In every "Classic Album" TV/Radio documentary...

46. Lengthy interview with band member that conveniently avoids any mention of a popular urban legend regarding their initial refusal to record the song that became the album's biggest hit.

lol xpost

47. producer not so subtly hinting that hit song in question was a mess until he too control of it

took

48. One track that is never ever discussed or played, usually always about halfway through Side 2.

See 26. Shit song written by bass player covered in 15 seconds

Yes!

49. Guitar sound described using quasi-psychedelic imagery ("we wanted the guitar solo to sound like flying through purple thunderclouds on an antique Persian carpet sprayed with unicorn urine!")

50. Footage of the album's songs being played live culled almost exclusively from tours that took place many years, albums and lineup changes later.

(xpost) addendum: description gives you no fucking clue what the guitar actually sounds like, then the engineer/producer punches it in and it just sounds like a Tele played through an AC30.

51. Corollary to #1: "Of course, this was all mixed before automation..."

52. Everyone in file footage wearing eyeglasses in the studio.

53. "And this is the guitar I used..." - gingerly picks up ancient wreck of an instrument with 35 years of collected fingernail grime on the frets and finger board

54. "(name of musician) was the first person in the country to own a (insert name of obscure synth), and no-one in the studio knew how to use it!"

55. Corollary to #51. "Final Mix was like a performance" anecdote

56. Really boring keyboard player

57. "We got the bass drum to sound like this by stuffing it with a dead dog!"

58. Keyboardist: "This is the actual keyboard I used for that track...", but what it comes time to play a bit of it, a modern keyboard is used instead, not-so-subtly skating over the fact that the older keyboard doesn't work.

59. "Of course, back then no-one knew that heroin was dangerous"

60. Cowboy hats

61. Bass played now has a beard that makes him look like the Unabomber.

Truck train tractor

62. Gritty archival helicopter view of lower-income housing towers in city where band formed / bucolic car-window footage of shady streets and porches in small town where band formed

63. Brief discussion of band's history prior to that album, illustrated by photographs where the band members all look about 14.

64. "It was originally called 'Truck Train Trailer', but the record company execs refused to even glance at the acetate until we gave it a more commercial title."

65. awkward home video montage of a recently deceased band member

66. "We never liked playing this song live"

67. Footage of Muhammad Ali dropping by the studio

68. Bono saying hearing this album changed his life (along with 900 other albums)

69. Ex band member who went totally la-la on LSD and was fired is now a soberly suited executive in Silicon Valley and earns more money than the rest of the band put together.

70. intercutting of interviews w/ different band members to disguise open fact that they all hate each other

71. "The producer locked everyone in the studio and wouldn't let anyone leave until the track was cut."

72. Awkward reunion, after several years, of lead guitarist with singer, who he knows has slept with at least two of his wives

17. Six words: David Fricke, leather jacket, enormous teeth.

Beat me to it.

73. "We knew we'd recorded a pretty good album, but we had no idea how overwhelming the response etc."

74. Totally pointless anecdote about booze/drugs.

75. "It's not my favourite album I've ever made but..."

76. Rock critic interviewed in front of massive cd/vinyl collection, driving home the point that "he/she really knows what they're talkin' about."

77. "I think it said something about the times we were living in and what people were going through..."

78. Band member visits site of club where the band played their first gig together. Location is now either a burnt out derelict husk or a wine bar completely at odds with the band's image. Bonus points: band member goes to old style jukebox and selects track from the album, but it is clearly faked and dubbed on afterwards.

79. "By the way, a remixed/remastered/remodeled edition of [insert album title] drops in two weeks yo."

80. Producer gets engineer to fade out out band leaving only lead vocal to demonstrate what a good singer that coke-addled jackass was.

81. ...followed by a tedious discussion about how good the singer was at double tracking vocals.

82. Stevie Wonder anecdote

83. Guitarist consistently referring to Jimi Hendrix by his first name

76. Rock critic interviewed in front of massive cd/vinyl collection, driving home the point that "he/she really knows what they're talkin' about."

also: "shit, i had no idea [critic] looked like that"

84. Bizarre dietary habits of band members: "At the time, all he would eat was dry toast and chips"

85. Anecdote about the band's drug dealer having their own limo on tour, paid for by the record company.

82. Stevie Wonder anecdote involving invisible crocodile.

86. last :45 is a quick roundup of the ridiculous garbage the band members have put out since

87. Band member demonstrates how they got odd sound on drums right there for camera, but it sounds nothing like the recording. Sheepish grin.

88. During the playback scenes, Assistant Engineer chap at desk who was -12 when record was made.