Lime Pie and some general band history, and you can hear that interview in this episode before we start ou...

It's the last of this Motown disc, including "Tears of a Clown" Redux, some more of our best pal Stevie Wonder, and a Diana-less Supremes hit. The Jackson 5 - I'll Be There Stevie Wonder - Heaven Help Us All Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - The Tears of a Clown (US Version) The Supremes - Stoned Love Gladys Knight & the Pips - If I Were Your Woman Cohosts: Phil Maddox, Ben Marlin...

Sometimes we choose albums to cover on the show because they’re important and we want to analyze them, and other times we choose albums because they make us happy. The Traveling Wilburys fall firmly into that second group. Their music may not have been especially important or ground-breaking, and the history of music wouldn’t be any different without them - but the world would certainly be poorer...

We're back with another batch of Motown songs! Even though these are especially great, you know we are incapable of staying on topic, so digressions include electric sitars, Karen Carpenter, and (inevitably) the Moody Blues. Also some dumb Genesis jokes. Rare Earth - Get Ready The Temptations - Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)...

Follow us back to Olde, Olde England for a look at Richard and Linda Thompson’s classic 1974 album I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight. Actually, 1974 wasn’t that Olde - by that point, the English had been enjoying color TV for eight long years. But Richard Thompson’s songs evoke an England that existed centuries before The Avengers and The Prisoner brightened the airwaves. His is an England o...

Get ready, get ready, 'cause here we come with a new Motown episode! In which John mathsplains the Jackson 5 and we tell the Beatles to suck it for the second time in this series. The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back Stevie Wonder - Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday The Jackson 5 - ABC Diana Ross - Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) The Four Tops - It's All in the Game The Jackson 5 - The Love You Sa...

We tried, we honestly tried to feature XTC as one of Discord & Rhyme’s earliest episodes, but technical issues derailed this podcasting train. Two years later, we’ve rebuilt our reserves of soul coal and dream steam, and Rich is ready to take John, Ben, and Dan aboard The Big Express, a relatively unknown but quintessential album from the Swindon trio. In 1984, the band was newly confined to t...

Heading back to the Motor City! This time around, we learn that this was a very dorky period for the Hot 100, plus more bonkers information about the Supremes and another Marvin Gaye classic. The Temptations - Runaway Child, Running Wild Marvin Gaye - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby Jr. Walker & the All Stars - What Does it Take (To Win Your Love) The Temptations - I Can't Get Next to You The...

Kick off your shoes, take a seat in your comfiest electric chair, and join the Discord & Rhyme crew for a look at Alice Cooper’s 1971 shock-rock classic Killer. In this episode, Dan is joined by Mike, Phil, and Ben to discuss how there is much more to Alice Cooper than the elaborate stage show and persona. In particular, we break down what a great group of players the original Alice Cooper band wa...

SCOOBITY WAH! Returning guest Libby Cudmore’s love for Steely Dan is so immense that we needed two albums to contain it. Much like the Oscars, we’re going without a host for our 50th episode, with Libby joining Rich, Mike, and Dan for 2+ hours of free-for-all Dansplaining. We’re specifically focusing on 1973’s Countdown to Ecstasy, where the Dan functioned as a full band under the command of Walte...

Our last round of ignoring the mainstream includes attempting to explain Bjork, discussing celebrity philanthropy, and buzzing your eardrums.  The Sugarcubes - Birthday Hüsker Dü - Could You Be the One? Faith No More - We Care a Lot Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone Wire - Eardrum Buzz Cohosts: Chris Willie Williams, Rich Bunnell, Dan Watkins   Get early access to bonus episodes!  https://www.patre...

John enjoyed taking part in the episode on Songs in the Key of Life so much that he demanded to host his own Stevie Wonder episode. This week, John leads Ben, Rich, and Phil in a discussion on Innervisions, Stevie’s 1973 masterwork that showed him capable of making music that could not only entertain but also speak to weightier matters of racism, spirituality, and philosophical introspection. Come...

Time for another episode of discussing Never Mind the Mainstream! During which Amanda came down with a mild case of COVID-19 and was therefore unable to come up with a pithy description.   The Jesus and Mary Chain - Head On Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart New Order - The Perfect Kiss Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Phil Maddox, R...

So you like samples, huh? Well, have all the samples in the world! In our Deltron 3030 episode, Producer Mike waxed poetic that hip-hop “can contain the whole world,” and the Beastie Boys tried to do exactly that on Paul’s Boutique. Seeking to level up as artists, the Beasties broke with Def Jam, moved to Los Angeles, and teamed up with producers and seasoned crate-diggers the Dust Brothers. The r...