85. Stephanie Phillips Discusses The Amps, Pacer

Send us Fan MailMusician and author Stephanie Phillips is this week’s guest, and she introduces Al to The Amps’ one-and-only album, Pacer. Steph talks about why she picked Pacer for this episode, the differences and similarities between this album and Kim Deal’s other work with Pixies and The Breeders and which tracks on the album stand out to her. She also talks about her band Big Joanie’s upcoming album and tour and her book, Why Solange Matters.Follow Steph!@Stephanopolus on Twitter@steffimusics on InstagramAnd follow Big Joanie, too!@Big_Joanie on Twitter@bigjoanieband on InstagramAl is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.1:11 Steph joins the show1:45 Is Pacer a “lost Breeders album”?2:55 Al’s preparation for this episode was a little different3:42 Steph explains why she picked Pacer for this episode5:15 Steph details what’s special about Kim Deal’s songwriting and vocals8:11 Deal’s approach to playing has influenced Steph’s songwriting10:30 Steph and Al have trouble categorizing The Breeders and The Amps12:06 Al found the title track to be an odd pick for an opener15:19 Steph enjoys the entire album as a journey, rather than focusing on individual tracks17:28 Steph views some Pacer tracks as a harbinger of future Breeders albums18:27 Steph and Al both like “Breaking the Split Screen Barrier”22:31 Steph points out that Deal repurposed a couple of the tracks on PacerObservations about additional tracks:24:15 Bragging Party27:59 Mom’s Drunk/First Revival30:06 Hoverin’31:55 Tipp City33:43 Empty Glasses34:32 Al missed some of the album’s subtleties on his initial listens36:07 There are a couple of tracks that Steph will listen to on their own37:57 Al talks about his favorite track from Pacer39:23 Steph thinks Pacer is a good album for getting a feel for Deal as a songwriter40:56 Steph recommends watching videos of The Amps’ live performances42:25 Steph talks about the music she listened to around the same time she was initially listening to Pacer43:50 Steph explains how she decided to write Why Solange Matters47:09 Steph discusses Big Joanie’s upcoming tour plansThe outro is from “In My Arms” by Big Joanie.Support the show