VOIVOD GOES PSYCH-PROG! Third time's a charm with returning guest Mhyk Monroe (Grief Ritual, FATHERS). This week we dive into Voivod's confusing fifth album. Just how subtle are the distinctions between various subgenres of metal? How is a song about a pirate ship somehow less silly than previous albums' lyrics? Why are Men Without Hats involved in this, and are they dancing unsafely? Do French-Canadians need nicknames to make it in the world of metal? How difficult are these songs? Is this more psychedelic or progressive? Does hiring Rush's producer automatically make you prog? And what happened to Richard Hell? Find out on the fiftieth episode of Detours and Outliers!   

Detours and Outliers

Voivod’s “Angel Rat” (with Mhyk Monroe)

KID CUDI TRIES TO ROCK! We crossover with the Brian from the Boothin' podcast as Kid Cudi tries to crossover into the rock world. When does a Kid Cudi get old enough to be an Adult Cudi? Who is the Phil Collins of hip-hop? Why is Travis Barker on every album? Does Kid Cudi have the same guitar pedal as Moby? When is it okay to release a bonus disc of demos for an album that you just finished? Are Beavis and Butthead the Statler and Waldorf of the nineties? What do you sound like when you try to sound like Nirvana? And most importantly: Is Kid Cudi okay? We'll check in on the Man On The Moon in this week’s episode of Detour and Outliers.   

Kid Cudi’s “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven” (with Brian Heim)

X TRIES TO GET COMMERCIAL! Michael and Jenny from Shiny Around the Edges join us to discuss X’s frustrating attempt to cash in. How obscure can an artist be and still have documentaries made about them? Is X the best or the worst name for a band? What did Ray Manzarek bring to the table? Did X just put out an album that none of us listened to? Is not being rich or famous enough a good reason to quit a band? What kind of rockabilly is this? Who else was in that movie “Road House”? Does John Doe want his fans to get home safely? Does everyone have their own X story? And how did Professor Xavier train all these mutants? We’ll dig into it all this week on Detours and Outliers. 

X’s “Ain’t Love Grand” (with Jenny and Michael Seman)

LIL WAYNE TRIES TO ROCK! This week we are joined by fellow podcaster and Canadian DJ Bryson Worden (The BLOCK with Bryson Worden) to discuss Lil Wayne's attempt to be a dope boy with a guitar. Who is Wayne trying to impress? Was anyone rocking in 2010? Why do people remember the rap-rock of Limp Bizkit more than Ice-T's Body Count? Is Canadian Wikipedia better than American Wikipedia? Is Shanell the Mary Clyton of Wayne's “Gimme Shelter”? Why hasn’t Lil Wayne had another birth? Is it better to play the guitar badly or not at all? Does sampling a rock sound count as writing a rock song? Can you get a prescription chalice? How many notes does it take to make a guitar solo? Who does a better "Ground Zero", Lil Wayne or Chris Cornell? And how did the producer of Elton John's disco album end up involved in this? Grab a cup of codeine cough sizzyrup and join us on this week’s Detours and Outliers.   

Lil Wayne’s “Rebirth” (with Bryson Worden)

CHRIS CORNELL GOES POP! Production designer, fabricator, and saxophonist Aaron Schilling joins us to discuss Chris Cornell's attempt to remain relevant in a post-grunge world. Is this the worst album we've covered? Who wrote these songs? Who claims to have written these songs? Who is credited with writing these songs? Why is Chris smashing a guitar? What do Tom Morello and Timbaland have in common? What does Justin Timberlake's idea of the nineties Seattle scene sound like? Is it possible to get a club dancing to such angry, bitter songs? Did the failure of this album lead to a Soundgarden reunion? How much is there to say about music you hate? We'll find out this week on Detours and Outliers.   

Chris Cornell’s “Scream” (with Aaron Schilling)

THE BOSS GOES ACOUSTIC! We are joined this week by illustrator Karl Christian Kumpholz (30 Miles of Crazy!) since he’s far more familiar with Bruce than we are. Why did he release an album of demos? Why is this only Springsteen album that the cool kids can claim to like? What exactly would the E Street Band have done to these songs? Is Bruce really a nice guy? Did he invent emo? How much of his blue collar persona is mere posturing? Why do people like to listen to sad songs? Did Reagan taint a whole generation's ability to take Bruce seriously? Do we really have a reason to believe? Do we need one? We were born to run in the U.S.A. in this week's episode of Detours and Outliers.   

Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” (with Karl Christian Kumpholz)

VILLAGE PEOPLE DON’T DO DISCO! Comedian and artist Katie Bowman joins us to discuss the Village People's attempt to survive the death of disco. Was cocaine a thing in the 80s? Did anyone notice that the lead singer was replaced? Are the Village People a boy band or macho men? Why are three of the eight songs on this album about food? Did the Village People pave the way for Rob Halford? Or Lou Pearlman? What message are the Village People trying to convey? Are they a band or a group? Why isn't there a Village People Broadway musical yet? What is the plot of "Logan’s Run"? Young man, there's no need to feel down this week on Detours and Outliers.   

Village People’s “Renaissance” (with Kaite Bowman)

MOBY TRIES TO ROCK! We’re starting beef with a vegan. And to help us out we’ve got Alf (KTCL 93.3) on hand to discuss Moby abandoning electronica just as it was about to break through to the mainstream. Is that a drum machine or is Moby a drummer? Does this sound like a demo? Who was supposed to write lyrics and sing these songs? Does Moby have a soul? Should you ever mix punk and ambient? Does Moby own a bass? Or did he pawn it to buy a “grunge” guitar pedal? Is Moby afraid of being mistaken for Michael Stipe? And most importantly: Why does Moby hate America? We’ll get to the bottom of this most ill-timed of missteps this week on Detours and Outliers. 

Moby’s “Animal Rights” (with Alf)

JONI SINGS THE STANDARDS! Aleeya Wilson (Death In Space) joins us virtually to discuss Joni's orchestral and big band covers album of "The Great American Songbook". Was the title an attempt to trick casual fans, or a concession to the record company (who wanted to trick casual fans)? How many sides does love have? How many musicians does it take to overwhelm Joni's voice? Does even Joni want to hear what Joni would write about the world in 2000? How is Don Henley to blame for this? What do we even know about clouds at all? Where exactly are we in this fictitious relationship? Does Joni prefer the idea of the possibility of being in love in future to the messy unpredictability of being in love with an actual person in the present? Don't we all? Join us for another look at some Canadian this week on Detours and Outliers.

Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” (with Aleeya Wilson)

NEIL YOUNG DOES DOO-WOP! We have no guest this week, so we’re reverting to our earliest days with the cross between episode 1 (Frank Zappa's "Cruisin’ With Ruben and The Jets") and episode 3 (Neil Young's "Trans"). How did this record affect R.E.M.? Why didn't this record affect Pearl Jam? Was this record even finished? What was Neil going for? Where does Sha Na Na fit into this? Or The Stray Cats? Or even ZZ Top? Is the harmonica an adequate replacement for the saxophone? Who was this note for, if not for you? Does Neil miss the days of payola? Did Ronald Reagan miss the days of segregation? Does repeating the title six times in a row count as a verse? Who put the bop in the bop-shoo-wop? Find out this week on Detours and Outliers.   

Neil Young’s “Everybody’s Rockin’”

SLAYER COVERS PUNK SONGS! Podcaster, director, artist, and musician, Andrew Novick, leads us through one of stranger moments in metal history. Is this album too Slayer-y or not Slayer-y enough? How does it compare to "Garage Days Re-Revisited"? Does it really count as a cover if you’re doing your own song? Who chose these bands? Why didn’t we get any Deep Purple or Doors covers? Is this album just for members of the band Verbal Abuse? Is this better or worse than punk bands covering metal songs? Is Richard’s last name Hung? Exactly what attitude of Slayer's are we unable to dispute? Would making this album sound worse somehow make it better?  Find out if this album slays on this week’s episode of Detours and Outliers.   

Slayer’s “Undisputed Attitudes” (with Andrew Novick)

ELTON JOHN DOES DISCO! Events coordinator and sci-fi rock-opera composer, Dana Cain, goes back to her younger fangirl self as we dig into the mysteries of this peculiar album?  Could Elton have spent any less effort getting out of his UNI record contract? Does the world need an eight minute Chuck Berry cover? Does this album even rate a single mention in Elton’s autobiography? What is the utilitarian purpose of grindcore? Are you supposed to think about disco music or just dance to it? Just how "street" is Elton? How quickly did disco die after this album was released? And more importantly, why do they call it The Blues and not, say, The Yellows? Put on your boogie shoes and join us on the yellow brick road this week on Detours and Outliers.   

Elton John’s “Victim Of Love” (with Dana Cain)

SNOOP DOGG DOES REGGAE! Guitarist and vocalist, Jen Korte (Lady Gang, Sega Nemesis) joins us in the hizzouse to discuss Snoop’s musical and religious transformation. Is Snoop still a Rastafarian? Why would you hire Diplo to produce your reggae album? Other than each recording a reggae album, do Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg have anything else in common? Does having a Canadian rapper guest on your song about gun control undermine or strengthen its message? Why did the Stones have an easier time in Jamaica than the Clash? Is it necessary to be poor to make good music? And why is Vice doing a documentary about all of this? Find the answers to some of these questions and more by entering the Lion’s den this week with Detours and Outliers.   

Snoop Lion’s “Reincarnation” (with Jen Korte)

PINK FLOYD LETS EVERYBODY WRITE! Bass-centric tribute artist Rick Thompson grooves with us in a cave while we discuss this transitional album. How do you pronounce "Ummagumma"? Which member of Pink Floyd looks like a horse? Is the Grand Vizier a Pict? How did Nick Mason sneak his flautist wife in on what was supposed to be a totally solo outing? Which comes first, meat or pudding? Would this work better as a soundtrack? Who owns "The Madcap Laughs" but not "Dark Side Of The Moon"? How many copies of this album were sold that only had the second disc played once or twice? Set the controls to the heart of the sun this week on Detours and Outliers.   

Pink Floyd’s “Ummagumma” (with Rick Thompson)

 GARTH BROOKS GOES ROCK! Friend of the pod, Bonnie Finley, joins us for that one album we knew we were going to have to do eventually. Is this more like Jim Carrey playing Andy Kaufman, or Andy Kaufman playing Tony Clifton? Is this what people in Nashville think rock sounds like? What lessons did a young Garth Brooks learn from Kiss? Which Indiana Jones movie is really the worst? Who is a better rapper, Billy Joel or Garth Brooks? What kind of car accident would rearrange your face from that of a Brad Pitt stand-in to that of a middle age Garth? What kinds of drugs inspired this album? And most importantly: Is Garth Brooks really Lil Nas X? Hop in the saddle and rope the wind with us this week on Detours and Outliers. 

Garth Brooks’s “In The Life Of Chris Gaines” (with Bonnie Finley)

A podcast where we discuss that one album that sticks out like a sore thumb in an artist&#39;s discography.

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Detours and Outliers

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