Episodes
18 hours ago
Cyndi Lauper – She's So Unusual
18 hours ago
18 hours ago
In an era of iconic music (and fashion) superstars, Cyndi Lauper burst onto the scene in the 1980s with a flash of neon-infused female-forward pop. She was perfect for the MTV generation, as her look took the pop culture world by storm. But “She’s So Unusual” was not just a vehicle to get her on TVs. The album is packed with timeless classics like “Time After Time,” “All Through the Night” and the VERY progressive for its time “She Bop.” But with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Lauper delivered a female anthem that resonates 40 years later. And she looked so … “unusual” doing it.
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Led Zeppelin IV
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
"And as we wind on down the road ..." of Season 10 of Finest Worksongs, we turn our attention to perhaps the original Monsters of Rock: Lez Zeppelin. Their fourth album (sometimes called "IV," sometimes referred to as "ZoSo") was released in 1971 and was an immediate and longstanding success. "IV" became one of those albums that everyone seemingly had thanks to the might of muscle of "Rock and Roll," "Black Dog," the marathon majesty of "Stairway to Heaven," and the mystical and mysterious "Battle of Evermore" -- not to mention the pounding of "When the Levee Breaks." It's an album that showcases the best of Page, Plant, Bonham and Jones, and it truly stands the test of time -- more than 50 years later.
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Usher – Confessions
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
You can listen to Confessions by Usher on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and also he's playing the Super Bowl, y'all!!
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Listener’s Choice – Billy Joel
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
You can listen to The Stranger by Billy Joel on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and those little juke boxes in the booths of those old school pizza restaurants in New York.
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Christmas 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
The boys are back with another special Christmas epipod! For the fifth annual edition, Matt & Matt are bringing you something fresh. One offering is a brand new (as of Thanksgiving 2023!) holiday album from Jim James and the boys from My Morning Jacket. The other is a serious deep cut: the early-80s funky and wacky album "Merry Christmas to You" by Joseph Washington Jr. Both albums are memorable in their own right, and we hope you enjoy the discussion this season. Merry Christmas from Finest Worksongs!
Friday Dec 01, 2023
The Sundays – Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
Friday Dec 01, 2023
Friday Dec 01, 2023
If it seemed like England's The Sundays came out of nowhere in the early 1990s it's because, well, they sorta did. The dreampop quartet didn't start out with the idea of being major music stars -- they just wanted to have a little fun and make some music. But there were a couple problems with this: Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin. Harriet's lilting, songbird voice made her one of the most distinctive female voices in pop music; and the gorgeous guitar work by David made The Sundays alternative rock gold. Their 1990 debut, "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic," was released in 1990 -- less than two years after they formed. "Here's Where the Story Ends" made them massive indie stars in the United States, while "Can't Be Sure" (their first single) was lauded in the UK. The Sundays would go on to create two more beautiful albums before settling into a more normal life. They are still missed.
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Garth Brooks – Ropin’ The Wind
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Few artists have had as much crossover success as Garth Brooks. The Okie not only took the country world by storm in the early-to-mid-1990s, but he was a certified mega pop star as well. And in doing so, Brooks redefined how country music was perceived -- and performed. Brooks made country music arena-friendly. His songs were radio friendly as well, as his 1991 album "Ropin' The Wind" proved. The album would go on to sale more than 14 million copies and produced hits (and Brooks standards) like "Rodeo," "What She's Doing Now," "The River" and "Shameless" -- a Billy Joel tune that showed that Brooks knows a great song when he hears it.
Friday Nov 03, 2023
Whitney Houston - Our 100th Epipod!
Friday Nov 03, 2023
Friday Nov 03, 2023
Long before there was a TV singing competition called "The Voice," there was Whitney Houston -- aka "The Voice." But there really was no competition. Houston's power and range was second to no one else of her generation. In fact, the term of "The Voice" was something of an insult; it suggested that she was given a gift of singing from above, that it had little to do with talent. But to those who heard "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" or "Greatest Love of All" Or "I Will Always Love You" or any of the other chart-topping hits, it didn't matter where the voice came from. It was magical. Houston sadly died in 2012, but not before gifting us all with a gorgeous legacy.
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
You can listen to Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, and Amazon, although it's probably best on vinyl.
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Lucinda Williams' fifth album, released in the summer of 1998, not only cemented the artist as a bonafide songwriting juggernaut, but it solidified her place among America's best storytellers. "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" would go on to be named The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop (critics) Album of the Year, and to date it is among Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time. And for good reason. Williams bemoans (and even moans) about love and loss in songs like "Right In Time," Lake Charles" and "Can't Let Go." And she brilliantly illustrates pain in the title track and also on tunes like "Drunken Angel," "Concrete and Barbed Wire" and more. Williams also captures the Deep South about as good anybody before or since. And because of that, this album is truly "2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten."