Spin It! The Record Ranking Podcast

Kveðja vinir! Mixtober continues with a very Icelandic episode about Kaleo, whose blues-rocking 2016 debut record A/B took the world by storm! You might know songs like No Good and Way Down We Go from any number of TV shows, movies, or video games. James and Connor are getting to the heart of this powerful, atmospheric album with a sum greater than each of its intriguing halves. Our favorite villa...

Forgive our Northern Attitude, but this week we're headed to Vermont with Noah Kahan's breakout folk-pop record Stick Season! This album takes a few general ideas and distributes them to a wide range of relatable situations- songs of change, loneliness, growth, and perspective provide a bit of nostalgia for a place you've never been but already know intimately. The Mixtaper is giving us All His Lo...

You best Protect Ya Neck! This week we're heading into an auditory kung fu movie with another listener recommendation: it's the revolutionary hip-hop debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by the Wu-Tang Clan! We'll talk about the group's unique blend of influences and their expert sample selection, and we'll go behind the scenes to learn how these songs came to be. Who had to rap battle for a solo...

Royalty returns to the podcast this week as we celebrate the King Of Country Music: George Strait! This former Texan Of The Year's sophomore album Strait From The Heart features some of the greatest country singles of all time, including Amarillo By Morning and Fool Hearted Memory. James and Connor are getting familiar with a voice as smooth as chocolate cake and learning about a whiskey made of c...

She was a girl, we were a podcast. Could I make it any more obvious? We're talking about Sk8r Girl Avril Lavigne's 2002 debut album Let Go! After grappling with her signature sound for years, this collection of angsty tracks gives a glimpse into the life of a skateboarding, hockey-playing Canadian teen. From Losing Grip to Unwanted, this record is Anything But Ordinary. The Mixtaper is making thin...

Well, well, well.. Otis Redding is ringing a bell this week with his pivotal record Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul! We're out to prove he's been doing more than just Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay... Get ready to go Down In The Valley to learn about a career that literally defined soul music before it was tragically cut short in its prime. The album's full of songs you probably already know p...

It's time. This is our most requested episode EVER. I don't know about you, but we're feeling Red by Taylor Swift!! We're standing on Holy Ground as we talk about her evolutionary, pop-country crossover fourth record, with hits like I Knew You Were Trouble and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. We talk about her songwriting skills, secret messages, and the production techniques that take Red...

Bada-ya, we're dancin' into September with I Am, the groovy 1979 album by everyone's favorite Afro-gospel-jazz-blues-rock-funk collective: Earth, Wind & Fire! Born out of Maurice White's jingle-writing Chicago days and boosted by the incomparable talents of the Phenix Horns, EWF truly gives their all to this record and to the magical shows they put on to accompany it. Plus, we're talking about...

We're Cheating On The Blues tonight with Brooks & Dunn's 1991 debut album Brand New Man! We'll talk about the duo's origins, a Marlboro-sponsored contest, and figure out just how Brand New we really are. This neotraditional honky tonk country breakup album will have you shakin' till the break of dawn! If you've got a lot to learn you can dig into little-known facts about a high stakes steak ch...

Connor's taking us on a journey this week- a Journey journey!! We're talking about their 1983 record Frontiers , featuring hits like Separate Ways, Faithfully, and Ask The Lonely. From aggressive synth rock staples to arena rock power ballads, Elmo pilots us to the farthest reaches of the sonic universe. Will the Mixtaper finally best Connor? He's got facts about cattle, baseball, and a certain se...

Bored? Don't break up with your girlfriend, listen to this episode of Spin It instead! We're talking about Ariana Grande's record-smashing fifth album, 2019's Thank U, Next! It features some of her biggest recent hits that will lead us to discover how bloodlines work and why 90% of the royalties from 7 Rings will go to cowriters who never heard the song. We'll be baffled by a very special cloud dr...

Big wheels keep on turning! Get ready for a Second Helping of Lynyrd Skynyrd! We're talking (for the first time) about the group's sophomore album, featuring rowdy hits like Call Me The Breeze and Sweet Home Alabama and impactful ballads like The Ballad Of Curtis Loew. Learn about their history, from the ballpark to Battle Of The Bands to the classroom of their namesake gym teacher. We've also got...

I want it, I need it... We're embarking on Safe Travels with the third record from piano power pop trio Jukebox The Ghost this week! From peppy, punchy pop to the depths of death, this record rides a unique wave of energy spurred along by two distinct but complementary songwriting styles. We'll learn what makes Connor a Tommy guy, figure out where the band got their name, and get a pretty succinct...

It's gonna take a lot to drag us away from TOTO IV, Toto's career-saving collection of pop rock classics! James and Connor will dabble in the opening notes of Jeff Porcaro's iconic Rosanna Shuffle and bless the rains down in Africa. We'll explore Toto's unexpected connections with diverse corners of the music world, from Hakuna Matata to Michael Jackson's Thriller to Star Wars. We've got facts abo...

From the streets of Kyoto to a Graceland shrine in Mississippi,  Phoebe Bridgers ' sophomore album Punisher is an emotional record that expands her sound in a dramatic way, with themes of healing, emptiness, and self-awareness playing out over the backdrop of gardens, costume parties, and imagined encounters with idols. We're breaking into the filing cabinet to learn about her inspirations, a...

Good Moon Afternoon! The Year Of Vengeance and the Year Of Healing will be like Day 'n' Nite, and we're putting the nightmares behind us in Pursuit Of Happiness with Kid Cudi's 2009 debut record Man On The Moon: The End Of Day! Cudi welcomes us to his world with the Soundtrack 2 His Life. We'll talk about moon phases, Cudi's rise to prominence as a producer, and we'll discover how this record revo...

Let it rock! We're Livin' On A Prayer this week with Bon Jovi's first of two back-to-back knockout albums, Slippery When Wet! This 1986 classic bridges the gap between glam metal and pop, walking a fine line with help from outside songwriters like Desmond Child. We're jamming to hits like You Give Love A Bad Name and Wanted Dead Or Alive, with plenty of woah-ohs in the chorus to keep us engaged. D...

We hit the sidewalk and this is how it starts. James and Connor are going Guns Out for Young The Giant's 2011 eponymous debut album! This so-called "beach" record tackles weighty concepts through tracks like My Body, Strings, and Cough Syrup, to varying degrees of success. Learn about the parental intervention they had to have in order to keep the band going, their top-secret clubbing ritual, and...

Oye Como Va! Grab your guitars and your guiros... we're talking about Santana's sophomore album, Abraxas! This primarily instrumental Latin fusion record features some of the band's all-time classics, including their iconic cover of Black Magic Woman. Between the mind-boggling percussion and guitar solos that are as expressive as they are technically impressive, Abraxas has a little something for...

HAPPY 100TH EPISODE! We're taking on an iconic album to celebrate: Abbey Road , the Beatles' eleventh album and the last one they would record together. One side contains standalone hits like Come Together, Something, and Oh! Darling, and the other contains the infamous "Long One" medley that solidified this record's place in history. We'll talk about the band's origins and rise to prominence, and...

Get ready to Shake Your Money Maker with us... We're talking about the debut album of Atlanta blues rockers The Black Crowes ! This 1990 record contains some of their biggest hits, from the heart-wrenching She Talks To Angels to the upbeat jams of Twice As Hard and everything in between. We'll talk about the band's problematic name proposal, a party so wild that evidence of it isn't allowed to exi...

How Will You Know If You Never Try? No, we're not asking... that's the title of COIN's second album! Whether you're looking forward to the future like Don't Cry, 2020 or looking back on the past like Malibu, 1992, the Nashville-based alt-pop band will keep you Feeling (even if you Don't Wanna Dance). It's a reflective, perceptive record that expands their sonic boundaries without compromising COIN...

This week we're walking from Boulder To Birmingham with country-folk pioneer Emmylou Harris' sophomore album, Pieces Of The Sky! Written in the wake of the death of her friend and mentor Gram Parsons, this emotional record effortlessly blends tradition with innovation. It features the songwriting talents of everyone from Dolly Parton to The Beatles to Shel Silverstein (yes, that one). We're talkin...

Release your wiggle! This week we're getting Heated with Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated seventh studio album Renaissance! With carefully-chosen samples and infectious grooves, this album perfectly encapsulates the heart of club music. It's her attempt to "focus on her joy," and we're getting Cozy with each track to determine where we think the Album Of The Year should have gone. There's plenty to say...

It's Gonna Be May, and we're kicking the month off by saying "hi, hi, hi" to the boys behind Bye Bye Bye, *NSYNC! Their turn-of-the-millennium record No Strings Attached epitomizes the boy band revolution, and we'll see whether their vocal harmonies and cutting-edge production are enough to save this album from the ruin of time. We'll learn whether JC Chasez can use the Force, get some tips to cur...