Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves

New Order and the Story of 'Blue Monday'

The success of "Blue Monday" by New Order was a mistake. The song was a joke. New Order never intended for it to be a hit. In this week’s episode of Poetic Wax, we pull out the 1988 reissue of "Blue Monday" on vinyl and give it a spin.
We'll dig into the surprising history of the song that blended alt rock, new wave, and electronic dance music and changed the course of music history.
The Poetic Wax Podcast is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. What began as a weekly music history video series on his YouTube Channel can now be found on podcast platforms like this one with blog-form transcripts on his Substack.
Subscribe and follow along. New episodes go up each week!

The Kinks and the Inside Joke That Inspired 'David Watts'

When people ask The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, I push back and say give me The Kinks! This troupe began as mod rockers in the 1960s and came to weave theatrics into their music by the turn of the decade. Opening their 1967 album Something Else, "David Watts" plays into that playfulness with a slyness that makes you think. This is the story of David Watts and the inside joke between the Davies brothers that inspired it.
The Poetic Wax Podcast is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. What began as a weekly music history video series on his YouTube Channel can now be found on podcast platforms like this one with blog-form transcripts on his Substack.
Subscribe and follow along. New episodes go up each week!

How A Horse Accident Drove Blonde Redhead's Transformation

It's time to go deep into the history and story of Misery is a Butterfly, the 2004 album by Blonde Redhead. We'll go deep, exploring the band's noise pop origins and their move from Smells Like to Touch & Go Records.
For Misery, we'll dig into their decision to strike out on their own, ultimately landing at the legendary label 4AD. We explore the album's origins and the impact of a tragic horse accident member Kazu Makino sustained in 2002, of which traces of influence can be found within.
I explore and share my personal connection to the album and its lasting impact, 20 years on. In a sense, this is a mini album documentary.
Poetic Wax is a weekly YouTube video series and podcast hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. You can find the transcript with supplemental video and audio clips referenced in each episode on his Substack.

The BIZARRE Story of How the Velvet Underground Met Andy Warhol

The Velvet Underground is one of the most influential bands in rock history, and their collaboration with pop art icon Andy Warhol has a lot to do with that. This is the BIZARRE story of how The Velvet Underground met Andy Warhol, and went on to change the landscape of music forever.
Connect with Andy and the Poetic Wax Podcast on YouTube and Instagram.

How Arcade Fire Changed Indie Rock: The Story of 'Funeral'

From Grief to Greatness: this is a history of Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral and how it changed indie rock. Funeral was released in September 2004, birthed from the collective grief of the band after losing many family members. Finding joy in the sorrow, the album resonated with many across the United States and the world in the post-9/11 days, still fresh from a few years prior.
Yet, it almost didn't see the light of day.
From death to new life, pain to joy, after 20 years this album still cuts deeply, heals fully, and continues to impact and inspire fans of indie rock.
Connect with Andy and the Poetic Wax Podcast on YouTube and Instagram.

Modest Mouse and the Story of 'Float On'

This is the story of "Float On" and how a slew of bad events led Modest Mouse to create the greatest perseverance anthem of all time. Their 2004 album "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" turns 20 in 2024, and that means it's the perfect time to look back and see how we got here. Modest Mouse is a band that probably never should have made it big, but defied all odds with a little mindset shift. Let's dig in!
Connect with Andy and the Poetic Wax Podcast on YouTube and Instagram.

The Story of Mercer Arts Center and the Rise of CBGB's and Punk Rock

Before CBGB's there was the Mercer Arts Center. This is the wild story of the hotel that housed that venue, it's collapse, and how it led to the rise of CBGB's and punk rock. Today we touch on a few notable bands from the 1970s, including New York Dolls, Television, Ramones, and The Modern Lovers.
From the fanfare of the Grand Central Hotel in the 1870s to the two notable events that took place with its first ten years, to the birth and collapse of the Mercer Arts Center, this fascinating story digs into a little covered history within the underground music scene in New York City during the early 1970s.
Connect with Andy and the Poetic Wax Podcast on YouTube and Instagram.

The Smashing Pumpkins and the 1979 Ultimatum

One of the reasons I started the Poetic Wax Podcast is that I love digging deep into the often little known history of bands, albums, and songs in my record collection.
Sometimes it's shocking how quickly a band pulls together an album -- sometimes in the span of a few weeks or less! But just as often, the opposite is true. The songwriter struggles to put the final touches on the song.
This is the story of the latter, and how it literally came down to the last day in the studio and an ultimatum from the producer. That song is "1979," and it would become one of the most cherished hits on the band's 1995 double album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness.
Connect with Andy and the Poetic Wax Podcast on YouTube and Instagram.