Channel Awesome
Trainwreckords

Created by
Produced by
Starring
Produced
32
Running Time
Variable
Website

Trainwreckords is a show by ToddInTheShadows where he looks at the career-ruining albums from various artists.

Episodes start with a summation of the artist's position in the pop scene leading up to the subject album.

Todd then walks through the album's contents, starting with a lengthy analysis of the lead single, then following that up with a look at the overall thoroughline of the album interpolated with reviews of the followup singles, as well as a variable number of album cuts. For albums by bands, interpersonal relations between the members are also run through, since fallouts between them tend to be factor in the album's failure.

Unlike Todd's other series, his piano playing is placed at the end of every episode, over "The End"/"Thanks to my Patrons" cards; usually the most famous song from the album reviewed (although there are a few exceptions).

Episodes[]

Title Year Description Released
01 0304 by Jewel 2003 New series! In this show, we'll be looking at the records that ended thriving careers, and we're starting with the album that turned Jewel Kilcher from folksinger poet to poor man's Britney Spears October 20, 2017
02 Kilroy Was Here by Styx 1983 Domo Arigato, Cheese-rock Roboto! December 16, 2017
03 The Funky Headhunter by MC Hammer 1994 MC Hammer goes gangsta. You can't touch this. Nor should you. March 19, 2018
04 Be Here Now by Oasis 1997 Today is gonna be the day that we look at the album that killed Britpop and made Oasis has-beens overnight! June 17, 2018
05 Van Halen III by Van Halen 1998 Van Halen's third incarnation! Featuring new singer Gary Cherone, the guy from Extreme! And it was Extremely bad. August 11, 2018
06 Mardi Gras by Creedence Clearwater Revival 1972 There was a bad moon rising over Creedence in 1972, when John Fogerty made the rest of the band do the writing, and the result ain't no fortunate one. September 23, 2018
07 Cyberpunk by Billy Idol 1993 1993 was not such a nice day to start again for Billy Idol, when he released his bizarre concept album about cyborgs and virtual reality! October 31, 2018
08 MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 by Lauryn Hill 2002 Lauryn Hill was miseducated even worse than we realized, as she demonstrated with her legendary public breakdown disguised as an Unplugged special. April 3, 2019
09 American Life by Madonna 2003 The Material Girl becomes... The Political Girl?? Madonna brought one of the longest winning streaks in pop music to a sudden, ignominious end in 2003 with her little-loved dip into politics. August 1, 2019
10 Paula by Robin Thicke 2014 I know you want it? No, no one wanted it. Robin Thicke's desperate attempt to save his marriage instead sends his personal and professional life plummeting into disaster. September 1, 2019
11 Cut the Crap by The Clash 1985 Here's a tip, if you're going to make one of the worst-sounding albums of all time, don't make it easy for the critics by putting the word "Crap" in the title, like The Clash did with their career-ending final album. October 31, 2019
12 Fairweather Johnson by Hootie & the Blowfish 1996 Sometimes they wondered if it would ever end, and whoa buddy did it ever. Hootie & the Blowfish's rushed second album ended Hootiemania just as suddenly as it started. November 19, 2019
13 Summer in Paradise by The Beach Boys 1992 The Beach Boys' endless summer had an ending after all, when they tried to capitalize on "Kokomo" and instead brought their comeback to a crashing halt. March 20, 2020
14 Zingalamaduni by Arrested Development 1994 Gangsta rap is so violent! Why can't all those rappers just sing about nice things?? Arrested Development showed why in 1994, when their weirdly-named follow-up to their acclaimed debut took a shot to the dome. May 2, 2020
15 Two the Hard Way by Gregg Allman & Cher (Allman & Woman) 1977 Doomed couple Cher and Gregg Allman made a doomed collaboration album, a teamup that went about as well as mixing toothpaste and orange juice. June 30, 2020
16 Funstyle by Liz Phair 2010 Oof, this one is nuts. Indie rock royalty Liz Phair made a pop album and got called a sellout left and right, so instead she made a baffling, bizarre shitpost of an album to destroy her image once and for all. October 22, 2020
17 St. Anger by Metallica 2003 It's one of the most legendary bombs of all time -- the biggest rock band in the world turning in a tuneless blast of cacophonous trash-can banging. How did the much-maligned "St. Anger" turn Metallica from gods of metal to rock-and-roll punchlines? March 24, 2021
18 Crash by The Human League 1986 The Human League recruit Janet Jackson's producers and try to get funky. Yes, the "Don't You Want Me" band. Yes, it's as awkward as it sounds. April 30, 2021
19 Turn It Upside Down by Spin Doctors 1994 If you want to destroy your career with a obnoxious terrible second album, just go ahead now. The Spin Doctors kicked off the '90s jam band explosion but fell behind when they decided tunelessness was their path to cred. July 2, 2021
20 Passage by Carpenters 1977 Calling occupants of interplanetary what? Faced with falling sales and a sinking profile, '70s soft rock superstars the Carpenters tried everything to revive their careers: jazz, country, showtunes, and... aliens. Seriously, aliens. August 18, 2021
21 Mission Earth by Edgar Winter & L. Ron Hubbard 1986 This is what Scientologists actually believe. Just kidding, even they didn't want '70s rocker Edgar Winter's musical adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard's best-selling (?) sci-fi book series. October 17, 2021
22 Witness by Katy Perry 2017 How could Katy Perry's woke period have collapsed her career so quickly? February 22, 2022
23 Lost and Found by Will Smith 2005 Almost 20 years ago, Will Smith warned you not to mess with him, and it didn't go well then either. April 25, 2022
24 American Dream by Crosby Stills Nash & Young 1988 CSNY almost cut a triumphant comeback record, but then their wooden ship got wrecked by the '80s. June 22, 2022
25 Generation Swine by Mötley Crüe 1997 Can Motley Crue, the defining hair metal band, remake themselves for the '90s? The answer will not shock you! September 6, 2022
26 Crown Royal by Run-D.M.C. 2001 Can Fred Durst, Kid Rock and the guy from Third Eye Blind save Run-DMC's career? It's tricky... May 1, 2023
27 Ringo the 4th by Ringo Starr 1977 What does Ringo sound like without a little help from his friends? June 21, 2023
28 No Fixed Address by Nickelback 2014 How can the most hated rock band in the world turn it around when the world has turned against rock? November 18, 2023
29 Cry by Faith Hill 2002 The queen of country music Faith Hill can go pop and still keep all her fans! Right? March 26, 2024
30 Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake 2018 I swear, there was a time when we liked Justin Timberlake. Here's how sexy left and never came back. June 23, 2024
31 Bad Reputation by Kid Rock 2022 Right-wing loudmouth Kid Rock doesn't care about you woke snowflakes.... or does he? October 1, 2024
32 Results May Vary by Limp Bizkit 2003 No one knows what it's like to be the Durst man, and once they do know, they'll like him even less. How did Limp Bizkit wind up drowning in Hatorade? May 12, 2025