Bearded Gentlemen Music Podcast

​Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? I’m to say this month, because the 1st of the Month Music Podcast isn’t coming out on the 1st of the month… nor does it really follow the format that we normally follow. Partially because we are lazy… … but partially because we wanted to talk Christmas music. Tis’ the season, right? And let’s be straight up, Christmas songs can be straight bangers. We recap all the Christmas songs we love and hate, but it seems like we mostly talk about the stuff we hate and get off onto weird tangents. We also definitely discover Jon doesn’t really know or like Christmas music like he claimed to. He came in reppin like he liked Christmas music, and it turns out he just has an Elvis Christmas CD and a Bob Dylan Christmas CD that he doesn’t even like. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars / two thumbs up / 10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

​Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? Another month, another podcast… am I right, guys?!?!?!?! So yeah I was joined by Jon and site writer Aaron (COOP) Cooper for this month’s show and it was a good one. We talked about things we liked and things we didn’t. But I guess that’s the format and shouldn’t be a surprise. Although this month was extra filled with vitriol because we talked a lot about the records we didn’t like this month… and two of them were produced Greg Kurstin (who produced the Foo Fighters record we hated last month). So yeah, Greg is really off on quite a run here. Stuff we liked? I was into the new Mountain Goats EP and that’s all that matters. Because it’s really good and I can’t think of what Jon and Coop like off the top of my head. What do you want from me? I just do the show. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars / two thumbs up / 10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

​Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? Another month, another podcast… am I right, guys?!?!?!?! So yeah I was joined by Jon and site writer Aaron (COOP) Cooper for this month’s show and it was a good one. We talked about things we liked and things we didn’t. But I guess that’s the format and shouldn’t be a surprise. Although this month was extra filled with vitriol because we talked a lot about the records we didn’t like this month… and two of them were produced Greg Kurstin (who produced the Foo Fighters record we hated last month). So yeah, Greg is really off on quite a run here. Stuff we liked? I was into the new Mountain Goats EP and that’s all that matters. Because it’s really good and I can’t think of what Jon and Coop like off the top of my head. What do you want from me? I just do the show. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars / two thumbs up / 10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

​Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? September was an exciting month for us because we had some stuff we were really passionate about. Jon goes deep on the new Chelsea Wolfe (stuff that he liked) and the new Foo Fighters record (let’s just say he didn’t really like it that much). I’m sure you’re all psyched that we do more Foo Fighters talk in this episode. Let’s just be real it’s become a monthly staple. Mike talks about LCD Soundsystem’s new record (which he says is dope) and absolutely destroys #1 pop sensation Cardi B (which he says is garbage that belongs in a garbage dump). Great times. Oh yeah, and we both talk about Jon’s long wrong beef with site co-owner, Isaac. It’s very uncomfortable. Mainly because Jon says a bunch of bad things about Isaac and Mike stays completely impartial and out of the spat. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars / two thumbs up / 10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

​Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? September was an exciting month for us because we had some stuff we were really passionate about. Jon goes deep on the new Chelsea Wolfe (stuff that he liked) and the new Foo Fighters record (let’s just say he didn’t really like it that much). I’m sure you’re all psyched that we do more Foo Fighters talk in this episode. Let’s just be real it’s become a monthly staple. Mike talks about LCD Soundsystem’s new record (which he says is dope) and absolutely destroys #1 pop sensation Cardi B (which he says is garbage that belongs in a garbage dump). Great times. Oh yeah, and we both talk about Jon’s long wrong beef with site co-owner, Isaac. It’s very uncomfortable. Mainly because Jon says a bunch of bad things about Isaac and Mike stays completely impartial and out of the spat. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars / two thumbs up / 10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

The B.G.M. Podcast is back! Re-branded and everything! Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? And recapping August 2017, the first episode was something. Let’s just say this… how long do you think two people who really don’t like the Foo Fighters can talk about the Foo Fighters? Five minutes? Nope. Ten minutes. Nope. FIFTEEN MINUTES? Nah dawg. You’re going to have to tune in to find out. But let’s just say it’s a LOT of Foo Fighters talk. A LOT. Outside of the Foo Fighters, we actually did talk about a few other things. Not much, but we did. What did we talk about? The new Queens of the Stone Age record Villains, how much Jon loves Cloakroom, how rad Hum is/was, the new Arcade Fire record and some other stuff. But listing that stuff really undersells how much Foo Fighters talk there was. This was a very relevant podcast for 2017. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

The B.G.M. Podcast is back! Re-branded and everything! Welcome to the new, relaunched, Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast… now called “The 1st of the Month Music Podcast”. The new format will be Jon and I looking over what happened in the prior month and basically talking about things we like and didn’​​t like. You can look for the pod to drop on the first of every month, unless if the first is on a weekend I guess. If it’s on a weekend it will either come out on the Monday after or the Friday before. Or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Who’s to say, really? And recapping August 2017, the first episode was something. Let’s just say this… how long do you think two people who really don’t like the Foo Fighters can talk about the Foo Fighters? Five minutes? Nope. Ten minutes. Nope. FIFTEEN MINUTES? Nah dawg. You’re going to have to tune in to find out. But let’s just say it’s a LOT of Foo Fighters talk. A LOT. Outside of the Foo Fighters, we actually did talk about a few other things. Not much, but we did. What did we talk about? The new Queens of the Stone Age record Villains, how much Jon loves Cloakroom, how rad Hum is/was, the new Arcade Fire record and some other stuff. But listing that stuff really undersells how much Foo Fighters talk there was. This was a very relevant podcast for 2017. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

Here we are in 2016 and we’re talking the old guys in Metallica making a new record. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct is their tenth studio record and it was time to talk on the podcast if these old men still have it. It’s been a rough journey as of late for Metallica. By “as of late” I guess I mean since 1991’s Metallica (aka The Black Album), but since then it’s been rough sailing. Riding trend waves, making an embarrassing documentary, and some super questionable production work has done them in to their hardcore fans. But here there are in 2016, hitting number one around the world and ramping up for an assumedly highly attended (and highly profitable) world tour. It can be mystifying how a band who has been derided since the early 90’s still maintains a giant fan base and is relevant. While most publications have universally been praising this record, what will the B.G.M. crew think? Will we cut the record some slack and grade it on a curve because of the poor quality of other releases, or will our writers savage it and say it’s complete shit? We are joined by a crew of distinguished bearded gentlemen to talk about Hardwired… to Self-Destruct. That crew includes Jon, Rolie, Coop, Cody, Jeremy, and myself. With a big group like that there was plenty to talk about and we hit on important stuff like what was the last good Metallica record, are Metallica still a metal band, and is Hardwired… to Self-Destruct good or bad? Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that.

Prince is dead. Prince is dead. Prince is dead. Dead? Dead. Seriously, I just can’t get past that Prince is dead. At only 57 years old, it was far too soon for an artist that had so much more to offer the world. A true legend and unique spirit, Prince did thing his way and it was hard to argue that it wasn’t always the right way. He died too young, but was there ever really a right time? Now that we live in a post-Prince world, it was time to put the purple light up in the sky and call together those on the site who care the most to discuss Prince’s legacy and our own fandom. Included in this pod: * Jon and Isaac, the co-Founders and Editors of Bearded Gentlemen Music talk about a grab bag of Prince related memories, but most of all recall the finer points of the album and film Purple Rain. Is it good or is it bad? jk we all know it’s good. * Mel jumps on the pod and discusses Prince’s relationship (both musically and personally) with women. * Rollie then makes another appearance on the Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast to discuss the first time he saw and heard Prince, and how it changed his life. Also, during this portion we chat a lot about Prince’s image and how closely he managed it. * Closing out the podcast, Brandon Perras chats about his personal Prince fandom and how it has led to a closer bond with one of his friends. This portion of the pod includes talk about recreating the “Diamonds and Pearls” video and taking acid. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Cover art courtesy of Mel Vega. Subscribe on iTunes HERE

It’s that time again for music fans to make a decision that will define their summer: Will I mess around and try to go to a music festival this year? With most of the major North American music festivals announcing their lineups, Bearded Gentlemen Music wants to help you make this important decision. On this episode of the podcast Mel, Jon, Cody, Aaron and myself tackle all of the relevant music festival lineups and grade them appropriately. We run down the headliners and lineups of most major fests and give our prospective of if they are worth the time/trouble/expense to attend. Making summer fest decisions are important so don’t make them without input from your friends at B.G.M. Festivals that we cover in the pod: Cochella / Panorama / Bonnaroo / Pitchfork / Lollapalooza / Newport Folk Fest / Governors Ball / Warped Tour / Levitation / Firefly and more smaller/regional/niche fests! Our personalities? Shining like the summer sun. The jokes? More enjoyable than a summer BBQ. The takes? OH MY GOD THE TAKES. Hotter than the temps in July. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. Editors Note: Are we good or bad? Like we really need to know. The world and the universe depend on us knowing this. I mean this podcast is amazing and we do the best job ever. So we need to know how good… or bad we are, but we know we are good. We just like hearing how good we are. If we are bad than keep your opinion to yourself or if you really feel like you need to you can tell us. Thanks!

(Header art created in the Animal Collective “Painting With” app) Animal Collective has been a band for 17 years. Really think hard about that and think back to the first time you were exposed to the band. What did they sound like then? Have you hung with Animal Collective throughout the entire ride, or did they have particular sounds/moments you were more drawn to? In this episode Bearded Gentlemen Music writers,  Kendon, Melissa, and myself, get together to discuss Animal Collective the band and what we think of their new album Painting With. No spoilers here, but all of us come to the podcast with different perspectives on the band and it leads to some interesting opinions of how to digest the band’s new albums and what we like (and don’t like).   Some of the many thing we cover on this podcast are: * Each of our individual experiences with Animal Collective and how big of fans we are * How well we know the name of the band * How well we know the names of the Animal Collective members * How well we know the names of the band’s albums (and in particular the name of the new album) * Most importantly, is Painting With good? Or is it bad? Dying for knowledge and information pertaining to the above questions and some generally chumminess between co-workers? Well gosh darn it, you should join us for the latest podcast. Also, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping. Help us help you by encouraging us to make the best podcast possible, because we’re insecure like that. http://myanimalhome.net/

It’s hard to spill any ink over Kanye West that isn’t already on the page. Kanye is one of the most troubled, beguiling, and frustrating artists of the current generation. He’s also one of the most talented. A hip hop artist that embraces an album-centric approach to making music and chooses to make fully-form pieces of art rather than a collection of marketable singles. While Yeezy doesn’t chase fame with his music, he does so through his constantly grating and abrasive public persona. He’s not only a celebrity who says exactly what’s on his mind, you often question where those words are coming from. Somewhere deep down are you hurt, Kanye? Are you sad? Are you mad? If it wasn’t enough that the hype for The Life of Pablo has been suffocating, the bullshit that surrounds Kanye West has been louder and more ignorant than ever. It’s getting harder and harder to separate Kanye the artist from Kanye the guy, giving pause to many people who fought to the death that Kanye was a singular genius. So that’s why we pulled this podcast together. Because The Life of Pablo is finally upon us. On the pod, we are joined by Jon Robertson, Cody Davis, Rolando Agado, and myself to talk about Yeezy’s career, wild opinions, and the album The Life of Pablo. Of course, in grand B.G.M. podcast tradition, we determine once and for all if The Life of Pablo is good or bad, but we also contextualize that point and fully explore the connection between artist and art. The Life of Pablo is claimed by Kanye West to be a grand artistic statement… but is it? Only by listening to this podcast will you ever find out. Lastly, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher and where ever else find podcasts are found. What’s “appropriately”? Five stars/two thumbs up/10 out of 10, obviously. Because if you don’t help us, we can’t help you with these hot takes we’re dropping.   More Kanye West The Life of Pablo coverage here.

(Super dope oversized DIIV sweatshirt pics courtesy of DIY Magazine) We’re back! And we made it to episode three! Pretty impressive right? This week we are doing something completely new for Bearded Gentlemen Music – a podcast album review.  Changing the game, kids! In episode three, I’m (Mike) joined by site leader / co-owner / Editor in Chief / all around good guy Jon Robertson and B.G.M. writer / hot take-haver Mel Vega. Together, we take on the important and fascinating task of dissecting DIIV and reviewing their new album Is the Is Are. We start by talking what our personal histories are with DIIV and how we feel about their first record Oshin. There’s a lot of this in the podcast, but it’s really important to contextualize how we feel about the band. From there, we go into the Bearded Gentlemen Music Podcast Signature Rating System™ and rate DIIV’s Is the Is Are.  This is easily the most important part of the podcast because we comprehensively and very seriously evaluate the album to the finest detail.  Also, during this part of the segment, one of us mispronounces the band’s name. STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT. The end of the podcast is a lengthy discussion of contextualizing Is the Is Are to DIIV / Zachary Cole Smith’s career and things get goofy and weird. Let’s just say there’s discussion about a “bring your own pillow concerts”, oversized sweatshirts, a super-secret contest, and journalism ethics. It’s really strange. So it seems like the general indie blog community really likes the album. I think Pitchfork just gave it an 8 in their review. So what will we think about it? You have to listen to find out. But it’s worth it, we promise. Mostly because we are awesome and the most trusted source for very scientific and comprehensive music reviews. Lastly, please subscribe to our podcast and rate it appropriately on iTunes /Google Play /Stitcher / Soundcloud where ever else find podcasts are found. It really helps us out if you give us five gold stars and a big old thumbs up, and you totally want to help us… don’t you? DIIV’s Facebook Page

In episode 2 of the Bearded Gentlemen Music podcast, we cover everything David Bowie. I talk to Bearded Gentlemen Music writers Aaron “Coop” Cooper, Rolando Agado, Melissa Vega, and Jon Robertson all give a little of their time to talk about what intrigued them about Bowie’s career and celebrate his life. We lead off with Coop talking about how David Bowie made it “okay” to be weird. Coop thinks that Bowie was weird and that was totally awesome and enabled more weirdness in the future. Rolando Agado comes up next to talk about the morning of Bowie’s death, how he found out and his feelings of gathering information about the death in the modern age. Melissa Vega then joins the pod to just reflect on Bowie’s death in general. She didn’t have a real focused topic, but that’s ok because she had a lot of original thoughts on Bowie. Closing things out, site co-owner/co-founder shows up to get funky and talk about the first three songs on Let’s Dance. In addition, he tells a story about Prince. Totally worth sticking around for it. A bit of fair warning, this Bowiecast is long.  Like really long.  Two hours long. But it’s worth it! We promise! You get to hear a bunch of different, interesting conversations, and hear some crazy good David Bowie songs. Totally worth it. For more dedication pieces and coverage on David Bowie click here.

Editors Note: Bearded Gentlemen Music is starting a podcast. The idea behind the B.G.M. Podcast will be to randomly get staff members together to chat about whatever is happening in the world of music or just anything that the staff members at B.G.M. feel like ranting about in general. New episodes should be appearing with a somewhat regular cadence from now on. The show will be hosted by Cleveland’s own Mike Scherf with new staff members and possibly musical guests contributing to the discussion on every episode. We here at B.G.M are excited for our new adventure in the podcasting world, hopefully you enjoy listening to it as much as Mike enjoyed producing it. Thanks!  – Jon This week on the B.G.M. Podcast, Mike Scherf and Kendon Luscher discuss all things Wavves and Cloud Nothings. Earlier this year, Wavves and Cloud Nothings collaborated on No Life for Me, an album that Mike argues is Wavves featuring vocals from Cloud Nothings’ and not a true fifty/fifty artistic split. Kendon disagrees, saying Baldi tempers the album into something more interesting than Wavves has released since their breakthrough 2010 album King of the Beach. They both agree that album was Wavves’ creative highpoint, and the band has run out of ideas since then. This is most evident on Wavves’ most recent release, V. In a year that seems like it would be a victory for the band, these two albums have instead shown the gap that has risen between the Cloud Nothings and Wavves. In the time since King of the Beach was released, Cloud Nothings have risen from what Kendon describes as terrible bedroom pop to true artistic triumph. In that time, Baldi has shed some of his more annoying vocal ticks and simplistic instrumentation and has become one of the best vocalist in indie-punk with one of the best backing bands as well. With it has come a greater emphasis on song writing and lyrical depth. Seemingly, these are two bands going in opposite directions. Mike talks about how good Cloud Nothings are live, but admits he’s only seen them in their hometown of Cleveland so the show experience may not be the same as elsewhere. Still, he points out that many of the songs have longer instrumental sequences that lend themselves well to live performances. Conversely, Kendon shares the story of when he overcame a bad cold to go see Wavves play in Buffalo a little after the release of King of the Beach. He went in expecting to become best friends with the band, but left disappointed. The difference in attitudes toward each band’s own music highlights the difference in approach between the bands. – Kendon Cloud Nothing’s Facebook Page | Wavves’ Facebook Page