An Impossible Way Of Life

Today on the pod we are beyond excited to be joined by the great Fred Tackett. In addition to being a member of Little Feat, Fred has played with just about everyone you can think of. He was a member of Christian Bob's touring band, did the Lido Shuffle with Boz Scaggs, and strummed along with the Rhinestone Cowboy. But most importantly, for the sake of this show, and this month, he was a great friend of Harry Nilsson's. Fred was generous enough to share a lot of great stories and memories with us over the hour and, needless to say, you don't wanna miss it. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeIt's Harry's birthday! What better way to celebrate than to discuss his bedroom pop masterpiece "Nilsson Sings Newman". Although it may not have been the best business decision to record a whole album of songs by a relatively unknown songwriter, it is a bold statement about the power of collaboration. Harry is out to show us that, to him, a great song is all that matters. Harry Birthday to the man!

Just minutes before recording an episode about Harry Nilsson we heard that Brian Wilson had died. So we took this opportunity to speak about both of them and the wonderful similarities they share in their musical philosophies. Two artists who understood the importance of maintaining child-like wonder as long as possible in order to keep the soul tethered to the other world, the world of dreams. After all, dreams are nothing more than wishes and a dream is a wish your heart makes. RIP Brian. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeNilsson month continues and we are joined again by IWOL three timer's club member Johanna Samuels to discuss Harry Nilsson's "Ariel Ballet". This is the second of Harry's trapeze-like vocal showcase albums for RCA and, with the inclusion of "Everybody's Talkin'", the one that really made him a star. 

It's Nilsson month on Impossible Way of Life and we couldn't be happier about it. The sun is shining and all we wanna do is shake up a Brandy Alexander, crack a pack of Camels and discuss this larger than life rock n' roll vampire and all the cheeky music that comes with him. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeIn our first attempt at a full length, 90s style, DVD audio commentary track, we drink some of Johnny's Dad's plum wine and watch the new John and Yoko doc from his parent's TV room. 

Two guys with iced Americanos slump in deck chairs on a baking stoop, recovering from Becoming Led Zeppelin — the world's most majestic slideshow. Whole Lotta Nothing? Stairway to Nowhere? On today's episode, we dissect this documentary that somehow charts the birth of rock's most chaotic band without once mentioning demons, debauchery, or even a decent anecdote.And hey, support us on Patreon for a bonus episode every week. Impossible Way of Life is made by musicians, for musicians — pulling back the curtain on the grind, the glory, and the gloriously unhinged world of making music.

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeWelcome back to another episode of Hell on Wheels Radio. This week's Patreon episode is all about driving songs — we're talking "Radar Love," "Maybellene," "Arrested for Driving While Blind," "Call Me the Breeze" — this is chrome dreams, baby.We're in Johnny's car, me riding shotgun as The Passenger, catching up over a couple of iced Americanos before a few days off-grid and on the loose. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.And hey, please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon for an extra bonus episode every week. Impossible Way of Life is created by musicians, for musicians — diving deep into the grind, the glory, and the gritty truth of life in the music world.

We felt there was more to say on this topic. Particularly when it comes to the franchise rebuild that happened after Alex Chilton's death. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeThe universe works in mysterious ways. The stars appear to be aligning perfectly for you, but it turns out you got dropped in the wrong place at the wrong time. This episode is about Big Star.

We are joined by author and all around Kinks enthusiast Chris Kocher. Chris' book "Thank You For The Days" is a lovingly put together collection of stories from Kinks fans all over the world. This podcast is all about community and so is Chris. He also knows more about The Kinks than anyone who has been on this show so we learned a lot over the course of the hour. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeIn the wise words of Axl Rose...where do we go now? Our Kinks marathon isn't quite over but it's wrapping up and it feels natural to head in a Power Pop direction. The problem is some people are also calling for an IWOL journey through Harry Nilsson's wild, storied music life. What will the decision be?!

This is quite possibly our most Canadian episode to date. We are joined by John Batt of @canada.gov.ca instagram fame. For those of you who don't live in Canada, John is basically Canadian royalty at this point. Topics include the NHL playoffs, Sloan, Wolf Parade, The Junos, Weird Al (not Canadian somehow) and Eastern Canada's love of Jam bands. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeWe think music is probably still alive but we're trying to figure it out.

As our Kinksy journey komes to an end we kompile a playlist of our favorite kinks kuts from all the klassic albums we kovered. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife'We're hanging on to this Kinks marathon by a thread but we manage to eek out a discuss on Preservation Act 1. Other than that, Johnny got stoned and went to see Pink Floyd - At Pompeii at the IMAX and we're just generally switching into glide on a Saturday. 

On New Year's Day in 1962, a four-man band from Liverpool arrived at Decca Records in London to record a demo tape. The band's 15-song audition was apparently underwhelming: The Beatles were rejected from the label in favour of a group called Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. The audition tapes, too, were soon forgotten, aside from some incomplete bootlegs that circulated among die-hard fans and five songs released on the 1995 compilation album Anthology 1. So when Rob Frith, the owner of Neptoon Records in Vancouver, and the man we interview today, brought a tape labeled “Beatles '60s demos” to his friend's studio on a whim, he didn't know the value of what he possessed. Impossible Way of Life is created by musicians, for musicians—diving deep into the grind, the glory, and the gritty truth of life in the music world. Just like you need us, we need you. Please consider supporting our podcast through our Patreon at www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife for an extra bonus episode every week. $5 a month - that's less than a cup of coffee. Thanks again Rob for this interview.

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifePodcast dropping early—because tonight, we DJ. That's right: we're trading microphones for crossfaders and preaching the gospel of the eternal groove straight from the booth. On this episode, we discuss the songs we'll be spinning tonight—tales of the cheat-code classics, those tracks so loaded with primal rhythm and memory they yank bodies to the floor before the chorus even hits. We're talking nuclear-grade crowd detonators.So tune in, then come find us under the strobe—Saturday, April 19th at The Lido - Vancouver.And….Please consider supporting our podcast through our Patreon for an extra bonus episode every week. Impossible Way of Life is created by musicians, for musicians—diving deep into the grind, the glory, and the gritty truth of life in the music world.Peace and Love

Johnny's got a cold but with the help of James, his brother in arms, the boys continue their important work curating the perfect playlist of lost gems and resurrected classics. Artists mentioned include: Karen Dalton, Nick Drake, Bobby Charles, Big Star, Lee Hazelwood, Shuggie Otis, Judee Sill, Dwight Twilley, Marlena Shaw, Link Wray, Scott Walker. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife'"Everybody's In Show-Biz" feels like a more relevant statement now than it was back in 1972, when The Kinks released this record. Sometimes an album, a song, or a a lyric can ignite a bigger conversation for us and that's what this episode felt like. Happy Sunday folks.

Aaaaand we're back. We speed rank Arthur and Something else as we didn't have time on their respective episodes. We also discuss great lost artists whose music re-emerged in the early 2000s via the explosion of vinyl reissues and record store curation.

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife'Happy Sunday, folks! We're back on The Kinks. One of our Kinksiest pals, Jeffrey Innes from Yukon Blonde, joins us—so put a brew on and listen in as we discuss perhaps the most underrated Kinks album.

The title speaks for itself. From Gino Vannelli to Edward Bear, It's banger after banger up here in Canada. We don't mess around. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife'Grab a poutine and sixer of Kokanee. Today we begin to discuss the musical movement / genre / phenomenon / way of life that is CanCon.

We welcome back IWOL 3 timer Alaina Moore to discuss everything from the state of the music business to her love of Laura Nyro. Nobody has lived the impossible way of life more than Alaina and her episodes are always a delight. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife'We're still on this wild goose chase. Nothing looks or sounds the same anymore. Anything pre 1970 that is in stereo is going on a huge IWOL bonfire tonight. We're becoming audiophiles and it's quite disturbing.

Billy Hamilton, a man as famous for his record collection as his high kicks, joins us to discuss and rank "Lola vs Powerman and The Moneygoround", the rockin Kinks album that may have faded into obscurity had it not been saved by Wes Anderson ;)

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflife'In the age of so many Beatles pressings, re-pressings, stereo mixes, mono mixes, stereo re-mixes, remasters, box sets, anthologies, master tapes, CDs, 180 gram vinyl, flac files, wav files etc etc...we have come to the conclusion that it's possible no one we know has ever actually heard the Beatles music the way The Beatles intended it to be heard. At least not recently. So here at IWOL we're determined to get to the bottom of it.

We are joined by veteran music writer Steven Hyden for a lively chat about Rock n Roll. A lotta Kinks talk too...

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifePointing out places on a map, cycling from Hackney to Waterloo in the afternoon sun, writing a West End musical...the subject of songs by The Kinks or a day in the life of Will Taylor of Flyte? Listen to this episode and you be the judge.

IWOL SPECIAL EDITION!In our first ever collab with another podcast, we are joined by Dylanologists and all around nice guys Jens and Adam of the Nothing Is Revealed podcast. We needed some Dylan heads of this magnitude to finally finish the Bob Dylan ranking tournament we started years ago. So, without further ado, we give you the heavily anticipated heavyweight bout that is Electric Bob vs Pirate Bob!

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeWe attempt to discuss The Kinks most famous album with Johanna Samuels but we may have had a little too much fun along the way...and you know what happens when you start having too much fun. It's an impossible way of life folks, no question about it. 

In a classic IWOL Nolanesque time shift, we jump ahead to talk about The Kinks' "Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)" with esteemed guest Brian D'Addario of The Lemon Twigs. 

Taking a little Kinks break to discuss our new found fascination with Baroque Pop. Why did everyone have a go at it and where did they find all those harpsichords?

Our Kinksy February rolls on with their seminal 1966 album "Face To Face". This is where things really get going. We also ask the question that most are afraid to ask: Is Ray Davies better than Lennon and McCartney?

It's fucking episode 400. If you've been with us this long you know what to expect. Peace and Love, Johnny and James. 

We're one episode away from 400 and no better way to ring the bells on 399 than with more Kinks. We love The Kinks and we're gonna keep talkin bout em and rankin em until the milk cow gets the first plane home. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeWe kontinue our krusade through The Kinks katalogue with a kritique of their klassic 1965 album Kinda Kinks.

Our Kinks month officially kicks off with a rank and review of their debut LP "KINKS".

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeIn attempt to avoid the trappings of "cool stories in rock" and remain a podcast that discusses music on a purely musical level, we have decided to do a month of pods on The Kinks. Why The Kinks you ask? Well, they are a band that don't actually have too many "cool stories in rock", they just make good music and that's about it. 

Ringo is #1, The Beatles are up for record of the year with an A.I Beatles song, Chalamet is desperate for an Oscar because he learned to sing like Bob Dylan (with a little help from A.I), and Adrian Brody's Hungarian accent is A.I assisted. It's award season and things are more demented than ever.

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeJames comes to us live via satellite from the UK and he's brought a hot new take along with him. We are also starting a Beatles cover band so we needed to work out the set list. 

James is on holiday in the UK so Johnny called up his old friends Alex and Martin of Real Estate to tell a few old stories and pay tribute to the great Garth Hudson. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeWe go on the hunt for a new IWOL theme song using the power of artificial intelligence. This episode felt like a classic. We had a lot of fun.

We are joined by journalist, novelist, TV presenter and founder of Mojo and Q Magazine David Hepworth for an hour of riveting conversation. David is as funny as he is brilliant and this episode was a real thrill for us.

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeWe watched the Robert Frank/Rudy Wurlitzer movie "Candy Mountain" and tried to figure out how all the musicians in the movie fit together in their own little world. Very much an IWOL feel to this film, maybe we're a movie podcast now.

This is our official review of the new Yacht Rock doc everyone is talking about. Two word review for this one...

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeIt's a new year but we're still feeling Dylanny as hell around here. James finished the book that "A Complete Unknown" is based on over the holidays so we're basically a literary podcast now.

Happy New Year everyone. Johnny put on his wayfarers and boots of Spanish leather and hit the theatre solo to watch "A Complete Unknown". Now we can officially review it, IWOL style. 

SUBSCRIBE TO IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE ON PATREON TO ACCESS FULL EPISODEhttps://www.patreon.com/animpossiblewayoflifeJames and Bleeker ate some Malaysian food and checked out the new Dylan flick in Vancouver. 

Merry Christmas everyone. On this episode we discuss the new Band Aid documentary and other things with a Christmassy feel.