E303 - Split Enz - Tim Finn & Eddie Rayner on ENZyclopedia Vol. 1 & 2
Stranger than fiction, larger than life...we are elated to welcome Split Enz singer/songwriter/pianist Tim Finn and keyboardist Eddie Rayner to O3L! This is gonna be a hard act to follow.
Formed in 1972 in Auckland, New Zealand, Split Enz, known initially as Split Ends, were, and remain, utterly unique. As the first band from New Zealand to achieve major success beyond the Southern Hemisphere, they blazed a trail with a sound and style entirely their own. Evolving from folk-inspired beginnings into a fusion of art-rock, new wave, and theatrical performance, Split Enz didn’t just follow trends, they genuinely created them. While no one sounded like Split Enz at the time, countless acts have drawn inspiration from their legacy over the past five decades.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut, Mental Notes, the first installment of a landmark archival project, ENZyclopedia Volumes One & Two, presents a comprehensive tribute to New Zealand’s most visionary and influential band. ENZyclopedia Volumes One & Two is housed in a deluxe 5-CD box set (also available as a 3-LP + Blu-Ray edition), this release has been curated in close collaboration with the band. It offers an in-depth look at their formative years, showcasing the evolution of a group whose creative spirit reshaped the boundaries of popular music from New Zealand. The CD set features remasters of their first two albums, Mental Notes (1975) and Second Thoughts (1976), a remix of Second Thoughts, a partially remixed, remastered version of the early tracks comp The Beginning of the Enz, and a disc of live tracks, rough tracks, and alternate mixes.
ENZyclopedia Volumes 1 & 2 is out now on Chrysalis Records.
Special thanks to Maria Malta for the introduction and coordination.
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E302 - Elf Power's Andrew Rieger - Top 5 Elephant 6 Obscurities
This week, we are heading back into the weird and wonderful world of the Elephant 6 collective - this time to talk about E6 obscurities. Yes, "obscurity" is relative. To the casual music fan, perhaps it's all obscure.
We take it to mean that we don’t need another episode to extol the virtues of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane, Over The Sea, Olivia Tremor Control’s Dusk At Cubist Castle, or The Apples In Stereo’s Tone Soul Evolution. Either way, we aim to uncover some of the lesser known gems in the consistently consistent E6 catalogue.
Outside of the four founding members - Robert Schneider, Jeff Mangum, Will Cullen Hart, and Bill Doss - there is arguably no bigger name in the E6 universe than Elf Power and their songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Andrew Rieger. Elf Power is responsible for some of the finest psych-pop and indie rock records since 1995...but we’re actually NOT here today to celebrate the release of a new Elf Power album, but rather roughly five minutes of some of the most surprising music to come out in 2025. Leap Through Poisoned Air is a from the vaults collaboration EP between the late, great Will Cullen Hart, who we lost in 2024, and Andrew Rieger, and released on Rieger and keyboardist Laura Carter’s label Orange Twin.
Thanks to Mike Turner from Crashing Through Publicity for the introduction and coordination!
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E301 - The Shut-Ups - Top 5 Albums with 20+ Songs
Sometimes too much is just enough! This week, our criteria is simple…but that doesn’t make it easy. We're looking at albums with 20 or more songs - whether they are long or concise, and regardless of how many slabs of vinyl or hunks of digital plastic are contained within. And, ultimately, it's not about quantity, it's about quality. Just because it's sprawling doesn't mean it can't be purposeful.
One such album, weighing in at 27 tracks and nearly 85 minutes, is the purposeful new album Proverbs by Atlanta/Athens band The Shut-Ups. To quote the synopsis on The Shut-Ups Bandcamp page, Proverbs is a “double album full of dubious advice for a stiff-necked people.” It’s a sprawl of an album that’s rooted in power pop and new wave-influenced indie rock, but covers a dizzying range of stylistic ground, and is all tied together by sardonic songwriting and an irreverent sense of humor.
Our Third Lads are the constant creative force of the Shut-Ups, songwriter/vocalist/keyboardist Don Condescending, and multi-instrumentalist Jason NeSmith…a name that we’ve brought up a bunch of times on this very podcast as he not only also plays in Pylon Reenactment Society and Casper and the Cookies, but is also the renowned mastering engineer behind so many of the sonically and musically great records and reissues by many of our past guests.
Get happy with O3L!
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E300 - O3L's 300th!
Well, geez, you caught us feeling all nostalgic and celebratory. It's time for the landmark 300th episode of Only Three Lads!
During this episode, you'll hear:
Your messages!
A special visit from the original Third Lad...Bueno!
New music from Tony Valentino, The Goods, The Melody Chamber, and The Chelsea Curve
A brand new O3L game...based off of O3L's past - "Pod Sharks"
A new segment of "You Weren't Supposed to Hear THAT!"
We are so grateful for and touched by the wonderful audio messages that you sent us. Thank you:
The Jack Rubies
Barry Andrews (Shriekback, XTC)
Jesse Jackson (Set Lusting Bruce podcast)
Debora Iyall (Romeo Void)
Love Tractor
Marina Muhlfriedel (Vivabeat, Backstage Pass)
Maurice Bursztynski (Love That Album, See Hear podcasts)
Tony Valentino (The Standells)
Steve Barton (Translator)
Dave Scheff (Translator,)
Genny Schorr (Backstage Pass, author - All Roads Lead to Punk)
Pylon Reenactment Society
Matt Piucci (The Rain Parade)
Daniel McKeown
Dean Brownrout (Big Deal Records, author - No Big Deal)
The Rishis
Kimberly Brown (author, Timmy The Taxi)
Timmy the Taxi
Allison Landa (author, Bearded Lady)
Slender Dan
Lemoyne Alexander
Allen Wagner (Kilkenny Cats, Is/Ought Gap)
Mat Mills (Goodbye Wudaokou)
DoubleVee
Dan Voznick (aka Alec Tension - Afterimage)
Julio Santos
Frank Boscoe (The Ekphrastics)
Jim Basnight
Tears Run Rings
The Melody Chamber
Carl Cafarelli (DJ - This is Rock n' Roll Radio, author - several fine books!)
Daniel House (Skin Yard, C/Z Records)
Tony Jenkins (Kobayashi Bookstore)
The Open Flames
Terry Banks (Dot Dash)
Lance Carmine
Joshua Cole
Stay tuned for the next 300!
Want to access the O3L Index for a handy reference on where to find discussions about your favorite artists? Go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EpesEJ-JWBTxVZ3C11J3MGZ1qcAzrDx_/view?usp=sharing
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E299 - Acapulco Lips - Top 5 Beach Albums
Cowabunga, Moondoggie! Let's pack up the woody and go Huey at the beach! Whaddya say?
Yeah, call it bad timing, call it wishful thinking, or call it wistful nostalgia for the bygone summer, but this week we’re having an O3L Beach Party! We’ve got all of the essentials with us, except the most crucial thing: the tunes, man! We each need to pack up some albums for the beach to play on our state-of-the-art O3L boombox.
There’s a new album that definitely needs to come to this beach blanket bingo : Now, by Seattle’s Acapulco Lips on Killroom Records. It’s a euphoric mix of fuzz n’ Farfisa garage rock swagger, heady reverb-drenched psych, sinewy surf rock, and girl group charm that crackles with restless energy and reckless cool. It carries on admirably from, and improves upon (in our opinion), their self titled record from 2016. Get it on cool tangerine & lemon galaxy colored vinyl from acapulcolips.bandcamp.com or stream it - of course, if you’re one of those new fangled fancy pants - but you’ve gotta hear this record.
Joining us for this rad rager is none other than the aforementioned Acapulco Lips - vocalist/bassist Maria-Elena Herrell, guitarist Christopher Garland, and drummer Jordan T Adams.
You can almost feel the sand in your shorts!
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About Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music Podcast
Only Three Lads is a lively podcast celebrating the Golden Age of Alternative Music from the '70s, '80s & '90s. Join Uncle Gregg, Brett Vargo, and a variety of ”Third Lads” as we share our Top Fives, stories, and news about the music we love, and have a lot of fun along the way! Whether you‘re into indie, punk, new wave, Britpop, power pop, synth pop, shoegaze, grunge...or whatever...there is going to be something for you to discover and love. Part of Pantheon Podcasts.