Pop Shield: Perspectives on Music Past and Present

Pop Shield: Perspectives on Music Past and Present


Latest Episodes

Pavement’s Wowee Zowee Turns 25
May 15, 2020

We celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pavement's Wowee Zowee by diving deep into the album, as well as its curious reception history. Email us:  

Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters, a Perfect 10?
May 01, 2020

We discuss Fiona Apple's new LP, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, plus the insane hype surrounding the album, including Pitchfork's perfect 10 rating. Email us:  

1987 vs. 1988 vs. 1989
April 17, 2020

Inspired by a random tweet, we've decided to put the years of our birth head to head to head. We're talking Sonic Youth, Pixies, The Cure, and a whole lot more. Email us:  

Revisiting Joy Division’s Closer
April 03, 2020

When we learned that Joy Division had never "clicked" for Darin, and that Gabe hadn't listened to them in years, we decided to dive deep into the band's classic second LP, Closer. Email us:  

Learning to Love Fishmans’ Long Season
March 20, 2020

We dive deep into an emerging cult classic that everybody needs to hear, Fishmans' 1996 magnum opus, Long Season. Email us:  

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony (and How to Get Into Classical)
March 05, 2020

We finally tackle classical music by looking at two iconic recordings of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, one by Carlos Kleiber and the Vienna Philharmonic, and the other by John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Email us:  

Ranking Every Song on My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless
February 21, 2020

We celebrate Valentine's Day by ranking every song on My Bloody Valentine's 1991 classic, Loveless. Email us:  

John Coltrane’s Ascension vs. Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz (and How to Get Into Free Jazz)
February 07, 2020

We figure out how to get into free jazz by comparing and contrasting two free jazz classics, Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz and John Coltrane's Ascension. Email us:  

Revisiting Modest Mouse’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News
January 23, 2020

We reassess Modest Mouse's breakthrough LP, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and discuss whether "selling out" has any meaning in 2020. Email us:  

The Top 5 Albums of 2019
January 10, 2020

We're back from the holiday break to count down our favorite albums of 2019, discuss Pitchfork's list, and offer up some reflections on the year as a whole. Email us: Dan's list: 5. Swans - Leaving Meaning 4. Danny Brown - uknowwhatimsayin? 3. Sunn...

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