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1001 Album Complaints

1001 Album Complaints

The Chop Unlimited 279 Episodes Sep 14, 2026

Classic albums' full backstories told by musicians who love to nitpick the details, now with over 1 million downloads. The podcast does all the research to help listeners better understand why they love the things they love, while introducing new music and musical ideas. It aims to make listeners sound informed, intelligent, and funny when talking about music, even the records they don't like. The show combines humor with education about music production and history in a weekly format.

Episodes

The Story Behind: Dexy's Midnight Runners - Too Rye Ay, Ep. 277
The Story Behind: Dexy's Midnight Runners - Too Rye Ay, Ep. 277 Sep 14, 2026 01:37:31 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Dexy's Midnight Runners are a British national treasure that Americans think of as the ultimate 1980s One Hit Wonder - they broke every rule of trends, fashion, and instrumentation but landed mulitple hits on the UK charts in the process. Rob, Tom, Marty, and a special guest get togeth
The Story Behind: Peter Tosh - Legalize It, Ep. 276
The Story Behind: Peter Tosh - Legalize It, Ep. 276 Sep 7, 2026 01:25:27 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Peter Tosh helped teach Bob Marley to play guitar but once they split he became the torchbearer of a darker, more authentic version of reggae music. Allan, Tom, and Marty welcome a special guest to discuss wah wah pedals, goats, and the original punk of JamaicaJoin the comment thread N
The Story Behind: Supertramp - Breakfast in America, Ep. 275
The Story Behind: Supertramp - Breakfast in America, Ep. 275 Aug 31, 2026 01:52:20 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  The partnership at the heart of Supertramp was just about to hit a breaking point - then came the mega hit Breakfast in America came out. Tom, Rob, and Adam get together to discuss hard hitting wurlitzers, bouncy bass lines, and reponse vocals recorded on completely different tape mach
The Story Behind: Wire - Pink Flag, Ep. 274
The Story Behind: Wire - Pink Flag, Ep. 274 Aug 24, 2026 01:38:02 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Punk is stale - Wire is here to fix it. Art school aesthetics meets revolution against boring punk rock tropes still just starting to form in London in the late 70s, Wire made a big impression on audiences and may have kicked off their own genre: post-punk. Rob, Allan, and Marty welcom
The Story Behind: John Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee, Ep. 273
The Story Behind: John Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee, Ep. 273 Aug 17, 2026 01:38:31 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  John Mellencamp left his small, changed his name and had a hit in Australia before returning to the American heartland as a conquering hero of working class songcraft. Tom, Rob, and Allan get together to discuss fighting with your fans, treating crew members terribly, and an 80 cigaret
The Story Behind: Stone Temple Pilots - Purple, Ep. 272
The Story Behind: Stone Temple Pilots - Purple, Ep. 272 Aug 10, 2026 01:44:27 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Stone Temple Pilots burst out of the San Diego scene to become both commercially huge and critically panned. Phil, Tom, Marty, and Rob get together to discuss smoky rooms, slash chords, and killer bass playing. Join the comment thread NOW available on our free Patreon to continue
The Story Behind: The Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East, Ep. 271
The Story Behind: The Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East, Ep. 271 Aug 3, 2026 01:55:13 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  The Allman Brothers toured relentlessly for years building a fanbase one show at a time but couldn't translate that energy into record sales until...they made a live album. Rob, Tom, Allan and Phil get together in person to discuss swamp rock, guitar-mony, and bass throbs.Join the comm
The Story Behind: Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman, Ep. 270
The Story Behind: Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman, Ep. 270 Jul 27, 2026 01:45:56 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Cat Stevens was positioned as a pop star and had some monior success before a near-death experience changed his perspective on everything. Tom, Rob, and Allan get together to discuss pick-noise on yoru acoustic guitar take, creating your own album art, and the encouraging words of olde
The Story Behind: Al Green - Let's Stay Together, Ep. 269
The Story Behind: Al Green - Let's Stay Together, Ep. 269 Jul 20, 2026 01:43:14 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Al Green worked the touring circuit for years before developing his signature intimate vocal style and becoming a soul superstar. Then came the hot grits incident. Tom and Rob welcome a special guest to discuss restrained production, a crack rhythm section, and the gospel / soul crosso
The Story Behind: Counting Crows - August and Everything After, Ep. 268
The Story Behind: Counting Crows - August and Everything After, Ep. 268 Jul 13, 2026 01:41:27 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Counting Crows were a Bay Area band that made a demo tape and started a bidding war overnight. Allan, Phil, Marty, and Rob get together to discuss the whiny 90s, white guys with dreadlocks, and making your hit songs unrecognizable in the live show. Join the comment thread NOW avai
The Story Behind: Alice in Chains - Dirt, Ep. 267
The Story Behind: Alice in Chains - Dirt, Ep. 267 Jul 6, 2026 01:53:29 Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Alice in Chains added some much needed heavy metal to the Seattle grunge scene while singer Layne Staley struggled with addiction for most of his too short life. Adam, Tom, and Rob get together to discuss Black Sabbath style doom, ultra-depressing lyrics, and using 4ths to sound like G
Song Battle: 90s One Hit Wonders ROCK - Episode 1
Song Battle: 90s One Hit Wonders ROCK - Episode 1 Jul 2, 2026 00:45:52 Welcome to 1001 Album Complaints: Song Battle - a bonus show where we pick 16 songs on a theme, write mean tweets about each one, tell some backstory, and argue about which song should advance to the next round of our bracket competition. This is episode 1 of 5 - so if you like what you're hearing, head over to:https://www.patreon.com/1001AlbumComplaintsAll 5 episodes are streaming right

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