PODCAST · music
Shallow Rewards
by Shallow Rewards
Town decrier 1975-2025. Celebrating the days of advertised oversampling ratios.
Episodes
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The Cure: Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
On the Cure’s definitive 1987 double album, the death rattle of punk guilt, and the coronation of Robert Smith as a pop culture icon.
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The Cure: The Head on the Door
On the shaky start to the Cure’s Imperial era, their ascension to alternative rock royalty, and the concessions required to right Robert Smith’s foundering career in the mid 1980s.
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The Cure: Curiosa, 4:13 Dream and Songs of a Lost World
Bringing the Shallow Rewards Cure podcasts up to date, this episode covers the last twenty years of the band: the 2004 self-titled LP, 4:13 Dream and my first impressions of the material likely to feature on the forthcoming Songs of a Lost World.
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The Cure: Bloodflowers
On the unexpectedly estimable Bloodflowers, Robert Smith’s legacy-saving last gasp as a songwriter; its tragically dated brick wall + Pro Tools production; and Smith’s egotistical severing of ties with everyone who’d helped fashion the Cure in its glory days.
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The Cure: Wild Mood Swings
On the tragic collapse of the Cure following the career-topping Wish, the various distractions that beset Wild Mood Swings, and how the persistent obstinance Robert Smith had relied on for so long finally failed him.Here’s the Vox article I reference in the last third of the show.
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The Cure: Wish
On the Cure’s surfeit of activity between Disintegration and Wish; the 1992 smash album’s highs and lows; and how for many fans, Wish remains a disappointment when set against the material that preceded it. Further to the podcast, please enjoy an essay I wrote on the subject, and an attendant…
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The Smiths is Dead
Over a few drinks, and Stephen Kijak’s calamitous Shoplifters of the World, Elliot Busch-Wheaton returns after a five-year hiatus to discuss the legacy of the Smiths and Morrissey in America.
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The Cure: Blue Sunshine, the Banshees & The Top
On Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ brief, turbulent marriage; the side projects that outshone their combined efforts; and how from fall 1982 to fall 1984, Robert Smith lost the plot in order to find it again. Pursuant to this era are a few essays I contributed to a tumblr called One...
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The Cure: Pornography
On the rabid, raging fin de siècle of the Cure’s vaunted goth trilogy, Pornography; whether it is the singular statement the band and critics have increasingly claimed; and the murkier reality of Robert Smith’s many extracurricular entanglements in 1982. A Spotify playlist available here.
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The Cure: Faith
On the great grey Anglican monolith that is Faith, the Cure’s “difficult third album”; the inescapable shadow of Joy Division’s Closer; being branded “the new PF”; and whether any twenty-one year-old should be held to account for the quality of their poetry. A Spotify playlist is available here.
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The Cure: Seventeen Seconds
On the Cure’s second album, the impossibly crisp Seventeen Seconds; its debatable debts to Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire and Gary Numan; and the arrival of Robert Smith as a modern songwriter, but not yet a persona. An accompanying Spotify playlist is available here.
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From Ballyhoo to Britpop: XTC (Part 2)
On the improbable endurance of XTC, a band signed during the punk frenzy that would bring song-craft back to the fore in the early 1980s. Following a fractious period of financial instability and pressure from Virgin records, the band went on strike in the early 1990s, unable to wrest themselves...
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From Ballyhoo to Britpop: XTC (Part 1)
On the improbable endurance of XTC, a band signed during the punk frenzy that would bring song-craft back to the fore in the early 1980s. Following a fractious period of financial instability and pressure from Virgin records, the band went on strike in the early 1990s, unable to wrest themselves...
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Cat Power: You Are Free
On Chan Marshall’s stereotyping by the press, her aborted concept album about Kurt Cobain, and the uncomfortable reality of genetic exceptionalism.
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Def Leppard: Slang
On Def Leppard’s unparalleled ascent, and the curious album they recorded after being displaced by grunge in the mid-1990s, Slang. Their 1992 LP Adrenalize was the last successful stadium rock release, and kept The Cure’s Wish from reaching #1.
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Stycast, 2006
Having alternately enjoyed and scoffed at my early ‘00s online mania, Stylus magazine editor Todd Burns came to my apartment in 2006 for a “Stycast.” Thirteen years later, people may not realize that podcasts were a feverish commercial concern all those years ago, but there were hundreds of…
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The Cure: Three Imaginary Boys
On the Cure’s uneven 1979 debut, its debts to pub, punk and prog rock, and the importance of older siblings. An accompanying Spotify playlist is available below; please listen on random as this is a broad primer, rather than mix-tape storytelling. Apologies for the uneven sound during the first…
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Toonami Turns 20
Adult Swim Creative Director Jason DeMarco returns to discuss the state of anime, and the future of Toonami with me and Jake Cleland. // @Clarknova1 @sawngswjakec
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The Cure (in Orange)
Christmas single No. 2: audio commentary for the Cure’s in Orange film from 1986 (currently on YouTube). Essentially, this is a two-hour ramble on the band’s legacy. Merry Christmas, everybody!
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Interview with a Lich King: Jason DeMarco
I talk with Jason DeMarco—VP and Creative Director of Adult Swim—about his Williams Street imprint, old anime, and Run the Jewels. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Shock and Awe: Simon Reynolds
A wandering and wondrous walk through glam, indie, music journalism with my generation's most prolific author, Simon Reynolds.
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The Song Remains the Shame: Mr. Robot and Stranger Things
Sean T. Collins returns to discuss the increasing appropriation of music as emotional heft in television, with a focus on Mr. Robot and Stranger Things. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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The Dream Life of Emo: Geoff Rickly of Thursday (Part 2)
On the sliding scales of emo history, and the rise and fall (and rise) of Thursday.
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The Dream Life of Emo: Geoff Rickly of Thursday (Part 1)
On the sliding scales of emo history, and the rise and fall (and rise) of Thursday.
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R>E>M> (Part 2)
Walking back the history of R.E.M. with @perpetua and @stoatmixen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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R>E>M> (Part 1)
Walking back the history of R.E.M. with @perpetua and @stoatmixen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Not Yr 90s: Sean T. Collins (Part 2)
Defending the 1990s from take culture with serial TV columnist Sean T. Collins. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Not Yr 90s: Sean T. Collins (Part 1)
Defending the 1990s from take culture with serial TV columnist Sean T. Collins. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Noble Rock: John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats
A look back at the trail-rated career of Mountain Goats main-man John Darnielle. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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The Exploding Boy (Grunge)
On Kurt Cobain, the grunge moment, and the critical embrace of drug abuse. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Goth is a Four-Letter Word
In defense of pop music’s most maligned genre. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Your Mother Should Know: Evie Sands
A capricious teenager confronts the cold light of his mother’s record collection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Chatting with Mandy Rock-like: Amanda Petrusich
Catching up with New Yorker columnist Amanda Petrusich, author of Do Not Sell at Any Price, It Still Moves, and the 33 1/3 entry for Nick Drake’s Pink Moon. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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Shoegaze (Part 2)
A look back at shoegaze, the soundtrack of my youth (and the genre that wouldn’t die). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Shoegaze (Part 1)
A look back at shoegaze, the soundtrack of my youth, and the genre that wouldn’t die. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Oh Boy George (Part 2)
On the wild ride of one George O’Dowd, the biggest name to rise from the Kentish Town slums since Jack Cade. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Oh Boy George (Part 1)
On the wild ride of one George O’Dowd, the biggest name to rise from the Kentish Town slums since Jack Cade. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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King Uncle: Morrissey to ’94
On Morrissey’s bipolar first wave of work, and the twin specters of nationalism and racism he struggled to resolve as a young man. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Big Thing (Part 2)
On Duran Duran’s remarkable and enduring 1988 LP. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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Big Thing (Part 1)
On Duran Duran’s remarkable and enduring 1988 LP. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shallowrewards.substack.com
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Town decrier 1975-2025. Celebrating the days of advertised oversampling ratios.
HOSTED BY
Shallow Rewards
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Shallow Rewards have?
Shallow Rewards currently has 51 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Shallow Rewards about?
Town decrier 1975-2025. Celebrating the days of advertised oversampling ratios.
How often does Shallow Rewards release new episodes?
Shallow Rewards has 51 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Shallow Rewards?
You can listen to Shallow Rewards on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Shallow Rewards?
Shallow Rewards is created and hosted by Shallow Rewards.
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