Pop Shield: Perspectives On Music Past And Present

While we're all away for the holidays, enjoy this bonus episode from the archives breaking down every song on Prince's 1984 classic, Purple Rain. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

We celebrate the new super-deluxe-edition of Prince's 1999 by ranking every song on the album and diving into all that amazing bonus material. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

We celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most polarizing albums of all time, Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, by discussing discussing how to "get it." Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

Instead of your run-of-the-mill review of Jesus Is King, we try to figure out how we got here by discussing the last year in the life of Kanye West, including the Yandhi leaks, Sunday Service, Jesus Is King, and all of the antics in between. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

We share our personal picks for the 10 best records of the 2010s, discuss the musical trends that defined the decade, and, of course, complain about Pitchfork's end-of-the-decade lists. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

Enjoy this bonus episode on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, recorded back in 2017 to celebrate the release of the remixed 50th anniversary edition. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

We celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' Abbey Road by discussing the new "super deluxe" reissue and attempting to rank every song on the album. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com 

We revisit the Wu-Tang Clan's overstuffed and underrated sophomore LP, Wu-Tang Forever. Then, listener emails on Neutral Milk Hotel and Vampire Weekend. Email us: PopShieldPod@gmail.com

A listener email inspired us to dive deep into a masterpiece we all somehow missed, Burial's 2007 LP, Untrue.

A listener email inspired us to share this bonus episode, recorded back in 2018, on the re-recording of Car Seat Headrest's Twin Fantasy. Enjoy!

We've had pre-Aeroplane Neutral Milk Hotel on our minds lately, so we decided to discuss the band's criminally overlooked debut LP, On Avery Island, and finally give it its due.

Billie Eilish is proving to be one of the most divisive pop stars in recent memory. We dive deep into her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and try to figure out why.

Enjoy this bonus episode on Radiohead's OK Computer reissue, OKNOTOK, as well as the band's most recent album, A Moon Shaped Pool—both recorded at the time of their original release.

In the wake of Thom Yorke's magnificent ANIMA, we reassess Yorke's The Eraser alongside Radiohead's The King of Limbs—the first two disappointments from an otherwise flawless band.

Enjoy this bonus episode on all 8 hours of Autechre's NTS Sessions, recorded back in 2018.

We celebrate the legacy of the iconic Warp Records by discussing underrated gems from Boards of Canada, Broadcast, and Autechre.

We celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nirvana's debut album by counting down the 10 best songs in the legendary band's extraordinary catalogue.

Bob Dylan's legendary 1975 concert tour, recently documented in film and box set form, has us trying to figure out the meaning and lessons of the fascinating experiment that was the Rolling Thunder Revue.

There are so many similarities and connections between the Grateful Dead and the Velvet Underground, so why do they feel like polar opposites? We compare and contrast both bands' most jammed-out masterpieces to get to the bottom of it.

The announcement of Tool's first album in 12 years has us reflecting on our former obsession and current distaste for the alternative metal juggernauts, so we revisit their crowning achievement, 2001's Lateralus, in order to reassess the band's legacy.