Permanent Record Podcast

Episode 203: Concert Report – Alison Moyet, Soft Cell, & The Human League (June 2026)  Hardly any time has passed since their last episode was released, but Brian and Sarah are already back with another episode for your listening enjoyment!  This time, they're here to give a report on the recent concert they attended on June 28 at The Met Philadelphia, which featured an amazing triple bill of Alis...

Episode 202: In Conversation with Grant Walters – Co-Author of "Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1980s" – Part 1 A few years ago, Brian and Sarah had the privilege and pleasure to speak with Grant Walters, one of the authors of a fantastic series of books chronicling the careers of Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb—also known as the Bee Gees. The first two installments of the Decades series were written...

Episode 201: Pet Shop Boys – Please (1986) – Part 2 Welcome to Part 2 of Brian and Sarah's discussion of Please , the debut album from the Pet Shop Boys. In Part 1, our hosts set the stage by talking about the formation of the band, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe's work with Bobby Orlando, the recording of the album with producer Stephen Hague, and the release and reception of the album. Along with s...

PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 10 – The Man with the Golden Gun (With Robbie Sims) This is a rarity as far as Permanent Record Podcast episodes go.  Yes, it's an episode with show notes penned by Brian and not Sarah.  Sarah has one job once the episode has been recorded: to write the show notes.  But this time, she was nowhere to be found and everyone's second-favorite host, who already does so m...

Episode 200: Pet Shop Boys – Please (1986) (Featuring Andrew Dineley of "Art on Your Sleeve") – Part 1 and Colours of Ever announcement The 200th "regular" episode of Permanent Record Podcast is here! ("Regular" excludes special episodes and the PRP 007 Mini-Broadcasts, which don't follow the same numbering scheme.)   Brian and Sarah wanted to do something big and special for episode 200, so they...

PRP 007 Mini-Broadcast: Episode 9– Live and Let Die (With Robbie Sims) Since the beginning of the show, Brian has done his best to strong-arm discussion of Agent 007 into as many podcasts as he could. Finally he convinced Sarah to embark on a new mission: the Permanent Record Podcast 007 Mini-Broadcast! This occasional series from your friends Brian & Sarah started with "Dr. No" and will work its...

Bonus Episode: In Conversation with Rob Rowe: WHITEWAITS/VHXRR/Cause and Effect (2026)  Brian and Sarah are delighted to welcome back a previous and much-beloved guest of the Permanent Record Podcast, Rob Rowe. In past episodes, Rob has been here with Von Hertzog, who together make up the excellent duo VHxRR. However, this time Rob is here to represent his solo project, WHITEWAITS. After a hiatus...

Bonus Episode: In Conversation with Blaklight ( Adam Collier, Brian Belknap, and Omar Quiñones ) 2026  In this episode, Brian and Sarah have the great pleasure of talking with Brian Belknap, Adam Collier, and Omar Qui ñ ones of the band BlakLight. BlakLight was formed as a duo back in 2020, and our hosts chatted with Brian and Adam back in March 2021. A lot has changed with the band since then, so...

Episode 199: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 5) Brian and Sarah are back and ready to discuss the next home concert video release from Depeche Mode. Part 5 in this series brings us up to the 2013 album Delta Machine , which was once again supported with a worldwide tour. The city of Berlin was chosen for the filming location, and it was familiar territory for the band, as they spen...

Episode 198: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 4) It's a new year, and Brian and Sarah are kicking off their 2026 episodes with the next installment in their look at Depeche Mode home video concert releases. Up for viewing and discussion this time is  Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09 , the concert film documenting Depeche Mode's tour for 2009's Sounds of the Universe album...

2025 Xmas Special 2: PRP Xmas Radio Reissue and Meeting Brandon Routh and Rachael Leigh Cook for Xmas Sarah and Brian are back for one last episode in 2025!   This is mainly a reissue of the very festive 2023 Holiday music episode, but it also includes the wrap-up of the hosts' trip to the Hallmark Christmas Con in Edison, New Jersey last weekend.  Brian and Sarah talk about meeting Rachael Leigh...

2025 Xmas Special 1: Paul McCartney Deluxe Reissue and Meeting Jane Seymour for Xmas Well, Sir Paul has reissued his classic Christmas song on yellow vinyl, so it's only fair that we reissue our 2019 discussion of "Wonderful Christmas" as well!  The audio has been improved, so hopefully it will almost be like listening to a brand new episode!! We also spend some time talking about our recent trip...

Episode 197: In Conversation with Chris Trapper Brian and Sarah were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with Chris Trapper, a singer-songwriter whose musical livelihood began in the 1990s. In addition to writing, recording, and performing as lead singer and guitarist in the band The Push Stars, Chris also has a prolific solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums and EPs, touring the co...

Episode 196: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 3) and Bowie Bingo Announcement In this episode, Brian and Sarah resume their review of Depeche Mode home video concert releases. They're up to the 2005 album  Playing the Angel , which the band supported with the "Touring the Angel" concert tour in 2005 and 2006. The home video "Touring the Angel: Live in Milan" documents the band's two...

Details on how to join your friends Brian & Sarah for a few rounds of festive Bowie Bingo!

Episode 195: In Conversation with Rob Rowe and Von Hertzog (VH x RR) – New EP "101" Brian and Sarah are interrupting their current effort of looking back at Depeche Mode home video concert releases to bring you a terrific chat with Von Hertzog and Rob Rowe. Von and Rob comprise the excellent synth duo VH x RR, who Brian has declared to be his "favorite new band of the 2020s." Since the completion...

Episode 194: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 2) Brian and Sarah's mini-series on Depeche Mode's home video concert releases continues in this episode. Unlike the previous episode, which covered two movies, Depeche Mode: One Night in Paris – The Exciter Tour 2001 is the only release discussed here. However, before getting into the discussion of that concert, Brian and Sarah spend a...

Episode 193: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 1) With our attention turned to tomorrow's premiere of Depeche Mode's latest cinematic offering "M", we thought it would be fun to make our way through all of the previously released home video concert offerings from our favorite lads from Basildon.  This first installment covers two releases, which we still have on VHS (remember that yo...

Episode 192: PRP/Synthpop Symphony Crossover: Red Flag Part 2 (with DJ Matt Williams) Brian and Sarah are once again joined by DJ Matt Williams, creator and host of the synth-tastic radio show Synthpop Symphony. Matt's show is aired on dozens of terrestrial radio stations around the world and can also be found on podcast platforms.  In the previous episode, Brian, Sarah and Matt started a discussi...

Episode 191: PRP/Synthpop Symphony Crossover: Red Flag Part 1 (with DJ Matt Williams) Brian and Sarah are thrilled to present the first in what will hopefully become a series of crossover episodes with DJ Matt Williams. Matt is the brains and the voice behind the amazing radio show Synthpop Symphony , which airs on radio stations in 60 countries and is also available for download on virtually all...

Episode 190: End of Summer Special 2025 (Part 2) – The Alarm & Duran Duran Brian and Sarah are back and ready to continue their discussion of a couple of 'summery' songs, as the summer draws closer to an end in the Northern Hemisphere.   (For those in the Southern Hemisphere, maybe think of this as a summer preview!) As in the previous episode, the first song selection comes from Sarah. She chose...

Episode 189: End of Summer Special 2025 (Part 1) - The Power Station & Bananarama In the United States, the Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. Brian and Sarah just aren't ready to say goodbye to summer yet, so over the holiday weekend, they recorded a couple of episodes featuring songs that invoke the feeling of summer. Each episode in this mini-series will feature one song chos...

Episode 188: Depeche Mode – Speak & Spell (1981) Part 5 (Featuring Will Crewdson) With this fifth installment, Brian and Sarah wrap up their discussion of Depeche Mode's debut album.  Our hosts have been covering the US version of Speak & Spell , so there's only one more song on that release to be discussed. Fortunately, they always do an Extra Credit section at the end of an album, so the song th...

Episode 187: Depeche Mode – Speak & Spell (1981) Part 4 Brian & Sarah are back for a Martin Gore-focused look at "Speak and Spell" as they shine a spotlight on the three middle songs on side 2 of Depeche Mode's 1981 debut.  Up till now, this has been the Vince Clarke show; however, with these three tunes, we get the first song written by Martin, the first of many Martin instrumentals, and the firs...

Episode 186: Depeche Mode – Speak & Spell (1981) Part 3 In this episode, Brian and Sarah resume their look back at Depeche Mode's debut album. As a reminder, they're using the US track listing as they talk about the album, but for the songs contained in this episode, the track listing is the same on both sides of the pond.  The next songs up for discussion aren't singles, but that doesn't stop our...