Crusty Jugglers and Flaming Skulls: A Guide to Iconic Album Covers

Ever wondered what it's like to be whipped in the cobblers by a carbon fibre tent pole? No? Well, you’re about to. In this episode, Andrew returns to the studio and brings along Dr. Sam for a high-brow chat about testicular trauma, Trev & Simon, and the absolute best music to make your hips involuntarily wiggle like an over-caffeinated toddler.The theme this week? Songs to swing your pants to. The result? A genre-skirting playlist filled with funkadelic basslines, ska-punk chaos, and whatever Clipping are doing (which might be witchcraft).From George Clinton’s Moog-powered madness to the playful brilliance of Little Simz, from Missy Elliott in an inflatable suit to Dexys being much more than “Come On Eileen,” this episode jumps between groin injuries, nostalgia, street crossings turned flags (ffs), and musical elitism that would make a vinyl collector blush.We also learn about ancient British tribes, the legitimacy of “potholes in lawns,” and how you can use “in Minecraft” to legally dodge confessions. It’s educational. Sort of. Mostly not.### Riffs of the week#### Dr Sam's Riff- Barren Path - The Insufferable Weight #### Andrew's Riff- Clipping - Dominator### Dr Sam's track choices1. Thumpasaurus - Struttin'2. Streetlight Manifesto - If and When We Rise 3. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Jackie Wilson Said4. Little Richard - Keep A Knockin'### Andrew's track choices1. Everything Everything - Cough Cough2. Missy Elliot - WTF (where you from)3. Funkadelic - One Nation4. Little Simz - 101fmEmail us - [email protected] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJwcMyToUUK/?igsh=MTR4dWFnOGR5anV5bw==

What is it about British summer holidays that brings out the absolute weirdest memories? Andrew Culture is joined by returning co-host and beard-stroking wordsmith Martin Whiskin for a full-tilt, memory-lane-meets-puke-stained-train episode about all things “Summer Holidays.”We kick off with threats from Grotbags, traumatising pantos, and a deep dive into the bizarre puppetry obsession of '80s kids TV. From Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog to the musical trauma inflicted by Orville, it's a warped nostalgia trip with the distinct smell of Dettol.Expect riffs of the week that range from children’s YouTube bangers to industrial J-pop-metal chaos. Martin finds beauty in Down By Law’s one-minute face-punch punk, Therapy?’s surprise chart invasion, and the unlikely Shed Seven resurgence. Andrew counters with a romantic tale of vomit at the Steamboat pub, a Double Deckers TV theme tribute, and a Queens of the Stone Age song that’s basically just a shopping list of narcotics.Also covered:Why Cliff Richard was in a bus with The ShadowsHow band advances don’t workPunk shows in Welsh working men’s clubsWhy you never want to eat a dry roll with one slice of iceberg lettuceThe fine art of projectile vomiting into jacket sleevesIf you’ve ever wanted a podcast episode that transitions seamlessly from 'Summer Holiday' by Cliff Richard to vomming on the tube while discussing Trash Theory’s Therapy? documentary, this is it.Music, memories, mayhem. This is Beat Motel.### Riffs of the week#### Marf's Riff- Danny Go - Gorilla Smash#### Andrew's Riff- BABYMETAL - from me to u feat. Poppy### Marf's track choices1. Blameless - Breathe a Little Deeper2. Down by Law - Independence Day3. Therapy? - Screamager4. Shed Seven - Kissing California### Andrew's track choices1. Cliff Richard and The Shadows - Summer Holiday2. Johnny Keating - Theme from the Double Deckers3. The Jesus And Mary Chain - I Can't find The Time For Times4. Queens of the Stone age - Feel good hit of the summerEmail us - [email protected] and Mary Chain playlist https://tidal.com/playlist/5d9661ef-d473-477e-8e59-9c069d2b1267

Ever argued over who controls the aux cable on a long drive? In this episode of the Beat Motel Podcast, Andrew and Dr Sam dive into the tunes that keep them sane (or send them spiralling) on epic car journeys. From Queen's Greatest Hits to post-metal tantrums, and from Pete Seeger’s calm reassurance to jazz-adjacent Icelandic loops, we dissect the soundtracks that power our road trips, intentional or accidental.Expect ridiculous stories involving bargain-bin CDs, iPad vomit catchers, and why you should never, ever start a circle pit with only 12 people in the venue. Plus, we ask the big questions like: why is Disney music turning up at protests? And is clapping during a gig actually a war crime?📌 Don’t miss a second, click play and take a long drive with us (from the safety of your headphones).### Riffs of the week#### Dr Sam's Riff- Editrix - The Queen (opening)#### Andrew's Riff- GoGo Penguin - Umbra (1:30)### Dr Sam's track choices1. Harry Belafonte - Angelina (0.38)2. Pete Seeger - Little Boxes (Live) (0.09)3. Edvard Grieg - March of the Trolls, Op. 54 (2.18)4. Queen - Somebody to Love (0.30)### Andrew's track choices1. Public Image Ltd - Careering (3:13)2. Danger Man Theme Edwin Astley Orchestra (0:11)3. Kiasmos - Looped (3:45)4. Godspeed You Black Emperor - Like antennas to heaven (5:29)Email us - [email protected]

In this special detour from our usual Beat Motel rambling, Andrew and Dr. Sam swap the studio for the chaos of Hellsinki Metal Festival (yes, with two Ls, because one L just isn’t metal enough). We navigate Finnish beer, dodge suspicious wrestling moves, and try to work out why 8% lager is even legal in a place with mosh pits.Expect unfiltered commentary on bands like Kanonenfieber, Decapitated, and Fear Factory, plus on-the-ground insights into earplug economics, dungaree etiquette at metal gigs, and whether wrestling at a metal fest is meant to be taken seriously (spoiler: no). We also wonder why no other Brits seem to have worked out that Finnish festivals are cleaner, better run, and infinitely less likely to smell like a port-a-loo graveyard.It’s loud, it’s wet, it’s metal, and it’s gloriously daft — just the way we like it.

This episode of the Beat Motel Podcast drops you into the sweaty, glorious middle of a music fundraiser that brought Bury St Edmunds together in the loudest way possible. I hit the Hunter Club and the town’s rehearsal rooms to catch a full day of DIY brilliance, chat with bands and scene-makers, and find out what happens when a town fights for its music spaces.Whether you're into punk, indie, or just stories of people doing something real, this one’s for you. No fluff, no filler, just the kind of energy that keeps scenes alive and rehearsal rooms open.📌 Featuring:Field recordings from the eventStories from bands and organisersLoud music and louder opinionsProof that local scenes still matter

Is it possible to judge an album by its cover? Absolutely. Especially when it's got skeleton hands, raging suns, or Geiger’s flesh nightmares on it.In this episode of the Beat Motel podcast, Andrew and recurring co-host Martin Whiskin dive deep into the album art that shaped our musical tastes, plastered our pencil cases, and possibly got Dead Kennedys sued. From the raw power of Monster Magnet and Kyuss, to the delicate doodles of The Levellers, to Pink Floyd being accused of ripping off Blur 20 years early (or was it the other way round?), it’s a deep, noisy, nostalgic ride.▶ Featuring tales of crusty gigs, folk festivals, DIY patches, and massive, illegal sound systems.▶ Not featuring: tasteful restraint, coherent structure, or Richard Ashcroft’s blessing.### Riffs of the week#### Martin Whiskin's Riff- Bellowhead - Rigs of The Time#### Andrew's Riff- Smote - Drommon Pt1### Martin Whiskin's track choices1. Monster Magnet - Power Trip2. Levellers - Levelling the Land3. Ye Wiles - Soothing Away The Horrors of Indigestion4. Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley### Andrew's track choices1. Pink Floyd - See Emily Play2. Verve - She's a superstar3. Led Zepplin - Gallows Pole4. Dead Kennedys - MTV - Get Off the AirEmail us - [email protected]

Episode 140: Great Bands, Awful Names (feat. Dr Sam)Brace yourselves for a melodic mess as Andrew and the returning legend Dr Sam dive into the world of bands that slap sonically but utterly fumble the name game. From the majestic chaos of Defeated Sanity (yes, really) to the ultra-bland University, it's a wild ride of killer riffs and cringe monikers.Expect:Funkadelic basslines from Graham Central Station (who apparently named themselves after a sodding train station).Deep thoughts on Car Seat Headrest (sounds like IKEA flatpack instructions, but damn, they're good).A loving roast of Hanoi Rocks (plus a bit of Michael Monroe fanboying).Death metal that sounds like it was named by a teen with a Latin dictionary and a nosebleed.There's also the usual chaos: kebab regrets, biscuit philosophy, Monster Munch trauma, and why headless basses should be banished to the fiery pit.Grab a non-alcoholic beer, sit on your own car seat headrest, and prepare for an episode that's heavier than a Greggs bag after a night out.### Riffs of the week#### Dr Sam's Riff- Between the Buried and Me - Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark (0.30)#### Andrew's Riff- Prolapse - Cha Cha Cha 2000 (1:00)### Dr Sam's track choices1. Hanoi Rocks - Malibu Beach Nightmare (0.40)2. Graham Central Station - Release Yourself (opening)3. Viagra Boys - Man Made of Meat (0.45)4. Defeated Sanity - Condemned to Vascular Famine (1.43)### Andrew's track choices1. The Nice - America (0:40)2. Car Seat Headrest - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales (4:21)3. University - Notre Dame made out of flesh (4:28)4. Agriculture - The glory of the ocean (6:12)Email us - [email protected]

John Peel. The man, the myth, the reason you accidentally got into Bulgarian throat singing that one time. This episode of Beat Motel is a loving, ramshackle dive into the chaotic universe of Peel Sessions.Andrew Culture is joined by Mick Derrick from Prolapse, who proves that the road from crusty-sounding band names to DIY folklore is paved with weirdness, cassette tapes, and gigs no one came to. Expect tales of friendly old men who just happen to be in Mayhem, Welsh insults passed down to daughters, and the mystery of 500 unsellable t-shirts.This episode includes:Pen-palling with DatblyguBridget St John vs. aggressive jazz drummersHow to make an album that sounds like a pub quiz gone wrongFirehose and the miracle of Mike Watt in Maida ValeAnd an impromptu quiz on obscure Peel Session stats that nobody really winsAlso, Prolapse has a new album. We mention that too, after slagging off ragtime, waxing lyrical about noise abatement, and trying not to get sued by the estate of John Martyn.A celebration of DIY music, Peel magic, and the joy of saying “I liked them before they had a second single.”### Riffs of the week#### Mick's Riff- Sharp Pins - Lorelei#### Andrew's Riff- University - Diamond Song### Mick's track choices1. Datblygu - Cristion Yn Y Kibbutz2. Bridget St. John - Ask Me No Questions3. Yeah Yeah Noh - Blood Soup4. Quickspace - Happy Song### Andrew's track choices1. Ivor Cutler - Joe's Thick Coat (Peel Session)2. The Auteurs - Happy birthday Buddha3. Desperate Bicycles - The medium was tedium4. fIREHOSE - She Paints Pictures (Peel Session)Email us - [email protected] Peel photo by Duca di Spinacihttps://www.flickr.com/photos/bhikku/1076455

If you’ve never been ready to square up in a Spoons car park over your favourite band, are you even a real music fan? In this unreasonably passionate episode, Andrew is joined by the charmingly volatile Martin Whiskin as they dive fists-first into the bands they’d get into an actual fight over. Expect tales of local legends, rag-tag riffs, posh ska punks, and very specific ball-based analogies.Featuring bands that should’ve made it, bands that did, and bands no one's heard of (but somehow still inspired violence), the duo unpack the emotional landmines hidden in guitar feedback. Andrew laments the trauma of his first kiss being ruined by Guns N’ Roses, and Martin outs himself as the Medway scene’s unofficial enforcer.Subhumans, Ruben, Waldo’s Gift, Russian Circles, Inner Terrestrials, Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds, The Hold Steady... they’re all here, along with a few others you'll pretend you always knew about.Come for the music chat, stay for the emotional damage.### Riffs of the week#### Martin Whiskin's Riff- And So I Watch You From Afar - North Coast Megafauna#### Andrew's Riff- Waldo's Gift - Candifloss (LIVE)### Martin Whiskin's track choices1. Lupen Crook and The Murderbirds - Lest We Connect2. Ruben - No One Wins The War3. The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend4. Hundred Reasons - I'll Find you### Andrew's track choices1. Subhumans - Apathy2. Inner Terrestrials - Enter the dragon3. Russian Circles - Fathom4. Against Me - Those Anarcho Punks Are MysteriousEmail us - [email protected] Turner interviewhttps://beatmotel.com/interviews/frank-turner-interview-beat-motel/

Ever looked at a band and thought, "Yeah, I'd ruin that with my presence"? Well, so have we. This week on Beat Motel, Andrew is joined once again by the mighty Oli as they dive headfirst into the chaotic world of bands they wish they'd been in.From the sleek, suited swagger of Interpol to the beer-soaked riff factories of Gentleman's Pistols, we ramble through a weird and wonderful landscape of musical desires. Expect tales of porn ties, Led Zeppelin’s airborne fireplaces, and discovering why having a drum machine made from bits of a broken toaster is the height of musical cool.We also reflect on the importance of looking like a band, the magic of weird basslines, and why being in a band is just clinging to your mates while pretending it's not all a colossal waste of time. Plus, we settle the age-old debate: Would you rather play Glastonbury or the Steamboat in Ipswich?Buckle up. It’s a trip.### Riffs of the week#### Oli's Riff- Faraquet - Cut Self Not#### Andrew's Riff- Patristic - Catechesis### Oli's track choices1. Young Marble Giants - Eating Noddemix 2. Interpol - Heinrich Manevour3. Led Zepellin - No Quarter4. Beach Boys - Little Pad### Andrew's track choices1. Axes - Junior2. Gentlemans Pistols-Comfortably Crazy3. Prolapse - Headless in a beat motel4. Blur - Won't do itEmail us - [email protected]