Author and R.E.M. historian Robert Dean Lurie is the third head in our huddle formation: this time we carve a house in half with R.E.M., relive the wedding silent disco with Jlin and pluck the darkness out of The Go! Team's cheerleader chants.

Fantastic Beats

R.E.M. / The Go! Team / Jlin (with Robert Dean Lurie)

Plectrums at the ready. New York comedian Kenice Mobley joins us to rediscover our inner scene kid at The Futureheads show, fire up the butt fan with Mirrored Lips and ride the wave of awesome with Sleater-Kinney.

The Futureheads / Sleater-Kinney / Mirrored Lips (with Kenice Mobley)

Music maniac Tom Withey joins us to crack open a Gorillaz happy meal, get a little woozy with Alice Coltrane and join The Beatles on a meditation retreat.

The Beatles / Gorillaz / Alice Coltrane (with Tom Withey)

Ian F. King is JUST what we needed: the author of Appetite For Definition joins us to get drunk and simple with The Cars, excavate some excellent 90s post-rock and push down the trash in the Fuck Buttons bin.

The Cars / F*ck Buttons / Ganger (with Ian F. King)

We're back with some sounds you've never heard: author Jeanette Leech joins us to discuss the devotional disco of Joubert Singers, deceptive TV nostalgia from Broadcast and a novelty song that's too fast for a puppet.

The Muppets / Broadcast / Joubert Singers (with Jeanette Leech)

It's a big one! We're joined by the relentlessly great Kirk Hamilton of the Strong Songs podcast. We pool our music-talk prowess to cycle around the suburbs of Arcade Fire, pick apart the vocal layers of Kimbra and take a precious Talk Talk track off the shelf.

Arcade Fire / Kimbra / Talk Talk (with Kirk Hamilton)

Ingmar Apinis from The Antidote Podcast joins us to find joy within the noise of Melt-Banana, drink cocktails from a camera at a Rüfüs Du Sol show and plug ourselves into Robbie Williams's rather grubby energy grid.

Robbie Williams / Rüfüs Du Sol / Melt-Banana (with Ingmar Apinis)

Strong statements all round: Honor Clover-Slater joins us to discuss the relentless rhythms of Maseke, Pasopa and Mako, Blur-related tattoo regrets and how The Stranglers' ghost train got hijacked.

Blur / The Stranglers / Maseke, Pasopa and Mako (with Honor Clover-Slater)

Digital product designer James Marriott joins us to discuss the kitchen curiosities of Migos, a morning from hell narrated by Kate Nash and a fleeting mystery from Dean Blunt.

Migos / Kate Nash / Dean Blunt (with James Marriott)

Musician and writer Tor Maries joins us to discuss the all-out party of Merry Clayton, the slinky polyamory of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and My Bloody Valentine's melting edges.

Merry Clayton / Unknown Mortal Orchestra / My Bloody Valentine (with Tor Maries)

Bassist and beat-lover Dom James joins us to discuss the no-nonsense romance of Dire Straits, festive funk from The Poets Of Rhythm and Xenia Rubinos's spiralling bass lines.

Dire Straits / The Poets Of Rhythm / Xenia Rubinos (with Dom James)

Musician/sibling James Chuter joins us to discuss the throbbing anxiety of Low, the pebble-plopping of Panda Bear and Björk's visceral protest piece.

Low / Panda Bear / Björk (with James Chuter)

Welcome to Fantastic Beats: the new podcast where we invite special guests to swap music recommendations with us. New episodes arrive every other week.

Fantastic Beats Trailer

Two hosts and a special guest recommend one music track each. Reactions ensue.

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Fantastic Beats

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