The Record Player

Jeff Giles and Matt Wardlaw

Shuffling music has its rewards, but there's still nothing like listening to a good old-fashioned album, start to finish — and that's what The Record Player is all about. With every episode, we'll dig into the music of and story behind a single LP, with co-hosts Jeff Giles and Matt Wardlaw ("1991: The Year AOR Ate Itself") and special guests acting as your guides.

  1. 11/23/2024

    The Cure - Disintegration (1989)

    Send us a text In picking her favorite album, author K.L. Doty let us know up front that she couldn't settle on just one -- something which we're all familiar with as music fans, right? So we talk about a lot of different music. But in regards to Disintegration by the Cure, specifically, she shared a thought that will land with many of us who have grown up (I guess that's all of us) and made our way out into the real world, which can maybe be the first real moment where you learn about things like compromise. Prior to the interview, K.L. told us the reason for her love of Disintegration comes back to this: "It reminds me of dreams and all the things I wanted as a child that I ultimately left to go chase." Her story is an interesting one, because she's been chasing a lot of different things for a good amount of time. There's been both happiness and heartbreak -- that's life in a nutshell on some days -- but also, redemption and discovery. Her newest project found her spending the past few years helping former Great White vocalist Jack Russell put his memories on paper and her book was the result of the hours of conversations they had. The True Tale of Mista Bone: A Rock + Roll Narrative was released this summer and is an unvarnished look at Russell's life and career. Through Doty, Russell puts it all out on the table. We enjoyed talking with K.L. to learn about how the book came together, but also, we spoke about her general life journey that has brought her to this point and what's ahead. We hope you enjoy this conversation! Support the show

    57 min
  2. 11/08/2024

    Bonus Track: Rob Baker (The Tragically Hip)

    Send us a text Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip joins Matt to discuss the 35th anniversary of the band's 1989 debut, Up to Here, which is being celebrated with a lavish box set featuring a wealth of previously unreleased content. The box set is available today digitally and will be released in a variety of physical formats on Nov. 15. You can order your copy of the box set here. The conversation with Rob was wonderfully free-flowing and numerous topics are discussed, including of course, stories from the time period that Up to Here was in the works. But also, Rob and Matt dig into the band's early struggles before they secured their first label deal, the challenges they've had in locating and preserving their archival material, recording in unique locations and even a humorous Rush story, just to name a few things. In addition to the new box set for Up to Here, fans can also enjoy No Dress Rehearsal, the new four-part documentary on Amazon Prime. There's also a new book. So it's a good time to be a fan of the Tragically Hip and it was a real pleasure to speak with Rob to hear some stories. Fellow longtime fans will enjoy this conversation and we appreciate Rob's time! P.S. Our comrade Allison Rapp also had a recent conversation that will be of interest to Hip fans. She spoke with bassist Gord Sinclair to discuss his love of Joni Mitchell's music for her Joni podcast and it's a chat you won't want to miss! Support the show

    36 min
  3. 11/01/2024

    Too $hort - Life is...Too $hort (1988)

    Send us a text Professor Louis Moore joins Matt and Jeff to discuss his essential new book, The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans and the Making of the Black Quarterback. Our engaging discussion with Lou took us deep into the history of Black quarterbacks and athletes in general in the NFL and he talks about the journey he took as he was writing the book. However much progress you might think has been made in the NFL (and beyond), this discussion -- and Lou's book -- will remind you that there's a lot that still needs to be addressed. Lou also shared his history as a music fan and the formative experiences he had as a listener growing up, and why Life is...Too $hort is still one of the most important albums in his collection. We had a blast speaking with Lou and if you haven't had a chance to check out his book yet, you'll really want to after hearing this conversation. Our thanks to Lou for writing this book and the time he spent with us to talk about it! You can visit his official website and read more information about his career to date below. P.S. You can skip the intro and go right to our conversation with Lou, which begins at 10:02. About Professor Louis Moore: Louis Moore is a Professor of History at Grand Valley State University. He teaches African American History, Civil Rights, Sports History, and US History. His research and writing examines the interconnections between race and sports.  He is the author of two books, I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915 and We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality, and has an Audible lecture, African American Athletes Who Made History. In addition, he has two Audible lectures, African American Athletes Who Made History and A Pastime of Their Own: The Story of Negro League Baseball. He has also written for various online outlets including The New York Daily News, Vox, The Global Sports Institute, First and Pen, and the African American Intellectual Historical Society, and he has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, and BBC Sports. The co-host of the Black Athlete Podcast, his latest book, The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans and the Making of the Black Quarterback is out now. Support the show

    1h 20m

Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Shuffling music has its rewards, but there's still nothing like listening to a good old-fashioned album, start to finish — and that's what The Record Player is all about. With every episode, we'll dig into the music of and story behind a single LP, with co-hosts Jeff Giles and Matt Wardlaw ("1991: The Year AOR Ate Itself") and special guests acting as your guides.