POLYMUSE: Recent Episodes
Ben Diebold & Michal Welch
POLYMUSE is an experience that takes a deep dive through the discographies of the artists that changed our lives! Co-hosts and cousins, Ben and Michal, dissect a different artist each season, and a different album each episode as they break down each project! The duo delve into the album backstory, and spin though track-by-track analysis of instrumentals, lyrics, impact, and nostalgia! Each song is also ranked on a tier list as the cousins work toward revealing which tracks will make their all-time mix CD! Season 2 takes System of a Down for a rewind!
Serj Tankian's five-track "Elasticity" project holds similar "System" themes. A brief, self-described collection of SOAD drafts completed in Serj's image, the cousin duo gives thoughts and grades!
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SOAD released two new tracks for a good cause in 2020 after a decade off! Join the fam as the discuss what brought the group back together and how "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" really scratched the SOAD itch!
Ben's Playlist:
Amazon
Spotify
Youtube
Michal's Playlist:
Amazon
Spotify
Youtube
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The duo tackles Daron Malakian's 2nd soloish project "Dictator" with a new supporting cast composing the remainder of "Scars". New grades, a 2018 time capsule, and Ben debuts a new Daron voice!
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During System of a Down's "timeout" Darin Malakian puts his own material together, created a groovy band name, and released some new tunes! Ben & Michal discuss strange sound choices, lyrics, and contrast to SOAD.
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The end of an era, tour talk, and Poly Pockets?
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American Idol, CSI, and other top 2005 shows are discussed. Then we recap our 14 track all-time System of a Down mixtapes!
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Banana banana banana terracotta all-timer! Your two favorite cousins peel apart “Vicinity of Obscenity” and transition just fine into “She’s Like Heroin”. Then they slide into 2005 video games!
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Ben discusses his dream “Stealing Society” music video. Michal names his favorite things. Then both cousins rip into “Tentative” and somehow we come away with a (maybe) surprise grade in this episode!
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You’re feeling compelled to press play. You’re hovering. You’ve been leaning “no”, but you see this and you’re feeling more compelled to select “play” because of this cheeky writing. You feel more relaxed. Nostalgic. So you press play to join your two favorite cousin’s as Michal sort of revisits a tale hypnotic tale and the album title track from SOAD.
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The cousins talk “Mesmerize” and “Hypnotize” album art before diving into the rich and (sometimes) memorable 2005 album releases! 50, Em, Wolfmother, Green Day! And Ben debates the death of rock.
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SOAD comes out swinging in “Hypnotize”! Their 2nd album release in 2005 as do the cousins in there 2023 review of the killer album in wrestling the first two aggressive tracks in “Attack!” and “Dreaming”!
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Violent pornography! Then we smoothly transition into the launching of Youtube & Reddit in 2005!
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Awesome album art for “Mezmerize” & “Hypnotize” are tackled before opening up the messaging behind the epic track that returned SOAD to the forefront of music in 2005. The SNL banning and live on-TV performances are discussed!
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Get Mezmerized as the dive into the first of the SOAD double-albums starts here! Ben & Michal discuss the layoff between album releases, band conflict at the time, and the brief overview of SOAD’s time together.
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(Non-Music Version) S2 E29: "Nüguns" and "A.D.D. (American Dream Denial)" | System of a Down - "Steal This Album!" (2002)
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E25. Ben discusses runoff grooves as the access point to secret tracks, and the cousin duo takes “Arto” for a listen. They give final thoughts on “Toxicity” as a full project!
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E21. Ben and Michal tackle the deep messaging in “Science” and “Shimmy”. Ben discusses shimmying on repeat while crushing the banging Tony Hawk video games!
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E7. Join your favorite cousins as they make Ben feel as weird and icky as possible with screeching sounds, mermaid, Furby, and “Peephole” talk. He perks up a bit with “CUBErt” nostalgia as they continue through SOADs debut album!
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E2. SUGAR! Since '98 the boogie sugie has been playing in Michal's head nonstop. Try to follow along with the cousins as the marbles hit the meat post, and they devolve into madness reviewing "Sugar", the 3rd track from SOAD's self-titled, debut album!
Music Video
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E1. Ben and Michal are back to tackle System of a Down for Season 2! The dynamic duo break down the legendary and quirky quartets background and tackle the first two tracks, "Suite-Pee" and "Know", from their debut, self-titled album. Nostalgia! Grades! If you Know, you Know, Suite-Pees! We're back!
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Grey Daze completed the re-recording process of their late 90's records and re-emerged from the ashes with "Phoenix" earlier this summer! Join you fav cousins as they create a 2022 nostalgia time capsule, discuss trash lyrics, and the end of the Grey Daze catalog?
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Created from vintage Chester Bennington vocals and rerecorded production, "Amends" is a melding of new and old. Bennington's high school band "Grey Daze" recreates the tracks from his early beginning. Ben and Michal dig into the bands history, the missed opportunity for a reunion, how the recording came together, and grade out the unique project!
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Ben & Michal Recap Link Park's album releases to this point and finalize their all-time mix CD selections!💿
Ben's LP Mix CD Playlist-Spotify
Michal's LP Mix CD Playlist-Spotify
Ben's LP Mix CD Playlist-Youtube
Michal's LP Mix CD Playlist-Youtube
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A special project cobbled together from various international performances after the passing of Chester, "One More Light Live" gives fans a glimpse of the emotional live tracks that few had the opportunity to see! The cousins run though the set list and review the performances!
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A momentous album, shadowed by the tragic loss of Chester Bennington, your extended POLYMUSE family, Ben and Michal, are here to review Link Park's emotional seventh album "One More Light"!
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Linkin Park returns to their rock roots for inspiration, and your favorite duo joins “The Hunting Party” to review the outcome! Pushing against the “pop-rock” takeover of 2014, LP tries to fight the trend with their sixth album! How does it replay? Reignite the outrage from “Keys to the Kingdom” to the “Final Masquerade”!
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A wise man once said "Find the remix that works for you"! A fan friendly subscription plan turned album, Linkin Park followed up "Living Things" with several remixes and collaborations that became a full album release! Ben & Michal dig into the details of "Recharged", and regrade the remixes! on POLYMUSE!
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Crack a cold one and settle in for a new style! More contemporary with elements of rock, punk, electronica, and dub-step, the cousins have differing opinions with some of the “Living Things” tracklist! A few top grades are handed out by both sides, but which tracks are deserving is disputed!
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LP's second collaboration with Rick Rubin brought about creative struggle, nuclear warfare, and lots of interludes! The cousins start this episode of POLYMUSE in a bleak place and gradually find the light as they tour the concept album you either love or war against!
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Join the cousins you wish you had as they break down the "A Decade of LP Underground" compilation album! A "Best Of" collection compiling the best tracks from the yearly Linkin Park Underground fan club CD releases! Are the B-sides, demos, and remixes worth a spin?
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The cousins throw "Dead by Sunrise" into the CD player this episode and explore the groups first and only project "Out of Ashes"! Established as Chester Bennington's side project, the band's style compared to how Linkin Park was recording during the same time period! Its not all sunshine and rainbows on POLYMUSE for this track-by-track review!
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Linkin Park's second live album, "Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes", was recorded during the 2008 Projekt Revolution festival in England. Tune into POLYMUSE to catch Ben & Michal break down this CD/DVD release! Crowd participation, atmosphere, track lineup, stage presence, and Michal's gripes about live performances are all up for discussion!
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Linkin Park's return in 2007 after a four-year stretch without new music brought fresh sounds, Rick Rubin, and massive hits! Ben and Michal tap into an iconic album and give top marks for "Minutes to Midnight"!
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Continuing the Fort Minor detour, this episode of POLYMUSE hits on Fort Minor's first and only full-length project! With hits like "Remember the Name" and "Where'd You Go", join the cousins as they dissect the highlights and dumpster fires of "The Rising Tied"!
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Taking a sidestep from Linkin Park, the cousins examine the 2005 sampler and mixtape for Fort Minor! Join Ben and Michal for another episode of POLYMUSE as they discuss whether Mike is really a solo artist under the "Fort Minor" moniker, hit on the plethora of samples and features, and question the quality of the single "Petrified"!
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Back when tuning into MTV for hot new music was a trend, the network brought us the "Collision Course" project between Jay-Z and Linkin Park! Join us for POLYMUSE as Ben and Michal cover the CD/DVD release, discuss the secret fan performance, and review the tracks on this legendary collaboration!
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Ben and Michal break down "Live in Texas", the first live CD/DVD released by Linkin Park, recorded over two days in August 2003! The cousins discuss stage presence, crowd participation, and the live setlist!
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New aesthetic, new tracks, new vibe, same Linkin Park! Ben and Michal break down LP's 7x platinum selling album full of memorable tracks still crushing almost 20 years later! Track-by-track background, breakdown, and grades, this week on POLYMUSE!
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Judge an album by it's cover! "Reanimation" had awesome album art and a unique approach as a second project! Ben and Michal review one of the top-selling remix albums of all time and break down the tracks, features, and nostalgia on Episode 02 of POLYMUSE!
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Join us for Episode 01 of POLYMUSE as we tackle the 2000 debut release for LP! We'll discuss the turn of the millennium, the group's success right off the bat, a couple major tracks that just missed making the cut on the original US release, and breakdowns for each track on this historical project!
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