The Zero Check

If you ever wondered what Steve thinks about The Who it’s in this episode - S4E09

In this episode, Mike's selection of Tommy generated some mixed discussion, from nostailgia for university to Steve's strong opinions about The Who. But the real star was Jeremy Voltz's Weekender, an indie artist from Toronto. Jeremy also released a solid new single a few days ago on February 22, and you should check it out.
In this episode we're talking about:
The Who "Tommy"
Jeremy Voltz "Weekender"
They Might Be Giants "Flood"
The Proclaimers "Sunshine on Leith"
Feel free to skip past Steve's rant if you really like The Who.

Two Green Day albums in one episode? We can’t be 100% certain. S4E8

We'd say we have an eclectic lineup in this episode, except rumours have it we actually discussed Green Day twice. Aside from that, we have some comedic stuff from the King of Alternative Polka. And some serious stuff from Inuk artist Riit. We think you'll enjoy it all. There was very little controversy in this episode, so we end with a promise to step it up in the next one.
In this episode we're talking about:
The Network "Money Money 2020 Part 2"
Green Day "Insomniac"
Weird Al "Bad Hair Day"
Riit "Ataataga"
Listen to it now, then listen to the albums a whole bunch of times.

We hope you like space keyboards! S4E07

Yeah, we featured two Devin Townsend albums back to back. Craig really likes him. And we learned that Styx was big on the space keyboards. Speaking of bands we've already discussed - we gave a listen to a more recent Gogol Bordello album, and Steve had to get the original cast recording of Hamilton out of his system.
In this episode we're talking about:
Devin Townsend  "Empath"
Styx "The Grand Illusion"
Gogol Bordello "Seekers and Finders"
Hamilton (The original cast recording)
We hope you enjoy the episode!

Flight of the Conchords are nothing like Devin Townsend - S4E06

One day we'll get the whole editing thing down and release on schedule.
In this episode we're talking about:
Rage Against the Machine "Evil Empire"
Strapping Young Lad (Devin Townsend) "City"
Flight of the Conchords "Self-Titled"
Depeche Mode "Music for the Masses"
We hope you enjoy the episode!

Blue Hamilton Group and The Mixtape Man?

After a long pause, we're publishing our fifth episode. Thanks again for your patience, listeners! Richard is taking over editing from Craig, as Craig's home life is a bit hectic these days.
In this episode, we discuss:
Cory Wong - "Power Station"
Arcade Fire - "Funeral"
Lin Manuel Miranda w/ Various Artists - "The Hamilton Mixtape"
Blue Man Group - "The Complex"
We start with a quick note that this episode was recorded sometime this summer, before news about Win Butler broke. Still, it's a great album and we have a good discussion of it. Cory Wong is an active and prolific funk/jazz guitarist who likes to keep very busy, and this was a brand-new release when it was picked to feature. And we've all heard about Hamilton (the musical, to be clear), well this episode we talk about the Mix Tape album inspired by the musical. And Blue Man Group is good fun.

Deltron 3030 will be on your regular album rotation for sure - S4E4

After a brief pause, we're publishing our fourth episode. Thanks for your patience, listeners! 
In this episode, we discuss:
Type O Negative - "October Rust"
Eminem - "Music to be Murdered By"
Deltron 3030 - "Deltron 3030"
The Refreshments - "Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy"
If you're not familiar with all of these artists/albums, you have some slow, prodding goth metal with Type O Negative, they're a bit on the morose side, but they certainly shred. If you don't know Eminem, you've lived under a rock the past 25 years. He's grown into one of the most technically skilled rappers you'll ever find, and he continues to delve into the darker corners of the psyche and society. Deltron 3030 is a scifi futuristic concept hip-hop album from Del the Funkee Homosapien and Dan the Automator, full of great chill beats and cool samples, and tells a story of the year 3030, where the greatest achievement in society is winning a rap battle. The Refreshments are great 90s bar rock, perfect for road trips and backyard barbeques! 

Eve 6 is catchy but didn’t age well - S4E3

Here's our third episode of our comeback season! The crew dug into a varied list of albums:
Genesis "Nursery Cryme"
Astronoid "Air"
Eve 6 "It's all in your head"
Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Aeroplane over the Sea"
These four albums span some playful 70s prog rock, a co-mingling of dreampop and thrash metal, pretty standard frat-rock and an album that arguably kicked off the proliferation of indie rock in the 2000s. Hope you enjoy our rambling!
 

Return of the Zero Check (Season 4 Episode 2)

The Zero Check is back for our second episode of our revival season! This time, Craig, Michael, Steve and Rich are discussing a different variety of albums. We've got:
Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA"
Our Lady Peace's "Clumsy"
Prince's "Purple Rain"
The Cure's "Disintegration"
There's a lot to unpack in these albums, so come along for the ride and see if you agree with us, or have your own thoughts!

Return of The Zero Check (Season 4 - Episode 1)

The original three hosts, Craig, Steve and Richard are back, and we dragged our friend Michael along! You'll find we're a bit rusty after our million-year hiatus, but we have not three, but four kickass albums to discuss, all connecting to the theme of comebacks. Except for Michael's, his is the opposite with a sort-of breakup album. 
Craig's pick: Iron Maiden's "Brave New World" (2000) which marked the return of Bruce Dickinson to the band.
Steve's pick: Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Californication" (1999) the first album since John Frusciante's return to the group.
Richard's pick: Alice In Chains' "Black Gives Way to Blue" (2009), the first album they released with William DuVall. 
Michael's pick: Barenaked Ladies' "Snacktime!" (2008) the band's first foray into producing a children's album and Steven Page's last studio album with the group. 
Give the episode a listen to find out what we thought of these releases, and then go listen to the albums on your favourite streaming platform! an option that was definitely not mainstream when we last recorded an episode of this show.