Brainworms II: Swear to Me by Brainworms (2009)

Ever wonder what album you'd get if you pulled a year and a record completely at random from the sprawling, chaotic history of punk and its offshoots? That's the entire premise behind Punk Lotto Pod: A Punk, Hardcore, and Emo Podcast. Each episode starts with a spin of the virtual wheel, landing on a single year. From there, the hosts dive into one specific album from that year that fits under the wide umbrella of punk, hardcore, emo, or something tangentially related. You won't just hear about the obvious classics, though they certainly come up. The random draw means a 1999 emocore masterpiece might be followed by a raw 1983 hardcore single, or a mid-2000s pop-punk phenomenon could sit beside a gritty 1977 proto-punk artifact. The discussion is less a formal review and more like the conversation you'd have with friends who know too much about liner notes and tour histories, unpacking why a record mattered then and what it sounds like now. It’s a celebration of deep cuts and foundational sounds, where the unpredictability of the format keeps every episode fresh. Tune in to this podcast for a guided, but happily random, tour through the sounds that defined underground scenes across decades.