My Favorite Album With Jeremy Dylan

My Favorite Album goes to the Movies for the month of May! Kicking off with friend of the pod and host of the Empire Podcast, Chris Hewitt, joining me to count down our competing lists of Top 10 James Bond theme songs. From Goldfinger to Live and Let Die, A View to a Kill to Nobody Does it Better, we celebrate and argue about the iconic theme songs that have soundtracked the long-running franchise, with some surprising and controversial choices amongst it. What makes for a great Bond theme? How much room is there to experiment with the form? What is the worst Bond theme? And who should carry the torch forward and sing the theme song for Bond 25?  

On the eve of her debut solo album release, I talk to singer-songwriter Charlie Collins about The War on Drugs’ Grammy-winning fourth album ‘A Deeper Understanding’. Charlie opens up about how the album influenced the sound and construction of her own record, even as they were recorded in total opposite ways. We talk about the blurred lines between bands and solo artists in the modern era, The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel’s egoless performance style, why Charlie decided to release ‘Snowpine’ under her own name, the future of albums in the streaming age (and whether services like Spotify help or hinder them), how the meaning of an album changes as you evolve through life and the alternate band name that could’ve ruined the War on Drugs career...

LA singer/songwriter Christian Lee Hutson joins me to talk about Elliott Smith's classic 1998 album XO. We chat about how XO was Elliott's first album produced with a major label, retrospective listening and how many fans have hunted for hidden messages in the album's lyrics post Elliott's suicide and how a collision of musical worlds helped Christian bond with his Dad.  Christian tells me about an Elliott Smith tribute show he recently contributed to, how XO gave Christian courage to get into solo songwriting, plagiarism predicaments and we pledge to produce an Elliott Smith tribute record performed entirely by Hank Williams Jr.

LA Singer/songwriter Leslie Stevens joins me to chat about Neutral Milk Hotel's classic 1998 album 'In The Aeroplane Over the Sea'. We talk about The Diary of Anne Frank and it's influence on the album, authenticity in music and innocence lost. We unpack our teenage superiority complexes and debate whether genre labels are essential in the music world.   Leslie plays us an impromptu rendition of Norwegian Wood on her saw and we discuss vulnerability in song writing, whether 'Aeroplane Over the Sea' has dated and the album's hipster following. 

Podcasts collide as musician (The One AM Radio) and creator of my two favorite podcasts (Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly) Hrishikesh Hirway joins me to delve into the sonic world Björk created on her classic 1997 album ‘Homogenic’ and how it inspired Hrishi to develop his own unique musical identity. From the beats to the string arrangements and beyond, we unpack the incredible craft and attention to detail that went into the album, and then Hrishi tells the story of Bjork’s appearance on Song Exploder, from how he landed his dream guest, behind the scenes on how the show is put together and the chance encounter he had with Bjork afterwards.

Screenwriter Zack Stentz (Thor, X-Men: First Class, The Flash) has plenty of experience with charismatic aliens and mutants, so he’s right at home talking to me about David Bowie and his classic 1980 album ‘Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps’. We delve into how this record was Bowie’s journey back to mainstream success after his experimental Berlin period, Ashes to Ashes as a sequel song to Bowie’s first hit Space Oddity, the contributions on the records of musicians like Pete Townshend, Bowie’s underrated lyrics, Zack’s favorite Bowie acting performance (not what you’d expect) and why Bowie ended his stage acting career, how he would approach writing a film about Bowie and his frustrated plans to get Bowie into the X-Men films.

This week on the podcast, Hollywood producer and director David Friendly joins me to talk about Steely Dan's classic 1977 album 'Aja'. We talk about David's discovery of the album during his college years, how 'Aja' rewards repeat listens and how Walter Becker and Donald Fagen worked with the best session musicians of the time to create the perfect album recording.   Plus we discuss ageing musicians and their sometimes disappointing live performances and how the advancement of technology has changed the way we listen to and discover music. 

Grammy winning singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves talks her love iconic iconoclast John Prine and his self-titled debut album. Kacey talks about performing with Prine, playing him the song she wrote about him, how his approach to lyric writing inspired her own songs, why she put her Grammy in a Prine exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and wonders why people keep thinking her and Prine’s songs are about weed.

This week on the podcast I chat to Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos about Patti Smith's seminal album 'Horses'. We talk about how Michael Stipe led to Brittany’s discovery of the album as an aspiring music journalist, how it remains a seminal punk album while flying in the face of punk conventions, the album’s iconic opening line, Smith’s dismissal of traditional gender conventions, Brittany’s meeting with Patti at Lollapalooza and what Brittany sees as Patti Smith’s influence on contemporary music. My Favorite Album is a podcast on the impact great music has on our lives. Each episode features a guest on their favorite album of all time - why they love it, their history with the album and how it's influenced them. Jeremy Dylan is a filmmaker, journalist, concert promoter and photographer. He directed the the feature music documentaries Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts and Tommy Emmanuel: The Endless Road (coming soon). Edited by Ellie Willoughby. If you've got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a l

Groove master and bassist Tom Champion (The Preatures) joins me to chat about Neil Young's classic 1975 album 'Tonight's the Night'. We discuss how Tom first discovered the album, the sad story behind the album and the different incarnations of Neil Young, including whether Neil should be considered a cat or a dog. We compare the recording methods of Neil Young and The Preatures, how drunk the band was while recording 'Tonight's the Night' and more. 

Today's episode is one of my favorite conversations I've had for the podcast. Legendary drummer/producer/songwriter Steve Jordan surveys his incredible career, from the albums that first inspired him to pick up drumsticks as a child to the songwriting lessons he was taught by Keith Richards, being put through his paces by James Brown on the Letterman show, why he became a producer, his band The Verbs, his love of punk rock, what he loves about playing with Neil Young and much more. It's a wide-ranging chat filled with great anecdotes and insight from one of my all-time favorite musicians, and I could've talked to Steve for ten times as long easily.

Today we’re revisiting my chat with the gracious Pegi Young, humanitarian and singer-songwriter, who sadly passed away last week from cancer. Here is our conversation from 2017, a lovely and wide-ranging chat on her biggest musical influences. Singer-songwriter Pegi Young’s new album ‘Raw’ was inspired by her recent divorce, but her musical identity has been developing for decades, taking inspiration from her heroes, peers and people who have become friends, as she moved from backing vocalist for ex-husband Neil to mature solo artist. We talk about her biggest influences, from Otis Redding to Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell to Billie Holliday, Paul McCartney to Bonnie Raitt, JJ Cale to the Grateful Dead, Laura Nyro to Eric Clapton. Plus, how curating the annual Bridge School Benefits has helped her discover new artists, how the trauma of her divorce left her temporarily unable to play guitar and why she hopes her new music will resonate with audiences who don’t share her life experiences.

Americana singer-songwriter Kirby Brown joins me to talk about Randy Newman's 1974 album 'Good Old Boys'.  We discuss Newman's progression from satirical songwriting to movie music composition, writing from the point of view of a character whose beliefs don't align with your own, the Eagles backing vocals on the album, will Newman ever write a song about President Trump and more.

Singer/songwriter Gretchen Peters joins me to talk about the every songwriter's favorite Bob Dylanrecord, 1975's 'Blood on the Tracks'. Gretchen talks about how she fell in love with the album as she was getting divorced, the unusually soft edges of Dylan’s songwriting on this record, how he treats women in his lyrics, how his songs always bring you to a place of empathy and the importance of being brutally honest with yourself as a songwriter.

Revisiting the OG My Favorite Album Christmas special from 2015... Happy Holidays to all of you out there in the world For the first ever My Favorite Album Christmas special, I delve into the origins of the Christmas pop songs we all know today with musicologist and Sydney Morning Herald journalist Tim Byron - how did we go from religious music to songs about cold weather? Why were all the best Christmas songs written by Jewish guys? And why is an album of Christmas standards by Michael Buble outselling ever album but Adele? I also check in with friend of the show Kristian Bush (Sugarland) to talk about his new original Christmas song ‘Thinking About Drinking For Christmas’ - what Christmas music did he dig growing up? How do you write a great Christmas song? And what are the essential elements of Christmas music? Plus Canadian Corb Lund on why he’ll never make a Christmas album and Lee Brice on why he will. My Favorite Album is a podcast on the impact great music has on our lives. Each episode features a gue