The Riff Between Us: Recent Episodes
Matt, Mike, & Thomas
A rambling diatribe amongst pals as we dissect our dissimilar tastes in music and review various albums across genres, space, and time.
Supergroup time - The Dead Weather starring Jack White and some other forgettable people come out of nowhere just in time to rock us to our core. We take a closer look at their debut release, heralded by many as "pretty good" and "that band where Jack White should have just sang". Is it worth the listen? Yes. Should Jack White have been the sole vocalist? Also yes.
We review the latest King Gizz offering, KG. Somewhat eponymous and certainly microtonal, it's a fun, deep album was all agree is worth a listen. We all had fun and didn't belittle each other this time unfortunately, but this podcast is worth a listen as well.
On this episode we have a surprise guest! Mike brings in a Frank Ocean fan who Matt unceremoniously rips into with no regard for anyone's feelings. Shown to be a fool in the end, you decide who's the real winner as we listen to this droning, boorish album.
In this episode Mike bathes himself in Matt and Thomas' discomfort in acknowledging Coheed and Cambria even exist. As we've found, it's near impossible to wash away the filth and grime of the lead singer's voice, even long after you've stopped listening. Next time I'll invent and wear ear condoms.
A deep-ish dive into Rage Against the Machine. Why were they great? WERE they great? Yes, of course, and who better than to discuss that than three guys who listened to their albums a few times twenty years ago.
Mike, Matt, and Thomas finally get to skip all that "song" nonsense and dig into the only thing that really matters - gnarly, shredding, wailing guitar solos. As expected there are lots of subjective opinions clashing with Matt's objective facts. But at least there was one thing we could all agree on - nothing holds a candle to Lil Wayne's groundbreaking turn as the world's greatest guitarist.
In this episode we review Justin Vernon's obviously casual blues rock side project. If mediocre blues rock were ever singularly defined by a seminal work, this would be it. At least there's lots of giggles and attacks on Mike's credibility.
It's Mike's band! And his first outing as a Rick Rubin-esque producer. An absolute renaissance man, Thomas and Matt viciously tear him apart (just for fun).
In this episode we explore the enigmatic and dynamic singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. Is her latest album a compelling, explosive breakthrough into a new sonic dimension, or merely a rehash of mid-2000s era Devendra Banhart-esque low-fi pot banging? Who's to say? Me. I'm to say.
In this super special freakout episode, we entertain Matt's hysteria interspersed with Mike playing random pun-based tunes. We never manage to catch them coming even when it's incredibly obvious. Also, don't take any advice we might have, just don't leave your house or do anything with other human beings ever again.
FUNK! In this episode we explore the electro-funk duo from Canada and their evolution from the mid-2000's to today. They don't make bad songs, but do they make particularly good ones? Listen in to find out on an episode where we don't attack Mike's taste in music for once (mostly).
A sad episode reviewing an "album" by an old, white rapper. He's technically proficient and technically kind of lame now. Spoiler alert, Mike praises it while everyone else on earth sighs in mediocrity. We also ramble about other music news (ACTUAL good music has been released by The Strokes, Tame Impala, and Tennis).
A fun episode exploring the technical magnificence and vast, insular world-building of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. A psychadelic rock band hailing from Geelong, Australia, King Gizz simultaneously released three live albums in support of the Australian bushfires, so we sample a few tracks from each release. We talked about some other things but honestly, I forget the specifics.
Enter the sick, frightening, and upbeat world of Chef Goldblum as we explore his latest Jazz collective's record full of jazzy tunes and sexy sax. We also introduce some new segments on music news (spoiler alert, it includes Scientologists murdering dogs) plus a hot take (that everyone agreed with and wasn't particularly hot).
In this episode Thomas and Matt insult Mike's personal tastes endlessly as he drones on about good production value in the face of a mediocre album. It was truly fine.
A cornerstone of late 2000's stoner rap that captures the cultural zeitgeist of racial marginalization and the coming of age of the internet, Sit Down, Man is the gold standard of mixtapes. An absolute 5/5 effort that defined a generation. Or, according to Mike, utter trash.
Defying all odds, our return episode features Mike suggesting an album that isn't offensive and atrocious - a fun, complex, jazzy blues rock album from some Austin dudes.
For his inaugural episode Thomas chose to review the hard rock bass & drum pair's debut album, "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine". Just two lonely Canadian bros breaking into studios to record some distorted and fuzzed out jams about being shunned by women, Thomas could not have chosen a better representation of his ethos.
In our second episode we examine a milestone in musical achievement - The Darkness' 2003 epic, groundbreaking, and glorious "Permission to Land". An absolute hallmark in shredding, squealing guitar solos and crescendoing, sickening guitar solos, we ramble on about spandex and hair metal until Mike is in tears.
For our first episode, Mike inexplicably chose to review the Brockhampton album, Saturation II, a middling effort by a popular rap collective. Our day was ruined and our disappointment immeasurable.