10. Michael Beller Discusses The Band (self-titled or The Brown Album)

Send us Fan MailMichael Beller is a podcast producer, host and writer for The Athletic, and along with Derek VanRiper and me, he is the co-host of The Athletic’s Fantasy Baseball in 15 podcast. Off air, Michael has talked to me a lot about The Band, so it was high time for us to have a longer conversation about one of his favorite musical acts. This episode focuses on the Band’s self-titled second album, also known as The Brown Album.The first few minutes of this episode features birds. It’s not a tribute to the great album by Quasi; it’s just that there were a lot of really loud birds outside my window when I was recording. In this episode, I made a reference to a cover of The Band’s The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by Early James and The Marcus King Band, in which James changed the lyrics in order to clearly reflect a rejection of the Confederacy. I put a brief clip from a performance of this version in the episode. Here is the full performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpGJR9TyYww.1:16 Michael joins the show2:32 Michael’s path towards becoming a sports podcaster and writer5:58 Which other albums did Michael consider choosing for this episode?7:51 Al ponders why he wasn’t more familiar with The Band9:00 How Michael became a fan of The Band12:27 The Band had a great four-album run13:00 Michael’s favorite tracks from The Brown Album16:31 Why Michael thinks The Band is a unique band18:57 Al had to lose his baggage to properly appreciate The Band Track-by-track breakdown:20:53 Across the Great Divide23:24 Rag Mama Rag26:29 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down28:39 When You Awake32:52 Up on Cripple Creek 36:48 Does Michael have any Band-related fantasy team names? 38:34 Whispering Pines41:20 Jemima Surrender43:51 Rockin’ Chair46:01 Look Out Cleveland48:50 Jawbone50:52 Unfaithful Servant52:55 King Harvest (Has Surely Come) Support the show