My Favorite Album with Jeremy Dylan

It is rare for a character to have survived and thrived through almost 90 years of continuous reinvention, adaptation and exploitation. It's even rarer for a consensus to emerge as to a definitive incarnation of such a character. Well, Batman: The Animated Series is that unicorn, a coming together of incredible talent to produce the most elegant distillation of decades of storytelling, along with its own innovations and contributions to the mythos. 30 plus years since it premiered, the reputation of the series has grown even further and now the behind the scenes story has been told in a fantastic new book by my guest today, Daniel Dockery, in I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series. We talk about how Daniel finds the nuances and untold stories in shows' creation myths, celebrating the unheralded behind the scenes heroes, the pro-social humanist version of the Bruce Wayne character, how the show captured the storytelling elegance of classic Hollywood and film noir, how limitations breed creativity, the difference between darkness and maturity, Paul Dini's 'misplaced love' theory of Batman villains and his case for the most underrated episode of BTAS.

Americanoir singer-songwriter Ben de la Cour joins me to dive into Warren Zevon's iconic self-titled album that relaunched him as a solo artist after years toiling away as a songwriter and sideman. We talk about how the album served as a sort of re-debut album after the little-heard 'Wanted Dead or Alive', Zevon's Forrest Gump-esque early life and career, the autobiographical nature of the songs, Jackson Browne as Zevon's guardian angel, Dylan vs Zevon, the superstar guests that populate the record, the unlikely cover versions, the pitch black humour of Zevon's lyrics and more.

We finally bury the classic 60s rock'n'roll feud as the most acclaimed man in Beatles broadcasting Steven Cockcroft returns to the show to sing the praises of The Rolling Stones and their TWENTY-FIFTH (!) studio album 'Foreign Tongues'. We discuss the incredible hot streak the Stones are on following years of inactivity, the incredible creative stamina of Mick Jagger and his shifting dynamic with Keith Richards, the crucial role Steve Jordan has played in revitalising the band following the death of Charlie Watts, the unsung hero Matt Clifford, how the record captures the chemistry of the current era of the band better than Hackney Diamonds, whether the band will ever tour again, the unexpected joyfulness of the album and much more...

Singer-songwriter Caitlin Cannon shares a knack for quotable lyrics with her album of choice, and lyrics are quoted liberally through this celebration of Jason Isbell's seminal 'Southeastern', as Caitlin discusses how the album's closing song 'Relatively Easy' hit her for six and led her to the record, an early encounter with the Drive By Truckers, the excitement of loving a contemporary artist like a classic music hero, how Isbell's singing voice has evolved over the years, the difference between poetry and song lyrics, and much more.

Singer, producer and the songwriter behind iconic songs of Carrie Underwood, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, Faith Hill and many many more, Gordie Sampson joins me this week to talk about the 1985 Dire Straits classic 'Money for Nothing', how Mark Knopfler and co chased the edges of new digital music recording technology, the stories behind 'Money for Nothing' and that signature guitar sound, the personnel changes in the band during recording, how Gordie connected with the album as a Canadian teenager, how 'Brothers in Arms' has found a second life in some of TV's greatest moments and more.

With a new Paul McCartney album on the horizon, I'm joined once again by Steven Cockcroft of the great Nothing is Real podcast to delve into the 21st century albums of a 20th century icon. We look back on McCartney's underdiscussed and to varying degrees underappreciated output from Driving Rain to McCartney III and everything in between, looking at the music, the critical narrative around these albums, what they say about McCartney and what McCartney is trying to say about himself and what we're hoping for from The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

My guest today is Texas country artist Angel White, who joins me to discuss the debut studio album by Ray LaMontagne, 'Trouble'. We chat about how the album went on to shape the kinds of music Angel still listens to and is inspired by today, the way a great album reveals more of itself the more you grow with it, the tone of LaMontagne's voice and how it makes you hang on every lyric, the ways in which the artist's voice has influenced Angel's own singing style, and the album's original intention as a collection of songwriter demos to pitch to other artists.

My first guest to kick off our 2026 season is Zach Williams, frontman and founder of Americana band The Lone Bellow, to discuss D'Angelo's 2000 neo-soul classic album 'Voodoo'. We chat about Zach's origin story with this album, how growing up in Georgia he would offset his love of listening to country music with a secret passion for R&B, the incredibly moving 2026 Grammys in-memoriam tribute to D'Angelo led by Lauryn Hill, the unusually long process of making 'Voodoo' at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the artist's reluctance to be branded as a sex symbol despite the record label's insistence, D'Angelo's collaboration with Quest Love and Pino Palladino, and the way the fearless spirit of 'Voodoo' inspired Zach to be at his bravest and most honest when creating his own music.

In what we can all agree is the greatest of all holiday traditions, filmmaker Charles Hood and The Wrap's Drew Taylor join me to celebrate / argue about our picks for the ten best films of 2025. Our shortest one yet!

My guest today is Wisconsin-born, LA-based singer/songwriter Hillary Reynolds, who is one of the rare guests to bring a live album to this podcast in the form of Fleetwood Mac's 1997 live record 'The Dance'. Having discovered the album as a child in the backseat of her parents' car, Hillary shares her thoughts on the record, including how the passage of time between when the songs were written and when they were performed at this live concert creates a different perspective on certain songs, how the appeal of Fleetwood Mac is largely informed by the story of the band members' interpersonal relationships, the way the band members' vocal tones are so versatile and greatly contrast with one another, how Fleetwood Mac's melodic style has heavily influenced Hillary's own songwriting, how her relationship to their music has evolved over time, and much more.

This week's guest is Swedish singer/songwriter Peter Morén, known for his work as guitarist and vocalist of indie rock trio Peter Bjorn and John and his solo project SunYears. Peter joins me to discuss the 1994 sophomore album by alternative Swedish artist Stina Nordenstam, 'And She Closed Her Eyes'. Peter and I chat about how this record represents a transitionary period for Nordenstam, how the album was recorded with drums but then stripped of them in the final mix, the elusive nature of Nordenstam as an artist and the ambiguity surrounding whether she will ever record another album, the artist's underground cult following which extends beyond her native Sweden, how the fragility and intimacy of the vocal recordings give the album a timeless feel, and much more.

This week's guest is Nashville singer/songwriter Dillon Warnek, who joins me to discuss 'The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1', featuring revisited, stripped back versions of songs spanning 33 years of the musician's legendary catalogue. We discuss Newman's wry humor and use of sarcasm in his writing and how that stylistic approach has influenced Dillon's own work, the layers of meaning to be discovered within a Randy Newman song and how they don't always reveal themselves on first listen, how the style of Newman's voice plays a huge role in how the song is interpreted versus the interpretations of his songs when sung by other artists, Newman's iconic work on film scores, which of Dillon's songs he'd like to hear covered by Tom Jones, and much more.

Today, I finally get to talk about the Electric Light Orchestra as author, actor and iconic supermodel Paulina Porizkova joins me to talk about the classic ELO album 'Out of the Blue'. Paulina takes us back to moving to Paris as a 15 year old at the beginning of her career, and how this album soundtracked this chapter of her life, coming to the record as a lover of classical music, why ELO aren't thought of as an albums artist, why the album's theme of stepping out on your own resonated with her, their experiences seeing Jeff Lynne and ELO live in recent years and more.

The legendary singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw joins me to talk about an artist whose influence changed the sound of music forever. Marshall talks discovering the classic Diddley Greatest Hits record as a teenager growing up in suburban Michigan, the deceptive drone quality to some of the tracks, the origin of the Bo Diddley name, the other players who were an important part of the Bo Diddley sound, the gear Diddley used, how Marshall has injected elements of the soundscape from this record into his own music through the years, the magic of a group of players performing together live in the studio, how technology and budgets has influenced how records are made and more.

Author and journalist Peter Ames Carlin specialises in puncturing rock'n'roll myths while enriching the legends. His biographies of iconic musicians and bands from Springsteen to REM are often definitive and his latest is no exception, a high stakes page turning exploration of how Bruce Springsteen transformed himself, his career and fulfilled his destiny as rock'n'roll future with his 1975 iconic album 'Born to Run'. We talk about the breakneck writing of the book and his conversations with Bruce himself, Springsteen's self-mythologising, being Superman and Clark Kent, how Springsteen's treatment by his parents and grandparents shaped his personality, getting out vs sticking around, how Thunder Road evolved into the legendary song we all know with some help from John Landau, how audiences behave at Springsteen shows vs other artists and why 'Born to Run' still means something to Bruce in the way that some of his other records don't.

Rock'n'roll singer-songwriter Brian Dunne joins me to make a case for 'The River' as the ultimate Bruce Springsteen album. We talk about how it is rarely chosen as the best of Bruce's classic period, how the album was a response thematically and musically to 'Darkness on the Edge of Town', capturing the epic E Street Band live show in an album, the benefits of a double album, class consciousness in songwriting and Brian's experiences seeing Springsteen live and then meeting him when they shared the bill at a benefit concert, and much more.

In honor of David Byrne being back on the road with a new and absolutely spellbinding show, we are bringing you a remixed and remastered edition of our 2021 audio documentary on Byrne's iconic American Utopia show, which redefined the boundaries of what live music can be.

My guest today is Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Dylan Sevey, best known for his work with The Minks, Ron Gallo, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and the incredible Weird Al Yankovic tribute band Weird Pals. Dylan joins me to discuss Weird Al's 1999 masterpiece 'Running With Scissors'. We chat about the entirely unique place Weird Al has carved for himself within the music industry, how he laid the cultural ground work for future musical comedy acts, the depth of respect and research he puts into each genre he parodies, the origin story of Weird Pals, how at its core Yankovic's catalogue is a celebration of all genres of music, the extraordinary art of the Weird Al polka, and how both a Weird Al concert and a Weird Pals show provides a level of musical breadth and diversity you're unlikely to experience elsewhere. For those attending Weird Al Yankovic's show at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville on Sept 20, Weird Pals will be playing an after party gig across the road at Acme Feed & Seed after the show. We'll see you there!

This week, I'm joined by the poet laureate of Tupelo, Mississippi, mister Paul Thorn. Growing up as a preacher's son, Paul wasn't allowed to listen to secular music, so when he managed to sneak a copy of Marshall Crenshaw's perfect debut album, it became a constant and sole companion for years. Paul takes us with him on his journey with the album as he grew into a young man, and why the album still resonates with him today.

Today I'm joined by singer-songwriter Ryan Davis to talk about an album that defines the phrase cult classic - Red Krayola frontman Mayo Thompson's only solo album 'Corky's Debt To His Father'. We talk about how the album came and went on release, only to be rediscovered by later generations following reissues in the 90s and 00s, the combination of Thompson's idiosyncratic vocals and lyrics with the slick session backing band, the influence on Ryan's own lyrics and music and how Ryan managed to get Mayo Thompson to perform the album in full for the first time ever at his 'Cropped Out' music festival.