And Introducing

And Introducing film correspondent, Blank Check pod & the Atlantic’s David Sims returns for two more recent musician biopics: James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown & Michael Gracey’s Better Man. Two very different movies about very different musicians that nonetheless explore similar themes on the nature of fame, talent & musicianship. We talk Timmy, Bobby, Robbie & more, and see if there’s still juice to squeeze from the biopic genre. Plus of course: does the monkey play? Listen to David on Blank Check wherever you get pods and subscribe here: https://www.patreon.com/blankcheck Check out David’s writing in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-sims/ Read Molly’s music blog: https://www.ienjoymusic.net/

26 Feb 1h 16min

Welcome to the Willenium, baby! We’re joined by YouTube’s Todd in the Shadows to look at the musical career of Will Smith. From growing up under the influence of his demanding father, to discovering his performing (and lying) abilities in school, clicking with Jazzy Jeff, indulging in “chicken wings,” his super-star turn to acting & extremely self-conscious return to hip-hop, we track Will’s music & celebrity up to “the slap” and beyond from his 2021 memoir Will. As Todd says, may be one of the weirdest guys he’s ever encountered. Check out Todd’s Trainwerckords video on Will Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNm0HDCRdnc&ab_channel=ToddintheShadows Plus Todd’s always great year-end videos, Worst Songs of 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8ssUcZSqV8&ab_channel=ToddintheShadows Best songs of 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkXpvScL94Q&ab_channel=ToddintheShadows Songs in order: DJ Jazzy Jeff - Peter Piper Routine DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime Will Smith - Don’t Say Nothing Will Smith & Joyner Lucas - Tantrum Neil Cicierega - Wow Wow

18 Feb 1h 33min

And introducing…on lead vocals, it’s Serj Tankian! We delve into the life of turn of the millennium metal icons System of a Down’s frontman Serj Tankian. Repping Armenia via Glendale, Serj’s life covers everything from founding software companies to composing whale-themed orchestras. We look into his politics, nu-metal in general, a passion for espresso, his signature growls and yelps, and revolutionary participation, as with SOAD’s wild musical success along the way. Songs in order: System of a Down - Sugar System of a Down - Prison Song System of a Down - Chop Suey System of a Down - I-E-A-I-A-I-O System of a Down - Boom System of a Down - BYOB Serj Tankian - Empty Walls Serj Tankian - Orca Act II - Oceanic Subterfuge System of a Down - Protect the Land System of a Down - Toxicity

11 Des 20241h 26min

It's part 2 of our excavation of Phil Collins' memoir Not Dead Yet: The Memoir. We've reached the mid-1980s and the boy is absolutely everywhere...can he sustain the breakneck pace of being one of the most celebrated (and oversaturated) Brits in pop music history? We cover his stressful transcontinental Live Aid experience, his Disneyfied '90s, his vibrant but turbulent romantic life, his big band era, and much much more. The book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538475/not-dead-yet-by-phil-collins/ Songs in order: Phil Collins - Against All Odds (8-Bit cover by HumanDaikon) Phil Collins - Invisible Touch Led Zeppelin - Rock And Roll (Live At Live Aid) Phil Collins - Everyday Phil Collins - Sussudio The Phil Collins Big Band - Pick Up the Pieces (Average White Band cover) Phil Collins - You'll Be In My Heart Phil Collins - No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear) Phil Collins - Uptight (Everything's Alright) (Stevie Wonder cover) Phil Collins - Take Me Home

18 Aug 20241h 23min

I can feel it coming ON the air tonight...a podcast about Phil Collins. Well, the first part of a podcast about Phil Collins. We're talking about his child actor youth, his mod adolescence, his rock 'n' roll grindset that got him a slot in Genesis, his scoot from the drumset to the front of the stage after Peter Gabriel's departure, and the hella divorced energy beginnings of his epic solo career. All through his own words, his memoir Not Dead Yet: The Memoir. Plug in your drum machine and don't f*ck up your shot at playing the bongos on a George Harrison record...because folks are saying there's still time to make it an Abacab summer. The book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538475/not-dead-yet-by-phil-collins/ Songs in order: Katy Perry - Women’s World Leo Karpatze - The Monster Fuck Genesis - Dancing With The Moonlit Knight Genesis - Supper’s Ready Genesis - Dance on a Volcano Genesis - Follow You, Follow Me Genesis - Burning Rope Phil Collins - In The Air Tonite Phil Collins - Tomorrow Never Knows Genesis - Behind the Lines Genesis - Turn it on Again Genesis - Abacab Phil Collins - Can’t Hurry Love Phil Collins - Against All Odds

31 Jul 20241h 32min

Welcome to another And Introducing, Also Interviewing, where today we are talking to Nick Thorburn! You might also known Nick Thorburn as Nick Diamonds. He's been a consistently joyous and joyously consistent presence on the "indie rock" circuit for over twenty years. He fronts the band Islands (and previously The Unicorns) and they have a new album out called What Occurs. We had Nick on the pod to talk about the album as well as his unique live band member Andy, indie rock beeves, and much much more... Listen to What Occurs: https://islandsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/what-occurs Nick's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NickfromIslands Music in this episode: Islands - "What Occurs" The Unicorns - "Tuff Ghost" Islands - "Tangerine" Islands - "The Arm" Islands - "Talk Is Cheap" Roy Orbison - "Candy Colored Clown" The Stills - "Still In Love Song" Islands - "Boll Weevil"

1 Jul 20241h 6min

It's another And Introducing, Also Interviewing, and we're talking to Nick Llobet from the NYC-based band Youbet! They put out an album called Compare & Despair in 2020 and are back with a fresh new album out called Way To Be (which came out on Hardly Art on May 10th). We talked to Nick about a bunch of things: breaking out of a creative funk by learning folk songs, writing with a Bandcamp songwriting group, teaching other people guitar...it's a nice conversation, we encourage you to listen. Listen to Way to Be: https://youbetband.bandcamp.com/album/way-to-be Music in this episode: youbet - "Volcano" youbet - "Carsick" youbet - "Way to Be" youbet - "Peel" youbet - "Seeds of Evil"

13 Jun 202451min

Another 'And Introducing, Also Interviewing' up on deck. This time we're talking to bad tuner, an electronic musician in Brooklyn—he just put out an EP called look at me but through me, whose single "24 hours" f*cked our sh*t up but utterly when it arrived on our ears' doorstep. We had a great chat with bad tuner about the current club culture in NYC, how to find the samples no one else is using, guerrilla music video making, and why he can't read when you put big text on your phone and hold it up in the crowd... Listen to the bad tuner EP: https://badtuner.bandcamp.com/album/look-at-me-but-through-me Music in this episode: bad tuner - "24 hours" Röyksopp - "Remind Me" bad tuner - "jade" bad tuner - "repeat to fade" (feat. Pollena)

25 Apr 202453min