Crosby, Stills & Nash weren’t the first so-called “supergroup,” but they may have been the first to eclipse the fame of each of the bands the members came from. David Crosby (hailing from the Byrds), Stephen Stills (hailing from Buffalo Springfield), and Graham Nash (hailing from the Hollies) came together to create a group that was completely unique. While the group would become more famous with the addition of Neil Young for 1970’s Deja Vu, their 1969 self-titled LP remains the group’s masterpiece. Phil, who has a lifelong love of the works of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, is joined by Amanda and Ben to discuss just what makes their 1969 debut LP such an enduring masterpiece.
Read More
Everyone knows by now that Joni Mitchell is one of the most profoundly gifted and driven musicians of the 20th century, and it’s long past time we came back to her here on Discord & Rhyme. Court and Spark is Amanda’s favorite Joni album, and it marks the sweet spot where Mitchell balanced her desire to push boundaries with the need for accessibility. The result is a set of brilliant songs that sound simple enough on the surface, but are secretly full of strange and interesting details. We spent a very happy couple of hours analyzing her brilliant lyrics, deciphering the weird and complicated musical arrangements, and marveling at Joni Mitchell’s genius.
Read More
This week, Discord & Rhyme heads back to Ohio for a discussion of Pere Ubu’s 1978 debut The Modern Dance. Rising from the ashes of the short-lived proto-punk pioneers Rocket from the Tombs, David Thomas and company emerged with a fiery set of songs fusing art and punk with an intensity that the band would never quite match again, even as their music would become even stranger and more challenging. Join Dan, Mike, and Rich for this sentimental journey of rusty Chuck Berry riffs, art-rock detours, and creepy soundscapes.
Read More
Even if you’ve never heard the music of Richard D. James, alias Aphex Twin, you’ve probably heard music that bears his stamp: he’s influenced artists as wide-ranging as Radiohead, Björk, Skrillex, and Billie Eilish, and his warped approach to electronica has become part of the fabric of popular music writ large. Every Aphex Twin album is a little different from his others, including the airy soundscapes of Selected Ambient Works Volume II and the ear-splitting tinnitus of I Care Because You Do, and his eponymous 1997 release Richard D. James Album features an intriguing mix of ethereal strings layered over dirty drum-and-bass beats. An expert knob twiddler himself, Producer Mike has long admired Aphex Twin’s skill at conjuring up sounds and textures you’ve never heard, and he’s invited Rich, Phil, and returning guest Shivam Bhatt to discuss Cornish geography, the milkman and his wife, and snare drums that go BRRRRRRRRR!
Read More
Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane has one of the most varied and rewarding discographies in any genre of music. Because of that variety, though, it can be hard to find an entry point into his music. Ben makes the case that your entry point should be Trane's 1960 classic Giant Steps. Giant Steps features Coltrane's trademark musical innovations and rich, emotional playing - but packaged in a series of energetic songs with catchy themes and accessible, poppy structures. And in sharing a detailed, multi-part history of Coltrane's artistic development, Ben argues that Giant Steps should only be the first stop on your long Trane journey. He's joined by John, Phil, and Mike, who share their own stories of discovering jazz and falling in love with John Coltrane's music.
Read More
The New Pornographers winkingly call themselves an “indie rock supergroup,” even though none of their members were performing before crowds larger than 200 when they formed. Since then, they’ve grown into critical darlings with a cult following and an intimidating spread of studio albums and solo releases, but they were never scrappier, hungrier, and more fascinating than on their 2000 debut, Mass Romantic. Buoyed by bandleader Carl “A.C.” Newman’s sturdy pop songwriting, Dan Bejar’s looser, more whimsical compositions, and Neko Case’s superhuman vocals, the album packs six or seven hooks into every song. The results are both exhilarating and exhausting, and that ebullient energy is exactly why Rich has loved them for more than two decades. If you’ve never listened to the New Pornos before but enjoy great pop music, we hope this becomes a new favorite – because, after all, hope grows greener than grass stains.
Read More
In 1977, Marvin Gaye divorced Anna Ruby Gordy (against his wishes), and as part of the divorce settlement he agreed to pay Anna a portion of the royalties of his next album. Marvin responded by recording and releasing Here, My Dear, a 72-minute double album about his divorce, his feelings about his ex-wife, and a lot of other topics weighty and otherwise. The album was initially a critical and commercial dud, but over time the album gained a reputation as a classic and possibly Gaye's best. In this episode, John (as host) stakes a position in favor of the album and its improved reputation, while Ben stakes a position that maybe listeners and critics got it right with their initial skeptical reaction (Rich takes a middle position, generally in favor of the album but with some reservations), and this makes for a spirited conversation about an album that can't help but prompt strong emotional response. Everybody needs love, and everybody needs to hear us talk about this complicated album from one of the most complicated men ever to sing beautifully into a microphone.
Read More
Did you hear? Discord & Rhyme is continuing our holiday tradition of discussing bands who despise each other, and this year it’s the legendary Fleetwood Mac. After their foundation as a British blues band, they went through years of unbelievable turmoil before hiring a couple of Americans to add some sunny California rock to their sound. The result of all this was 1977’s Rumours, famously one of the best-selling albums of all time and inescapable to this day on classic rock radio. We’re taking a close look at this very famous album to see whether all that hype is truly deserved, and it turns out (spoiler alert) it totally is. So come along with us. We have some dreams we’d like to sell.
Read More
Wipe that illegal smile off your face! Phil has been immersed in the music of John Prine for his entire life, and he’s brought along John and Ben to discuss the Maywood, IL, singer/songwriter, who unfortunately was one of the earliest victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Prine recorded his 1971 debut, industry execs saw him as a Midwestern rube, to the point of posing him on top of a hay bale on the album cover, even though hay bales are in short supply in the Chicago suburbs. But he’s a witty, intelligent, insightful, and empathetic songwriter with the ability to make listeners laugh and cry in the space of a single line, and his songs have been covered by legends including Johnny Cash and Bonnie Raitt. Prine’s passing led to a surge of interest in his music, to the point where this album charted higher in the spring of 2020 than it ever had in the previous five decades, so if he’s has flown under your radar to this point, this episode is a great opportunity to learn all about a true genius of American folk music.
Read More
When Discord & Rhyme was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle, oh, it was beautiful, magical. We also knew from day one that our podcast was eventually going to talk about Supertramp, and that day has come at last. Amanda and Rich have been immersed in the UK prog-pop band’s music from a very young age, and they’ve recruited Supertramp noobs John and Phil to round out the panel. You may be familiar with their late-’70s album Breakfast in America and its quartet of radio singles, but today we’re talking about their 1974 album Crime of the Century, a musically and psychologically dense song cycle boasting some of the best art-rock production this side of Dark Side of the Moon. Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson had diametrically opposed arranging and songwriting philosophies, which tended to make their albums extremely disjointed, but for this one album, the balance was just bloody well right.
Read More
