Deeper Cuts

Welcome to Deeper Cuts: The Soundtrack Sessions - a three-episode miniseries which finds the Deeper Cuts trio looking at the the intersection between film and music while looking at albums that were meaningful to one of them. Some years really stand out as landmarks in our lives. The summer of 1989 was one such year for Rob (and for Graeme): a "crossfade year" which was both the end to an era and the beginning of another all at the same time. This was Rob's gap year, working his first full time job at a bookstore and with the possibilities of the future an open frontier ahead of him. It was a last hurrah as the embers of teenage-hood faded. It was also the year of Tim Burton’s Batman movie. Prince’s soundtrack to that movie became a soundtrack for that whole summer when Rob and Graeme were all so young and hopeful for the future. What of the music after all these years? What does Shannon make of this nostalgic trip? What does Graeme remember about that summer? When it comes to this record, are we partying in

Our annual holiday special has returned and so has our traditional gift exchange! Join Shannon, Graeme and Rob as they exchange albums with each other and find out if their gift a Christmas cracker or a lump of coal. But this time they're not alone: we did this episode live in front of an audience on Zoom! Join the Deeper Cuts trio for Q and A and find out what their pals are bringing as musical gifts for the rest of us. It's a holiday party you don't want to miss... and you have the best seat in the house! Check out our Spotify playlist our gifts to each other plus the albums discussed this past season (and our COVID Sessions earlier this year). We also have all the albums and songs our listeners recommended in this episode!

Why are there so many songs about rainbows? In this last episode of our fourth season, the Deeper Cuts trio indulge in some comfort listening, true to our well-established Muppet Agenda. This time, it revolves around the soundtrack album to 1979’s The Muppet Movie. Saving his money from a paper route, a young Graeme bought this, his first self-financed music purchase and, as much as he loved the movie, this soundtrack was a separate and equally worthy experience for him. Years later, what value remains to be found between the grooves of this platter that still matters? What are the impressions of Graeme’s fellow musical sojourners who also have a history in Muppet fandom? Join us in this, our season finale, and let’s get movin’ right along! Our Spotify playlist has everything from this and the rest of this past season (plus our COVID Sessions earlier this year). Special thanks, as ever, to Alex Kennard for our theme song, to Scot Clarke for our logo and ID graphics and to this season's "Vox Pops": Kim Rogers

A year and a half in a new city. A raffle for concert tickets. The tail-end of a slowly declining and not very healthy relationship. It was a time when Shannon realized that things were coming to a head in that phase of her life. This was Shannon's emotional context when she went to a concert as a part of the PBS series The Artist’s Den and saw Rufus Wainwright for the first time. Rufus was singing songs from his then new album, 2012’s Out of the Game and the music, and the artist, attached themselves to Shannon’s spirit as she underwent a life-changing metamorphosis that marked the beginning of her real time in New York City. How can music help us to move forward in our lives? And what do her fellow Deeper Cuts trio members have to say about the record? Are they going to welcome it to the ball, or are we all going to cry bitter tears instead? Pull up a pew, have a seat, and explore those questions, among others, along with us. You can listen to everything on this album, everything in this season of Deeper Cu

Remember record stores? Those magical places which seemingly contained all the music in the world? Rob remembers one such record store fondly -- Cactus Records in Oakville -- because it was there he encountered an album that he'd been interested in for years: Sade's sophisiti-pop opus Diamond Life. How were Sade's stylish sounds received by Rob's fellow panelists? What were their favourite record stores of yore? What strategies did everyone employ when they shopped at record stores... and what were their great finds? Come with us, dear listeners, as the Deeper Cuts trio write a collective love letter to the record store. Discover the albums we’re listening to this season, along with the songs from our COVID Sessions earlier this year, on our Spotify playlist. And visit your local record store... they could use the support right now.

Parents are good for one or two things. Sometimes, one of them is how they serve as vectors for great music; how to spot it, what to listen for, and how to form your own lifelong love for musical artistry. At a young age, Shannon’s dad helped her hone an appreciation for music by listening to records with her, and particularly ones centered around the guitar. One of the big ones at the time was 1967’s Are You Experienced? by the Jimi Hendrix Experience; a formative album for many generations of music fans. The album was representative of a sea change during a very turbulent time of the late 1960s, a time when politics, technology, and musical forms converged seemingly all at once in one big colourful explosion. But how does the Deeper Cuts trio process all this in 2020? Is it fire or just a bunch of purple haze? How do The Wonder Years, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Ken Burns, Les Paul and Mary Ford, and J.R.R Tolkien fit into all of this? Put on your paisley prints and dive in to find out! You can experience a

The end of a road can take on many different forms. Sometimes, the road branches off in two or more directions. Sometimes, it’s a dead end. At other times, that road is shrouded in mist with no road signs to indicate what’s ahead. In any of these situations, you have to decide on what to do next to the best of your ability. At the end of his university career, Rob faced the end of a road, and the end of an era while the way forward became suddenly uncertain. During that time, Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ 1996 record All This Useless Beauty was his soundtrack, an album replete with tales of uncertainty, ambiguity, disappointment, and complicated shadows to say the least. How did this inform his perspective at the time? What does he and the rest of the Deeper Cuts trio make of the album all these years later? Join us for our second episode in our fourth season to discover whether it’s beauty resonated or turned out to be useless after all. Our Spotify Playlist will have the albums we're looking at this

Sometimes, you find yourself growing up. You realize that some of the things you believed and thought were solid in your life really aren’t – and in fact are even harmful to you. You find you have to question those things to create a new path for yourself. You’ve got to start again. This was Graeme’s experience at the end of his high school years and the beginning of his college years. Sting’s 1987 record …Nothing Like the Sun was Graeme's "first grown-up record" and was an important part of his personal soundtrack at the time when he was calling his belief system into question. This is an album that also touches on life-changing events and challenges to meet a world that is often perplexing, cruel, and sometimes even violent. How did this album help Graeme create clarity during a tumultuous time in his life? How did the Deeper Cuts trio process the music? Did it go straight to the heart? Or does Graeme dance alone on this one? There’s only one way to find out! Join our new main host Shannon Dohar (alongside

Welcome to Deeper Cuts: the COVID Sessions -- a three episode miniseries which finds the Deeper Cuts trio taking deep dives into music with deep meaning for us right now as we shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Living in modern times can be exciting, and also terrifying. Sometimes, it feels like we’re just children in a big imposing world, sparking our anxieties, and making us feel overwhelmed. While sheltering in place during this strange and scary COVID-19 era, Shannon turned to fellow New Yorker John Mulaney’s Sack Lunch Bunch soundtrack, an accompaniment to his Netflix special of the same name. What can a series of children’s songs teach us about anxiety? How does this help us in this period of uncertainty? In the last of our COVID Sessions, the trio works it out, discovering among other things that even in the darkest times, there is music to be found here, there, and everywhere, even as we worry about whether flowers can exist at night. Our Spotify Playlist is here covering each episode of

Welcome to Deeper Cuts: the COVID Sessions -- a three episode miniseries which finds the Deeper Cuts trio taking deep dives into music with deep meaning for us right now as we shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now during the COVID-19 lockdown, a lot of us find ourselves waiting. We're waiting for conditions to change, waiting for a resumption of everyday things, waiting for any good news whatsoever. Graeme's go-to album during this pandemic that's he's been waiting with is Bruce Cockburn's 1973 album Night Vision which Cockburn mega-fan Graeme... never really liked all that much before now. So what happened to change all that for him? And how does the album speak to our condition now? The Deeper Cuts trio talk about that and about how music can help us while we wait. Our Spotify Playlist is here covering each episode of this miniseries! And don't forget to comment on our website (at its new URL deepercuts.com) or talk to us on Twitter -- our account is @deepercutscast.

Welcome to Deeper Cuts: the COVID Sessions -- a three episode miniseries which finds the Deeper Cuts trio taking deep dives into music with deep meaning for us right now as we shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. During his time sheltering in place, Rob turned to Fountains of Wayne’s 2007 album Traffic and Weather, a record that’s all about everyday things, of sometimes mundane travels, vignettes of middle-class suburban life, and of the quiet drama and raw humanity that lies at the heart of all that. What he found while listening is that there is beauty, and even poetry, to be found in day to day life. Sometimes it’s easy to miss. But in times when your world gets shaken up by strange circumstances, you miss them in quite another way. With those things in the frame for many of the songs on the record, he was reminded that sometimes, and maybe even most times, it’s the small things that count the most. What did the rest of the Deeper Cuts trio think of the album? What were some of the big takeaways

It’s that time of year again, Deeper Cuts fans; the season of our holiday gift exchange! With some (actually, quite a lot of) trepidation in the hopes that our gifts are yuletide treasures rather than lumps of coal, the Deeper Cuts trio explore a range of musical styles from synthpop to blues-rock to yet another nod to our patented Muppet Agenda. What are the results? A Christmas miracle? Or does Santa’s sleigh crash into the (go tell it on the) mountain? Find out in this special 2019 holiday edition of the Deeper Cuts podcast! And happy holidays, one and all! Don't forget to check out our Spotify Playlist for Season 3 which also includes all the albums which featured in this episode as well. And yes, Deeper Cuts is going to be back in 2020 for a fourth season! We're hoping to record in the spring and have it out later in the year. We'll keep you posted! And stay in touch by commenting on our website at deepercuts.com or talking to us on twitter at @deepercutscast!

Home. What does it mean? What associations do people commonly hold about what their home means to them? How can music help to tie us to home, especially when one is far from it and missing it? When Graeme went to a military school at the age of 12, ABBA’s penultimate 1980 album Super Trouper helped him to keep his feet on the ground while he was regularly apart from his family. How did this record help Graeme during this trying period to make that connection? What is it about this record that brought him joy then, and what is it about it that does the same today? How does music help us keep, or gain, a sense of home? And what did the other members of the Deeper Cuts trio think of Sweden's greatest contribution to pop music? We can face it together the way old friends do, dear listeners! Tune in to this last episode of the third(!) season of the Deeper Cuts podcast and bop (and a half!) along with us! Don't forget to check out our Spotify Playlist for Season 3 which has all the songs on this album and most of

Sometimes, it’s just time to move on. And yet, after struggles, trials and tribulations and painful endings, sometimes that’s not the easiest thing to do. How do you find the right path? How do you redefine your life once an important chapter has closed? This is a situation we all face in one way or another. For Rob, the 2000 album Daisies of the Galaxy by EELS was the soundtrack to a tumultuous chapter in his life. Luckily in that very record, he found some perspective on the subjects of pain and struggle, loneliness, and how to look on the bright side even though the skies were still pretty cloudy. In this episode, the Deeper Cuts trio give their impressions of the record, and the group discuss the business of moving on, and what music has to say about dealing with loss, and finding ourselves again after it’s all over. Put out that smoke and breathe some air, friends! Give us a listen. Don’t forget to check out our Spotify Playlist for Season 3 which has all the songs on this album and most of the other al

Rebellion. Anger. Even disillusionment. These are only some of what makes up the human experience. This may be even more pertinent during our youth, and when times of great turmoil are reflected in the headlines, and in the lives of the people we know. It could also be just about the drudgery of our existences, and the feeling that we need to get the hell out and find something new! It all makes us want to cry out in protest and demand a better life for ourselves and for everyone in the world along with us. Green Day’s 2004 record American Idiot provided the soundtrack for Shannon’s teenage years, during a time when 9/11 was still a fresh wound, and when George W. Bush secured a second term. What does the Deeper Cuts trio make of this record full of rage and love in 2019? And how does music help us protest? Welcome to this new kind of tension all across the alien nation in this episode that’s all about anger and protest, and the art that helps us express it best. Don't forget to check out our Spotify P

The world can be a place of trouble and darkness. But in that darkness, there is hope to be found if one is open to doing so. That was just the message that Rob needed as grim world events were coming to a head and as the call to fatherhood to a baby daughter beckoned him at the same time, fears, doubts and all. It was former Staples Singer, soul proponent, and civil rights-era voice of hope Mavis Staples’ 2004 album Have A Little Faith that provided a pathway into the next phase of his life as a dad. Among all of the blues, soul, gospel and folk textures to be found on the record, and with the themes of spiritual and sociopolitical struggles intertwining, how did it resonate with the group? What were some of the reactions to Mavis’ call to step into the light? Can we get a witness, good people? Don't forget to check out our Spotify Playlist for Season 3 which has all the songs on this album and most of the other albums you'll hear this season as well.

Some music in our lives gets us at a young age. It bonds itself to our DNA for the rest of our lives, connecting us with memories of unfiltered teenaged joy, posters plastered onto bedroom walls, and the reckless abandon of dance moves and hairbrush microphones in front of the mirror. Our first pop album is all about the heart and about the enthusiasm that came so naturally to us when we were kids. Immortal boyband Backstreet Boys and their 1998 self-titled debut was an impactful force along these lines for our Shannon Dohar. But what does the rest of the Deeper cuts trio think about this unabashed late 90s pop classic? What does it have to teach us about the nature of pop music and its irresistible call to the dance floor? Get it goin’ on right now and have a listen to find out! Don't forget to check out our Spotify Playlist for Season 3 which has all the songs on this album and, as the season progresses, most of the other albums you'll hear as well. 

People are constantly doing things to improve themselves, to help make themselves a little smarter (or make themselves think that they’re smarter). Sometimes music can be part of a self-improvement. That’s what Wendy Carlos’ Switched-On Bach was for Graeme; as the revolutionary electronic music album started the a-little-too-serious teenaged Graeme on an excursion into the wider world of classical music. But how does that seminal record resonate with him all these years later? What do his compatriots in the Deeper Cuts trio think of it? There’s only one way to find out. So, switch on right here! Unfortunately, Switched-On Bach isn't on Spotify but our Spotify Playlist has been updated for Season 3 so check back to find albums from later episodes.

Surprise! Before the new season of Deeper Cuts debuts next week, we did a bonus episode as a surprise party of a podcast for our beloved Deeper Cuts co-host Rob Jones, who turns 50 today (February 15, 2019)! Join Graeme and Shannon as they talk about a favourite band and a favourite album of Rob's, The Band's 1969 self-titled album (which was made the year Rob was born!) Two-thirds of the Deeper Cuts trio also discuss the joy of making, and sharing, music and have a few things to say about the birthday boy himself. So join in the party! (You'll have to get your own piece of cake!)  Our Spotify Playlist has been updated for Season 3. Check out the songs on this album and, as the season progresses, most of the other albums you'll hear in the coming week. 

Happy holidays, Deeper Cuts fans! In anticipation for our upcoming third season, we have the 2018 edition of our holiday episode. This time, the Deeper Cuts trio gather around the yuletide tree to exchange gifts to celebrate the season. What gifts are we exchanging? Music, of course. Each of us gave another of our group a musical gift; an album each chosen specifically for Graeme, Shannon, and Rob based on their tastes, and wrapped up in a bow. What albums are we talking about here? Do our gifts to each other light up the Christmas tree? Or do they pour water on the yuletide hearth? Find out right now. And once again – happy holidays! Our Spotify playlist has all the songs from the albums in our little gift exchange, as well as all albums we covered in season two of Deeper Cuts, so check it out! Lord willing that the creek don’t rise, we’ll have season three of Deeper Cuts out starting toward the end of February 2018 (there was a slight delay, but it will be worth it!) As ever, you can stay connected to us o