Tune Change

We return to Grammy-bait hell (and middle-Strat-position hell!) to discuss and older (!) and wiser (?) Steely Dan's triumphant (?) return. Yell at the closest waiter as we ask a series of rhetorical questions: Should we call it a comback? Should we call the police about this man in the park? Where's Don Henley's Nobel Prize? For fans of: things that suck, chords with numbers in 'em, nature, genera...

Wherein we give one another albums to listen to and discover that actually Matt is the mean one. Get on this crazy bird with us and ask: Why not call up Young to try to round out the list? Is it cool if we leave our stuff here? What are the stories BEHIND the music? For fans of: Canadians explaining the blues, close readings of joke songs, forgetting the SASE.

Fortunately, anyone can also do podcasts (trust us, it's just talking). Grow your hair and try not to say anything too embarrassing while we ask: Can we just do a Brian De Palma podcast instead? Will there be blood? How much boomer trash can Matt name before Brett puts his foot down? For fans of: the exhilarating tension between being and becoming, agreeing to shut up but refusing to play the hits...

Are we all men? For good or ill, the answer is Yes. Twitch uncomfortably around the stage while we ask: Where's the one? Where's the Eno? Is Devo's message about the dehumanizing effects of technology still even relevant nowadays? For fans of: bit commitment, cartoon theme songs, the other Mothersbaugh.

No, no, Mr. Bungle was my father's name. Call me Alvin. Steadily reduce your slap bass usage while we ask: Can you have it all? (You can't.) Is everything ruined? (Oh, you bet.) Did we like it? (About 70% of it, yeah!) For fans of: Mike Patton and whoever is around at the time, making people listen to Dillinger Escape Plan, videos that changed everything.

Remember, Upper Nile Rodgers refers to Nile Rodgers BELOW the waist. Put on something shiny while we ask: What am I supposed to do during this ballad? Have you heard about when we tried to go to a nightclub but instead went home? How many dances can Matt name before Brett restores order? For fans of: disco deconstruction night, close reading, taxonomy as meditation rather than organization.

Garth Brooks is a mask Chris Gaines wears. Hide behind your bangs (in the rafters, on WCW Monday Nitro) while we ask: Was Tony the talent? Would the Nashville establishment allow you to be this sad without also being drunk? Did there need to be this much behind the artist? For fans of: b-sides with backstories, Billy Joel's comments, Babyface without Babyface.

Santana, both band and not. Face your colleagues and ask difficult questions like: How good can you really be at conga drum in relative terms? Which one of these got Michelle Branch on it? ¿Cuántos años tienes? For fans of: guitarists talk guitarists' guitarist, making it real or forgetting about it, trivia questions where you are the answer.

The poems are great but I bet the bathroom's gross. Neglect to mention Blue Oyster Cult and ask: You flew to Paris for this? Does Matt suck at horse guessing? Couldn't get a Dead Boy? For fans of: gallery shows in rough neighborhoods, making Jesse Helms uncomfortable, art reasons.

Where the discussion inevitably turns to what was on the radio in 1995. Put a wet rag over your mouth as we ask: Can we pick an adultery policy and stick to it? Does Loretta know that people of below average intelligence have feelings? How many songs are requried for this to not be a single? For fans of: fidelity, infidelity, low fidelity.

Wherein God takes a nap. Questions abound: Who said what about who? Would you rather? What else can we take from George Harrison? For fans of: notable quotables, impressing Christgau, and rotting in the sun.

Punk rock: it was a big tent back in those days. Meet up with musclehead zombie Elvis for what turns out to be a good deal of fun. Which host is most likely to be eaten by Danzig’s cats? Did Danzig and Doyle wrestle ever? Does more Misfits mean more moms? For fans of: the horrors Eisenhower-era, plaintiff’s attorneys, Doyle.

Dirty Van Morrison does bad Genesis and we kinda like it. Control your breathing as we ask: Did you get a load of that guy? With the nose? And the teeth? Ew. For fans of: the crazy eyes, prancing but not dancing, nicknaming the homeless rather than arming them.

That’s about 200 degrees Celsius, give or take. Feel free to use the whole disc while we ask: Doesn’t your brother own birds? If we aren’t hot boys, what would you call us? Was the world a better place when Lil Wayne really was little? For fans of: the remix, the other remix, the other other remix.

This is the one where we start to get our feelings hurt about certain hosts’ rankings of certain songs. But it all works out in the end. In this episode, we ask many questions, like children often do: Tell me all your thoughts on god (oops, not a question). Where the hell is Superdrag? (fantastic question). When are you two starting a family? (Never an appropriate question, please leave). For fans...

We love the 90s! That’s because our brains find comfort in familiarity, especially when it’s tied to a time in our lives when we had few responsibilities. That’s likely also true of your brain! Let fuzzy memories rock you to sleep as we discuss bands you’ve heard of, bands you don't remember and we do for some reason, and bands Josh made up. On part one, we mostly crawl through a bunch of muck (li...

It’s just one of those long-winded extended metaphors of Geoff’s / The kind with too many syllables and you want less. Get out your red pen and ask: Does something bad happen to you if you stop talking? Wait, aren’t they all cliffs? Should we give Thrice a shot? For fans of: verse/verse/verse, metaphor marriage, and sans serif fonts.

It’s a Swiss band that says they’re Celtic and you assume is Nordic doing songs about entering the oblivion even though they said they’re going into the pandemonium. FINE THEN. Let the hard frost freeze your roots and numb your senses as we ask: What genres are present (in terms of parts per million)? What’s ‘ol Tommy HellHammer got up his sleeve this time? Hey, didn’t this bell toll for thee alre...

Like a rocky Nordic ridge, there are peaks and there are valleys, both extreme. Put another Eurovision trophy on the mantle as we ask: Who got musical in my discotheque? Who got discotheque in my musical? Can you feel the music industry slowly draining the joy from this enterprise, Fernando? For fans of: maximalism, matching jumpsuits, and a hint of Latin flavor.

Weird guys talk weird guys who talk mostly about weird guys. Get your weird ass over here so we can ask you some questions: You get a load of that fella? Would you like to know round ‘bout how many years it’s been since we seen him and the sorts of things he would often say? What are the stories behind the music? For fans of: one band and one band only, festival circuits (plural), and tolerating y...

 Lower your denominators and ask: A clip show already? Will the Deftones forgive us? Which President is it not unlike? For fans of: snares tuned high, guitars tuned low, self-awareness simultaneously tuned high and low.

Can’t sell out if you don’t got choruses. Put a bunch of stickers on your bass and ask: Did you know the guitar strap is adjustable in both directions? Can we be serious for a minute, or maybe even more than a minute? Should skateboarding continue not being a crime? For fans of: verse/verse/verse, addressing the president directly, and fart noises as a personality trait.

Featuring our friend from real life and the podcast Nailed, Blake. Cheek, kink, and camp—we’ve got it all! Yawn for the camera as we ask: What sort of lads are we dealing with here? Can you let the lady sing a song? What King of the Hill thing are you thinking about? For fans of: dance sensations, hearing the parody first, and knowing the difference because it could mean your life.

Bad news , w e tricked you into joining our sleep study. Imagine your breath as the gentle rhythm of a distant sea and ask: Did you hear that rumor about us? Why, so you guys could just lie to get me here ? S o you could sit me here next to Britney Spears? For fans of: in-between Strat positions, sterile laboratories , and Sheryl Crow’s less difficult material.  

We swapped microphones every few words for this one. Walk calmly but quickly away from Steven Tyler and ask: Were we supposed to do basslines for all of them ? Which 30-year-old cheerleader is it not unlike? What does Jewel think about all this? For fans of: VH1 through the ages, authorial intent, and desperately grasping for Run DMC’s coattails.