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You might know Brian Wecht as Ninja Brian. Or maybe you know him as Trey Magnifique. Perhaps, you just know him as Brian and that's fine too. Matt and Jeff were just thrilled to have him on the podcast to talk about Al Jarreau's mighty fine Breakin' Away album. But there were conditions. First, an impromptu 20 minute discussion about Kenny G. You'll see. Is there a Chicago reference followed by some scathing condemnation? You know there is.

As it happens, Brian, er, Trey Magnifique has a new holiday EP, Let it Blow, available now as you're listening to this. We talk about that and you should buy it and give Brian some of your hard-earned money that you were planning to spend on Christmas cookies. Was Jim Morrison on the receiving end? What does it all mean? I guess it means that we had a really fun and extremely random conversation with Brian that covers a lot of different topics. Which frankly, it feels like that's exactly what needed to happen.

Our thanks to Brian for spending time talking tunes with us. We look forward to having him back on the podcast soon! Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, but also follow him on BlueSky. You know he has a podcast, right? It's called Leighton Night and you can listen here.

P.S. This episode has some filthy language. You kind of expected that, didn't you?

P.S.S. Jeff and Matt are on BlueSky as well.

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Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip joins Matt to discuss the 35th anniversary of the band's 1989 debut, Up to Here, which is being celebrated with a lavish box set featuring a wealth of previously unreleased content. The box set is available today digitally and will be released in a variety of physical formats on Nov. 15. You can order your copy of the box set here.

The conversation with Rob was wonderfully free-flowing and numerous topics are discussed, including of course, stories from the time period that Up to Here was in the works. But also, Rob and Matt dig into the band's early struggles before they secured their first label deal, the challenges they've had in locating and preserving their archival material, recording in unique locations and even a humorous Rush story, just to name a few things.

In addition to the new box set for Up to Here, fans can also enjoy No Dress Rehearsal, the new four-part documentary on Amazon Prime. There's also a new book. So it's a good time to be a fan of the Tragically Hip and it was a real pleasure to speak with Rob to hear some stories. Fellow longtime fans will enjoy this conversation and we appreciate Rob's time!

P.S. Our comrade Allison Rapp also had a recent conversation that will be of interest to Hip fans. She spoke with bassist Gord Sinclair to discuss his love of Joni Mitchell's music for her Joni podcast and it's a chat you won't want to miss!

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Professor Louis Moore joins Matt and Jeff to discuss his essential new book, The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans and the Making of the Black Quarterback. Our engaging discussion with Lou took us deep into the history of Black quarterbacks and athletes in general in the NFL and he talks about the journey he took as he was writing the book. However much progress you might think has been made in the NFL (and beyond), this discussion -- and Lou's book -- will remind you that there's a lot that still needs to be addressed.

Lou also shared his history as a music fan and the formative experiences he had as a listener growing up, and why Life is...Too $hort is still one of the most important albums in his collection. We had a blast speaking with Lou and if you haven't had a chance to check out his book yet, you'll really want to after hearing this conversation. Our thanks to Lou for writing this book and the time he spent with us to talk about it! You can visit his official website and read more information about his career to date below.

P.S. You can skip the intro and go right to our conversation with Lou, which begins at 10:02.

About Professor Louis Moore:

Louis Moore is a Professor of History at Grand Valley State University. He teaches African American History, Civil Rights, Sports History, and US History.

His research and writing examines the interconnections between race and sports. He is the author of two books, I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915 and We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality, and has an Audible lecture, African American Athletes Who Made History. In addition, he has two Audible lectures, African American Athletes Who Made History and A Pastime of Their Own: The Story of Negro League Baseball. He has also written for various online outlets including The New York Daily News, Vox, The Global Sports Institute, First and Pen, and the African American Intellectual Historical Society, and he has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, and BBC Sports. The co-host of the Black Athlete Podcast, his latest book, The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans and the Making of the Black Quarterback is out now.

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