You, Me and An Album

Send us Fan Mail Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and film director Ben Hozie of the Brooklyn-based indie rock band Bodega visits YMAAA to talk about Milk Dick’s 2014 album It Grows on You . Ben explains how he got acquainted with Milk Dick’s music and why It Grows on You has been his musical companion for more than a decade. He discusses how the band’s theatrical and sometimes serious side co-exis...

Send us Fan Mail Los Angeles-based Americana singer-songwriter Paula Fong joins Al to introduce him to Gillian Welch’s 1996 album Revival . Paula explores what made Revival instantly appealing to her, and she explains why it continues to be one of her favorite albums and an important influence on her own music. Paula also discusses her new album A Bird on the Wing and her collaboration with Nickel...

Send us Fan Mail For this episode, virtuoso drummer Cindy Blackman Santana chose her 2020 album Give the Drummer Some as the focus for this discussion, but she and Al branch out into a wide-ranging conversation about several of her albums. Cindy talks about why she decided to write and sing lyrics for Give the Drummer Some , and she highlights some of the album’s notable tracks. Cindy also discuss...

Send us Fan Mail Jorina Stamm of the Swiss indie pop band Soft Loft joins Al for this week’s album deep dive, and she chose Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend (released on August 14) to discuss. Jorina explains why she wanted to talk about Lost Weekend  and shares her early reactions to this highly-anticipated release. She also discusses how listening to Lost Weekend got her thinking more about concept...

Send us Fan Mail Albuquerque-based Americana singer-songwriter Michael Rudd joins Al for a deep-dive analysis of Townes Van Zandt’s 1969 self-titled album. Michael explains why he admires Van Zandt’s songwriting, notes what makes this album a special one in Van Zandt’s discography and breaks down the album’s highlights. He also discusses how he became inspired to create a five-album cycle over the...

Send us Fan Mail For his album deep dive, singer, songwriter, author and educator Wesley Stace chose Robert Wyatt’s 1974 album Rock Bottom . Wesley recounts the adolescent friendship that led to his discovery of Rock Bottom , and he explains why it has been one of his favorite albums in the ensuing decades. He delves into the non-sensical nature of Wyatt’s lyrics and why they carry deep meaning fo...

Send us Fan Mail Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, YouTuber, poet and satirist Bossi joins Al for a rare double album deep dive, as she talks about Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 release The River . Bossi discusses her Springsteen fandom, which dates back to her childhood, and she explains why The River has been one of her favorite albums for decades. She explores the prominent themes of The River a...

Send us Fan Mail For this week’s album deep dive, Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based musician, songwriter and video game designer Rafael Melo (who records and performs as Late Again) chose Arthur Verocai’s 1972 self-titled album. Rafael talks about how he first came across Verocai’s music and why he connected with this album instantly. He also delves into why he takes inspiration from Verocai’s music...

Send us Fan Mail This week’s guest is Portland-based singer, songwriter, author, podcaster, educator and visual artist Laura Veirs, and she chose the 2021 release Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra for her album deep dive. Laura talks about her recent explorations of EDM and how that led her to listening to Floating Points and, ultimately, to Promises ....

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker of Daisy the Great drop by YMAAA. For their chosen album deep dive, they selected Fiona Apple’s 2005 release Extraordinary Machine . Kelley and Mina talk about their respective musical journeys with the album, from how they individually discovered and got hooked on it to how they collectively take inspiration from Apple’s songwriting a...

Send us Fan Mail Texas-based singer-songwriter Candace Hastings takes us on this week’s album deep dive, as she introduces Al to Adam Carroll’s 2000 album Lookin’ Out the Screen Door. Candace talks about first getting to know Carroll when he was a student in her creative writing class at Tyler Junior College in east Texas, and what it was like to first hear Lookin’ Out the Screen Door . She also t...

Send us Fan Mail Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels joins Al to introduce him to Sparklehorse’s 2001 album It’s a Wonderful Life . Johanna shares the unique circumstance under which she first learned about Sparklehorse, and she explains what makes It’s a Wonderful Life a magical album for her. She and Al also explore two of the music videos that accompanied the release of the albu...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Brooklyn-based classical guitarist and music educator Tomas Rodriguez introduces Al to Toumani Diabaté’s 1988 album Kaira . Tomas talks about discovering Kaira during a visit to a New York record store and how his eclectic musical upbringing primed him to develop a deep appreciation for this album of Malian kora music. Tomas explains why Kaira is a spiritual album...

Send us Fan Mail Georgia-based vocalist, songwriter, graphic designer and illustrator Anne Richmond Boston (The Swimming Pool Q’s, solo) visits YMAAA to introduce Al to The Glands’ self-titled album, released in 2000. Anne talks about getting to know The Glands’ late frontman Ross Shaprio in Athens, Georgia, before learning he was in a band and then discovering The Glands’ music. She explains what...

Send us Fan Mail Drummer and percussionist Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Jon Spencer and the HITmakers, solo) visits YMAAA to introduce Al to the 1978 no wave compilation No New York . Bob talks about the music he listened to growing up in New Jersey and how he ultimately became immersed in the New York punk and no wave scenes. He details how No New York was an instrumental part of his expo...

Send us Fan Mail Bassist, songwriter, music producer and film dialogue editor Kira Roessler (Black Flag, dos, solo) introduces Al to Bright Eyes’ 2005 album Digital Ash in a Digital Urn . Kira talks about why this album has been one of her favorites for the last 10 years and explains why she admires Conor Oberst’s musicianship and songwriting in general. She delves into her favorite tracks on the...

Send us Fan Mail This episode was originally published on the YMAAA Patreon in October 2025. Munich-based soul-pop artist Caro Kelley visits Bonus Tracks to talk about her 1000 Albums project, in which she listened to three albums a day for an entire year. Caro shares why she started the project, and she explains how she determines what rating to give an album. She and Al get into discussions abou...

Send us Fan Mail Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Peter Case (solo, The Plimsouls, The Nerves) returns to YMAAA to introduce Al to Fred Neil’s 1968 album Sessions . (Peter was previously on Ep 114 to discuss Bob Dylan’s self-titled debut album.) Peter talks about how he became fascinated with Neil and Sessions during his early teens, and he explains why Neil’s work has not re...

Send us Fan Mail Grammy Award-winning producer, engineer, synthesizer programmer, studio owner, film producer and author Robert Margouleff stops by YMAAA to introduce Al to David Sanborn’s 1982 album As We Speak —an album that he produced. Robert talks about how he came to produce the saxophonist’s album and why the album had the novelty of two tracks with vocals by Michael Sembello. Robert and Al...

Send us Fan Mail Seattle-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Robert Deeble joins Al to get him acquainted with Florist’s 2022 self-titled album. Robert talks about how he got introduced to the album and why he connected with it almost immediately. He also discusses the parallels between the album and some of his own music. Al notes some connections between Florist and Robert’s latest album The...

Send us Fan Mail Grace Bennett and Jade Alcantara of the Brooklyn-based band Sub*T introduce Al to Plumtree’s 1997 album Predicts the Future (or, as it is alternatively known, Plumtree Predicts the Future ). Grace and Jade talk about why the album is an important one for both of them and the influence it has had on their own music. They also discuss favorite tracks from the album and the phenomeno...

Send us Fan Mail This episode was first published in February 2026 on the You, Me and An Album Bonus Tracks Patreon. Joe Adragna (The Junior League) and Mary Beth Melchior join me for this episode to discuss the Monkees’ film Head , as well as its soundtrack, both released in 1968. We talk about our impressions of the movie, what we liked about the songs from the soundtrack and the ways in which t...

Send us Fan Mail Manchester-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Jesca Hoop joins Al to introduce him to Joni Mitchell’s 1972 album For the Roses . Jesca talks about how she first discovered For the Roses as well as the earlier albums in Mitchell’s catalog after having minimal exposure to popular artists during much of her childhood. She explains why she connects with this album and why it’s a n...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, The Builders and The Butchers frontman Ryan Sollee joins Al to introduce him to No Knife’s 1999 album Fire in the City of Automatons . Ryan shares why he chose to talk about this No Knife album for this episode, and he explains what is special to him about this band and this album. He delves into his favorite tracks from Fire in the City of Automatons and talks ab...

Send us Fan Mail L.A.-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer James Petralli of White Denim joins Al for this episode to introduce him to Stevie Wonder’s 1972 album Music of My Mind . James talks about the album’s “value system,” and why it appealed to him so much when he first started listening to the record. He also discusses the ways in which Music of My Mind was a departure from Wonde...