Episode 111.5 — Bonus Cut: Buy Good Sh*t

[mayhemvszombies 0]

Relating to Besser's love of the nameless alt-country genre, I would love to suggest checking out The People's Whiskey. They're a killer band of the ilk Besser was refering to, hailing from Henderson, NV. Their first full-length, self-titled album was just released on Las Vegas music label, SquidHat Records, and can be found in most music stores. If you can't find it there, there's always iTunes. The People's Whiskey are impeccable musicians with the gritty twang I think you're looking for; definitely punk influenced with raw, honest lyrics. You need to hear this band!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesWhiskey

[wingo 23]

Fuzz - Fuzz (Ty Segall proving he's one of the best guitarists today)

 

This is a stellar album, but I must point out that on this one Ty is actually the drummer! That other dude Charlie is the riff-master.

[wingo 23]

I thought this year was amazing for new music. I bought a LOT of albums. Here are a few (note, my taste skews electronic, but not totally):

 

Jon Hopkins – Immunity

Deafheaven - Sunbather

Steve Hauschildt – S/H

Tim Hecker – Virgins

Oneotrix Point Never – R Plus Seven

Roomrunner - Ideal Cities

The Field – Cupid’s Head

Dawn of midi - Dysnomia

Julianna Barwick – Napenthe

Baths – Obsidian

Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest

Alessandro Cortini – Forse 1

Knife – Shaking the Habitual

Erika – Hexagon Cloud

Fuck Buttons – Slow Focus

Matmos – The Marriage of True Minds

Pharmakon – Abandon

[beatenXbruised 0]

I just heard this top 10 list on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic2013/2013/12/17/251964289/ken-tuckers-top-10-albums-of-2013

 

Jason Isbell and Kanye on the same list. Does this crush Besser's argument for un-equal exposure?

[JohnBannon 0]

I get that you don't like Kanyes album but to say that jason isbells album is the best and to state it as a fact is insane. music is a subjective thing and if you dont like what the lists have to say dont read them. i agree you should have been on AV Clubs list for best podcast because your show provides me with laughter on a weekly basis. I like jason isbells album but i also love Kanyes album and Daft Punk's album. i would love to get a chance to discuss this with you further

[Anonymous37 22]

Matt Besser was searching for a term for "punk"-er country. He's probably heard of this site, but just in case: No Depression, which is sometimes the term used for that genre of music. It's more Americana and roots music than polished Nashville country.

[Gym Sockerman 1326]

I guess I've only bought 2 brand new albums this year.

The Rilo Kiley Bsides collection and the new Bad Religion album. I think if there was a podcast about new music, I'd be more invested.

 

For music discovery in general, Christian Finnegan has a pretty great podcast called Audio Spackle which I'd recommend.

[LucasBrehm 0]

 

This is a stellar album, but I must point out that on this one Ty is actually the drummer! That other dude Charlie is the riff-master.

 

Well I'll be damned! I should rephrase to say that he's one of the best musicians out there, then. Speaking of, Ty Segall's new album "Sleeper" might be a good one for Matt if he wants a calmed down punk thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZvpkNjA2o

 

And also, this is from quite some time ago, but Graham Coxon's album "The Kiss of the Morning" kind of falls into that genre really well, and is pretty excellent.

 

 

For music discovery I have to highly recommend the streaming service Rdio. It doesn't have as much music as spotify, but it's got a feature that I haven't found on any other streamers, where you can choose to follow certain people and it'll give you a mishmash of whatever they've been listening to lately as your front page. It makes finding new stuff to listen to very, very easy, and you can always see what the people you follow are listening to at any given moment. You can also click on any band and see who has listened to it, and what bands are similar, etc. I went down a huge krautrock rabbit hole this year all through this program, and it's been awesome and never would have happened if I relied on Pitchfork or AVClub or whatever.

 

Basically, if you want to discover new music these days, you're going to have to actively search for it. It's not going to just come to you in the mail on a Rolling Stone list anymore.

[saintgimp 5]

"eye-uh-woss-kuh" is always how I've heard the name of that drug pronounced.

[greggy 15909]

mr besser was on the right track, the killer mike and el-p album he is referring to they release as a duo called "run the jewels", with the album having the same name

it really is very very good and i would probably call it my album of the year, almost all the tracks are spectacular

[JacobCrites 4977]

This was a weird listen (although I was fighting the good fight in the AV Club comments , Matt!) because I buy a lot of albums. I don't get the appeal of only buying one song. Music is about discovery maaaaaaaan.

 

My favorite albums of the year came from

Local Natives, the National, Atoms for Peace, Deerhunter (Monomania is by FAR my favorite album of the year), Arcade Fire, Phoenix, MGMT ( incredibly under-rated album), Dragoon and Ducktails.

[Todd Mason 21]

I like Bareilles's hit of a few back. "Love Song," and a few of her others I've heard, less enthusiastic about the more recent and certainly well-intentioned "Brave"...which has been a minor hit. Her "Gravity" certainly has been played in enough films and tv episodes (see IMDb). I've been happy with new pop stuff by Janelle Monáe and even Stefani Germanotta of late (though I think her forthcoming album with Tony Bennett likely better than the newest one).

 

Alt-country or what have you...tried Kasey Lansdale yet? And, of course, hit up the house of the hip, PBS, for this next month:

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: Jason Isbell/Neko Case

 

Saturday, January 11, 2014, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET

[Kickpuncher 5012]

I find it hard to get too worked up about any of this, even if I do agree with most of Matt's general premise. In this era, it's really not hard to find stuff you'll like if you're willing to put in a little effort. I appreciate that it was balanced with recommendations, because otherwise it's just shooting at easy targets and not really helping anyone (other than setting up one funny scene).

 

Regarding Big Bang Theory, everyone knows it's mediocre (at best) mass-appeal crap. The only significant award it wins is Jim Parsons winning multiple Emmys. The show itself has never won Best Comedy at the Emmys or the Golden Globes (it does get nominated, which is ridiculous) and I don't ever remember seeing it on a reputable critic's top ten list. I almost feel like Matt was getting that mixed up with Modern Family, which wins awards by the bucketful every year.

 

Now excuse me while I go watch an awesome French drama/horror show that probably gets fewer than 100,000 viewers which I found because a bunch of TV critics gushed over it.

[Stephen_Hock 0]

I always laugh when I listen to i4h, however this episode was different. I didn't find it funny when Matt Besser was breaking down country music sub-genres for 15 minutes while a cymbal repeatedly crashed in the background. I also didn't laugh when they were discussing how to better market the podcast. It seems like that should take place off-air, and these were guests after all.

[JacobCrites 4977]

I always laugh when I listen to i4h, however this episode was different. I didn't find it funny when Matt Besser was breaking down country music sub-genres for 15 minutes while a cymbal repeatedly crashed in the background. I also didn't laugh when they were discussing how to better market the podcast. It seems like that should take place off-air, and these were guests after all.

The improv doesn't necessarily come from comedic scenarios. Sometimes the fun/challenge is finding comedy in non-comedic things. You're missing the point.

[BrianBouton 32]

Matt, loved the episode and the podcast as always, and since it was a "bonus cut," I could care less if you go off the rails. I'd love to see more bonus cuts where you freestyle on any pop culture conversation because your venting is interesting.

 

Few other things---

 

I'm listening along on the Q train hearing Jason Isbell's name over and over again not having any clue who he was, and then I am listening to Spotify the next day, and he was in my "reading playlist" which is a compilation of all the new albums that come out to get me to listen to new music. I can not recommend Spotify to you enough since I think I'm close to you in age---42---and I had fallen off buying albums until I joined their premium service ($10/month, a pittance) and created several different playlists based off every album that comes out that even remotely sounds interesting.

 

Spotify, like buying an iPod 10 years ago, has made me fall in love with music again since I have access to millions of songs. Christ, this seems like an ad?

 

Jason Isbell happened to be on NPR's 2013 Best Albums list, which I'd suggest over the drivel of Rolling Stone and other music sources. THIS LIST: http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic2013/2013/12/10/249243871/npr-musics-50-favorite-albums-of-2013

 

You put that together with Spotify which has almost every album on the list, and you will have an amazing listening experience.

 

JUST LOVE THE PODCAST---Please don't ever stop!

 

Brian J. Bouton