It seems like folks around National Review have been a bit down in the mouth lately, what with all the unfortunate political news and Boston Celtics victories. (I haven’t been paying terribly close attention, but I think Joe Biden might actually still be lost somewhere in the Irish countryside, roaming free while his perplexed Secret Service detail hunts for him like a lost dog.) So I thought it might help things if I cheered everyone up with an enormous dose of the band Black Sabbath instead. Embrace the bleakness!
For those unaware, aside from being a dour writer for NR, I’ve also been the co-host of a podcast here for the past six years called Political Beats. The name is a bit deceptive because it is basically everything my prose is not. It is an emphatically non-political space where people who otherwise spend far too much time wading through the Shawshank Redemption–like sewers of national policy and politics can go and relax and talk about something far more important: their favorite bands or musical artists. It is a show for music-lovers, as each episode is a deep, thoroughly researched critical dive into an artist’s body of work. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys listening to people talk about The Beatles, or Otis Redding, or even the obscure Eighties band Talk Talk in ridiculously well-argued detail (including the occasional shocking display of pointless erudition) for two-plus hours, then . . . well, then you’re as weird as we are. And there’s a show out there for you.
Our episode on Sabbath was a particular delight to record and mix — we excerpt the music to illustrate our points, nobody wants to hear me bleat uninterrupted for 90 minutes — because they’re a band that subverted expectations in the best possible way. Even as they invented heavy metal with one of the most iconic — and yes, goofiest — debut albums in popular music history, they were also far more intelligent than their detractors (or your parents) ever gave them credit for. So if you feel like decompressing with some of the heaviest music ever recorded, you’ll enjoy this one. And if not, then hey: Next month we’ll probably be discussing a synth-pop dance band.