You, Me and An Album

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...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, singer/songwriter/guitarist/economist Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly, Swansea Sound, Catenary Wires, Talulah Gosh) introduces Al to Girls at Our Best’s 1981 album Pleasure . Amelia revisits her teenage fandom of Girls at Our Best!, and she explains why they were—and continue to be—one of her favorite bands. She also talks about how their songwriting style has influence...

Send us Fan Mail Austin-based producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and educator Matt Smith joins Al for the second part of their conversation. (You can hear the first part, in which they discuss Robert Plant’s Mighty ReArranger , on the previous episode.) This time around, Matt talks about the features of music that he enjoys listening to, his approach as a music producer and what he aimed to ach...

Send us Fan Mail Austin-based producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and educator Matt Smith joins Al to talk about Robert Plant’s 2005 album, Mighty ReArranger . Matt discusses why he chose this album for his short list of albums to talk about, and Al explains why he picked Mighty ReArranger from the albums on Matt’s list. Matt talks about the elements that make this album a high point in Plant’s...

Send us Fan Mail Singer, songwriter, musician, producer, TV and film composer, radio show host and podcaster Ben Vaughn drops by to introduce Al to Alex Chilton’s 1979 debut solo album Like Flies on Sherbert . Ben talks about the negative impression he got the first time he was exposed to Chilton, when he appeared on a local 1960s television show in Philadelphia, and how he eventually became a fan...

Send us Fan Mail Vermont-based singer, composer, guitarist, dancer and poet Hannah Frances joins Al to introduce him to Fiona Apple’s 2012 album The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (aka The Idler Wheel …). Hannah talks about her earliest experiences with listening to The Idler Wheel … and why the album made such an im...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Icelandic singer-songwriter Ásgeir introduces Al to the 2013 album Amok by the supergroup/Radiohead spinoff Atoms for Peace. Ásgeir talks about how he got acquainted with the album and why he and his bandmates had it on repeat during their 2013 tour. While Ásgeir highlights particular tracks that are his favorites, he explains how he experiences the album as a coh...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Nashville-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Olivia Barton introduces Al to Mount Eerie’s 2017 album A Crow Looked at Me . Olivia talks about why she chose this album to discuss, even though she hasn’t listened to it very often, and she explains why she considers this a life-changing album. She also highlights some of the most impactful lyrics and musical elem...

Send us Fan Mail Musician, songwriter, producer, engineer and ethnomusicologist Alan Williams (solo, Birdsong at Morning, Knots and Crosses) joins Al to talk about Carla Bley and Paul Haines’ 1971 album Escalator over the Hill . Alan discusses why he decided to explore EOTH during his high school years, what his favorite parts of the album are, why it has stuck with him over the years and how much...

Send us Fan Mail Woodstock, NY-based composer and musician Will Epstein joins Al to introduce him to Lou Reed’s 1982 album The Blue Mask . Will talks about when he first got acquainted with the Velvet Underground and how he eventually started listening to Reed’s solo material and The Blue Mask specifically. He breaks down several of the album’s tracks, illustrating what impresses him about Reed as...

Send us Fan Mail This is an excerpt from the first-ever Patreon-only episode of You, Me and An Album , aka Bonus Tracks . On the original version of this episode, Mary Beth and Al Melchior discuss four songs, two that Mary Beth experiences as sad and two that Al experiences as sad. Al's choices were “Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)" by James and “Murmurations” by Amy Millan. Mary Be...

Send us Fan Mail Woodstock, NY-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Storey Littleton joins Al to talk about Madi Diaz’s 2021 album History of a Feeling . Storey explains why she chose to discuss this album, even though she doesn’t always listen to it regularly, and she highlights certain tracks that are among her favorites. She also talks about how the album is a departure from the...

Send us Fan Mail This is an excerpt from a Bonus Tracks episode published on the You, Me and An Album Patreon on Sept. 25, 2025. You can hear the entire episode, plus all of the other Bonus Tracks episodes, by joining the YMAAA Patreon at patreon.com/youmealbum. Dulcimer player Sam Edelston joins Al to talk about listening to albums that are off the beaten path. Whether we're listening to gen...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Maia Sharp gets Al acquainted with Lord Huron’s 2018 album Vide Noir . (Maia was previously a guest on Ep 124, when she and Al talked about Historian by Lucy Dacus.) Maia explains why Vide Noir is on heavy rotation at her home and how this album—and Lord Huron’s music more generally—has informed her own songwr...

Send us Fan Mail For the final YMAAA episode of 2025, music photographer, podcaster, entrepreneur and record collector Scott Dudelson introduces Al to Dillard & Clark’s 1968 debut album The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark . Scott talks about how he first encountered the album, why it had special significance for him during an important time in his life and why it continues to be a...