Welcome to the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Limey) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.

Instead of our usual format of discussing one particular artist or album, we’re trying something new for Ep. 28: each bringing three music-related topics to the table without informing the other in advance, and going wherever those topics take us. We’re calling this new format the CROSSED CHANNELS “Pick n’ Mix” — it’s like a spirited bar conversation, only without the alcohol.

So please join us and try to hang on as the conversation careens from the merits (or otherwise) of Rickenbacker guitars, to the The Rolling Stones’ most vital period, to what makes for a good live show when you’re in your 60s, and more. Tony even finally reveals the correct answer to the multiple choice question/poll that he posted on April 23 asking which Welsh band referred to Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey as "c**ts".

Also different: we’re making this Pick n’ Mix episode available to all listeners, and not just paid subscribers to Jagged Time Lapse or Tony Fletcher, Wordsmith like we usually do. While we would obviously love it if you became a paid subscriber to either of our Substacks (if you’re not already), we wanted to give everyone a full dose of CROSSED CHANNELS action, in hopes of tempting some new subscribers.

Our other entirely free episode — “Oasis: What’s The Story” from April 2024 — can be found here, while all our paid-only episodes can be found here. They are many, they are varied (The Jam, Replacements, Kate Bush, Otis Redding, Blondie, & Parliament just some of our previous 27 subject matters), they all home in on a specific album or period, and dare we say it, but we think they are a cut above.

In addition, we’re putting a different sonic spin on this episode of CROSSED CHANNELS by studding it with snippets of tracks from our current musical outfits — Dan’s solo project The Corinthian Columns and Tony’s band The Dear Boys.

And finally, since we also talk in this episode about legendary recording sessions we would have loved to be flies on the wall for, we were wondering: which would be the one recording session you wish you could have attended? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments section of our Substack pages, which — like the rest of this episode — is open to all. Thanks for listening!