Talk You Into It Episode 29: The Cardigans
Welcome back to Sherman and Ski: Talk You Into It. One of the most iconic pop acts from the mid 90's through the mid aughts - The Cardigans flew into our collective lives on a sugary magic carpet of melodies with the one-in-a-million superhit Lovefool. But, as customary here at this pod, we are diving WAAAAY deeper, and so should you! These Nordic pop magicians weaved an incredible sound through all of their albums, Life, First Band on the Moon, Gran Turismo, Super Extra Gravity...and all with a mysterious, dark, death metal underpinnings - almost predictable coming from Sweden. Blending influences from the Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, and yes, Black Sabbath - The Cardigans were a true group of musicians with a deceptive malleability of their sound. They are true masters of the earworm, with a signature vocalist in the form of Nina Persson - it's stunning that they don't have a greater presence in the American music culture. Also, do NOT ever underestimate their covers of both Ozzy Osbourne AND the Talking Heads...you KNOW Sherman and Ski are talking about it here. ..this pod is a must listen for 90's fans and alt-rock historians, we went deep into the catalog on this one! Rise & shine, folks.
Talk You Into It - Episode 28 - Sherman and Ski Rock and Roll HOF 2025 hot takes!
Happy Memorial Day weekend folks…Sherman and Ski are BACK baby. We’ve got a batch of fresh new episodes locked and loaded and ready to go…so what better way to kick off summer than to listen to our truly HOT and at least half incorrect takes on this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, as our loyal listeners know, this is a frequent topic, so back in the dead of winter when the nominees were released, Ski and I huddled up and took a stab at the impossible – guessing what this clandestine body of voters might decide. So three weeks ago, the white puff of smoke happened and the world got 7 new members ushered in, plus a new pope. Take a listen to see just how wrong we both were in Feburary, even though, as always, we had the right takes REGARDLESS of the actual outcome. Ski went 2 for 6 on his picks, and Sherman did slightly better at 3 for 6, and of course neither of us knew they would back door admit Salt n Pepa (LONG OVERDUE). Look for new episodes weekly-ish as well, so resubscribe if you’ve missed us!! (Recorded Feb 2025). WE MISSED YOU ALL!!
Talk You Into It - Episode 27- Now! That’s What I Call Music, Volume 1
Tomorrow, October 27th 2023, marks a momentous occasion in pop music history. Sort of. 25 years ago on that date, the initial American compilation record of Now! That’s What I Call Music made its way onto retail shelves. Some 87 volumes later (and with a 25th anniversary tracklist reveal tomorrow to boot)… Now! That’s What I Call Country, Christmas, Motown, Dance, fill-in-the-blank Genre releases as well…it’s snapshot of modern American music history. Sherman and Ski simply cannot, nay, WILL NOT, let this phenomenon go unnoticed. Ergo, this episode is dedicated to a track by track review of the original compact disc, the one that started it all. It peaked at #10 on the album Billboard charts, and went platinum (as did the 28 volumes that came afterwards). But to paraphrase Stefan from SNL, this collection really DID have everything…Janet Jackson, Marcy Playground, Fastball, Aqua, Lenny Kravitz, Tonic, Backstreet Boys, Radiohead, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Hanson, All Saints…it was so NOW, then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music!_(original_U.S._album) As regular listeners know, a chatfest about this type of sonic overload could stretch on for hours and hours. Therefore - Sherman and Ski have timed each other’s commentary on this episode, limiting ourselves to a 90 second review of each track, and then pick our two tracks that we felt represented this unique moment in time (and our favorites). We hope you enjoy this trip down 90’s Nostalgia Lane as much as we did recording it – take a listen to see our hot takes, and who we both picked as our essential tracks from this seminal compilation that has changed music distribution for the last 25 years!
Pitchfork days 2 & 3!
In the Better Late Than Never Dept - Sherman & Ski do a post festival recap of the final two days at the Pitchfork Festival…which, due to weather and some lousy communication from the organizers winds up being a helluva lot more about the awesome city of Chicago. Shout outs for Lagunitas Brewing, Gibson’s Steakhouse, The Barrel…a couple of good sets and a lot of laments that some shows DIDN’T go on. Still a good listen for some rants!!
Pitchfork Day One Recap!
A nearly-live, quick and dirty update from Day 1 of the 2023 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago IL. An awesome city to explore for any reason , Sherman and Ski do some deep dishing on some tremendous acts like Alvvays, Nation of Language , Grace Ives and Chicago funk act Ric Wilson. Also, Ski is available as a local drummer for all your local drumming needs…listen to find out why this inside joke exists!