Spin It! The Record Ranking Podcast

The power's out in the hearts of man.. We're attending a Funeral with Arcade Fire's ice-cold concept album about life, death, change, and memory. From the opening Neighborhood suite (about devastating blizzards, space dogs, and time marching on), to mournful ballads like Crown Of Love and Haiti, we'll learn about the real-life events that inspired this album and explore the intricate symbolism that weaves throughout each track. It kicked off an incredibly successful career in the world of experimental, artsy indie rock, but how will it land on the Spin It score sheet?James & Connor are talking birthday episodes! We walk through our familiarity (or lack thereof) with the band, find out why the original lineup quit mid-show, the band's activism, and more. The Mixtaper is a danger to arcades everywhere as we go house hunting through each neighborhood, with bobblehead thievery, a vertically inconvenient show, and hot dog girls. You won't want to miss this episode, so get In The Backseat and come along with us!Which neighborhood are you living in? What elements of this concept album work the best for you? Do you think you could handle a personal travelling mariachi band? Let us know in the comments and on socials! Connor's picking our next record, so get ready for another special episode next time!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro3:56 About Arcade Fire7:25 About Funeral17:04 Awards & Accolades18:35 Fact Or Spin20:18 Neighborhood #1 (Bobblehead Theivery)24:12 Neighborhood #2 (A Vertically Inconvenient Show)28:02 Neighborhood #3 (A Night Of Neckties, Hotdog Girls, and Magic)32:39 Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)38:27 Album Art41:50 Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)44:44 Neighborhood #2 (Laika)47:22 Une Année Sans Lumière48:48 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)51:40 Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)52:48 Crown Of Love54:00 Wake Up56:51 Haiti58:58 Rebellion (Lies)1:01:38 In The Backseat1:04:02 Final Spin

Welcome To The Jungle! We've got fun and games, and an Appetite For Destruction with Guns N' Roses powerful debut album! From the green grass of Paradise City to the screaming energy of the Night Train, the record features some of the band's biggest hits. We'll learn about their Guns AND Rose beginnings (it's more literal than you think), get into their endless bad ideas, and explore everything from Slash's iconic top hat to the decade-long making of Chinese Democracy. This album features gripping guitar solos, lyrics that are the essence of sex, drugs, & rock n' roll, and authentic moans... How will one of Connor's favorite metal bands score?James & Connor talk about our GNR history, from marching bands to Guitar Hero. We criticize apostrophes, "ta," and more. The Mixtaper has an Appetite For Deception, as he's Out Ta Get Us with facts about a home zoo, a famous bedtime story, and the Mind-Boggling Tale Of Buckethead. Get your pooper scoopers ready. Our way, Axl Rose's way, Anything Goes on this wild episode as we kick off the Year Of Missing Pieces! Do you like the Guns side or the Roses side of the album better? Does Sweet Child O' Mine get stuck in your head? Will you ever be able to listen to Rocket Queen the same way again?? Let us know what's in your Paradise City on social media or at www.SpinItPod.com, and follow for more episodes (now biweekly)!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro0:25 The Year Of Missing Pieces3:40 About Guns N' Roses9:49 About Appetite For Destruction24:13 Awards & Accolades25:07 Fact Or Spin26:27 Fast Fired Facts: ApPETite For Destruction35:59 Slash Got A Famous Bedtime Story39:19 Porn, Poop, And Chicken Coops: The Mind-Boggling Tale Of Buckethead45:30 Someone Lost A Seat On A Plane To A Hat53:07 Slash Is A Bit Of An Artist56:30 Album Art59:26 Welcome To The Jungle1:03:46 It's So Easy1:05:19 Nightrain1:07:05 Out Ta Get Me1:09:19 Mr. Brownstone1:10:28 Paradise City1:13:44 My Michelle1:15:09 Think About You1:16:08 Sweet Child O' Mine1:19:05 You're Crazy1:20:42 Anything Goes1:21:56 Rocket Queen1:24:01 Final Spin

We have an announcement to make! After five straight years without missing a Friday release, we're making a change: we're going biweekly and releasing new episodes every other week. It'll still be the same podcast you know and love, just on a different schedule. We're hoping it will free us up to keep doing deep research and solid editing, while giving us some breathing room for big changes in our personal lives. And who knows, with more energy we might just be able to crank out more bonus content this year, too! Thanks for five great (nonstop) years, and we can't wait to see what the next era of Spin It has in store!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!

So you think you can tell Heaven from Hell? The Year Of Redemption comes to an epic conclusion this week as we review and rank Wish You Were Here, the sprawling concept album of absence by the ever-innovative Pink Floyd! After founding member and creative engine Syd Barrett had to step away from the band due to acute mental health concerns, the band processed their grief in the best way they knew how: through song. WWYH has gone down as one of the band's best, so we decided to find out why.In our early days we explored Dark Side Of The Moon. Connor gave it a surprisingly low score... with five years of music and score calibration under our belts, will this record take the band to new heights? We'll talk about our expanding Pink Floyd fandom, learn about the tension that divided Gilmour and Waters, and more. We'll Have A Cigar with the Mixtaper as we learn about the 4-story hog that got away, a floating studio, and mesmerizing magma. Then we'll be Welcomed To The Machine with this iconic record! (Oh, and by the way.. which one's Pink?)Shine On, You Crazy Diamond! Which part of the 20-minute suite is your favorite? Would you have a cigar with Pink Floyd? Have you ever seen a pig at 35,000 feet? Let us know in the comments and on socials! Be sure to follow or subscribe wherever you listen for the next era of Spin It!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro0:25 Last Time: Dark Side Of The Moon7:32 About Pink Floyd18:16 About Wish You Were Here28:42 Awards & Accolades30:29 Fact Or Spin31:35 Pink Floyd Tried To Shoot Down A Flying Pig... And Failed38:42 Syd Barrett and David Gilmour Were Arrested41:36 David Gilmour Has A Unique Recording Studio50:50 They Spent Entire Evenings Staring At Lava56:05 Album Art58:51 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)1:02:54 Welcome To The Machine1:04:46 Have A Cigar1:07:29 Wish You Were Here1:09:53 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9)1:12:43 Final Spin

Good times never seemed so good this week! We're taking it back to a Hot August Night in 1971, when Neil Diamond delivered an iconic performance at LA's Greek Theatre! The show produced a live double album packed with his early career's greatest hits, from the pining Red Red Wine to the powerful I Am... I Said (and of course, a prerequisite dose of Sweet Caroline). We'll learn how his pre-med career evolved from the Brill Building to the stage and find out what made him such a compelling arranger and performer. Can Connor's gamble rise above James' previous ranking of Stones?We'll dwell on previous Diamond experience, explore the jukebox musical centered around his life, and lament an expensive divorce or two. The Mixtaper (a Solitary Man) keeps Connor en garde with facts on swordplay, birdsmithing, and bad actors during Fact Or Spin! Then we focus in on a handful of the 29 tracks on this massive record, from Crunchy Granola Suite to Holly Holy Holly (... Holy) and beyond. Find out if this Easy Listening artist can live up to his genre, and see if this clean collection of live hits can bolster his standing in our official rankings!What do YOU think is going on with that cover photo? Is this album "live" enough for you? And can you even IMAGINE this guy winning fencing championships? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and on socials! Like and follow for more next week!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro4:37 About Neil Diamond8:56 About Hot August Night20:54 Fact Or Spin24:18 Neil Diamond Is An Award-Winning Actor30:03 He Became A Birdsmith36:23 An Interlude38:15 He's An Award-Winning Fencer42:33 He Made An Interesting Cameo48:14 Album Art49:54 Prologue51:01 Crunchy Granola Suite53:25 Done Too Soon54:42 Dialogue56:03 Solitary Man57:51 Cherry Cherry1:01:57 Sweet Caroline1:06:21 Porcupine Pie, You're So Sweet1:08:14 Red Red Wine1:09:19 Soggy Pretzels, Gitchy Goomy1:11:59 And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind1:12:21 I Think It's Going To Rain Today1:12:42 Shilo1:13:54 Modern Day Version Of Love1:14:20 Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon1:15:08 Walk On Water, Kentucky Woman, Stones, Musician Intros1:16:13 Play Me1:17:50 Canta Libre, Morningside1:18:07 Song Sung Blue1:19:54 Cracklin' Rosie1:20:40 Holly Holy1:22:12 I Am... I Said1:25:03 Soolaimon / Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show1:27:21 Final Spin

Can Creed take us Higher? Find out as we talk about Human Clay, the 1999 album full of Scott Stapp's unique vocals, and post-grunge, (lovingly) butt rock style laced with introspective religious overtones. From grief to death to fatherhood, Creed doesn't shy away from big questions. We'll explore the band's number-fudging beginnings, meteoric rise, and sudden unravelling through record-setting feats, ubiquitous hits, and nostalgia-fueled comeback tours. They're proving that they'll truly Never Die!James & Connor are approaching our analysis With Arms Wide Open. We'll talk about our past Creed collections, reminisce on crappy art class pottery, and learn all about homophones, homonyms, and homographs as we're molded into Human Clay! There's a little Mixtaper Inside Us All with facts about stolen guitars, crossover weddings, and death-defying spy antics during Fact Or Spin! It's an episode full of glorious, unplanned bedlam... Are You Ready?What days of school did you miss? Are you a fan of Scott Stapp's enunciation? Where do you fall in the great With Arms Wide Open vs. Higher debate?? Let us know on socials and be sure to follow for more wherever you listen! Or, so Say I, at least!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro2:52 About Creed9:58 About Human Clay22:12 Awards & Accolades22:42 Fact Or Spin23:33 Tremonti's Stolen Guitar29:29 The ACreed/DCreed Baseball Wedding Crashers34:38 Scott Stapp Was Saved By A Rapper38:52 They Signed Their First Contract... In BLOOD!45:44 Album Art47:09 Are You Ready?49:04 What If51:56 Beautiful53:22 Say I55:12 Wrong Way57:32 Faceless Man58:53 Never Die1:00:27 With Arms Wide Open1:03:42 Higher1:07:08 Wash Away Those Years1:11:25 Inside Us All1:13:17 Final Spin

Jimmy Buffett is making Landfall on the podcast this week! We're wasting away again with Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, a career-defining album that features the ultimate beach drinking song, Margaritaville! We'll talk about Buffett's coastal upbringing and how he got his start in Nashville (as an author!) before a trip to Key West changed his life. Changes is the culmination of half a lifetime at sea, with a guitar (and a margarita) in hand.James & Connor will talk about the Mt. Rushmore of tropical anthems, learn about Buffett's billion-dollar business empire, and talk about our own Parrothead status. The Mixtaper puts us to the test with reptile attacks, matinees (ya know, sea cows), and a grounded airplane. We'll talk Coral Reefer Band, country classification, and discover whose dang fault that lost shaker of salt really was! Don't wonder-- from Biloxi to Jamaica, find out why we ever go home this week!What's your favorite Buffett song? Favorite Buffett restaurant? Favorite Buffett retirement community?? It's Friday Somewhere, so make sure to follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss our next episode!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro2:44 About Jimmy Buffett11:18 About Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes20:38 Awards & Accolades21:54 Fact Or Spin22:25 He Was Attacked At Margaritaville27:23 He Was A Fan Of A Good Matinee31:39 A Bird Named His Birds37:33 He Lost His Seat To A Hat46:28 Album Art47:25 Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes49:17 Wonder Why We Ever Go Home50:37 Banana Republics52:37 Tampico Trauma53:54 Lovely Cruise56:03 Margaritaville58:55 In The Shelter1:00:02 Miss You So Badly1:01:17 Biloxi1:03:22 Landfall1:05:16 Final Spin

Yeah, it Feels Like Summer! We're back for another Happy Hour with Weezer! After their debut Blue Album left Connor with a puzzle he just didn't want to put together, we're trying again with their sun-soaked, beachy experiment, Pacific Daydream! It's a clear departure from their signature style, complete with complicated spreadsheet-crafted compositions, but crankin' them Beach Boys might be enough to redeem a low score!James & Connor revisit all the special moments from Episode 26 (pigeon racing included) before diving back into the Weezer-verse with a deeper look at the band's history and the decisions that led up to one of their most controversial records. We'll check in on their tours, SZNZ, and speculate about what they're up to next. The Mixtaper is bringing four Karlificated facts about coloring books, vegeterrorism, and more straight from Weezerpedia.. Will this be his QB Blitz? Find out if James' nostalgia pick can Get Right and swing Connor's expectations this week.Is any friend of Diane's a friend of yours? Do you like the coastal vibes, or was the classic Weezer sound more your speed? Be honest, would you ever go pigeon racing? We have it on good authority that there are clubs across the nation. Like and follow for more!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro0:25 Last Time: The Blue Album6:21 About Weezer11:35 About Pacific Daydream19:38 Awards & Accolades20:33 Fact Or Spin21:57 They Have A Coloring Book28:22 Today Is A Special Anniversary32:04 Rivers Cuomo Is A VegeTerrorist35:04 They Have Their Own Encyclopedia40:30 A Surprise Fifth Fact: The Mixtaper Has Gone Pigeon Racing44:13 Album Art45:29 Mexican Fender51:03 Beach Boys53:24 Feels Like Summer55:36 Happy Hour57:49 Weekend Woman59:31 QB Blitz1:03:26 Sweet Mary1:04:52 Get Right1:05:54 La Mancha Screwjob1:07:57 Any Friend Of Diane's1:09:29 Final Spin