My Favorite Album With Jeremy Dylan

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

Revisiting our most downloaded episodes of 2018 to close out the year LA singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers joins me to celebrate a classic album of the mid-naughties, Bright Eyes 'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'. We talk about why Phoebe resisted listening to the album before falling in love with it, how it changed the way she writes songs, where Bright Eyes fits in the 'emo' pantheon, why she can't listen to the songs on shuffle and whether the current political nightmare is influencing her writing the same way the Bush administration influenced Bright Eyes in 2005. Plus we talk about her friendship with Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst - what it's like to play Bright Eyes songs with him on tour, how Emmylou Harris inspired Phoebe to duet with Conor on her own album, how knowing Conor changes the way she listens to Bright Eyes and more.

JAZZ!

Writer, director, producer and crate digger extraordinaire Drew Pearce joins me for a rollicking conversation about Pixies classic album 'Doolittle', the formative impact it had on him as a child, listening to it totally fresh while not even knowing what the band looked like, the impact that producer Gil Norton had on the record and artists' relationships to their most revered work. Plus Drew recalls the time Robbie Robertson was a dick to him at the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, the time Kim Deal tried to score drugs off him and how he worked with Father John Misty to create the end credits song for his film 'Hotel Artemis'. 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 Tomm

Possessed of a voice and musical depth far beyond her years, Angie McMahon joined me to discuss KD Lang's 'Hymns of the 49th Parallel', a supreme covers album that celebrates Canada's great songwriters from Joni Mitchell to Leonard Cohen to Neil Young. Angie and I unpack why KD is such a supremely great singer, why some covers succeed and some fail, what Angie's covers record would be themed around, whether anyone should cover Joni Mitchell and more. 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). If you've got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a line at myfavoritealbumpodcast@gmail.com.

Longtime friend of the show, filmmaker Brian Koppelman, joins me to delve into the music of his acclaimed hit Showtime drama series BILLIONS. We go behind the scenes on some of the most compelling musical moments from three seasons of a show that has always found unexpected and fascinating songs to shade and power dynamic scenes and surprising and compelling ways to use some classic tunes. Songs discussed include Metallica - Harvester of Sorrow Metallica - Master of Puppets Drive By Truckers - Goddamn Lonely Love Jason Isbell - Cover Me Up Bob Dylan - Gotta Serve Somebody Van Halen - And the Cradle Will Rock Mink DeVille - Spanish Stroll Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Even the Losers Billions original score by Eskimo Queens of the Stone Age - The Evil has Landed The Traveling Wilburys - Handle with Care Bob Dylan - It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding Josh Ritter - Homecoming Garret T Kaps - Born in San Antone Nelly - Hot In Here Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra - Come Fly with Me Frank Sinatra -

“People often dismiss [Paul] as soft and lazy and complacent. In so many ways, he’s the exact opposite of that, to a frightening extreme.” - Rob Sheffield Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield, author of Dreaming the Beatles, joins me to preview the new White Album box set and for a wide ranging discussion on all things Fab Four - the way our perception of the Beatles change as we age, how the Rock Band video game got 90s kids into the Beatles, rethinking the story of the White Album, why we see aspect of ourselves in the Lennon McCartney friendship, how George was treated like John and Paul's kid brother, the way the Beatles drug use effected their relationships with each other, what McCartney and Mick Jagger have in common, why Taylor Swift is the modern day Paul McCartney, Rob’s 90 minute cut of Hey Jude, the eternal youthfulness of Ringo Starr and why he is in denial about the prospect of Paul’s eventual death... (and more if you can believe it) My Favorite Album is a podcast on the impact great music has on our

Stella Donnelly is a Western Australian singer-songwriter who wraps uncompromising lyrics in deft playing and aching beautiful melodies. She joins me to talk about the influence on 'Tender Buttons' by British cult favorites Broadcast. We talk about how the album marked a turning point in Broadcast's sound and the life of the band in general, how 'Tears in the Typing Pool' helped Stella find the confidence to tour without a band, the counterpoint between 'ugly' sounds and beautiful words (and vice-versa) and we plan out several genre-spanning Broadcast tribute albums. 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 documentary Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts (out now!) and the film Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of

English-born Australian-raised pop singer-songwriter Jess Kent joins me to delve into the weird and wonderful world of Gorillaz and their sophomore album 'Demon Days'. 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 documentary Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts (out now!) and the film Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins. Edited by Ellie Willoughby. If you've got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a line at myfavoritealbumpodcast@gmail.com.

Expert crafter of fiercely melodic guitar rock Ali Barter joins me to celebrate Hole's 'Live Through This'. 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 documentary Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts (out now!) and the film Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins. Edited by Ellie Willoughby. If you've got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a line at myfavoritealbumpodcast@gmail.com.