Listeners Like You

Brian assigned Talking Through Tin Cans by The Morning Benders, and what starts as Cort’s simple album review turns into a deep dive on the band’s identity shift, artistic shift, and the fact that the name change apparently changed everything. Cort did his research, people, but Brian came with doctorate-level analysis, as per usual.

Elsewhere, the new Ben Folds Live with the National Symphony Orchestra gets full marks (who’s surpri...

We’re back with Brian’s thoughts on Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia, an album recommended by Cort’s daughter. While Brian’s reaction is, let’s say, unsurprising … the conversation actually gets pretty deep into the weeds in a good way. We dig into the fact that what makes a challenging album listenable (or even inspiring) to some, maybe does not to others, and Cort may give a demonstration on how not to defend art that plays with ...

This week, we welcome our youngest (and likely most musically gifted) guest ever, Brian’s son, Whit Faughnan, who gave us a playlist of Fugazi tracks because he likes Fugazi and the DC Hardcore scene (you know, the one from before he was born). We go deep on Fugazi's music and history and dig through the legacy of Dischord Records and the Hardcore movement. What more could you want?  Also in this episode: A discussion of Whit’s own...

This episode, Cort reports back on Not Animal by Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s and yada, yada, yada, next thing you know Brian is practically giving a TED Talk on the original makeup of the band, its founder Richard Edwards, and the band’s “break-up.” So what actually is Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s? The original members only? Or anyone Richard feels like dragging into the studio? (Shoutout to The Shins' James Mercer...

In this episode, Brian goes on a three-album detour just to reach Cort's recommendation of Strange Ranger’s No Light in Heaven. Cort actually listens to one of his own recs for a change, and his feelings are … mixed. But! His one-time stated, but frequently ascribed "long-standing belief" in the power of tracks in the position of "7th" may finally be justified.

Cort dives into the Irish History Podcast, Brian hits him with a quiz o...

This week, Cort gets an assignment that's pure rock and roll gold: Tell Me I’m Pretty by Cage the Elephant. Spoiler LOLZ, he loved it. Brian takes us deeper with his thoughts on the band, trivia about the Shultz brothers who formed it, and the band’s (or at least the brothers') southern origins.

Brian also wanted to gush about the new Counting Crows release, Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!, but Cort hasn’t listened yet, obvi, ...

In this episode of Listeners Like You, Cort assigned homework. Brian turns in a meh review, and somehow Gracie Lawrence walks away with a Tony nomination anyway.

Cort made Brian listen to Family Business by Lawrence. In Cort's opinion it's a funky, soulful, horn-infused joyride of an album featuring the Tony-nominated powerhouse Gracie Lawrence (yes, that Gracie, now starring in The Sex Lives of College Girls on MAX and in Just in ...

Brian and Cort have a guest, which of course means our listeners should quadruple.  Come listen to us discuss Peach Pit's album Magpie and compare it to one of their earlier works, You and Your Friends.  On a personal note, Brian had a lot of fun recording with Cort's son, who reminds Brian a lot of what Cort was like back when he was young and fun.  On a sad note, this episode may have led directly to Cort's son taking out a restr...

The boys are at it again. Cort talks the new Hamilton Leithauser album, This Side of the Island. Bon Iver had a new album drop. So did Mumford and Sons. Brian decides it’s time to jettison a “popular” segment and leaves listeners with some sage advice. Also there is so much new TV and there’s a new game to be played.

This Side of the Island - Hamilton Leithauser - https://open.spotify.com/album/06d60TFUm7t91QHcVKq65T?si=iL4Ii2vSQvG...

We get a little straight-up saucy in this one.  Brian talks about Finneas' 2024 album, For Cryin' Out Lout. There are rule-changes afoot in Traitors US and UK, and Brian doesn't like it!  Speaking of rule changes, did I mention we're saucy? Our rules are out the window for a little segment we like to call: So You're Thinking of Leaving the US?  There's more.  You know we're just two guys sharing our opinions about the things we've ...

The guys discuss their somewhat differing opinions of Michigander's 2025 self-titled album. They discuss which talents such as singing ability should really be considered when determining the winners of acting superlatives in races such as the Oscars. Their ever-increasingly popular segment, So You're Thinking About Leaving the United States, meanders over to Liechtenstein, a doubly landlocked microstate in Central Europe. There's ...

There is a definite difference in musical taste when it comes to musical tastes.  Brian reviews Steep Canyon Rangers' 2023 album Morning Shift.  The guys dream of escaping to Norway.  There is a discussion about the touring version of the Broadway show Hamilton that just recently passed through Memphis. And Brian even reviews a book (although he was silent on the suspected non-audio aspect of the book), The Kaiju Preservation Socie...

Surprise surprise.  The guys have thrown together a little bonus episode to celebrate the release of The Lumineers new album, Automatic. Join them as they spend twice as much time discussing the album as it takes to listen to it. Laugh along at Cort's wildly incorrect interpretations of the songs.  It's fun.  As always, there is some hilarity doing some ensuing.  

The Lumineers - Automatic - https://open.spotify.com/album/5WMQEzS5E...

Brian and Cort welcome guest Trisha Rich.  They discuss Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin Bob Dylan, a little revisiting of the play Girl from the North Country, and Bob Dylan biopic A Complete unknown, which of course leads to a broader, longer conversation about this year's Oscar nominations and Trish's annual endeavor to watch all Oscar nominated films prior to the actual awards ceremony.  Trish and Cort dissect the listening/viewing ...

In the penultimate episode of season 5 of Listeners Like You the guys . . . sorry, this just in, Listeners Like You famously doesn't do seasons.  But if we did, this would be an awesome penultimate episode.  Cort talks about the revelation that is Wishy's Triple Seven (henceforth "777") and the disappointment that is Franz Ferdinand's new album (disappointment to Cort anyway; Brian stands by the recommendation). Talk of Wishy natur...

In this episode the guys discuss Brian's experience with Depresh Mode with John Moe. It leads them into a pretty in depth conversation about podcast production and production values, which is totally not as dry a conversation as it sounds! Because ... these boys are on fire.

What motivates the "rebrand"? When companies rebrand why do they do it?  Which rebrands have been successful and which have failed? We discuss it all.

Cort rev...

Wherein the guys discuss the album Cunningham Bird (a song for song remake of Buckingham Nicks) by Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham.

Cort digs in to the subtle differences between the audio versions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone read by Jim Dale and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone read by Stephen Fry.  

Have you ever considered moving to Switzerland? In our ongoing series So You're Thinking About Leaving the U...

In this episode Brian gives his take on Lin-Manuel Miranda's concept album, Warriors, and ever the overachiever, he also went out and watched the 1979 film it was based on, The Warriors. There is a discussion about Cort's Spotify Wrapped list, and then the guys take a hard right turn into Yacht Rock. So You're Thinking About Leaving the United States makes its return in this episode and the guys do a deep dive on moving to Vatican ...

Brian and Cort welcome another very special guest on this very special episode of Listeners Like You.  Long-time listener, first-time caller Hanson Tipton peeks in to share his thoughts on music and music history.  The group discussed MJ Lenderman's "Manning Fireworks." 

"Cyrus Oh Cyrus" - The Flying Scrub Jays - https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B0BD2HJ21S?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_VrTdsV...