No Stairway - Middle-aged men who make mixtapes

NO STAIRWAY 35 IS OUT NOW!

In this week’s overdub-free episode, Carl is forced to admit to his egotism, Tim finally ups his game and Bill repeatedly complains about his time poverty.

Exclusively on Spotify.

After somewhat of an accidental hiatus, the No Stairway crew are back. We're picking up where we left off with season 3 and the Live Tracks playlists.

Coming soon to Spotify.

COMING SOON...

No Stairway 34 - Back to the 90s.

The 1990s.

Get out your global hyper colour t-shirt, your Naff Naff jeans and rose tinted spectacles, because it's time to go back to Bill, Carl and Tim's teenage years.

Exclusively on Spotify.

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As we are all well aware, Norsemen were and are a hirsute and complex lot, famed for raiding, pillaging and having their religion hijacked by Stan Lee. Whilst all peoples of the world have had a go at speculating what the world’s ultimate doom will be, the Norse story of Ragnorok is easily one of the most entertaining - there’s a giantess in a trance, a dragon eats the roots of a tree which is supposedly a meta-textual representation of the superposition of several potential unrealised universes and the Incredible Hulk gets dressed up like a young Russell Crowe. It’s hilarious. Ironically, Russell Crowe would appear in the sequel to Ragnarok the Movie as a racist stereotype and thus become the first person despised by all of Greece since Andriscus.

Of course, the meaning of Ragnarok is that with every end comes a beginning, as Midgard is reborn from the embers of Surtr’s fire - so it is appropriate that our very own apocalypse should lead to a rebirth as this is our very first Spotify-only listen-along episode. Hopefully this will add to your enjoyment of the show as we can now, after forging our new format in the metaphorical breath of Níðhöggr, play selections from our playlists for your delectation, and in order to break up the waffling a bit.

In this week’s all-new Spotify-only episode, Bill overfills his mail fun bag, Carl declares himself Leibniz to Tim’s Isaac Newton, and Tim puts his money on the Book of Revelation being 100% accurate, even down to the coloured horses and the lake of fire

The No Stairway Crew are not going to start this post by apologising for our absence from your preferred podcast provider.

Because we're not sorry.

Life happens and we're busy middle-aged men.

However, we are happy to announce that season 3 is currently in production and episode 1 is coming very soon!

There is one major change... We've decided to go exclusive. As we always wanted to have clips of the music in the show, the only way to do it without any copyright issues is to go Spotify-only.

We can assure you that the new format is shaping to be something special!

Keep your eyes open for the release date.

No Stairway Season 3 is nearly ready!

Poets and lyricists had long desired to use words that phonetically imitate the sound they describe. Philosophers from antiquity to the modern era, linguists of all schools and several noted East Coast beatboxers have all attempted to capture the majesty of sound in words. However, it wasn’t until three brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma under the band name Hanson had the breakout genre redefining hit “MMMBop” in 1997 that the concept of onomatopoeia was fully realised in song form. Hanson’s song was, of course, wildly successful, being voted number 20 in now long defunct television channel VH-1’s poll of the “100 greatest songs of the 1990’s” - it also notably caused world famous poet Pierre Autin-Grenier to controversially rewrite sections of his celebrated collection “L'éternité est inutile” in order to reflect the now completely transformed literary landscape.

Hanson’s keyboard player Taylor Hanson had a particularly strong reaction to his unintended effect on contemporary French poetry and subsequently spent several years in semi-retirement writing knitting patterns for the local parish magazine. He returned to music when convinced by former Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos to form the super group “Tinted Windows” although the eponymous album that followed failed to include any onomatopoeia at all. The band broke up shortly thereafter.

In this week’s episode, Carl defends the Bare Naked Ladies, Tim is rendered speechless by the hatred Bill has for Nicki Minaj whilst Bill repeatedly denies that he is clearly suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation.

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It's very cold outside, so much so that our teeth have been chattering. The wind has been howling so loud that it has been hard to sleep. The leaves crunched as we walked over them. And hail pattered on the tin gutter rhythmically.

But don't worry because coming soon... No Stairway 32.

Onomatopoeia.

It's a wild ride.

And we're online! The bass lists are here, and ready for you to dance, bounce and pounce to.

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No Stairway 31 will drop ASAP.

The crew met up last weekend.

We didn't talk about the podcast.

But we did have a good time.

Episode 30 is online!

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OUT NOW!

It would be facetious for a music podcast to go for any length of time without acknowledging the Beatles – as has been observed many times, the undisputed greatest album of all time is The Best of The Beatles; anyone who tells you different is selling something. With the acerbic lyrical wit of John Lennon, the edgy, genre-defining lead guitar work of George Harrison and the rhythmic dependability of everyone’s favourite Beatle, Ringo Starr, the Beatles reshaped the cultural landscape of the twentieth century. Also, the bass player’s wife made some superb textured vegetable protein sausages.

You may think that there is nothing left to be said about the Beatles, but we’re the guys that did an entire podcast on the best way to soundtrack a hangover, so we’re pretty sure we can find something new to offer.

In this week’s episode, Tim doubles down on his controversial opinions about Paul McCartney, Bill blames a childhood of playing in brass bands for his hatred of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and Carl’s hot take for the week is that Ravi Shankar’s tracks are quite good but just a little bit too long. It’s classic stuff.

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16th September will see the launch of three audacious playlists: essays on The Beatles.

What will the crew focus on?

And which Ringo tracks will survive the musical cull?

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This Friday, episode 29 lands.

The Four Seasons playlists are ready to be discussed.

And there's some explaining to do!

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Three playlists.

All related to Four Seasons, in one way or another.

Enjoy them whilst enjoying the weekend.

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Out tomorrow... Three new playlists for your enjoyment. As requested by Cip, the Four Seasons will give you an extreme level of enjoyment no matter the weather.

No Stairway 29 will premiere on 26th August 2022.

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Billie Holiday’s invention of the phrase “Me, Myself & I” with the song of the same name in 1937, had led her at the time, quite undeservedly, to be described as “The Narcissist’s favourite chanteuse.” However the first person singular has, in recent and perhaps more egocentric times, become a popular and widespread opening to songs of all genres. From John Lennon reading the news today to Bob Marley shooting the sheriff (although I believe Bob was wildly exaggerating his tale of a lawman’s murder for dramatic effect) the opening of songs with “I this” or “I that” now hold the song appreciating public in thrall – and it is these very songs which will be our focus this week.

It is an oft forgotten fact, of course, that prior to Ms Holiday, all characters in songs were required, by international law, to have full names and titles – hence such lovable personalities as Mr Bojangles, Mrs Robinson and, of course, Major Tom. This law can be traced back as far as Charles II of England who passed it in order to make the loathsome ballad “Scarborough Fair” illegal. Although the trend in history is for formality to slowly and surely erode over time, I for one can’t help thinking that something has been lost here along the way, and I’m sure we could all agree that banning “Scarborough Fair” would be a welcome bonus.

In this episode Carl parades his ignorance of Whitney Houston’s back catalogue, Tim declares he’s “getting into the Monkees” and Bill finally admits that Bruce Springsteen is probably not writing songs for him.

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Friday 29th July... It's here.

The "Me, Myself and I" episode.

There's been some murmurings of the use of vocalisations before the word "I" in the playlists. We can assure you that all songs have been vetted and quality assured.

Even the Scorpions track.

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Just seven days until the episode drops.

We hope you're enjoying "Me, Myself and I" and thinking of your own suggestions.

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The new playlists are here!

Three fresh, new playlists are over at https://nostairwaypodcast.com/2022/07/13/episode-28-me-myself-and-i/

Perfect for a Monday evening at home in this fresh hell that is a UK heatwave.

All new podcast episode will be available from 29th July 2022.

Episode 28: Me, Myself and I Billie Holiday’s invention of the phrase “Me, Myself & I” with the song of the same name in 1937, had led her at the time, quite undeservedly, to be described as “The Narcissist’s favourite cha…

Coming soon to an aural space near you, the "Me, Myself and I" playlists as requested by .

Songs that start with "I". So... I'm, I've and I are all good.

We're nearly ready to roll.

Have a great Friday.

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Nineties Michael Jackson baiter Jarvis Cocker once asked in song “Do you remember the first time?” The song’s narrator is quick to add that he “can’t remember a worse time” – this is particularly ironic as Cocker’s debut outing with Pulp, 1983’s “It”, is perhaps their worst record. Likewise, only real die-hard fans will attempt to compare the debut albums of David Bowie, Elton John or Prince with the rest of their celebrated oeuvre. However, not everyone makes a hash of things the first time around – I potted a ball from the break with my first ever stroke of a pool cue in 1989. I never saw any reason to persevere with the sport after that, leaving those who witnessed it to mourn my wasted potential ever since. A bit like what happened with the Stone Roses, albeit without the prolonged legal action. This week on No Stairway we’re focusing on the very best tracks which have featured on debut albums – along the way Bill goes big on Britpop nostalgia, Carl thinks better of trying to defend Tim Wheeler’s singing voice and Tim treats us all to a rampant mix of, you guessed it, atmospheric electronica. Just don’t hold your breath for any Bowie or Pulp.

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Coming soon... An all new episode discussing "Songs from Debut Albums".

The three playlists have caused some serious discussion... And we're sure you're ready.

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THE NEW PLAYLISTS ARE HERE, MR HARTOUNIAN!

Here they are, three brand new playlists from the No Stairway crew.

Songs from debut albums.

Next week... The all new podcast will arrive.

Until then: listen, discuss and enjoy. Or not. Whatever.

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Coming soon... Three all new playlists.

"Songs from debut albums" will definitely rock your socks.

Don't forget get to slip into our DMs to send us requests, opinions or even just to to say hello!

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The Sakoku Edict of 1635 made Japan an isolated state, cutting off trade relationships with most other countries of the world and banning foreigners from entering Japan upon pain of death. Over the next two hundred years, the land of the rising sun would become a place of mystery for the rest of the world, and from this period of isolation it is thought that the West’s fascination with all things Japanese sprang. Indeed, many learned folk trace the first instances of Japanophilia to the 1894 book “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan” by Greek writer Lafcadio Hearn. In this work Lafcadio detailed many fascinating and foreign aspects of Japanese culture, descriptions of the striking and romantic landscapes of a pre-industrialised Japan, and gave illuminating explorations of the Shinto and Buddhist religions, both relatively unknown to the West at the time.

At No Stairway, however, we understand what truly makes Japan cool - Godzilla, Ninjas and some of the greatest and most insane popular music ever made. Come with us as we explore dubiously named power-pop combos, Super Mario sound-tracking super bands and the peerless genius of Sheena Ringo. You’ll have to use your imaginations for Godzilla and the ninjas, but in all honesty if these playlists don’t invoke images of 300 feet tall lizards breathing nuclear fire on an army of robotic ninja warriors, then frankly there’s no hope for you. Ikimashou!

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