Life of the Record

For the 35th anniversary of Pixies’ landmark debut album, SURFER ROSA, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Charles Thompson and Joey Santiago bonded as suitemates at the University of Massachusettes Amherst, they decided to form a band. By putting an ad in the Boston Phoenix for “a female vocalist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary,” they connected with Kim Deal, who was the only one to answer their ad. Deal’s husband, John Murphy, introduced them to drummer David Lovering and the Pixies lineup was solidified. As they began playing around Boston, producer Gary Smith offered to record a demo for them at Fort Apache Studios. After Ivo Watts-Russell of the label 4AD heard the tapes, he signed them to a contract and they released some of the demo recordings as an EP called Come On Pilgrim. They turned their attention to recording a full-length album and Watts-Russell suggested a young engineer named Steve Albini. Albini traveled to Boston to meet the band and they began recording the next day at a studio called Q Division. In this episode, guitarist Joey Santiago describes the early connection he shared with Charles Thompson and how SURFER ROSA solidified the band’s sound and was an honest depiction of who they were. David Lovering talks about his approach to simplifying his drumming and why SURFER ROSA remains his personal favorite Pixies album. Engineer, Steve Albini reflects on how this record marked the first time he worked with a band he didn’t know and how he set out to prove his value by making unique suggestions and how that impacted the finished product. From Charles and Kim’s contrasting vocal styles to their trademark loud quiet loud dynamics to the benefits of metal picks and recording in a tiled bathroom to the uniquely dark subject matter of the lyrics to the recorded sounds of the session underway, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 40th anniversary of Violent Femmes’ classic debut album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo first started playing around Milwaukee as a rhythm section, they met a teenage songwriter named Gordon Gano. Despite having limited experience and still just being in high school, Gano had an extraordinary set of good songs that he had already written. Violent Femmes began playing as a trio but weren’t able to get many gigs in town so they started playing acoustically on the street. One day they decided to play for a line of people outside the Oriental Theater who were there to see the Pretenders. James Honeyman-Scott was on a break from soundcheck and became interested in this band playing outside the theater. He convinced the rest of the Pretenders to listen and Chrissie Hynde ended up inviting the Femmes to open for them that night. Though the impromptu gig didn’t lead to other opportunities, it gave them a boost of confidence to continue doing what they were doing. Shake Records became interested in releasing an album so they booked studio time with producer Mark Van Hecke. The label deal fell through but they decided to keep the studio time with the help of a loan from DeLorenzo’s father. The recordings they made ended up on Slash Records’ radar and they eventually released the Violent Femmes debut album as is in 1983. In this episode, Gordon Gano reflects on being a bored and lonely teenager who had a drive to write songs as a way to get out frustration. Brian Ritchie describes his unconventional approach to the acoustic bass guitar that helps give Violent Femmes their signature sound. Victor DeLorenzo offers his perspective on using brushes, a snare drum and his invention called the trancephone in order to have a simple setup that could be moved easily and played on the street. From being booed by thousands of Milwaukeans to punk music played acoustically to embracing the improvisation of Sun Ra to the first album as a mixtape that continues to get passed between generations, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 20th anniversary of Nada Surf’s third album, LET GO, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca formed the band in 1992, they eventually linked up with drummer, Ira Elliot. They spent several years grinding it out in their hometown of New York City where they worked multiple jobs and hustled to get their music heard. During a chance encounter with Ric Ocasek at a show at the Knitting Factory, Matthew Caws gave him a demo tape. A couple weeks later, Ocasek got back in touch with Matthew and offered to record them if they were able to sign to a label. Luckily, Elektra Records offered them a deal soon after and they went on to release their Ocasek-produced debut album, HIGH/LOW in 1996. Due to the unexpected success of the first single, “Popular,” Nada Surf found themselves under a lot of pressure for their follow-up album. THE PROXIMITY EFFECT was released in Europe in 1998 but Elektra got cold feet and decided not to release the album in the U.S. and ended up dropping the band. With no record contract, they found themselves back in New York, working odd jobs and calling in favors for help recording their third album, which ended up becoming LET GO. In this episode, Matthew Caws joins us for an in-depth conversation about this pivotal moment in the band’s history when they went from being a major label success to suddenly being completely independent. Matthew describes how this period of his life was completely music-focused as he worked at a record store and spent all of his time going to shows and writing songs. The low pressure situation that they found themselves in inspired a more diverse group of songs and a more relaxed feel to their recordings than ever before. From sprinting home to remember song ideas to obsessively listening to a Sony Sports Walkman to writing a song in an Amsterdam bathroom to Chris Walla’s mixing skills to gratitude for recorded music, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 35th anniversary of Beat Happening’s second album, JAMBOREE, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After meeting at the Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington, Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford formed Beat Happening and began releasing music under Calvin’s K label. In 1985, they released their self-titled debut album, which was later was picked up for UK distribution by Rough Trade Records. As the band was gaining interest beyond the Pacific Northwest, expectations were higher for their second album. Right before recording JAMBOREE, they linked up with their tourmates, Screaming Trees, in Ellensburg, Washington and recorded a joint EP in one night. They worked so well together that Beat Happening asked Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan and Gary Lee Conner to co-produce their next record, along with their friend, Steve Fisk. In this episode, Calvin, Heather and Bret describe where the band was at when they were playing live more than ever before and developing relationships with other bands in the punk scene. Despite their limited technical abilities and lack of equipment, they describe the enthusiasm and optimism they felt about being in a band together at the time they made JAMBOREE. Producer Steve Fisk offers his unique perspective on first meeting a teenage Calvin and going on to record multiple Beat Happening albums. Co-producer Gary Lee Conner describes the unlikely musical pairing of Screaming Trees and Beat Happening but how they were kindred spirits, being outsiders with a shared DIY philosophy. From one borrowed distortion pedal to Screaming Trees as a cheering section to not understanding the concept of singing on key to the bravery of a cappella performances to the difficulty of having only one clave, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 55th anniversary of Van Dyke Parks’ debut solo album, SONG CYCLE, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After being born in the South, Parks grew up studying music and working as a child actor before settling in Los Angeles, California in the early 1960s. While playing guitar in different folk groups around town, he got his first job as an arranger on “The Bare Necessities” for Disney’s The Jungle Book. Parks began working as a session musician for Producer Terry Melcher, who later introduced him to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Parks was hired as a lyricist for the Beach Boys SMILE project, but ultimately left due to the rapidly deteriorating recording sessions and resistance from other members of the Beach Boys about the new lyrical direction. Producer Lenny Waronker then signed Parks to a contract with Warner Bros. as they recorded the first single “Donovan’s Colours” before beginning work on a full-length album. In this episode, Van Dyke Parks reflects on his fascination with the developing technology of recorded music in the late 1960s. He also describes his fragile emotional state after the death of his brother and how traumatic personal and political events of the era informed his songwriting. Richard Henderson, author of the 33 1/3 book Song Cycle, offers his perspective on Parks’ working methods at the time and how he was able to convince Warner Bros. to bankroll this massively expensive project. From the gold rush of Laurel Canyon to confirming his fellow struggling artists in song to the recording studio as an instrument to the orchestra as pop art to an insulting marketing campaign in the wake of SONG CYCLE’s release, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together. Intro/outro music by ings from her song, "Love You." Episode art by Scott Arnold. 

For the 40th anniversary of Mission of Burma’s first full-length album, VS., we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Mission of Burma released their first recordings, the “Academy Fight Song” single in 1980 and the Signals, Calls, and Marches EP in 1981, they felt like they hadn’t fully captured the sound they were going for yet. For this record, they decided they wanted a raw and lively sounding record that embraced the chaos of their live performances. By recording outside of their hometown of Boston for the first time, at Normandy Sound in Providence, Rhode Island, they were able to finally translate the unruly Burma sound to tape. In this episode, guitarist, Roger Miller describes this period when the band was getting more comfortable in the studio and experimenting with song structures and arrangements to craft a wildly diverse batch of songs. Bassist, Clint Conley, reflects on the context of this era and how challenging and contrary the Mission of Burma sound was for that time. Drummer, Peter Prescott, describes how the band used punk rock as a foundation but then were becoming influenced by the hardcore scene that was starting to develop. From the mystery of Martin Swope’s phantom loops to Roger Miller’s esoteric composition skills to Peter Prescott’s evolution into a songwriter to Clint Conley’s struggles with drugs and alcohol to Roger Miller’s worsening tinnitus that ultimately ended the band until their unlikely second act, we’ll hear the stories of how VS. came together.

For the 50th anniversary of the first NEU! album, we spoke to Michael Rother about the extraordinary circumstances of how it was made. After Rother had been invited to jam with Kraftwerk, he had a fateful meeting with drummer, Klaus Dinger. The two of them ended up joining Kraftwerk for a time before deciding to leave and form their own band. Rother and Dinger asked producer, Conny Plank, to record them as they put up their own money to book a studio in Hamburg for four nights in late 1971. Plank turned out to be a key collaborator as he was inventive and efficient in the studio and was able to keep them on track to record a full album in a short time. These whirlwind sessions resulted in the debut NEU! album, which was released in 1972. In this episode, Michael Rother describes this period of his life when he was influenced by the political changes happening around the world and in post-war Germany. He realized the importance of overcoming conservative structures, both politically and musically, and decided to abandon the more conventional blues-based music he had been playing as a teenager. Joining Kraftwerk had allowed Rother to connect with other likeminded musicians and inspired him to find his own musical identity. Rother describes the artistic kinship he felt with Klaus Dinger, even though their differing personalities eventually led to being estranged from one another in later years. From the power of Dinger’s drumming to the discovery of backwards guitar overdubs to Conny Plank’s use of phasing to the NEU! albums disappearing and reappearing over the years to the enduring impact of the music on younger generations, we’ll hear the stories around how the album came together.

For the 30th anniversary of L7’s breakthrough third album, BRICKS ARE HEAVY, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After L7 had released albums on venerable west coast indie labels, Epitaph and Sub Pop, they decided to go for major label distribution with their third album. Seminal Los Angeles label, Slash Records, allowed them more reach as well as a larger recording budget than ever before. After visiting their friends in Nirvana at Sound City during the recording of NEVERMIND, they met Butch Vig and decided he would be the right producer for their next album. In late 1991, they headed to Madison, Wisconsin to record at Butch Vig’s Smart Studios, just as NEVERMIND was blowing up and changing the face of popular music. In this episode, Donita Sparks describes L7 in this pivitol moment when they were going from the underground to the mainstream. Sparks talks about gaining confidence with her songwriting, getting more specific with her lyrics and embracing her pop side more than ever before. The result was BRICKS ARE HEAVY, an album full of personal songs by Sparks, Suzi Gardner and Jennifer Finch that went on to become generational anthems. From the mind blowing place in the mainstream to major label guilt to using songwriting as revenge to getting the nod from Yoko Ono, we’ll hear the stories around how the album came together.

For the 50th anniversary of Big Star’s iconic debut, #1 RECORD, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Chris Bell, Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens had taken recording classes from Ardent Studios owner, John Fry, they began to learn the art of recording. John Fry generously allowed them to use the studio during the night as they recorded under the names, Icewater and Rock City. Meanwhile, Alex Chilton had quit the Box Tops and was living in New York City before deciding to return to his hometown of Memphis. Chris Bell invited him to join the band as they began recording what would become #1 RECORD. In this episode, Big Star drummer, Jody Stephens describes being a teenager caught under the spell of his bandmates’ talents and the creative environment of Ardent Studios. Engineer/keyboardist, Terry Manning, reflects on his close friendships with Chris Bell, Alex Chilton and the Big Star clique, and his contributions to #1 RECORD. Holly George-Warren, author of A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, from Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man, discusses Alex Chilton’s unlikely journey of being the 16-year-old lead singer of a hit group to learning to be a songwriter and an independent person. Rich Tupica, author of There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star, describes Chris Bell’s sonic vision for #1 RECORD as well as his deterioration in the aftermath of the failure of its release. From wanting to be the Memphis Beatles to endless hours of recording through the night to bringing motorcycles into the studio to Alex discovering a new voice to the Bell/Chilton collaboration and rivalry to the distribution disaster, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.

For the 10th anniversary of Japandroids’ second album, CELEBRATION ROCK, we take a detailed look at how the record was made. After the unlikely success of their debut album, POST-NOTHING, Japandroids found themselves leaving their hometown of Vancouver to tour the world and play to much larger audiences than they ever dreamed of. The expectations for their second album began to build as the band felt tremendous pressure to deliver a followup record that proved they weren’t just a one-hit wonder. In between multiple tours, they would record in two-day sessions with longtime engineer/producer, Jesse Gander. Eventually, they rented a house in Nashville to focus on writing the remaining songs for what would become CELEBRATION ROCK. In this episode, David Prowse describes how he and Brian King pushed themselves to make a record that would far surpass any expectations they ever had for the band. Engineer/producer, Jesse Gander, takes us through his first impression of Japandroids and how he was able to capture their unique punk and classic rock-influenced sound. Additionally, author and music critic, Steven Hyden, offers his perspective on Japandroids’ embrace of classic rock mythology and why the record connected with so many people. From Brian’s attempt at revitalizing classic rock tropes to the difficulty of recording fireworks to capturing the feeling of being young to the unabashed embrace of the power of rock and roll, we’ll hear the stories around how the record came together.