Blink-182 vs. Van Morrison (feat. Kyle Hilliard)

On this episode, we welcome guest Kyle Hilliard (MinnMax and the Gaming Ride Home podcast) and one of his favorite albums, Blink-182’s breakout Enema of the State, to go head-to-head with Van Morrison’s cult hit Astral Weeks. Kyle’s love for Blink-182’s immature, do-what-we-want 1999 pop-punk smash contrasts sharply with the freeform folk-jazz storytelling that brought Matt to Van Morrison – and yet, somewhere in the mix, they find common ground in their tastes for a well-realized sound. Then in the community portion, we discuss the most important music videos, covers versus live versions, what musicals we listen to outside of the stage show, and more before heading to an old-fashioned bluegrass hoedown with a song suggested by the MinnTrax community!

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below...

3:20 - Kyle’s history with Blink-182

6:40 - Enema of the State

7:10 - How Blink-182 influenced Kyle as a drummer

11:35 - Travis Barker’s drumming

21:10 - Why What’s My Age Again? is better than All the Small Things

29:30 - Bands that take themselves too seriously

37:20 - Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks

41:40 - Astral Weeks’ jazz roots

59:20 - Two dads talking about music

1:05:00 - Community questions

1:19:30 - Community song (‘Big Country’ by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones)