Spin It or Bin It

Paul and Josh start their Van Halen discography run in earnest by discussing the first two VH albums. They talk about Van Halen I's status as one of the all time great debut albums and debate whether II holds up as a worthy successor or even competitive with the followup album. 

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On Spin It Or Bin It we are contractually obligated to cover any and all new Weezer releases. Paul and Josh go over Weezer's self titled (gold) album and provide some kneejerk takes recorded on release day. They also talk about the early critical/fan response and speculate on Weezer's future. 

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Paul and Josh are back with a new miniseries! This "introduction" episode talks about the history of Van Halen prior to the debut and the duo get into the storied "Van Halen 0" demos that would go on to make up the source of the bulk of the DLR era Van Halen albums. 

Paul and Josh are back to continue their Haken miniseries with the band's comeback EP: in a fever dream! They talk about the band's controversial musical choices and try to parse if there are any clues in this EP about the band's longterm trajectory. But most importantly, is it a spin or a bin? 

For a break between miniseries content, Paul and Josh are discussing some recent happenings in the metal world. They discuss the announcement of a new Mastodon album as well as the two released singles and react to the mini documentary The Mastodon in the Room. They also discuss the Iron Maiden sale to Pophouse and speculate about what the sale might mean for the future of the band.

Josh and Paul wrap up their Paramore miniseries talking about their latest album This Is Why! They discuss their divided opinions on this album, speculate about the future of Paramore, and there's some bonus talk about the recent Fantano/Halsey feud. 

Josh and Paul are back to talk about Paramore's After Laughter! They talk about why they chose this as their Paramore album of choice for their best albums of the 21st century and how this album stands out among the rest of the discography.

Josh and Paul are back talking about Paramore's 2013 self titled album. They talk about the lineup changes and drama leading up to this project and the band's drastic stylistic shift. They talk about this album's legacy and whether the material holds up years later. 

Paul and Josh discuss Paramore's 3rd album, Brand New Eyes. They talk about this album's status as a sleeper hit among fans, and how it compared to Riot both at the time and over 15 years later. They also discuss the album's legacy as the end of an era for Paramore, but also whether it felt like a transitional album to the band's current status as a pop rock band.

Josh and Paul continue the Paramore miniseries by talking about their second album, Riot! They discuss the album's megahits but the real question is whether the deeper cuts hold up or if this is an album of fillers held up by a few hits. 

Paul and Josh are back with a new mini series! Now they're going pop punk and discussing the Paramore discography, starting with the debut All We Know Is Falling. They discuss the early history of Paramore, how the band formed, Hayley Williams' background as a teenage vocalist with a record deal, and whether this album is a forgotten emo classic or one of many similar albums at the time that got rightfully lost in the shuffle. 

Josh and Paul wrap up their Iron Maiden mini series by discussing the newly released Burning Ambition documentary. They discuss their criticisms of the doc and speculate on the future of Maiden.

Paul and Josh reach the end of Maiden's reunion era discography and discuss Maiden's last album: Senjutsu! They talk about how the band built on the direction of the previous album but largely to greater success, including an all time moment with Steve Harris' epics trilogy that rounds out the album.

Paul and Josh continue their Maiden deep dive with the band's sixteenth album, The Book of Souls! They talk about whether the amount of material justified Maiden's first double album, the change in writing style since The Final Frontier, and assess how successful the more experimental moments on this album were. 

Josh and Paul take a break from their Maiden talks to discuss some recent news in the rock  world. They talk about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, the trendy Angine de Poitrine, and new releases from some of rock's elder statesmen. 

Josh and Paul discuss the 15th Maiden studio album, The Final Frontier! They talk about the band's foray into progressive rock, the rumors that swirled around the time about this being the final album, and the many traits and concepts on TFF that Maiden hasn't revisited since. 

Paul and Josh had so much to talk about with A Matter of Life and Death that they had to release a second episode! In this episode, the duo discuss Iron Maiden's touring activity in the last half of the 00s, they talk about Maiden's controversial decision to play all of AMOLAD live and how they handled some of the nostalgia touring immediately after. Then, they react to some breaking news and discuss the trailer for the Burning Ambition documentary. 

In this mega episode Josh and Paul go deep on 2006's AMOLAD! They go track by track and discuss in depth how this album became arguably Maiden's most acclaimed of the 21st century, and one of the most acclaimed of their entire discography.

Paul and Josh continue their Maiden deep dive with 2003's Dance of Death! They talk about one of Maiden's most controversial albums, whether there are any forgotten gems and how for better or worse Maiden were onto something special with this album.

Paul and Josh are back talking about the Iron Maiden reunion and the seminal Brave New World album! They discuss the background leading up to the reunion, the Ed Hunter tour, and discuss whether the album holds up after all these years. Does it deserve its recognition as a modern day classic? 

In a very special episode of Spin it Or Bin It, Josh and Paul continue their Maiden exploration by talking about Paul's favorite era of Maiden: the Blaze years! Since they already had an extensive discussion on The X Factor (find that episode in our archives), this one is a little more focused on Virtual XI and the historical impact of the Blaze years as a whole. 

Paul and Josh kick off a new series this time focusing on latter day Iron Maiden! They start off with Maiden's two 90s entries with Bruce Dickinson on vocals. They talk about why these albums didn't work and how they quickly went from some of their most acclaimed work ever to their easily most forgotten albums.

Josh and Paul talk about some recent music news including the split of two members from Haken and the new Megadeth album. They talk about the recent trend of legacy bands retiring and whether this is a result of the bad economic situation that bands find themselves in. 

Paul and Josh wrap up their retrospective on the 21st century by revealing their favorite albums from 2021 to 2024. They also talk snubs, honorable mentions, and artists that barely missed the cut. 

Josh and Paul continue their rundown of the best albums of the 21st century by discussing their picks for 2016 through 2020. They talk about the changing internet landscape and how that impacted the music they were consuming at the time.

Paul and Josh continue their countdown of the best albums of the 21st century year by year. This time they go through a few prog rock classics and pivot into the hip hop dominance of the early to mid 2010s. 

Paul and Josh are going year by year to discuss the best albums released in the 21st century so far. They chose one album for each year with no artist being represented more than once on the list. In part one of the new miniseries, they talk about their first 8 picks. 

Josh and Paul are joined by a special guest to draft 10 great Weezer songs! 

Paul and Josh are getting festive with the Spin It Or Bin It christmas special! They talk through their favorite Christmas songs, Christmas albums, and take a journey through Christmas classics old and new. 

Josh and Paul are busy with holiday activities and future exciting podcast content, so here is an unreleased episode from the back catalog. Paul and Josh talk through the ill fated Judas Priest Twin Turbos project that later became the albums Turbo and Ram It Down. They discuss the two albums and Priest's career at the time. 

Paul and Josh wrap up their Haken miniseries by discussing the latest album Fauna. They address recent rumors about the band's future, speculate on what they might do next, and share their top 10 Haken songs. 

Paul and Josh continue their Haken deep dive by talking about Haken's djent era, the conceptual companion albums Vector and Virus! They talk about the first impressions of Vector and the surprise drop of Virus two years later. they talk about what the albums have in common, their differences, and whether each one is spinnable or binnable. 

Paul and Josh are back to discuss the major Haken breakthrough albums The Mountain and Affinity, as well as the Restoration demo that was released in between. They talk about the band's break into the progressive mainstream and what it was like watching the band blow up in real time. They discuss the differences between the two albums and how this is the beginning of a divide within the fanbase. 

Josh and Paul are back with another miniseries on the Haken discography! They go over the band's early history and talk about their own experiences with the band, including Josh's early memories of hearing Visions and Aquarius for the first time in 2011 when they were fresh albums. They talk about how the albums hold up in hindsight and which of the two holds up the most. 

Paul and Josh wrap up their Opeth mini series by discussing what might be in store for the band's future as well as discuss their albums mt rushmore and favorite songs. They assess the quality of Opeth's discography as a whole and how it has changed over the years. 

Paul and Josh wrap up their Opeth exploration by discussing the band's latest album, Last Will & Testament. They discuss the album's bold creative decisions including the return of more metal elements such as growls as well as the album's heavy emphasis on narrative and lack of proper song titles. They discuss the merits of the band shifting directions at this stage, but ultimately it comes down to the music, so is it a spin or a bin? 

Paul and Josh go through a Discogs blog about the 20 Essential Horror Soundtracks. They talk about which are spins and which are bins, and spend some time talking about some personal favorites that were missed as well. 

Paul and Josh have an open discussion about Ace Frehley and pay tribute to the late guitarist from Kiss. They talk about some of their favorite moments from Ace in the band and talk a little about their own experiences with Kiss growing up. 

Josh and Paul discuss the final two albums in Opeth's "Newpeth" era: Sorceress and In Cauda Venenum! They talk about what this period means for Opeth's history and even issue a couple bins.