S8E414 - David Torn 'What Means Solid, Traveller?' with Mike Baggetta

Fresh off a tour with his band mssv (Mike Baggetta, Mike Watt & Stephen Hodges), guitarist/songwriter Mike Baggetta brings us a record he received as a gift when he was in High School that changed the course of his musical life moving forward: the mindblowing 1996 release by guitarist, composer, and producer David Torn, 'What Means Solid, Traveller?' Songs discussed in this episode: Network Of Sparks: The Delicate Code - David Torn; What It Feels Like For A Girl - Madonna; OK To Change - mssv; Willie The Pimp - Frank Zappa; Spartan, Before It Hit - David Torn; The Stars (Are Out Tonight) - David Bowie; Chemical Wire - fIREHOSE; Suyafhu Skin...Snapping the Hollow Reed, Spell Breaks With The Weather, What Means Solid Traveller - David Torn; Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen; Are You Looking Up - Mk.gee; Such Little Mirrors, Tiny Burns A Bridge - David Torn; The Wagon - Dinosaur Jr; Gidya Hana - David Torn; Sita Ram - Alice Coltrane; Each Prince To His Kingdom Must Labor To Go, Particle Bugs @ Purulia Station, In The Sand Of This Day (I Will Not Be Free), In The Sand Of This Day ('til You Are Free), Elsewhere Now Than Waving - David Torn; Symphony No. 3 - Henryk Gorecki; On And On - mssv

Musician Knox Chandler (The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees) has made a career of using his guitar to create unique, otherworldly sound-scapes, working with a diverse array of acts including REM, Depeche Mode, Grace Jones, Marianne Faithful, Cyndi Lauper and many others. It's no surprise then, that the record that 'got him high' as a young man - and continues to astound and inspire him - is The Jimi Hendrix Experience's third and final studio album, the epic 'Electric Ladyland'. "Have you ever been to Electric Ladyland? The magic carpet waits for you, So don't you be late..." Songs discussed in this episode: Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Earth, Wind & Fire; Love Me Do - The Beatles; Fire, ...And the Gods Made Love, Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland), Crosstown Traffic - Jimi Hendrix; Until She Comes - The Psychedelic Furs; Loving Arms - Darden Smith; Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix; Whiskey Wimmen - John Lee Hooker; Baby Please Don't Leave Me - Buddy Guy; Little Miss Strange, Long Hot Summer Night, Come On (Let The Good Times Roll), Gypsy Eyes, Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, Rainy Day, Dream Away - Jimi Hendrix; Sivad (Live) - Miles Davis; 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be), Still Raining, Still Dreaming, House Burning Down, All Along The Watchtower, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix; Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Stevie Ray Vaughan; Tea Stained Edge, Lapis - Knox Chandler

For this special BONUS Episode, we asked our Patrons to send in a song where the guitar playing (be it a lead, riff, whatever...) gets them going, and got them high! Songs discussed in this episode: Funk #49 - James Gang; Killer Queen - Queen; Another Nail In My Heart - Squeeze; God Save The Queen - The Sex Pistols; Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac; Touch And Go - The Cars; Marquee Moon - Television; Street Fighting Man (Live) - The Rolling Stones; I Just Want To Make Love To You - Muddy Waters; Walk On By - Isaac Hayes; Edge Of Midnight - Stevie Nicks/Miley Cyrus; Redneck - Luxuria; Tunnel Of Love - Dire Straits; Still There's Hope - Young Fresh Fellows; Sunrise In The Land Of Milk and Honey - Cracker; When I Get To The Border - Richard & Linda Thompson; Impossible Germany - Wilco; Adventure Of Dog - Bogshed; All Day And All Of The Night (Live) - The Kinks; Love Your Money - Daisy Chainsaw; Amethyst - David Nance; Let's Go Blue - Hey Mercedes; People Get Ready - Rod Stewart/Jeff Beck; Baby's On Fire - Brian Eno; Lonely Is The Night - Billy Squier; Masterpiece - Big Thief (Tiny Desk Concert); Precious Time - Pat Benetar; Monkey Man - Rolling Stones; When It's Over - Wipers

Break out your glitter and stick some stars on your face, we're going full-on glam this week as author, artist and performer Robert Dayton (Cold Glitter: The Untold Story Of Canadian Glam) brings us Vancouver, Canada's Sweeney Todd and their 1975 self-titled debut. The band had a revolving door of members throughout the years - including a 16 year old Bryan Adams at one point - but this version with singer Nick Gilder and guitarist Jim McCulloch is the one that started it all... Songs discussed in this episode: Roxy Roller - Nick Gilder; Free Love - Bobby Conn; Which Way You Goin' Billy - The Poppy Family; Julia Get Up - The Stampeders; Hey You Woman, Sexe Fiction - Aut'Chose; Roxy Roller (w/Bryan Adams), Roxy Roller - Sweeney Todd; Telegram Sam - T.Rex; Amateur Hour - Sparks; Hot Child In The City - Nick Gilder; Broadway Bougie - Sweeney Todd; All The Way - Kiss; Juicy Loose - Sweeney Todd; Juicy, Juicy, Juice - Royal Trux; Tantalize, Short Distance Long Journey, The Kilt - Sweeney Todd; Breakdown - The Sweet; Rock 'N' Roll Story - Sweeney Todd; Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet; Sweeney Todd Folder - Sweeney Todd; C'mon C'mon - Fludd; See What We're Doing Now, Daydreams, Going For A Star, Rue De Chance, Let's Do It All Again - Sweeney Todd; Roxy Roller - Cherie Currie

Regular listeners of the show are already aware of Rob's lifelong love of all things The Damned. This week's guest, Karl Ueberbacher (Phoenix Records), brings us their third release, 1979s classic - and highly influential - 'Machine Gun Etiquette'. Is it the perfect punk record? What does that even mean?? Let's smash it up and find out!! Songs discussed in this episode: Smash It Up (The Damned cover) - The Offspring; 1970 - The Stooges; Know Your Product - The Saints; Mad John - Small Faces; Love Song - The Damned; Ace Of Spades - Motorhead; Machine Gun Etiquette - The Damned; I Can't Come - The Snivelling Shits; I Just Can't Be Happy Today - The Damned; My Baby Don't Care - King; Melody Lee - The Damned; Antipope (Peel Session) - King; Anti-Pope, These Hands, Plan 9 Channel 7 - The Damned; Soft Focus - T.S.O.L.; Vanilla Blue - Naked Raygun; Halloween - AFI; Noise, Noise, Noise, Looking At You (MC5 cover) - The Damned; Looking At You - MC5; City Slang - Sonic's Rendezvous Band; Liar, Smash It Up (Pt 1), Smash It Up (Pt 2) - The Damned; Get It On - T-Rex and The Damned, (Live at the Rainbow 1977

Strap in kids, this week's guest, A&R Executive, playwright and composer Dan Waldkirch, brings us the third studio album by Eureka, CA experimental band Mr. Bungle, 'California'. This weirdly dark, schizophrenically eclectic 1999 release may not be for everyone, but if you're of the musically adventurous ilk, might be just what the doctor (of Psychiatry) ordered. Songs discussed in this episode: Won't You Be My Neighbor (Live, 2020) - Mr Bungle; Schism - Tool; Bleed - Meshuggah; Page 11 - Fantomas; Vajra - Secret Chiefs 3; Epic - Faith No More; 04 04 05-Monday - Fantomas; Bleak - Opeth; Sweet Charity, None Of Them Knew They Were Robots, Retrovertigo, The Air-Conditioned Nightmare - Mr Bungle; Radio/Video - System Of A Down; The Donkey-Headed Adversary Of Humanity Opens The Discussion - Sleepytime Gorilla Museum; Ars Moriendi - Mr Bungle; Bith Aneth - John Zorn; Pink Cigarette, Golem II The Bionic Vapour Boy - Mr Bungle; Easy (Commodores cover) - Faith No More; The Holy Filament, Vanity Fair - Mr Bungle; Californiacation - Red Hot Chili Peppers; Goodbye Sober Day - Mr Bungle; Retrovertigo (Mr Bungle Cover) - The Binghamton Crosbys

In 1988 at the 31st annual Grammy Awards, a new category was introduced: Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental. That night, Metallica's '...And Justice For All' famously lost to Jethro Tull's 'Crest of a Knave', but another album was also nominated that evening: 'Nothing's Shocking', the debut studio album by Los Angeles band Jane's Addiction. Love them or hate them, there's no denying the impact JA had on 90s alternative music moving forward, and this week's guest, Reno, Nevada musician, actor and artist Nick Ramirez (Worst Little Podcast in the World), is comin' down the mountain to talk about it... Songs discussed in this episode: Jane Says - Jane's Addiction (Live Roxy Theater, Los Angeles 1987); Worst Little Podcast Intro - Worst Little Podcast in the World; Dumped In Tokyo - Cori Elba (recorded live on the Worst Little Podcast - Reno, NV, March 2025); Pigs In Zen (Live Roxy Theater, Los Angeles 1987) - Jane's Addiction; Nobody's Fool - Cinderella; Walk Together, Rock Together - 7 Seconds; Love Removal Machine - The Cult; Nausea (X cover, recorded live in Los Angeles, 1989), Ripple (Grateful Dead cover), Up The Beach, Ocean Size, Had A Dad, Been Caught Stealing - Jane's Addiction; Ringfinger - Nine Inch Nails; Serve The Servants - Nirvana; Ted, Just Admit It - Jane's Addiction; Everything Zen - Bush; Standing In The Shower...Thinking, Summertime Rolls, Mountain Song, Idiots Rule, I Would For You (Live Roxy Theater, Los Angeles 1987), Jane Says, Thank You Boys, Pig's In Zen - Jane's Addiction; Stranglevine - Roxxy Collie  

When this week's returning guest, bass player/musician Dan Bonebrake (The Lightworkers, Dashboard Confessional, The Enablers...etc) was discovering punk rock in the late 80s, he was already well on his way to becoming a 'player' in his own right. Costa Mesa, California band Big Drill Car and their 1989 debut 'Album Type Thing' (or CD/Tape Type Thing depending on the format) - with its concise, catchy songs and fiercely tight playing - was right up his musical alley. Turn it up!! Songs discussed in this episode: I Don't Mind (Buzzcocks cover) - Big Drill Car; Loaded Words - Vacant Andys; Surfing With the Alien - Joe Satriani; YYZ - Rush; New Rose - The Damned; Janie Jones - The Clash; I'm The One - The Descendents; Surrender (Cheap Trick cover) - Big Drill Car; All The Same - Quit; 16 Lines - Big Drill Car; With The Quickness - Bad Brains; Clamato #11, No Need - Big Drill Car; Atomic Punk - Van Halen; Brody, In Green Fields, Diamond Earrings, Reform Before, Head On, Swanson, About Us, A Take Away - Big Drill Car; Incel - Cori Elba; In Time - The Enablers

In the spring of 1999, songwriter/recording artist Arlan Feiles received a call from Stephen Trask. Trask shared that he was the composer of a show running at the Jane St. Theater in NYC called Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and he was looking for a multi instrumentalist/vocalist for the show's first touring run in Boston. As soon as Arlan heard Trask's magnificent songs, he was on board. 25 years later, Arlan will be reprising his role as Skshp for a 3 week run at the Bell Works Theater in NJ with musician/performer Remember Jones as Hedwig, AND he joins us to unpack the show's pure rock and roll heart that is the Original Cast Recording. Songs discussed in this episode: Intro/Tear Me Down - Hedwig and the Angry Inch/Pace Theatrical Group at The 57 Theater, Boston 1999; It's So Easy - Arlan Feiles; Haha, Bitch! - Remember Jones; Tear Me Down - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Original Cast Recording); Oh! You Pretty Things - David Bowie; The Origin Of Love, Random Number Generation, Sugar Daddy, Angry Inch - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Original Cast Recording); Wig in a Box - Polyphonic Spree; Wig in a Box - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Original Cast Recording); Heaven Can Wait - Meat Loaf; Wicked Little Town - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Original Cast Recording); Crazy Mixed-Up World - Natural Causes; A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles; The Long Grift, Hedwig's Lament, Exquisite Corpse, Wicked Little Town (Reprise), Midnight Radio - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Original Cast Recording); Rock 'n' Roll Suicide - David Bowie; Oh, St Louis - Arlan Feiles

For some who had been following The Fall since 'Live At The Witch Trials' and 'Dragnet', 1988's 'The Frenz Experiment' with its more polished and slightly commercial sound might have seemed to be a bit of a sellout. Not so for this week's guest, Manchester record shop co-owner and bass player (The Suncharms) Richard Farnell. Catching them live at a record shop in-store appearance while playing hooky during a school trip into London may have sealed the deal for him, but he contends there's more to this era of The Fall than the unlikely chart success of their covers of 'Victoria' and 'There's A Ghost In My House' might attest. Songs discussed in this episode: There's A Ghost In My House - The Fall;  Time Will Tell - The Suncharms; Mr Pharmacist, Totally Wired, Rebellious Jukebox, Fol De Rol, Frenz, Carry Bag Man, Get A Hotel - The Fall; Victoria - The Kinks; All Day and All of the Night - The Stranglers; Victoria - The Fall; Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight - Spinal Tap; Athlete Cured, In These Times, The Steak Place, Bremen Nacht, Guest Informant, Oswald Defence Lawyer - The Fall; Distant Lights - The Suncharms