Unsung Podcast

by Unsung Podcast

Episode 253 - Dangerous Days by Perturbator

Let's get properly nerdy. This week, we're talking about his third album Dangerous Days and in this bumper episode we don't only talk about his the dark, sugar rush of his music, but we also talk about the history of synthwave, his place in cybergoth and cyberpunk culture, video games and much more. For the uninitiated, Perturbator is an acclaimed French synthwave musician and producer whose works have been featured in video games and films. His whole catalogue of music is marked by dark and futuristic soundscapes, exploring topics such as cybernetics, robotics, and dystopian societies. Dangerous Days, released in 2014, is Perturbator's third full-length album, and it continues in the vein of his earlier works. The album is a journey into the darkest corners of cyberpunk, cybergoth and synthwave music. In what can only be described as a relentless barrage of power synths, augmented with the occasional vocal track, highlights include “Death Squad” and “Dangerous Days” feature huge, booming synths and relentless drums that evoke a sense of urgency and danger. Other tracks, such as “Future Club” and “Hard Wired”, are more mellow and atmospheric, creating moods that are perfect for a night of cyberpunk partying. Synthwave itself is something of a niche subculture, and Perturbator's fame is (by his own admission) built upon being included in various game soundtracks, most notably the Hotline Miami series. In this episode we chat about his influence, some of his contemporaries and of course, give his entire catalogue the once over. Come with us on a journey to explore the depths of cyberpunk and synthwave culture.

Episode 252 - Sound is a Pound #7

We’re really starting to think that a pound just isn’t very sound at all any more… This week we thought it’d be good to bring back your favourite Poundland £1 album review show. Except, Poundland doesn’t sell CDs anymore (probably a good thing), which means we had to start looking at other places to buy CDs for £1. Which meant going to charity shops and to be honest, that sits just fine with us. We roped Vicki into the latest edition, and instead of releasing it to our subs we thought we’d show people who aren’t subs just exactly what they’re missing by putting this episode on general release. So what do we have in our £1 album bucket this week? Well folks, it’s Deacon Blue, Ed Sheeran and Miss Dynamite. Not sure what else we can say. This went about as well as you’d expect - torturously so. Just…just go with it.

Episode 251 - Lullabies to Paralyze by Queens of the Stone Age

With the history of the band now firmly out of the way, we take this week to dive deep into the band’s entire back catalogue. With Chris and Vicki being avowed fans of the majority of the band’s work, we go on a windy, tangent filled journey through each of their albums, talking about the best tunes, the worst tunes and more. Then the main course: a thorough run down of the band’s fourth album, Lullabies to Paralyze. Coming After Songs for the Deaf, it was always going to be a tall order to follow that record. Not so much sonically - indeed, the band go in a whole new direction with this one - but in critical and commercial acclaim. There is no Dave Grohl. There is no Nick Oliveri. What there is, though, is a line up that would continue, albeit with augmentation, for the next few years and into Era Vulgaris. In fan and critics lists, this album often comes out right in the middle of their rankings. Chris thinks it’s about time you thought about it differently. Is it an unsung classic?

Episode 250 - The History of Queens of the Stone Age

Wow, 250 episodes. That’s crazy. It’s definitely more than that, but as actual episodes go, it’s rather a lot. Especially when you realise that most podcast don’t even make it to 8 episodes… As is our new year tradition, after our regular Christmas shenanigans tanked our numbers (it’s by the fans for the fans, after all) we always come back BIG and this year we’re going to be discussing Queens of the Stone Age’s fourth album Lullabies to Paralyse. But before we get into that, and the band’s entire discography, it’s only fair that we give this band’s history a good once over. So on this week’s episode we talk about the band, its many members, Josh Homme himself, his biography, the controversies and just about everything in between as we attempt to give a good overview of the history of the Queens of the Stone Age.

Episode 249 - The 2022 Xmas Xtravaganza (Side C)

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS! For those of you not based here in lovely Scotland, aside from having the 1st of January as a holiday we also get the 2nd, so today is another holiday for us. Which is great if you happen to work for an employer that recognises it. We digress. The wheels start to come off in this episode in quite a fun way, which is why it’s MASSIVE. In this episode we discuss the awfulness of folk metal, Baywatch, Weaver's grammar, nasty Japanese porn comics, Transformers and of course Sir David Attenborough. We also talk about our favourite albums of 2022. Next week we have something quite special (hopefully!) stay tuned…

Episode 248 - The 2022 Xmas Xtravaganza (Side B)

Merry Christmas folks! Or Merry Boxing Day, I guess. We hope all of you had a wonderful time no matter what you did or who you spent it with. Part two of our Xmas special is a remarkably civilised affair, which you may be shocked to hear, given how these things usually tend to go. Some spicy takes are of course had, and there is mercifully little chat about Jones and Kushner this week, but there are some very cool questions and some cool guest answers too. We’re away to tend to the Xmas leftovers and continue to drink our body weight in booze. Have a good week and enjoy the gootch end of the year. Or barse. Or whatever.

Episode 247 - The 2022 Xmas Xtravaganza (Side A)

As regulars will know, our Xmas Xtravanganza is when all us have a few half lager shandies and answer questions that you have sent us. This year we had a whopping 35 to get thorough which meant things had to go in a much more orderly fashion than they usually would. Like last year, we’re joined by Weaver and Vicki and a number of VERY SPECIAL GUESTS answered some select questions too. Keep an ear out for them - some subs will be thrilled with who’s answered their questions. In part one we start to get warmed up, and there are a couple of SPICY hot takes right out of the gate. This is our last episode before Christmas so have a great one with your loved ones, folks. We’ll see you on Boxing Day for part two!

Episode 246 - 5th Birthday Special: Kiss vs Motley Crue (Side B)

We did it, folks. We made it to 5 years. We are now, as of the publishing of this episode, 5. We’re just starting primary school. Our minds are open and receptive to new ideas, new experiences, new cultures… If only that were true. This week we conclude our Kiss vs Motley Crue two parter in banterful fashion, addressing topics like who’s the biggest arsehole in those two bands? What notorious (and notoriously awful) shit did they do? What is their legacy? And we do answer these questions. Mark also tells us which of the bands is “objectively” better by tallying up all the points scored and deducted in his frustratingly oblique point-scoring spreadsheet. Which, by the way, before you ask, you absolutely cannot see. Thanks. These episodes are perhaps some of the most fun we’ve had doing this show in a while (without booze) and y’know, we’re a bit sad it’s over. It felt like old times. Like when we were young and fit and in our prime. After we did these episodes we only kept discovering other mental shit about the bands. Like Eric Carr’s solo project featured Bruce Kulick on guitar and John fucking Corabi on vocals. Or that Eric Carr actually played in Lita Ford’s band, which is just another reason why these two bands are tied together. Who’s really the winner here though? Do you agree with our decision? What facts are you utterly aghast at the fact we missed? Because let us tell you, there’s a lot. A whole lot. Another two parter’s worth, we suspect. Perhaps we’ll revisit this for our tenth birthday…

Episode 245 - 5th Birthday Special: Kiss vs Motley Crue (Side A)

Whilst our fifth birthday is the 15th of December this (absolutely ridiculous) birthday episode turned into a two parter so we’re dropping part one a week early. The topic for this episode is a call back to an old joke that Mark made way back in February 2018 when we interviewed the wonderful Jonah Matranga. In an attempt at “banter”, he said that Motley Crue were better than Kiss. The reality is of course that Mark has no strong feelings on this, but Chris had VERY strong feelings about it and has brought it up a whole bunch ever since. So in an effort to get to the bottom of this absurd question, we asked Dave to come back and defend Motley Crue whilst Chris defends Kiss. Mark has made a spreadsheet in order to try and make it somewhat objective. The result is, of course, hilarious. In part one we talk about their discography and legacy, amongst a bunch of other topics.

Episode 244 - Muse: The Supermassive Selection Covermount

This week we decided it was time to dive into our bag of doom and do another covermount because we’ve somewhat indefinitely postponed our episode on The Gaslight Anthem. So, Crag joins us as we take a dive into this very hip (by 2007 standards) collection of indie, nu-rave and electronica from the 13th June 2007 edition of the NME. Apparently Muse curated this themselves, which is definitely up for debate because there are a fair few bands on this collection that were “cool” and all over the indie press in 2007. Nevertheless, there are a couple of totally bonkers inclusions (Lord Buckley? Lightning Bolt?!) and even an exclusive Muse song…that sounds like it was recorded in the back of a tour bus (cause it was). With this episode we’re now officially entering silly season. Over the course of the next month we’ll be celebrating our 5th birthday and doing the usual Xmas Specials. The birthday episode is a ton of fun, and sees the return of a very much in demand familiar face. Until then though, suffer with us through this Muse “curated” covermount CD.

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