Tape Spaghetti

Gather round, children of the Spaghetti. From the vaults beneath the Shred Shed, Blake unearthed the ancient scrolls: Tone Mob episode 20, the first recorded encounter between Blake Wyland and Scott Marquart. Back when a “mobile rig” meant earbuds, an iPhone, and whatever flimsy connection the 3G overlords were willing to grant, these two met in the wild and immediately started talking like they’d been swapping gear opinions since the Bronze Age. What starts as “an hour about guitar strings” becomes the first domino in a very long, very weird chain reaction. Domino #1: this conversation turns an Instagram DM into a real friendship. Domino #2: that friendship turns into a business partnership, building Stringjoy side-by-side and spending the next decade on the phone like it’s a paid subscription service. Domino #3: after years of working together and talking music, gear, and life almost daily, the next obvious step was inevitable: Tape Spaghetti. Two guys with built-in chemistry, a backlog of shared lore, and way too many stories to keep trapped in business calls. Along the way in this time capsule: custom gauges, balanced tension, the case of the disappearing B string, gear hoarders vs. gear flippers, boutique weirdness, and the kind of sincere nerd-dom that accidentally becomes a career. And yes, the scrolls are old enough to include ambient fuel-lab echoes and the occasional ghost of a train drifting through the background like it demanded a writing credit. It’s not quite When Harry Met Sally… but it is the moment the map was drawn: Tone Mob led to Stringjoy, Stringjoy led to Tape Spaghetti, and now you’re listening to the genesis in real time.

In this year’s Tape Spaghetti Christmas special, Scott & Blake ask a question that you’ve probably never considered – but won’t be able to unhear afterward: why does Christmas music sound so… Hawaiian? Unraveling X-Mas tunes’ tropical DNA takes us back to 19th-century Hawaiian royalty, to the invention of the steel guitar, through WWII, tiki bars, surf rock, and suburban America’s obsession with escapism. Along the way, elements of Hawaiian music quietly crept into mainstream country, pop, and holiday standards, making classics like Blue Christmas and Mele Kalikimaka feel downright cozy and festive. Grab an eggnog, get comfy, and prepare to forever change how you hear Christmas music.

In this special edition of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake wrap up  and run down their favorite albums of 2025…. and, as usual, a whooole buncha other stuff. From revelations about their own streaming habits, strong opinions on production choices and pedal chains, a victory lap on year one of Tape Spaghetti, and oh yeah, spotlights on the guys’ picks for the best albums of the year, this one is a journey of deep-dives and nostalgia bombs that touches on Euro-country, lush indie rock, and a surprise posthumous appearance from Waylon Jennings. Whether you’re into metal, pop, country, indie, or “whatever the heck this is,” don’t miss this one.

What if we told you that the biggest electronic album of all time started as a complete flop? In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake tell the unbelievable story of how Moby’s Play went from career-killing failure to a global phenomenon thanks to the most shamelessly brilliant licensing plan ever executed. After alienating his fans with a hardcore punk passion project and getting dropped by his U.S. label, Moby was broke, discouraged, and convinced his next record would be his last. When Play arrived to almost no sales he figured he'd been right... until his team hatched a wild idea: say yes to EVERY licensing request. Coffee commercials? Yes. Car ads? Hell yeah. Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Where do we sign? Soon every track—every *single* track—from the album appeared somewhere, creating a slow-burn cultural takeover and eventually pushing Play to 12 million sales worldwide. It’s a one of a kind tale of artistic desperation, shrewd copyright strategy, and the moment Moby became the accidental king of commercial syncs.

Remember the feeling of being a kid and encountering an album cover that you just *knew* you weren’t supposed to be looking at? On this week’s Tape Spaghetti we’re turning that feeling up to 12 as Scott and Blake dive into the flat-out shocking world of controversial album art. From covers that got bands banned in department stores, to designs that sparked lawsuits, protests, and panicked parents, the guys explore infamous cases of musicians pushing the visual envelope (literally). Why have certain covers triggered outrage while others slipped under the radar? How do taboos shift from decade to decade? And why do artists take the risk of marketing shock value? Scott and Blake reflect on their own experiences discovering “forbidden” records and debate whether today’s digital music world has lost something by leaving provocative album art behind. This one’s not for the squeamish or easily icked….