The Undertones rose from the time of the Troubles in Derry, Northern Ireland to go on to be one of the biggest and most successful bands from Northern Ireland. The band's music developed from punk rock roots focused on teenage angst, growing up, love and heartbreak.

The band’s first single was “Teenage Kicks”, a song that legendary DJ John Peel would say was his all-time favorite after playing it on his radio show, helping boost The Undertones career.

This episode is the story of the band after forming in 1974, the 1978 song “Teenage Kicks” along with the tale of this song with John Peel, and the albums that followed into the early 80’s.

The Boston based post-punk band, Mission of Burma, was together for only four years during their initial run, but they had a lasting impact on music. One of the few releases from the band during these years was the landmark 1981 EP Signals, Calls, and Marches, which would be very influential to the future of alternative rock and indie rock.

This episode discusses the band and their music during the incredible run from formation in 1979 until disbanding in 1983.

After taking a couple of years off from recording as Talking Heads, the band returned to the studio for the 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. This fifth studio album from the band would be the commercial breakthrough and the album would be followed by a tour that resulted in the critically acclaimed documentary, Stop Making Sense.

This episode will talk about the band's members getting back to record Speaking in Tongues after some side projects, the music of the album, and the documentary that followed taken from what would be the final Talking Heads tour.

An earlier Spotify only episode that covered the early years through 1980's Remain in Light, and that episode will be recreated and issued on Apple other platforms.

Episode 3.29

The English music and visual arts group Throbbing Gristle began in 1975 creating music which often contained harsh, mechanical, transgressive, and provocative sounds and themes. This was the start of what would be known as industrial music.

This episode discusses the origins of the group, the creation of their music, and their three studio albums prior to their break-up of 1981.

When they formed in London in 1978, Visage was a collective of musicians that would take an approach to music and style linking to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion and music movement of the early 1980s.

Midge Ure, one of the founding members of Visage, would be part of the band's first two albums, both of which were commercially successful. During Ure's time with Visage, their music would be a key link between the electronic sounds of bands that came before them and the fashion-conscious bands who would grow with the early years of MTV.

This episode will talk about the various members that made up Visage, the band’s music, the impact from the Blitz club in London, and the New Romantic movement.

Welsh identical twin brothers, Jay and Michael Aston, formed the band Gene Loves Jezebel. From their post-punk and gothic rock debut album in 1983, the band would achieve commercial success by the third and fourth albums blending their music and their distinctive vocals with a more alternative rock approach. However, the relationship between the twins become strained leading to a separation that would result in two versions of the band going forward.

This episode discusses the music of Gene Loves Jezebel into the 90's and the situation that resulted in two versions of the band, each led by one of the twins.

Starting in 1981, Sonic Youth pushed boundaries as part of American experimental no wave scene to redefine what noise meant in terms of music. The band would combine innovative guitar tunings, dissonance, and feedback with hardcore punk and avant-garde music as part of the New York no wave scene.

The music of Sonic Youth began evolving from these early years taking a more conventional approach as the band become a prominent member of American noise rock.

This episode tells the story of the band from their beginnings through the 1986 album, Evol, as the band was evolving from their no wave beginning.

In 1989, Nick Cave would experience some life changes and with those changes, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds would take their music in a new direction. By the end of the 1990’s, the band would achieve worldwide mainstream success with piano-driven ballads, most notably with the albums, Murder Ballads and The Boatman’s Call.

This episode tells the story of the band and Nick Cave through their five albums of the 90's.