Ultimate Catalogue Clash

Side A was a bit of a mixed bag, so can Dave and Annie turn the boys around and bump their overall standing up a little? We start this side of this record with one of the most instantly recognizeable songs of all time. The rest, I bet most of you have never heard! Will Kev be consistent on his cricitism of repetition, especially in season 3? Will Corey last 'til the end of the side with barely a g...

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!!! Are you ready to jingle your bells? Are you ready to roast your chestnuts? Are you ready to twist your sister??? We're ranking the tracks on an album that no-one asked for, but Twisted Sister delivered anyway! That's right, it's A Twisted Christmas and we're all over it, under it, and around it. But how will our two intrepid podcasters feel about an album full...

Unplug those guitars, grab your synthesizers and head into the avante garde world of dark electro pop. There's a manequin head involved in this week's episode that's really upset Corey and his family. We talk about virtuosos we've covered on this show to this point and if there are any coming up this season. We also discover the new game format that Kev has dreamed up. Unfortunately, he REALLY has...

We're going back in time. 41 years to be precise. And we're damn well staying there!!! It's not a single-artist catalogue this season, but the brilliant inception of this daring and radical format twist from Corey sees us covering 10 records from 1983. For your delectation this season we have... Sweet Dreams: Eurythmics Pyromania: Def Leppard Metal Health: Quiet Riot Sports: Huey Lewis and the New...

Look, we just need a last little bit of Knopfling before we close the book on Dire Straits and move onto Corey's mad idea to cover TEN (yes that's T.E.N.) albums by different artists in Season Five. Kev's pretty sure this is just Corey wanting to hang onto the season for as long as humanly possible but hey, it should be damn good fun! Before then, we decided to bring in the Quizmaster from last we...

Well, we're (almost) done folks! We brought in the Terror of Tulsa to help us wrap things up and it was a fun chat as always! Kev and Corey laid out their top ten from the season and we find out who we're covering for Season Five! A special thanks to our pal Michael J Smith for providing the trivia for this season and giving Kev one last chance to win a game in this goddamn series! But, will Kev b...

It's over already!?!?!? Man, I was just starting to warm to this Mark Knopfler Guy! We plunged into some serious waters again for a spell this week, talked about douchebags and how we might resquence this final Dire Straits record to make it just a wee bit punchier. You know, because we definitely know better than one of the most gifted songwriters of all time. Does Corey run on heavy fuel? Has he...

Put that hoe down, it’s a ho-down! We’re going country and we’re going country hard. We’ll take a couple of detours but it’s getting twangy folks! What will Kev make of a song about a phone call? Will Corey finally find that eggplant he’s been thinking of? The only way to find out is to turn on, tune in, and start a-slippin' and a-slidin'! Songs covered in this episode: "Calling Elvis", "On Every...

We're starting to get close to the finishing line on another season of The Ultimate Catalogue Clash. We're covering the heaviest song in the catalogue as well as one of the most jarringly different songs you'll find on a Dire Straits record! Can Side B live up to the monster hits on Side A? Will Kev make it through Brothers in Arms? Will Corey get over his vehement and entirely unreasonable hatred...

It's the big one folks! Is there a bigger album from 1985? No. The answer is no. Dire Straits were the biggest act on the planet, but after just over 240 live dates in eighteen months it basically made Mark Knopfler question what the hell they were doing it all for! Speaking of "what the hell are they doing it for?", Kev and Corey are back to talk about Side A of this gigantic album! It's a longer...

"Whoa, wait, what's this? This isn't the right album. I was expecting Brothers In Arms Side A today!" we hear you say. But due to Corey's persistant exclamations about Twisting By The Pool, Kev decided that they'd cover The irritatingly-named ExtendedancEPlay! This is a special one off episode however, that switches the format up a little and takes a leaderboard approach to ranking the songs from...

Well, last week, Kev gave the first ten, ten, and five album side in the show's history so far on Side A. And Corey wasn't too far behind him! Can Dire Straits match the grandeur and intensity of Telegraph Road and Private Investigations? Will Kev enjoy the vibraphonic stylings of Mike Mainieri? Will Corey suffer from smoker's cough or brewer's droop? And will Side B score highly enough for Love O...

Only two songs for you this week folks, but there's a whole lot to dig into here! We're taking a literary trip into the rise and fall of a community and then into the seedy filmic underbelly of the private investigator! Is there a side of any Dire Straits album that better defines Mark Knopfler's creative vision for the band? Will Corey love the scope of Telegraph Road? Will Kev have fond memories...

English poet, journalist and literary critic James Fenton once stated that “A cabaret song has got to be written - for the middle voice, ideally - because you've got to hear the wit of the words. And a cabaret song gives the singer room to act, more even than an opera singer.” Words that I think our hero this season, Mark Knopfler took to heart when penning one of the songs on Side B of Dire Strai...

“Give me my Romeo, and, when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, anyway, what you gonna do about it….?” This is part of Juliet’s monologue in act 3, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet which premiered in 1597, as abridged by Mark Knopfler, 383 years later, in 1980. Will Corey dig the...

The pace finally picks up for Corey as we're reminded of the Sultans. We head back to London for a walk down the market streets and we get to use the word "circumnavigation". Will Kev have any issues with cake mixture? Will Corey have heard of the Cutty Sark and will he care at all about it if he hasn't? The only way to find out is to turn on, tune in, and turn up for the boots now... Songs c...

Shit's about to get weird! Like, Buffalo Bill weird. Not "Hmm, that's a little strange". I mean, just look at the title of track three! Knopfler's journalist trilogy is broken up by one the most menacing songs ever recorded, but what will Corey think of it? This is an album that Kev knows the least from the first five records, so will he be as keen on it as he was the debut? Will Corey conoquer hi...

This week's episode kicks off with a tent pole song in the history of rock n roll. One of two such songs in this catalogue! When an awkward looking fella wearing a headband gets up and starts playing Chet Atkins style guitar in the era of punk and heavy metal, how in the green shit is that going to be received? Only four songs in this week's episode and it's the London quadrilogy. Will Kev be take...

What is a Knopfler? How does one Knopfle? Does one need any special equipment to do it? Are there any qualifications required??? Look, this is an avenue of inquiry that needs to be explored, but perhaps now is not the time. We're kicking off this season with plenty of guitar brililance and some low-key vocal performances. We're also getting a little shit-kicky and twangy here and there. Kev brough...

All the late night bargains have been struck Between the satin beaus and their belles Prehistoric garbage trucks Have the city to themselves Year Two, Season Four. It's time to take side step from the heavier stuff and get into the colours and shapes that Mark Knopfler and the rest of Dire Straits bring to the musical landscape. Five albums in seven years and then a six year gap until their final...

“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” - Thus spake the Bard, William Shakespeare, but I wouldn’t pay too much attention to old Bill, he couldn’t even spell his own name properly, so quite why we should listen to any of his opinions about Foo Fighters’ 2006 Live album Skin and Bones is quite beyond me! For this final, bonus, episode in Season Three, we'...

The late great Stephen Hawking once said “I believe alien life is quite common in the universe, although intelligent life is less so. Some say it has yet to appear on planet Earth.” Well Steve, some say that it’s yet to appear on this podcast, but tonight, we have a third party who might bring the intelligence quotient up. We're joined once again by our good pal; author, songwriter, musician, and...

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once ruminated that "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." Also, no Foo Fighter ever steps foot in the same studio twice during the making of their eighth studio album, Sonic Highways, for they are not in the same city and it is not the same song! This week we're off to Joshua Tree, New Orleans, S...

“He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.” And that’s according to mythical nutcase Moses who had a very famous temper and a pretty good knack for portage! The Foos are hitting t...

The brilliant Stephen Hawking once said “The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.” So essentially, what he is saying is that the long an artist’s career goes on, the more it degrades until finally, you find yourself recording country albums and doing duets with someone called Jellyroll. Good point that Steve. Great observation!...