Our 9 Albums!

This time on Any Man with a Microphone, we’re talking about “Our 9 Albums!”Inspired by the trend from the website My 9 Albums, where music fans choose the nine albums that formed them, we reveal the records that shaped our musical tastes and still influence what we listen to today.Beatles, White Stripes, and Pearl Jam feature, along with some Cheap Trick, Heart, Nirvana, and The Cars thrown into the mix. We also revisit They Might Be Giants’ John Henry, Oasis’ Don’t Believe the Truth, and Barenaked Ladies’ Gordon, among others.  And did one album actually make both of our lists?  You’ll have to tune in to find out!Nine albums each, plenty of musical memories, and a whole lot of great music. What would be on your list?

Buckle up! We're taking another ride with one of the most iconic bands of the late ’70s and ’80s—The Cars!From the infectious hooks of “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friend’s Girl” to the unforgettable sounds of “Drive,” “Let's Go,” and “You Might Think,” The Cars created a musical style all their own, blending rock, new wave, and synthesizer-driven pop into hit after hit.In this episode we revisit the band's classic songs, groundbreaking albums, fascinating history, and a few surprising facts along the way. Plus, we share our personal experiences from two memorable evenings spent with original Cars members Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes, the legendary guitarist and keyboardist who helped create that unmistakable Cars sound.So turn up the radio, shake it up, and join us for a musical joyride through the incredible legacy of The Cars. 

Join us as we dig up some of our favorite Halloween traditions, revisit the spooky movies and television specials we love (and a few we’d rather leave buried), and share our ultimate Halloween playlist, with plenty of tricks and treats along the way.  From Rob Zombie to Alice Cooper, from the Stranger Things theme song to the surprising Ghostbusters II connection with the Ramones, we’re conjuring up a monstrous mix of music and mayhem to keep your spirits up.  So grab your favorite Halloween candy, dim the lights, and join us for a spooktacular good time.  We’ll leave you screaming, “I Want Candy!”

This episode of Any Man with a Microphone heads back to the 1990s, when alternative rock exploded into the mainstream—and Lollapalooza became one of the defining music festivals of the decade.We revisit the festival’s beginnings, the early years at the forefront of the alternative-rock revolution, and how Lollapalooza evolved as the decade rolled on. Along the way, we talk grunge, punk, metal, the changing music scene, and what made the ’90s feel like such a unique moment for rock music.We revisit Lollapalooza 1996 for a firsthand account of seeing a massive lineup that included Metallica, Soundgarden, the Ramones, Rage Against the Machine, and more.  Turn up the volume and come revisit a time when music festivals felt a little rougher, a little stranger, and maybe a whole lot more fun.

This week on Any Man with a Microphone, we’re talking about the Oasis movie Don’t Look Back in Anger.We went in expecting a movie about Oasis and their reunion tour.  What surprised us was that underneath all the songs, swagger, and fighting, it’s really a story about two brothers getting older and deciding that family and forgiveness matter more than staying angry.

What bands are overrated?  Everybody seems to love them, their albums are considered classics, their T-shirts are everywhere…and you just don’t get it.  And then there are the bands on the other end of the spectrum. The ones you can’t believe more people aren’t talking about. The bands that deserve more respect, more listeners—and maybe a few more T-shirts on teenagers who actually know who they are.On this episode of Any Man with a Microphone, we tackle one of the most subjective arguments in music: overrated or underrated?Nirvana. Radiohead. The Beach Boys. Sublime. INXS. Hall & Oates. Matchbox Twenty. Oasis. U2. The Smashing Pumpkins. And plenty more.Which bands deserve the hype? Which ones have been riding on reputation for way too long? And which bands never got the appreciation they deserved?We have opinions.Probably too many of them.Find out where we land.

In this episode, we look back at Phish’s recent run at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA and talk about everything that made the experience so memorable.We break down the music, the jams, the song choices—and yes, the lengths of some of those songs—along with the moments that stood out most.  But we also go beyond the setlist to talk about the crowd, the atmosphere, and the unmistakably positive energy surrounding the shows.After decades of playing together, how does Phish continue to create concerts that feel spontaneous, unpredictable, and completely alive?

We turn our attention to movies and the new Spider-Man: Brand New Day—and use it as an excuse to talk about all things Spider-Man, Peter Parker, and Marvel.What makes Spider-Man so unique—and perhaps the most relatable superhero of them all?  We dig into the character of Peter Parker, the ordinary guy behind the mask, and why his struggles with family, responsibility, relationships, failure, and doing the right thing have connected with audiences for generations.We also look back at the many actors who have brought Peter Parker to life, rank our favorite performances, debate the best villains from across the films, and discuss past and future Marvel movies.

On this episode of AnyMan with a Microphone, we dive into Jack White’s new album, Frozen Charlotte, and the controversy surrounding his decision to invite Twin Temple to open for him after country singer Charley Crockett dropped the self-described “satanic doo-wop” duo from his tour.We look at the music, the feud, and the larger questions it raises about faith, art, and humanity—all from a Catholic perspective.We also talk about the surprising relatability of Johnny Knoxville during the recent Jackass: Best and Last movie tour, along with a few other cultural detours along the way.And all of that leads into our next episode, when we turn our attention to the new Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Some bands chase trends.  Others chase hits.  They Might Be Giants chase after being themselves and let the music happen.For more than four decades, John Linnell and John Flansburgh have been building a strange musical universe where songs can be about night lights, dead presidents, particle physics, palindromes, or the quiet existential panic of everyday life—and somehow still get stuck in your head for the rest of the week.Emerging from the New York underground in the 1980s, the duo first made their mark with drum machines, accordion, and an approach to songwriting that treated pop music like a playground.  Their early “Dial-A-Song” project let fans call a phone number and hear new recordings long before the internet made that sort of thing normal.  Since then, they’ve written everything from cult radio favorites to television themes, children’s science albums, and songs that manage to be funny, unsettling, and oddly profound.In this episode, we discuss the world of Linnell and Flansburgh: the songs, the stories, the strange corners of their catalog, and why a band that refuses to stay in one lane has managed to stay relevant for so long.