Episodes of the Crash Chords Podcast in which guests join us in the analysis!
We relish in bringing new perspectives to Crash Chords. That’s why, every month or so, we feature a guest on the Crash Chords Podcast (who is involved in the arts in some way — and who loves music, ideally) to help us out in our album analysis. In these special episodes, the guests have the honor of selecting our album. First, we conduct an interview in lieu of our topic, and then its analysis as usual… in better company of course.
Today we explore the layered worlds of Glitch-Hop and Chillwave with an album called Vapor City by Machinedrum. This album review is brought to us by today’s guest, the talented rapper, Hops. Afterwards, stick around for an interview and learn how Hops cultivated his knack for wordsmithing. In fact, stay a bit more and you may find a treat to close us out.
We’re returning to an old favorite this week with the cheerful theatrics of three musical robots: Steam Powered Giraffe. Incidentally, another old favorite (guest Nelson Lugo), is returning to us! For review, he delivers us Steam Powered Giraffe’s third studio release, MK III. (To hear our review of their second album, see Ep. #39!) And stick around, because after this fun-filled excursion through the band’s most daring product yet, we get to hear all about Nelson’s excursions through the world of magic and theater, namely his upcoming show, “Gathering the Magic.” Enjoy!
Tonight we take a short breather from album reviews to direct our attention toward the foremost film score composer of our time — the stalwart master of his craft, John Williams. Joining us for this very special epis-“ode” is returning guest Nate Rider, armed with his vast knowledge of film and pop culture. Together, we discuss John Williams’ major works, the films at large, the scope of his contributions, and the films’ greater cultural impact.
This week we’re joined by our guest, manic mandolinist Painless Parker, who invites us to explore the rich history of American Folk music. After starting us off with a treat performance, he introduces this week’s album review: Leaving Eden by Carolina Chocolate Drops. Then, after another performance, we get to talk about Painless as an artist, his background, and how he grew to attain a cult following within the Steampunk community and abroad. Oh, and for the subway enthusiast, be sure to remain all the way to the bumper block.
This week we’re joined by the indomitable Gary Oransky and Nate Rider (a.k.a. Gary_O & JediN8) from the Average Intelligence Podcast. Apart from taking our weekly digressions to even scarier frontiers, they also deliver us our first music-comedy album, “Weird Al” Yankovic’s biting answer to the 1990s, Running with Scissors. Afterwards, Gary and Nate discuss their panoptical role on Average Intelligence as the self-described “bastard children of Pop Culture and Momma Media.” And so, what better way to wrap up a pop culture discussion than to sit back and gab about film sequels!
Today we’re delighted to welcome another charming burlesque artist, the creative and talented Kita St. Cyr, who presents us with our album of the week: Tabu! Volume 1, a 1960s compilation of Exotica, Rockabilly, Blues, and you name it! We also receive a fascinating lesson on Exotica as a genre, and of course get the inside scoop on Kita and her art.
Today’s rowdy gathering of antics and philosophy is brought to you by a local Brooklyn talent and treasure, self-described “Celt-ish” cover band, The Waysties. Join us as we interview them on everything from the band’s origins to their influences, side-projects, hobbies, interests, and much more! We also dive into a big discussion on Steampunk as a movement and a form of expressionism. To top it all off, the band treats us to some live performances, so stay on your toes!
It’s finally time to tackle our first EP, an original work by Walk off the Earth called R.E.V.O., which we discuss alongside a selection of self-released covers. This rare combo-review comes courtesy of our guest, the enterprising thespian known as “Joe Rude” of The Kings of Karaoke and of The Society of American Fight Directors. He tells us a bit about Karaoke as a business, and also as a haven for quelling inhibitions, one show at a time. Stick around at the end for a treat performance!
Welcome, welcome… or should I say, “thank ya, thank ya,” because this week we’re traveling to the bygone days of Lawrence Welk with his 1960s compilation album, The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk. This review is brought to us by today’s guest, the lovely Hazel Honeysuckle, a talented NYC-based burlesque performer who enlightens us with her unique perspective on music as an on-stage tool, as well as a brief history of burlesque and its resurgence as a popular performance art.
Tonight we’re joined by returning guests, the Wall Street Playaz, who come to us with a special choice album suggestion for this week’s review: Hide the Kitchen Knives by The Paper Chase. Then we get some insight into WSP’s latest work, as well as a sneak preview track from their upcoming LP, so stick around!
