Harrison requested that Jon try to sell him on U2, so Jon chose their third album, 1983's War (huh!) and set to work. We talk about the band's sense of urgency in their early recordings, Bono's strict antiwar and antiviolence stance, and what it meant in the rock world of the early 80s. Did it work? Listen to find out! We also discuss... Why Jon picked War (huh!) over other U2 albums, even ones he might like better The Edge's guitar rig (notably his delay pedal), and how public perception of it has changed over the years Steve Lillywhite's contributions as producer How Larry Mullen Jr.'s drums are the "secret weapon" of this album How The Edge's guitar is the not-so-secret weapon of the album How Bono took a love song to his wife and turned it into a Soviet WWII ballad The guest musicians from Kid Creole's backing band on "Red Light" and "Surrender" Bono's moral cosmology on "Surrender" How the evocative imagery directly from the Bible used in "'40'" upstages the rest of the album Our key tracks and the PLAY DISC Request Lottery Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

Last week's episode about Joe Jackson ran very long, so we had to cut a lot. This outtake seemed too good to leave on the cutting room floor, as Jon, Harrison, and Derrek talk about cover songs - songs they first heard as covers, songs they didn't realize were covers, and favorite cover songs. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

Special guest THE Derrek Carriveau (from the podcast I F'ing Love This Record joins us to discuss Joe Jackson's 1979 debut album Look Sharp! Over the course of an hour, we discuss: Preconceptions about "New Wave" and "80s music" (and note that DECADES AREN'T GENRES) Derrek's experience working in his favorite record store in the 90s The unfortunate "r/niceguys" ethos of some of the lyrics on this album The meaning of "Angular Guitars" in New Wave music How Joe Jackson REALLY knows his way around a chorus The fashion styles discussed (and mocked) in "Baby Stick Around" Graham Maby's phenominal bass playing throughout the record Yes, we do discuss "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" Anthrax's cover of "Got the Time" Our key tracks And a preview of next week's episode Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! Follow I F'ing Love This Record on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoveThisRecord1 Listen to Derrek's podcasts: https://www.lovethisrecord.com/ Here's the Youtube video of the dice roll: https://youtu.be/J_M3dTQjxUs The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

It's always a treat when we get to interview the creative force behind an album that we've discussed on the show, and this was no exception! Grace Rowland (aka Grace Park), the singer and songwriter for The Deer, phoned in for an interview with Jon & Harrison! We discussed some of the misheard song lyrics, that Valentine's Day show in 2014, the songwriting process, working in independent studios, genre, and continued our ongoing corrections about pronunciation! Grace also added a pick of her own to the PLAY DISC Request Lottery! Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

It's our twentieth episode spectacular! One of our supporters (and Jon's partner), Vita Porobil, won the PLAY DISC Request Lottery last episode, and she requested An Argument for Observation, the debut album from Austin indie folk band The Deer (who published the album in 2013 under the band name Grace Park and the Deer). Because it was a request from Jon's wife, the album is also very meaningful to him as well, so he leads the discussion about what's so special about this album to him and his marriage. We also touch on... Jon's recent success in a songwriting competition Harrison's computer upgrade issues Jon's many experiences seeing The Deer live in concert The cryptic poetry of Grace Rowland's lyrics How the other meaning of "Mary Sue" colored Harrison's perception of what the song "Mary Sue" is about The apolcalyptic politics of "Army Ants" and "Paradise" "Food," the album's creepy stalker ballad Our PLAY DISC Request Lottery and Here's a link to the Youtube video for the dice roll: https://youtu.be/LXCL0qTiMns Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

Special guest Dan McCoy (writer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and co-host of Maximum Fun's bad-movie podcast The Flop House) brings for discussion the 2006 alt-country album by singer-songwriter Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Over the course of our hour-long discussion we cover... The joys of working from home What "alt country" means and how Neko Case embodies it The gulf of difference between Neko Case's solo work and her side project with The New Pornographers How the album illustrate's Case's disillusionment with religion The unlikely hints of hopefulness throughout the album The "twist ending" at the end of "Margaret Vs. Pauline" and how it colors our reading of the rest of the songs The Ukranian myth behind the title track "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" Some of the heartbreaking details behind the mundane violence in "Star Witness" We roll for the PLAY DISC Request Lottery A preview of next week's episode! Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! You can find Dan McCoy on twitter here: https://twitter.com/dankmccoy You can watch The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Comedy Central You can listen to The Flop House at https://www.maximumfun.org or https://www.flophousepodcast.com/ The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

Picking up right where part 2 left off, Harrison, Jon, and guest Matt Latham, discuss... The epic Britpop masterpiece "Biology" The album's overarching themes and concept The deceptive shallowness of "Swinging London Town" The sexual politics of "Racey Lacey" Our key tracks And a preview of our next episode of PLAY DISC Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

For our eighteenth episode, Jon & Harrison welcome a guest to discuss an album for the first time. Matt Latham, host of the Pick A Disc podcast on the We Made This network, joins us to discuss Girls Aloud and their 2005 album Chemistry. Our discussion ran very long, so we cut it into two parts, each about 40 minutes, for your easier digestion. For the course of this first half, We discuss: The massive cultural differences between the US and the UK, and how none of us know whether any particular piece of culture is known in the other country The history of British reality TV that created Girls Aloud Brian Higgins and his songwriting team Xenomania The British tradition of following the annual quest for the Christmas Day #1 single The coded lyrics of "Models" The insane structure of "Wild Horses Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! Subscribe to Pick A Disc here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/pick-a-disc Follow Pick A Disc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pickadisc Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

For our seventeenth episode, it’s time to pick it up pick it up pick it up! As Harrison brings Suburban Legends’ 2012 ska album Day Job for discussion. Ska is near and dear to Harrison’s heart, as he may have mentioned a time or two on the show before, so it was about time we covered a ska album! Over the course of the hour-long discussion, we touch on… What ska is and why it’s so important to Harrison The ways that Suburban Legends have chafed against their genre before settling into it The wild genre experiments on this album Musical allusions and borrowed melodies, and the layers of discovery they add to this album Suburban Lengends’ residency at DisneyLand and their relationship to Disney… ...Culminating in not just one, but two ska covers of songs from Disney musicals on this album! How “Arigato” combines Harrison’s love of ska with his weeaboo tendency Harrison’s translation of the Japanese lyrics in “Arigato” The surprising guest appearance by indie rapper Lyrics Born The PLAY DISC Request Lottery and a preview of our next episode Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at the $5 level or above. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC

For our sixteenth episode, Jon & Harrison take on an album requested by one of their past interview guests! Patty Lynn of The Wind + The Wave requested Transatlanticism, the 2003 concept album by indie darlings Death Cab for Cutie. Over the course of an hour-long discussion, we cover… The silliness of “Death Cab for Cutie” as a band name, and other silly band names of the aughts Whether this truly counts as a concept album, and what even is a concept album, anyway? The occasionally clunky word choices permeating this album The contrasting energies of Ben Gibbard’s lyrics as Chris Walla’s expansive musical arrangements More bad impersonations by Jon - Millhouse van Houten, President Bill Clinton, and Zero Mostel How the lyrics do not show Ben Gibbard (or the character he’s playing) in a very flattering light Some speculation over different interpretations of “Tiny Vessels,” “Transatlanticism,” and “Passenger Seat” Harrison and Jon reveal their picks for Key Track The Request Lottery and a preview of next episode's album Come join us for an hour of thoughtful and good-humored commentary, and we'll catch you on the B-side! The dice roll from this episode's Request Lottery can be found here: https://youtu.be/tYc4_Z4HWk8 The spreadsheet Request Lottery picks and their associated numbers can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xOiYNZduLxz7L2CtNUPK1YOu63ni2XTWpcy1cdB6EQw/edit?usp=sharing You can get your request on this list by donating to our Patreon account at any level. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PlayDiscPodcast Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/PlayDiscPodcast/ Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PlayDiscPodcast Email us at [email protected] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Support PLAY DISC