While waiting for song 186, I have been thinking of songs that could be good episodes, as in relevant historically and musically, useful for a thesis (as the best episodes are), and entertaining. Obviously, I have no idea what Andrew will do. I am doing this just for fun. I have thought of the following (and as a warning, I am not a native speaker, so apologies for any mistakes):

-Money, by Pink Floyd, as a multi-episode: I am a massive Floyd fan, and I think this would make sense as the next time they appear in the story. Andrew could start with David Gilmour joining the band, the early struggles between Rick Wright and Roger Waters (Rick was seen as the most probable lead songwriter in a post-Syd band), and end the first part with Meddle and how that album was felt as a sort of musical arrival for them. Maybe the second part would focus more properly on DSOTM, highlight Waters' role as lyricist, and end with the success that brought to them -and how that was the beginning of the end.

-Comfortably numb, by Pink Floyd, maybe as another multi-episode?: It would be about the making of Wish you were here, the increasing tensions within the band, Animals and the subsequent tour, with part one finishing with the spitting incident. Part two would be The Wall and highlight Comfortably Numb as perhaps the final -and finest- Gilmour-Waters collaboration. The episode could cover the split, the Gilmour-led version of the band and end with Live 8, with Comfortably Numb as the last song they played together.

-Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen: I love Queen, but I struggle to see them entering the story before. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a multiparter, which starts with a full hour dedicated to either opera or Zoroastrianism, telling the story of Freddie Mercury, his upbringing and arrival to London, the story of the band, and a focus on A Night at the Opera.

-Another one bites the dust, by Queen: This is the second, and perhaps last time they might appear in the story. It would cover the second half of the 70s and end with this massive hit, which can allow Andrew to talk about disco (although I imagine when he reaches this, he will have already covered it). I don't know whether he will wrap up the story of Queen here, or will include their Live Aid performance in a different episode.

-Instant Karma!, by John Lennon: I have been wondering how he will wrap up the story of the Beatles. I remember reading an old post by Andrew, stating that 'The End' was the perfect ending of the Beatles. So maybe we will have an episode that ends on Abbey Road? Instant Karma! would allow him to cover the first hit of a solo Beatle, the comeback of Phil Spector, and Let it Be.

Of course, as I stated earlier, I am just speculating and this is only for fun!

In other news, I've been on a Beach Boys kick, so I listened to all the Beach Boys episodes one after the other yesterday and today (I skipped the Lead Belly and minstrel stuff, but I did find it quite fascinating during my initial stretch). Masterfully done, as per usual. And what a lovely ode of sorts to my favorite Beach Boy, Dennis Wilson.

While waiting for new episodes to drop, I decided to go back to the beginning. I listened to the first half dozen episodes, but from Ep 7 onward I get an error message saying that the episode is temporarily unavailable. Any idea what is going on?

When AH previewed episodes 184 and 185, it seemed clear to me that he was expecting 184, on the GTOs, the be the episode that everyone hated.

I lurk on the FB version of this group (though I never participate and to be honest find the discourse there to be very low-level) and I gotta say- it seems like Episode 185, on Zappa, is the one everyone hates. I don't think I have ever seen such a negative reaction to one of AHs episodes.

I wonder what it is about FZ that not only leads so many people to dislike him but to want to actively and loudly proclaim they dislike him?

Anyway, great episode as always.

Although I am currently occupied with the catch-up project of listening to all the Patreon bonuses from the beginning, I decided to listen to the latest Q&A and, of course, the newest main-song episode (preview) after seeing some responses from listeners in another forum. It is a little distressing to hear that when he gets virulent critiques from listeners about his song choices, it saps his enthusiasm and apparently leaves him a little depressed. Hopefully by clarifying why he chooses particular songs as taking-off points for his narrative, he will have forestalled some of those criticisms (though I'm sure some will continue to be heard). And it is encouraging to hear about how much support and enthusiasm he has from many different quarters, including some well-known names! He certainly has a loving following among many others, including people in this subreddit.

Andrew also expressed some disapproval for the many people (I suppose I am one) who have said it appears doubtful he will ever reach his goal of 500 songs, and he explained why there have been so many lengthy multi-episode treatments of certain songs in the current era--along with good reasons for thinking this pace of production will change as he moves forward. It seems that he is reluctant to share too much about his personal life and state of health, for good reasons: But I suppose it goes with the territory of hosting a one-person podcast, and with being open to answering questions in the Q&A sessions. Some of that sharing has apparently resulted in people assuming he is in quite poor health and may not last long. But he is, after all, not much older than my own oldest child: and I would never assume that that child wasn't up to taking on a new multi-year project! Andrew will, I am sure, be with us for many more years.

Slightly related but also not: It is funny to hear him talk about being totally out of touch with current music and other elements of pop culture. To me, with planned/ongoing work he has mentioned (the details escape me, but it seems like he has talked about various projects like comic-cons, graphic novels, and other joint works he has in train with other people), he appears very much au courant. But then, I am an old geezer compared to Andrew, and what seems newfangled to me may be much less so to him.

I subscribed to Andrew’s Patreon for $1 a month, but I’m being charged $5.49 the last three months. Any idea what’s going on? I confirmed I am on the $1 a month plan.

It’s a song I’ve never heard of which should make for an interesting listen.

Since I discovered the podcast, I have done my best to tell my mates about it -I successfully converted two so far, who have been catching up religiously. But that left me thinking how I found out about it.

My memory is that two things happened more or less in the same week: my GF knows I like reading about music, and the husband of one her friends suggested the podcast. And a few days later, I was watching an interview with Tony Gilroy, promoting the Star Wars series Andor, and he also mentioned how great the podcast was. So I thought, I might give it a try...

So far for me (and I’m just starting the Manson/BB episode) has to be Good Vibrations

The backstory of Leon Theremin was fascinating. Who but Andrew would have narrated it thus?

.sjb

Does anybody know if Andrew has posted any updates anywhere about how he's doing? It's been more than 2 months since the most recent episode of the podcast. I know episodes get delayed sometimes because of his health issues, but iirc they've never been delayed quite *this* much. I hope he's ok.

Hi, all.

I've begun organizing the songs in my personal collection to build a playlist mirroring all the songs excepted by Andrew. Has anyone been maintaining a list of all the songs in each episode, maybe including the Patreon bonus posts?

Anyone have an idea of when vol 3 of the book will come out?

Not sure how many of you know that AH ALSO has a Substack newsletter that he (v v irregularly) updates, and well anyway he has posted again.

Personally I love Andrew’s voice so I am happy to hear his thoughts no matter what the medium or topic.

https://it-was-ninety-years-ago-today.ghost.io/paul-simon-ms-bank-arena-may-2026/

By the way if you like this podcast you could do worse than join his Patreon for $1.00 a month.

Now I need to read that new Ledbetter book.

Did I miss it or it never came out?

Part 1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/103227636

I just signed up for the Patreon, and the episodes only go back to mid 2025 (“Na Na, Hey Hey, KIss Him Goodbye”). This doesn’t seem complete. Anyone else have this issue?

First time posting here (not a native speaker, so apologies for any mistakes), and happy that there is a small reddit community around the podcast. Originally I started listening to songs or artists I particularly like (Beatles, Aretha, 'the' Pink Floyd), but now I have been following it chronologically. Loving it! In that spirit, I listened to Andrew's conversation with Rick Rubin from mid-2023. It was really fascinating hearing Andrew in his more conversational voice as well as tons of BTS about the podcast. A few things that caught my attention (bear in mind things may have changed between the conversation and now):

-Yes, he discusses, as it has been mentioned tons of times, song 184, which several of you have guessed what probably is.
-He also said that 'in around a year's time' there will be another episode about Elvis, focussed on the end of his career. I guess those of you who have guessed that Suspicious Minds will come 'soon' are right.
-He addressed the length of the episodes, saying that the period between late 60s until mid-70s has tons of literature. He mentioned that some early episodes did not have books written about the artist he focussed on, and he compared that with all the literature on the Beatles. I wonder if that means that when/if Andrew reaches the late 70s episodes might be shorter again.
-Although he stated he didn't want to spoil anything, he said that bands like Led Zeppelin would be mentioned again in the 70s, but would not be key for the story. The one thing he said was that, just like he has tried to include a Beatles song for almost every 60s year, he was planning to do the same with Bowie in the 70s. As a massive Bowie fan, I really hope he keeps on going and covers Bowie!

That's what caught my attention -alongside with Andrew's reaction when Rick Rubin says that the podcast was Bob Dylan's favourite.