The Year Of Discovery comes to a close this week! We're exploring Discovery, the sophomore album from Daft Punk, the iconic robotic French duo that changed the trajectory of electronica as we know it. Their sample-heavy style breathed new life into funk and disco, and hits like Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and One More Time took the world by storm. From their explosive origins to the record's companion anime Interstella 5555, James & Connor will fall in Digital Love with this one. We'll play Fact Or Spin about trucks, the precursors to their iconic helmets, and NASA's Deep Space Network.. and The Mixtaper has a special surprise that's 100 episodes in the making! Something's in the air, so come celebrate the conclusion of our FOURTH year of ranking records with us!!
Today we'll answer the age-old question.. WHO IS MEAT LOAF?! From the moment he was born, Marvin Aday lived an unbelievable life. We dive into the lore that led to the ninth-bestselling album in the world, Bat Out Of Hell! Inspired by Jim Steinman's Peter Pan metal musical, this theatrical metal record features major and inexplicable hits like Paradise By The Dashboard Light and Heaven Can Wait. The Mixtaper is teaching us about his name's various origins, his fresh rubber ducky collection, and a fishy marriage proposal. Can this record hold up to the hype? Will our scores reflect its absurd sales statistics? Will we ever truly know Meat Loaf? The Year Of Discovery continues with this special episode!
Bunny Is A Rider, and she probably listens to Desire, I Want To Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek! This atmospheric, artsy pop record showcases her voice and musicality as she uses familiar instruments and sounds in new ways. James discovered her on tour with the Queen Dua Lipa but Connor is just hearing of her now. We'll explore her past ventures in haunted house music, draw targets around our arrows, and subjectively compare drawings of angels. The Mixtaper's Fact Or Spin includes terrorists, a dramatic escape from the mafia, and a shocking horse tale. Everything is Pretty In Possible and we've got Billions of things to say about this album.. Hope you like her, you ain't leaving!
We've got an Uncontrollable Urge to de-evolve this week with DEVO, the satirical concept band from Akron, Ohio! Their 1978 debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO! is full of social commentary, wacky lyrics, and disorienting music inspired by classic films, anti-evolution propaganda, and even NORAD. We'll talk about the tragedy that inspired the band, the origin of Booji Boy, and the shocking success of Whip It! The Mixtaper is putting his right hand to work with facts about DEV2.0, and Seamus the roof-racked dog! If you're gettin' Sloppy, don't Shrivel-Up! Learn the truth about de-evolution in this one-of-a-kind episode about a one-of-a-kind band of Jocko Homos!
Do you Believe in life after love? We do! And so does Cher, one of pop music's legends. We'll trace her path to superstardom through every Ch-era. We'll talk about her time with Sonny, a handful of TV shows, her endless comebacks, and her eruption into the world of dance pop with her 22nd studio album Believe! It features hits like the title track, Strong Enough, and Love Is The Groove (same songs, different fonts). It's an album that literally altered the course of music. The Mixtaper will teach us about aliens, motorcycle crashes, and a nose-breaking shoe cannon! Then we're playing a new game-- Cher Bingo-- about the Queen Of Almost! Find out what happened to her YL and don't be selfish... Cher this episode with a friend!
This week we're lost in love and Washed Up Together with Knox Hamilton's debut record The Heights! This Little Rock-based alt pop band picked up thrift store instruments, named themselves after a rockin' yearbook photo, and took the radio by storm with their hit Work It Out! And Rightfully So... we'll talk about the band's mission to keep the good vibes flowing with every track on this two-in-one album. The Mixtaper is taking us on a berry hunt full of onstage weddings, questionable tattoos, and punny pranks in Fact Or Spin. How will this unique album hold up in the Year Of Discovery? Find out now!
It's a marvelous night for a podcast, and this week we're heading Into The Mystic with Van Morrison's 1970 record Moondance! After an accidental first record, a hit single in Brown Eyed Girl, and a commercial flop in Astral Weeks, Moondance was Morrison's last-ditch comeback effort to avoid starvation. It ended up becoming a classic soft rock album and a hit with hippies, featuring classic-caliber songs like Crazy Love and a full horn section! We'll explore little Ivan's Irish upbringing, learn about Them, and figure out why he uses so many syllables. The Mixtaper is on a mission to bully* Van Moron... remember to always read your contracts and pay your parking meters.
We've got it bad, got it bad, got it bad... We're hot for Van Halen! Their sixth studio album 1984 (their final with David Lee Roth) took the band in a bold new direction that blended their signature glam rock edge with sleek synthesizers to produce all-time hits like Panama, I'll Wait, and of course the iconic Jump! We explore Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary guitar skills, find a sneaky music video urine stain, and even dabble in the post-1984 Sammy Hagar years. The Mixtaper is drilling James in another round of Fact Or Spin with facts about fishy tour managers, certified EMTs, and a good ol' guitar string feast! Go ahead and Jump headfirst into the 200s with us!