Published by Discord and Rhyme
A music podcast where we discuss our favorite albums, song by song.
Listen on Apple Podcasts1 hr 49 min
This quarterly double feature is about Fleetwood Mac for a couple of reasons: because they’re a very interesting and important band, and because they have two self-titled albums that sound nothing like each other. Launched by Peter Green in 1968 as a British blues band, in less than a decade they became an unstoppable California pop-rock monster. Their progression from one to the other is one of the most fascinating stories in rock history, and includes a lot of incredible music that you might not have known about. Mike, John, and Amanda had a great time talking about the various forms of Fleetwood Mac, and if you’re not familiar with their earlier incarnations, we hope you end up loving them as much as we do. And even if you don’t, the later version of the band is still every bit as good as their reputation says they are. This episode includes Side One of each album, and you will get Sides Two next week! Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/175-fleetwood-mac-fleetwood-mac-1968-and-fleetwood-mac-1975 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
1 hr 5 min
This week, we dive into the second half of "Weird Al" Yankovic's tribute to the alternative rock format, featuring angsty anthems from Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden, the return of America's brother-in-law Anthony Kiedis, and a song that Rivers Cuomo stole from this medley, so we're stealin' it back. Co-hosts: Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox, Ben Marlin Tracklist: Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet with Butterfly Wings Weezer - Buddy Holly Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends Foo Fighters - I'll Stick Around Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun Green Day - Basket Case Other clips: Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 "Weird Al" Yankovic - Skipper Dan Weezer - My Name Is Jonas (The Kitchen Tape demo) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane "Weird Al" Yankovic - Bedrock Anthem Foo Fighters - Big Me Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly "Weird Al" Yankovic - My Own Eyes Soundgarden - Rusty Cage "Weird Al" Yankovic - Canadian Idiot Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - Spanish Flea
2 hr 37 min
For this year's Q&A episode, we asked you guys what artists and albums you'd like to hear us cover on the show, and you did not disappoint! We got literally hundreds of suggestions, and we did our best to narrow them down but we still ended up having to split this episode into two parts. We published Part 1 last week, and here's Part 2 right here. We had a great time talking about everything from Bob Dylan to Dennis Wilson, and we hope you enjoy it too. Cohosts: Everybody Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Ew83laRbjctsD57wQXcd7 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
2 hr 34 min
For this year's Q&A episode, we asked you guys what artists and albums you'd like to hear us cover on the show, and you did not disappoint! We got literally hundreds of suggestions, and we did our best to narrow them down but we still ended up having to split this episode into two parts. Part 1 is right here, and you'll hear Part 2 next week. We had a great time talking about everything from Bob Dylan to Dennis Wilson, and we hope you enjoy it too. Cohosts: Everybody Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Ew83laRbjctsD57wQXcd7 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
1 hr 9 min
This week, we don our lederhosen and celebrate the return of our compilation series dissecting "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medleys, on which he rounded up and lovingly lampooned the chart music of the day. Originally released on his 1996 album Bad Hair Day, "The Alternative Polka" was Al's attempt to catalog the emerging radio format of alternative rock, though the artists in this batch cover so much stylistic ground as to suggest that maybe, just maybe, the whole "alternative" label was just a marketing gimmick. Whether it's a real genre or not, we've finally reached the radio hits our hosts grew up listening to, which makes for a fun discussion with a healthy dose of '90s nostalgia. Tracks: Beck - Loser Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do Nine Inch Nails - Closer R.E.M. - Bang and Blame Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know Other clips: Beck - The New Pollution Beck - Soul Suckin' Jerk Beck - Get Real Paid "Weird Al" Yankovic - Wanna B Ur Lovr Stone Temple Pilots - Plush "Weird Al" Yankovic - Syndicated Inc. Michael Jackson and Sheryl Crow - I Just Can't Stop Loving You Sheryl Crow - All Kinds of People Sheryl Crow - If It Makes You Happy Sheryl Crow - Soak Up the Sun "Weird Al" Yankovic - Germs Nine Inch Nails - Terrible Lie David Bowie - I'm Afraid of Americans (Nine Inch Nails remix) R.E.M. - Crush with Eyeliner Talking Heads - The Lady Don't Mind "Weird Al" Yankovic - We All Have Cell Phones (live) Alanis Morissette - Too Hot Alanis Morissette - No Return
1 hr 50 min
By the late 60s, Harry Nilsson’s songs had a way of showing up everywhere, from TV and movies to other people’s hit records. However, it was 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson that finally scored him a bona fide hit album, spawning three hit singles and a Grammy win. The record holds the unique status of being Harry’s most focused and disciplined album while still featuring an idiosyncratic range of styles including hard rock, power ballads, and oddball novelties. All of these genres are effortlessly held together with one of the best voices in the business. Join Dan, Amanda, and Rich as they put the lime in the coconut and discuss the man, the legend, and the group himself. Cohosts: Dan Watkins, Rich Bunnell, Amanda Rodgers Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/174-harry-nilsson-nilsson-schmilsson-1971 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
1 hr 27 min
It's time for a release from the Patreon vault! In this one, originally released in October 2025, we're talking about one of the best percussion instruments: handclaps! From the doomiest metal to the sunniest pop, handclaps add an interesting new layer to anything. P.S. Mike is aware that he mixed up the two singers on Napalm Death’s Scum: Justin Broadrick sings on the first side and Lee Dorrian sings on the second. In his defense, they both sound exactly the same. P.P.S. Turns out it was Rich who noticed the Moody Blues similarity. P.P.P.S. Buy Ben's book!! https://www.amazon.com/Come-Safari-Me-Listening-Beach-ebook/dp/B0FTJGDK79 The songs: Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Conga Cathedral - Midnight Mountain The Rolling Stones - Carol Laufey - Lover Girl Steve Reich - Clapping Music Fitz and the Tantrums - HandClap Outkast - Hey Ya! Tortoise - Seneca The Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night Taylor Swift - Shake It Off Miles Davis - Black Satin The Beach Boys - I Do Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Ben Marlin, Amanda Rodgers Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
2 hr 55 min
Ready for action, nip it in the bud, we’re never relaxin’, this podcast is everlasting! In this episode, Rich has somethin’ to say about OutKast, the Atlanta duo consisting of Antwon “Big Boi” Patton and André “3000” Benjamin, who conquered hip-hop in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s before quietly parting ways. The most fascinating characteristic of OutKast is the duality between Big Boi’s extroverted, in-your-face gangsta persona and Andre’s introverted, quiet philosopher poet persona, a contrast they thoroughly explore on their 1998 album Aquemini , whose title is a portmanteau of their astrological signs. The duo emerged from Atlanta at a time when Southern hip-hop was struggling to be taken seriously amid the dominant West Coast/East Coast narrative, and on this album OutKast proudly make an argument for themselves as masters of the genre with music that’s both overwhelmingly colorful and layered with history and cultural subtext, all in a way that’s distinctly Southern. So if you’ve been on the fence about getting into hip-hop, Aquemini may be the album that helps you get the hump up out your back now. Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio, Amanda Rodgers Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/173-outkast-aquemini-1998 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
46 min
Today we're wrapping up the first disc of The Wrecking Crew! In this episode: the surprise return of a Discord & Rhyme hero, an all-time great that deserves revisiting, and possibly the worst Jan and Dean song ever. Today's tracks: Chris Montez - Let's Dance The Mamas & the Papas - Monday, Monday The Teddy Bears - To Know Him Is To Love Him The Sandpipers - Guantanamera Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, John McFerrin, Ben Marlin Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod https://kennethkraylie.bandcamp.com/ https://casinos.bandcamp.com/ https://thehectorcollectors.bandcamp.com/
1 hr 46 min
Big Star are your favorite eighties band’s favorite band; but while you've heard their influence, you may not have heard their music. In the early 1970s, this Memphis-based band recorded two albums filled with jangly power-pop and yearning balladry that should have been huge but that had to settle for being mysterious and legendary. Ben found those albums on his 19th birthday, and he's loved them ever since. Joined by Rich and Phil, he explores the band’s sparkling debut album, #1 Record . Cohosts: Ben Marlin, Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/172-big-star-1-record-1972 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
58 min
Episode 2 of our Wrecking Crew series features one of the best pop songs of all time followed by one of the worst, with some okay ones in between! Try not to get too excited as we discuss how these incredible musicians could work with just about anything. Today's tracks: The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man The Fifth Dimension - Stoned Soul Picnic The Routers - Let's Go (Pony) Nino Tempo & April Stevens - Deep Purple Ritchie Valens - Donna The "Let's Go" montage: Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night Ramones - Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? John Fogerty - Centerfield Slade - Give Us a Goal The Cars - Let's Go Hoodoo Gurus - Like Wow - Wipeout! Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon - Dog Show The Seatbelts - Doggy Dog England FanChants - England (Clap) Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod https://kennethkraylie.bandcamp.com/ https://casinos.bandcamp.com/ https://thehectorcollectors.bandcamp.com/
2 hr 1 min
GoddammitbabyyouknowIain'tlyintoyouThisIsDiscordAndRhyyyymeYEEEEEAAAAHHHHWWWW!!! Van Halen was a cultural phenomenon in the late 1970s and early 1980s until David Lee Roth split with the band, and they’re one of the first bands that John had any real opinions on in his journey of getting into rock music. With this album, the band largely redefined the boundaries of what an electric guitar could do in a rock context, but they also found a way to make this boundary-pushing fun and light on its feet in a way that largely helped shape rock music for the next decade. About half of this album is radio staples, but the other half has some real gems as well, so come listen to John lead a discussion (with Rich and Mike) about a great album from what was, for a few years, an absolutely great band. Cohosts: John McFerrin, Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/171-van-halen-van-halen-1978 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
1 hr 17 min
This Is Comp is back! We're reviving our compilation series with a great one: The Wrecking Crew! , released in 2015 as a soundtrack to the excellent documentary film of the same name. The songs on this comp cover a huge range of genre and quality, but the session musicians are always top-notch. From weird crossover country to Mexican folk to one of the finest pop songs ever recorded, we had a ton of fun with this first batch of songs and we're thrilled to be back. Cohosts: Ben Marlin, Amanda Rodgers, Sean Rodgers Songs: The Ronettes - Be My Baby The Moments - Walk Right In Gary Lewis and the Playboys - This Diamond Ring Jewel Akens - The Birds and the Bees Ritchie Valens - La Bamba Shelley Fabares - Johnny Angel The "Be My Baby" montage: Daryl Hall & John Oates - The Last Time Bat for Lashes - What's a Girl to Do? The Afghan Whigs - Algiers The Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey Clinic - I.P.C. Subeditors Dictate Our Youth The Magnetic Fields - Candy Deerhunter - Vox Humana Billy Joel - Say Goodbye to Hollywood Camera Obscura - Eighties Fan The Barracudas - (I Wish It Could Be) 1965 Again Johnny Boy - You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve The Clash - The Card Cheat Links: The Wrecking Crew! liner notes on Discogs Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I. Show
3 hr 6 min
It … is happening … again! This week, Producer Mike rings in 2026 with NorCal producer DJ Shadow’s 1996 masterpiece Endtroducing….. , whose release was a watershed moment for the art of instrumental hip-hop. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first album to be composed entirely out of sampled sounds, but focusing on the technical achievement seriously undersells the depths of Shadow’s artistry. This is lively, organic music, with compositions that feel like sculptures crafted from the clay of music history, and the entire 21st-century DJing movement stands on the foundation of what Shadow accomplished here. Mike himself is a composer of sample-based music (including our awesome theme song) and a long-time admirer of Shadow’s work, and he’s invited Rich and returning special guest Shivam Bhatt to deconstruct an album that builds a mighty head of steam out of a grain of salt. Cohosts: Mike DeFabio, Rich Bunnell, Shivam Bhatt Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/170-dj-shadow-endtroducing-1996 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
3 hr 1 min
It feels like there shouldn't be anything left to say about The Dark Side of the Moon . It's one of the best-selling albums of all time, and it's consistently rated as one of the greatest albums of all time by critics. If you tune into a classic rock station for more than a couple of hours, chances are better than 50/50 that you'll hear a track or three from it get played. It's so common to hear tracks from here out of context that it's become easy to forget that these tracks, when heard in order from start to finish, constitute one of the most stunningly coherent artistic statements of the album era, and that makes it an album that Discord & Rhyme had to cover in depth at some point. Join Amanda, Mike, Rich, and John as they discuss the 1973 classic that transformed Pink Floyd from a niche-famous British prog-adjacent band into one of the most famous bands in the world. Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/169-pink-floyd-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-1973 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
2 hr 1 min
The gang sits down by the fire to discuss a second round of the songs that made them love music. This year's batch covers an astonishing amount of ground, including movie soundtracks, jazz, funk, girl groups, folk, prog (of course), hip-hop, musicals, dub reggae, power pop — and even a hymn! Trevor Jones - Main Title (from The Last of the Mohicans) Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder James Brown - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Parts 1 & 2) The Flirtations - Nothing But a Heartache Sufjan Stevens - Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing The Byrds - Gunga Din Yes - Close to the Edge Pete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) Antonio Banderas & Madonna - Oh, What a Circus (from Evita) Van Der Graaf Generator - Childlike Faith in Childhood's End King Tubby - Invasion Sloan - Penpals Spotify playlist of the songs in this episode: open.spotify.com/playlist/1YDBKhf61tJ0d8Xdj3jiJ1 Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio, John McFerrin, Amanda Rodgers Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
1 hr 48 min
Of all the casualties of the Beatles’ Apple label, Badfinger is the most tragic. They had a very promising start, helped along by the Beatles and their associates, but a combination of bad management and personal tragedy stopped them from being as successful as they should have been. However, for a brief period everything worked out exactly right, and Badfinger came up with an album that deserves to be ranked among the all-time classics. From power pop to boogie rock and various points in between, Straight Up is a no-skips album that deserves your attention, so listen up. Cohosts: Amanda Rodgers, Mike DeFabio, Ben Marlin Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/168-badfinger-straight-up-1971 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
2 hr 22 min
Buenas tardes, amigos, and happy Hallo-Ween, my good friends. It took us way, way too long to get the bright idea to devote our annual All Hallow’s Eve episode to the Brothers Ween, but now that we have, it seems appropriate to discuss 1994’s Chocolate and Cheese , an album where Deaner and Gener try on a whole bunch of different musical costumes. While C&C isn’t their major-label debut, it’s the first album they produced in a major-label fashion, and the songs cover a lot of stylistic ground, including Tom Jones Vegas rockabilly lounge, kaleidoscopic Prince psychedelia, a sweeping Morricone murder ballad, smooth Philly soul, and a few songs that completely defy categorization. While this album is often ranked behind powerhouse Ween classics like The Mollusk and Quebec , many of its songs have gone on to become live standards, and there’s an argument to be made that it formed the bedrock of the band’s musical legacy. So join John, Mike, Phil, and Rich as they make a return pilgrimage to the shrine of the mighty Boognish, and remember: don’t believe the florist when he tells you that the roses are free. Cohosts: Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/167-ween-chocolate-and-cheese-1995 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
2 hr 6 min
Power pop legend Matthew Sweet has had a rough go of it lately, suffering a debilitating stroke last year while setting out on tour, and it’s possible that he may never play music again. So today’s episode is both a bittersweet tribute to his career and a joyous celebration of his music, which is exactly the emotional tightrope that his 1991 cult classic Girlfriend walks from start to finish. Sweet recorded this album during the interim between going through a painful divorce and meeting his now-wife, and while his lyrics aren’t strictly autobiographical, the album’s 15 songs run the gamut from desperate yearning (“Don’t Go,” “You Don’t Love Me”) to pure ebullience (“I’ve Been Waiting,” “Girlfriend”). And it’s all topped off with crisp, direct production that evoked Crazy Horse and the Beatles’ Revolver during a period when many rock albums were soaked in reverb and drained of personality. So kick back as Rich, Phil, and returning guest Libby Cudmore deconstruct and consume an album that’s perfect in so many ways. Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Phil Maddox, Libby Cudmore Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/166-matthew-sweet-girlfriend-1991 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
1 hr 55 min
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys sounds like something out of 1965, or even 1865 - but definitely not the heavy, psychedelic late 1960s. But even though CCR’s music feels like it's outside of time - or maybe because of it - it became the soundtrack of a generation. Ben, Amanda, and Rich make the case that Willy and the Poor Boys should be pulled down from the cultural wallpaper and appreciated as the fresh, crackling music it still is. Cohosts: Ben Marlin, Rich Bunnell, Amanda Rodgers Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/165-creedence-clearwater-revival-willy-and-the-poor-boys-1969 Discord & Rhyme's merch store: http://tee.pub/lic/discordpod Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
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