- 1 hour 31 minutesThe Story Behind: Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Music from the Penguin Cafe, Ep. 260
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. The Penguin Cafe was born of a fever dream - a place where strangely familiar music wafts down a dusty road. Simon Jeffes dreamed it and then made it a reality. Allan, Tom, Rob and a special guest get together to discuss Nintendo music, avant-pop, and using a garage door as an instrument
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Check out special guest Thomas Hughes at: Carol Cleveland Sings on Spotify , Carol Cleveland Sings on Instagram (great videos!), and The Spinto Band (on Spotify)
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/67Wyt3i0X9ppL3Qr88lGQV?si=5c4f3e69e6234896
Listen to Music From the Penguin Cafe here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2mrujo5T64bQN2SvPWranQ?si=zmhsYHgYR-2Csa3sqFlVJg
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Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
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18 May 2026, 7:30 am - 1 hour 40 minutesThe Story Behind: Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, Ep. 259
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Marty Robbins lived a frontier life with an outlaw father before discovering his love for making music and specifically writing about the old west. Adam, Rob, and a special guest get together to discuss 1930s slang, the ultra specificity of the storytelling song form, and #1 hits about teens dying in car crashes.
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Check out our special guest Chris Dalla Riva: Buy his book | Listen to his music | Read his newsletter
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1hFsnJbfBRD5TYZeEFQHDJ?si=33519bd24c534a4f
Listen to Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3kQpBS26lAj0A0VGl1snRl?si=zCFggroPTY-OXEmrlFCuPg
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Music from the Penguin Cafe
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11 May 2026, 7:30 am - 1 hour 47 minutesThe Story Behind: Primal Scream - Screamadelica, Ep. 258
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Primal Scream started as a jangle pop 60s band, then morphed into a 70s garage rock band, then decided to embrace rave culture and DJ remixes. Rob, Tom, Marty, and a very special guest get together to discuss gospel singing, self-sabotage, and how to smuggle drugs back from Spain.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nhaLY1VYCrHWQcaiibS5D?si=5a2e9183dbde45de
Listen to Screamdelica here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4TECsw2dFHZ1ULrT7OA3OL?si=h-H2-W6IQ7GNygKNh3NLUQ
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
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4 May 2026, 7:30 am - 1 hour 57 minutesThe Story Behind: Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out, Ep. 257
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Dave Brubeck was raised as a cattle rancher in Califronia's Central Valley before becoming an Army band leader and a symbol of the American collegiate jazz movement. Tom, Rob, and Adam get together to discuss soulless soloing, bland time signatures, and the power of the rhythm section.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JO24dfXSzFoU3t7ApQbcn?si=6ec39bd55a3443d0
Listen to Time Out here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0nTTEAhCZsbbeplyDMIFuA?si=jMDRT8ANRYGKw_GCJUCATA
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: Primal Scream - Screamadelica
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27 April 2026, 7:15 am - 1 hour 51 minutesThe Story Behind: Green Day - Dookie, Ep. 256
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Green Day had built a steady following on the Berkeley punk scene when they (gasp) signed with a major label and spent lots more time and money to make Dookie. Rob, Tom, and Adam welcome a special guest to talk about selling out, exercising preternatural restraint, and of course, lead bass.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0cqyBw7lgXERUVfRHsug5F?si=ddf87a40525049cb
Listen to Dookie here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4uG8q3GPuWHQlRbswMIRS6?si=mC263U2VRvq5JmVs7jkHZg
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
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20 April 2026, 7:15 am - 1 hour 52 minutesThe Story Behind: Queen - A Night at the Opera, Ep. 255
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Queen was given the keys to the studio and knew they had one more shot at the big time, so with A Night at the Opera their ambition hit new heights. Tom, Rob., and Allan welcome a special guest complainer and discuss Wayne's World, homemade guitars, and amplifiers pulled from the trash.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3zpBTPoxYjJGV5jv2HVWgp?si=0f4624fad1b74ee3
Listen to A Night at the Opera here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/7HVoV2lgVsmuiHsjbbUJB4?si=wYrnluTlSB-lm-2f13Lg6w
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: Green Day - Dookie
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13 April 2026, 7:15 am - 2 hours 9 minutesThe Story Behind: The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream, Ep. 254
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. The Smashing Pumpkins spent months in the studio tinkering with novel guitar tones to make Siamese Dream a reality. Tom, Rob, Adam, and a special guest get together to discuss unshielded pickups, jazzy bombastic drumming, and Butch Vig's "other" masterpiece.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3L76RNXUEc4CIVOd7c5iPv?si=0933f8d24a7d41b2
Listen to Siamese Dream here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3YDm8Vu6IOjjVdLNHlJtj0?si=9Mt_el_WR--kjKNRneE_Wg
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And - our listener submitted ROCK goes DISCO playlist is here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2myIQqMRsQ0f6jrGRbERQz?si=9d59b013c0f14a9b
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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Next week's album: Queen - A Night at the Opera
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6 April 2026, 7:15 am - 1 hour 46 minutesThe Story Behind: The Replacements - Let It Be, Ep. 253
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. The Replacements cultivated a reckless rock and roll loser attitude and the Minneapolis music scene was never quite the same. Rob, Tom and Marty are joined by a special guest to discuss the punk to sincerity songwriting pipeline, self sabotage on an epic scale, and recruiting middle schoolers to your band
Check out the Immigrant Law Center of MN: https://www.ilcm.org/
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48ExfA3Z8wPyjiZKnZAdVh?si=1b209d3673f241f1
Listen to Let It Be here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2sOLW5TSgXiLZBacdHxO6m?si=zzf3xLlpRJO2c6aRc8yNlw
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
Follow our Spotify Playlist of music produced directly by us. Listen and complain at home
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Next week's album: The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
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30 March 2026, 7:15 am - 1 hour 58 minutesThe Story Behind: Eminem - The Slim Shady LP, Ep. 252
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Eminem leaned into his own failings to win the crowds at local rap battles and eventually make his way to the ears of Dr Dre. Tom, Marty, and Allan get together to discuss ultraviolent lyrics, clever wordplay, and terrible singing.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0rvtPiqiqalcwGjwBkqcki?si=52d30d92ff2643e7
Listen to The Slim Shady LP here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0vE6mttRTBXRe9rKghyr1l?si=w413-mGSS-qm9eFsAQF33w
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
Follow our Spotify Playlist of music produced directly by us. Listen and complain at home
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Next week's album: The Replacements - Let It Be
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23 March 2026, 7:15 am - 1 hour 40 minutesThe Story Behind: Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends - The Way of the Neutron
Conan Neutron is the beating heart of American DIY music - buy his record, support his podcast Protonic Reversal , and see him live on tour RIGHT NOW
https://www.neutronfriends.com/
https://neutronfriends.bandcamp.com/album/the-way-of-the-neutron
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4YOQwc9Y6Z40WqbekyQLLp?si=5a00134246b0443d
Listen to The Way of the Neutron here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5unhuLh56wEHhKcph9ulBX?si=hdFwPCinRE6pR2x5kA3Chw
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
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18 March 2026, 7:15 am - 1 hour 44 minutesThe Story Behind: Pink Floyd - The Wall (part 2), Ep. 251
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Pink Floyd decamp to France to record a make or break high-concept double album as tensions within the band continue to mount. After the classic lineup breakup, they stay together as friends (just kidding) and only one person gets paid (this part's true). The boys continue their milestone celebration and talk fretless bass, emotional peaks, and unsavory dalliances with authoritarianism.
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Listen to our episode companion playlist (compilation of the songs we referenced on this episode) here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6s6ligjsi17evwO7C0hL85?si=6f9e903b4be642c6
Listen to The Wall here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5Dbax7G8SWrP9xyzkOvy2F?si=Am_8HFWtS5GB3Gyc98w9xw
And our international playlists continue to grow:
Thai, German, Sweden 1, 2, & 3, Italian, Australian, Belgium 1 & 2
Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
Outro music: After the Afterlife by MEGA
Follow our Spotify Playlist of music produced directly by us. Listen and complain at home
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Next week's album: Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
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