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Unsung Podcast

Unsung Podcast

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If there was a definitive discography of classic albums, what should be in it? Hosts Mark Fraser and Chris Cusack, plus the occasional guest, discuss and dissect perceived classic albums to decide which albums would make this list. We also interview amazing artists, do genre deep dives and throw a journalistic lens on musical topics you might not know much about.

Unsung Podcast
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Episodios
  • The Band That Made One Album About the End of the World (Then Disappeared)
    Mar 31 2026

    You may be shocked to hear that Lift to Experience made one album. One. A ninety-minute double CD concept record about the apocalypse, set entirely in Texas, written by three boys from Pentecostal and Baptist backgrounds who genuinely believed they had something to say to God. And then, more or less, they vanished.

    In this episode we cover the Texas Jerusalem Crossroads in full — the vision behind it, the religious fervour that powered it, and the question of whether you need to share any of that fervour to find the record genuinely moving. We'd argue you don't, and the band themselves seemed fairly relaxed about that.

    We also get into the wider story, which turns out to be just as compelling as the music. The album that couldn't be bought in its home country for years. The label that mixed it without the band present and broke their hearts. The tour that never happened. The beard competition. The sandwich grill.

    Along the way we ask a question that feels increasingly relevant right now — what does it actually mean when Americans start singing about Texas as the site of the final battle between good and evil? In 2001 it seemed like a grand artistic conceit. In 2025 it feels a little different.

    Is the Texas Jerusalem Crossroads the unsung post rock record with actual things to say? We think so. But it's a ninety-minute album, so you've got time to make up your own mind.

    Highlights:

    00:00 Intro and Whether We’re Actually Living in the End Times

    03:11 Album Introduction

    04:46 Millennium Anxiety

    09:17 Band Origins

    11:19 Sound and Influences

    12:22 Post Rock With Vocals?!

    17:33 Name and Release

    19:48 Religion and Meaning

    25:46 Art Versus Belief

    29:46 Lyrics and Apocalypse

    32:00 Track Highlights

    33:51 Shoegaze Favourite Track

    34:50 Dynamics of Cloud Nine

    36:27 Maximalist Texas Vibes

    37:03 Album Art Joke Explained

    38:56 Religion and Tech Rants

    40:53 UK Success US Absence

    44:22 Recording Struggles and SXSW Myth

    49:19 Bad Mix and Band Fallout

    53:17 Aftermath and Cult Legacy

    56:02 Reunion and 2017 Reissue

    59:41 Remix Reviews and Changes

    01:02:42 Apocalypse Talk and Final Thoughts

    01:07:45 Outro

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    1 h y 14 m
  • When Artists Aren't What They Seem - Ghost Bath Musical Catfishing and Hoax Bands - 380
    Mar 16 2026

    You may be shocked to hear that musicians sometimes lie about who they are. Some may say this is not shocking at all - it's almost a tradition. But there's a meaningful difference between Ziggy Stardust and a band from North Dakota claiming to be a Chinese black metal act to game the press.

    In this episode we try to map that difference. We spend a healthy portion of time on what we're not talking about - aliases, concept bands, anonymity for anonymity's sake - before getting into the genuinely murky territory of bands that have used fabricated identities for commercial advantage. We cover the fake Zombies that toured America simultaneously in 1969, The Masked Marauders and the elaborate Rolling Stone prank that accidentally became a real album, Silibil n Brains, Dundee rappers who got signed to Island Records on the strength of their American accents, before discussing Ghost Bath, the project that brought this whole phenomenon into focus for us.

    Along the way we also get into AI-generated music, Milli Vanilli (and why what they did is arguably less dishonest than what plenty of current pop stars do routinely, and a genuinely unresolved case involving a supposedly Iraqi black metal band that may or may not have put its members in real danger.

    The question running through all of it: does context change how we hear music? And if it does — what does that say about us?

    Highlights:

    00:00 Introduction

    01:24 Catfish and Hoax Bands Explained

    02:11 Patreon

    05:10 Famous Death Hoaxes

    05:42 Mystique Versus Scams

    09:02 Not Aliases or Roleplay

    10:43 Anonymity and Masks

    13:23 Fake Touring Lineups

    19:03 Concept Bands and Bits

    24:28 AI Bands and Deception

    27:54 Outright Music Scams

    30:13 Milli Vanilli Then and Now

    30:53 Pop Star Fraud Culture

    33:39 Mask Marauders Hoax

    35:20 Orion Elvis Impostor

    38:50 Platinum Weird Backstory

    40:25 Syllable American Rap Ruse

    43:38 Jana Mystery Metal Band

    46:06 Velvet Cocoon Troll Scam

    48:36 Ghost Bath Identity Debate

    54:40 Context and Cultural Relativism

    58:10 Ghost Bath Fallout and Ethics

    01:02:53 Outro

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    1 h y 8 m
  • Is Insomniac by Green Day an Unsung Classic? (Side B) w/ Rick Bruce from Coffin Mulch/Moondshine Docs - 379
    Mar 2 2026

    You may be shocked to hear that Green Day have a lot of songs. Some may say, in fact, that they have too MANY songs, because there does come a point where they all just blend into on another.

    In this episode we explore this phenomenon, and it is exclusively (in our view) an issue that plagues the latter half of their career. We cover everything from American Idiot to Saviors, and whilst not all of these albums are afflicted in such a way, it definitely seems to become more prevalent as we more closer to the present era.

    We also ask a crucial question - is Green Day punk? The answer is probably not quite what you expect, but we do debate the finer points. Suggesting that perhaps they could be Schrodinger's punx...

    All this leads us to trying to answer the real question - is Insomniac Green Day's unsung classic?

    Let's find out.

    Highlights:
    00:00 Intro
    01:53 Car Album Debate
    05:07 Legacy Act Question
    09:31 Setting Up American Idiot
    10:24 American Idiot Phenomenon
    14:22 Stadium Band Status
    23:08 Broadway And 21st Century
    31:15 Uno, Dos, Tre And Rehab
    35:38 Revolution Radio To Father Of All
    37:38 Father of All Reappraisal
    39:03 Critics vs Short Runtime
    39:49 Side Projects and Salty Pretzel
    43:18 2020 Output and Pandemic Era
    44:18 Saviors and Derivative Sounds
    48:42 Compression and Phone Listening
    52:49 Is Green Day Punk?
    01:00:28 Defining Punk and Yardsticks
    01:19:59 Insomniac Context and Backlash
    01:21:21 Critics and Rawness
    01:22:22 Sales and Fan Backlash
    01:24:01 Honest Bridge Album
    01:26:28 Opening Tracks and Tone
    01:30:29 Singles and Track Picks
    01:32:56 Production and Gear Talk
    01:39:54 Songwriting and Label Control
    01:53:48 Closing Tracks and Verdict
    01:59:22 Wrap Up and Goodbyes

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    2 h
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