Album Divers Trevor & Shane

On this final episode of 2022, Trevor and Shane each select 5 albums and together compile their top 10 albums of the year. The ground rules were simple and were the same this year as last year:
1. They couldn't select an album from 2021 that already had a "deep dive" episode.
2. They wouldn't be ranking their top 5 or the final top 10 in any particular order
3. They couldn't both select the same album.
Finally, like last year, at the end of the episode, Shane and Trevor each announce their #1 album of the year.
With these self-imposed rules in place, Trevor and Shane took turns sharing their picks for the year one by one. The list is as follows:
Trevor: Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa, Wet Leg - Wet Leg, Ezra Furman - All Of Us Flames, The Mars Volta - The Mars Volta, Angel Olsen - Big Time
Shane: Dead Tongues - Dust, Bronze Radio Return - Back Burners, Jamestown Revival - Young Man, Dehd - Big Sky, Big Theif - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Did your favorite album make our list? Write us and let us know what we forgot!
 
**Thanks you to all of our listener contributions for “Album of the Year.” Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear listener picks and your voice if you contributed
 
**Finally, why listen to new music anyway? Well, because it's good for you! Here is a link to the article we reference in the episode.https://pitchfork.com/features/article/listen-to-music/
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HOW TO CONNECT WITH ALBUM DIVERS:
*You can submit your questions or comments about this episode or anything else on your mind here via our text line at:
425-287-6832
*Leave us an audio message here:
https://www.speakpipe.com/AlbumDivers
We promise to respond and may even feature your thoughts on a future episode. 
*Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Album Divers
*Email us at Albumdiverspodcast@gmail.com
*Please subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts!

For his next pick of an album that has, “been around awhile” Shane selects Mandolin Orange’s 2015 release, “Such Jubilee.” Mandolin Orange (now known as Watchhouse since a name change last year) is an Americana/Folk duo from North Carolina formed in 2009 by husband and wife duo Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz. Shane has special memories with this band seeing them live with his father. Trevor’s introduction to the band was their 2019 release which Shane had recommended when Album Divers was in its infancy though never materialized as a deep dive episode. This 2015 release was written by the couple while on the road, but recorded back at home in North Carolina and offers a stripped down aesthetic which allows the listener to absorb lyrics offering little worlds about the importance of savoring the moment in the context of love, loss, and generational connection. This album represents the first  revelation by Shane of a trio of albums that he purchased on vinyl for Trevor as a surprise gift. The next two will be revealed to both him and the Album Divers audience in due time. Stay tuned.________________________________________________________________________________________________ HOW TO CONNECT WITH ALBUM DIVERS: *You can submit your questions or comments about this episode or anything else on your mind here via our text line at: 425-287-6832 *Leave us an audio message here: https://www.speakpipe.com/AlbumDivers We promise to respond and may even feature your thoughts on a future episode. *Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Album Divers *Email us at Albumdiverspodcast@gmail.com *Please subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts!

For Shane's pick of a 2022 album, he selected indie rock staple Arcade Fire and their new album "WE.” This was a unique endeavor for your hosts at Album Divers in that Arcade Fire is a band Trevor had been following since their beginnings but lost track of in recent years, and Shane, though familiar with the band’s music, had never listened to an entire album from start to finish. Arcade Fire’s latest album “WE” was written in the throes of isolation brought on by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Arcade Fire weaves interstellar imagery with Greek mythos and takes the listener through the rabbit hole that is the disintegrating human connection found and lost again in technology and social media. Like many of Arcade Fire's previous releases, this record is a concept album. It is divided into two halves. The first, titled “I,” represents the self, and the second, "WE,” portrays our relationship with others. "WE” takes the listener into an imagined dystopia of anxiety, violently destroys it, and builds a new world again, only to find clarity in human connection.
 
*** Special thanks to those of your who contributed your thoughts on this album via audio clips. You will hear your voices sprinkled in throughout the episode.
 
*** This episode was recorded before hearing of allegations of sexual misconduct from four unnamed individuals against lead singer Win Butler. For this reason and others that we explain to begin the episode, you will not hear these allegations mentioned throughout the album’s dissection. Shane and Trevor have had several thoughtful conversations about this topic and encourage you to do the same.
________________________________________________________________________________________________HOW TO CONNECT WITH ALBUM DIVERS:*You can submit your questions or comments about this episode or anything else on your mind here via our text line at:425-287-6832*Leave us an audio message here:https://www.speakpipe.com/AlbumDiversWe promise to respond and may even feature your thoughts on a future episode.*Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Album Divers*Email us at Albumdiverspodcast@gmail.com*Please subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts!

For their next pick of an album that has been around awhile, Trevor and Shane go back 55 years to the date to break down an album that needs no introduction, The Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Recognizing this as an arduous task, Shane and Trevor were fortunate and grateful to have Authors James Campion and Katie Darby Mullins provide their thoughts on this iconic album on the episode. In addition, several listeners, friends, and fellow music podcasters chimed in on their favorite tracks. If you submitted audio for this purpose, listen for your contribution throughout the episode. Fittingly, Shane and Trevor realize by the end of this album exploration that they would not have been able to get by without a little help from their friends. Does this album live up to its reputation for Trevor and Shane by the end of their deep dive? Listen until the end to find out.
________________________________________________________________________________________________HOW TO CONNECT WITH ALBUM DIVERS:*You can submit your questions or comments about this episode or anything else on your mind here via our text line at:425-287-6832*Leave us an audio message here:https://www.speakpipe.com/AlbumDiversWe promise to respond and may even feature your thoughts on a future episode.*Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Album Divers*Email us at Albumdiverspodcast@gmail.com*Please subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts!

 
On this special bonus episode, Trevor and Shane sit down with author James Campion to discuss his new book "Take a Sad Song...the Emotional Currency of Hey Jude." James is a syndicated columnist and editor for the pop culture magazine “The Aquarian Weekly." His long form essays are featured in the webzine "Dog Door Culture,” and his work has appeared in several periodicals including Huffington Post, New York Newsday, and Hackwriters just to name a few. James is also the cohost of the popular podcast, "Underwater Sunshine" with Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz and the two also host and annual music festival of the same name. His most recent book, "Take a Sad Song: The Emotional Currency of Hey Jude" was released on June 1st of this year, 2022 by Backbeat Books, a division of Rowman and Littlefield. Signed first edition hardcover copies can be ordered through James' website here:
 
https://www.jamescampion.com/
 
Shane and Trevor enjoyed discussing James' book, and the stories behind the construction of one of the greatest songs ever written.
 
***Dont forget to check out our featured artist for this episode, Stylus Theory! You can find their music on all major music platforms. Here is a link to their website: https://stylustheory.com/
________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW TO CONNECT WITH ALBUM DIVERS:
*You can submit your questions or comments about this episode or anything else on your mind here via our text line at:
425-287-6832
*Leave us an audio message here:
https://www.speakpipe.com/AlbumDivers
We promise to respond and may even feature your thoughts on a future episode.
*Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Album Divers
*Email us at Albumdiverspodcast@gmail.com
*Please subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts!
 

On this special episode, Trevor and Shane sit down with musician Jesse Norell to discuss the first music he has written in over 15 years, a concept album about the birth and subsequent medical challenges facing his now 6 year old daughter Alyssa. On the day of her birth, Jesse found out in the same moment that Alyssa both had Down syndrome and holes in her heart that would require open heart surgery...one at five months old and another two years later. 
And yet this album is ultimately one of joy and self-discovery. It's about a family who found themselves to be the lucky ones. It's about a father who found his darkness turn to light. But mostly It's about a little girl who found she can make anyone change course.
 
You can follow Jesse's journey, support his music and keep up with future work or shows at his website here:https://jessenorell.com/welcome
 
***Dont forget to check out our featured artist for this episode, Lotte Kestner! You can find her music on all major music platforms. Here is a link to Lotte Kestner's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0LmmhAkoebSsbFfgCybcGI?si=KfXf4XblTUqhz9yT5C1Gbw
 
________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW TO CONNECT WITH ALBUM DIVERS:
*You can submit your questions or comments about this episode or anything else on your mind here via our text line at:
425-287-6832
*Leave us an audio message here:
https://www.speakpipe.com/AlbumDivers
We promise to respond and may even feature your thoughts on a future episode. 
*Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Album Divers
*Email us at Albumdiverspodcast@gmail.com
*Please subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts!