Discography

Join cult indie-pop songwriter Marc With a C as he chronicles a legendary artist’s catalogue album by album. With Discography you'll walk in a novice, and come out well-informed and with a new favorite record or two. And if you’re a longtime fan, we’ll go deep enough that you’ll be brimming with new factoids and perspectives.

For this maiden voyage, Marc takes on Frank Zappa.

Zappa is one of the most revered American musician...

Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho, or is that a Sears poncho? Marc With a C intends to find out as he continues to traverse Frank Zappa's monolithic catalog this time from 1971's 200 Motels to 1978's Zappa In New York.

Zappa contended that if you played all of his recordings together end to end, they'd create a big song, and we're in the early stages of testing that theory. Thrill as Zappa ditches and regai...

Chop-a-line, now! In this episode we're getting into the most NSFW territory we can possibly offer while we dig through what Zappa called the "ugly" albums. But, in addition to that, we're exploring some serious orchestral stuff, Zappa's first foray into Synclavier territory, and... a bonafide hit single featuring his daughter, Moon Unit? Like, omigod!

Walk in uninitiated, leave with the ability to hold your own at parties where...

In this episode we set our sights on Frank Zappa's mid-eighties work. Things are getting extra weird, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

It's a controversial period - partially because some folks weren't ready for Zappa to go completely electronic with his Synclavier-led composition, while others felt that his lyrics in this era went far, far beyond the pale.

Culty indie pop singer/songwriter Marc With a C continues to an...

Is this phase five of Discography? It would appear to be. Indie rock musician Marc With a C has taken on the arduous task of reviewing all of the albums released in Frank Zappa's lifetime end to end as... one big composition.

Yes! But does it work? "Yes and but also": better than you'd think.

There's more live material in this episode than you can shake a stick at - trust us, we've tried the stick test - and the purportedly m...

While venturing into the hitherto unknown territory of reviewing all Frank Zappa records as one big song was a feat in and of itself, Marc isn't done talking Zappa! After spending 5 episodes voicing his own takes, it's high time to get some other perspectives: "Weird Al" Yankovic, actor/ documentarian Alex Winter, and Zappa band member Mike Keneally.

Each of these guests share their first encounters with Zappa's music, the ways ...

Marc takes on the one and only Janet Jackson! (Miss Jackson, if you're nasty.)

She's sold around 100 million albums worldwide - but all too often remembered for tabloid fodder and her an already famous family. It's just unfair, and Marc sets out to see how her music stands alone and stands up! In this debut episode, we're looking at her much-maligned early records 1982's Janet Jackson & and '84's Dream Street, as well as her...

Discography picks up Janet's story in the thick of her complete domination of pop culture with her seminal and influential albums: 1989's Rhythm Nation 1814, '93's janet., and '97's The Velvet Rope. Some of these albums defined genres, while others would redefine that same genre completely just a few years later.

Janet Jackson's biggest and best-known glory days are the focus of this episode, as Discography takes a deep dive int...

In 2001, Janet Jackson was on top of the pop music world. Her blockbuster album All For You had just made her the first artist in the history of music to produce five consecutive number one albums in a row, her singles were making millions of people happy, and a mere live television performance on HBO brought in 12 million viewers alone.

And then? A "wardrobe malfunction" saw Janet blacklisted from nearly every avenue that had o...

Janet Jackson - while still rightfully considered to be one of the biggest stars that the Western world has ever known - was practically silenced in the world of popular music by a 2004 "media blacklist". After that, it would appear that only a fraction of the music-buying public was even aware that she continued to make music after the event that came to be known as "Nipplegate".

In this penultimate episode of our Janet Jackson...

For the past four episodes, Discography has counted down Janet Jackson's studio records - her self-titled 1982 debut to 2015's Unbreakable. But as host Marc With a C assembled this season, he was completely caught off-guard by just how much completely essential non-album music Ms. Jackson had produced over the years. In this epilogue episode, we discuss some of the best and brightest of her b-sides and give tips on how to find them...

Discography is a quarterly podcast chronicling a legendary artist’s catalog album by album - and this season is one for the record books. Host Marc With a C has already taken on the entirety of Frank Zappa's impenetrably expansive catalogue and the surprising intricacies of Janet Jackson, but now he's cracking open the chronicles of one of the most influential bands of all-time: The Who!

Maybe you're a longtime fan... maybe you'...

Our first episode saw the band rise from humble beginnings all the way to 1969, when The Who had somehow made themselves world famous for writing a rock opera about a physically challenged boy with a talent for... pinball? Of course, you'd celebrate such a feat with a tour of revered opera houses and then record a live album in a glorified school cafeteria, wouldn't you? I mean, it just makes sense.

Join host Marc With A C as he...

By 1973, The Who were superstars. Their gargantuan rock opera Quadrophenia had given wayward teenagers a mirror with which to find themselves, even though the ensuing tour would be the catalyst for each band member to go a bit off the rails in their own ways.

Join host Marc With a C on a sojourn through 1973 to 1976, when Ken Russell's film adaptation of Tommy took the world by storm, and turned lead vocalist Roger Daltrey into ...

Between 1977 and 1982, The Who changed in inconceivable ways. They were still a huge live draw, they were making massive hit records, and their tenure as stars of the silver screen was only seeming to grow, but this period certainly contained some of the saddest chapters in Who history: the death of the seemingly indestructible Keith Moon, the passing of previous manager Kit Lambert, and the Cincinnati stampede that left many fans ...

Following the release of their 1982 album, It's Hard, The Who called it quits and spent the rest of the 80s redefining their solo careers. Join Discography host Marc With a C as he chronicles what he's dubbed "the first farewell era" - exploring the ways that the group had splintered and how they carried on in finding their individual voices. John Entwistle wouldn't have much luck getting his new record off the ground, Roger Daltry...

The 90s were a strange and unpredictable time for The Who. The band was back as a touring act but little else, meanwhile the individual members pressed on into their solo careers. Townshend's passion projects paved the way for eventual Who material, Daltry soldiered on to find a way forward musically, and Entwistle threw caution to the wind to start his own group with friends Steve Luongo and Godfrey Townsend (no relation). These t...