Impossible Way Of Life

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After a month off IWOL is back and better than ever. The old energy is charged up and we're ready to take on the world. 

It's a God Damn Impossible Way Of Life...

We love you all and we'll see you in September.

xo

Johnny and James

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(FOR BEATLES HEADS ONLY) 

"Michelle" by The Beatles: The 1965 mono mix, the 1965 stereo mix, George Martin's 1986 alternate stereo mix, the 2009 remasters, the Giles Martin 2023 remix, the Giles Martin 2026 mix of Michelle (Take 1), The Giles Martin October 2026 stereo remix. We are going to listen to them all and decide, once and for all, what the hell is going on and which one is the best. Beatles are back. We're back.

The moment that changed everything....

Also discussed: Giles is back to do a hatchet job on Rubber Soul - "I Shall Be Released" is still the only song chosen for an end of show ensemble sing-a-long.

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My parents are in town first time in a decade and in true Steinbeckian fashion I caravanned them out to Johnny's Ranch. A time was had. We catch up here, before the moment that changed it all, before our return to innocence.

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And the hits just keep on comin'...

Fresh off the release of his new album "Enduro" (produced by Johnny), Wills Van Doorn is back to discuss everything from Power Pop community to Beatles beat mapping to Tame Impala Simulators. He's got the new record, the new haircut, the new city, the new attitude. This dude is ready to take a bite out of life and we're here for it. 

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At a time when rock was disappearing up its own velvet cape, Jonathan Richman turned boredom, highways, crushes, and convenience stores into sacred ground. Call it proto-punk, or an early sketch of power pop, there was no precedent for what Richman was up to - and whatever it was, well....it's left for us to define. Rock n' Roll.

Jeffrey "Gassed Up" Silverstein is back and better than ever. He's got a fresh album, a fresh record deal, and a sunny spot in his Portland back yard where he can sip his iced coffee and talk shop with us. What more can you really ask for in this impossible way of life?

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We break down one of James' favourite "No Skips" albums - The power pop workhorse record that is "The Beat" by The Beat. 

We have't caught up in a while so it's a slice of life Wednesday pod. Some World Cup talk, some music talk, some gear talk. It's an Impossible Way Of Life, if you're here you know what to expect. 

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Another installment of music from James' living room, Cuban Bluegrass, Psychedelic Soul, and a Beach Boys song with a particularly demented drum mix.

Iggy Pop is selling champagne, AI is curating wine flights, recording studios stink like Uber Eats burritos. On today's episode of Impossible Way Of Life we are two grumpy old Rock 'n' Rollers fed up with the state of things. We're not defeated, though. It's time to take the world back. Take music back. Or at least wrestle back a little piece of it, just for us. 

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We are all too aware that most of the patrons of this podcast are not only music lovers, but performing musicians themselves. So, with a piazza inspired summer on the horizon, and likely a few gigs to prepare for, we break down some summer stage wear do's and don'ts. Everyone knows that, at this point, fashion is more important than music, so this seems like a fairly important episode to check out. (Note. We are doing this as much for...

Jake Feinberg takes his place in the front row, like the curious alchemist at the edge of a carnival. Uninterested in the machinery of fame, he is a curiosity collector of those fleeting moments when sound becomes a temporary religion, because Jake is his own particular Hero's Journey, a musical ambassador attempting to heal humanity through interviews with artists and spiritualists. A blind monk stumbling into grace.

And on today's episode of @impossiblewayoflife, we jump into the timewave whirlpool with him, sharing our fascination with the unruly mystery at the center of the song and the strange...

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If only there was a way to rank an artist's Piazza level and their corresponding Piazzabilities. If only we could replace our already exiting IWOL ranking categories with new Piazza versions. If only...

When we find ourselves in times of trouble, and need those words of wisdom - look no further whatsoever than our podcast's spiritual guru Mike Komaszczuk.

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Crooner lineage, mask vs music, AI John Lennon reels, having fun making music vs not having fun making music etc. 

Oh, we also invent a game where you close your eyes and THINK ABOUT THE BEATLES, then you have to say the first image that comes to mind. 

We weren't planning to...but we ended up discussing Paul's new record. Full disclosure, neither of us have heard the whole thing, but it ended up leading to a bigger conversation...as usual,

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If memory serves...we spent most of this episode discussing children's TV show theme songs and the various careers of those who performed them. Still finding our groove for the summer, but we're here for it, mad for it, every Sunday for the patrons. 

Today we are joined by a major player and major pal to both James and Johnny: Mr. Brandon "my middle name is Wolfe" Scott. Brandon is not only James' co-combatant in the impossible way of life (by way of Yukon Blonde) but he has also been chipping away at a very impressive solo body of work these past few years. So, in the wake of his new Paul Simon inspired jam "Back For Me", we sit down with our man Bran for a lovely little chat about it all. 

The new Rolling Stones music video has us up in arms. This time they have gone too far. 

We basically spend the hour ranting like two Larry Davids about recent interactions with local businesses, people...society in general. Sometimes you gotta do it. Oh, we talked some Beach Boys and Beatles too. 

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We begin the task of defining the Heritage Revivalism genre and deciding which artists and albums currently belong there. 

Today we are joined by a major player and friend of the pod Johanna Samuels. Johanna is a true delight and always one of our favourite guests. This episode featured two main topics: 

1. What we would order at various Margaritaville locations. 

2. Johanna's wonderful new (Beatlesy) music she's been releasing. 

Tune in, turn on, drop out everyone. It's an impossible way of life. 

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Stacey brought it to our attention that we already did 2 episodes on Fleetwood Mac's Tusk about 4 years ago. Both of us had forgotten. In any case, why not talk about it again, right? So here we are. It's an impossible way of life everyone. 

A couple of summers ago Sam went and visited Johnny on the coast of Vancouver island and together they recorded almost 40 songs. Now 28 of those songs have been released. That seemed like something worth doing a podcast about. 

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At long last we are joined by our long time pal and fellow Pop Tunesmith STACEY. Over the hour we discussed everything from her run in with Sir Paul McCartney to threading the needle between Heritage Revivalism and Contemporary Pop to Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk". Stacey is the best and we are so thrilled to finally have her on. 

James gives Johnny a hard hitting, Charlie Rose style interview about his new album "Dazzle Me".

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Johnny pops to Vancouver and we go to the Sam Roberts and Flyte concerts. More importantly though, we went to the best bar in Vancouver (Tafs) to get fired up beforehand. 

BIG STAR, the greatest band that never got BIG. Or at least not until it was too late. This was mostly a discussion about the two main characters in the Big Star story: Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. So much so, that we ranked both of them. 

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A Sunday slice on one of Johnny's favourite days of the year. 

We finally get a start on our Pilgrim Pirate Pagan venn diagram, but there's a whole lot more in this episode beyond that. For those of you who may be new to the show, this is a taste of Classic IWOL. 

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Trevor is back to continue the important work we're doing on this recording manifesto. We all had to take a long hard into the mirror and face the music on this one. We might never record a song the same again once this is through. If you consider yourself a heritage revivalist, you don't wanna miss this series. 

Today we are joined by Indie Rock royalty. We have the founder and curator of Jagjaguwar Records, Darius Van Arman, on the show. Darius has been a champion of great songs, freaky artists, and rock n roll individualism since 1996 when he started the label, and here he is, 30 years later, still doin it. 

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We needed to bring in a major player like two time Grammy nominee Trevor Spencer to really figure this thing out. We are getting to the core of something that feels very important. A set of old school principles for a new school of heritage revivalist recording freaks. 

Max is rattling down streets in a Fender humming panic. His Princeton is on the outs, more whole lotta nothing than whole lotta love. We make a call, so he puts the car in idle to cough up half remembered dreams while New York leaks past the windshield in streaks.

Cut Worms are gearing up for another North American odyssey in support of “Transmitter,” and he talks to us live from the driver’s seat about the great American rock existentialists, Chilton, Westerberg, Elliott Smith, and beyond.

So join us on the journey. It’s Holden C...

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We reclaim the word LEGIT for the way WE like to make music. The Beatos and Colliers of the world be damned. Also on this episode: a round of "Funny / Not Funny"...a new way to decide if bands are good or not. 

In one of the great pleasures of our podcasting lives, we are joined by the ever charming and inspiring Madison Cunningham to discuss her incredible new record, "Ace". 

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In the wake of all this recent "going legit" business, the lads get together for an informal Sunday chat.