No Filler Music Podcast

Jack White's appearance on Saturday Night Live a few weeks back reminded those who forgot what a powerful and raw performer he is (and made those who've been cooped up all year long for live performances again). And for a lot of us, our introduction to White's unmatched blend of hard blues and garage rock all started with 2003's Elephant. We take a listen to a couple non-singles off the record, an...

John Carpenter is often referred to as the master of horror. His iconic Halloween franchise defined the slasher film formula for decades to come. But for fans of synthwave music (and the use of synth in cinema), we have Carpenter to thank for that as well. His extremely effective use of synths to build atmosphere and heighten tension in his films went on to influence countless synthwave artists an...

Not every side project becomes an Audioslave or a Them Crooked Vultures. But if you're a fan of the band they stemmed from, odds are pretty good you'll find something to like. For fans of Fleet Foxes, we have the short-lived Poor Moon. Comprised of bass player Christian Wargo and keyboardist Casey Wescott, Poor Moon brings the intricate melodies and delicate harmonies that Wargo and Wescott bring...

One silver lining of the Covid pandemic is the music, art, and films that would not exist had it not been for artists in quarantine. Last month, on the day of the autumnal equinox, fans of indie folk heroes Fleet Foxes were gifted a surprise album that in so many way is the perfect antidote to the year 2020. Listen to our review as we explore some of the lyrical themes and collaboration that went...

In our final episode on the music of John Hughe's iconic 80's films, we end with Pretty In Pink. Music is the backbone of this film in so many ways: the main character works at a record store, a bar with live music is a popular hangout spot for her and her friends, and of course who can forget Jon Cryer's lip-sync to Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness"? And just like the films before it, Hugh...

We continue our deep dive into the music behind John Hughe's iconic 80s comedies with the next stop on our journey through Michael Anthony Hall's puberty: Weird Science. Everybody remembers the title track to this shenanigans-a-plenty 1985 comedy (it is Oingo Boingo after all). But what about the other tracks featured in the film? We listen to a couple of tracks off the film in this week's install...

Next up on our batch of episodes devoted to the music of John Hughes iconic 80s films, we explore the one that started it all: Sixteen Candles. The soundtrack to this film is what would happen if you hit shuffle on Hughes' iPod (or more accurately what you'd hear on that sweet mixtape he made you in 1984). Crammed into its 93 minute runtime is over 30 songs, from Bowie to The Godfather theme. On t...

To kick off our batch of deep dives into some of the iconic soundtracks of John Hughes beloved 80s films, we start with a film that finds its main character singing "Twist and Shout" from the top of his lungs on a parade float in the middle of Chicago. From Wayne Newton to The English Beat, the soundtrack for Ferris Bueller's Day Off was so eclectic that Hughes didn't commercially release it as he...

If you walked into a dance club in 1991, you may have heard Seal's first big single "Killer": the acid house crossover hit with DJ and producer Adamski. And if you sat through the Batman Forever credits in 1995, you heard a completely different sound with "Kiss From A Rose". Between his first two records (both self-titled), the number of musicians that sat in the studio for these recordings with S...

On this episode we look at one of the groups that stood out amongst the trove of hard rock, classical, and jazz that our father exposed us to growing up: Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine. It wasn't until their 8th studio album, Eyes of Innocence, that the group started making music aimed at the American market. Their first hit single came in 1985 with their crossover signature track "Con...

In our 4th installment of Dad Tunes, we chat about Dire Straits' self-titled debut record with help from our good friend (and possibly long-lost triplet) Tyler Darling - host of I Turn My Podcast On. We dig into J.J. Cale's blues and rockabilly-infused Tulsa sound that was a huge influence on Mark Knopfler's unique guitar tone and vocal style that made Dire Straits such a unique entry into the roc...

In our continued exploration of the music our father listened to, we listen to a the one-and-only Gino Vannelli. Combining jazz and pop with lyrics that read like a romance novel, at first glance Gino was your classic crooner. The tight pants and chest hair certainly made his album art leap off the shelves to anyone who may be interested at such a glorious sight. But visual stimuli aside - the mus...

Everyone knows Van Halen: the finger-tapping, spandex-wearing, high-kicking glam metal band from the 80s that took the world by storm with some of the biggest hits in rock history. On this episode, we hope to share a few tracks that you may have overlooked if you tuned in to Halen for just the songs you heard on the radio (or saw on MTV for that matter). We also ask the age-old question of whether...

To kick off our batch of episodes devoted to all the music our dad listened to when we were growing up, we talk to the man himself about his time as a radio DJ in the 70s and 80s. And on top of that, we listen to some music off The Cars debut record and talk bout how perfectly they merged new wave, punk, and synth rock. We even dig up a tune from Orr and Ocasek's prior folk-rock Crosby, Stills, an...

We end our look back at the music of our youth by talking with the man that sold us those records: the one and only Mark Burke, current owner of Mad World Records in Denton, TX. With nearly 20 years experience owning and operating record shops (and roughly 7 years managing them before that), Mark gives us an inside look at what it takes to run a record store. We also chat about his years in the De...

To wrap-up our batch of episodes devoted to the albums of our youth, we go back to the origin and talk about one of the first bands we truly connected with. If you caught VH1's reality show Bands On The Run back in 2001, you may remember the crowned champions, Flickerstick. Their drunken antics and overall attitude toward the hoops they were asked to jump through helped them gain a devoted fanbase...

Phantom Planet was once most notably known as the group that sings that song from The O.C. (you know, the one that goes "California, here we come!"). But on their 2004 self-titled record, they traded in those melodic, poppy song structures for a more frenetic, fuzz-driven garage sound. We argue in this episode that this is perhaps one of the greatest garage rock records to come out of the early 20...

If you were a teenager in the 2000s and grew up near Dallas, TX, you probably went to your fair share of live music in Deep Ellum like we did. On this week's episode, we chat with the former General Manager and part owner of The Door and The Prophet Bar, Joel Fruth. He's got some first hand stories to share about the one and only Ethan Durelle, the underrated and extremely talented post-punk indie...

As we've covered heavily over the past few weeks, emo bands were a dime a dozen in the early aughts. Mae's debut record, Destination: Beautiful, was the exception to the rule. Dave Elkin's beautiful vocals layered over textures of acoustic guitar and lush piano make this record beautifully varied through its 11 tracks, with lyrics that flirt with emo cliches yet feel refreshing and sincere. If you...

mewithoutYou's debut record [A→B] Life defies the genre labels one might be eager to place on it. Singer Aaron Weiss' poetic lyricism and spoken word-style vocals can sometimes feel emo, but his philosophical themes go so much deeper than emo's hallmarks of self-loathing and insecurity. And the impassioned screams and neurotic mumbling sprinkled so effectively throughout his vocal performances lea...

Continuing our exploration of the music from our youth, we crank the angst to 10 and go full emo with a listen to Emery's debut album, The Weak's End. While the record leans more toward the poppy, melodic side of the emo spectrum, the sporadic scream and aggressive attack of the 3 guitar players pack an effective punch when utilized. And while some would say that side of this record is under-utili...

On this week's Sidetrack episode, we listen to Cave In frontman Stephen Brodsky's side project, Mutoid Man. Unlike the polished sound that Cave In achieved with Antenna, the music of Mutoid Man (freed from the constraints of a major label) is Brodsky unchained. An excellent blend of psychedelic and stoner rock, Mutoid Man is a crank up and tune out type of band that is unlikely to disappoint. Muto...

Fresh off the success of their 2000 release Jupiter, Cave In signed to major label RCA to record their next album. The result was Antenna: a masterful blend of alternative, progressive, and space rock. While largely met with criticism from the band's fan base for its polished and commercial sound, the truly record stands out for its epic textures and sweeping song structures. Cave In - Stained Sil...

After the dissolution of Chicago-based Braid, Bob Nanna and Todd Bell took their post-hardcore emo sound and added some melody and pop to it. The result was Hey Mercedes - but the change in sound was likely thanks to Vagrant records. While there are a couple of stand-out tunes on their debut Everynight Fire Works, we conclude along with many of the critics that this album is largely forgettable. B...

By the time 2002 came around, "emo" had gone mainstream. Bands like Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional had made it to MTV, and paved the way for emo pop's continued success throughout the decade. Having just signed to emo kingmakers Vagrant records, Hot Rod Circuit's 2002 release Sorry About Tomorrow is the perfect representation of what defined that sound. And for the hosts of No Filler,...