That Record Got Me High Podcast

Bob Dylan 's fifth studio album - and his first  to incorporate electric instrumentation - 1965's ' Bringing It All Back Home ', marked a seismic shift in popular music that can still be felt today. This week's guest, Buffalo, NY-born singer-songwriter and rock-and-roll lifer Willie Nile , joins us to dissect this stunning game-changer of a record. Songs discussed in this episode: Subterranean Hom...

There's no getting around it, ' Magic and Loss ', Lou Reed 's sixteenth studio album released in 1992, is NOT a particularly easy listen. While often musically beautiful in an elegantly understated way, the themes of death and the relentless toll it can take on both the dying and ones who love them are both universal and at times uncomfortably personal. Returning guest, Canadian documentary filmma...

Musician, songwriter and producer Chris Stamey ( The dB's, Big Star Quintet ) FINALLY ushers Todd Rundgren into the TRGMH universe with the 1971 release: Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren . This beautifully written, performed and produced collection of songs totally fit teenage Stamey's 'lonely guy in a room by yourself' vibe at the time, and remains to this day one of his favorites. Songs discuss...

Returning guest Les Norris ( Radiobaghdad ) channels his 16-year-old self as he joins Rob to unpack Circle Jerks ' 1985 release, ' Wonderful '. Keith Morris and company dialed down the tempos and leaned into the metal for this, their fourth studio album, but at the end of the day their killer riffs and biting - at times goofy - sense of humor won us over.  Songs discussed in this episode: Fortunat...

Returning guest Tim Hinely ( Dagger Zine, Where The Wild Gigs Were ) brings us Dallas, TX band Old 97's and their 1997 breakout release ' Too Far To Care '. Coming up during the alt-country boom of the 90s that also included bands like Wilco and Son Volt, their love of both Hank Williams AND punk rock shines through on this fine collection of tunes. Songs discussed in this episode: Iron Road - Old...

Originally known as The Hammersmith Gorillas, UK's The Gorillas were often thought to be the missing link between Hendrix, glam and punk. This week's guest, musician Philip King ( Felt, Lush, The Jesus and Mary Chain ), brings us their smashing debut album, 1978's ' Message To The World ' Songs discussed in this episode: You Really Got Me, Leavin' 'ome - The Hammersmith Gorillas; Factory Grime - C...

This week we take another swing of the hammer of the Gods with Led Zeppelin's 3rd release, Led Zeppelin III . Our guest Karen Haglof came up in the Minneapolis indie music scene in the late 70s, eventually moving to NYC and playing in several of no wave pioneer Rys Chatham 's guitar ensembles and later with Band Of Susans , before taking a break to earn a medical degree and join the hematology / o...

This week, Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris of Brooklyn based Goth-Folk duo Charming Disaster joins us to discuss PJ Harvey , and her stunning 1995 release ' To Bring You My Love '.  "Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water Come back here, man, gimme my daughter..." Songs discussed in this episode: Love Will Tear Us Apart - PJ Harvey & Tim Phillips ; Black Locust - Charming Disaster ; Rid Of Me,...

Fresh off a tour with his band mssv (Mike Baggetta, Mike Watt & Stephen Hodges) , guitarist/songwriter Mike Baggetta brings us a record he received as a gift when he was in High School that changed the course of his musical life moving forward: the mindblowing 1996 release by guitarist, composer, and producer David Torn , ' What Means Solid, Traveller? ' Songs discussed in this episode: Network Of...

Musician Knox Chandler (The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees) has made a career of using his guitar to create unique, otherworldly sound-scapes, working with a diverse array of acts including REM, Depeche Mode, Grace Jones, Marianne Faithful, Cyndi Lauper and many others. It's no surprise then, that the record that 'got him high' as a young man - and continues to astound and inspire him...

For this special BONUS Episode, we asked our Patrons to send in a song where the guitar playing (be it a lead, riff, whatever...) gets them going, and got them high! Songs discussed in this episode: Funk #49 - James Gang; Killer Queen - Queen; Another Nail In My Heart - Squeeze; God Save The Queen - The Sex Pistols; Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac; Touch And Go - The Cars; Marquee Moon - Television; Street...

Break out your glitter and stick some stars on your face, we're going full-on glam this week as author, artist and performer Robert Dayton (Cold Glitter: The Untold Story Of Canadian Glam) brings us Vancouver, Canada's Sweeney Todd and their 1975 self-titled debut. The band had a revolving door of members throughout the years - including a 16 year old Bryan Adams at one point - but this version wi...

Regular listeners of the show are already aware of Rob's lifelong love of all things The Damned . This week's guest, Karl Ueberbacher (Phoenix Records) , brings us their third release, 1979s classic - and highly influential - 'Machine Gun Etiquette'. Is it the perfect punk record? What does that even mean?? Let's smash it up and find out!! Songs discussed in this episode: Smash It Up (The Damned c...

Strap in kids, this week's guest, A&R Executive, playwright and composer Dan Waldkirch , brings us the third studio album by Eureka, CA experimental band Mr. Bungle, 'California' . This weirdly dark, schizophrenically eclectic 1999 release may not be for everyone, but if you're of the musically adventurous ilk, might be just what the doctor (of Psychiatry) ordered. Songs discussed in this episode:...

In 1988 at the 31st annual Grammy Awards, a new category was introduced: Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental. That night, Metallica's '...And Justice For All' famously lost to Jethro Tull's 'Crest of a Knave', but another album was also nominated that evening: ' Nothing's Shocking ', the debut studio album by Los Angeles band  Jane's Addiction . Love them or hate them, there's n...

When this week's returning guest, bass player/musician Dan Bonebrake ( The Lightworkers, Dashboard Confessional, The Enablers ...etc) was discovering punk rock in the late 80s, he was already well on his way to becoming a 'player' in his own right. Costa Mesa, California band Big Drill Car and their 1989 debut ' Album Type Thing ' (or CD/Tape Type Thing depending on the format) - with its concise,...

In the spring of 1999, songwriter/recording artist Arlan Feiles received a call from Stephen Trask . Trask shared that he was the composer of a show running at the Jane St. Theater in NYC called Hedwig and the Angry Inch , and he was looking for a multi instrumentalist/vocalist for the show's first touring run in Boston. As soon as Arlan heard Trask's magnificent songs, he was on board. 25 years l...

For some who had been following The Fall since 'Live At The Witch Trials' and 'Dragnet', 1988's ' The Frenz Experiment ' with its more polished and slightly commercial sound might have seemed to be a bit of a sellout. Not so for this week's guest, Manchester record shop co-owner and bass player (The Suncharms) Richard Farnell . Catching them live at a record shop in-store appearance while playing...

Yes, technically EVERY band/artist is local to SOMEWHERE - but we asked our Patrons to send in a song by a band/artist they feel never quite got the recognition they deserved. A band that seemed to have it all, but never rose to the level of national/international prominence where they would be well-known outside their hometown/city/state...etc. You may not know a lot of these songs...but you shou...

This week, returning guest Corey duBrowa (An Ideal For Living- A Celebration of the EP) brings us De La Soul and their groundbreaking 1989 debut ' 3 Feet High and Rising '. Dizzyingly creative, relentlessly positive and hugely influential,  these three teens from Long Island - along with producer Prince Paul - created a world as richly imagined as anything American pop has ever produced. Songs dis...

Cardiff, Wales 'Cool Cymru' heroes Super Furry Animals ticked all the boxes and then some with their super-ambitious fifth studio album, 2002's ' Rings Around The World '. From Beach Boys-esque psychedelic pop to 1970s soul to electric gamer prog (OK, we made that last one up), it's a thrilling listen and this week's guest, media and tech consultant Adam Weiner , sat down with Rob to unpack it all...

Pink Floyd 's ' Animals ', a lyrically dark, musically dense concept album loosely based on George Orwell's 'Animal Farm', is as eerily precient today as it was when first released in 1977. Rob and this week's guest, Portland, Oregon songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist James Cook ( Trashcan Joe, Captain's Audio Project ), take a deep dive into this sweepingly nihilistic classic. Songs discussed i...

For our 400th episode (!!!) we're joined by musician Jonathan Hischke ( Hella, Dot Hacker, E V Kain) , who brought us a record that got under his skin when he first heard it in 1999 - Rob's too! - and continues to astound: The Flaming Lips ' beautifully trippy kinda-masterpiece ' The Soft Bulletin '. "Will the fight for our sanity Be the fight of our lives?" Songs discussed in this episode:  Race...

Are novelty records cool? Probably not, but this week's guest, musician/songwriter Nick County, makes the case that the best ones are artistically valid, culturally relevant and - most importantly - a hoot! We embraced the weird and dove head-first into Dr. Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection . Caution: freaks ahead... Songs discussed in this episode: Pico & Sepulveda - Felix Figueroa and His Or...

This week's guest, Nathan Levine (Instagram @Boysgiant), brings us Swedish dream-pop band The Radio Dept. and their 2006 release 'Pet Grief'. Lush, evocative melodies? Check. Understated, melancholic delivery? Check. It's a vibe... Songs discussed in this episode: It's Personal, Pulling Our Weight, Annie Laurie, Where Damage Isn't Already Done - The Radio Dept.; Apocalypse - Cigarettes After Sex;...