Celebrating the days of advertised oversampling ratios.
On the Cure's definitive 1987 double album, the death rattle of punk guilt, and the coronation of Robert Smith as a pop culture icon.
On the shaky start to the Cure's Imperial era, their ascension to alternative rock royalty, and the concessions required to right Robert Smith's foundering career in the mid 1980s.
Bringing the Shallow Rewards Cure podcasts up to date, this episode covers the last twenty years of the band: the 2004 self-titled LP, 4:13 Dream and my first impressions of the material likely to feature on the forthcoming Songs of a Lost World.
On the unexpectedly estimable Bloodflowers, Robert Smith’s legacy-saving last gasp as a songwriter; its tragically dated brick wall + Pro Tools production; and Smith’s egotistical severing of ties with everyone who’d helped fashion the Cure in its glory days. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the tragic collapse of the Cure following the career-topping Wish, the various distractions that beset Wild Mood Swings, and how the persistent obstinance Robert Smith had relied on for so long finally failed him.Here’s the Vox article I reference in the last third of the show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the Cure’s surfeit of activity between Disintegration and Wish; the 1992 smash album’s highs and lows; and how for many fans, Wish remains a disappointment when set against the material that preceded it. Further to the podcast, please enjoy an essay I wrote on the subject, and an attendant remix of Wish, from 2011. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Over a few drinks, and Stephen Kijak’s calamitous Shoplifters of the World, Elliot Busch-Wheaton returns after a five-year hiatus to discuss the legacy of the Smiths and Morrissey in America. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ brief, turbulent marriage; the side projects that outshone their combined efforts; and how from fall 1982 to fall 1984, Robert Smith lost the plot in order to find it again.Pursuant to this era are a few essays I contributed to a tumblr called One Week One Band eight years ago:MINUTIAE & MADNESS: THE CURE IN 1982LIKE AN ANIMAL: ROBERT SMITH IN WONDERLANDTHE LOOKING GLASS GIRLA Spotify playlist is available here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the rabid, raging fin de siècle of the Cure’s vaunted goth trilogy, Pornography; whether it is the singular statement the band and critics have increasingly claimed; and the murkier reality of Robert Smith’s many extracurricular entanglements in 1982.Spotify playlist available here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the great grey Anglican monolith that is Faith, the Cure’s “difficult third album”; the inescapable shadow of Joy Division’s Closer; being branded “the new PF”; and whether any twenty-one year-old should be held to account for the quality of their poetry. Spotify playlist is available here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the Cure’s second album, the impossibly crisp Seventeen Seconds; its debatable debts to Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire and Gary Numan; and the arrival of Robert Smith as a modern songwriter, but not yet a persona. An accompanying Spotify playlist is available here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the improbable endurance of XTC, a band signed during the punk frenzy that would bring song-craft back to the fore in the early 1980s. Following a fractious period of financial instability and pressure from Virgin records, the band went on strike in the early 1990s, unable to wrest themselves from one of the worst contracts ever signed. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the improbable endurance of XTC, a band signed during the punk frenzy that would bring song-craft back to the fore in the early 1980s. Following a fractious period of financial instability and pressure from Virgin records, the band went on strike in the early 1990s, unable to wrest themselves from one of the worst contracts ever signed. CORRECTION: While there are conflicting accounts of the Elvis Costello/Stephen Stills incident, I mistakenly state it occurred during EC’s “first time in America,” when it was his third tour if I recall correctly. This is both factually wrong and in part seeds undeserving sympathy for Elvis. His age and drug abuse stand, but my invocation and retelling of this moment should be weighed against the facts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Chan Marshall’s stereotyping by the press, her aborted concept album about Kurt Cobain, and the uncomfortable reality of genetic exceptionalism. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Def Leppard’s unparalleled ascent, and the curious album they recorded after being displaced by grunge in the mid-1990s, Slang. Their 1992 LP Adrenalize was the last successful stadium rock release, and kept The Cure’s Wish from reaching #1. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Having alternately enjoyed and scoffed at my early ‘00s online mania, Stylus magazine editor Todd Burns came to my apartment in 2006 for a “Stycast.” Thirteen years later, people may not realize that podcasts were a feverish commercial concern all those years ago, but there were hundreds of RSS-fed podcasts fighting for coverage, and making money. Todd would shortly hereafter pivot, and shepherd the ascent of Resident Advisor. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the Cure’s uneven 1979 debut, its debts to pub, punk and prog rock, and the importance of older siblings. An accompanying Spotify playlist is available below; please listen on random as this is a broad primer, rather than mix-tape storytelling.Apologies for the uneven sound during the first two sessions that make up the podcast; I had to pick up new gear, and three years on from my last wave of material, I was pretty rusty in all phases. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Adult Swim Creative Director Jason DeMarco returns to discuss the state of anime, and the future of Toonami with me and Jake Cleland. // @Clarknova1 @sawngswjakec This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Adult Swim Creative Director Jason DeMarco returns to discuss the state of anime, and the future of Toonami with me and Jake Cleland. // @Clarknova1 @sawngswjakec
Christmas single No. 2: audio commentary for the Cure’s in Orange film from 1986 (currently on YouTube). Essentially, this is a two-hour ramble on the band’s legacy. Merry Christmas, everybody! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Christmas single No. 2: audio commentary for the Cure’s in Orange film from 1986 (currently on YouTube). Essentially, this is a two-hour ramble on the band’s legacy. Merry Christmas, everybody!
I talk with Jason DeMarco—VP and Creative Director of Adult Swim—about his Williams Street imprint, old anime, and Run the Jewels. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
I talk with Jason DeMarco—VP and Creative Director of Adult Swim—about his Williams Street imprint, old anime, and Run the Jewels.
A wandering and wondrous walk through glam, indie, music journalism with my generation's most prolific author, Simon Reynolds. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A wandering and wondrous walk through glam, indie, music journalism with my generation's most prolific author, Simon Reynolds.
Sean T. Collins returns to discuss the increasing appropriation of music as emotional heft in television, with a focus on Mr. Robot and Stranger Things. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Sean T. Collins returns to discuss the increasing appropriation of music as emotional heft in television, with a focus on Mr. Robot and Stranger Things.
On the sliding scales of emo history, and the rise and fall (and rise) of Thursday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the sliding scales of emo history, and the rise and fall (and rise) of Thursday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Walking back the history of R.E.M. with @perpetua and @stoatmixen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Walking back the history of R.E.M. with @perpetua and @stoatmixen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Defending the 1990s from take culture with serial TV columnist Sean T. Collins. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Defending the 1990s from take culture with serial TV columnist Sean T. Collins. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A look back at the trail-rated career of Mountain Goats main-man John Darnielle. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Kurt Cobain, the grunge moment, and the critical embrace of drug abuse. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
In defense of pop music’s most maligned genre. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A capricious teenager confronts the cold light of his mother’s record collection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Catching up with New Yorker columnist Amanda Petrusich, author of Do Not Sell at Any Price, It Still Moves, and the 33 1/3 entry for Nick Drake’s Pink Moon. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A look back at shoegaze, the soundtrack of my youth (and the genre that wouldn’t die). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A look back at shoegaze, the soundtrack of my youth, and the genre that wouldn’t die. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the wild ride of one George O’Dowd, the biggest name to rise from the Kentish Town slums since Jack Cade. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the wild ride of one George O’Dowd, the biggest name to rise from the Kentish Town slums since Jack Cade. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Morrissey’s bipolar first wave of work, and the twin specters of nationalism and racism he struggled to resolve as a young man. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Duran Duran’s remarkable and enduring 1988 LP. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On Duran Duran’s remarkable and enduring 1988 LP. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Peeling back the apple on Mark Ronson, the Police, and sonic nostalgia. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A straight rant on the legacy of William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, with background on my time at Pitchfork and as a loop musician. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the first three Lollapalooza festivals, and the peak years of Ministry and Mercury Rev. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
Let’s hear it for the internet’s sweetheart, @maura This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
A paean to Richard Gottehrer, girl groups, and the wondrous absurdity of rock n’ roll before authenticity spoiled the broth. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
On the vanishing of Ride’s Going Blank Again and My Bloody Valentine’s mbv from the popular consciousness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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