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Combing The Stacks Music Podcast
United States
Приєднався 9 лип 2020
The official UA-cam channel of the "Combing the Stacks" album review podcast. Combing The Stacks goes decade-by-decade in two formats. Regular episodes cover four albums with a full artist biography and review as well as six single tracks. Bonus episodes (also called "Cold Listen/Hot Take" episodes) cover three albums with no biography and 10 singles. Albums are selected from sources including the Top 100 lists for each decade at besteveralbums.com, the 2020 version of the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums, Billboard charts, and miscellaneous sources.
Your hosts for the podcast are Jon, Josh, and Matt. Combing The Stacks is available on most podcasting platforms including Apple, Breaker, Castbox, Overcast, Podbay, Radio Public and Spotify.
CTS Homepage: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/combingthestacks
Letterboxd Site: letterboxd.com/joshua_g/list/combing-the-stacks-movie-list/
Music Playlists available at Spotify by searching "Combing the Stacks."
Your hosts for the podcast are Jon, Josh, and Matt. Combing The Stacks is available on most podcasting platforms including Apple, Breaker, Castbox, Overcast, Podbay, Radio Public and Spotify.
CTS Homepage: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/combingthestacks
Letterboxd Site: letterboxd.com/joshua_g/list/combing-the-stacks-movie-list/
Music Playlists available at Spotify by searching "Combing the Stacks."
CTS Album Review: PAVEMENT-WOWEE ZOWEE
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy!
Taken from Season 4, Episode 44, this is our third time covering an album from Pavement. Previously in Season 4, we covered Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.
For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb
Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHeartRadio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, and Stitcher
Looking for an individual review? www.youtube.com/@combingthestacks1470
Josh's movie corner can be accessed at letterboxd.com/joshua_g/list/combing-the-stacks-movie-list/
Playlists on all the albums we've covered from Seasons 1-4 are available on Spotify by searching "Combing The Stacks." Our newest playlists can be found here:
Singles: open.spotify.com/playlist/7nRhALVwELYjSVfzNszSfR?si=6b3f626ab1b84086
90s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/7dD5P11Rz1sAJY18uJIweL?si=a136b49c98db4d1f
80s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/4Dr2xGoUKTS2NVjmFxVK6U?si=e90f4b2029f34488
70s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/7zhDqn0TvU29uPJUuUTZAn?si=c816f2978edc4fc3
60s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/2opmvJ5n7bEvIVxtzRwo6A?si=29ed7d7b603d4ba8
Taken from Season 4, Episode 44, this is our third time covering an album from Pavement. Previously in Season 4, we covered Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.
For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb
Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHeartRadio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, and Stitcher
Looking for an individual review? www.youtube.com/@combingthestacks1470
Josh's movie corner can be accessed at letterboxd.com/joshua_g/list/combing-the-stacks-movie-list/
Playlists on all the albums we've covered from Seasons 1-4 are available on Spotify by searching "Combing The Stacks." Our newest playlists can be found here:
Singles: open.spotify.com/playlist/7nRhALVwELYjSVfzNszSfR?si=6b3f626ab1b84086
90s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/7dD5P11Rz1sAJY18uJIweL?si=a136b49c98db4d1f
80s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/4Dr2xGoUKTS2NVjmFxVK6U?si=e90f4b2029f34488
70s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/7zhDqn0TvU29uPJUuUTZAn?si=c816f2978edc4fc3
60s Albums: open.spotify.com/playlist/2opmvJ5n7bEvIVxtzRwo6A?si=29ed7d7b603d4ba8
Переглядів: 9
Відео
CTS Album Review: R.E.M.-Monster
Переглядів 1122 години тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 44, this is our ninth time covering R.E.M. Previous we covered the following albums: Season 3: Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, LIfe's Rich Pageant, Green, and Document. Season 4: Out of Time and Automatic for the People For an archive for our fu...
CTS Album Review: BJORK-POST
Переглядів 24День тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 44, this is our second time covering an album from Bjork. Previously, we covered "Debut" in Season 4. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the followi...
CTS Album Review: PJ HARVEY-TO BRING YOU MY LOVE
Переглядів 3514 днів тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 43, this is our third time covering an album from PJ Harvey. Previously, we covered both "Dry" and "Rid of Me" in Season 4. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Sp...
CTS Album Review: INNOCENCE MISSION-GLOW
Переглядів 2214 днів тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! From Season 4, Episode 43, this is our first time covering an album from the Innocence Mission. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbo...
CTS Album Review: RAEKWON-ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX
Переглядів 514 днів тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! From Season 4, Episode 43, this is our first time covering an album by Raewkon. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHeartRadio, ...
CTS Album Review: GARBAGE-GARBAGE
Переглядів 10Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 42, this is our first time covering an album from Garbage. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHear...
CTS Album Review: ELLIOTT SMITH-ELLIOTT SMITH
Переглядів 16Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 42, this is our first time covering an album from Elliott Smith. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox,...
CTS Album Review: OVAL-94DISKONT
Переглядів 3Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 42, this is our first time covering an album by Oval. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHeartRadi...
CTS Album Review: D'ANGELO-BROWN SUGAR
Переглядів 6Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 42, this is our first time covering an album from D'Angelo. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHea...
CTS Album Review: PENNYWISE-ABOUT TIME
Переглядів 3Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 41, this is our first time covering an album from Pennywise. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHe...
CTS Album Review: GZA-LIQUID SWORDS
Переглядів 7Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 41, this is our first time covering an album from GZA. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Castbox, IHeartRad...
CTS Album Review: ALANIS MORISSETTE-JAGGED LITTLE PILL
Переглядів 15Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 40, this is our first time covering an album from Alanis Morissette. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, Cast...
CTS Album Review: BONE THUGS N HARMONY-E 1999 ETERNAL
Переглядів 20Місяць тому
Please help the channel grow its community by liking, subscribing and commenting to the videos you enjoy! Taken from Season 4, Episode 40, this is our first time covering an album from Bone Thugs N Harmony. For an archive for our full shows, check us out on our main hosting platform at open.spotify.com/show/1GN4XRFHL8FLl4PgbomIYb Don't have Spotify? Try the following platforms: Amazon, Apple, C...
CTS Album Review: MOBB DEEP-THE INFAMOUS
Переглядів 16Місяць тому
CTS Album Review: MOBB DEEP-THE INFAMOUS
CTS Album Review: OASIS-WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY?
Переглядів 18Місяць тому
CTS Album Review: OASIS-WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY?
CTS Album Review: SELENA-AMOR PROHIBIDO
Переглядів 8Місяць тому
CTS Album Review: SELENA-AMOR PROHIBIDO
CTS Album Review: MATERIAL ISSUE-FREAK CITY SOUNDTRACK
Переглядів 52 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: MATERIAL ISSUE-FREAK CITY SOUNDTRACK
CTS Album Review: TORI AMOS-UNDER THE PINK
Переглядів 282 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: TORI AMOS-UNDER THE PINK
CTS Album Review: ELVIS COSTELLO-BRUTAL YOUTH
Переглядів 182 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: ELVIS COSTELLO-BRUTAL YOUTH
CTS Album Review: THE OFFSPRING-SMASH
Переглядів 162 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: THE OFFSPRING-SMASH
CTS Album Review: THERAPY?-TROUBLEOGUM
Переглядів 72 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: THERAPY?-TROUBLEOGUM
CTS Album Review: PJ HARVEY-RID OF ME
Переглядів 202 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: PJ HARVEY-RID OF ME
CTS Album Review: MANIC STREET PREACHERS-THE HOLY BIBLE
Переглядів 582 місяці тому
CTS Album Review: MANIC STREET PREACHERS-THE HOLY BIBLE
This album was…….something else. They’re one of Jon’s favorite bands? That tracks, and truly serves the purpose in proving just what a total hipster that Jon (and to a degree Josh) are lol hehe 😚
There is an alternate universe where we hipsters are balanced out by people who watched "Juno" and decided to take on the opinion of the protagonist because they couldn't get through Sister and EVOL :)
I hate most of this band’s work. I’m with Matt lol. I like a few songs here and there but from much later in their career when they got….actually pleasant to listen to, but that’s it. They strike me as the band that hipsters love because they think it’s true high art lol
Star 69 reminds me of Buzzcocks. Can hardly hear Josh
Probably a tie between "To Bring You My Love" and "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" for being my favorite of her incredible catalogue.
Hard to pick a favorite so far, but of the first three albums, this one is my favorite.
Wow, Jon is a hipster = confirmed. Like, blasphemous is an understatement, like come on man lol 😂😝 And Josh??? Holy fuckin’ shit, man, you’re even worse! 😭😭
If it makes you feel better, after listening to 80s and early 90s prog rock, this record has aged like Mozart's Requiem...
I get Jon does hate McCartney, but still love this album. And cmon Jon, Wings is great and I love them! I guess I’m an idiot 😅
Hey now, I think McCartney is a genius melody player and a pretty solid songwriter. I just find that can he can corny from time to time and this album is basically the most that side was indulged in The Beatles. Wings had fewer guardrails to that side of McCartney so it presented more of that type of composition throughout the album. For what it's worth, I enjoyed the album "Band on the Run" way more than I thought I would and I have always liked the 1980 McCartney album.
@@combingthestacks1470ahh, on that note: I would like to mention: TEMPORARY.. SECRETARY.. TEMPORARY.. SECRETARE.. 😜
His death is still unsolved
It is a truly odd story for sure...our goal is to acknowledge it without allowing it to color the narrative as we discuss his music.
@combingthestacks1470 the channel needs more love
Greatly appreciate it. Just enjoy hearing from anyone who has found us, but working on ways to improve our reach as well!
Hi, do you accept review requests?
Definitely would be open to it. We're in the 90s right now so an album from that time would give you the best chance of getting on the agenda!
@combingthestacks1470 Not a 90's album, but has a similar vibe and is from a tiny artist but it reminds me of the manics a bit!
Could be a tie between Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx", Ghostface Killah's "Fishscale" and GZA's "Liquid Sword" for being my favorite Wu-Tang solo record. It's just mind-blowing to know how many of them established themselves individually as a force in hip-hop. To "Liquid Swords": I prefer the tracklist on the cassette without "B.I.B.L.E." because, production-wise and the fact that GZA is not even on it, it feels like an outlier to the mood of the album and "I Gotcha Back" as a closer is more than fine to me. Other than that, it's one of my favorite albums of the 90s and a reason why I love watching movies who got sampled in music.
It is pretty remarkable how many top tier MCs both were in the Wu Tang Clan and were able to find each other. The total area between where all of them grew up is roughly 20 miles which is wild to think about.
This is their “best” album…but that’s not really saying much. Mark Knopfler is a great talented guitar player, but that’s pretty all that’s going for this band. They are otherwise very uncool and lame and square and antiquated.
They have always struck us as more of a "greatest hits" than an album band.
This disc ended up making it back to the record store where I purchased it. Chicago stores used to buy used cds or allow you to trade. Anyway, like one of you said there's nothing wrong with the style of Trace, but they're not pushing boundaries. I'm in the Wilco camp
We'll be doing a fair amount of Wilco pretty soon. I'll be interested to chart out the differences from this style that Tweedy takes.
My second favorite hip hop album of the 90s and especially the one to embrace a certain kind of dark, gritty realism to lifestyles that often got glorified.
It's really an excellent album. They have a distinctly NY feel but manage to add a few layers of their own.
I'm so glad you covered this. I dig Brutal Youth. Not sure if you've listened to The Boy Named If (2022). It has that same pop with a serrated edge feel. Best one probably since Brutal Youth
Haven't gotten a chance to listen to that one. This was a very pleasant surprise as I thought he had run out of steam by this point in his career. That was very much not the case!
I appreciate the love for the Offspring although I never was a fan of their work - skate punk in general and in Germany, I think, this "skate period" was already dead for years 'cause nobody I know was that type of guy who was part of that sub culture - which is due to the fact that I don't like the "I'll let you do some five finger fillet on my hand so I can always be over the edge of sanity" type of singing from Dexter Holland. I hated the album "Americana" but that's a different story of being overplayed by some young teens in my school years. But I've never listened to "Smash" besides "Self-Esteem", so I guess I'm gonna give it a spin, seeing if I'll change my mind on them. Edit: If it isn't for Holland's annoying singing, this album would be a very enjoyable listen to me. Instrumentally, it's more clean than anything from the grunge era but with a good dosis urgency and melodic hardcore music. Lyrically, you can also sense that they've had fun creating these songs. But the production was a knock on it, 'cause... yeah... Holland bursts onto the scene XD
Totally understand your view on Americana; however, I would argue that this album is a level of quality a couple of levels higher. Plus, we are entering the period where nostalgia is a lens we have to account for in our evaluation. I think we've done a good job so far, but certain albums hit you at exactly the right point in time!
I am fully with you guys! Holy shit, dynamite 🧨 review! 😂😂
Great review guys. My brother is a massive manics fan so I'll be sending your review to him! Looking through your list of reviews, I couldn't find any of either Supergrass or the Divine Comedy... They may not be the biggest bands but they are two of the most highly respected bands of the past 30 years in the UK and Ireland (though Supergrass broke up and Gaz Coombes went on to make some amazing albums himself as a solo artist including 'Don't turn the car around' from last year. Anyway, I recommend 'In it for the money, life on other planets and road to Rouen' from Supergrass and you can take your pic from Divine Comedy 's incredibly consistent catalogue. Casanova is probably their biggest album but Promenade, Fin Di Siecle, Absent Friends and Victory for the comic muse are all top class.
Thanks for listening, appreciate the positive words! We did cover Supergrass in the "singles" portion of the show, specifically "Alright" from the Clueless soundtrack. We were all fans and one of us listed it as the "single of the week." We will probably get around to a full album when we need a bonus show in the future.
Now that's what you call an episode of bangers with even an enjoyable surprise of an album which is "The Holy Bible". Other than that: PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me": Awesome experimentation with production through "un-equalization"! Hole's "Live Through This": Amazing record filled with grungy, raw female energy! (alongside L7's "Bricks are Heavy") Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral": Elite of warning nihilism! (one of the albums I've always favored as part of the decade's best and probably the most intense depiction of drowning in madness, depression and self-inflicted pain) Apart from "Hurt", one of the best songs ever written and various other essential tracks that sounded like coming from the dark web, it has also one of the best instrumentals/interludes with "A Warm Place" and a barely audible lyric in the beginning which, based on the theories of what they mean from the internet, are as ambiguous as it gets when it comes to human existentialism and the freedom of choice. Idk about the NME list with this being at No. 16, but if you wanna do mention albums with various dark themes, this has to be one of the biggest representations of living or diving in a dark place of life. All of the three are one of many contenders for making it into my top 15 of the 90s.
Yeah, we realized about halfway through this episode that it was a special one as all of the albums were incredible (and the singles were wonderfully insane). Josh commented that 3 of the albums might end up as his top 3 of 1994 and he isn't far from the truth. It is amazing how great The Downward Spiral sounds to this day: it is incredibly resilient as a great album. And as I said in the episode, I will make an argument for Hole as one of the most underrated bands of the 90s.
Head Down is a great deep cut Vol. 2 😁 Also one of the great grunge albums which, despite its length of 70+ minutes, is a great contribution of rock music, songwriting, singing, guitar riffs/sounds and drum patterns itself. Definitely my favorite Soundgarden record and that makes it a testament that the so-called "Big Four" made at least one fantastic record individually that resonated until this day.
It is a great one. I think that each of them have a true masterpiece in this era (91 to 94).
Head Down is a great deep cut
I never liked George Michael much, although they say he was the talented one. Andrew Ridgley drew the map that rescued me, took me to paradise. I didn't do too well at school, they said I couldn't concentrate. The day he flew off into the sunset was the day my education was saved. Then years later on Kensington High Street I saw him drive a white convertible Golf GTI, carefully edging out into the traffic just like a real live human being.
Green Day is one of the few bands where I held a presentation about when I was roundabout 13. At 16 again, but I chose The Kinks and at 17/18 I decided to take Joy Division. Quite impressive when I think about that I had to make 3 presentation about bands/solo artists in three different subjects 😅 Retrospectively, I should've taken something else for the first time, sustainably speaking, like I did with the other 2 bands which I listen to with much more attention. "Dookie" is the only consistently good Green Day album that I can hear with much enjoyment without thinking of how pretentious they would become down the road in the 2000s, then turning back to their more raw roots, but didn't realize that genre like pop punk in the 2010s don't have a cemented place anymore which was self-evident in the late 1990s and 2000s. And after their okay-ish trilogy "Uno-Dos-Tres" they have never been able picking up on something fresh that fans eventually want to hear or something that wasn't made fun of over and over again. Some of their stuff before "Dookie" like "Kerplunk" or "Nimrod" after is something I dig tho.
I'm sure that was a pretty good report. We'll be doing 3 more Weezer albums minimum (Insomniac, Warning, and American Idiot). I am sure we will have the debate about what constitutes a "good" Green Day album in each of those episodes!
Excellent! I hope you guys do Dylan's Time Out of Mind and Madvilliany
Good news, we have both on the episode roster for down the road. May be a little while since they are a few years down the road chronologically. Thanks for listening!
Yes. This album is better than Full Moon Fever, for me by a mile
I saw a band one night in 2000 called The Promise Ring. My roommate liked them and considered them emo
Makes total sense: based on our research The Promise Ring was directly influenced and part of the next wave of "emo" bands.
Nas isn't a rapper to me. He's an author imo🙏🙏
Jody Stephens’ glorious vocals on ‘For You’. ‘Take Care’ ‘Thank You Friends’ ‘Nightime’ ‘Blue Moon’ would be the easiest way in after digesting No1 Record & Radio City. ‘You Can’t Have Me’ ‘Kissa Me’ & ‘Big Black Car’.. some great moments there-in.
Thanks for some leads. The more time that passes in the podcast, the more we realize just how deep the influence of Big Star is on bands of the 80s/90s.
I agree with your assessment. I also find them whilst being intelligent also relentlessly nerdy and jokey which can become wearing. The adenoidal voice is hard to consume. The very simple child like melodies, too cute. The accordion. The drum machine. Art, where? Musicianship where? Anti music, I think this may be right, I don't get the sense these people TMBG are music fans. And yes, relentlessly white and childlike and musically not inventive.
Awesome album! My favorite of Judas Priest :3
Love this album! I’ll take this over any smug Smiths or Morrissey album any day of the week!
Get prepared for SUPER low-fi when you get to Bee Thousand
You weren't kidding! We discuss it this week in the "how about that for timing" file.
Review penthouse next!
We will almost certainly revisit in the upcoming months in a bonus episode.
I discovered Lush with their first album gala, which is an incredible debut. Spooky was great too, their second album. I didn't like this album very much. I just listened to to it again and I kind of appreciate it more now. At the time it sounded like they went commercial sounding. However, Lovelife, which was released a few years after split, was very "commercial" sounding, but I enjoyed the songs a lot more and it stuck. Moral of the story, check out their whole catalog for all who are interested! Really an incredible band but I do think this is one of their weaker efforts.
As someone listening to Lush for the first time in album format (I was familiar with a few songs from other venues), this one caught my attention. I can see how this would serve as the "gateway" to more complex or non-commercial arrangements. As someone very much in their wheelhouse taste-wise, I will definitely be digging further into their catalog. Thanks for listening!
Nightshift is about serial killer Peter Sutcliffe Known as the Yorkshire Ripper in England
That makes sense content wise: I appreciate the context.
@@combingthestacks1470 great review
Not a good album, and I hate Don’t Stop Believin’; that song sucks and it’s so corny and hokey and boring and I’m sick of hearing it! :3
Luna is a great live band. Saw them in 2002 and 2004 here in Chicago
Oh boy, 90s Britpop is the ultimate musical definition of a "mixed bag" for me. While I do like Blur and some Pulp tracks because they're trying something forward-thinking and don't shy away from doing odd sounds/compositions and experimentations, something like The Verve on the other hand is barely listenable for me. Verve is the half of anything of the early 90s (especially watered-down shoegaze) and a soporific copy of 60s traits (psychedelia and late rock n roll) with just contemporary production. And I remember one of you guys coined the phrase "McDonalds of Music". Well, there's hardly a better depiction of a band that tried so hard to be popular so effectively by having little ambition than Oasis. While I can see the appeal to people who need some songs to sing collectively and don't need lyrics that need to make sense, it was one of the big bands able to crack international charts that I've liked only one song of. "Don't Look Back in Anger" is the one and nothing else. I tried to listen to "Definitely Maybe" and "What's the Story Morning Glory?" since your episode came out by thinking "Well, maybe I was exaggerating my claim Oasis is the worst biggest band out of UK". And after finishing it, I came to realize that my take didn't change that much, but I now lean more to the side of saying "This band is doing nothing that makes me wanna move, dance, sing along, laugh, cry, dive into nostalgic feelings, hit the punching bag, workout or anything else. It's just downright boring and misses any of my feelings for music." With that being said, your takes are still acceptable for me and pointing out the fact they wanted to appeal to the masses as much as possible and they certainly knew how to do it. Would be interesting what you'll say to the follow-up!
Completely understand: that was what I was arguing in this specific clip as probably the most neutral on this album of the crew. One of the reasons we always joke around about being "amateur podcasters" is that we reserve the right to like music that we also recognize as musical junk food. In that way, our goal is let people know that sometimes we like music simply because, "I like the way this generic music sounds" while also recognizing, through having listened to over 700 plus albums at this point, that "this is generic/derivative music." exists. That line between being a discerning eye and defaulting to a greater level of musical populism is tough. For Matt and Josh, Oasis is both recognizable as generic music, but it sounds appealing to them. That is why we tried to quantify that we're seeing a hierarchy of Britpop in terms of talent/inspiration as we become more aware of it. I'm probably guilty of liking stuff that is definitively not great music (70s/early 80s KISS, some of the cheesy R&B of the early 90s, and I'm sure "What's the Story Morning Glory" when we get to it). I chalk it up to that line that exists between "trash taste" and "critical taste." To me a balanced diet of music has mostly interesting/new/innovative stuff, but I need some junk food from time to time as a reward.
the voice is everything, no one else can deliver a song like nico, iggy pop has said that when people can hear nico, the same way that they can see a van gogh today, they are going to go whooaah
Off all the album reviews we've done (and we're at 800 and counting), I think this would be #2 in terms of ones I'd like to re-do. As we've followed the 60s into the 70s all the way through the 90s, I've come to greatly appreciate this album, both sonically and its lineage in general.
One of the overrated bands ever, and I really can’t stand Liam Gallagher’s voice or really the brothers themselves in general. Idk what it is, they’re basically musically conservative Beatles-copyist dad rock 😅
I would agree with your second sentence, but I can't argue that Liam doesn't have a great voice!
Ewww damn, I really loathed this listen..U2 without a guitar sound and R.E.M. without songs..post-grunge is very fitting. I really dislike Ed Kowalczyk’s singing style and I really don’t like the band’s mystical spiritual mushy gushy religion-ponderous lyrics; it’s just all so queasy and over the top and *so overwrought!* 🥲😝
They are definitely polarizing, even in our crew. But I'm in the "some good/some bad" camp. U2 with less guitar tone is a good comparison
8:23 I'd argue they're maybe even better live. They twist and morph and extend songs and you always get a different flavour, sometimes they play it more rock, sometimes more jazzy, more upbeat, slower, etc. The "jam" part of their name really stands out when they play live. The sound like a proper old school band.
Definitely on the "monitoring for a chance to see them live" list we've developed.
You could tell that he could've been one of the most promising figures in 90s music and more. Quite tragic that he died so suddenly, but then again, it's amazing of how much recognition he received afterwards and today, he is hailed as a foundation for many songwriters and singers with higher registered voices and the ones who don't see many barriers for their musical pallet. For me, "Grace" (with or without "Forget Her" as an additional track) is many things: Celestial singing, great covers, great self-written songs, a combination of various genres and artist's influences that I learned to love until this album. Even the average length of the individual songs isn't off-putting as many of it stays interesting even though not everything resonates with me in and out. Jeff Buckley made one of those timeless records that could be made now and it would feel still fresh.
His band deserves props - rhythm section. Great review guys. I actually visited Memphis in 2008 and checked out the area where he drowned in Memphis Harbor. It looked innocuous enough but I remember seeing a piece of garbage slowly floating by and thinking that I wouldn't want to even put my toe in that body of water
For me it kinda goes: The Kinks>The Jam>Blur
We are still early: 5 Kinks review, 2 Jam reviews and 1 Blur review. So I reserve the right to change my mind...but I would say I'm currently Kinks, Blur, and The Jam. Still think there is more to find with The Jam, but the two we covered (Sound Affects and All Mod Cons) didn't hit me the way this one and the best of The Kinks did.
1994 was pretty ILL. I'm glad this year turned out to be ok ;)
It's one of the few big hip-hop albums that needed quite a long time to grow on me until becoming one of my favorites. The reason was that the production which stands too much behind the vibrant presence of Biggie and left me disappointed for a while. It has various layers of samples at certain times - the original album release must've had a Parliament sample on "Machine Gun Funk" before being cut out on the remastered version - but it didn't feel as consistently hard-hitting or intruiging like on "Gimme the Loot" at first. The more the production grew on me the more I appreciated the amalgamation with his flow. As you said, his flow was truly amazing and his deep, leaned-back-type-of-voice fits various sounds. If he's the best storyteller of hip-hop is quite debatable, but he's one of them next to Nas for example which kind of gets more peotic about street life as Big who painted a more cinematic picture. I personally favor Kendrick Lamar or Lupe Fiasco, although both are leaning more towards the conscious side of the genre. 2Pac, Ghostface Killah, Scarface, The Roots or OutKast sometimes as storytellers are top tier. Sometimes, I think that the best storytellers of hip-hop aren't necessarily even English speaking folks. The Brazilian group Racionais MC's, for me, are also among the best in terms of social and cultural turbulences and problems such as racism, poverty and systematic violence. I guess that Nas and Mobb Deep and some Wu-Tang solo projects will be covered in the near future and I'm definitely interested how you perceive the core of boom bap Big L, Big Pun and DMX are also fantastic MC's that followed after 2Pac and Biggie who also, believe it or not, came to me in my earliest memories of recognizing hip-hop as a kid :D
Biggie in many ways is the rapper of my youth. There are many great storytellers in New York hip hope alone (Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Rakim come to mind), but Biggie had something larger than life about his storytelling that still is vibrant to this day. We're going to fall into tons of 90s hip hop over the next year and we're all very excited about it. Thanks for the tip on the Racionais MCs. We are always looking for bonus albums and I've added them in the queue to potentially cover.
@@combingthestacks1470But keep in mind: It's Brazilian Portugese (Smooth cadences incoming!) and the content is mainly rooted into their specific culture, so it can be challenging to dicipher at first. But then again, themes like poverty, street life and structural violence is pretty much universal and their presence, especially the charisma from Mano Brown is hypnotizing over long tracks (sometimes 7-11 minutes). And there are some people on UA-cam who made an effort to translate the lyrics into English and if the accuracy is to be trusted, they have to be one of the best guys to paint pictures with metaphors of the everyday life in the favelas (Brazilian ghettos). The only distracting thing might be length of various big und culturally significant songs of theirs. And maybe also the static sample with just subtle changes, but that shouldn't be a knock if you like the steadiness of "The Infamous" for example. Also their live albums are great for the crowd responses ("1000 Trutas, 1000 Tretas). I know of them for just about a month or so and they have this special dark yet soulful delivery and that resonates with their community like no other rap act in Brazil. I started with: - "Sobrevivendo no inferno" (1997) (English: Surviving in Hell) English translation of the whole album with extra facts in the description: ua-cam.com/video/Ch2qpYtDmo4/v-deo.htmlsi=HkkJRzLf7WUx1g9E - "Raio-X do Brasil" (1993) Those are maybe a bit more accessible in terms of overall length. "Nada Como um Dia Após o Outro Dia" (English: Nothing Like the Day After Another Day) where you have so-called "hip-hop anthems of Brazil" is too bloated, almost 2 hours, but the big songs are considered the stellar highlights of their career.
Great talk! Hugely underrated band! Wish more people talked about them like you!
Thanks for listening! We've discovered so many great bands on the run of the show. Our hope is to have conversations that listeners enjoy.
Now Kate typically doesn't take direct experiences from her own life there are a couple of tracks on this album which are directly related to her life. 📍Moments Of Pleasure - includes references to friends & family that Kate has lost over the years. So we have: her aunt Maureen, dancer Gary Hurst (Bubba), guitarist Alan Murphy (Smurph), Abbey Road sound engineer John Barrett (Teddy), film director Michael Powell, and lighting engineer Bill Duffield. The reference to "whose who will survive" was referring to her Mother who was seriously ill at the time, as if Kate was willing her to live. Sadly, her mother die a little while later after Kate had completed the album. 📍You're The One - Is Kate's break-up song with her long term partner Del Palmer. The desperation is written in the Lyrics "You're the only one I want". Despite breaking up with Kate, Del Palmer continued to work with Kate on her albums. (A sad footnote is that Del Palmer died on the 5th of January 2024, aged 71.) So with these two tracks it means by Kate's standards this is a very personal album. So after the death of her Mother and the break up with Del Palmer together the recent (at the time) death of Alan Murphy was a featured guitarist on her albums, it was really no surprise that Kate took a break. What nobody suspected was that it would last so long. === It would be very nice if you could get round to "Never For Ever" which Kate co-produced.
Thanks so much for the context on the songs. It caused me to go back and re-listen to a couple of them, especially "Moments of Pleasure" with the added knowledge of the lyrics. We're on a little bit of a Kate hiatus as we continue through the 90s (she is in her dormant period now), but I think we'll find a way to revisit her at some point!
Horrible album! Lol It was one of my favorites in high school which makes sense; gawd what was wrong with me 😝
Definitely a group for whom nostalgia raises the quality of the album. With that being said, I can still find a lot of joy in this one sitting on a porch in the summer!
In my opinion, The Breeders were much better than the Pixies 😊
That's a very very close contest. Depends on the day and my mood. Will be interested to hear what Matt would thing (I am pretty sure Josh is team Pixies).
The drummer Ric Menck played on Matthew Sweet's 100% Fun and toured with him
Nice tidbit there. I will pass along to noted Matthew Sweet superfan Matt as well!