Spin It! The Record Ranking Podcast

Well! Take a walk along the Green River with us as we cause a Commotion about Creedence Clearwater Revival's era-defining third album, and their second record in just under a year! We'll learn how the band Golliwogged and Gossamer Wumped their way into a record contract and how they slowly imploded under John Fogerty's scrutiny. The Mixtaper challenges our understanding of what's possible with que...

And we're free... Free Fallin' into another album this week with Tom Petty's most successful record Full Moon Fever! It was released as a solo project in 1989 at the height of his popularity and workload, and contains a handful of his greatest hits. We'll learn about the movie star encounter that sent him Runnin' Down A Dream, and cover everything from his petty (pun intended) squabbles with recor...

Spin It is getting Splanky! We're talking about Big Band royalty, the one and only Count Basie! His 1958 instrumental record The Atomic Mr. Basie is the culmination of the talent of dozens of musicians and decades of bandleading experience. Find out how The Kid From Red Bank went from being the town's (second) best drummer to one of the genre's best pianists! On E=MC2, the Count joins arranger (an...

Come on, come on! We're Space Truckin' our way through prog metal this week with Machine Head from Deep Purple's Mark II. After a devastating casino fire ruined their plans (and inspired their biggest hit, Smoke On The Water) they created this album with a mobile studio truck in an empty hotel. We'll discover the interesting concept behind the band and their many members, become Highway Stars, and...

This week we Decide To Be Happy with SUPERBLOOM, the cathartic 19-track breakup pop album from MisterWives! Frontwoman Mandy Lee laments the end of an 8-year relationship and takes us Over The Rainbow with Wizard Of Oz references to explore the poppy fields in the desert and find growth in hardship. We head all the way to Rock Bottom before Coming Up For Air, but we never lose sight of the brass,...

H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay! The Ruler's Back and this week it's a Jay-Z Takeover! James and Connor are heading to the Heart Of The City with Hov's legendary 2001 record The Blueprint. We'll cover young Shawn Carter's rise to the top, discuss his ambitious business ventures, and more as we learn about the feuds, friends, and experiences that inspired this album. The Mixtaper helps us see the wor...

It's another Birthday Episode! James and Connor (they used to call us Junebug and Jester) are talking about one of James' must-know albums: We All Want The Same Things, the third solo album from The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn! His effortless worldbuilding introduces us to a whirlwind of characters who are down on their luck and looking for something to hope for. From the disorienting progress...

We're as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey this week and we've got Nobody To Blame but Chris Stapleton! His breakout 2015 record Traveller took the evolving country music scene by storm and skyrocketed this Kentucky songwriter to the top of the charts. He created this reflective, personal album with the help of his wife, friends, and long-time musical collaborators. With raw vocal power and neotradition...

What a beautiful face we have found in this place.. it's the face of a tambourine! We're entering the Year Of Discovery on a strong note and talking about In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, the second and final album by the mysterious and eclectic Neutral Milk Hotel. This cult classic record is a sonic journey through Jeff Mangum's haunted carnival of lucid dreams and WWII imagery, with a little bit (...

The Year Of Healing comes to a dramatic conclusion this week with Connor's riskiest pick yet: Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus! We talked about Plastic Hearts in Episode 20 (check it out!), and Connor's never forgiven James for his thoughts. In this episode we'll talk about what Miley's been up to over the last few years and then take on her first Grammy-winning record, from the "song of the...

Happy 4th Of July! We're celebrating ironically with Born In The U.S.A. , the legendary seventh studio album by the pride of New Jersey, the Boss himself! Bruce Springsteen's iconic title track is one of the most misconstrued songs in popular music.. We'll get to the bottom of why it's so misunderstood and relive our Glory Days as we talk about the record's unique cassette demo origins! The Mixtap...

We're going down, down in an earlier round, and Sugar, We're Going Down spinning! This week we're talking about Fall Out Boy's quintessential 2005 pop-punk record From Under The Cork Tree! With hits like Dance, Dance and song titles longer than we can fit in the episode description, it's a great intro to the band that would go on to Save Rock And Roll. James & Connor talk about Fall Out Boy's...

We're on a mission to learn about all the members of Boygenius, and this week we have a Ringside seat to Julien Baker's incisively personal third album Little Oblivions! You won't find many choruses, but you WILL find raw, honest lyrics that aren't just Crying Wolf. Tracks like Faith Healer, Heatwave, and Favor take us through her youth, anxieties, and experiences on a one-way musical journey with...

You'll feel the earth move under your feet this week because You've Got A Friend in Carole King! We'll listen to her weave a Tapestry of self-love and heartache on her unprecedented 1971 sophomore album. She was already established as a hit songwriter; we'll talk about her early career and her breakout as a recording artist. The Mixtaper has another journey for us and Where He Leads, we will follo...

Don't you wanna get out of Cape Cod tonight? Take a look through a musical kaleidoscope with Vampire Weekend's self-titled 2008 debut, ranked among the best debut albums of all time! This vibey record kickstarted and pioneered a new subgenre. From a Columbia semi-secret society to the halls of a middle school and everywhere in between, learn about the creation of this scrapped screenplay-turned-al...

Want a Whole Lotta Love? This week we Ramble On with Led Zeppelin on their aptly named sophomore album, Led Zeppelin II! James & Connor are celebrating 150 episodes of Spin It with one of the most iconic bands in rock-- practically a household name to this day, almost 50 years after the end of their legendary career. We'll talk about the band's supergroup origins, the innovations they brought...

Oh, hello! Join us on a Danse Macabre this week as we weave through a fantastical land of conquerors, demons, and kings with Dear Wormwood, the sophomore concept album from folk duo The Oh Hellos! These Texas siblings wrote and recorded this C.S. Lewis-inspired epistolary all by themselves, with each track representing another step in the protagonist's quest to end an unhealthy relationship. We'll...

Bonus Content! In Episode 148 we felt the Summertime Sadness with Lana Del Rey's rich debut album Born To Die, but we couldn't resist the chance to check out her Grammy-nominated ninth record Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, too! It's a new evolution for her sound, with so-called "automatic singing," and featured artists like Jack Antonoff, Father John Misty, and Jon Batiste! W...

Turn on your Radio, crack open a Diet Mountain Dew, and experience that Summertime Sadness with us.. We're Off To The Races with Lana Del Rey's sweeping, saturated, cinematic debut Born To Die! This trip-hop album with a dark edge was born from her experiences with alcohol, mental health, and growing up. The Mixtaper is taking us on a journey through her Dark Paradise with facts that are almost as...

It's a Rollie, not a stopwatch. Drake don't ever stop, and neither does his 2018 double album Scorpion! This week we're learning about everyone's favorite star of Degrassi (remember that) and exploring every corner of his unique, chart-topping style. We'll hear Sandra's Rose bloom with 25 rap and R&B-influenced hits full of hidden lyrical gems that keep Drake talking about Drake engaging for a...

She's a single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids and never stops... she's a Survivor, and she's Reba McEntire!! James & Connor are discovering Whoever's In New England this week with her ballad-laden, breakthrough tenth record! We petition the Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame and journey from her rodeo origins to the biggest stages in country music. The Mixtaper's lined up a star-studded r...

Oh, honey, let's ride!! We're celebrating Connor's birthday (DEFINITELY not forgetting it again!) with his newest pick: The Strike's 2022 album The Lost Years! We first discovered their single Overtime on our Singles Episode (#15) and now we're going All The Way with a dozen Painkillers that are anything but Nothing New. It's a feel-good, good-time alt-pop extravaganza, driven by its energetic ins...

Looking California and feeling Minnesota? Well you've come to the right place! James and Connor are breaking our Rusty Cage this week and exploring the Mind Riot of Soundgarden's 1991 album Badmotorfinger! We'll talk about the actual garden of sound that gave the band their name, the science of cryptozoology, and the black hole that almost had a very famous name. From Chris Cornell's legendary voc...

Rumour Has It we're spinning Adele this week.. She Set Fire To The Rain with her unforgettable coming-of-age breakup record 21 and now the tables have turned and we get to talk about it! From music fan to music student to early-life crisis to international superstar, find out what turned her into a mononymous household name. The Mixtaper has more facts about things he thinks James doesn't know.. w...

Bonus Content! In Episode 142 we rocked down the highway with The Doobie Brothers and their Toulouse Street record, but James is convinced he could have done better. We're backtracking to Minute By Minute, the band's eighth album, featuring hits like What A Fool Believes and a handful of newbie Doobies that have changed the band's style and sound pretty drastically. Will the iconic vocals of Micha...