Released in November of 1964, The Beach Boys Christmas Album saw America’s biggest pop band blend their signature sunny surf rock with a California holiday. Over the last 6 decades, this album has come to include go-to Christmas music spanning generations. Today, we look at the surprising story of The […]
In October and November of 1964, The Kinks released their debut studio album, “You Really Got Me.” The title track was raw and gritty with an enormous sound that caught the world off guard. This is the story of that song, how Dave Davies got that sound, the mystery girl […]
Between the chaotic recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the success that followed, Wilco had a meeting of the minds with The Minus 5, a collaborative effort from Scott McCaughey (pronounced McKoy, not McKai, as I say throughout this video) of The Young Fresh Fellows. Joined by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck […]
Tricky hated being called Trip-Hop. Formerly of Bristol Sound progenitors Massive Attack, he with his medicated rasp and the cool indifference of partner Martina Topley-Bird shifted what British hip-hop could sound like. Dark, claustrophobic, paranoid and set upon a foundation of soul, downtempo hip hop and dub reggae. These experiments […]
In January of 2000, Songs: Ohia, the project of Jason Molina, released The Lioness. Ripe with metaphor and deeply personal lyrics, this album is among the many pillars of Molina’s vast career. This is the story of that album, the songs within, and the hint of Jason Molina’s tragic fate […]
In December of 1974, an Island Records A&R exec out of London put together a demo session for punk pioneers Television. They were joined in the studio by Brian Eno, formerly of Roxy Music, who had gone solo that same year. With hopes of a promising endeavor to pitch the […]
Before Modest Mouse achieved critical acclaim with their 2004 album “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” on Epic Records, the band had become indie rock darlings of the Pacific Northwest. In 2000, they’d give us their major label debut, “The Moon And Antarctica,” but before that came an […]
How and why did David Bowie, one of the most iconic musicians of all time, create such an embarrassing song? And why does it keep rearing its head? This is the story of Bowie’s 1967 single “The Laughing Gnome,” how it returned with a vengeance in 1973, and how it […]
Conflict and creativity. Connection and chaos. Love and hate. These all defined Blonde Redhead in their early days, and the themes continue to drive them after more than three decades. This is the story of how the band came together — three foreigners on the streets of New York City […]
It’s a miracle Iggy Pop finished ‘Soldier’ with the amount of chaos an infighting that took place during the recording sessions late in 1979. Within the album is a fever dream cast of stars from David Bowie and ex Sex Pistols’ bassist Glen Matlock to XTC’s Barry Andrews and The […]
