Shows
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinGood ViBritons: How The Beach Boys Changed British BeatThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the 18th episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — a.k.a. the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.The Beach Boys fit in quite nicely with our whole CROSSED CHANNELS concept, as they were a quintessentially American band that was both profoundly impacted by the British Invasion and hugely influential on a number of British artists. And wh...2025-07-1009 min
Read Beat (...and repeat)"Play This Book Loud" by Joe BonomoPlay This Book Loud is the literary equivalent of a trip to the record store, that enchanting experience of searching for something new from something old. Joe Bonomo (pronounced Bo-know-mo, not the Turkish Taffy), an English professor at Northern Illinois University, starts his book that way, recalling the days of the coronavirus when he was offered hand sanitizer and plastic gloves at Green Tangerine, his local record shop. From there, we depart on essays on Van Halen’s “Panama,” the Cramps, Green Day, Lester Bangs, Pickwick Records, Dick Clark’s Twenty Years of Rock and Roll doubl...2025-06-2125 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinHow Soon Was Now? The Smiths Take Britain and Break AmericaThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the 17th episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — a.k.a. the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.This time out, our subject is The Smiths, the most iconic British indie band of the 1980s. Specifically, we discuss the period bookended by the August 1984 release of their fifth UK single, “William, It Was Really Nothing,” and the conclu...2025-06-1213 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinAccelerate: R.E.M.'s Second Reckoning?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the 16th episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — a.k.a. the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.While most of our previous episodes have covered bands or artists that have been received very differently in the UK than the US, this one focuses on a band that was hugely successful in both countries (and a whole lo...2025-05-0810 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinSlade InflamedThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the 15th episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — a.k.a. the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.This time out, our subject is Slade, a British band who are justifiably legendary in their homeland. From 1971 to 1975, these self-described “yobboes” from Wolverhampton in the Midlands absolutely ruled the UK and European charts with one hard-rocking, rafter-raising singalong after...2025-03-2716 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinMove On Up with Curtis MayfieldThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the 14th episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — a.k.a. the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond. And this time out, our subject is Curtis, the 1970 solo debut of the legendary American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Curtis Mayfield.Curtis produced two international hits — “(Don’t Worry) If There’s Hell Below We’re All Gonna Go” (listen via the...2025-02-2020 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinSleepwalker: The Kinks' Hidden GemThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the first 2025 episode (and 13th episode overall) of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast — a.k.a. the podcast in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond. And this time out, our subject is one of the great British bands of all time: The Kinks!Rather than talk about one of the band’s widely acknowledged classics like 1968’s The Kinks Are The Vi...2025-01-1613 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinKrossed Channels: The Incredible Story of Redd KrossThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 11 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.Actually, we should probably change it to KROSSED CHANNELS for this episode, since it finds us discussing one of Dan’s all-time favorite bands: Southern California cult heroes Redd Kross!2024-11-0711 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinBack In The USA: The MC5's Finest 28 Minutes?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 10 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.This time out, we taken on of the greatest rock n’ roll bands to ever demolish a stage: the MC5!Formed in the mid-1960s in the suburbs of Detroit, Michi…2024-10-0314 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinKate Bush: From Prog Nuns to Pop StardomThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 9 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.Elton John calls her "a most beautiful mystery.” Tricky notes how “you can’t hear her influences.” And yet, as St. Vincent observes, “You can hear one no…2024-08-2914 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinLove's Forgotten Classic: Is 'Four Sail' Better Than 'Forever Changes'?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 8 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which two music journalists/obsessives, Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.In our last episode, we took a deep dive into The Clash’s controversial 1980 album Sandinista!, and attempted to whittle down its sprawling three LPs into a 12-track single album. Just as the three Clash albums that preceded Sandinista! have tended to loom the largest in th...2024-07-1709 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinThe Clash's 'Sandinista!': Masterpiece or Mess?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 7 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which two music journalists/obsessives, Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.A free preview of Episode 7 is available to all listeners, but the episode is only available in its entirety to paid subscribers of Jagged Time Lapse or Tony Fletcher, Wordsmith. If you’re already a free subscriber to either of these Substacks (or better yet, both...2024-06-2012 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinBlondie: America's Finest Pop Band?This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 6 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which two music journalists/obsessives, Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.Our 5th Episode, Oasis: What's The Story?, in which we discussed the 1995 album that catapulted the Manchester band to international fame, is now available in full, on all streaming platforms, for anyone who is not one of our paid-up Substack subscribers and wants to hear whe...2024-05-1512 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinOasis: What's The Story?Welcome to the fifth episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pondHaving tackled the rise and premature demise of Otis Redding in our last episode, we now return to England — Manchester, to be specific — to discuss the band Oasis and the 1995 album that catapulted them to international stardom, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?Originally a quartet formed in 1991 as the Rain, Oasis – which became a five-piece once singer Liam Gallagher's older brother...2024-04-181h 17
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinSpotlight on Otis Redding, now!This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the fourth episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from across the pond.Having discussed the rise and fall of The Sex Pistols in our last episode, we now head back across the Atlantic — and back a decade earlier — to tackle the rise and premature demise of legendary soul man Otis Redding.Born in 1941 in Dawson, Georgia and raised in Maco...2024-03-1409 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinGod Save the Sex PistolsThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the third episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from across the pond. Following our previous episodes on The Jam’s Setting Sons album and The Replacements’ Tim, we traipse back across the Atlantic to take on one of the most important, influential and of course notorious British bands of all time: The Sex Pistols.After forming in 1975, The Sex Pisto...2024-02-1307 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinTim: The Replacements Hit the Big TimeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to the second episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which a Yank (Dan Epstein) and a Brit (Tony Fletcher) clash and connect over music from across the pond. Following our dissection of the bizarre American running order for The Jam’s 1979 LP Setting Sons, we turn our attention to a fantastic album from the other side of the Atlantic — Tim, the 1985 major label debut by The Replacements, recently reissued in a 4-CD “Let It Bleed” edition.One of the...2024-01-1607 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinSetting Sons: The Flipped ScriptThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit tonyfletcher.substack.comWelcome to Episode 1 of CROSSED CHANNELS — a new monthly podcast on which a Yank and a Brit clash and connect over music from across the pond.In the podcast’s inaugural episode, Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) discuss The Jam’s powerful 1979 album Setting Sons, and how the band’s American record company “flipped the script” for the album’s US release by putting its Side 2 tracks on Side 1, its Side 1 tracks on Side 2, and wedging the no...2023-12-1207 min
Crossed Channels with Tony Fletcher and Dan EpsteinIntroducing CROSSED CHANNELS: A New PodcastWelcome to Crossed Channels — a new monthly podcast on which a Yank and a Brit clash and connect over music from across the pond.Join Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) as they debate and discuss the different ways that certain major bands and artists from their respective homelands have been received on the other side of the pond. In the process, Dan and Tony compare and contrast their own experiences as obsessive music fans growing up in the US and the UK.Ep 1 - SETTING SONS: THE FLIPPED SCRIPT Di...2023-12-0503 min