The Transatlantic Cul De Sac

Tasked with a mission to sort through boxes and crates of beat-up old 45s from Pinwheel Records in Chicago, Paul discusses the job – and the wave of emotions it unleashed – with Ned. This leads to extended rumination on record collecting, the thrill of the chase, parallels to the "Detectorists" TV series and the trying to explain the real value of any treasure in your personal collection – or any treasure you still seek.

Paul and Ned ponder a great "what if" on the 67th anniversary of the Day the Music Died. Buddy Holly was only 22 and undergoing one of the fastest evolutions in the history of popular music. Had that plane reached Fargo and the Winter Dance Party tour finished to give Buddy the financial footing to launch any of his myriad ideas, would the Beatles still hold their place in music history – or would they even be relevant? It's hard to understate the reverberations still echoing from Buddy's short time on this planet – and it's hard to not celebrate the man's oeuvre at any given opportunity.

Taormina. Chicago. Naples. Milwaukee. Oxford. Hebden Bridge. Hot summers. Brutally cold and dangerous winters. Ned and Paul reminisce about some of the best gigs they've seen and how not only the performers and performances played a role, but so did the events surrounding these times in their lives.

Bassman Damon Minchella joins Paul and Ned to chat about his upcoming book, "You'd Look Good on a Donkey: Britpop, Basslines and Bad(ish) Decisions." Also up for discussion: Italian roots, Liverpool upbringing, his father nearly getting Neil Aspinall's job, Ronnie Lane's bass, Ocean Colour Scene (and "Britpop" at large), the Oasis Live 25 tour, Mani, Mingus and more.

Ned and Paul discuss some of the "double bill" albums from their respective record collections. This episode explores male/female dynamics, old songwriting teams getting back together and hero and follower combinations against a variety of factors driving the collaborative efforts. John and Yoko. Linda and Curtis. Reed and Cale. Marriott and Lane. Touré and Diabaté. What works? What doesn't? Are your motives pure?!

The strange backstory behind Peggy Lee and George Shearing's 1959 "live" LP, "Beauty and the Beat!" leads Paul and Ned down wormholes to a larger discussion of facades, fabrications and falsehoods in the music industry – and showbiz in general. Who benefits?!

Ned and Paul embark on a continuing series that looks at music from Italy and Japan, with perspective on the countries, regions, musical influences and output of the time – as well as personal connections. This chapter focuses on Pino Daniele's debut LP, "Terra Mia" (1977) and Sugar Babe's one and only LP, "Songs" (1975).

Ned and Paul reacquaint themselves with the "Woodstock" and "Summer of Soul" films to compare and contrast the Woodstock Music and Art Fair and the Harlem Cultural Festival – and to assess the evolution (or de-evolution) of festivals and their sense of purpose since.

Ned and Paul discuss artists who stepped away from major bands – or from behind the songwriting scenes – into the spotlight for themselves. Dennis Wilson, Gene Clark, Larry Graham, Ronnie Wood, Carole King and Tina Turner are up for discussion – but the conversation also touches upon the Kinks, Sly Stone, Prince, Ronnie Lane, Isaac Hayes ... and, of course, determining what exactly Al Jardine contributed to the Beach Boys.

Ned and Paul pay tribute and discuss the lasting impact of two of popular music's more celebrated bassists, Gary "Mani" Mounfield of the Stone Roses and Primal Scream, who passed away on November 20, and Danny Thompson, who passed away on September 23.

Paul and Ned reminisce about being teenagers when "The Beatles Anthology" first arrived – and reassess its value on the eve of the Anthology's return with an older, more cynical eye.