Ultimate Catalogue Clash

If wishes were trees the trees would be falling Listen to reason Season is calling A group of beligerant, experimental, avant-garde bohemians from Athens Georgia seem an unlikely group to defy the odds and hit four consecutive multi-platinum records, but that's exactly what R.E.M. did between 1988 and 1994 with their smash albums Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People, and Monster. We're hea...

After Kev put on his steel toecaps and booted Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, Kiss, and Mötley Crüe in the kidneys for a few hours, we figured we should probably bring in a defender of the hard rock faith. Who would we turn to other than the brilliant opposing counsel from the upcoming first season of Rock Court, Heath McCoy. Heath has been a regular contributor to Corey's Van Halen podcast for the past...

One hundred episodes of Corey and Kev talking about music. We've loved every minute of it so far and we've been humbled and delighted by the fact that so many of you have joined us for the ride! For this special celebratory episode we're looking back at two albums that we feel were underrated for one reason or another to see if re-listening to them now in the context of an entire season and now an...

And so it's the wrap show. And what have we done. Another season over. And a new one to begun.... What will Scott make of this eclectic mix of albums? Who will win the right to choose the artist for season six and will Corey's eleventh hour change to the Price is Right rules scupper Kev? But most importantly; has anyone seen my spare car keys? I swear to gods I left them on that table in the keep,...

Well, that's a wrap on the album sides for season five! We've had some high highs and some very low lows for Corey and especially Kev this season, but there are four songs from Slade left to go! Kev proposes Glam Prog, Corey is intrigued, and we dig into the more experimental side of this gloriously camp 70s band! Four-song sides have tended to score reasonably well as long as they have a couple o...

Our second KoFi member selection covers the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne and his killer 1991 record, "No More Tears". Get ready for songs about creepy dudes, hellraisers, zombies, and yo momma! There's pinched harmonics for everyone and lots of love for one of the grandaddies of heavy metal! All thanks to our pal Ruddy Rutherford for sending this one to us! The question is, how much will we l...

My oh my. What a wild ride we have in store for you. We all know that it's not Christmas until Noddy Holder screams the fact into your ear, but what else do Slade have in store for us? Kev's pretty sure that Corey only picked 1983 for this season so he could talk about Run Runaway, but will he give it a 10, 10, and 5? Will Kev believe in woman? And what shenanigans does he have planned for this al...

Nine down, one to go! That's right. We've idolized Billy (kinda, sorta) and tucked Rebel Yell neatly into the "finished' box. Side Bs this season have typically not fared as well as Side As, but Billy's only top ten single in the US from this record is on this side! So can album number nine crack the top three records we've covered this season? How is Kev's Star Wars knowledge? And will Corey be o...

Get that top lip curled, bleach your locks and prepare yourself for some sneering, swaggering rock n roll. Kev's seen Billy live. Corey hasn't. Thankfully, Mony Mony isn't on this album, so Kev doesn't have to listen to the ridiculous Canadian response to the chorus lyrics! But will Steve Stevens' guitar stylings tickle Kev's fancy? Will the lower-key stuff work for Corey? And what on earth will t...

Another album down and only two to go! We wrap up She's So Unusual by covering Side B and talking about an eclectic bunch of songs that don't all land for Corey and Kevin, but they're a little ways apart on a couple of these tracks! What will Kev think of Cyndi going vaudeville? What will Corey make of a two-tone/ska/reggae song? And will Side B be able to match the quality of Side A overall? The...

In 1983, two young women emerged from the New York music scene and blazed their way into the popular music. Madonna's self-titled debut went 5 times platinum and this week's album, "She's So Unusual", went 5 times platinum. Madonna went from strength to strength and became a cultural icon, while Cyndi carved out a niche in the alternative music scene with brief daliances with the top ten over the...

Well then, Kev is down in Four-Way-Stop-Burn helping Corey with a quiz, even though he knows Corey could have done it on his own with no problem and just needed an excuse to get Kev out of the keep, across the moat, and across his substantial lands, to hang out with him. After a great few hours raising money for the Weyburn Theatre, we convened to the centre of the CMPU to listen to music, marvel...

We're back, with our lip gloss, our braids, and our fingerless gloves! We had a bit of a mixed bag on side one, so how is side two gonna pan out? Will there be a huge banger? Will there be a huge clunker? Will Corey lose his shit if the fat lady sings too much again? And Corey throws Kevin a curveball in the Colour By Numbers game, so how will the 4'5" Englishman respond? The only way to find out...

Well, we're away from the hard rockin, vox squawkin', cock blockin shenanigans of those miscreants Motley Crue and taking a hard left turn into the pop stylings of Culture Club, starting with their gigantic worldwide hit about a little lizard that could! Will Corey miss wailing guitar solos and thunderous drums? Will Kev have any childhood recollections of this album? And how will this album's gam...

We cover the second side of Motley Crue's 1983 "classic" (?), Shout at the Devil. Side A was a mixed bag with an instrumental, a Beatles cover, and a lead track that Corey is a fan of. Kev, a little bit less so... but will he find some gems hidden on Side B of this record? Will Corey feel the Danger? And how will the train wreck of this season's game go this week? The only way to find out is to tu...

Two nuns are driving down a dark road when the devil jumps on the hood of their car. “Quick, show him your cross!” the nun who’s driving says. The other nun rolls down her window, sticks her head out and shouts, “Get the fuck off my car you dickhead!” Today we're also shouting at the devil with a band of misfits and ne'er do wells; Mötley Crüe! Will Kev get through another glam/hard/hair metal alb...

It's a wrap! Well, on this album anyway. Kev finds a Kiss song that he really rather likes and the boys discuss the relative merits of the Gene "trilogy" of songs that closes out this album. What will Kev be licking? Will Corey rate side B higher than Side A and will Vinnie Vincent actually play something worth listening to? The only way to find out is to turn on, tune in, and tell it to the peopl...

Well, well, well. Kev never thought he'd be podcasting about Kiss! We're going paintless and probably, at some point, pantless, as we dig into one of the most over-the-top bands of all time. But will Kev find a single second of Kiss that he can enjoy? Will Corey enjoy the aggressive vocal stylings of Gene Simmons, and will Kiss be able to pull it off (or lick it up) without all that iconic facepai...

Well, that's the Sports all sorted out and not a hint of a diss track anywhere to be seen! We're getting a cover of a Hank Williams song, a single that saw a radio edit applied, and the band's third consective number 6 single from the album! But can Side B of Sports live up to a strong Side A for Kev and Corey? Will Corey appreciate the juxtaposition of dark lyrics and light bouncy pop melodies an...

Well, well, well. We're heading into the land of horns and swing and a vocalist who just wasn't cutting it for record execs because his voice wasn't that strong.... Shows exactly how much record execs know! We're talking groove, we're talking hearing loss, and we're talking Sports! Will Corey enjoy the switch away from metal and hard rock? Will Kev manage to bamboozle Corey with this week's game?...

Oh boy. I believe virtually everything I read, and I think that is what makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn't believe anything. It's getting more and more Tap-ish every week around here! We talk about the most comically earnest and spectacularly misguided tribute song of all time and Kev is turning Japanese (we really think so!). But, will Corey be able to salvage anything fr...

Metal health will drive you mad!!! Or, it might cure your crazy... we're getting mixed messages this week from the humble, very shy frontman of Quiet Riot, Kevin DuBrow. It's an all out frontal assault of guitars, drums, bass, and Kevin DuBrow. But what will Kev think of a cover of a beloved Slade tune? Will Quiet Riot be able to withstand the loss of Randy Rhoads in Corey's eyes? And what nonsens...

It's the very first of our Ko-Fi Member Selections and first up, from our good pal Ruddy Rutherford, is Therapy?'s 1994 release, Troublegum. The album was shortlisted for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize and is brand new to both Corey and Kev, so it was a brand new, fresh listen for both chaps! But what will Kev like a cover of a Joy Division song? Will Corey's North American rock sensibilities be cha...

Corey is still reeling from Kev's score for Side A but at least the boys have the betting system for the game sorted out now. Right??? Corey loves a song about erectile dysfunction but will he be anamoured of a song Joe Elliott dismissed out of hand? Will Kev find anything positive to say about any of the songs on Side B and will we still have a podcast after this episode??? The only way to find o...

Well, the day has finally arrived. Kev can't duck it any longer. Corey is making him listen to Def Leppard critically and putting aside all his previous biases to the best of his ability. There's plenty chat about harmonies and whether you should let a drummer with functional arms actually use them, or whether you should bypass him entirely and outsource his job to a computer. Will Corey's nostalg...