Crash Chords Podcast

You may have some catching up to do (or some skipping to do) if the following doesn't tickle your fancy... Video game music! Today, we're looking at a smattering of the old and the new (mostly old). But no, this isn't a fit of nostalgia, nor a "best-of" playlist; it's a collection of remixes, specifically of select projects by the popular YouTuber Smooth McGroove whose multi-layered 'a cappella' game theme covers seemed all-too-ripe for the not-so-tender techno touch. Released through GameChops, the album Smooth McGroove Remixed features the work of ten different producers who've worked tirelessly to bring these themes from your childhood, and from YouTube fandom, to, of all places, the dance floor! In the course of our analysis, we'll be expressing our individual experiences with each iteration of the evolving theme-work before tackling a hefty post-album discussion on the mounting importance of Creative Commons. Continue reading

Today we're exploring the junction point of indi artistry, hip hop, comedy, and candidness... namely the self-described "Rhyme Minister" from Bromsgrove, Mr. Dan Bull. Having cultivated a devoted online following, in part owed to file sharing culture, Dan Bull is known for penning delightful odes to games and other media, for his comedic twists on familiar subjects, and for his intimate manner of encapsulating his own life experiences. On his latest album, Hip Hop Hooray, Dan Bull tackles subjects cheerful, silly, grim, and dire, offering fodder for celebration and analysis alike. Join us as we peer into the mouth of this "vicious beast", and as we briefly address the topics of file sharing and fan art at the top of the show. Continue reading

The groundhog has seen its shadow... and in that shadow... lurks CORIMA. If you've never heard of the 'Zeuhl' genre, then---just for the moment---spare yourself from culling through the 11-album discography of Magma (the genre's progenitor), and instead dive into Amaterasu, the third album by a vibrant and imaginative group based out of L.A. Taking after the jazz/prog leanings of its Zeuhl predecessors and the fully-enabled "anything goes" attitude of the RIO (Rock in Opposition) movement, Corima is all about fusion, yet also free of inhibition. The result: a two-piece, multi-movement concept work called Amaterasu. In this episode, we begin with an overview of Zeuhl before taking off on a roller coaster of an album analysis. Continue reading

Time to put on your computer & electronic music caps. Fusing the instincts of two overseas composers, Beatrice Dillon & Rupert Clervaux, Two Changes (an album released through Paralaxe Editions) is a two-track experience like no other. From techno, to ambient, to industrial, to the jazz noir finishings of pocket trumpetist Eben Bull, Two Changes offers a little bit of everything with no shortage of spectacle, and occasionally, stupefaction. And so, after another pre-album preamble, concerning electronica and track length, @0:18:42 we explore and assess the inner-workings of Two Changes' only pieces, "The Same River Twice" and "A Different River Once." Join along! Continue reading

Feeling classy? We've got quite the episode in store for you today. First, we're switching things up by placing our topic---a multi-pronged preamble for today's album---before the analysis instead of after. As a grand introduction to Chambers by Chilly Gonzales, we properly thank Doug Ferguson of the Music A to Z Podcast for recommending it, we talk a bit about their podcast, a bit about Chilly himself, and for our topic we address our own experiences with classical music over the years and reflect on the nasty habit of classical "avoidance". At last, once we're all warmed up, starting approx. 20 mins. in we begin to tackle Chambers, an album of twelve bite-sized neo-Romantic works featuring Chilly at the piano accompanied by Hamberg's Kaiser Quartett. So sit back, dive in, check out the Music A to Z Podcast (as well as Doug's last request), and indulge in the vast multiverse that is music and those who love discussing it. Continue reading

Welcome to our "official" inaugural episode of 2017! To kick off the year, we're looking at a well-known pillar of the music industry: Sting and his twelfth solo album since departing The Police (and first solo rock album in more than a decade), 57th & 9th. In an outward and inward-looking album where Sting takes a hard look backwards and a hard look at his surroundings at the same time, how does 57th & 9th fare as a work of art? Press play and contribute! Also, @1:57:35, we turn in our New Year's "homework", assigned to us back in ep. #222. In a frenzied search for weird and wild forms of art, we discuss six music genres that appeal to us---or repel us---in style or concept, all in an attempt to stump our colleagues. What niche genres do you find appealing? Continue reading

Well, it's been one hell of a year, and one hell of a week! Today we bring you the last episode of our 5-day series, our annual broad look at a year's worth of albums analyzed. These 'year in review' episodes represent our most cherished opportunity to shower additional praise, to re-analyze, to reiterate, and occasionally to rectify our past weekly instincts. Though we try our damnedest, it's impossible to fully digest albums on a week-to-week basis, so we're constantly re-examining. We'll start off with our rating changes, head over to our category prizes, take on the ever-so-maligned booby prizes, and then of course share with you our top picks. We have high hopes for 2017, high hopes for music, and high hopes for all of you! Thank you for another great year and we hope to see you next week. Continue reading

It's time for that silly annual tradition of ours. See, although we do our very best to publish the tightest episodes we can muster, make no mistake: the magic wand of editing has had a generous hand in that. That being the case, for just one episode a year, let's take a peek behind the curtain and gawk at the flubs, the blunders, the oversights, and the outright insanity. To thee we bare ourselves! Enjoy. Continue reading

It's day three of our five-day event series with today's episode marking the last entry in our 2016 review season. We thought we'd end the year nice and light, dabbling into some comedy, some satire, and of course, some obnoxious pop music. Join us as we follow the rise and fall---and rise again---of protagonist Conner4Real in the summer comedy flick, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. With the film and its original soundtrack both written by members of the The Lonely Island (who also star in the film), we're keeping to our goal of incorporating more cross-media material... and by gum it doesn't get more cross-media than that! Join us as we stroll through the film, wade through its myriad of cast members, and address the successes and pitfalls of both film & soundtrack as works of comedy. Enjoy! Continue reading

A "prog" band named Progger --- oy, now we've heard everything! Indeed, after hearing the Austin-based band's latest project Scattering (an album that sprung from a collaboration with the band's newest New York-based members) our horizons have been markedly broadened. Incorporating elements of jazz, prog, funk, and a hefty dose of name-your-poison, Scattering is no aperitif; it's the full meal. So join us for an in-depth analysis of this gripping work and also for a brief preview on some New Year's homework: the ultimate mystery genre game. Let's dig deep and ring in 2017 with shock & awe. Continue reading

Happy New Year from Crash Chords! Due in part to the holidays, but mostly to flu season, we took a short break and now it's time to play catch up! It's the race to Ep. #225 as we kick off the year with FIVE consecutive days of the Crash Chords Podcast. Today we commence with the first in the lineup by following through with our December guest's own listener pick. Many thanks to Mike Rugnetta for spurring us to tackle the third signed album by Childish Gambino---that is, the stage name and alias for actor and comedian Donald Glover---euphorically titled "Awaken, My Love!" Come join us for an analysis of the album and also for a discussion on music suggestions that always seem to come with warnings and caveats. Continue reading

Here's a proposition: a three-hour long Mike Rugnetta extravaganza! In the wake of his appearance on 'Crash Chords: Autographs', in CCA Ep. #43, we're pleased to re-introduce the one, the only, Mike Rugnetta for the full Crash Chords experience. Famed for hosting the PBS Idea Channel, a popular internet series that examines "the connections between pop culture, technology, and art", Mike sits in for a 30 min. follow-up interview, during which we prod into some new features on the Idea Channel, Mike's long-held interest in critical theory, the re-launch of his Reasonably Sound podcast, and fittingly, his own compositions. Finally, @ 0:29:20, we commence with the big tamale: quality time spent in a succulent critical analysis of Mike's album of choice, Without My Enemy What Would I Do by Made in Heights. With Mike fully in his element (and the rest of us seated & caffeinated), all that's missing is a dutiful audience! To join in, just chew on the album a bit, strap in, ponder, and play. Continue reading

Let's have a look at an album called Monument Builders by Loscil, a project by composer Scott Morgan. An ambient/electronica work at its core, Monument Builders was inspired by the Philip Glass score to the experimental film Koyaanisqatsi. The album spurs us to tackle a rare form of composition---the Vancouver native's unique brand of structured ambient minimalism---before entering our follow-up discussion on the importance of volume in music. (Hint: it's pretty important.) Continue reading

We just wanna tell you how we're feeling; gotta make you understand…. the power of analysis. As the title suggests, Rick Astley is 50! After taking an extended hiatus in order to raise a family, he's finally back to celebrate his age and other fortunes in his new album, aptly titled 50. Join us for a breakdown of 50, and also for a hefty discussion [@ 1:36:40] on the 'memification' of music, comedy, and social media art. So please, don't give us up, and don't let us down... because we know the game, and yes, we're gonna play it. Continue reading

We've got an exciting project lined up for you today: the Austrian rock band Second Relation and their third album Eno. Peppered with the perks of pop music and the soul-satisfying rewards of art rock, Eno is a must-experience for progressive rock fans and music lovers in general. You know the drill; listen to the album yourself first, then join us in a track-by-track analysis of Eno and Second Relation's fascinating attempt at musical portraiture. Afterwards, stick around for some brief theorizing on whether we, as people, have personal "themes"---simple narratives that the media we consume could easily, or not so easily, portray. Continue reading

Clear your day for Leonard Cohen. (Well, a least a portion of it.) With his soft vocals and poetic flair, Leonard Cohen has been speaking to a generation of poets as well as musicians ever since the 1960s. Today we'll be speaking to both camps as we take on Cohen's latest album You Want It Darker. Also, stick around for a brief compare & contrast discussion on universality and general appeal vs. the personal effect and specificity. *** [Edit: This episode was released three days before Leonard Cohen's unfortunate passing. We are deeply saddened by his loss and we hope this episode is taken as a celebration of his work, despite its ill-timed release. The following interpretations of his final album and life's work are opinion-based and, we hope, considerate of his legacy.] Continue reading

Batten down the hatches… Tidal Wave, the seventh studio album by 17-year rock veterans Taking Back Sunday, is our task for the week. Despite some occasional changes in the band lineup, the group has retained enough stability to turn out albums with consistency and class. We hope you'll honor that consistency and join us for an analysis of the group's latest creation, Tidal Wave. Afterwards, stick around to [2:02:20] for a preview on a little experiment of ours: Does music stack up to the 7 Basic Plots of plot-writing (as are often found in literature)? Are the journeys equatable, or does music simply go rogue? Continue reading

Grab your passport. Today we're taking a trip through the island of Ushant --- that is, Eusa (in Breton) --- the inspiration for EUSA, the latest album by Ushant resident and French composer Yann Tiersen. As Crash Chords has never before had the opportunity to sit with a pure piano work, EUSA keeps us on our toes as we discuss Yann Tiersen's trademark style and the album's mysterious sequence of introductory "paths". We chat about imagery, minimalism, what is and isn't certainty/reality, and then let our hair down with a topic on good ol' fashioned boredom in a media-rich culture. Continue reading

Brace yourself for Love Streams... the "streams" being the conjurings of one Tim Hecker, a Canadian electronic artist who, with the help of his Icelandic colleagues, has turned out a record that focuses more on the indistinct (and occasionally indistinguishable) textures/soundscapes than on more well-defined figures. Sporting a whirlwind of choir, woodwinds, static, and plenty of food for discourse, we'll be analyzing Love Streams from top to bottom before indulging ourselves in a topic on music listening habits. From time and place to ambiance and mood, how do we slice up our daily routine to accommodate the wide world of music? When a specific mood is on the docket, who should accommodate whom? Continue reading

Take a risk on FISK! Overdue for some band bonding, today's "evening with" presents the NYC-based punk garage band called FISK, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Freddie Heinemann, drummer Brandon Jacobs, and the latest addition, CiCi Young (a punk rock bassist from China who makes a late appearance in today's episode --- so stick around for her abridged, yet fascinating life story). On topics such as "making it" in the music business, the pitfalls of perfectionism, vexing venues, and the trials & rewards of playing in NYC, we're glad to feature FISK in the limelight of their new EP Stun to Kill, and, as always, to feature their music: two studio tracks and a live & local performance at the Crash Chords studio. Continue reading