So what are your ten favorite albums of the last fifteen years? That’s the question that makes up the main topic of this week’s episode of Encore. The rules are simple: favorite albums, 2001-2015, there can be only ten. We’d love to see your lists in the replies where you’ll find our super-sized episode goes into detail on how we picked the albums on our own lists. This was way harder than I expected. This week’s episode also covers some news on Kanye West and his new album, some first impressions of The Hotelier’s new album, and a discussion around walking into a very anticipated album or band for the first time. Oh, and of course there’s our usual random banter about life and things. We went long on this one to make up for last week! Hope you enjoy it. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or download this episode by hitting read more.

Read More “Ten Albums, Last Fifteen Years (Episode 117)”

It’s coming out late, damn has it been a long day, but this week’s episode of Encore is here. This week we discuss Thomas going on a cruise, some about the Super Bowl and the half-time show, and the internet’s reaction to the halftime show, and some about the commercials. We then tackle the main topic this week: Discussing albums we don’t like in the most productive way, how our feelings on an album may be swayed by someone else’s impassioned defense or take-down of an album, and how this may or may not be related to the new Say Anything album. We finish up with a few questions about long distance relationships, noise-canceling headphones, and Thomas being in early on The Front Bottoms.

Read More “More Pineapple Drinks Please (Episode 116)”

This week’s episode of Encore starts with a discussion about fostering creativity and how we try to stay sharp and inspired and not fall into a rut. It’s hard. We want to be better at it. Then we look at the RIAA changing up how they certify albums, Brand New selling out MSG and announcing some kind of release this year, and looking at the difference between huge stadium like shows versus the small venues we’re used to. We then answer some questions about favorite movies about music, the idea that bands should feel obligated to play “fan favorites” on tours, favorite bands from the UK, and the first albums we ever really anticipated. This week once again (fingers crossed) has chapter marks, so if you subscribe in a podcast player that supports those you should be able to jump right to a topic you want to hear about — if you so desire.

Read More “Tell Your Mom About Our Show (Episode 115)”

This week’s episode of Encore looks at quite a bit of the news that broke over the past week. We talk about Kanye West releasing information about what is now Waves, Brand New and Modest Mouse going on a huge tour, Yellowcard’s Lights and Sounds turns 10, and Brian Wilson is doing a 50-year tour for Pet Sounds. We also do some follow-up on last week’s great “wrong tracklistings” discussion and all sorts of other fun stuff like guessing if Brand New will release an album and what it would sell, plus Thomas’s thoughts on Panic’s album now he’s heard it, and a few brief thoughts on the new 1975 album at the end.

Read More “Get That Superhero Money (Episode 114)”

This week’s episode of Encore has us looking at a variety of interesting, and diverse, topics. We talk a little about the next Star Wars being pushed back, a little about Thomas’s collection of Funko collectables, and a little about Thomas wanting to buy an iPad Pro. We also discover that Thomas has had the wrong sequencing in his iTunes for Everything in Transit for almost a decade now. He discovers this live on the podcast. We tackle a variety of user questions related to Panic! at the Disco’s new album, the TV show “Making a Murderer,” and if we prefer soft or energetic album closers. We also talk some more about Brian Fallon and his upcoming album since Thomas caught him live recently. We finish with some Blink-182 talk and discuss the three big tours that got announced this week.

Read More “A Batman Army (Episode 113)”