Tape Spaghetti

The name’s Spaghetti. Tape Spaghetti. This week, Scott and Blake go undercover into the glamorous, brassy, and occasionally super weird world of James Bond music. After Monty Norman’s jazzy/surfy 1962 theme became the sonic blueprint for every espionage movie ever, each successive Bond theme played a pivotal role in shaping one of the world’s biggest franchises. Decade over decade, a chronological...

There is gangsta rap, there are murder ballads, and then... There is Chalino Sánchez. The real life outlaw who turned the chaos of the Mexican cartel into song. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott unravel the brief, violent life of the Godfather of Narcocorridos. After committing a bloody act of vengeance at the age of fifteen, Chalino Sánchez found his calling while serving time, t...

When Pete Seeger sang the lyric “This Land Is My Land”—then dared to prove it. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake dig into folk icon Pete Seeger’s fiery 1955 showdown with the House Committee on Un-American Activities. At the height of the Red Scare, Seeger was hauled before Congress and grilled about his political beliefs, the people he sang for, and the songs he played. But Seege...

What does your favorite song look like? In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake tumble down the rabbit hole where hearing and vision meet. From unforgettable album art to the kaleidoscopic effects of chromesthesia to the full sensory spectrum of synesthesia, sometimes you can experience music with your entire brain…. in good ways and weird. The guys share stories of some of their most v...

What do you do when you’re the biggest pop star alive and your record label can’t keep up? If you’re Prince, you declare war on your own name. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake trace how the hitmaker behind Purple Rain became an unpronounceable symbol in 1993. After signing a massive $100 million deal with Warner Bros. Records, Prince chafed at their glacially slow release schedul...

What do you get when you combine when rock ’n’ roll, destiny, and total dysfunction? The Shaggs. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott & Blake share the bizarre tale of three reluctant sisters from New Hampshire who unwittingly became cult idols of the pop scene. Driven by a domineering father determined to fulfill a prophecy that his daughters would become famous, the Wiggins sisters had no tr...

Picture this: mid-70s Los Angeles, Sunset Strip glowing, Rainbow Bar & Grill buzzing. Upstairs, hidden from the paparazzi, Alice Cooper presides over a drinking club comprised of the world’s biggest rock stars. Members included Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Mickey Dolenz, and regular guests like John Lennon, and Iggy Pop. Their creed? Drink until someone literally drops. From Lennon’s me...

What does it take to break free from your father’s shadow? For Hank Williams Jr., it was just about every bone in his body. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake trace Hank Jr.’s journey from teen imitator of his iconic dad to one of country’s fiercest originals. Sparked by a mighty tumble off the Smoky Mountains that nearly killed him, Hank Jr. relearned how to walk, talk, and make m...

What do Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones, and James Bond have in common? The name’s Blackwell — Chris Blackwell. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake dive into the unexpected story of the Island Records founder who reshaped global music. Raised among Jamaica’s colonial elites, Blackwell was rescued from a near-death experience by Rastafarian fishermen who gave him a new lease on life and...

Does 15 years plus $14 million equal perfection? Axl Rose was willing to ditch his Gun N' Roses bandmates to find out. On this week’s Tape Spaghetti, Blake & Scott unravel the unwieldy tale of Chinese Democracy, the album born of Axl’s unrelenting vision… but at what cost?? With endless lineup changes and a vicious cycle of revisions, this Slash/Izzy/Duff-less GNR record looms large as a passion p...

You’ve got your entire life to write your debut… and 6 months to top it! In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott explore the dreaded sophomore slump, breaking down why second records are so difficult to perfect and why our perceptions of them often change with the added context of time. Whether it’s a Hootie, a Beastie, Alanis, or U2  this one’s a celebration of overreach, awkward pivot...

Frank Ocean pulled off one of the greatest artistic jailbreaks in modern music—and did it in style. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott explore how Ocean dropped the hauntingly beautiful visual album Endless to fulfill his contract with Def Jam… only to self-release Blonde the very next day, fully independent and with total creative control. Ocean not only beat the system, he reshap...

Post-hardcore… or purely paranormal? In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott are joined by Guitar Nerds host and certified Mars Volta superfan Joe Branton to dive into the tangled sonic séance of an album known as The Bedlam in Goliath. At the center of the chaos is The Soothsayer, a Ouija board that channeled the beyond, inspired the album’s otherworldly themes, and may have triggered...

What do Ozzy’s bat biting, Mama Cass’ "death sandwich", and Phil Collins' gristly eyewitness account have in common? You are about to find out! In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott untangle the absurd, fascinating world of pop music myths that have outlived the truth—and sometimes even the music. From Keith Richards’ vampiric "detox secret", the truth behind Roy Orbison’s sunglasses,...

He ruled the ’90s, outsold The Beatles (in the U.S.), and filled every arena in sight—so why is Garth Brooks’ music nearly impossible to find in 2025?  In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott dive into the curious case of Garth: how the most successful country megastar of all time quietly vanished from the digital conversation. From his exclusive Wal-Mart distribution deal to his curren...

In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott dive face-first into music’s weirdest death rumors and darkest true stories. There’s the tearjerker blamed for a wave of suicides, a karaoke tune so deadly it practically needs a warning label, and a funk song with a scream that allegedly captured a murder on tape. Fun! They unpack the infamous Judas Priest trial, where lawyers tried to prove meta...

What do Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver have in common? A fierce love of the First Amendment. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott unpack the strange, star-studded circus that was the 1985 PMRC Senate hearings, where musicians faced off against Tipper Gore and her crusade for warning labels on music. Digging into the bizarre unity of avant-garde snark, glam metal fury, and f...

Boxer. Helicopter pilot. Rhodes Scholar. Country legend. Kris Kristofferson’s résumé reads like an impossible Hollywood movie. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott marvel at the unbelievable life of one of music’s most fascinating figures —a man who went from Army Ranger to Oxford scholar to Nashville janitor to global icon. Kristofferson could outbox you, outthink you, outfly you, a...

After Nevermind conquered the world, Nirvana could’ve played it safe. Instead, the biggest band on earth decided to get weirder, louder, and more abrasive. On this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott dissect In Utero, an album that spit in the face of expectations and stripped Nirvana to its bleeding core. They unpack the band’s refusal to play by the rules after the megahit polish of Never...

Before TikTok trends, YouTube parodies, and silly podcasts (present company excluded), there was Dr. Demento—the godfather of gloriously goofy music. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott explore the madcap legacy of the airwave anarchist who championed cultural absurdity and without whom we might never have had Weird Al Yankovic. What’s the power of parody and the social value of sil...

In this edition of Tape Spaghetti, Blake & Scott dig into the tragic end of AC/DC’s first era and the loss of their original high voltage frontman, Bon Scott. Was his death rock ’n’ roll excess - or something else? Along the way, the guys explore the two distinct legacies defined by Scott’s raw swagger and Brian Johnson’s arena-shaking growl—and what it takes for a band to survive tragedy without...

Is your favorite musician... a clone? In this mind-bending episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake & Scott peel back the tinfoil on one of music’s strangest subgenres: the replacement theory. From the eternal “Paul is dead” saga to the internet’s obsession with Avril Lavigne’s alleged body double, and the bewildering case of Andrew W.K., the guys dig into the lore, the weirdness, and the very real questi...

In this pulse-pounding episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake & Scott dive into defiant, funk-driven world of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. Born in Nigeria and educated in London, Fela didn’t just create a genre—he sparked a movement. From his genre-defying sound and explosive stage presence, to his role as a relentless political agitator who turned funk and jazz into weapons of resistance, the guys unpack...

This episode of Tape Spaghetti dives deep into the lonesome, legendary life of Hank Williams—the country music icon who burned bright and left behind a ghostly echo that still haunts the genre. Blake & Scott trace Hank’s meteoric rise, from honky-tonk dive bars to the Grand Ole Opry spotlight, and explore the heartbreak, addiction, and chaos that ultimately led to his untimely death at just 29. Bu...

On this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake & Scott raise a glass (or maybe an old boot) to the legendary Tom Waits. Honing in on the Swordfishtrombones era, they trace Waits’ evolution from late-night lounge poet to avant-garde musical icon. Drawing connections to literary greats like Charles Bukowski, the guys explore the genius behind Waits’ unforgettable characters, his genre-defying sound, and t...