What BSH is listening to: Mike D.

When I’m not watching Flyers hockey —which is often now, sadly— I spend quite a bit of time listening to music, podcasts, and even audiobooks here and there. Whether it’s throwing on the old headphones to avoid co-workers and catch a new album or needing a playlist to get me through my runs, it’s really cool to be able to hear different stuff and I’m gonna talk about it here.

If you’ve got similar interests and have suggestions (thanks for them on my TV piece, by the way), by all means drop them below and I’ll be sure to check them out as we’ve got nothing but time it seems these days.

Newer Music

‘Gigatron’

Pearl Jam has been at or near the top of the rock/alternative scene for the last 20 years and they’re back with their first studio album since 2013. While Lightning Bolt was far from my favorite from the band, they get a full redemption with Gigatron being well worth the wait.

“Who Ever Said” kicks things off with a quiet open that keeps me on the edge waiting for what’s next but then closes with a bang and perfect introduction of what’s to come with heavy hitters like “Superblood Wolfmoon” and “Dance Of The Clairvoyants” turning things up over the next eight minutes of listening.

But where some may argue that stretch lies Gigatron’s very best, I find that the back half of the album has some true gems in “Seven O’Clock” and “Take The Long Way,” two tracks that balance the each other well with the former reminding of the days of “Last Kiss” and “Better Man” while the latter reminds of hard-charging classics like “Jeremy” and “Black.”

For the die hard Pearl Jam fans this album will check all the boxes, and has plenty to offer for those who consider the band too mainstream. It’s a great listen, and I highly recommend adding to the streaming queue.

‘After Hours’

The Weeknd has certainly provided some massive hits since breaking on the scene in 2011, and no doubt you’ve heard him at one point or another. But his latest album is more deep storytelling than, say “Starboy.”

He hits us with 14 tracks on this one, but I find myself drawn to back-to-back tracks early on in the form of “Hardest to Love” and “Scared to Live.” The former opens you up and the latter breaks you down big time, with a perfectly blended mix of lyricism and beats to take the listener on a short journey in time.

Older Music

‘The Colour And The Shape’

Like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters is a titan of the rock/alternative scene, and this is simply a classic album with heavy hitters all over the place —and one that’s been an immediate add to whatever music service I’m currently using.

Starting with “Monkey Wrench” and extending to“My Hero” and “Everlong,” these are some of the backbones that the Foo Fighters are built on. Each are classic songs in their own right, but throw on the acoustic versions of “My Hero” and “Everlong” to unlock some of the true talent of frontman Dave Grohl. You won’t be disappointed.

‘Futures’

Picking a Jimmy Eat World album for this was pretty tough, actually, but I’m going to go with Futures here over Bleed American. While Bleed American has some mainstream classics like “The Middle” and “Sweetness,” I’ve always really loved the way that Futures hits hard, especially during my workouts. From “Futures” and “Work,” to “Kill” and “Pain,” this album has what I need to power through.

Not only does it hit hard early, but its got my all-time favorite track from the band —”23”— to close off what’s just an awesome album.

Podcasts

‘Serial’

True crime podcasts are all the rage these days, but if you’ve never checked out the original now is a great time to jump on with Serial from This American Life. I was drawn to this podcast as a Baltimore resident with the first season featuring an investigation into the death of a high-school student in the area back in 1999.

The first 54-minute episode flew by and I couldn’t wait to start each episode and get deeper into the superb storytelling and production.

Towards the end of the first season This American Life started promotion their second season: S-Town. It was a totally different story and setup, but the end result was another season that I couldn’t listen to fast enough.

‘30 for 30’

ESPN took a tremendous success in their 30 for 30 films and cut them into shorter, audible stories that feature a wide range of topics and sports stories in this trying time without sports.

There are a couple of really interesting hockey related episodes, which is something of an offshoot for the normally NHL-distanced network. Though it’s not a podcast, be sure to find a way to watch the 30 for 30 film “Of Miracles and Men,” a story on the 1970’s Soviet Union hockey players.

‘BSH Radio’

Shameless plug, but for real though if you’re a Flyers fan and don’t listen to the podcast you really are missing out. The gang works tremendously hard on the show and put forth a ton of effort in order to bring something for every Flyers fan on every show, even if Bill’s mic is always too loud to start the show.