Pop Shield: Perspectives on Music Past and Present

Music fanatics Gabe, Dan, and Darin (formerly of the Metafork Music Review) use your favorite artists and albums to get at bigger trends and phenomena in the world of popular music.

Ranking Every Song on Radiohead’s Kid A

We're celebrating the 20th anniversary of Radiohead's Kid A by attempting to rank every song. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com And subscribe to our new side-pod, "GONKCAST: An Autechre Podcast"!

10-03
01:48:13

The Top 5 Autumn Albums

The fall season has officially begun, so we're counting down the five greatest autumn albums of all time. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

09-19
01:36:47

Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas Turns 30

We celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Cocteau Twins classic, Heaven or Las Vegas, by getting into the album for the very first time. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

09-04
01:25:04

Revisiting The Microphones’ The Glow Pt. 2 (and Microphones in 2020!)

We celebrate Phil Elverum's return to The Microphones with a deep dive into Elverum's 2001 masterpiece, The Glow Pt. 2. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

08-21
01:32:31

BONUS: Lou Reed and Neil Young (Flashback!)

We're taking a brief summer break, so here's an assortment of Lou Reed and Neil Young reviews from our archives to hold you over. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

08-07
01:25:15

Reassessing Pink Floyd and Meddle

We reflect on our past obsessions with Pink Floyd by diving deep into the band's 1971 LP, Meddle. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

07-24
01:32:31

Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, One Last Masterpiece?

We take a deep dive into Bob Dylan's new LP, Rough and Rowdy Ways, as well as the state of Bob Dylan's legacy in 2020. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

07-09
01:40:28

Learning to Love 100 gecs

We dive deep into the phenomenon that is 100 gecs by discussing their debut LP, 1000 gecs. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter: @PopShieldPod

06-26
01:34:40

The Top 5 Albums of 1970

We celebrate a ton of classics that are turning 50 this year by counting down and debating our favorite records from 1970. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

06-11
01:40:31

Learning to Love Devo

In honor of Mark Mothersbaugh’s 70th birthday (but mostly to appease Dan), we're getting into Devo by exploring the band's 1978 debut, Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

05-29
01:30:43

Pavement’s Wowee Zowee Turns 25

We celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pavement's Wowee Zowee by diving deep into the album, as well as its curious reception history. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

05-15
01:31:36

Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters, a Perfect 10?

We discuss Fiona Apple's new LP, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, plus the insane hype surrounding the album, including Pitchfork's perfect 10 rating. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

05-01
01:43:07

1987 vs. 1988 vs. 1989

Inspired by a random tweet, we've decided to put the years of our birth head to head to head. We're talking Sonic Youth, Pixies, The Cure, and a whole lot more. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

04-17
01:41:48

Revisiting Joy Division’s Closer

When we learned that Joy Division had never "clicked" for Darin, and that Gabe hadn't listened to them in years, we decided to dive deep into the band's classic second LP, Closer. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

04-03
01:37:03

Learning to Love Fishmans’ Long Season

We dive deep into an emerging cult classic that everybody needs to hear, Fishmans' 1996 magnum opus, Long Season. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

03-20
01:25:16

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony (and How to Get Into Classical)

We finally tackle classical music by looking at two iconic recordings of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, one by Carlos Kleiber and the Vienna Philharmonic, and the other by John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

03-05
01:33:44

Ranking Every Song on My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless

We celebrate Valentine's Day by ranking every song on My Bloody Valentine's 1991 classic, Loveless. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

02-21
01:41:07

John Coltrane’s Ascension vs. Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz (and How to Get Into Free Jazz)

We figure out how to get into free jazz by comparing and contrasting two free jazz classics, Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz and John Coltrane's Ascension. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

02-07
01:35:50

Revisiting Modest Mouse’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News

We reassess Modest Mouse's breakthrough LP, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and discuss whether "selling out" has any meaning in 2020. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

01-23
01:35:09

The Top 5 Albums of 2019

We're back from the holiday break to count down our favorite albums of 2019, discuss Pitchfork's list, and offer up some reflections on the year as a whole. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com Dan's list: 5. Swans - Leaving Meaning 4. Danny Brown - uknowwhatimsayin? 3. Sunn O))) - Life Metal 2. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains 1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen Darin's list: 5. Helado Negro - This Is How Your Smile 4. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! 3. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors 2. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen 1. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride Gabe's list: 5. Panda Bear - Buoys 4. Dax Pierson - Live in Oakland 3. Swans - Leaving Meaning 2. 75 Dollar Bill - I Was Real 1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen

01-10
01:35:50

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