You, Me and An Album

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On this episode, The Builders and The Butchers frontman Ryan Sollee joins Al to introduce him to No Knife’s 1999 album Fire in the City of Automatons. Ryan shares why he chose to talk about this No Knife album for this episode, and he explains what is special to him about this band and this album. He delves into his favorite tracks from Fire in the City of Automatons and talks about the rare encounter he had with another No Knife “mega-fan.” Ryan also talks about the new Builders and The Butchers album, No Tomorrow, the band’s recent performances with the Portland Cello Project and the band’s new board game.

Note: The clip of No Knife performing “Minus One” at The Casbah in San Diego in 2009 comes from the YouTube account for Mvideojukebox.

Ryan talked about The Builders and The Butchers’ Patreon on this episode. You can check it out and join at https://www.patreon.com/TheBuildersandtheButchers. He also mentioned the band’s Bandcamp page. Find their music there at https://thebuildersandthebutchers.bandcamp.com/.

You can also learn more about The Builders and The Butchers at the following places:
https://www.thebuildersandthebutchers.com/
@thebuildersandthebutchers on Instagram and Facebook

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.
Though Al mentioned that he has put a pause on publishing new Bonus Tracks episodes, you can listen to the past ones at the You, Me and An Album Patreon for $1/month. Just go to https://www.patreon.com/youmealbum.
1:13 Ryan’s introduction
1:48 Ryan explains why he chose Fire in the City of Automatons and cites some of his other favorite albums
3:51 Ryan revisits his introduction to No Knife, and Al shares his reaction to first hearing them
6:10 Ryan explains what he thinks sets No Knife apart from other emo-adjacent bands
8:51 Ryan shares what he liked about Fire in the City of Automatons right from the first listen
10:30 Al and Ryan really like No Knife’s vocals
11:49 Ryan and Al talk about the No Knife-Mission of Burma connection
14:34 Ryan discusses his favorite tracks from the album
16:55 Al was impressed by the album’s sonic variety
18:41 Ryan found another No Knife superfan while he was on tour
20:03 Ryan and Al try to understand why No Knife didn’t build a larger following
25:18 Ryan recommends another No Knife album
26:09 Ryan gives No Knife’s bassist (Brian Desjean) his props
27:52 Are there connections between No Knife and The Builders and The Butchers?
30:10 Ryan talks about No Tomorrow’s closing track, “A Wall/A Fire”
36:05 Ryan discusses The Builders and The Butchers’ album release shows with the Portland Cello Project
38:37 Ryan talks about the new Builders and The Butchers board game
40:21 Ryan explains how the band commemorated their 20th anniversary
41:28 Ryan discusses how The Builders and The Butchers keep in touch with their fans outside of social media

Outro music is from “Mother Mary” by The Builders and The Butchers.
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L.A.-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer James Petralli of White Denim joins Al for this episode to introduce him to Stevie Wonder’s 1972 album Music of My Mind. James talks about the album’s “value system,” and why it appealed to him so much when he first started listening to the record. He also discusses the ways in which Music of My Mind was a departure from Wonder’s previous work and how it foreshadowed his run of critically- and commercially-successful albums in the ‘70s. James talks about White Denim’s new album 13 and explains how the band’s songwriting process works.

You can follow James and White Denim in all of the following places:
Instagram and Facebook: @whitedenimmusic
YouTube: @whitedenim
https://whitedenimmusic.com/
whitedenim.substack.com

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.
1:20 James’ introduction
2:00 There will be a second episode where Music of My Mind will be discussed
2:44 James explains why he likes the “value system” of Music of My Mind
5:38 James and Al talk about how Music of My Mind was a pivotal album for Wonder
6:48 James recalls his initial experiences with the album
8:53 James appreciates the album’s combination of virtuosity and emotional feel
10:23 Al shares what he learned about Bernard Purdie’s involvement with the album, and why he doesn’t appear on it
12:16 James talks about some of the album’s great imperfect moments
15:59 James discusses similarities he hears with other artists’ work (and a disclaimer)
20:13 James explains why Music of My Mind is nostalgic for him
23:30 The songs on Music of My Mind were a precursor to Wonder's future hits
26:04 James recommends one of Wonder’s albums from the ‘80s
30:28 James talks about White Denim’s songwriting process

Outro music is from "(God Created) Lock and Key" by White Denim.
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On this episode, singer/songwriter/guitarist/economist Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly, Swansea Sound, Catenary Wires, Talulah Gosh) introduces Al to Girls at Our Best’s 1981 album Pleasure. Amelia revisits her teenage fandom of Girls at Our Best!, and she explains why they were—and continue to be—one of her favorite bands. She also talks about how their songwriting style has influenced her approach to writing songs and how that is reflected in Heavenly’s work. Amelia discusses several of the songs on Heavenly’s new album, Highway to Heavenly, and talks about how the recent virality of their 1993 song “P.U.N.K. Girl” contributed to the band’s reuniting. Finally, Amelia explains how balancing her careers as a musician and economist can sometimes be challenging.
You can keep up with Amelia, Heavenly and her Skep Wax label in the following places:

Instagram @ameliafletcher56, @heavenlyindie, @skepwax
Facebook @amelia.fletcher.980, @HeavenlyGroupOfficial
Tiktok @heavenlyindie
https://www.skepwax.com/

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.
1:25 Amelia’s introduction
2:30 Amelia explains why she chose Pleasure for this episode
3:57 Amelia recalls how she first got into Girls at Our Best!
8:12 Amelia was not fooled by the band’s name
9:02 Amelia singles out the aspects of the band’s music that initially appealed to her
12:26 Amelia and Al share their observations about the album’s lyrics
17:26 Girls at Our Best! were influential to the sound of Heavenly
18:16 What ever happened to Girls at Our Best!?
23:00 Amelia likes other bands from the Leeds scene
25:29 Amelia and Al talk about their favorite tracks from Pleasure
30:48 Al noticed the connection between the songwriting style on Pleasure and on Highway to Heavenly
32:03 Is “Portland Town” based on Amelia’s experience?
34:20 Amelia talks about the real-life events she wrote about in “The Last Day”
38:11 The songs on Highway to Heavenly cover a wide range of moods
40:18 Amelia discusses Heavenly’s tour plans
41:30 Amelia explains why Heavenly decided to return to touring and recording
45:10 Amelia talks about her dual careers in music and economics

Outro music is from “Deflicted” by Heavenly.
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Austin-based producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and educator Matt Smith joins Al for the second part of their conversation. (You can hear the first part, in which they discuss Robert Plant’s Mighty ReArranger, on the previous episode.) This time around, Matt talks about the features of music that he enjoys listening to, his approach as a music producer and what he aimed to achieve as a songwriter on his latest album …this is not okay…

Learn more about Matt and his work at https://www.mattsmithsworld.net/.
You can also get information on Matt’s studio and music school, Six String Ranch, in the following places.
Website: https://6stringranch.com/
Facebook: @6stringranch
YouTube: @6stringranch148
Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.
1:00 Matt shares what he looks for in the music he listens to
3:44 Matt talks about his approach to producing music at his studio
9:57 Matt explains how the focus of his songwriting has changed over time
13:18 Matt talks about how his last three albums reflect his feelings about the political climate over the last decade
23:28 Matt also wrote about the loss of his parents on …this is not okay…
29:52 Matt explains why he consciously tempered the angry tone of the album
33:46 Matt talks about his various educational forums

Outro music is from “Bad Man” by Matt Smith.
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Austin-based producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and educator Matt Smith joins Al to talk about Robert Plant’s 2005 album, Mighty ReArranger. Matt discusses why he chose this album for his short list of albums to talk about, and Al explains why he picked Mighty ReArranger from the albums on Matt’s list. Matt talks about the elements that make this album a high point in Plant’s solo discography and the role that members of Portishead played in making the album.

Learn more about Matt and his work at https://www.mattsmithsworld.net/.
You can also get information on Matt’s studio and music school, Six String Ranch, in the following places.
Website: https://6stringranch.com/
Facebook: @6stringranch
YouTube: @6stringranch148

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.
2:35 Matt’s introduction
4:09 Matt and Al talk about how they arrived at deciding to talk about Mighty ReArranger
10:26 Matt explains how Plant incorporated elements of world music into the songs on the album
14:13 Matt makes note of the parts of the album that harken back to Led Zeppelin
18:36 Matt and Al talk about the challenges Plant faced when he began his solo career
23:04 Matt has a theory about why Plant was able to reach new heights as a solo artist on Mighty ReArranger
28:34 Matt discusses how he borrows from music that he admires
33:31 Matt compares the arcs of Plant’s and Jimmy Page’s solo careers
35:02 Matt breaks down various sections of “The Enchanter”
39:31 Matt talks about “Freedom Fries” and the counting trick he learned from Trey Anastasio
42:25 Matt discusses the origins of the guitar pattern and rhythm on “Mighty ReArranger”
46:51 Matt talks about the lengths to which he geeks out on musical analysis

Outro music is from “World Is a Wheel” by Matt Smith.
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