1001 Album Complaints

There are a number of “dudes listen to 1001 albums” podcasts out there. What makes this one distinctive is that these particular dudes are all experienced musicians. They have expertise they can bring to bear. This has its downside. As long time musicians they have an overly narrow perspective on what good music is supposed to do, and they have a hard time dealing with anything wherein conventional musical craftsmanship is not the focus (cough cough Gang of Four cough cough cough). But I’ll give them credit for trying—they do listen closely, even when they flat don’t get what the album of the week is trying to do. And they’re funny and they bounce off each other well, so there’s that.

Having delved into the 1001 albums list through the years (I’ve probably heard each album at least twice and a lot of the albums I’ve listened to many, many more times), it was great to find a podcast that takes a deep dive into each album. The randomness of each episode is also fun. I have no musical talent myself but I sure love listening to music and I love hearing these guys chat about more technical aspects. Keep up the great work for the next 17 or so years it’s going to take to go through them all.

As a lifelong music nerd, I am enjoying the humor and insight offered here. The right mix of fun and real music knowledge. And I get to ask myself the question-do I I need to hear this before I die?

I love the format of this show and the way it has a randomly selected albums each week. Even when I don't like the music very much, the show does a fantastic job providing a bit of history and context to better understand the musicians who made the music. Even though the hosts can sometimes get a bit snarky, they are generally respectful and are great examples of criticism that seeks to understand rather than tear down just for laughs. My own kids have gotten into this podcast and enjoy listening to the random album of the week and then hearing the breakdown on the podcast.