Discograffiti

Jefferson Airplane Part 26: The Full Story Behind Jefferson Starship Mk. II (Freedom At Point Zero, Modern Times, & Winds Of Change) (Ep. 280B)

Discograffiti

Show Notes

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.

Part 26 of the series covers arguably the most entertainingly batty time period of the ex-Airplaners story—from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s—in the style of an audiobook.

Here are just a few of the many things discussed in this episode of Discograffiti:

How Mickey Thomas wound up replacing two legendary singers in Jefferson Starship; Marty Balin stages a wildly obscure rock opera about being prosecuted for not having hits; With Hot Tuna on hiatus, Jack & Jorma gleefully confuse their fans with punk band SVT & new wave outfit White Gland; An overview of Grace Slick’s entire solo career, including the one release she created without any performative armor; An overview of Paul Kantner’s incredible, crazy, sole solo album, Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra: The Empire Blows Back; The rot begins to in; And an overview of three of the four albums that Jefferson Starship Mk. II released: Freedom At Point Zero, Modern Times, and Winds Of Change.

More from Discograffiti

Oct 23, 2026

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.

Oct 19, 2026

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.

Oct 16, 2026

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release.

Oct 11, 2026

Four years ago, a guy named Rudy Fischmann started listening to Discograffiti. He signed up for Patreon. I reached out to him, and we became fast friends. He’s 54—just three months older than me—and he told me during our first conversation that he had brain cancer. He began making this show—in case you’re unfamiliar with it, I’m pretty sure The Discograffiti Soldiers of Sound Podcast is the world’s only podcast within a podcast. And yet here we are, 150 episodes later, and Rudy has created a show that’s lasted far longer than most regular podcasts. And it’s literalized the Discograffiti community, bringing folks together far and wide as friends, collaborators, and…hell, possibly even as lovers, as far as I know.

Oct 9, 2026

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. The Crazy Tale of Quicksilver Messenger Service is an audio documentary series that was crafted to act as the ultimate assemblage of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. This 8-episode series is built around a 2 1/2 hour interview with The Patti Smith Group’s Lenny Kaye, and the main event: an unprecedentedly detailed five-hour interview with David Freiberg, a very special experience that—regardless of how you feel about the group—will absolutely blow your mind with its unique twists and turns. There’s in-depth commentary on their history, a slew of endlessly wild stories, and star ratings for every release.

See all episodes →