EarWax

Let's get funky, smooth, and our heads in the game. Curtis Mayfield is coming in hot! Cody and Hilary discuss the scope of Curtis Mayfield's work, and how much his thumbprint is all over the Civil Rights movement.  Mayfield's growing voice and subject matter was personal enough for him to step away from the Impressions, setting the stage for a solo career that would see him launched into even grea...

EarWax ushers in the 50th episode by pulling down a true heavy hitter off the shelf - David Bowie's "Station to Station." This record's story is full of unbelievable stories and adversity, both of which were largely self-imposed. Bowie's drive for reinvention is present throughout his discography, and Station to Station is arguably his most pivotal record. Leaving the spaceman firmly in his rearvi...

Change out your granny glasses and paisley shirts for cowboy hats and bolo ties! Hilary and Cody talk bout The Byrds' 1968 "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." A different direction for a very different-looking Byrds, this record took the group to Nashville, where they received a...less than warm reception from the local media. Gram Parsons' influence on this album cannot be overstated, and the result is on...

Classic film? Yup. Soundtrack with a weird backstory? Yup yup. Siiiiiick guest spot? Three times the yup! West Coast Editor for Letterboxd Mia Lee Vicino drops by the show to tackle the leviathan that is Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." A score that is also a soundtrack, this film uses original music by electronic music pioneers Wendy Carlos and Rachael Elkind, along with a host of avant garde cla...

An R&B record whose scope is bigger than most prog rock epics, this week's episode covers Janelle Monáe's debut studio album "The ArchAndroid." Cody and Hilary talk about the influence of sci-fi in music before diving into this epic - in a very literal sense -  of an album. The love and collaboration that went into this album is apparent not only from the gorgeous tracks on it, but from listen...

Nothing like a healthy dose of synth pop and British government, and that's just what we have this week! Pet Shop Boys' "Actually" is 80s perfection, tackling big issues using outrageously smart songwriting and catchy hooks.  The content of "Actually" is still extremely relevant, and this record has aged as well as the Boys themselves.  Clever, earnest, and powerful, "Actually" is distilled talent...

We've got the silky smooth Swingin' Sixties coming your way this week! Dusty Springfield was a staple of the era, with hits in both the US and the UK. A fixture on the charts and on TV, Dusty's pop vocal stylings ran perpendicular with the rock zeitgeist. But she had a finger on the pulse, and could sense the tide turning in the late 60s. "Dusty in Springfield" is an album that, by many accounts,...

Make sure your mouthguard is in, because we're trying to kick some teeth in this week! PJ Harvey had risen to fame rapidly, and that had taken its toll. Having taken some time away to get right, she charged back onto the scene with her second record. With Steve Albini behind the boards, Rid of Me packs all of the punch of peak 90s rock, with the added bonus of having PJ Harvey's songwriting to go...

Get prepped to jump, jive, and wail from start to finish, the EarWax crew is covering The Wildest, Louis Prima! With Keely Smith, Sam Butera, and the Witnesses alongside him, Louis Prima set Las Vegas on fire, five sets a night between 12 AM - 6 AM. The template that Vegas lounge acts would follow, Prima and his crew were going to give you a pro's show every time they hit the stage. This album is...

How many power chords do you have? Because this week we've got plenty to spare! Thin Lizzy had been more or less given one final shot to break big. Despite big creative differences, perhaps a little too much "hydration," and maybe not enough discipline early on, the crew behind Jailbreak all recognized the stakes. Packed with rock radio staples and incredible deep cuts, Jailbreak secured Thin Lizz...

Hunker down, because we've got a record full of absolute bangers this week. Part electronic, part disco, part hard rock and all teeth, this duo found their footing with a series of remixes, before heading into the basement of an old club and chapel to record what would be their first studio album. Justice's debut album † (Cross) brings the heat. With over 400 albums sampled (and micro-sampled), th...

Come on now, you know we got geared up for this one. One of the heaviest hitters in the world music conversation, Buena Vista Social Club's self-titled debut is this week's focus on EarWax! Let's head to Cuba (by way of Mexico, if you're Ry Cooder), find some legendary Cuban musicians, get them in the studio and see what magic unfolds. After their initial idea broke down, this is how Nick Gold and...

We love our shiny, glossy pop albums here on EarWax, and this week we've got one that is among the shiniest and poppiest - Carly Rae Jepsen's "E•MO•TION." After rocketing to the top of the charts with the monster single "Call Me Maybe," Carly Rae Jepsen needed to take some time to figure out where she fit in the pop landscape, and more importantly, how to fit in a way that was comfortable for her....

We are heading into familiar territory this week as EarWax revisits the Newport Jazz Festival! Cody and Hilary pick up four years after we last left Newport to tell the tale behind Muddy Waters' incredible live album "At Newport 1960." This record is an absolutely scorching set of blues set against a weekend that was marred by capacity limits, Bermuda shorts-wearing hoodlums, riots, and a Mingus-l...

Looking for a breezy jam to cruise into the summer season? Nah, we're hitting you with beats, bars, and Vince Staples' debut album. Cody and Hilary talk about our responsibilities as fans, how to respectfully engage with weighty material, and how in the pocket Vince Staples is throughout this whole record. Weaving together a tapestry of matter-of-fact stories with a seamless display of flows, Summ...

Are you having a wonderful day? Full of joy perhaps? Just really, fully, live/laugh/loving life? Welp, good luck! Hilary and Cody careen through Nine Inch Nails' magnum opus, "The Downward Spiral." Trent Reznor was fully in his bag on this one, and it pushed him into places that would take a good long while to rebound from. What does it say about us that a record of such pain and darkness not only...

Worlds and genres collide as the EarWax crew welcome our first guest onto the show! Post-hardcore meets indie rock as Jeremy Bolm (Touché Amoré, The First Ever Podcast) joins Cody and Hilary to dive into Rilo Kiley's indie masterpiece "The Exection of All Things." This album is where LA meets Omaha, where success meets sustainability, and where Rilo Kiley cemented themselves as the indie legends t...

Tease your beehive hairdo waaaaaaay up, and put on your most gorgeous flowing dress, the GOAT girl group makes their EarWax debut! Our first 60s record is Motown perfection, although the Supremes' rise to the top was anything but perfect. Ultimately, they became standard bearers for both the label and the genre, and the hits from this record are absolute staples of the revolutionary culture of the...

Let's dismantle systemic oppression with post-riot grrrl! Hilary and Cody dance and groove to the infectious, crackling first album by Le Tigre. Fronted by the legendary Kathleen Hanna, Le Tigre is a response to the implosion of a movement she championed. Le Tigre talks about all of the stuff you're gonna hear in the riot grrrl scene, but it candy-coats them and makes them accessible for those not...

Okay...so you need a 32nd episode. Well, let us impress upon you how much we loved covering Shania Twain's ridiculously influential album "Come On Over." Cody and Hilary weave through the career path of the Queen of Country Pop, and all of the struggles and successes that culminated in the making of this album. You want catchy? Got it. Songs built for live performance? Boom, got it. How about comm...

What better way to usher in the Leap Year than to cover an artist who is arguably even more unique?  Alice Coltrane is one of the most dynamic names in jazz history. Cody and Hilary explore her journey to this record, and Ptah's journey from ancient Egypt to 1970. This lineup is absolutely stacked with jazz legends, and they are all locked in and taking their cue from the person at the helm - Alic...

Everyone get real serious...now throw that all away and gear up for a total vibe of an album - Flying Lotus' "Until The Quiet Comes." Cody and Hilary talk about floating bathtubs, lucid dreaming, and Adult Swim. All of these are integral to Flying Lotus, a true master whose talents are on full display on this record. A seamless blend of jazz, hip-hop, psych, and electro, "Until the Quiet Comes" kn...

Light some candles, turn off the lights, and slip into something a bit more...comfortable. We've got a whole vibe this week. Hilary and Cody break down the funk, the grooves, the voice, and the poetry that is D'Angelo and his second album - Voodoo. Chock full of absolute stars, this album's personnel is a who's who of 90s soul, with D'Angelo at the helm. A bit of Sly, a bit of Hendrix, a bit of Di...

Make sure you're properly stretched, because this episode is full of backflips, stage dives, and a raucous dose of hardcore royalty. Cody and Hilary explore the dichotomy that is Bad Brains. They are immensely talented musicians who helped shape a genre that relishes in its simplicity. They are furious bursts of faster-than-life music, followed by a groovy reggae jam. They are punks. They are Rast...

Grace - a name, an attribute, a vibe, and an attitude. And this week we are covering an artist and album that is all of these and so, so much more. Hilary and Cody put on their sharpest shoulder pads and strike their most stunning poses as they talk about Grace Jones' "Nightclubbing." Full of ambitiously reworked covers and autobiographical originals, this record is a dichotomy of new wave melodie...