Best Album In the World Podcast

A teaser for a podcast?  Sure, why not.  

Well, we certainly considered renaming this the "Best Album In What The Hell Is Going On In the World?!", because the thought of trying to put together a podcast after what's occurred over the past few days...  it was a bit bewildering.  But we did it, and it was good.  This is our first roundtable (and hopefully not our last), as Senior Associate Producer Adam Litz and I got together with our friend, and seasoned audiophile, Jeff Kaisershot.   We're talking about Nirvana, include a little history of MTV's unplugged series, previous guest John Haynes gets called out, and we even take time to ponder if we've left ourselves vulnerable to legal action from Eric Clapton.  It's MTV Unplugged in New York!

Hey, do you want to learn "The Karate"?  Then you got to go to one of the best, and that's Andy Wilson.  Do you also want to meet one of the biggest Faith No More fans around?  Then while you're learning "The Karate", ask Andy about Faith No More, too.  He's one of the best martial arts instructors around, hands down.  And he's also my best pal, and a big supporter of the show.  We're talking Kiss Club, growing up in Stearns County, we have some laughs, eat some cheese burgers, there's a special appearance from an AI named Alexa, and we talk about how if nothing else, our favorite music can just get us through our days.

Patron of the arts, marketing maven, and unofficial member of the family.  Christopher Taykalo is on the podcast this week. He was the first kid in his hometown to ever discover the Beatles.  Well, okay, probably not, but he knew he liked them before the other kids knew who they were and why they were cool.  Finding U2 in the 80's, driving with the top down to "Where the Streets Have No Name", experiencing faith through a celebration of Christmas, and breaking barriers with the TC Gay Men's Chorus.  We cover a lot of ground, and there was even more we covered after we stopped recording.  I shared with Chris the angst I experience when I have new guest over to record a podcast, and why, and he was awesome in relating it to his own experiences and reminding me what I shouldn't get stuck in my own head about stuff like that.  As a family member should.  

I've really, really wanted to class up the show and bring it an international flavor.  And everybody knows, when you want to do that, you got to go get yourself a Britlishman!  He's the host of a phenomenally successful podcast, a champion martial artist, a great coach, master plasterer, and he's pretty damn unconventionally handsome. This week's guest is Mick Tully!  It's the first time I've seen Mick in years, and we used the time to cover a lot of ground.  Growing up in the UK, the widespread panic that was the Sex Pistols, decades of Brit Pop & culture, Paul Weller, and, yes, the grammatically confounding "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?".

So a couple of episodes ago I had on a clown from Iowa, and this week I have on a guy from Iowa, whose parents were clowns.  What in the world is going on in Iowa??? I never thought I'd know two people with such a shared background.  You know what else I never thought I'd experience in my lifetime?  Having an engaging, thoughtful conversation about the works of "Weird Al" Yankovic.  This week's guest on the show on is Christian Unser, and we're deconstructing the themes of Yankovic's music, his fans, and "Even Worse."

A big reason for the success of this podcast has been the generosity and knowledge of friends.  And one of those friends is a close one, Chris Koshiol.  Chris and I met back in college, when he stopped by my room one night freshman year and mooched some pizza.  From there we eventually formed a band, played some songs, had a blast, and he's been one of my best pals ever since.  Of course he was going to be on the podcast.  And we're talking foreign trade, because this week's selection is an import from Australia. Karnivool's Sound Awake.

Greg Parks is an actor, improvisor, coach, science educator, and clown.  Not as in a "goofball" (although he's perfectly capable), but a real honest-to-goodness circus clown, whose talents have taken him around the world.  (He's performed for both Barnum AND Bailey!)  So I truly appreciated this international man of artistry taking the time to join me for what turned out to be a really special conversation about Ted Hawkins "The Next Hundred Years."  

We're back!  It's season 2 of the podcast.  And we're kicking it all off with artist, improvisor, actor, rock star, and all around good guy, Bryce Kalal. Bryce brings us one of the biggest bands of the 2000's, a bit of southern California punk rock & chaos that is known as Blink 182.

It's the end of Season 1 of the podcast!  And our guest is someone who's had some influence on the podcast, Alex Collyard.  Or as we've dubbed him for this episode, Kid Alex, because this week we're listening to Radiohead's "Kid A." (See what we did there?)  Much like Radiohead, Alex is restless.  He seeks new inspirations, new sparks for his creativity and comedy, as they do for their music.  And Kid A was a new direction for Radiohead, for sure.  "The weirdest album ever to sell a million copies." Can't just listen to this album in the background folks.  Set aside a little time for it, because it might take some extra time to appreciate.

Classical violinist Kelly Carter loves hanging out in the clubhouse listening to pop/rock records as much as anybody, but she loves orchestral music just as much, if not more.  So this week she stops by and classes up the podcast a bit as we take in one of the great symphonic creations of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, "Scheherazade."

Local stage & screen artist John Haynes surprised me.  For somebody who wears his hometown of Chicago on his sleeve, I figured that would reflect in his musical tastes, too.  Nope. From cover bands growing up in Chicago, to buying records in college that the righteous kids frowned upon, to working bar bands, John's always loved the music he loves.  And what he loves the most is a hard rock peanut butter cup.  You take orchestral music and heavy metal, two great things that go great together, and you get Metallica's "S&M."

So what do you if you have a green thumb and you love to ROCK?!  You head to Seattle, find yourself some nice fertile ground, till the soil, get some seeds, sprinkle a little punk music, a little Black Sabbath, water generously, and then you have yourself a... wait for it... Soundgarden!  This week Jason Bindas and I discuss Badmotorfinger (and since we're already in the garden, of course we talk a little Guns n Roses, too).

How in the world do you discover some of the true kings of new wave pop music all the way out in Bellingham, MN? Well, it involves not going to sleep like you've been told, a little bit of belly crawling, and super spy-like hearing. Tim Dybevik and I take a ride with The Cars debut album, and also manage to discuss the Statler Brothers, the Gatlin Brothers, being the self-appointed Cars expert in a class size of 16, trying to find the lastest releases at a Pamida, and taking your kid to daycare while singing along to the Ramones.

This week I'm joined by Bill Fricke.  Bill's a musician and a true connoisseur of pop music. So it would make sense that we'd be talking about "the greatest album ever made", Echo & The Bunnymen's "Ocean Rain."  It's a distinct slice of the 80's.  It might be easy to dismiss some of the music from that decade, but this reminds us that there was a lot of really good, unique pop music that came out of the 80's.

Erin Kennedy joins me for Episode #2!  I figured somebody would choose this album, I just didn't figure it would be this soon.  It's The Beatles "Abbey Road."  A true All Time Great. She grew up in a house full of vinyl, and had a dad who made sure good music was playing no matter what the family was up to.  And like so many kids who fell in love with the Beatles, she got to know the singles first, and then later discovered the actual albums.  I hope you all enjoy this episode as Erin and I "Come Together" and share our mutual love of John, Paul, George, and Ringo!

It's the debut of The Best Album In the World Podcast!  My good friend Adam Litz and I discuss what made Weezer's debut album, "Weezer", so special.  As well as "barrowing" tapes from older sisters, making mixes, Brian Wilson, John Fogerty, and how much he hates Weezer now!Wait, what???What's your best album in the world?  Who do you think I should talk to next?  I'd love to hear from you.  Shoot me an e-mail at baitwpodcast@gmail.com!