On this week's Sidetrack we buckle up and head to Sky Valley with Josh Homme (HOM-ee) and his band Kyuss, the desert rock gods of the early 90s. The band garnered a cult following by the early 1990s, often driving for hours to isolated locations in the desert and plugging into generators to perform. These events, known as "generator parties", became urban legend among rock subculture. Episode Tracklist 1. Green Machine 2. Demon Cleaner 3. Hurricane 4. SASAMI - Morning Comes 5. DIIV - Blankenship Check out more great music podcasts on Pantheon: www.pantheonpodcasts.com

On this jam-packed episode, we worship at the alter of desert deity Josh Homme with our deep dive into Queens of the Stone Age and their 2002 release Songs For The Deaf. In a year with such a wide spectrum for rock music (from Papa Roach to The White Stripes, and Avril Lavigne to Wilco), Songs For The Deaf reminded us that rock can still be heavy, while simultaneously providing some of the catchiest hooks in recent memory. You'll hear clips from the recording sessions, interviews with Homme that dive into his unique guitar sound, and a conversation with producer Eric Valentine that delves deep into the mics and pedals that were used to achieve the guitar sound on the record. There's a lot to cover on this episode, so strap in and crank up the volume as we drive into the desert with Queens of the Stone Age. Episode Tracklist 1. Song For The Dead 2. The Sky Is Fallin' 3. Six Shooter 4. Do It Again 5. Song For The Deaf 6. Hanging Tree Check out more great music podcasts on Pantheon: www.pantheonpodcasts.com

On this week's sidetrack episode, we listen to another track from early prog rockers The Nice. Although short-lived, the group's fusion of rock, jazz, classical music was a key influence of the progressive rock movement throughout the 70s. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

On this week's episode we finally shake ourselves out of the shoegaze daze and pay homage to one of the greatest rock records of all time: 1971's Fragile by progressive rock pioneers, Yes. Before we dive in, we explore two groups that laid the groundwork for the genre and proved to the music world that rock and roll had a lot more to say beyond the 12 bar love song, Days of Future Past by The Moody Blues and The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack by The Nice. This is a music-heavy episode, with lots of clips from the record that you may have missed if you only tuned in for the singles. Let's take a listen and hear what made Fragile such an iconic record, with its complex melodies and arrangements that only a group like Yes could deliver. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

On this week's episode, we listen to a few tracks from our favorite shoegazey dream pop act out of Seattle, Cock & Swan. Johnny Goss and Ola Hungerford have a knack for creating these wonderfully dark & dazey, lusciously lo-fi tunes, often with jerky, slightly odd rhythms.

On this week's episode, we take a deep dive into shoegaze and the album that laid the foundation for the genre: My Bloody Valentine's 1991 album "Loveless". Loveless oozes a sonic balm that first embraces and then softly pulverizes the frantic stress of life;  a challenging storm of bent pitch, undulating volume and fractured tempos. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

On this week's Sidetrack we take a quick look at the shoegazing dream pop outfit Slowdive. As one of the early pioneers of the genre, Slowdive's melancholy, druggy & spaced-out ​vibes sound just as fresh and modern today as it did in the early 90s. No Filler is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

​On this week's episode, we take a look at the emergence of chillwave and the role of those dime-a-dozen music blogs of the early 2000s in helping launch this short-lived & blissed-out, shoe-gaze dance genre. Our main dig is on the DIY home recordings of Ernest Greene Hemingway Jr., aka Washed Out, who, along with Toro Y Moi and Neon Indian, were the three main influencers of the chillwave sound. We give a listen to songs from his first three releases spanning from 2009 to 2011.

On this week's Sidetrack we listen to a handful of tracks from Mr. Twin Sister's Eric Cardona. Unlike the band's jazz and disco-tinged pop tunes​, Cardona's solo work is much more personal, often acoustic-heavy, and intimate. We fade out the episode with "3AMFM", Cardona's take on Mr. Twin Sister's "Alien FM".

​We make the case in this episode that Mr. Twin Sister is one of the most talented acts to come out of the last decade, with a look at their 2014 self-titled 3rd album. Having gone through some rough patches as a band in the previous year (parting ways with Domino Records, lead vocalist Andrea Estella's MS diagnosis, and the entire group surviving a harrowing car crash while touring in Florida), Mr. Twin Sister emerges on the other end with a renewed energy and a fresh sound to go along with their slightly altered name (they used to go by simply Twin Sister, and were one of the many dream pop buzz bands of 2010). Effortlessly and expertly blending jazz, disco, and house electronic with a distinctly 70s and 80s vibe, this record is a true hidden gem for music lovers who want to hear something unique and refreshing.​

On this week's Sidetrack we take a quick peak at 1970's Zambia and the emergence of its Africa-tinged rock n' roll scene, affectionately named "Zamrock". We dive into the circumstances leading up to its creation, and play some tunes from three of our favorite acts out of Zambia.

From bedroom side project to headlining Coachella, Kevin Parker's blend of psychedelic, space rock, and jangly Brit pop has made Tame Impala one of the most unique and highly sought-after acts to emerge out of rock music in the last decade. With Lennon-esque vocals and phase-fuzz heavy melodies, Tame Impala is arguably the most notable acts of the psychedelic resurgence of the early 10s, and as his music continues to evolve and crossover into the mainstream, Tame Impala is always taking the genre to new places and new audiences. In this episode, we explore the origins of Kevin Parker in the Perth music scene and we listen to the music of his debut album Innerspeaker.

A young 20-something James Taylor moves to London in hopes of starting a career in music and somehow manages to get himself an audition to play a few of his demo songs for none other than Paul McCartney & George Harrison at Apple Records. Hear the rest of the story on this week's Sidetrack.

Yeah, we know....it's been a hot minute. But we are back in the swing of things and decided to bring along one of our dearest friends for this one: singer-songwriter Larry Llodra, hailing from Austin TX, to talk with us about one of the most under-appreciated folk artists of the last half century, Nick Drake. In the span of just three years, Nick Drake gave us three incredibly beautiful folk-pop records that are nothing short of masterpieces, each one bringing us just a little bit closer to the man himself. Just two years after his extremely vulnerable, poetic & raw third studio album "Pink Moon" was released to the masses, he succumbed to his own overwhelmingly troubled & isolated mind, overdosing on prescription pain medication at the age of 26. Join us as we dive into his second studio album, "Bryter Layter".

CBGB...Late 1970s...The birthplace of punk rock in New York City. Television was all up in it...at the ground floor. Join us as we dive into their debut full-length album "Marquee Moon" from 1977. Alongside Blondie and The Ramones, Television was lumped into the punk rock category, and for good reason...but their jazz-improve guitar stylings and sporadic vocals placed them on the other side of that punk rock coin.

Following our Strokes episode last week, we take a look at Balkans, a short-lived act from Atlanta that garnered obscure success with their self-titled debut in 2011. With the rock landscape already having moved past the post-punk revival of the early 2000s, Balkans proved that there was still some juice left in the lo-fi garage sound of their predecessors while still bringing something fresh to the table with an album that changes tempo nearly as often as it changes tracks. Singer-guitar player Frankie Broyles' off-key and monotone vocals pays perfect homage to Casablancas atop often relentless percussion and angular punk guitar riffs. An excellent album for those longing for a fresh take on the post-punk 2000s, Balkans proved that the next generation of rockers were paying attention and gave hope that perhaps the movement wasn't completely troubled and done.

​The boys are back together in different time zones to cover one of their favorite bands and albums of all time, The Strokes debut album from 2001, ​"Is This It".​ One of many noteworthy bands to emerge out of NYC during the post-punk, garage rock revival of the early 2000s, The Strokes gave us one of the genres' best efforts from that time. With both croonish and harsh vocals, simple, yet succinct bass lines & drum beats, and guitar solos to boot, "​Is This It​" truly is one of rock n' rolls' last hurrahs!

Quentin is flying solo again this week and continuing his journey through the eras and genres leading up to garage rock. A main influencer on rock as we know it today emerged in the 1960s alongside psychedelia & The British Invasion: Surf Rock. With fuzzy distortion, twangy reverb, & Middle Eastern tinged picking, guitarists Dick Dale, Link Wray, & Duane Eddy found mainstream success in their instrumental surf rock, and had an everlasting impact on rock n' roll.

Travis is in and out of town again for the next couple weeks, so I am all by my lonesome and we are postponing our episode on The Strokes AGAIN! Sad times. But in the meantime I'm diving into all the genres and eras leading up to the garage rock revival of the 2000s. A Wiki rabbit hole led me to these saucy boys from the late 70s: the Neo-psychedelic, post-punk group The Soft Boys. Their debut album A Can Of Bees is so goddamn good, full of killer hooks, bluesy riffs, and danceable drum beats.

On this week's Sidetrack we take another peak at the term ​"yé-yé​", a specific style of French pop music popularized in the 60's that continues to influence groups to this day, with its twangy surf guitar & upbeat bubblegum pop melodies. A favorite of ours that stands out in this style is a group that goes by Juniore, who have been perfecting that 60's retro French pop sound since 2013.

​After a month of headbanging and raging with Korn and Static X, we take a breather and relax with the loungy, space rock synth vibes of Air's 2004 release ​Talkie Walkie​. The French duo somehow manage to cultivate a sound that is both retro & futuristic, with the use of vintage synth keys, guitar pedals, and vocoders. ​​With help from Nigel Godrich (see also: Radiohead, Beck) Talkie Walkie ​is a wonderfully warm & intimate, "elegantly moody soundtrack for imaginary films".

On this week's Sidetrack we take a quick peak at Static X, one of the many bands that "followed the leader" Korn in the Nu Metal movement of the late 90s. Static X brought their own taste to the mix, dropping in some solid "four on the floor" dance beats and more repetitive hooks, leaning heavily into the industrial metal category. We also listen to a song from the movie "Queen Of The Damned", performed by Wayne Static, but written by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis​.

We take a deep dive into Korn, the pioneers that took metal into new directions with their unique blend of funk, hip hop, and thrash. Nu-metal took off with a slew of imitators and fast-followers, but Korn's lead singer Jonathan Davis and the rest of his bandmates always stayed one step ahead of the sound they created, pushing the envelope and finding new ways to evolve the genre. What really made Korn so different than their successors was Davis' truly unique vocal performances, ranging from unfiltered emotional outbursts to spazzy scat freakouts and everything in between. Here's our look at Korn's first four amazing records.

​On this week's episode, we take our first dive into hip hop, and listen to possibly its most influential album, "The Low End Theory"​. A Tribe Called Quest emerges from the Native Tongues in the early 90s, bringing with them positive-minded, Afrocentric lyrics and eclectic, unique, & jazz-influenced beats. We also take a quick peak at the golden age of hip hop, focusing on New York's hip hop community in the mid to late 80s and early 90s, leading up to the rise of A Tribe Called Quest.​

​On this week's Sidetrack we finish up our Radiohead stint with "Bangers and Mash", a B-side from ​In Rainbows Disk 2​. Borrowing From The Basement once more, we listen to audio from that recording and geek out over Thom Yorke singing and drumming alongside Philip Selway. Check out the video From The Basement in our show notes! https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-31-radiohead-in-rainbows#sidetrack