Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.
Hey, hey, it’s Discord & Rhyme! If, as alleged, the Monkees were a fake band, you’d never know it from listening to their 1967 album Headquarters - on which they wrote (most of) the songs and played (most of) the instruments. On this episode, Ben leads a discussion about this fascinating and fun anomaly in the career of the Pre-Fab Four. He’s joined by Mickey, Peter, and Mike — oops, we mean by Amanda, Dan, and Rich.
Read MoreIt’s our third holiday episode, so why not sit comfortably and talk about a third Moody Blues album? By 1972, The Moody Blues had successfully transitioned their sound from the ’60s to the ’70s without losing their ability to generate top-5 charting albums in both the U.S. and the U.K., but they were also on the verge of total burnout that would lead to them taking a six-year hiatus between new studio albums. Seventh Sojourn is the last entry in the band’s core period before they went on break, and it has some of the band’s very best material despite not having any poetry or a single second of Mellotron. Come listen to John, Rich, Amanda, and Phil indulge themselves with an album they know and love from the podcast’s unofficial mascot band, and especially listen for when Amanda confesses to the single hottest take in the history of Moody Blues podcasting.
Read MoreOn her junior album Homogenic, Björk (pronounced “Bjerk”) dumped the playful genre-bending of her earlier albums for a consistent palette of strings and volcano-like, almost proto-dubstep beats, and the result is almost universally considered the pièce de résistance of her career. But even more than that, the album is a mature, unique expression of Björk’s inner life, at a time when the press often treated her as more a quirky headline in a swan dress and less a human being. Well, Discord & Rhyme will have none of that! Returning guest Shivam Bhatt has a limitless ability to gush over Björk, and he joins Rich, John, and Mike for an episode best described as “groveling at the feet of a deity.” There are so many things we love about Björk, from her truly outside the box lyricism to her absolutely otherworldly voice, and we hope this episode conveys the unpredictable joy of getting to know her music.
Read MoreSly & the Family Stone was in many ways the quintessential American band (and John’s pick as the greatest American band), a rags-to-riches-to-rags story of a San Francisco group that rose from obscurity to worldwide popularity and acclaim, only to implode from intraband conflicts and the excesses of fame. The 1973 album Fresh captures the band right before collapse, after it had survived a transformation from an optimistic 60s psychedelic soul act to a top-notch 70s cocaine funk act, and it’s both an excellent album in its own right and a fascinating prism through which to examine the band’s career as a whole. Join John (host), Rich (moderator), Phil, and Ben as they examine an album adored by George Clinton, Miles Davis, and Brian Eno alike, and an album that even makes "Qué Será, Será" sound cool.
Read MoreThe song “Black Sabbath” on the album Black Sabbath by the band Black Sabbath is one of the rare occasions where the beginning of a new genre can be traced to one specific moment. We’re here to present the case that this is one of the most important records ever made, without which there would be no Iron Maiden, no Judas Priest, no Metallica, and no Def Leppard, and nobody wants to live in that world. Not only is it one of rock’s most influential albums, it still holds up incredibly well after 50 years. Just listen to that opening riff and try to say that isn’t one of the coolest things you’ve ever heard.
Read MoreSurprise! Due to some scheduling conflicts and the fact that we are all humans with lives, we weren’t able to record our scheduled episode in time. But luckily, back in April 2020, we decided it would be a good idea to record an emergency backup episode for just such an event! (Such is our dedication to you, the listener.) So we decided to tackle Revolver, an album that could only have been made by the Beatles, and only in 1966. John, Ben, and Amanda spent a couple of hours chatting about an album that blows our minds, makes us deliriously happy, and changed the course of rock music forever.
Read MoreDiscord & Rhyme gets the Halloween season started with spine-tingling tales of animals, air, and paper! Well, okay... admittedly, these topics sound a bit more unsettling in the hands of Talking Heads on their 1979 opus to paranoia, Fear of Music. Dan guides a packed panel of Phil, John, Mike, and Rich through Talking Heads’ weird, transitional album that bridges the gap from the band’s early new wave style to its more eclectic flirtations with funk and world music. This ain't no party. This ain't no disco. This is Discord & Rhyme!
Read MoreGet ready for an Elvis podcast that doesn’t contain “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Heartbreak Hotel” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” or “All Shook Up.” Come on, you’ve already heard those songs on a hundred movie soundtracks and diner mini-jukeboxes. Instead, Phil is leading Elvis obsessee Ben and utter Elvis novice Rich through From Elvis in Memphis, the 1969 album that briefly put him back in the spotlight after almost a full decade of starring in terrible movies. Buoyed by his hit comeback special, the King adopted a “country soul” sound that blends country songwriting with the sonic palette of gospel, soul, doo-wop and R&B. Elvis has a truly frustrating discography where the iconography often overshadows the actual music, but From Elvis in Memphis is one for us album nerds, and one for the ages.
Read MoreAfter spending the last couple of decades converting all of his friends into Camper Van Beethoven fans, Will is now doing the same for all of you - with the help of one of the band members! Victor Krummenacher, CVB bassist and swell guy, was kind enough to talk to Will about the making of Key Lime Pie and some general band history, and you can hear that interview in this episode before we start our usual discussion. Key Lime Pie is a terrific album full of unconventional song structures, clever lyrics, and interesting sounds, and we hope you all like it as much as we do.
Read MoreSometimes we choose albums to cover on the show because they’re important and we want to analyze them, and other times we choose albums because they make us happy. The Traveling Wilburys fall firmly into that second group. Their music may not have been especially important or ground-breaking, and the history of music wouldn’t be any different without them - but the world would certainly be poorer without this album in it. Amanda, Rich, Ben, and John spent a very happy 90 minutes talking about why we love these songs, and why one of them is Amanda’s very favorite song of all time.
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