10. Michael Beller Discusses The Band (self-titled or The Brown Album)

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Michael Beller is a podcast producer, host and writer for The Athletic, and along with Derek VanRiper and me, he is the co-host of The Athletic’s Fantasy Baseball in 15 podcast. Off air, Michael has talked to me a lot about The Band, so it was high time for us to have a longer conversation about one of his favorite musical acts. This episode focuses on the Band’s self-titled second album, also known as The Brown Album.

The first few minutes of this episode features birds. It’s not a tribute to the great album by Quasi; it’s just that there were a lot of really loud birds outside my window when I was recording. 

In this episode, I made a reference to a cover of The Band’s The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by Early James and The Marcus King Band, in which James changed the lyrics in order to clearly reflect a rejection of the Confederacy. I put a brief clip from a performance of this version in the episode. Here is the full performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpGJR9TyYww.

1:16 Michael joins the show

2:32 Michael’s path towards becoming a sports podcaster and writer

5:58 Which other albums did Michael consider choosing for this episode?

7:51 Al ponders why he wasn’t more familiar with The Band

9:00 How Michael became a fan of The Band

12:27 The Band had a great four-album run

13:00 Michael’s favorite tracks from The Brown Album

16:31 Why Michael thinks The Band is a unique band

18:57 Al had to lose his baggage to properly appreciate The Band

Track-by-track breakdown:

20:53 Across the Great Divide

23:24 Rag Mama Rag

26:29 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

28:39 When You Awake

32:52 Up on Cripple Creek

36:48 Does Michael have any Band-related fantasy team names?

38:34 Whispering Pines

41:20 Jemima Surrender

43:51 Rockin’ Chair

46:01 Look Out Cleveland

48:50 Jawbone

50:52 Unfaithful Servant

52:55 King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

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