005: Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
"Through the ups and downs -- whether it was in-fighting or being mocked by media or former fans -- the Dave Matthews Band trudged forward. They've continued to tour, write albums, and somehow convinced people 'American Baby' was a good song. With all of the future that is uncertain, I do know one thing about DMB: they'll make the best of what's around."
--Alex Robinson, Thrillist.com
Everybody go put on your sundresses over babydoll t-shirts and turn your baseball caps backward, because this is a mid-’90s party! Amanda took the opportunity to make Phil, Rich, and Will revisit 1994 and Under the Table and Dreaming, Dave Matthews Band’s studio debut. We all enjoyed this album when we were teenagers in the ‘90s, but since then, at least one of us has soured on it considerably. Come for the discord, stay for the rhyme, and then get on Twitter and tell us what you think. If you stick around at the end, you'll find us inadvertently channeling Bart and Lisa and making an accidental crank call.
Miscellany
We can’t believe we forgot to mention “My Boyfriend’s Back,” the epitome of the “hey la” songs.
While we were talking about "What Would You Say," Will mispronounced the name of Jack Mudurian as "Jack Murudian." Jack was a nursing home resident who, in 1981, sang an unbroken, head-spinning 50 minutes' worth of snippets of old-timey songs he had rattling around in his mind. One of the home's workers recorded this medley and released it as an album called Downloading the Repertoire. See our Links below for a snippet of it.
After this episode was recorded, we appointed Ray Thomas the patron saint of Discord & Rhyme.
Will can’t remember what the epitaph on the gravestone was. We assume it was not, “Hike up your skirt a little more,” but anything is possible.
Turns out “Ants Marching” was the FOURTH single released from this album! It was preceded by “What Would You Say,” “Jimi Thing,” and (weirdly) “Typical Situation,” and followed by “Satellite.”
Amanda is seriously considering suing Rich for slander after he said that “Lover Lay Down” is her favorite song.
Speaking of “Lover Lay Down,” it’s terribly ungrammatical. It should be LIE down. But as we established in the “Satellite” discussion, Dave is not the best at grammar.
We didn’t mention the second appearance of Michael McDonald. He turns up again on “Dancing Nancies,” probably doing the high harmonies. Michael McDonald is everywhere and we love it.
Amanda listened to Everyday again after we recorded and realized that it’s better than she remembered. You should go listen to it.
If you are unfamiliar with The Mortified Guide, get on Netflix and watch it immediately. Adults read excerpts from their childhood diaries before appreciative audiences. You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, you’ll hunt up your old diaries and burn them.
After all that talk about how great DMB is live, Amanda did not mention that her very first rock concert was Dave Matthews band, way back in June 1999 when she was not even 18. She got elbowed in the face a lot (the lawn was very crowded and Amanda is very short) but it was a fantastic first concert experience.
The Dave Matthews Band hotline is now defunct, and a 411.com search indicates that it’s now someone’s cell phone number. We’re sorry for bothering you, stranger in Virginia.
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Amanda Rodgers (host)
Rich Bunnell (moderator)
Phil Maddox
Chris Willie Williams
Under the Table and Dreaming tracklist
The Best of What’s Around
What Would You Say
Satellite
Rhyme & Reason
Typical Situation
Dancing Nancies
Ants Marching
Lover Lay Down
Jimi Thing
Warehouse
Pay For What You Get
#34
Other clips used
Dave Matthews Band:
Tripping Billies
Crash Into Me
Ants Marching (Live)
Two Step
#41
Crush
Fool to Think
Rapunzel
Others:
The New Pornographers - The Bleeding Heart Show
Christopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind
Neil Finn - Astro
Mike Doughty & Dave Matthews - Tremendous Brunettes
Genesis - Turn It On Again
They Might Be Giants - Space Suit
Spiritualized - Huh? (Intro)
The Dudley Moore Trio - The Millionaire
Songs we mentioned but didn’t clip:
Dave Matthews Band - Halloween
Dave Matthews Band - Seek Up
Spin Doctors - Two Princes
Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
The Offspring - Gone Away
The Kinks - A Well Respected Man
Malvina Reynolds - Little Boxes
The Pogues - The Old Main Drag
Eric Clapton - Layla (Unplugged)
Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon
UB40 - Red Red Wine
R.E.M. - Tongue
Band/album personnel
Carter Beauford - Drums, percussion, vocals
Stefan Lessard - Bass
David Matthews - Vocals, Left Acoustic Guitar [whatever that means]
Leroi Moore - Alto Sax, Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax, Vocals, Flute
Boyd Tinsley - Acoustic Violin, Vocals
Special Guest: Tim Reynolds - Acoustic Guitar
Guest Appearance on “What Would You Say” by John Popper - Harmonica
Other links
Dave Matthews Band - Live Trax Vol. 7 (Amazon affiliate link)
Jack Mudurian - Downloading the Repertoire (excerpt)
(YouTube)
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
Dave Matthews Band - What Would You Say (this episode only)
You can buy or stream Under the Table and Dreaming and other albums by Dave Matthews Band at the usual suspects such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Follow Rich @zonetrope, Amanda @MagneticInk67, and Phil @pamaddox. Will was on Twitter, but then a bear ate his head, thought it was a candy. Everyone goes in the end. Special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production, editing, and that extremely informative explanation of Mark trees. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.