Travis takes a quick look at 90s alt-metal outfit Helmet and their track "Vaccination" off the 1994 album Betty. With their unique blend of metal and alternative rock, these guys went on to have a huge impact many of the nu-metal and post hardcore acts that followed them. And as showcased in "Vaccination", with their syncopated guitar riffs and unconventional time signatures one could even argue that Helmet flirts with math-rock, or perhaps math-metal? Either way you look at it, Helmet's originality made them stand out the crowd of grunge and alternative that dominated rock radio. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-27-radiohead-amnesiac#sidetrack

No Filler kicks off the new year with another one of our favorite Radiohead albums, Amnesiac. After emerging from his musical existential crisis post OK Computer, Thom Yorke began loosening his grip on creative control and started to reach out to other band members in the songwriting process. The band ended up having over 60 sketches for song ideas and structures, narrowing down & piecing them together to give us both Kid A and Amnesiac within 8 months time. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-27-radiohead-amnesiac

From doom metal to Thai-inspired funk, we each bring 5 of our favorite albums from 2018 to the table and play a song from each. Tracklist: 1. Graham Coxon - Lucifers Behind Me 2. Khruangbin - Evan Finds the Third Room 3. YOB - Ablaze 4. Hayley Heynderickx - The Bug Collector 5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Hanoi 6 6. Echlo - Got Me Drinking 7. Mr. Twin Sister - Echo Arms 8. Courtney Barnett - Hopefulessness 9. Yimino - Cartoon 10. Wand - The Gift For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/favorite-albums-of-2018

We take a look at R.E.M. guitar player Peter Buck's side project The Minus 5, headed by Scott McCaughey of the Seattle-based The Young Fresh Fellows. The Traveling Wilburys also sneak into this episode as Quentin was shocked and dismayed that Travis had never heard of them before, arguably the most "super" of super groups to ever assemble. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/music-review-rem-lifes-rich-pageant#sidetrack

If you were to plot R.E.M's path from underground buzz to household name, their fourth studio album Lifes Rich Pageant was the turning point. Coming out of a miserable recording experience in London with Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985, the band heads back to the states and are determined to inject some energy and creativity back into their music. The result is the loud, invigorating, and often spontaneous fourth album. R.E.M. did a lot of interesting things on this album, utilizing banjos, organs, and pianos, all while maintaining both the edge and the softness of their brand of alt rock that would soon propel Michael Stipe and co. to mainstream mega-stardom. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/music-review-rem-lifes-rich-pageant

Fresh off the heels of our Kid A episode from last week, we take a look at the music of Richard D. James, better known as Aphex Twin, one of the artists responsible for pulling Thom Yorke out of his musical funk. Aphex Twin, along with countless other artists under the Warp record label umbrella, breathed in new life to electronic music, with a long lasting influence on the ambient, IDM, & downtempo genres. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-24-radiohead-kid-a#sidetrack

Radiohead-A-Palooza? Yeah, we'll go with that. And for our second installment we dive into their 2000 release, "​Kid A​". After a bought of epic writer's block and a deep depression, Thom Yorke emerges with a newfound love for all things rhythm and electronica. The rest of the gang follows suit, and after 3 years of writing and a full year of recording, "​Kid A"​ is born, and in a way, so is Radiohead. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-24-radiohead-kid-a

​On this week's Sidetrack we give a listen to Talking Heads' frontman David Byrne & indie rock darling St. Vincent's 2012 collaboration ​Love This Giant​. An album three years in the making, and with help from 46 additional musicians, this art pop gem, spanning generations of musical badass-ness, is just one of those special moments in the new wave zeitgeist. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/music-review-talking-heads-77#sidetrack

We take a look at the Talking Heads debut album Talking Heads: 77. Opening for The Ramones in 1975 at CBGBs, the Talking Heads came straight out of the New York punk scene with a sound that needed a new classification, quickly pioneering the term "new wave" with their mix of punk, art rock, and funk. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/music-review-talking-heads-77

The Self Brothers are recording on Halloween night and to help get into the spirit we dive into the music of Suspiria, the 1977 French horror film that just got a 2018 reboot featuring an original score by none other than Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke. We also listen to the original film's "theme song" by the italian prog rock group Goblin. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/album-review-radiohead-ok-computer#sidetrack

We begin our deep dive into Radiohead with a look at their third studio album OK Computer. Coming off a successful debut and sophomore release and extensive touring, the label gives Radiohead full control over the making of OK Computer, even down to the choice of studio and producer. The result sees Radiohead take a definitive shift in their creativity and level of experimentation, setting the tone and pace for every Radiohead record from then on out. We take a brief look at how Thom Yorke starts to flex his vocal muscles on this record, and how the other band members step out of the shadows and start to shine as individual contributors to the unmistakable sound that we've come to identify as distinctly Radiohead. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/album-review-radiohead-ok-computer

On this week's Sidetrack we listen to 70's post-punk band The Fall's "I Am Damo Suzuki". The Fall's members are all big fans of CAN, and this song pulls riffs and drumbeats from the Gods of Krautrock, and includes lyrics loosely based around the life and times of one of CAN's most influential frontmen Damo Suzuki.​ For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-21-can-tago-mago#sidetrack

The Prodigal Twin returns to nerd out with Quentin over ​​Tago Mago,​ the third studio album from experimental krautrock band CAN. Damo Suzuki, with his eerie whispers and his nasty shrieks, steps in as lead vocalist after years of busking in the streets of Munich, and CAN feels fully realized and complete...The Gods of Krautrock are born. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-21-can-tago-mago

While Travis is out of town, I threw up a quick little sidetrack episode on a song I heard while thrifting in Austin, Texas last week. Jacqueline Taïeb was one of many successful singer/songwriters of the 1960's Yé-yé pop music movement out of Southern Europe. Check out the english vocal version of her 1967 single "7 Heures Du Matin".

While Travis is out of town and super busy, we decided to upload a previously un-aired episode from the early days. We recorded an episode on Kings of Convenience's first studio album, "Quiet Is The New Loud" around a year ago and ended up airing an entirely different episode on their second full length, "Riot On An Empty Street" for episode 7. This is one of the first episodes ever recorded for the podcast, in the early days shortly after coming up with the idea. Hope You Enjoy it!!

On this week's Sidetrack we dive into the sampled Polish jazz tunes of Poland's own Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudło, known collectively as Skalpel. These guys are masters of their craft and create beautifully dark & moody, cinematic nu-jazz, sampling only from old Polish jazz records from the 60s and 70s. We listen to a couple of these old records, along with two songs of Skalpel's from their 2004 self-titled and 2005's "Konfusion". For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/album-review-amon-tobin-bricolage#sidetrack

We explore the jazz, hip-hop, and jungle-infused sounds on Amon Tobin's debut album, Bricolage. With this album, unlike most trip hop albums from the nineties, Tobin perfectly blends old jazz samples with a drum and bass backbone, and an IDM sensibility. Dark, moody, and effortlessly cool, this record stands out as a true gem in the field of trip hop. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/album-review-amon-tobin-bricolage

Fresh off the heels of our Animal Collective episode, we keep things weird for this week's Sidetrack with a look at Black Dice's "Tree Tops" and "Skeleton" from their 2004 release "Creature Comforts". We really tried to understand and enjoy the noisiness of these noise tracks, but the lack of song structures and melodies just left us scratching our heads. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/album-review-animal-collective-sung-tongs#sidetrack

We explore the experimental and unconventional sounds of Animal Collective with a look at their 2004 album Sung Tongs. Avey Tare and Panda Bear's unique use of harmonies and repetition on this album are what make it such a compelling experimental record. This album ultimately proves to be the blueprint and stepping stone for the sounds and techniques heard on their 2009 album Merriweather Post Pavillion, their most well-received and commercially successful release to date. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/album-review-animal-collective-sung-tongs

​In this week's Sidetrack we take a look at an album that Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold drew inspiration from and had on heavy rotation while writing songs for ​"Helplessness Blues". Roy Harper's four song masterpiece, "Stormcock", is this short and sweet, intensely beautiful & clever album (to borrow sentiments from Johnny Marr), along with other works by Harper, had a major influence on many of rock's most legendary members, including Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Pete Townshend, and Pink Floyd, among others. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-18-fleet-foxes#sidetrack

​We gush and fawn over Robin Pecknold's lyrics and song composition as we dive into Fleet Foxes' second album Helplessness Blues​. We also take a look at what makes Fleet Foxes stand out in the landscape of indie-folk from that era. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-18-fleet-foxes

Travis offers a quick peak at the pivotal stoner metal band Sleep, and plays a track off their brand new album ​The Sciences​ called "Marijuanaut's Theme". For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/music-review-black-sabbath#sidetrack

In this episode we explore Black Sabbath's first three albums, and briefly touch on one of rock's most pivotal years, 1969. And much like our very first episode on Alice in Chains, we get to the bottom of Quentin's dislike for metal. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/music-review-black-sabbath

To top off our SpoonFest we decided to dive into the soundtrack for "Stranger Than Fiction" for our Sidetrack this week, which just happens to be chock-full Britt Daniel & Spoon. Music supervisor/composer Brian Reitzell collaborates heavily with Britt Daniel for this soundtrack, and Daniel offers up four Spoon tracks for the film, including "The Book I Write", which is an exclusive track for the movie. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-16-spoon-gimme-fiction#sidetrack

We finish up our SpoonFest with a look at Spoon fully realized in their 2005 release ​"Gimme Fiction"​.​ With the addition of keyboardist Eric Harvey alongside Britt Daniel's increasing comfortability behind those ivory keys, ​"Gimme Fiction"​ brings the piano to the forefront in several songs, yet still finds time to squeeze in those slightly strange & beautiful, electronic-heavy tunes that Spoon does so well. For more info, check out our show notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-16-spoon-gimme-fiction