What do stoner-era ZZ Top, a mountain named Billy with a tree girlfriend, and a kid who astral projects into Rasputin's beard all have in common? Concept albums, mate. And not just any old proggy b*llocks – this week we're diving into the oddest concept albums we could find (and a few we just wanted to waffle on about anyway).

Andrew is joined by first-time Beat Motel guest host James Kindred – a fellow Ipswich musician, longtime mate, and possibly the only person who can explain a Mastodon plotline without crying blood. Together, they take you on a journey through the weird, the wonderful, and the "what the hell were they thinking?" of the concept album world.

Expect the following nonsense:

• ZZ Top as proto-stoner gods (with bonus slipper sales)

• Agriculture's queer-core black metal positivity

• Mastodon's astral plane + Rasputin collab (yep)

• Frank Zappa's 40-minute tale about a mountain fighting the US government

• The madness of Mansun's Six – A.A. Milne gone rock

• Mark Lanegan scaring the life out of everyone (including Josh Homme)

• Brian Eno inventing ambient music while still in nappies

• NoFX writing an 18-minute punk symphony just to piss everyone off

Throw in some jazz-metal tangents, disdain for ska-punk, and why John Hopkins makes Andrew need a wee, and you've got a classic Beat Motel episode. Warning: contains opinions. Also, possibly bears.

### Riffs of the week

#### Kindred's Riff

- Precious & Grace - ZZ Top (opening)

#### Andrew's Riff

- Agriculture - Bodhidharma

### Kindred's track choices

1. Mastodon – Crack the Skye (cosmic metal odyssey) - Song - The Czar (1. Usurper, 2. Escape, 3. Martyr, 4. Spiral)

2. QOTSA – Songs for the Deaf (desert-drive fever dream) - Song - Songs for the Dead

3. Pink Floyd – The Wall (psychological rock opera) - Song - Comfortably Numb

4. Brian Eno – Music for Airports (ambient architecture for calm) Song - 1/1

### Andrew's track choices

1. Frank Zappa and the mothers of invention - Billy was a mountain

2. Mansun - Legacy

3. NoFx - The Decline

4. John Hopkins - Tayos Caves, Ecuador i

Email us - beatmotel@lawsie.com