- 1 hour 49 minutesThe Story Behind: Jay-Z - The Blueprint, Ep. 265
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Jay-Z had fame, fortune, and a growing portfolio of successful business ventures when he decided to recruit a young Kanye West as producer and make an album that would forever cement his status in the hip hop world. Allan, Tom, and Rob get together to discuss the Nas / Jay-Z feud, sampling from the Jackson 5, and how rapping side by side with Eminem is a risky decision.
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https://open.spotify.com/album/69CmkikTHkGKdkrUZTtyWl?si=-uTgLIC5S8adjeS4zG3NQg
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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Next week's album: Whitney Houston - Whitney
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22 June 2026, 7:00 am - 1 hour 32 minutesThe Story Behind: Neil Young - Harvest, Ep. 264
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Neil Young was fresh off the success of Deja Vu but still trying to define himself as a solo artist when a back injury and a new love affair combined to help him create an acoustic classic. Rob, Tom, and Marty get together to discuss melodic harmonica, piercingly intimate songwriter, and telling the drummer to only use one hand.
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Listen to Harvest here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2l3QxNo4QubBNmVKxLeum0?si=gp24TR2rTvC0-38iibrgxA
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: Jay-Z - The Blueprint
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15 June 2026, 7:30 am - 1 hour 51 minutesThe Story Behind: John Mayer - Continuum, Ep. 263
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. John Mayer is tall, handsome, and white. What else is there to say? Adam, Tom, Rob, and a special guest get together to discuss blues guitar prowess, spouting off in the press, and the mom demographic.
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Listen to Continuum here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Xsprdt1q9rOzTic7b9zYM?si=vlqLXUWLQFSBa3QCqsv_Hg
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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Next week's album: Neil Young - Harvest
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8 June 2026, 7:30 am - 1 hour 41 minutesThe Story Behind: George Michael - Faith, Ep. 262
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. George Michael used sheer force of will to make himself a pop star, then tore it all down to re-make himself anew as he kicked off his solo career. Tom, Allan, Marty, and Rob get together to discuss sexy songs with religious overtones, the power of the MTV music video, amd (what else?) hot bass.
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Listen to Faith here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/34K1Kvskt9arWy8E1Gz3Lw?si=UpPIzpnnRpOqPgD9PZW-AA
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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Next week's album: John Mayer - Continuum
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1 June 2026, 7:30 am - 1 hour 42 minutesThe Story Behind: Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, Ep. 261
Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. Yo La Tengo are the indie band that just keeps going. With a married couple at its core, a deep love of 60s pop, and an abiding interest in fuzzy guitar, YLT is an electric live act that hit a commercial and critical peak with their 8th full length album. Rob, Adam, and Allan get together to discuss melodic noise, nerd rock, and Mr Magoo.
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Listen to I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3V18DIKvRuwdxc2LE4wuac?si=vT6LWF1JSEGj3z559Uax1g
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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Next week's album: George Michael - Faith
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25 May 2026, 7:30 am - 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 Music From the Penguin Cafe here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2mrujo5T64bQN2SvPWranQ?si=zmhsYHgYR-2Csa3sqFlVJg
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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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:
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Listen to Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3kQpBS26lAj0A0VGl1snRl?si=zCFggroPTY-OXEmrlFCuPg
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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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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nhaLY1VYCrHWQcaiibS5D?si=5a2e9183dbde45de
Listen to Screamdelica here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4TECsw2dFHZ1ULrT7OA3OL?si=h-H2-W6IQ7GNygKNh3NLUQ
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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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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JO24dfXSzFoU3t7ApQbcn?si=6ec39bd55a3443d0
Listen to Time Out here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0nTTEAhCZsbbeplyDMIFuA?si=jMDRT8ANRYGKw_GCJUCATA
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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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 Dookie here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4uG8q3GPuWHQlRbswMIRS6?si=mC263U2VRvq5JmVs7jkHZg
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Intro music: When the Walls Fell by The Beverly Crushers
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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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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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