We’ve got a great host and a killer record, all set to go. All we need now is you! Here’s how to join the fun.
Cover art courtesy of IRS Records
Good Morning!
Today we’re talking about The English Beat’s Special beat Service, and well, how you can talk about the band with other like minded people.
Note: As some of you know, I’m one of the editors for an online music publication called The Riff. Each month, we host an album discussion (via Zoom), which is coming up on Sunday.
To be clear, all credit goes to Terry Barr and Scott Fountain, who facilitate the meetings, and Jessica Lee McMillan, this month’s host. These three are doing the heavy lifting.
As you’ll see below, these are low-key affairs; all are welcome! If you want to share some thoughts, that’s awesome. Wanna just sit back & listen? That’s cool, too.
Either way, it’d be better with you there.
KA—
It’s that time again; it’s time for our monthly album discussion!
One of our core tenets is sharing music. That obviously involves writing about it, but also talking about it together. We do that monthly here.
This Sunday, August 24th, is that day.
Below is my boilerplate explanation of these discussions and the value you’ll get from joining us. Under that are both the record being discussed and the meeting login details.
Don’t know the record? Doesn’t matter.
Not comfortable speaking in public? Me either. And you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Heck, you don’t even have to turn your camera on. It’s a safe space, but you control what you share.
Ultimately, you’re part of the community; we want you to be a part of this, too.
So check out the “rules” below, and then plan to dial in.
What is this?
For new readers (hi everyone!), we host an online discussion every month.
Here’s how it works:
A writer (more on that in a second) picks a record to discuss and writes a brief piece about their choice and the meeting details.
At the meeting, they discuss why they picked it, offer a bit of a backstory/context, and whatever else they’d like to share.
Everyone else on the call can share their own “hot take,” related story, or anything else you think is relevant.
At the end of the meeting, the next month’s writer volunteers (or is chosen), and the process repeats itself.
NOTE FOR INTROVERTS: If you’d prefer to sit in and listen, that is 110% okay. Keep your video off…stay muted…it’s up to you. It’s a safe place; you can participate as much/as little as you’d like.
This month’s host:
This month’s host is Jessica Lee McMillan, a poet, writer, and teacher based in Vancouver, B.C. Her work has been featured in dozens of publications. You can see more of her writing here or on her website.
Cool! So, what are we talking about?
Jessica has chosen ‘Special Beat Service’ by The English Beat..
I am still grateful for the third wave, which brought The Specials back into rotation at clubs. I was only a few years old when the Beat emerged, and I had records and cassettes of General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. But I have to thank that third wave for making its way into the goth community here in Vancouver, where — of all places — I first learned to skank to Madness in my late teens.
Musical influences can travel anywhere — like language — and while we want to respect its origins, genre — like language — is a living thing that evolves and migrates.
Special Beat Service is the album you intentionally pull out several times a year. It is a rock. It is a place to return.
That’s why I have chosen it for the album of the month.
Musical adventure, exploring new sounds, and sharing great music with great people make these discussions a joy.
Join us and see for yourself.
Listen:
The Beat | Special Beat Service (1982)
(Click the record to listen on your platform of choice)
We’ve got a great host and a killer record, all set to go. All we need now is you! Here’s how to join the fun.
Good Afternoon!
Today we’re talking The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat, and well, how you can talk about the band with other like minded people.
Note: As some of you know, I’m one of the editors for an online music publication called The Riff. Each month we host an album discussion (via Zoom), and this month’s is coming up on Sunday.To be clear, all credit goes to Terry Barr who facilitates the meeting, and Scott Fountain this month’s host. These two are doing the heavy lifting.
As you’ll see below, these are low-key affairs; all are welcome! If you want to share some thoughts, that’s awesome. Wanna just sit back & listen? That’s cool, too.
Either way, it’d be better with you there.
KA—
It’s that time again; it’s time for our monthly album discussion!
One of The Riff’s core tenets is sharing music. That obviously involves writing about it, but also talking about it together. We do that monthly here.
This Sunday May 4th is that day.
Below is my boilerplate explanation of these discussions and the value you’ll get from joining us. Under that are both the record being discussed and the meeting log-in details.
Don’t know the record? Doesn’t matter.
Not comfortable speaking in public? Me either. And you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Heck, you don’t even have to turn your camera on. It’s a safe space, but you control what you share.
Ultimately, you’re part of the community; we want you to be a part of this, too.
So check out the “rules” below, and then plan to dial in.
What is this?
For new readers (hi everyone!), The Riff hosts an online discussion every month.
Here’s how it works:
A writer (more on that in a second) picks a record to discuss and writes a brief piece about their choice and the meeting details.
At the meeting, they discuss why they picked it, offer a bit of a backstory/context, and whatever else they’d like to share.
Everyone else on the call can share their own “hot take,” related story, or anything else you think is relevant.
At the end of the meeting, next month’s writer volunteers (or is chosen), and the process repeats itself.
NOTE FOR INTROVERTS: If you’d prefer to sit in and listen, that is 110% okay. Keep your video off…stay muted…it’s up to you. It’s a safe place; you can participate as much/as little as you’d like.
This month’s host:
This month’s host is a star contributor to The Riff and a friend of On Repeat Records. Scott Fountainis afantastic writer, and his expertise spans many genres. You can also find him here on Substack, where he recently planted his flag. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend it!
Cool! So, what are we talking about?
Scott has chosen The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat.
I’m not sure if critics called it proto-punk in the 1990s, but during that time, I could identify that sense of evolution between late 1950s rock and late 1970s punk. Likewise, recognizing how different forms of rock share a common lineage with rhythm and blues, jazz, and country was always (and still is) fun to consider.
While songs from White Light / White Heat may not be as upbeat and have as much drive as other proto-punk songs from the 1960s, Lou Reed’s lyrics, amongst an orchestrated sea of noise and distortion, set a bar for topical songwriting involving sex, drugs, and violence.
Musical adventure, exploring new sounds, and sharing great music with great people make these discussions a joy.
Join us and see for yourself.
Listen:
(Click the record to listen on your platform of choice)
April 2025: Sam & I bring a few of our favorite side projects to the table
Good morning!
Today Sam Colt and I are each sharing a few of our favorite side projects.
Welcome to the fourth edition of our (not so) new series! For those of you who may have missed previous editions, here’s a bit of context:
In this monthly series, Sam Colt and I will each share our picks for artists and/or titles that haven’t received their due. You’ll recognize Sam’s name from our On Repeat and Friends Best of Series, and also our Top 100 of all-time serieslast fall. These posts will adopt the latter’s format; I will make my case for my three picks and my reaction to Sam’s. Sam’s page will do the reverse.
In the inaugural post, we noted that successive editions would narrow things down slightly. Maybe a specific genre…maybe a specific era…maybe a specific…well, who knows!
This month, we’re each making a case for a few musical side projects.
In the late 80s, R.E.M. were on their way up & Warren Zevon was searching for clear air. The band (sans Michael Stipe) was Zevon’s backing band on 1987’s Sentimental Hygiene, and finished the sessions early. So they did the most logical thing possible- and a side project spurred its own side project: The Hindu Love Gods.
That’s not totally accurate—Zevon and REM had played together before, but now they had a record of mainly covers in the can…where it sat for the next few years. It saw the light of day only after Zevon’s manager used it to sweeten the deal while shopping him around for a new contract.
No one in the R.E.M. camp knew it was coming and were a bit blindsided by it all, but fences were mended, and in short order the record ran its course. From my observer’s perch, the record leaves a couple of lasting legacies. First, it gave the world a fun cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret.” Second, for many people my age (Gen X), this was an on-ramp to Zevon’s work outside of “Werewolves of London.”
Sam’s pick and my take: Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2 – Star Stuff
I had no idea who this was or the parent bands. I’d heard of (Bundick’s stage name) Toro Y Moi, but would be hard pressed to name a single song. The Mattson 2? Absolute blank. Cueing up Star Stuff, my first impression is that it feels like the soundtrack to a good trip. The kind where you just sort of sit there and watch the walls shapeshift. It sounds like an updated version of a blacklight poster. The second track, “A Search,” feels like more of a soulful strut, albeit it one you might do while chasing your spirit animal across the Mojave, with the gentle oohs and ahhs helping fill in the blanks.
One of the things I love about side projects is when you can almost taste how unfinished they are; when it sounds like people met up simply for the sake of doing so, bouncing ideas off of one another, and seeing where the session takes ’em. No GPS giving step-by-step directions; everything’s analog. No maps, just a compass. Everything’s improv. To my ear, Star Stuff embodies that.
Electronic-S/T
About 35 years ago, there was a brief—and weird—period in the cultural zeitgeist where we collectively decided we loved us a live-action/animation hybrid. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was a surprise hit, and in its wake came a few, um, less popular movies. Some are best forgotten, some were formulaic, and some, like “A Cool World,” were unlike anything else out at the time. And if you were one of the 35 people in the US who happened to have seen it, you’ll likely know what I’m talking about. You were among the few lucky people to have heard Electronic’s “Disappointed” over the theater speakers.
There is a long tradition of songs from soundtracks outshining the films that they’ve appeared in. Far more people have heard Dan Hartman’s “I Can Dream About You” than remember it’s from the movie “Streets of Fire.”
“When the Night Comes” was a huge hit for Joe Cocker and has had an infinitely longer shelf life than the movie it featured in. Bonus points if you can recall the title.1
This brings us back to A Cool World. The movie might’ve been utterly forgettable (sorry!), but the soundtrack felt purpose-built for a kid like me.
In the late 80s, New Order frontman Bernard Sumner was restless. He had fallen in love with genres like Italo-disco and Acid House, and wanted to pivot the band in that direction. Internal creative conflicts were already threatening to rend the band asunder (those would all come in due time), and Sumner decided that maybe channeling all of this into a solo record might be the move…until he learned that he hated working alone…
Meanwhile, The Smiths’ Johnny Marr was in the middle of his own battles. His band was done, and by many accounts, he wasn’t trailing too far behind. He’d been biding his time as an axe man for hire but was looking for a creative outlet. He leaped when word reached him that Sumner was interested in testing the waters.
Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant heard about the budding project through a Factory Records employee and decided he also wanted in.
The three quickly lined up some studio time and walked out with a newly minted single, “Getting Away With It,” which promptly became something of a hit. Of course, this meant the band had to create a full-length record.
They test drove early versions of a batch of tracks at an infamous live set. That ultimately led to their self-titled debut, two other LPs, and a compilation…and while the debut record is fantastic, “Disappointed” didn’t appear on it (or any of the band’s other original release versions). For a long time, you had to hunt for either the single or a copy of Songs from the Cool World to find it.
The side projects arising from New Order are legion, but all these years later, only Electronic had me riding my bike straight from the theater to Tower Records to try and find one of their LPs.
Sam’s pick and my take: Them Crooked Vultures – S/T
One of Sam’s superpowers is picking a band or record that makes me realize that, despite knowing the name, I’ve never heard a single song by them. The streak continues this month with Them Crooked Vultures. Like Electronic above, this is a side project and supergroup, this time featuring Josh Homme, John Paul Jones, and Dave Grohl. It took about three minutes for me to realize I’d been missing out.
Once in a while, I like a good scuzzy groove and a family-sized serving of riffs, and this record has both for days. Maybe more importantly, it doesn’t sound like anyone’s “home” band. The closest it comes is to Homme’s Queens of the Stone Age, and even that’s a short leap. It truly feels like a detour or side quest.
The Breeders- Pod
In the late 80s and early 90s, it felt like everyone was in at least a couple of bands. The lines between rosters blurred, and it all became a musical version of 6 Degrees of Separation. In many cases, you needed a scorecard to keep track at home. This was certainly the case for smaller bands and/or scenes, so it only made sense to happen at the (relatively) larger next tier.
In 1988, Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donnelly and Pixies’ Kim Deal shared a tour bill, but they also shared ideas in their downtime. Initially, they toyed with making a dance record, but ultimately thought better of it. Due to legal issues, they couldn’t share credit as principal songwriters. Deal took the credit for Pod, thinking that Donnelly would do so for whatever came next. In this case, what came next was a split,2 and Donnelly using those demos for yet another side project, Belly.
Most people are at least marginally familiar with Last Splash’s “Cannonball.” A few people will recognize “Divine Hammer.” But if pressed, I’m not sure many people could recognize “When I Was a Painter,” “Hellbound,” or “Iris.”
Pod is a messier record than the ones that came after it, and therein lies the appeal. Subsequent records have the edges sanded down somewhat, if not all the way. Pod walked so Last Splash could run.
On release, Pod was never going to escape the shadow of Pixies or even Throwing Muses, but it gave both women an outlet to do something different, to take things in a direction their main gigs wouldn’t allow. And really, isn’t that the point of a side project anyway? The Breeders—and Belly—both eventually found their rightful place in the spotlight.
Sam’s pick and my take: The Smile – Cutouts
I have to hand it to Sam; he’s gonna get me to like Radiohead or die trying, even if it means taking an angle like this. If you’ve been here a while, you know my love for the band is lacking. It’s also fair to say Sam is a massive fan. Sounds like the plot of a bad buddy cop film, but after managing to artfully dodge this record during 2024’s AOTY season, really it just means me now sitting down and intentionally trying to see what the fuss is. Short version: It’s not bad, which in this context equates to “pleasantly surprised.” “Zero Sum” even had me moving my chair a little bit. Still not my bag, but I now totally get why so many people loved this record.
That’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these records? Do you own any of them? Share your thoughts in the comments! Rants, raves, and spicy takes are all welcome. And if you have any ideas on future themes, please share those as well! Don’t forget to check out Sam’s thoughts over at This Is a Newsletter!
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded your subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts all help as well! Thank you!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve had in heavy rotation. This week, we’ve got new sounds from Young Gun Silver Fox, Fishbone(!), and more. Also a couple of old faves to balance out the mix.
Now it’s your turn.
What caught your ear this week? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to?
Kevin Sent 
Leave a comment