Permanent Record Podcast

Episode 43: Erasure - Crackers International (1988) Part 2 plus Pet Shop Boys - "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas"   For the last episode of 2017, Brian and Sarah take a quick break from holiday preparations to finish their discussion of the 1988 EP by British synthpop duo Erasure, titled "Crackers International." (And it just so happens there's a big box of Christmas crackers in the studio with...

Episode 42:  Erasure - Crackers International (1988) - Part 1 Plus Wham!  "Last Christmas " With the holiday season now in full swing, Brian and Sarah finally carved out some time in their busy schedules to sit down and record another podcast. And this week's selection has a definite holiday theme-- it's the November 1988 EP from Erasure, titled "Crackers International."  However, they decide to m...

Episode 41: ThompsonTwins – Into The Gap (1984) Part 3   The cast of Permanent Record Podcast is back!  It feels like it has been more than two weeks, but evidently that's due to the high-level of fun that Brian and Sarah packed into their last 14 days.  After the two hosts sum up their experience seeing Culture Club in concert over the prior weekend, they get back to their discussion of the Thomp...

Episode 40: Thompson Twins - Into the Gap (1984) Part 2   This episode finds our hosts feeling much healthier, and they're definitely up to continuing their discussion of the 1984 Thompson Twins album, "Into the Gap." They were only able to get through the album history, their personal history, and the first song last time, so there's still a lot of good music to get through! But before they head...

Episode 39: Thompson Twins - Into The Gap (1984) Part 1   This artist selection for this episode was inspired partially by the previous two episodes. In the discussion about The Cure, it was mentioned that Boris Williams had joined The Cure after leaving his position as a touring member of the Thompson Twins. Brian and Sarah decided it was a good time to talk about that previous band Boris William...

Episode 38: The Cure - The Head on the Door (1985) Part 2 Brian, Sarah, and guest co-host Colby Zell have returned to the BlueZone Podcast Headquarters to finish their exploration of "The Head on the Door"-- no, not an actual head on a door, but the 1985 album by The Cure. Part 3: Track by Track, Continued Side One ended with a bang for two of the hosts, but a whimper for the other. And as Side Tw...

Episode 37: The Cure - The Head on the Door (1985) Part 1 After 36 episodes, Brian and Sarah decide it's finally time to discuss one of alternative rock's most long-lived and influential bands, The Cure. The album they select is the sixth release from Robert Smith and company, 1985's "The Head on the Door."  And, they've brought in friend of the show and guest co-host Colby Zell to join in the dis...

Episode 36: Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame (1982) Part 2 This week continues the discussion of Depeche Mode's sophomore effort, the 1982 release "A Broken Frame. " Before the review of side two begins, though, Brian shares with the audience some information relating to one of the videos discussed on the previous episode, which he learned while doing research for this episode. Part 3: Track by Track...

Episode 35: Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame (1982) Part 1 Last week, Brian and Sarah talked about the two newest releases from the legendary Boys from Basildon, the mighty Depeche Mode!  This week they go back almost to the very beginning with 1982's "A Broken Frame."   While it may not be the band's first album, it's the first to be completely penned by Mr. Martin L. Gore.   Part 1: Background 1982...

Episode 34: Depeche Mode - "Heroes" (David Bowie cover) and "Cover Me" (2017) In the last episode, our hosts mentioned they would next be doing another "emergency episode" to talk about "Cover Me," the recently-announced third single off Depeche Mode's 2017 album, "Spirit." However, the morning they started their preparations for the show, Brian and Sarah were greeted with the news that Depeche Mo...

Episode 33: New Order - Technique (1989) Part 2 After an interruption to discuss Depeche Mode's Global Spirit Tour, Brian and Sarah are back to the task at hand, which is to finish their examination of the 1989 album "Technique", by Manchester's New Order. They begin with the last song on side one and then move on to side two. Part 3: Track by Track, Continued [Warning : This episode's discussion...

Episode 32: Concert Report - Depeche Mode "Global Spirit Tour" 2017 Brian and Sarah were preparing to present the second half of the New Order album "Technique" as the next episode, but a little band from Basildon made them change their minds. Instead, our hosts decided to talk about the Depeche Mode concert they just attended in Washington, DC. Brian and Sarah have already done two "emergency epi...

Episode 31: New Order - Technique (1989) Part 1 After three weeks of discussing an album by what most would consider to be a "classic rock" band, Brian and Sarah shift back to the synthpop spectrum to look at the fifth album by the band New Order. But wait-- New Order isn't strictly a synthpop band, is it? Not at all, as our hosts are quick to point out in their discussion of this classic album. T...

Episode 30: Queen - A Kind of Magic (1986) Part 3 Brian and Sarah are back and ready to wrap up their discussion on Queen's 1986 album "A Kind Of Magic."  We've already mentioned that this record is the unofficial soundtrack to the film "Highlander", so we won't bring that up here.  Instead, let's move on and see what our hosts have to offer this episode. Part 3: Track by Track, continued Alright,...

Episode 29: Queen - A Kind of Magic (1986) Part 2 With Queen being one of Brian and Sarah's two favorite bands, and considering that the pair had just seen Queen + Adam Lambert live just a few days before recording this episode, it's no surprise that their discussion on this 1986 album went a bit long.  Last episode, Brian and Sarah talked about what was going on with Queen in 1985 and 1986, the r...

Episode 28: Queen - A Kind of Magic (1986) Part 1 With Sarah back from her travels, the two hosts shift their musical direction slightly and focus their attention on a band very beloved by them both: Queen. While by no means a New Wave or synth-pop act, Queen's output in the 1980s did tend more towards the pop segment of the music spectrum, and the album up for discussion is a strong example of th...

Episode 27: Human League - Dare (1981) Part 2 Brian and Colby are back to continue their discussion of this seminal album by Phil Oakey and the Human League.  Our hosts have already cued up side two so let's jump right into it! Part 3: Track by Track, continued This week, not only does the show bring you some fantastic music, it also brings you a very diverse collection of discussion topics.  Bria...

Episode 26: Human League - Dare (1981) Part 1 With Sarah off traveling the world, Brian welcomes back frequent co-host and friend of the show Colby Zell to sit in and discuss the classic offering from the new and different 1981 version of the Human League. Part 1: Background Pre-1981 the Human League was a fairly odd 4-piece releasing music that sometimes came close to sounding like pop, but more...

Episode 25: Depeche Mode – Going Backwards (2017) The last time our hosts had an "emergency episode" was way back in Episode 7, when the first single from Depeche Mode's new album "Spirit" was released. After several months, the second single, "Going Backwards," has finally been released, so another "emergency episode" is in order. Part 1: Brian starts off the discussion of "Going Backwards," shar...

Episode 24: Concert Report - Tears For Fears 2017 Sarah and Brian had a little extra time on their hands this week, so they put together this mini-episode detailing their recent trip to the nation's capital to see a band they talked about just a month ago, Tears For Fears! Spoiler alert!   If you are going to see TFF on their summer tour with Hall & Oates and don't want the setlist spoiled for you...

Episode 23: Howard Jones – Dream Into Action (1985) Part 3   After a bit of a break to attend a cider festival, Brian and Sarah are back and ready to finally tackle the second side of this iconic sophomore album by Howard Jones. They jump right into an analysis of the six songs on side 2 of the US cassette release. Part 3: Track by Track, continued Side two, like side one, features six tracks for...

Episode 22: Howard Jones - Dream Into Action (1985) Part 2 Last week, our two hosts, Brian and Sarah, were so long-winded in their discussion of this classic album's history and their 30-year love affair with it that they only managed to get through the first two tracks before realizing that the show was running too long.  This week, they get things back on track by finishing up the remaining four...

Episode 21: Howard Jones - Dream Into Action (1985) Part 1 After an abbreviated episode last week, this episode finds our hosts returning to the traditional format of discussing an entire album. And discuss it they do--in fact, so much so that even the first side has to be broken up into two episodes! What selection prompted so much conversation between Brian and Sarah? It's "Dream Into Action," t...

Episode 20: The 45 Face Off!! It was a very busy weekend for Brian and Sarah and although they weren't able to record a new episode, they did discover a new record shop near their house!  Their first visit resulted in them buying a small stack of 80's 7" singles, or as we more often refer to them, 45's! The hosts, together with their visiting niece Grace, select a few of the 45s to face off in a b...

Episode 19: Erasure - Wonderland (1986) Part 2 This episode continues the discussion of Erasure's 1986 debut album, titled Wonderland . In the time since the previous episode, Brian received his copy of Erasure's latest release, World Be Gone , and he reports he's been enjoying it quite a bit so far. But then the hosts return to Wonderland . Part 3: Track by Track, continued At the end of the albu...