Starting in 1981, Sonic Youth pushed boundaries as part of American experimental no wave scene to redefine what noise meant in terms of music. The band would combine innovative guitar tunings, dissonance, and feedback with hardcore punk and avant-garde music as part of the New York no wave scene.

The music of Sonic Youth began evolving from these early years taking a more conventional approach as the band become a prominent member of American noise rock.

This episode tells the story of the band from their beginnings through the 1986 album, Evol, as the band was evolving from their no wave beginning.

In 1989, Nick Cave would experience some life changes and with those changes, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds would take their music in a new direction. By the end of the 1990’s, the band would achieve worldwide mainstream success with piano-driven ballads, most notably with the albums, Murder Ballads and The Boatman’s Call.

This episode tells the story of the band and Nick Cave through their five albums of the 90's.

When Disintegration was released in May of 1989, the album signified a return to The Cure's darker and gloomier days of their early years.

The eighth studio album from the band includes classic singles like "Lovesong", "Pictures of You", and "Lullaby", but also other emotionally intense songs like "Prayers for Rain", "Plainsong", and the title track. All of this has led to Disintegration being considered an alternative music masterpiece.

This episode for The Cure tells the story behind the album as well as the story of Robert Smith's creation of the songs that make up this incredible work.

The Cramps took various music styles including punk rock, rockabilly, surf and garage rock, along with campy humor, sex, and horror/sci-fi film imagery to become the progenitor of what would be called psychobilly music.

Led by the husband and wife duo, Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorshach, this American group grew from the New York punk scene of the late 70's to become an iconic band, and the perfect party band for Halloween.

This episode (from Halloween 2024) tells the story of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy from their early years along with the albums and music through the 80's and into the 90’s.

Happy Mondays became one of the pioneering artists of the Madchester scene fusing indie rock, funk, psychedelia and acid house music to create a unique sound associated with this rave club cultural movement.

The band's second studio album, Bummed of 1988, and the follow-up, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches of 1990, were two signature albums of the Madchester era.

This episode tells the story of the early years of Happy Mondays from their formation through the music of the band's first three studio albums.

Flesh for Lulu was born London in late 1982 when lead singer and guitarist Nick Marsh met future drummer James Mitchell. Over the years, the band would build off of their post-punk roots to create music of various influences before breaking up in 1992. Flesh for Lulu came close to mainstream success in 1987 with the college radio hit, "I Go Crazy", but was never able to capitalize on this opportunity.

Following various other projects and a couple of brief returns of Flesh for Lulu, Nick Marsh would pass away from cancer in 2015.

This episode discusses the legacy of Nick Marsh and the history of Flesh for Lulu through their albums of the 80's.

The impact Buzzcocks had on music was beyond what Pete Shelley could have imagined when he started the band with Howard Devoto in 1976. Beyond organizing a legendary concert in Manchester that would kickstart the journey of a number of incredible bands, and combining punk rock with elements of pop to become a successful and influential artist, they would release their debut EP on their own independent label in 1977. The success of this self-release led to other punk and post-punk bands following suit, birthing the term "Indie" music.

This episode tells the story of Buzzcocks beginning, their impact on music and beyond, their work through the break-up of 1981, and the beginning of Pete Shelley's solo career.

Episode 3.24

The English band Shriekback was formed in 1981 by three musicians from post-punk backgrounds. Barry Andrews (formerly of XTC) , Dave Allen (previously with Gang of Four) , and Carl Marsh (from Out on Blue Six) would start this band and create a funk-infused music that would evolve over the years through various styles while maintaining their signature clever and unusual lyrics.

This episode discusses the work and albums of Shriekback through their albums of the 1980's.
(R.I.P Dave Allen. This episode was recorded a few weeks prior to the passing on April 5, 2025 of Dave Allen)