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In this episode we rewind back to our pre-Record Store Day 2019 podcast to discuss two music documentaries. First up is the 2012 film Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop, we then move on to the 2014 film My Secret World: The Story of Sarah Records. If you love your independent records shops and quirky indie record labels like we do, these are two films you'll likely enjoy. Push play, dive in and find out more!

If you like a list, you've come to the right place. This week you'll get several lists, including 5 Broadcast songs and 5 Road Trip movies. But there's more folks! You'll get to hear about some new additions to the record collection, Lester Bangs and 'long read' journalism, the 'three song rule' when it comes to shooting live music photography, the drama surrounding a hole in my beloved Sister Ray t-shirt, and we also play some great tunes for you as well. I'm sure you'll agree, this is can't miss listening :-)

We randomly wondered, 'What was happening in 1982?', so we decided to find out. Thankfully, it was an absolute GOLD MINE of a year, musically, and in general. Come along and discover significant debuts, arrests, blockbusters, awards, and chart smashing hits! We also find time for a quiz, Alex gets potentially very libellous, we discuss raving in Liverpool, The Hoff, films, an Aretha Franklin documentary, hear music by Cold Beat, and more!

This week we take a DEEP DIVE into the famous Seattle based record label, Sub Pop Records. Of course, people instantly think of grunge, Nirvana and those times, but it's rock n roll folks, and there is A LOT more to the story, so 'Dear loser', push play and enjoy. We also discuss Gil Scott-Heron, Alex finds some new artists, including Minerva Wakes and we play one of their tracks 'Come On', boutique and specialist film distributors, cassettes, CD's and general physical music formats, the pubs reopening, jury citations, and more!

The A-side is your shot at the big time, but how do you make use of the B-side? What goes on the 'other' side and how do you make it interesting, memorable or unique? We discuss what we feel makes for a special B-side. We also discuss music to 'escape' to, CD players, Bonobo, Taylor Swift breaking The Beatles record, Morrissey vs The Simpsons, review a few films, listen to Hekate, and more!

Four years later, we're castaways again, but it's albums rather than singles this time. We briefly discuss the history of Desert Island Discs, then share our picks! Along the way Alex tries to convince the world he's free and easy with his cash, while we chat about Keith Richards, industrial musicals, Sci-Fi 101, record purchases, listen to new music from The Musicians of Bremen, and more!

What makes for a great front person in a band? We try to figure this out, put a list of potential criteria in place, and discuss a few memorable ones. Alex goes full thespian during a quiz, we discuss the iconic 1982 hip-hop film Wild Style, list five fantastic kung-fu films to get you started with that genre, listen to new music from shoegaze band, Blue Ocean, and more!

In this episode we focus on artists who left a band and went solo. How did it work out for them? Why did they leave in the first place? We also discuss learning to play the drums, Alex revises his opinion on Sonic Youth, live music in Barcelona, TRNSMT festival, two quizzes, some film and TV, new music by Peachstone, and more!

"A banger is a song you could put on at a house party and everyone would lose their shit." So says the internet. This episode we focus in on the first song on an album and several reasons why it's very important. Have you heard of 'Skip Rate'? Listen in and find out. We also discuss studio costs, Radio 6 Music, review Black Country, New Road debut album, Glastonbury, Hip-Hop Evolution, Justice League, listen to music by Hekate, and more!

A bit of everything this week, including Alex demonstrating a deep knowledge of ASMR. We also discuss two music documentaries, the Academy Award winning Searching for Sugarman, and Hype! You'll also find THREE quizzes, more about eBay record shopping, the Grammy's, a book about The Jam, some films and TV, and play one of the new Cold Beat remixes of Double Sided Mirror.

We're talking about cover tunes, why artists play them, why fans like them, and a few surprises we didn't know were covers. We also discuss the re-release of Mama Africa by Peter Tosh, 10" records, Alex updates us on his Architects album, a Stallone quiz, we hear Tarred and Feathered, the third single by The Musicians of Bremen, and more!

You want research, you get research. This episode we both pick one album and try to share as much information about it that our brains can hold without passing out. We also get into some tv and movie chat, music news, finish our thoughts (for now) on what makes a 5-star album, listen to All I Do Is Lust, the first track from the new album, Glory Days, by Heather Leigh, which is released through Boomkat (www.boomkat.com), and more!

Soundtracks are in the spotlight this week, and we discuss a few memorable ones. We also play two tracks by Cold Beat from their album, Mother (Prism and Double Sided Mirror). On top of that we discuss Gaga's dog walker being shot and her dogs stolen, dig deeper into Alex's Columbo knowledge, have a Madonna quiz, discuss the movie Purple Rain, and also the blues legend Robert Johnson.

What makes for a memorable music video? What is it that grabs your attention? Who creates these mini-dramas? Was there music video life before MTV? We discuss all of this and highlight a few mind-blowing music videos from the past. We also get an update from Alex one week on from the release of The Musicians of Bremen debut album, as well as listener emails, a couple of music related movies, new music 'Fixed Idea' by Cindy, and a lot more!

A really special episode this week, The Musicians of Bremen release their debut album, Intolerance, on 12/02/21! The co-host of this podcast, Alex, is the bass player in the band and he talks us through the origins of the group, time in the studio, the music on the album, two of the nine tracks are played for you, and a whole lot more. Of course we start with some (bonkers) listener emails, suggest a few things we've been watching, all an appetiser before the main meal, Intolerance by The Musicians of Bremen. Give it a listen and we hope you enjoy!

We want to go out and watch live music ASAP. We need to protect and support the venues! All artists, established and up-and-comers, need places to play, so on this episode we focus on live performances and the venues. We also get through listener emails, talk about giallo's, road trip films, Alex drops Alias in (of course), and we close the show with the first two tracks by Hekate from their album Days of Wrath, MMXX and Crisis.

This week we focus in on how you source new music. New music or new to you music, where are these recommendations coming from? We share a few recent additions to our record collections. We also play one of our finds from 2020, Hunger for a Way Out by Sweeping Promises.

The main focus of this episode is mixed tapes. Remember those lovely little cassettes from back in the day? A LOT of TLC went into making a compilation. Alex even explains the importance of the pause button your double cassette player. Yes, you read that right. We also open a few listener emails, pimp Letterboxd some more, acknowledge the importance of the song Apache, and hear the second single 'Awakening' from the soon to be released album by The Musicians of Bremen.

A pop culture, mainly music, distraction for your ears and mind. New music, music history, independent record shops and record labels, plus other pop culture bits and bobs. This episode we share a few of the songs and records that have influenced us. Hopefully you enjoy listening and join us for a bit of weekly fun.