On the Cure’s definitive 1987 double album, the death rattle of punk guilt, and the coronation of Robert Smith as a pop culture icon.

On the shaky start to the Cure’s Imperial era, their ascension to alternative rock royalty, and the concessions required to right Robert Smith’s foundering career in the mid 1980s.Af Mutual Skies

Bringing the Shallow Rewards Cure podcasts up to date, this episode covers the last twenty years of the band: the 2004 self-titled LP, 4:13 Dream and my first impressions of the material likely to feature on the forthcoming Songs of a Lost World.Af Shallow Rewards

On the unexpectedly estimable Bloodflowers, Robert Smith’s legacy-saving last gasp as a songwriter; its tragically dated brick wall + Pro Tools production; and Smith’s egotistical severing of ties with everyone who’d helped fashion the Cure in its glory days.Af Shallow Rewards

On the tragic collapse of the Cure following the career-topping Wish, the various distractions that beset Wild Mood Swings, and how the persistent obstinance Robert Smith had relied on for so long finally failed him.Here’s the Vox article I reference in the last third of the show.Af Mutual Skies

On the Cure’s surfeit of activity between Disintegration and Wish; the 1992 smash album’s highs and lows; and how for many fans, Wish remains a disappointment when set against the material that preceded it. Further to the podcast, please enjoy an essay I wrote on the subject, and an attendant remix of Wish, from 2011.…

Over a few drinks, and Stephen Kijak’s calamitous Shoplifters of the World, Elliot Busch-Wheaton returns after a five-year hiatus to discuss the legacy of the Smiths and Morrissey in America.Af Mutual Skies

On Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ brief, turbulent marriage; the side projects that outshone their combined efforts; and how from fall 1982 to fall 1984, Robert Smith lost the plot in order to find it again. Pursuant to this era are a few essays I contributed to a tumblr called One Week One Band eight years ago: MINUTIAE & MADNESS: THE…

On the rabid, raging fin de siècle of the Cure’s vaunted goth trilogy, Pornography; whether it is the singular statement the band and critics have increasingly claimed; and the murkier reality of Robert Smith’s many extracurricular entanglements in 1982. A Spotify playlist available here.Af Mutual Skies

On the great grey Anglican monolith that is Faith, the Cure’s “difficult third album”; the inescapable shadow of Joy Division’s Closer; being branded “the new PF”; and whether any twenty-one year-old should be held to account for the quality of their poetry. A Spotify playlist is available here.Af Mutual Skies

On the Cure’s second album, the impossibly crisp Seventeen Seconds; its debatable debts to Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire and Gary Numan; and the arrival of Robert Smith as a modern songwriter, but not yet a persona. An accompanying Spotify playlist is available here.Af Mutual Skies

On the improbable endurance of XTC, a band signed during the punk frenzy that would bring song-craft back to the fore in the early 1980s. Following a fractious period of financial instability and pressure from Virgin records, the band went on strike in the early 1990s, unable to wrest themselves from one of the worst contracts ever signed.…

On the improbable endurance of XTC, a band signed during the punk frenzy that would bring song-craft back to the fore in the early 1980s. Following a fractious period of financial instability and pressure from Virgin records, the band went on strike in the early 1990s, unable to wrest themselves from one of the worst contracts ever signed. While th…

On Chan Marshall’s stereotyping by the press, her aborted concept album about Kurt Cobain, and the uncomfortable reality of genetic exceptionalism.Af Mutual Skies

On Def Leppard’s unparalleled ascent, and the curious album they recorded after being displaced by grunge in the mid-1990s, Slang. Their 1992 LP Adrenalize was the last successful stadium rock release, and kept The Cure’s Wish from reaching #1.Af Mutual Skies

On the Cure’s uneven 1979 debut, its debts to pub, punk and prog rock, and the importance of older siblings. An accompanying Spotify playlist is available below; please listen on random as this is a broad primer, rather than mix-tape storytelling. Apologies for the uneven sound during the first two sessions that make up the podcast; I had to pick u…

Adult Swim Creative Director Jason DeMarco returns to discuss the state of anime, and the future of Toonami with me and Jake Cleland. // @Clarknova1 @sawngswjakecAf Mutual Skies

Christmas single No. 2: audio commentary for the Cure’s in Orange film from 1986 (currently on YouTube). Essentially, this is a two-hour ramble on the band’s legacy. Merry Christmas, everybody!Af Mutual Skies

I talk with Jason DeMarco—VP and Creative Director of Adult Swim—about his Williams Street imprint, old anime, and Run the Jewels. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

A wandering and wondrous walk through glam, indie, music journalism with my generation's most prolific author, Simon Reynolds.Af Mutual Skies

Sean T. Collins returns to discuss the increasing appropriation of music as emotional heft in television, with a focus on Mr. Robot and Stranger Things. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com…

On the sliding scales of emo history, and the rise and fall (and rise) of Thursday.Af Mutual Skies

On the sliding scales of emo history, and the rise and fall (and rise) of Thursday.Af Mutual Skies

Walking back the history of R.E.M. with @perpetua and @stoatmixen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Walking back the history of R.E.M. with @perpetua and @stoatmixen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Defending the 1990s from take culture with serial TV columnist Sean T. Collins. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Defending the 1990s from take culture with serial TV columnist Sean T. Collins. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

A look back at the trail-rated career of Mountain Goats main-man John Darnielle. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On Kurt Cobain, the grunge moment, and the critical embrace of drug abuse. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

In defense of pop music’s most maligned genre. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

A capricious teenager confronts the cold light of his mother’s record collection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Catching up with New Yorker columnist Amanda Petrusich, author of Do Not Sell at Any Price, It Still Moves, and the 33 1/3 entry for Nick Drake’s Pink Moon. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com…

A look back at shoegaze, the soundtrack of my youth (and the genre that wouldn’t die). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

A look back at shoegaze, the soundtrack of my youth, and the genre that wouldn’t die. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On the wild ride of one George O’Dowd, the biggest name to rise from the Kentish Town slums since Jack Cade. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On the wild ride of one George O’Dowd, the biggest name to rise from the Kentish Town slums since Jack Cade. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On Morrissey’s bipolar first wave of work, and the twin specters of nationalism and racism he struggled to resolve as a young man. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On Duran Duran’s remarkable and enduring 1988 LP. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On Duran Duran’s remarkable and enduring 1988 LP. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Peeling back the apple on Mark Ronson, the Police, and sonic nostalgia. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

A straight rant on the legacy of William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, with background on my time at Pitchfork and as a loop musician. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On the first three Lollapalooza festivals, and the peak years of Ministry and Mercury Rev. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Let’s hear it for the internet’s sweetheart, @maura This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

A paean to Richard Gottehrer, girl groups, and the wondrous absurdity of rock n’ roll before authenticity spoiled the broth. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On the vanishing of Ride’s Going Blank Again and My Bloody Valentine’s mbv from the popular consciousness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

Teenage adventures in African pop through the lens of a Downtown Crossing head-shop. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

How the evolution of studio technology turned DJs into pop stars, and brought club culture to the masses. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On Kurt Ralske’s kaleidoscopic Ultra Vivid Scene, and 4AD’s love of synergy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On the collective bias toward interpreting musicians as rights-holders and the socioeconomic value of pop. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies

On Generation Pokemon, artificial scarcity, and exclusivity through labor. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.comAf Mutual Skies