Episode 32: Bob Mould

Explicit content warning

12/14/21 • 36 min

Bob Mould really needs no introduction. He was one third of US punk pioneers Hüsker Dü – arguably the very band (with a respectful nod to Black Flag) that ploughed the furrows for every independent band that followed. He was the fulcrum in brilliant post-grunge types Sugar. And in and between both, he’s released a string of brilliant, and often alarmingly eclectic solo records. He’s as close as I’ve got to a living musical hero, and so I was hella nervous about this chat. You know what? I think things worked out just fine.
Bob even indulged me and let me – a pro-wrestlng fan – ask him a bunch of questions about his tenure in creative at the late, sometimes great, sometimes awful - but normally brilliantly so - much missed World Championship Wrestling. Wild that. Even if you’re not a fan of wrestling, I think you’ll find much to enjoy in this episode. We talk about Bob’s most recent collection of new songs, 2020’s Blue Hearts, his plans for 2022, Trump, Regan, social media, mental illness, and the batshit harpsicord solo on Sugar’s 1992 hit 'Hoover Dam'. I can’t believe how easily nerves mutated into absolute joy. I loved doing this interview – and I hope you love, or at least like listening to it.
The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a record label, a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually really helps people find our podcasts!

Twitter - @jamesjammcmahon
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Twitter - @jamesjammcmahon
Substack - https://spoook.substack.com
YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Vf_1E1Sza2GUyFNn2zFMA
Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/jamesmcmahonmusicpod/

Previous Episode

Episode 31: Jake Popyura, Supermilk

So there used to be this band called Doe. I loved them. Still love them, really. They had an album – they had a few, but this was my favourite – called Some Things Last Longer Than You. And then they split up. Gone before their time.
But then the drummer, Jake Popyura - who I speak to for this episode today - went and did a new thing. They’re called Supermilk and they’ve got two albums now – 2020’s Death Is The Best Thing For You Now and this years Four By Three. I can’t decide which one is my favourite. They both wail. And over 40 minutes we talk our shared adoration of the pioneering Glasgow indie pop band Bis, the chaos of COVID, our hopes for the British DIY punk scene, horror movies... and more. Let’s get at it then...
The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a record label, a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually really helps people find our podcasts!

Twitter - @jamesjammcmahon
Substack - https://spoook.substack.com
YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Vf_1E1Sza2GUyFNn2zFMA
Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/jamesmcmahonmusicpod/

Next Episode

Episode 33: Derek Sanders, Mayday Parade

It’s hard to defend pop punk these days. The party is long over, the darkness taking the place of the morning sun. It is a scene littered with the corpses of fallen and exposed heroes. But, while Rome fell – or at least the backstage area of Warped Tour – Mayday Parade kept on doing what they do; which is, crunchy guitars, yearning lyrics, melodies dropped from heaven above. The five piece, from Tallahassee, Florida, may well be – whisper it – pop punk's most consistent band. And their new album, the recently released What It Means To Fall Apart, only gives weight to the argument.
After you’ve listened to this interview with singer Derek Sanders – in which he talks openly about the band’s relationship with former singer Jason Lancaster, with insight I don’t think I’ve ever heard him or any other member of Mayday Parade reveal before – please do consider a) rating, reviewing and subscribing to this podcast. You’ll never miss an episode that way. And b) subscribing to my Substack – that’s spoook.substack.com – which is the place that hosts so much of my music writing these days. And remember, this Monday coming, 8pm on December 20th, is my debut documentary for BBC Radio 4. It’s about OCD and the British working class and the eighties quiz show Bullseye. Everyone loves a bit of Bully!
The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a record label, a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually really helps people find our podcasts!