Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music Podcast

Are you all sitting comfybold two square on your body? Then I'll begin.

We return to the topic of the concept album...with a spin. Some concept albums simply don't work without context. Others function as a cohesive collection of songs, even divorced from a weighty backstory or overarching theme. Those are the records that Brett Vargo discusses with this week's Third Lad, Bill Kopp.

You may remember renowned music scribe Bill Kopp from his O3L appearance a few years back discussing his book on classic San Francisco indie label 415 Records, Disturbing The Peace. Now Bill's back, celebrating the release of his latest book, What's The Big Idea - 30 Great Concept Albums, out now on Hozac Books. In What's The Big Idea, Bill explores 30 remarkable concept albums, drawing from new, firsthand interviews with the artists behind their creation, including Pete Townshend, Steve Kilbey, Captain Sensible, Utopia, and William Shatner. While there are some well-known classic concept albums covered such as The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow and Jethro Tull's Thick As A Brick, much of the book is dedicated to lesser known gems that dispel the myth that the concept album died in the mid-1970s.

Order the book at: https://hozacrecords.com/product/pre-order-whats-the-big-idea-30-great-concept-albums-book-by-bill-kopp/

We also feature music by the great veteran Australian singer-songwriter Greg Williams ('Everyday Is Your Birthday') and Pillars of Creation, a band comprised mostly of early Creation Records musicians - led by Jasmine Minks' Jim Shepherd and featuring members of Primal Scream, The Loft, and June Brides ('Be Careful What You Wish For').


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DON'T you forget about us. DO listen to this week's O3L!

That's right...we're covering songs with "do" or "don't" in the title.

Our Third Lad is French songwriter/guitarist Stéphane Schück from The Salt Collective, the unique international collaborative project who recently released their second full-length album, A Brief History of Blindness, on Propeller Sound Recordings. The record features vocal, instrumental, and/or songwriting contributions by a wildly impressive "who's who" of indie rock, including Chris Stamey and Gene Holder (The dB's), Mitch Easter (Let's Active), Andy Partridge (XTC), Jason Falkner (Jellyfish), Kimberly Rew (The Soft Boys, Katrina & the Waves), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Aimee Mann (Til Tuesday), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), the late, great Lynn Blakey (Tres Chicas, Let's Active), Pat Sansone (Wilco), Rob Ladd (The Connells) and more. It's a striking testament to what can happen when great musical minds orbit under the spell of the same creative gravity.

Thanks to Howard Wuelfing from Howlin' Wuelf Media for the introduction and coordination.


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Hope you like curling up with a good podcast, because this week we're all about books...well, specifically, songs that are about or inspired by literature. How high brow of us!

Our Third Lad for this discussion is "literate folk-pop" singer/songwriter Robert Deeble. Literary themes are central to the heart of his music, and his recently released 7th album, The Space Between Us, is no exception. It's another invitation into the secret, beautiful world he has been building since his 1997 debut, Days Like These.

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We're gonna make you an offer you can't refuse...because this week, we go way back to discuss some of our favorite songs of 1972 with the marvelous Anne Richmond Boston from The Swimming Pool Q's!

Possessing a crystalline voice, Anne's journey led her from church and high school choirs to the quirky new wave of the Swimming Pool Q's. Following their debut album The Deep End on DB Records in 1981, the Q's were one of the first Atlanta/Athens areas bands to be snapped up by a major label. For A&M, they recorded their self-titled second album (1984) and Blue Tomorrow (1986). A major tour with Lou Reed ensued, as did a major label makeover. Anne left the Q's in 1987, with her terrific solo debut, The Big House of Time (largely written by and recorded with then husband Rob Gal from The Coolies) following for DB in 1990. With such a promising start to her solo career, surely a second album was hot on its heels. Right???

Well, the intended follow up, I Should Be Happy, was recorded, roughly mixed, and then shelved for 30+ years for unknown reasons. Fortunately, the tapes were revitalized, revamped, and are at long last released! It's a beautiful song cycle about longing and loss, featuring a notable cast of musicians and singers.

That should make us ALL happy!
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It's the darkest, most spiteful O3L yet!

Thanks to an expected guest standing us up at the last minute, after 322 episodes of musical positivity, this week it's all about pushing each other's musical hot buttons. We each curate a list of five songs that we believe the other will loathe. Detest. Hate.

Which means you get more scorn. More disgust. More Uncle Gregg rants. More annoying Brett "grunge voice" imitations. Lucky...you!?!?



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