You Gotta Check This Out!

Mike Slater and Dre Alvarez
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Music Commentary
  • Updated Weekly

This is “You Gotta Check This Out” With Mike Slater and Dre Alvarez. Each season, we take a deep dive into one of our nerdy obsessions - giving each one as much time as we see fit to get each other and you the listener up to speed with something we love. Season 1 - Babylon 5 - TV series | free on YouTube Season 2 - The Power Fantasy - Comic Series | free on Hoopla Season 3 - Steely Dan - Music | Wherever you listen to music New episodes release every other Sunday, with a minisode on the off-weeks. Articles on each episode available at https://mikeslater.com/ Mike & Dre Socials https://bsky.app/profile/slatron.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/nerdnumbers.com https://www.instagram.com/slatron11/ https://www.instagram.com/nerdnumbers/ Logo artwork by Michael Vincent Bramley. See Michael's work or ask about commissions at https://mvbramley.art/ All music by Mike Slater Show Website: www.mikeslater.com

  1. 3d ago

    Steely Dan - Countdown and Pretzel Logic with John Szymanski

    Mike & Dre continue diving into the history and music of the band Steely Dan focusing on "Countdown to Ecstasy" and "Pretzel Logic". This week's guest is John Szymanski In This Episode… Mike rants about this era of the Dan, composing music for slot machines, using variety to keep music vital, tour talk, and the Dan transition from touring band to studio-only. Recommendations John A wizard a true star - Todd RudgrenGet Music by John Szymanski on bandcampMike Raised By Hippies on YouTubeDre Nolan's The Odyssey Join us next Sunday where we talk to John about the song The Boston Rag. Then stick around and hear us perform a duet of the song. The following week, we'll be back with another full-length episode on steely dan with special guest Ait Fetterolf. Join us as we cover the albums "Katy Lied" and "The Royal Scam". Chapters 00:02 - Opening Monologue 08:11 - Walter Beckons 21:27 - Any Major Dre Will Tell You 25:42 - David Palmer Memory Quiz 32:51 - Dirty Work Read the show notes here YouTube Video of Funniest Steely Dan Interviews Royce James singing Any Major Dude Will Tell You Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky Logo artwork by Michael Vincent Bramley See Michael's work or ask about commissions at https://mvbramley.art/ All music by Mike Slater Listen to Mike's daily steely dan songs on instagram for #80daysofdan

    Steely Dan - Countdown and Pretzel Logic with John Szymanski

  2. Sep 13

    Minisode - Dirty Work with Dan Jackson

    Welcome back to our season on the music of Steely Dan Each minisode during the Steely Dan season, we'll be presenting a musical performance by Mike and the guest. In this Minisode...David Palmer brings the sweet side of Steely Dan, Dan and Mike explore the music theory behind Dirty Work, then they perform the song Dirty Work before finishing the episode with more talk on music technology and appreciating Jazz. “Dirty Work” starts at 18:47 This week's guest is Dan Jackson Join us next Sunday where we'll be back with another full-length episode on Steely Dan with special guest John Szymanski. Join us as we cover the albums "Countdown to Ecstasy" and "Pretzel Logic". Read the show notes here Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky Logo artwork by Michael Vincent Bramley See Michael's work or ask about commissions at https://mvbramley.art/ All music by Mike Slater Listen to Mike's daily steely dan songs on instagram for #80daysofdan

    Minisode - Dirty Work with Dan Jackson

  3. Sep 6

    Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill with Dan Jackson

    Welcome to a new season on the music of Steely Dan Mike here. In This Episode, Dre and I begin diving into the history and music of the band Steely Dan starting with their debut album "Can't Buy A Thrill". Each episode, we'll have a guest musician on the show to talk about their history with Steely Dan. In the minisodes, we'll feature a performance with me and the guest on a Steely Dan song of their choice. We're not afraid to get into the weeds on music theory, but Dre is always here to ask questions as a newcomer to the band. If you're an old fan or new to the Dan, there's something here for you. This week's guest is Dan Jackson Dan Recommends Bandsplain PodcastBurt Sugarman’s Midnight Special with Steely DanRaye - this album may contain hopeThe Brook and the BluffDan’s Chicago RPG storeDan on instagram Join us next Sunday where we talk to Dan about the song Dirty Work. Then stick around and hear us perform a duet of the song. The following week, we'll be back with another full-length episode on steely dan with special guest John Szymanski. Join us as we cover the albums "Countdown to Ecstasy" and "Pretzel Logic". Chapter Times I'm working on adding chapters to the podcast. In the meantime, here's the next best thing in case you really can't stand the monologue. Or are only here for the quiz. 00:02 - Opening Monologue 08:31 - Walter Beckons 29:35 - Any Major Dre Will Tell You 34:00 - David Palmer Memory Quiz 41:44 - Dirty Work Read the show notes here Hear Rock Lab at Chicago Summerfest Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky Logo artwork by Michael Vincent Bramley See Michael's work or ask about commissions at https://mvbramley.art/ All music by Mike Slater Listen to Mike's daily steely dan songs on instagram for #80daysofdan

    Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill with Dan Jackson

  4. Aug 30

    Greerleaders with Logan Trent

    Stick around to the end of this one for the debut of the Greerleaders podcast theme. In this minisode… Bob and Tiff Hellbound, we add Low Gain to the team, Etienne as Victor Wembanyama, Etienne as Krang, the only ethical load and  WW ‘84, Etienne zazzes up, what’s in the boombox?, the right-wing “Are you there God? It’s me Margaret”, another reason Mike can’t be Magus, Heavy’s ego, extended Greer talk, the 2.5 good X-Men movies, more Greertalk, Greerleaders is born. This week's guest is Logan Trent. Listen to Logan Trent WNBYay Podcast with friend of the show Adam Tod Brown Wrestlemania Podcast with friend of the show John Reiman For the next full episode, we move on to our next topic and cover Steely Dan with Special Guest Daniel "D-Jax" Jackson. In the first episode, we'll be covering their first album "Can't Buy A Thrill". Read the show notes here Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky All music by Mike Slater

    Greerleaders with Logan Trent

  5. Aug 23

    The Power Fantasy Vol III with Logan Trent

    This episode covers the third collected volume of "The Power Fantasy", issues #12-16, an Image comic by Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard. We highly recommend you read the comics first as this episode gets into heavy spoilers. In This Episode… picking up the pace with shorter topics, JMS steamrolls in, Wrestlemovia… the first podcast with segments, Etienne as Krang, making art dumber than yourself, Jubilee gets her due, Segdre got me so good, Baby Etienne experiences the holocaust, Heavy really really sucks, The Yin to the Golden Rule’s Yang, and Eliza emerges as the best artist of the Superpowers. This week's guest is Logan Trent. Listen to Logan Trent WNBYay Podcast with friend of the show Adam Tod Brown Wrestlemania Podcast with friend of the show John Reiman Logan Recommends HooplaThe History of Charging the Mound For the next full episode, we move on to our next topic and cover Steely Dan with Special Guest Daniel "D-Jax" Jackson. In the first episode, we'll be covering their first album "Can't Buy A Thrill". Read the show notes here Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky All music by Mike Slater

    The Power Fantasy Vol III with Logan Trent

  6. Aug 16

    Minisode - Bat-Man Begins (not that one) with Atif Myers

    In This Minisode… Atif and Mike talk Batman / Superman, Atif becomes Bat-Man, we steal a Sus Stories segment and decide how we would f&$k up the Superpowers, Dre apologizes profusely for demolishing Atif on the quiz, Mike describes how to use colors when playing bass like Gillen and Wijngaard use dynamics, we compare producing our respective podcasts, Mike attempts to fix his internet issues, Atif’s nerdy book kid story, a dollar a page gets you what you need and breaking up over nerd passions. This week's guest is Atif Myers. Atif is a stand-up comic, writer and occasional actor from LA. Check out Atif’s Standup on YouTube. Check out Atif’s podcast Sus Stories, Featuring special guest Mike Slater For the next full episode, we finish our coverage of Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard's "The Power Fantasy" comic with special guest Logan Trent Read the show notes here Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky All music by Mike Slater

    Minisode - Bat-Man Begins (not that one) with Atif Myers

  7. Aug 9

    The Power Fantasy vol II with Atif Myers

    This episode covers the second collected volume of "The Power Fantasy", issues #6-11, an Image comic by Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard. We highly recommend you read the comics first as this episode gets into heavy spoilers. In This Episode… the genius of making your podcast short, everything we know about comics we learned from Wic/Div, who would want to join a cult obliterated by the devil lady, Atif could hack into a Commodore 64, Dre believes the real Kid Ignition is still out there…throughout the episode we have a good time with this story and offer all our insane theories on what’s coming next. There is a ton of plot in this run of issues and we actually stay focused and on topic. This week's guest is Atif Myers. Atif is a stand-up comic, writer and occasional actor from LA. Check out Atif’s Standup on YouTube. Check out Atif’s podcast Sus Stories, Featuring special guest Mike Slater Atif Recommends Fury of Firestorm Mike Recommends The Wicked and the Divine Dre Recommends Patreon Exclusive Sus Stories Content For the next full episode, we finish our coverage of Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard's "The Power Fantasy" comic with special guest Logan Trent Read the show notes here Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky All music by Mike Slater

    The Power Fantasy vol II with Atif Myers

  8. Aug 2

    Minisode - Umm Actually! with Carin Slater

    In this series, we are covering "The Power Fantasy", an Image comic by Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard. We highly recommend you read the comics before listening. In This Episode… assembling a team of dumb superpowers, Casper’s nice touches in Heavy's design, Mike swallows that fa-ta-tas, the best use of a Hickman timeline graphic, if the book is released you are the master of time, we compare nerdy book stories, Judy Blue vs. Beverly Cleary, and Carin Um Actually!’s us a bunch. This week's guest is Carin Slater. Carin Slater from the “Hey, Have You Read This Yet?” podcast returns. Carin is an avid reader of sci-fi, romance and horror novels but took a break from all that to read Volume I of The Power Fantasy. Check out Hey, Have You Read This Yet?, Carin's book club podcast for kids and adults who like to read together. Send in book recommendations to heyhaveyoureadthis@gmail.com. For the next full episode, we continue our coverage of Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard's "The Power Fantasy" comic with special guest Atif Myers. We focus on issues #6-11 of the second collected volume. Read the show notes here Mike On Instagram Dre On Instagram Dre On Bluesky All music by Mike Slater

    Minisode - Umm Actually! with Carin Slater
See All (62)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This is “You Gotta Check This Out” With Mike Slater and Dre Alvarez. Each season, we take a deep dive into one of our nerdy obsessions - giving each one as much time as we see fit to get each other and you the listener up to speed with something we love. Season 1 - Babylon 5 - TV series | free on YouTube Season 2 - The Power Fantasy - Comic Series | free on Hoopla Season 3 - Steely Dan - Music | Wherever you listen to music New episodes release every other Sunday, with a minisode on the off-weeks. Articles on each episode available at https://mikeslater.com/ Mike & Dre Socials https://bsky.app/profile/slatron.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/nerdnumbers.com https://www.instagram.com/slatron11/ https://www.instagram.com/nerdnumbers/ Logo artwork by Michael Vincent Bramley. See Michael's work or ask about commissions at https://mvbramley.art/ All music by Mike Slater Show Website: www.mikeslater.com

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Slater and Dre Alvarez
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    You Gotta Check This Out!

You Might Also Like