jack and emily play the hits!: Recent Episodes
emily and jack
ooooh! it's all around you... the summer, i mean! and nothing says summer quite like a ridiculous classic rock radio countdown. we decided to do our own this memorial day weekend by coming up with the TOP 20 WORST CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME. we're pretty proud of the result! but you... you're gonna hate it. you'll probably be ready to take the jack and emily ship to the shore and throw away the oar FOREVURRRRR by the end of this one, that's how goddamn explosive (like a real bronx cheer!) some of these takes are. but hey
no wussy babies allowed, it's real rock and roll and we summarize a month's worth of shows-- from the hook-laden indie mastery of ALVVAYS (complete with crap audience) to the mindblowing soundscapes of the legendary KRAFTWERK, with a little thing we're calling SCOTTISH TWEEKEND smack dab in the middle (i.e. concerts by power pop stalwarts BELLE AND SEBASTIAN and TEENAGE FANCLUB). please use this episode carefully, but also play at maximum volume.
what makes 1994 the best year in music history? hmm... how about "illmatic," released 30 years to the day that we recorded the episode? how does that grab you? not impressed? okay... well then what about "parklife" by blur and "definitely maybe" by oasis? how you like those, eh? still holding out, i see. fair enough... but have you considered "the downward spiral"? "grace"? "ready to die"? "bee thousand"? well... fucking have you, man? oh okay i see you're more of a hella mega tour guy. well guess what? freaking the blue album and "dookie" came out in 1994! take that, hella mega tour guy...
this is our first in a possible series celebrating the wealth of treasures that 1994 has to offer, from gangster rap to indie rock; from funny good times to some of the most emotionally gripping music ever made; from justin to kelly. if you get past the ridiculous first five minutes i promise you this is one of the best episodes
but also we're in new york too! we're travelling 2 both the west and east coasts this episode: the former via a recap of our epic california road trip, the latter via a discussion of the strokes and "meet me in the bathroom" (the film, book, and song). this one is sprawling and a little shaggy (not unlike the wilds of LOS ANGELES) but its got the goods, man, including discussions of uhhh... the weather... and also elliott smith, "friday" and "straight outta compton," the beach boys, the yeah yeah yeahs, ryan dumb adams, people who pick george harrison as their favorite beatle, michelle branch, jim morrison falling asleep while standing up and going head first into a toilet, the ramones, and of course the red hot chili fucking peppers!
ERRATA: it is o'shea jackson jr, the son of ice cube, who plays ice cube in "straight outta compton"; corey hawkins, of no relation to dr dre, plays dr dre. it is important to get this stuff right, EMILY
the second part of our end-of-2023/start-of-2024 discussion! YOU'LL GET CAUGHT UP IN this wide ranging conversation about freaking everybody-- SZA, taylor swift, andre 3000, jessie ware, ANOHNI, wednesday, jaimie branch, lydia loveless, victoria monet, etc etc etc
we stand at a weird crossroads thing where three streets meet: past street, present street, and future street. deep in the PAST, we see the resolutions and predictions we made at the start of 2023, spotify wrapped, and maybe a massive rant about the streaming economy. here in the PRESENT, we live amidst the ghosts of some of the best albums released in the past twelve months, and some of the best shows we've seen (like err shania twain). and there in the FUTURE... well you'll have to wait until part two of this double episode!
it's the best of the year (2023) and a look at possible things to come! including convos about: caroline polachek, beyonce, belle and sebastian, IDLES, weyes blood, the beatles, the walkmen, and more
a splendid time is guaranteed for all as we recount our night at sgt peppercorn's marathon, america's only beatles tribute act that plays the entirety of the band's discography in chronological order. we show our gratitude toward the fab four as well as their intrepid interpreters, and riff on so many beatle related things-- their enduring appeal to the youth, the difficulty of playing their songs, the ongoing mystery of "old brown shoe," the controversial (to... us) release of "now and then," the religious qualities of beatle fandom, ringo's mastery of social media, and more! rollllllllll upppppppp
read more about sgt peppercorn here (and feel free to donate! we did!): https://peppercornmarathon.com
and his hair was perfect. DUT!
mwahahahaha it's SHOCKTOBER, boys and ghouls! so we're going back to the brackets to determine what the best halloween song is. it's one of our longest episodes ever and it's got us weighing in on all kinds of SPOOKTACULAR PHENOMENA, from jay-z's GOAT verse on "monster" to the questionable quality of "ghostbusters" (the film) (the song rules). 32 beasts enter the arena but only one makes it out... UNDEAD!!!
check out the bracket playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4XdoM1A0y2HAAXMgv8rpGY?si=90c8e83bf1bc44ce
can you feel the love tonight? well, fucking can you? because we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary by talking about the BIG THINGS that all relationships must contend with... namely, what music fans couldn't you have a relationship with? and what song should you walk down the aisle to? and what's the deal with james carville and his republican wife?
it might be a crazy conversation, but it's our conversation. and we reference a ton of artists, too, not limited to: elton john, celine dion, ed sheeran, taylor swift, paul mccartney, jimi hendrix, elvis presley, train, whitney houston, bob dylan, and jason fucking mraz
the summer of shows continues as we recap our excursion to dayton for GUIDED BY VOICES' 40th anniversary show, as well as the mysterious materialization of one WEYES BLOOD in columbus. throw the switch, it's rock n roll time! also: built to spill, wednesday, heartless bastards, and a heartless jimmy buffett tribute by us, some bastards
we can't keep up! an episode of madness and confusion as your hosts re-visit the recent columbus soul glo / mspaint concert (complete w/ hordes of kicking, punching, tackling, tooth-spitting teenagers) and later come to terms with some of the tropes of contemporary music (i.e. short songs, vibey sad indie background shit, random rappers, fucking whistling, etc).
featuring commentary on many artists including... katy perry! hall and oates! mumford and sons! jessie ware! the weeknd! guided by voices! stevie wonder! and of course the red hot chili pepperonis
twentieth episode, baby! whuh hoa and what the FUCK. we can't believe we made it this far! to commemorate this EPIC MILESTONE we've put together a list of our top 20 greatest albums. oh and talked about high school way too much.
we recap our day at reset: columbus! featuring idles, jamie xx, and LCD soundsystem. and then we have a contest to make the greatest 4th of july weekend playlist of all time (with categories for heartland rock, america songs, funkers, bad songs, rap songs, and more!). crack open a cold one and chill with us as we "celebrate" our "great" "nation"!
emily's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fhtIf3QB4dV6j3E1mR2vB?si=02430f250c7544da
jack's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4J2DSLIlzZ8yhDZLnppdIf?si=f84350e4d01d4772
an episode as tortured as its title! just kidding! this is a fun one! we battle back against the haters taking down our episodes, re-count the recent pixies + franz ferdinand + bully show emily attended, and try to define "jellicle" in hopes of explaining whatever the HELL is going on in tom hooper's ridiculous film adaptation of "cats."
we have returned from both a long podcast sabbatical and a long road trip thru chicago, milwaukee, and the twin cities... and we have stories to tell!
basically:
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we saw the new pornographers live
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jack saw the walkmen live
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we went to the twin cities and did a lot of cool replacements themed shit
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we took a pilgrimage to paisley park to honor the purple one
this is a good one! in my opinion!
it's a READING RAINBOW as we riff on 3 or 4 or 5 music books we've recently finished, none of which is "scar tissue" by anthony kiedis.
the audio on this one is a touch natty in places! but the content, oh the content... oh the sweet, sweet literary content...
jack read "go ahead in the rain" by hanif abdurraqib. it's good and you can purchase it here: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477316481
emily read "the girl in the back: a female drummer's life with bowie, blondie, and the 70's rock scene" by laura davis-chanin. it's good and you can purchase it here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-girl-in-the-back-a-female-drummer-s-life-with-bowie-blondie-and-the-70s-rock-scene-laura-davis-chanin/10630045
jack also read "music: a subversive history" by ted gioia. it's good and you can purchase it here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ted-gioia/music/9781541644373/?lens=basic-books
we also talk briefly about "the philosophy of modern song" by bob dylan and "the perfume burned his eyes" by CRISTOFUHHH
it's emily's birthday! uh-hellll yeah! we ring in this grand new year of life w/ a trio of emily-related games:
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random take generator: one pile of artists + one pile of questions = wild emily thoughts on all kinds of malarkey
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emily pursuit: emily quizzes jack about... emily! emily music stuff!
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emily's life in pop: emily constructs a life-time playlist out of billboard top 10 hits
this one is fun! and maybe a little more, erm, coherent than jack's birthday episode.
you can find the "life in pop" playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/36C2j9E8uGGgRdgVAEph4m?si=f736bd19d6964777
this episode features opinions on: david bowie, the white stripes, mariah carey, phil collins, nickleback, fleetwood mac, outkast, eddie money, the red hot chili peppers, and so many more
it's all the excitement of march as we determine, via NCAA-style bracket, the GREATEST ONE HIT WONDER OF ALL TIME.
see--and listen to-- the contestants here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WUVwVLL4Nb0Cys2WQCOkW?si=b21fe05d0ea449b2
and (spoiler alert!) the finished bracket can be found here: https://challonge.com/inx0fbl2
CORRECTIONS:
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cougs are out
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norman greenbaum is jewish!!
the power's out in the heart of our house, and we didn't think about how that was gonna mean the ROUTER was out too. hence, jack sort of sounds like shit on this one (BUT HEY WHAT ELSE IS NEW AMIRITE). our distinguished producer (also jack) tried to patch things up but it's still pretty iffy in places. SORRY!
also: listen to this episode! it's actually sort of fun if you can ignore the little imp man on jack's shoulder who interjects every couple of minutes. emily made music questionnaires that we discuss, with topics such as...
- desert island album
- a song that gets on your nerves
- favorite concert
- overrated and underrated artists
- five words to describe your music taste
- and more!
featuring opinions on so many artists including... THE BEATLES, talking heads, the clash, kid rock, limp bizkit, good charlotte, peter gabriel, the white stripes, britney spears, elton john, etc etc etc
we celebrate jack turning 35 by playing a drinking game called "RING OF FIRE."
this one was very fun to record. is it fun for you to listen to? eh, who cares.
TRIGGER WARNING: lots of sloppy drunken singing. lots of laughs. probably not the episode to start with if you are just becoming acquainted w/ the world of emily and jack
THE RULES OF RING OF FIRE (played w/ this card deck: https://www.laurenceking.com/products/genius-music-genius-playing-cards)
ACE - Waterfall (don't go chasing)
King - Karaoke
Queen - Question Master and the Mysterians
Jack - JACK!
Ten - Trivia
Nine - Rhyme
Eight - Take
Seven - Rule
Six - Category
Five - Musical Duel
Four - Musical Duel
Three - Give/take drinks
Two - Give/take drinks
Joker - Impression
it's a one way trip to take-town as we discuss the grammys, some of the best albums ever made, and the musical void that is continental europe. also jack is sick and fights off a nosebleed!
setlist:
- trigger warning RIP burt bacharach
- a brief grammys recap
- art v. pop, part one million: solange and frank ocean edition
- kendrick lamar
- patti smith
- sweden has something to say!
- the rest of europe doesn't have much to offer
- emily's project continues
- public enemy
- radiohead
- done!
mostly a conversation about the 2023 rock and roll hall of fame nominations, w/ a tribute to one of our fallen faves
setlist
- some announcements!
- shows cancelled... and not!
- emily hath a project!
- jeff + liz forever
- the rock and roll hall of fame... is it good?
- cyndi lauper
- kate bush
- joy division
- new order (two lines, for two bands)
- the white stripes
- others!
- RIP tom verlaine
- television was a great band
and w/ even more opinions about: taylor swift, sheryl crow, the smiths, CHIC, kiss, warren zevon, bon jovi, missy elliott, willie nelson, rage against the machine, nirvana, and the red hot chili peppers
our tribute to "XO" continues with a discussion of its (pretty great) side B.
setlist:
-waltz 1
- amity
- oh well, okay
- bottle up and explode!
- a question mark
- "elliott smith gives a songwriting lesson"
- everybody cares, everybody understands
- i didn't understand
- we love XO, for it is great
a tribute to elliott smith and his major label debut, "XO" (1998)... one of the great albums of the 90s, of indie rock, of music in general.
setlist:
- trigger warning: terrible title
- general thoughts + matthew lemay's "XO"
- the making of XO
- sweet adeline
- tomorrow, tomorrow
- waltz #2
- baby britain
- pitseleh
- independence day
- bled white
- bye
an episode about 2023: what will happen, what might happen, and what's just plain happening, man
setlist:
- pink floyd
- the year ahead
- our resolutions
- artists emily's gonna get into (beach boys, VU, etc)
- artists jack's gonna get into (mariah carey, tribe called quest, etc)
- upcoming shows
- bold predictions
- it's gonna be a good yearrrr
and with various thoughts and opinions on: radiohead, audioslave, bob dylan, beyonce and adele, nick drake, the walkmen, belle and sebastian, the new pornographers, stone temple pilots, nirvana, rihanna, gordon lightfoot, ringo starr, and others! (not RHCP??)
a discussion of singers and singing and rolling stone's list of the 200 greatest singers (with... some singing!)
setlist:
- intro/beaches
- some thoughts on vox + lists suck
- the top 10
- aretha franklin
- mariah carey
- sam cooke
- 10 thru 20
- lennon and mccartney
- celine diontroversy
- emily challenges jack to a game
- willie and donna and some boys
- MICK
- lists suck
w/ additional opinions about: adele, christina aguilera, marvin gaye, freddie mercury, patsy cline, michael jackson, frank sinatra, kurt cobain, bob dylan, kiss, bob seger, and more (and the red hot chili peppers).
still celebrating the best of the year! or whatever
featuring the awards for: single of the year, album of the year, and more!
w/ cameos (and even more live performances!) by: bad bunny, SZA, weyes blood, steve lacy, mj lenderman, soul glo, stevie wonder, jeff beck, plains, sasami, the arctic monkeys, soccer mommy, spoon, alvvays, rosalia, black midi, black country new road, and more! (and the red hot chili peppers.)
celebrating the best of the year! or whatever
featuring the awards for: most underrated/overrated albums, indie-est album of the year, worst band name, best comeback, and more!
w/ cameos (and even some live performances!) by: kendrick lamar, beyonce, the yeah yeah yeahs, arctic monkeys, mitski, big thief, the smile, animal collective, titus andronicus, the 1975, taylor swift, sasami, alvvays, plains, bjork, tears for fears, and more! (and bob seger.)
"the popisode"
setlist
- what is pop?
- what does pop mean to us?
- from the 80s, to the 2000s, to now
- pop in 2022
- beyonce: renaissance
spicy beyonce take suite
- taylor swift: mid nights
spicy taylor swift take suite
- billie eilish
- harry styles
- lizzo
- SZA
- rosalia
- epilogue
setlist:
- rock doc talk!
- the decline of western civilization
- fugazi: instrument
- (interlude- linkin park)
- white stripes under blackpool lights
- (interlude on drummers + drumming)
- the last waltz
- what jack is listening to (hint: it's wet leg)
- end
setlist:
- intro
- musical personalities
- what we're listening to (soccer mommy)
- christine mcvie
playlist for this week's episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2vDIG5jR23qHEgwPP7S2oz?si=ceb143168a9543ad