We’re predominantly an audio-medium website at present. Below are a mix of our [currently] two regular series, the Crash Chords Podcast (CCP) and Crash Chords: Autographs (CCA):
– The Crash Chords Podcast (CCP) airs every Thursday at noon EST.
– Crash Chords: Autographs (CCA) airs every *other* Tuesday at noon EST.
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Prepare for the trolling of a lifetime as we tackle Neil Cicierega’s unique mashup album, Mouth Sounds. Without giving away the experience, you can expect to hear some clever twists on familiar favorites, scourges, and bygone curiosities. Just how does one review a mashup album? As many mashups rely on revamping the emotional tone of the source material, we then leap into a larger discussion on the mutability of tonal perception.
This week we’re happily obliged to thank Dae Rak Lee for our fan-picked album review: Old Boy Jon by the Korean-American rapper, Dumbfoundead (DFD). Then stick around while we prod the concept of credibility (or “cred”) in music. When might it be over, or under-emphasized, and what is its bearing on other artists, on music moguls, and most importantly, on the fans?
Time for one of our favorite things: another cosmic ballet between traditional composition and pop songwriting. This week we find it in the band Arc Iris, fronted by the highly animated vocalist, Jocie Adams (formerly of the Low Anthem). With the help of her poetic flair, their self-titled debut packs a wallop. Let’s hope we do it justice. Also stick around for an interesting discussion on musical identity and personality, and whether they’re at all linked with staying power.
There’s a glitch in the system… several of them, actually. But it’s okay, really; we let them in. They’re called The Glitch Mob and they brought their own album, Love Death Immortality. After all, how could we refuse this opportunity to explore the intricate world of rock-inspired EDM? And how could you? So just fistpump your way to that play-button and join right in! And don’t go away or you’ll miss a great chat about the process of finding new music. We share some of our stories, now share yours!
Our 90th episode’s review is brought to you by the world-travelling, rhyme-spitting, ivory-tickling Louis Logic! Not so incidentally, he is also our guest. As for the album of study, we look at II, the self-implied second LP by the curiously eclectic Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Afterwards, Louis walks us through the trials and fortuities that have landed him his one-of-a-kind solo career as a rapper/keyboardist. He even touches upon his own eclectic range of influences, culminating in his recent release, Look on the Blight Side. Listen for yourself in the sample he supplies to sign us off.
Finally giving the biggest collaborator of the music industry his due, this week’s review spotlights Pharrell Williams’ latest solo album, GIRL With the artist’s smooth rhythms and groovy textures, it’s no surprise that his singles seem to find their way to every DJ’s library. Simply put, they’re easy on the feet. And so, for our discussion, we open the floor to dance music! We cover its varied history and cultural quirks, so be sure to boogie down with us after the review.
You all know Suzanne Pike from The Barbaric Yawps… well now you’ll know her as a bona fide CCP guest! Yes, we’re honored to have the famed Indi icon on the podcast, not only for an interview, but also to provide us with this week’s album review. Spurring another genre-first for Crash Chords, she has us examine the 2007 album Rival Factions by the Christian hardcore rock band, Project 86. After unpacking this issue-straddling album, we of course question Suzanne about her rise to fame. And, if you stick around, there’s a chance you’ll receive a treat performance — a good chance.
Ease off the throttle for this week’s lighthearted surprise-cast. First we welcome guests Kim & Sage of Head Over Feels, the most heartfelt website in all of pop culture “fannon”. Then, in lieu of our weekly review, we discuss and dissect the common practice of compiling playlists, using Kim & Sage’s personal submission as our model: The Ultimate Rose/Doctor Mixtape. Of course, our discussion covers only a minute fraction of their monstrous homage to the popular sci-fi series, Doctor Who, which dices the season-spanning forbidden love story into 728 bite-size morsels of feels. Also stick around for a discussion of playlists in the broad, and a brief interview chronicling the origins of Head Over Feels.
Strap yourselves in for this week’s big review. It’s time for St. Vincent by St. Vincent! But don’t be fooled… it’s musical sainthood we’re speaking of. Armed with a pop-fusion edge and a chamber composer’s sensibilities, St. Vincent is actually the stage name of composer/singer-songwriter Annie Erin Clark. She’s certainly a saint to all her fans, as they might testify in reaction to her latest “miracle”, the release of her self-titled album. In response, we take some time after to field our own impressions on the otherwise prevailing boundaries between formal composition and pop songwriting—if any at all.
This week we check out one of the many side-projects of world-renowned bassist and Primus frontman, Les Claypool. This particular side-project is known as Duo de Twang, a union of Claypool and M.I.R.V. guitarist Bryan Kehoe. Their debut album (and our review): Four Foot Shack. Then join us in a discussion of a band’s “namesake” — that is, the thing we search for in our libraries. From a marketing and artistic standpoint, what does the name mean for a band’s collective members? And what does it mean when it changes?
