Our guest this week, Chicago singer-songwriter/guitarist Nikki O'Neill, moved around a lot as a child. A LOT. But no matter what life threw at her, Al Green's 1972 landmark soul/R&B release 'Let's Stay Together' always felt like home. "Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad - let's stay together..." Songs discussed in this episode: Let's Stay …

You might recognize actress Megan Mullally from her Emmy Award-winning stint on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, or her many other comedic roles. What you MIGHT not know is that she's also an accomplished singer, releasing three albums with her band Supreme Music Program. This week's guest, Patron, visual artist and self-described potential drag discip…

Legendary musician and multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon released a banger of a solo album in 2024, the blistering, sonically vicious 'The Collective'. This week we're joined by guests Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten) and Danielle de Picciotto (Crime & the City Solution, Love Parade) - who together comprise the genre-defying, trailblazin…

What more can be said about returning guest Steve Michener (Big Dipper, Volcano Suns) that hasn't been said already during his SEVEN previous appearances?!? Perhaps not much, but Steve is ALWAYS a great guest, and he returns with a gem of a record that many may not have heard of before - the delightful one-and-done release by British singer/songwri…

Is 'Spirit Of Eden', the fourth studio album by British band Talk Talk, a deceptively understated masterpiece or an indulgent musical experiment gone awry? Rob and this week's returning guest Tom Lawery fall decidedly in the former camp. Released in 1988, the record is now often cited as the precursor to later so-called 'post-rock' albums by bands …

Before discovering punk rock and forming New Jersey hardcore band Detention with his brothers Daniel and Paul, bassist Kevin Shields was a rock and roll kid. He bought the Johnny Winter And 'Live' album because he thought the cover looked cool, and no matter where his musical path took him this blistering live set recorded live at The Fillmore East…

Recorded and mixed over six days, Philadelphia band Webb Chapel's latest release - 'World Cup' - represents the band’s transition from primary songwriter Zack Claxton's solo project to a more collaborative effort. The resulting amalgamation of thrilling sonic deconstructionism and top-notch indie songwriting caught the ear of this week's guest, sin…

For this special Patron-curated episode, we asked our Patrons to send in their favorite song about religion and/or God. We got an eclectic batch of submissions, running the gamut from the holy to the heretical. Joyful noise indeed! Songs discussed in this episode: Old Time Religion - Pete Seeger; Take Care Of All Of My Children - Tom Waits; Jewish …

This week we're joined by Richmond, VA Circuit Court Judge Richard Campbell. No, we're not in trouble - Richard, who wrote the book "Gettin' Kinda Itchie: The Groups That Made the Mamas & the Papas", is here to talk The Mamas & the Papas and their often overlooked S/T second album 'The Mamas and The Papas' Court is in session! Songs discussed in th…

As can often happen to records made by virtual unknowns that end up selling over 30 million copies worldwide, Alanis Morissette's uncensored diary of an album 'Jagged Little Pill' is perceived by many with a degree of snark and cynicism. Our guest this week, singer/songwriter Lori Garrote, is not one of these people. Raw, unvarnished and intensely …

Yes, Dot Hacker's lead vocalist Josh Klinghoffer played guitar with Red Hot Chili Peppers for 10 years - trigger warning for some - but before forming in 2008 all four members were already established musicians, recording and touring with an impressive list of respected artists including: Beck, Gnarls Barkley, PJ Harvey, The Butthole Surfers and Br…

German electronic band Kraftwerk's 1975 release 'Radio-Activity' is a bit of a forgotten middle-child, having come just after 'Autobahn' and just before 'Trans-Europe Express'. Returning guest Kevin Chanel makes the case that this highly experimental, avant-garde concept album deserves a second look. “When airwaves swing, distant voices sing” Songs…

When this week's guest, musician/music historian Matthew Sabatella discovered Harry Smith's 'The Anthology Of American Folk Music' in the late 90s, it literally changed the direction of his own musical journey. This amazing collection of recordings made and issued from 1926 to 1933 by a variety of performers got under his skin, and eventually moved…

For this special Patron-curated episode, we asked patrons of the podcast to send in a song they love, that 'got them high' and that they wanted to share with our listeners. You know when you're talking music with someone and you say "Have you heard this one song? You've gotta hear it...it will change your life!" Yeah, that. Songs discussed in this …

This week, returning guest Joe Tunis (Carbon Records) brings us Dallas, TX band Bedhead and their stunning 1994 debut 'WhatFunLifeWas'. With a seemingly simple formula of guitars, bass, drums and often quiet, sing-speak vocals, the album explores existential questions and spiritual emptiness in a beautifully effective way. Songs discussed in this e…

At the start of this blistering set, recorded live in Cologne Germany in 1992, saxophonist Maceo Parker declares it will be "2 percent jazz and 98 percent funky stuff." He does not disappoint. This week's guest, Chicago saxophonist Chris Greene (Chris Greene Quartet), joins us to discuss how Parker's 'Life On Planet Groove' got him high and helped …

Music fan and Patron Rory Cox Zoomed-in all the way from Ljubljana Slovenia to discuss The Roots and their ninth studio album 'How I Got Over'. For this 2010 release, Questlove, Black Thought, Dice Raw and company concocted a diverse, slow-build mission statement on how to overcome. Songs discussed in this episode: A Peace Of Light, The Seed, Walk …

With only one official studio album to his name - 1994's Grace - there has always been an air of mystery and melancholy in the music of Jeff Buckley. Tragically drowning in 1997 at the age of 30, his was a unique talent still developing and expanding. Our guests this week, Kerry Jones and Kyle Alexander of the Portland, OR art rock band Death Doula…

Author, radio host and songwriter Binnie Klein (WPKN Radio, In These Trees) brings us Joni Mitchell and her stunning 1972 release, 'For The Roses'. Searching for balance in her life after a tumultuous relationship with James Taylor - and trying to escape the craziness of Los Angeles - Joni trekked back up to the Canadian wilderness and wrote most o…

Once considered polar opposites, country music and rap have had a bit of a moment together as of late with artists like Jelly Roll & Post Malone and releases like Beyonce's Cowboy Carter hitting the charts. The thing is, Brooklyn, NY born bluegrass/hip-hop group Gangstagrass have been doing it since 2007. Returning guest, sociologist Alana Anton, b…

Singer/songwriter Django Haskins (The Old Ceremony) is the one to FINALLY bring a Randy Newman record to TRGMH, 1999's 'Bad Love'. With equal doses of snide wit and honest emotion, Newman's slyly cynical 10th studio album is sure to get under your skin and fester for a while... Songs discussed in this episode: I Miss You (Unplugged), Short People, …

For this BONUS Patron-curated episode, we invited patrons of the podcast to send in their favorite political and/or protest songs. They came up with a surprisingly eclectic playlist of songs that will make you angry, fired-up and ready to (metaphorically) rumble! Fight The Power, indeed!! Songs discussed in this episode: War - Bob Marley (Live 1977…

Throughout the late 80s and early 90s, Ministry were one of the most terrifyingly aggressive industrial acts around. But in 1983 Al Jourgensen introduced himself to the masses - and this week's guest, producer/musician Dave Trumfio (Chicago's Pulsars) - with the decidedly New Wave 'With Sympathy'. This is NOT your grandma's Ministry, unless your gr…

California pop/punk royalty Descendents took a break in 1987, becoming All so singer Milo Aukerman could pursue a career in biochemistry. 1996 marked the return of Milo, and the release of their 5th studio album 'Everything Sucks'. This week Rob is joined by artist/drummer Woody Compton (Is This Tomorrow), as they both unleash their 12-year-old sel…

Formed in 1979, Hawthorne California's Redd Kross are having quite the year. With a feature documentary - Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story directed by Andrew Reich - a fantastic new self-titled double album, and a new memoir by brothers Jeff & Steven McDonald and award winning journalist Dan Epstein: Now You’re One of Us: The Incredible Story of…

When this week's guest, Minneapolis-based writer and drummer David Jarnstrom, was tasked with choosing a record to discuss, he surprisingly went with something both relatively obscure AND near-and-dear to Rob's heart: the 1990 debut - and sole full-length record - by criminally unsung Miami pop-punk heroes Quit, 'Earlier Thoughts'. Go figure! Songs…

Back in March, 2021 when TRGMH was still a two-man operation, musician & human Bob Fay (Sebadoh, Deluxx, Folk Implosion) joined Rob and Barry to discuss The Frogs and their controversial 1989 cult classic 'It's Only Right and Natural'. That episode was never released. Until now... Songs discussed in this episode: Homos - The Frogs (Live at The Knit…

This week's guest, producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Evan Taylor (Bernie Worrell Orchestra, Loantaka Records), brings us The Beach Boys' 21st studio album - and the last one under the group's name to be written and produced solely by troubled leader Brian Wilson - 'The Beach Boys Love You'. Released in 1977, this strange, at-times chi…

British post-punk superstars Wire always seem to be ahead of their time, no matter what time they exist in. Returning guest Garry Messick (American Doom Podcast) brings us their twelfth studio album, 2011's mysteriously diverse, surprisingly melodic 'Red Barked Tree'. 34 years into their career at the time of its release, Colin Newman, Graham Lewis…

When Rickie Lee Jones burst onto the music scene in 1979, she was an immediate sensation. There was no one remotely like her. When week's guest - Minneapolis singer/songwriter Pamela McNeill - picked up Jones' debut on cassette at a truck stop, she was looking for some cool female-fronted music to pop into her Walkman for the long drives to gigs si…

Strap-in dear listeners, as we are joined by Yasuko Onuki and Ichiro Agata (Yako & Agata) of Japanese noise rock band Melt-Banana - and some creepy computer-generated translation software - for this BONUS episode discussing the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' 1987 film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) "Can you hear it? Can you see it? Can you lo…

This week we dive into Glasgow Scotland's influential indie-pop purveyors The Pastels and their excellent EP/Singles compilation 'Truckload Of Trouble' with special guest, teacher and poet Josh Medsker. Songs discussed in this episode: Lonely Planet Boy (New York Dolls Cover) - The Pastels; The Horrors In The Museum - Rudimentary Peni; Nothing To B…

Dagger Zine's Tim Hinely returns with a record that STILL gets him high after 37+ years. A turning point for D.C. Hardcore band Government Issue, their 1987 release 'You' saw the band moving in a more mature, melodic direction that proved to be a game-changer, and paved the way for many a post-hardcore band that followed in their footsteps. Songs d…

Returning guest, filmmaker Alan Zweig (Vinyl, When Jews Were Funny), brings us Will Oldham - a.k.a. Palace Brothers, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy...etc) and his stunning debut: 'There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You'First released in 1993 under a cloud of mystery, Oldham's dark tales of sin, lust, alcohol, and redemption made for rousing conversation…

Our guest this week, Brooklyn-based musician David Nagler (Tape Hiss), brings us Brazilian music legend Milton Nascimento and his 1973 release: Milagre Dos Peixes (Miracle of the Fishes) When many of the song lyrics were rejected by the Brazilian military regime, Nascimento elected to remove them and replace them with a wordless singing style that …

This week we take another swing of the hammer of the Gods with Led Zeppelin's 3rd release, Led Zeppelin III. Our guest Karen Haglof came up in the Minneapolis indie music scene in the late 70s, eventually moving to NYC and playing in several of no wave pioneer Rys Chatham's guitar ensembles and later with Band Of Susans, before taking a break to ea…

For this special BONUS episode, we asked our Patrons to send in a cover of a song they feel is better than the original. As usual, they did NOT disappoint! Warning: Hot takes ahead!! Songs discussed in this episode: Hallelujah - John Cale, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, K.D. Lang, Neil Diamond and Brandi Carlile Seven Days Too Long - Dexys Midnigh…

The last thing Rob expected to be doing in 2024 was talking about Anaheim, California ska-punk/pop band No Doubt, but when he invited Late Slip's ringleader Chelsea Nenni on the show her record choice was crystal clear. When she first heard their breakout album 'Tragic Kingdom' as a 10 year old girl living in Southern California, the seed of one da…

In this positively bonkers episode, we ventured into the studio of L.A. musician/producer Fernando Perdomo to help him unpack the bizarre album by Philadelphia pop/soul hitmakers Daryl Hall and John Oates that got them dropped by Atlantic Records: 1974's 'War Babies'. Strap in, kids... Songs discussed in this episode: Is It A Star - Todd Rundgren; …

Avant-garde singer-songwriter and musician Azalia Snail joins Rob in the TRGMH studio to discuss an artist near and dear to her heart - Melanie Safka aka Melanie - and some of her greatest hits: "But maybe it'll all be alright, ma Maybe it'll all be okay Well, if the people are buying tears I'll be rich someday, ma Look what they done to my song...…

For our very first stab at a Dylan record, Chicago singer/songwriter Steve Dawson (Dolly Varden) veered away from the obvious and chose 1970s 'New Morning'. Coming on the heels of his widely ill-received 'Self Portrait', 'New Morning' was a tight, solid collection of songs many considered a welcome return to form from Mr Zimmerman. Super-fun conver…

This week's guest, author Rob Drew, traces how a lowly, hissy format that began life in office dictation machines and cheap portable players came to be regarded as a token of intimate expression through music and a source of cultural capital in his new book Unspooled: How the Cassette Made Music Shareable. For this episode, he curated a mixtape of …

For this special BONUS episode, we asked our Patrons to send in a song with horns that got them high. As always they did NOT disappoint - it's a super-eclectic episode with some really fantastic 'songs with horns' picks, so enjoy!! Songs discussed in this episode: A Message To You Rudy - The Specials; Young Americans - David Bowie; The Impression T…

This week, New York musician Stephen Bluhm brings us John Cale and his hauntingly beautiful 1973 masterpiece: 'Paris 1919' Songs discussed in this episode: Paris 1919 (live at the Paradiso Amsterdam Netherlands) - John Cale; Any Little Thing - Stephen Bluhm; Big White Cloud - John Cale; No One Is There - Nico; All The Love You Want, Wissahickon - S…

What more can be said about Led Zeppelin's densely iconic sixth studio album, 'Physical Graffiti', that hasn't already been said? Apparently quite a bit. Returning guest Corey duBrowa takes us to rock school as we unpack this multi-platinum hard rock mammoth of a double-record. Songs discussed in this episode: Kashmir (Live at Olympia, Paris, Franc…

The third and final studio album by Argentine rock band Pescado Rabioso, 1973s 'Artaud', is essentially a solo album by enigmatic singer/songwriter Luis Alberto Spinetta. The record's jagged, irregular shape foreshadows the darkly beautiful music within, and this week's guest Ale Campos (Las Nubes) helps hopeless gringo Rob unpack this essential Sp…

New Orleans singer/songwriter Lynn Drury helped Rob get over his irrational Jeff Tweedy/Wilco bias and fully embrace their 1999 release, 'summerteeth'. Tweedy and multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett combined intricate studio experimentation with pure pop to craft a wonderfully ambiguous gem of a record. Songs discussed in this episode: Thirteen - Wil…

This week, we're joined by Patron Marcia Potts as we travel back to a simpler time when the shirts were bright, the jackets Members Only and the music was...AWESOME! When director Martha Coolidge made her 1983 sleeper hit 'Valley Girl', she filled the movie with New Wave gems made popular by KROQ's "Rock of the 80s" format. Unfortunately the planne…

When British band Ultravox released their fourth studio album 'Vienna' in 1980, the addition of new lead singer Midge Ure marked a total change in direction from experimental post-rock to lushly orchestrated synth-pop. This week's guest, singer/songwriter Oscar Herrera (The Sleep of Reason, Black Tape For A Blue Girl), joins us as we explore this i…

When author Bob Suren (Weird Music That Goes on Forever: A Punk's Guide to Loving Jazz) was first exposed to hardcore music as a teen in the early 80s, it opened his ears and mind to to a world beyond his suburban life in Stuart, FL. The Reno, NV band 7 Seconds were a big part of this awakening, and their blistering 1982 7" E.P. 'Skins, Brains & Gu…