My Favorite Album With Jeremy Dylan

This week I chat to the king of late night TV and rock n' roll legend Max Weinberg about 'Persistent Percussion' by Maxwell Davis and his All Stars (1960). Max explains how the pop exotica album taught him to take an all rounded approach to drumming, how it encouraged him to learn about the history of drumming in popular music, mono vs stereo and what it's like to hear others reinterpret his own drum parts. Max tells me about his friendship with Irv Cottler, meeting Frank Sinatra and the successful career of his son Jay.

This week I talk to Australian singer/songwriter Jack River aka Holly Rankin about MGMT's debut album 'Oracular Spectacular' (2007). We talk about the ubiquitous and inescapable singles on this era defining record and their matching video clips that envision a utopian world, the album's political message and the impact psychedelic drugs have had on music. Holly tells us about her career arc, what it was like to meet MGMT's Andrew Van Wyngarden and how fans can find meaning in a song that goes beyond the original intent of the artist.

This week we finally get to a Weezer record as I chat to Australian singer-songwriter and master of a thousand instruments Dave Jenkins Jr aka Not A Boy's Name about the classic 1996 album 'Pinkerton'. We talk about the band's dramatic identity change from their previous album, the poor reviews 'Pinkerton' originally received and frontman Rivers Cuomo's complicated relationship with the album. Dave opens up about about his early disastrous recording experience that coincided with discovering the album, whether the legacy of great art can be tarnished by the quality of subsequent work and 'Pinkerton's' connection to the opera.

My Favorite Album returns from hiatus for a special Americana Fest edition of the show, featuring one of the most compelling young Americana artists talking about a formative record of the genre. The devastating Kristina Murray joins me to chat Lucinda Williams' 1988 self-titled album. We discuss how this record was overshadowed by Lucinda's classic album 'Car Wheels On A Gravel Road' and the birth of the Americana genre. Kristina tells us how Lucinda's music helped to craft her own sound, what it's like to cover songs from the album and she treats us to a special acoustic rendition of 'Crescent City'.

This week I chat to producer, bassist, songwriter, documentarian and president of iconic jazz label Blue Note Records, Don Was about Wayne Shorter's classic album 'Speak No Evil' (1966). We talk about how the album gave Don a sense of purpose, that a piece of music doesn't need lyrics to speak to someone, how great artists seem to appear from a creative ether and Don explains how engineer Rudy Van Gelder achieved the classic jazz sound that unifies all Blue Note albums and how Don aims to continue that legacy by pursuing the artists' vision. Plus Don tells me some fantastic anecdotes about his time working with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Garth Brooks, Benmont Tench and more.

This week I chat to frontman of The Herd, co founder of Elefant Traks record label, manager and solo artist Urthboy (aka Tim Levinson) about A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘The Low End Theory’. We discuss how A Tribe Called Quest was political in a different way than other hip-hop artists of their era, how their sampling of jazz helped them cross generational lines and how your ability to appreciate contemporary music falters as you get older. Tim opens up about how the album educated him about issues not being discussed in school and why he has referenced and sampled elements of the album in his own music.

This week I talk to Queen of Australian radio Zan Rowe about Talking Heads ‘More Songs About Buildings and Food’. We chat about David Byrne’s outsider appeal, the new wave funk sound that defined Talking Heads, the album’s dystopian predictions and capitalist lyrics, producer Brian Eno’s contribution to the album and delve into his Oblique Strategies cards. Zan tells us about the first time she met David Byrne, his wonderful sense of curiosity and we both commiserate over missing his last tour.

This week I chat to rapper, writer, comedian, actor, one half of A.B. Original and the man who should've been PM, Briggs, about Snoop Dogg's classic album 'Doggy Style' (1993). We talk about Snoop as a crucial but underrated figure in the evolution of hip-hop, how Briggs discovered the record as a kid in Shepparton, make a case for the album's importance, the timelessness of the production, delve into the making of the album and how Briggs' channeled Snoop to capture the energy of the recording studio on 'Reclaim Australia'.

This week I chat to Australian singer-songwriter Gretta Ray about Blake Mills' 2010 album 'Break Mirrors'. Mills may be better known as a producer (Alabama Shakes, Dawes) but today we explore his own music. We talk about how Mills wrote this album as a calling card for his session work, his poetic but unpretentious turns of phrase, his unique but completely tasteful guitar work, Mills' production on Laura Marling's latest album and the advantages of operating slightly under the radar.

My Favorite Album Goes to the Movies continues as we explore how the iconic MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE theme has evolved over fifty years of the TV and film franchise, with special guest MI experts Drew Taylor and Charles Hood, hosts of the Light the Fuse podcasts. We look at the origins of the theme and delve into the scores of the 60s and 80s TV series, and how each composer has approached the films from Danny Elfman to Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino to Joe Kraemer and Lorne Balfe, plus lesser known takes on the theme music by U2’s Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr, Limp Bizkit, Kanye West and Jon Brion, and where we want to see the franchise take the score in the upcoming two (final?) films…

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.