The press copy describes Factory Summers as Guy Delisle’s “most personal book.” It’s a strange phrase for a cartoonist whose work often tends toward the autobiographical — but it’s hard to ignore. What begins as a memoir of teenage summers spent working the floor at a Quebec City paper factory ultimately grows into something deeper. Ultimately, the book is a mediation on the relationship between a son and his distant father. That dynamic is the heart of the story — a fact the cartoonist says he only truly recognized as he was deep into the work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fictional Father begins with an apology of a kind — or, at very least, an acknowledgement. Told as a self-effacing autobiographical strip, the preface notes the accidental similarity to the real life story of Dennis the Menace and the 1999 novel, The Funnies. But maybe some stories are too good not to tell through a different lens. “I’m sure you’ll make it your own,” Seth tells Joe Ollmann in the piece. And that certainly proved fortuitous. What happens when your life is made the focus of a parents’ ultra-saccharine comic strip? How does one square a true and fictional father when the two are seeming polar opposites? The cartoonist joins us to discuss the work and some broader truths it brings to the front.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2017’s What I Found in a Thousand Towns finds Dar Williams tackling urban studies. It’s new territory for the singer-songwriter, but one that builds on decades of fascination with the small towns she frequented on tour. The book has taken on a special sort of resident over the past two years, as the pandemic has spurred countless think pieces about the future of life in cities. It’s certainly top of mind as we discuss the force stasis of life during Covid-19, and something Williams is clearly thinking about as her latest album (her first in six years) I’ll Meet You Here is returning her to the road again. This, perhaps, is where the book and album converge, around the concept of “meet[ing] life as it arrives,” as Williams puts it – however and wherever that might be.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We are the apes that are starting to understand the universe and our place in it,” José González says in a statement released ahead of his latest album, Local Valley. The comment refers specifically to the track “Visions,” but the sentiment can be applied to many of the thoughts that occupy this mind. A one-time PhD student for biochemistry, the musician’s social media outreach reflects the sentiments of a person deeply consider with climate change and the state of the world he leaves for his young daughter. As quiet and thoughtful in conversation as in song, Gonzales discusses altruism, the pandemic and teenage years spent playing in hardcore bands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, Numero Group issued I Shall Wear a Crown, an expansive five-LP set that explores the life and work of T. L. Barrett, a Chicago-based Pastor and musician. It’s a testament to the musical genius and master communication of an overlooked artist getting a long-overdue second life. It’s what the label does best, through compilation series like Eccentric Soul and Wayfaring Strangers and spotlights on artists like Barrett and fellow should musician, Syl Johnson. Cofounders Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley join us to discuss the new collection and life as an archival record label in an ever-shifting musical landscape.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The success of Azure Ray’s self-titled debut seemingly took everyone by surprise — not least the band itself. Following the breakup of their group Little Red Rocket, longtime friends Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink reconvened to pen a set of songs aimed at coping with the recent death of Taylor’s boyfriend. Heartfelt and emotional, the sad, dreamy songs would form the foundation for a duo now celebrating its 20th year. There have been hiatuses over the years, finding the musicians focusing on solo and side projects. After releasing three albums in three years, seven would pass between their third and fourth LP. It would be another 11 until Azure Ray released album number five, Remedy, in 2021. But the pair have remained close friends throughout and another album has almost always seemed like an inevitability — even if it takes a move across the country and a pandemic.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every time I speak to Mary Roach, I invariably get hung up on some minor detail — some story or person she’s teased out to unlock a fascinating new world. This time out, it’s the dried tiger penis lady, and really, how could it be anything else? The writer has a world class knack for finding fascinating tales in edges of the scientific world, from the dead bodies of Stiff to the space travel of Packing for Mars. With Fuzz, Roach finds herself exploring the intersection between the natural world and human law, from burglarizing bears to killer trees — and, naturally, dried tiger penis.  Roach joins us once again to discuss the methods of her pop-science madness.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 20 years, Ben Snakepit has been building a magnum opus. Day in, day out, the musician-turned-cartoonist draws another daily strip recounting a scene from his life. It’s rare bit of constancy in a chaotic world. Of course, as with everything else, SnakePit does the strip his way. Bucking the ubiquitous world of webcomics, the artist releases the strips as a collection every three years, allowing for a kind of binging of three years of his life in a single sitting. For the past 17 years, Snakepit has also drawn a comic for the Razorcake fanzine, soon to be collected as the straightforwardly-name, One Hundred Columns for Razorcake. Though, while he finally plugged the plug on that work, he plans to continue drawing Snake Pit until the bitter end.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a big couple of years for Shirley Manson — not something every artist can say, as a global pandemic stretches into its second year. Nor, is it something many bands can say staring down their third decade of existence. Our call is scheduled early — another rarity in this world. When we connect, the musician explains that’s she set to go exploring on a rare off day for Garbage’s tour with fellow alternative icon, Alanis Morissette. In June, the band released its well-received seventh LP, No Gods No Masters, which found Manson’s lyrics taking no prisoners in a world that too often appears to be coming apart at the seams. Late last month, the singer also kicked off a new season of her critically acclaimed interview podcast, Jump, which features frank conversations with artists like Patti Smith and David Byrne.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than 30 years after Trots and Bonnie ended its decades-long run in National Lampoon, the strip finally gets a worthy collection. Shary Flenniken has moved on from the work in more ways that one, but the story of a teenage girl and her talking dog still feels as vibrant as ever. While she might be the last to admit it, Flenniken’s life has been every bit as fascinating as the work she’s created, as a member of the Air Pirates comics collective in the early 70s, editor at Lampoon at the end of the decade and a long-time illustrator and cartoonist across a wide range of titles. Flenniken speaks fondly about her time working at a hardware store and frankly about the time she worked in end-of-life care.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the interview suggested he might be a spiritual person, Ben Chasny blanched, explaining, “I'm actually a total nihilist.”Sixteen years later, he confesses that the answer was contrarian to a fault. It’s easy to arrive at the conclusion, listening to a lengthy back catalogue that finds him releasing the 20th album under the Six Organs of Admittance moniker. But he’s also very much someone who refuses to be pigeon-holed, as the industry was clearly attempting to do at the time, amid the burgeoning freak folk scene. But Chasny and Six Organs continue to break new ground, drawing on a wide range of influences, from the industrial bands of his youth to the hexadic card system he developed for composing music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My Begging Chart finds Keiler Roberts exploring the in between moments. She’s content to mind the little things that would not only find their way on the cutting room floor of most memoir, but might otherwise be forgotten by the end of the day. It’s not for lack of material. Conditions like bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis can loom large in her life, as they would anyones, but the cartoonist possesses a laser focus for finding hilarity in the mundane. It’s a gift that makes so much of her work wildly relatable. Kicking off her virtual book tour, Roberts joins us to discuss untangling life from internal conflict, letting go of old work and the downside of nostalgia.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes time to record, Laura Stevenson is honest to a fault. 2019’s The Big Freeze may well have been her most personal record to date, but the album has nothing on her recently released self-titled followup. Plenty had happened in the intervening years — some things she’s happier to speak about than others. Stevenson is clearly protective of the people around her, but when it comes to her own life, she’s much more of an open book. Born just as the pandemic was beginning to shut down businesses in the States, her daughter wakes up from an afternoon nap about halfway into our conversation. The difficult timing was, perhaps, fortuitous, stuck at home with a young child at a time when touring was an impossibility. With a new album in the world, touring is a possibility once again, but Stevenson is more than happy to take things one day at a time.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like many of us, Danny Elfman had big plans for 2020. For the first time in forever, the musician paused many of his perennial obligations, clearing all film scoring jobs from his calendar. The new year would be all about touring. And then the once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic hit. Relocating his family away from their longtime home of Los Angeles, Elfman buckled down and got to work on something new. Big Mess is, at once, something familiar and entirely new. His second record and first studio album since the waning days of Oingo Boingo, the LP finds him returning to guitar-based composition. There are notes of his beloved band, including a reworking of the song “Insects,” but unique time signatures and dives into the avant-garde find the musician exploring new sonic realms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The way Mike Doughty tells it, it’s a bit of a minor miracle Soul Coughing lasted for eight years. It was long enough, however, to generate three LPs, a handful of alternative rock radio hits and enough stories to fill a few memoirs. Attempts to reunite have, predictably, fallen short, but Doughty has carved a path as an extremely prolific singer songwriter, culminating in last year’s Ghost of Vroom 2 EP. A collaboration with Andrew "Scrap" Livingston produced by Beastie Boy mainstay Mario Caldato Jr., the project finds the duo excited exploring new shades of the "deep slacker jazz” pioneered by his long bygone band. Doughty returns to the show to discuss the new project, his most recent memoir and the pandemic year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The latest issue of The Nation — a double-issue on the subject of utopias — features a sprawling cover illustration by Michael DeForge. A group of smiling people are making art, making dinner, making out. Throughout it all is the constant presence of technology. It’s a fraught subject for any artist, but DeForge especially, whose work so often touches on science-fiction and politics. A pioneering — and prolific — cartoonist, DeForge has released eleven books over the course of the past decade, culminating with the short story collection, Heaven, No Hell. DeForge joined us to discuss the art in the era of Trump and Covid-19, the inevitability of writing about politics and the downsides of technology.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even among a list of peers that includes names titles like Eightball and Hate, there’s a strong case to be made that Love and Rockets is the most influential comic of its generation. It’s a fact that puts the series high on the all-time list. The 40-year-old series began in 1980 as a self-published book that was soon picked up by Fantagraphics. Two years in, Gilbert Hernandez gave the world “Heartbreak Soup,” a story that kicked off Palomar, a long-running exploration of magical realism in a Latin American village of the same name. It’s Hernandez’s longest-running storyline, and the one which which he has become most closely associated. Four decades later, the artist continues to grow and experiment, as evidenced by the recently released Hypnotwist/Scarlet by Starlight, a collection of two graphic novellas that embrace dramatically different forms of storytelling.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I know that I literally wrote the best book about pencil sharpening techniques that has ever existed or ever will exist,” David Rees explains, confidently. It’s a hard claim to refute. Rees knows a good niche when he sees it. It’s a characteristic that has lead to a both fascinating and nearly impossible to define career. Perpetually-correct Wikipedia alternately calls him a cartoonist, humorist and culture critic. You can also add musician, television host, writer and podcast to the list. And while he might dispute the former, he’s thrived with the latter courtesy of Election Profit Makers, a political betting podcast he hosts with Jon Kimball and Starlee Kine.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic found Lou Barlow enamored with a surprising new creative outlet. The musician took to social media like Instagram and YouTube, playing songs, performing covers and celebrating holidays with his young family. In one video, he’s dressed as the Easter Bunny. In another, he’s covering the Paw Patrol theme with his own lyrics. It’s a side of the Sebadoh/Folk Implosion/Dinosaur Jr. musician few have seen. Released in May, the fourth solo record under his own name (though, the counting is a bit tricky) Reason to Live finds the singer settling into a warm domestic life that mirrors those recent videos.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thirteen is a long time for any act to go between albums. That’s not to say that Johnny Brennan hadn’t kept busy in the meantime. The years included plenty of voice over work — including, most notably, a regular gig on Family Guy, courtesy of long-time fan, Seth MacFarlane. The Jerky Boys, too (Brennan is quick to point out) stuck around as well, soldiering on after the departure of collaborator, Kamal Ahmed. Last year’s self-titled eighth album finds the brand returning to prank phone calls, a medium that catapulted the group to the status of pop culture phenomenon, hitting its apex with major motion picture in 1995.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In June of last year, Chris Carrabba’s motorcycle crashed. It was another terrible event in a year of them. A handful of months after the pandemic engulfed the U.S., the singer embarked on a series of surgeries and rehab. The world had thrown another wrench into what should have been a triumphant year for Dashboard Confessional. To mark its 20th anniversary, the group planned a tour, greatest hits album and reissues, only to be cut short by the pandemic. This year, has found Carrabba finding his way back, starting with virtual shows and culminating with the announcement of an unplugged tour that kicks off in September. In this candid conversation, Carrabba discusses the challenges he’s dealt with in returning to music.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s clear that Pell is calling in from a hotel room. He’s back in Los Angeles, wearing a Dodgers hat to match his former adopted home. Like so many, however, the pandemic brought the importance of home into stark relief for the rapper/producer. This latest trip to Southern California mostly involves moving some belongings and tying up some loose ends. The past year has found Pell sharing the spotlight as part of the Glbl Wrmng collective, fostering creativity in their hometown and raising awareness for causes like climate change. The group, like Pell himself, wear their allegiance to their roots on their sleeve, as evidenced by the hook of their first single, 504, “I'm out that 504, that's my home / Ain’t no need to ask, they know what I'm on / Baby I'm NOLA grown” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This January, Chris Murphy was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. Later that month, the Sloan bassist posted a photo on Instagram, stating, in part,  "It’s a drag but it could be worse. I have a great doctor who is on top of my treatment. Of course, I hope I get better. If I had to sum up my feelings in a facial expression, it’s the one I have." It summed up the musician’s general approach to things — self-deprecated, a little jokey and mostly positive in dealing a genuinely scary situation. It wasn’t long before Murphy was performing again for an online audience, as the pandemic continued to make live performance impossible. Above all, Murphy possesses a devotion to a devoted fanbase that has stayed devoted to the Canadian rock band through 30 years and a dozen albums. The musician joined us to discuss Sloan’s journey, his side project Tuns and dealing with facial paralysis during an already horrible year.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In February, Steve Lukather released I Found The Sun Again. The guitarist’s eight solo album arrived alongside an LP by Joseph Williams, featuring heavy contributions the Toto singer, along with bandmate David Paich. Lukather and Paich have maintained constants across the band’s 44 year history (though the latter has been forced to retire from touring over health-related reasons). It’s a timeline that’s seen ups and downs, but has managed to maintain a loyal international fanbase as many contemporaries have faded away. In this interview, Lukather discusses solo work, the band’s staying power and how he learned to love the yacht rock label.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quarterly of reissues from Drawn & Quarterly has offered a fresh opportunity to reexamine King Cat. Not that there’s every a bad time to revisit John Porcellino’s work. The cartoonist has self-published nearly 80 issues of the series over the past 32 years. The black and white mini comic remains both deeply influential and extremely singular, built from a DIY ethos that informs all of his work, including the Spit and a Half comics distro, which dates back nearly as far. Porcellino’s work is hailed for its deeply personal subject matter, coupled with simple line work that distills images down to only the most necessary markings.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[Spotty audio warning] Released in February, The Pahrump Report chronicles Lisa Carvers years in the titular Nevada City. A strange town in the desert some 90 minutes outside of Las Vegas, the writer found her new home on something of a whim. When we caught up, Carver had already left the town for other locations in Nevada and was planing an escape to Africa. Pahrump, for all of its magic — and, perhaps, even god — had worn out its welcome. Her kids having grown, the artist of several books and zines, musician and sometimes performance artist, Carver continues to find new ways to reinvent herself. In this breezy conversation, the artist occasionally known as Lisa Suckdog, talks Art Bell, religion and a longtime love of G.G. Allin.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The past few years found her trying something new — or, rather, old. With a pair cover albums, Juliana Hatfield first tackled the song of Olivia Newton-John and the then Police — both to rave reviews. Earlier this month, the singer-songwriter released a new solo album — her 19th. Titled Blood, the LP explores the divisiveness and psychological tole the last four years have had on much of the American psyche. Limited by the pandemic, Hatfield recorded much of the audio at home, adding overdubs and mixing at a nearby studio. The result is the emotionally raw and sometimes aurally abrasive work of an artist still breaking new ground more than 30 years after making studio debut as a member of the Blake Babies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Released in 2020, And Now, Sir — Is This Your Missing Gonad features familiar faces from Jim Woodring’s Frank universe. As ever, the artist’s masterfully fine-tuned art marries the precious with the horrific, but this time further obfuscates meaning with the addition of seemingly random captions. More than 30 years after first putting frank to paper is his self-published mini comic, Jim, Woodring continues to push the boundaries of his bipedal, buck-toothed funny animal creation. The new work —heightens a sense of surreality the artist has cultivated for decades.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By his own admission, George Lewis Jr. makes too much music. He describes it like an addition — referencing a folder on his desktop started in late 2019 with 150 song he confesses no one will likely ever hear. Of course, there’s plenty has shared, as a producer, songwriter and, most notably, as Twin Shadow. After a move to Brooklyn, the project began in earnest with 2010’s release of Forget, which put Lewis on the map with a unique stamp on the synth-pop genre. Twin Shadow has release three additional LPs, culminating with 2018’s Caer, a more somber approach penned as the musician recovered from a bus accident that left him temporarily unable to play. In July, Twin Shadow will deliver its fifth self-titled LP, which finds Lewis returning to some surprising roots for a joyous return to form.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The third in a trilogy, For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her is McKinley Dixon’s most personal and deeply-felt work to date. The musician has taken in new experiences and explored new sounds, all while looking to explore stories that don’t get told nearly enough on record. Like much of Dixon’s work, the album sets thoughtful hip-hop verses to live jazz instrumentation. It’s electric and vibrant the way the best hip-hop albums are. Ahead of the LP’s release, Dixon joined us to discuss his history, recent stint as a farm hand and where he seeing jazz-hip-hop heading into the future.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are all manner of reasons The Secret to Superhuman Strength was eight years in the making. For one, Alison Bechdel was dealing with the rather surreal experience of watching her book, Fun Home, be adapted into a successful Broadway musical (soon to be a major motion picture). There was also the matter of turning 60, which the cartoonist did last year — a perfect beat on which to end a book broken down by decades of her life. Perhaps the most time intensive part of the process, however, was funding the right hook. For Fun Home, it was reading list of her father’s favorite books. For the subsequent graphic novel, Are You My Mother?, it was the work of psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. In her latest, Bechdel explores her own lifelong fascination with fitness. As the first book written after the passing of both of her parents, the author takes center stage in ways she hasn’t necessarily allowed herself in previous works. The subsequent story is both an exploration about identity and meditation on growing old.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the conversation winds down, I go grab my painting off the wall for the artist to describe. It’s a rare opportunity. It’s also the second time in a month that I’ve done this on Zoom call, following a recent one with friends where we all realized we had Keenes on our wall. In certain circles, Steve Keene’s work has become a fixture. A generation discovered the artist through his cover paintings for bands like Pavement, The Apples in Stereo and the Silver Jews — realizing that he work could be purchased in bulk through his website. In a medium where seemingly everything has been attempted over the course of thousands of years, Keene pioneered a unique niche, with a form of mass production that has generated more than 300,000 works over the course of his career. The Steve Keene Art Book: Live from Subliminal Projects LA, CA is an effort to catalog a fascinating career. The art book — which is the first of Keene’s long career — is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a second generation harpist, Mary Lattimore may have been born to play the instrument. After picking up the instrument at 11 and studying at the Eastman School of Music, however, she began to forge her own path with the instrument. A stint in Philadelphia found the music integrating into the indie rock scene, adapting a traditionally classical instrument to accompany the likes of Kurt Vile and later Superchunk’s  Mac McCaughan and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. Since 2013, Lattimore has released a quartet of solo records, including, most recently, last year’s Silver Ladders, recorded over nine days in Cornwall by Slowdive’s Neil Halstead. Lattimore sat down to discuss her evolving approach to the instrument, which included a recent Bandcamp-released ambient track designed to help listeners get some rest during the pandemic.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As much as anything, Time Between is an opportunity to reflect on a remarkable career. It’s one that found a young Chris Hillman falling in love with country and bluegrass, playing his way up the ranks and landings a gig as the bass player for an up-and-coming L.A. band called, the Byrds.  The musician is every bit as modest in conversation as he is in his memoir. He’ll be the first to admit that he had no idea how to play the instrument when he took over duties for bandmate, David Crosby. But the young player knew talent — and opportunity when he saw it. In this brief conversation, we discuss Hillman’s time with the band and subsequent projects, including the Flying Burrito Brothers, featuring fellow recent Byrds expat, Gram Parsons. The musician discusses his reluctance to become a frontman, the lifelong process of learning the mandolin and why bands don’t last forever.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last March, Amazon announced that the Kids in the Hall would be returning to television sketch com after 25 years. The troupe never really broke up — or at least not for long. In the intervening years, the quintet made a movie, toured North America and in 2008, released the miniseries, Death Comes to Town. The new show will return the troupe to the sketch comedy it has been performing since the mid-80s. Delayed due to the pandemic, writing for the series has already begun — albeit largely at a social distance. Ahead of the show’s return, Kevin McDonald joins us to discuss the series history and return — and how KITH is adapting its material for a changing world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2017, Josh Radnor entered the music world in earnest with a major assist from Australian indie-popper, Ben Lee. After two records as Radnor and Lee, he stepped out alone for the first time this year with a solo EP. Paired down down 15-17 songs, One More Then I’ll Let You Go is named in honor of a particularly fruitful period in Radnor’s burgeoning songwriting career. It’s a new world for Radnor, an actor know for TV roles like How I Met Your Mother and Hunters, who has also made a name for himself as a director with the films Happythankyoumoreplease and Liberal Arts. In this wide ranging interview, Radnor discusses music, gratitude and the role meditation and ayahuasca have played in his creative efforts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Relative Fiction finds Nicole Georges returning to familiar territory. Eight years after the release of her book, Calling Dr. Laura, the podcast miniseries serves as both a followup and expansion to that deeply personal work. In both, the cartoonist explores the story of a father she grew up believing was dead. Following a tip from a psychic, she discovered the truth about her family and began exploring the stories about a parent she never knew. Narrated by Georges, the mini-series features interviews with family members, as she works to unravel greater mysteries about herself and her family. The show is her second podcast, following her advice show, Sagittarian Matters. Georges returns to the show to discuss freelance life, making personal work and finding love during quarantine.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a perfect rock and roll story, and Butch Vig swears it’s true. The day that Kurt Cobain died is the day same day he met future bandmate Shirley Manson. Some things are just meant to be, perhaps. It was a profound turning point for the producer’s career. One of the era’s most successful producers going on to form one of the decade’s most popular rock bands, Garbage. These days, Vig continues to serve as a producer for some of rock’s biggest names, from the Foo Fighters to Silverspun Pickups. Last year, Vig reunited with his supergroup, 5 Billion in Diamonds, to release the band’s second LP, Divine Accidents.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By most accounts, the heyday of the guitar as a pop cultural force is several decades in the past. But every so often, an artist emerges who breathes new life into the instrument. A musician happy to explore the fringes of her own musical boundaries, Kaki King’s instrument music is consistently fresh and nearly impossible to categorize. Released during the pandemic, Modern Yesterdays finds the guitarist finding new ways to interact and promote her music, stuck at home in Brooklyn with her young family. In this wide ranging interview, we discuss the development of King’s sound and the personal and professional lessons over the course of this very strange year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sixteen years is an eternity in this world. But for Bob Forrest, the time was right finally right for a reunion. A brilliant outgrowth of the Los Angeles 80s punk scene, Thelonious Monster flirted with major label success, signing to Capitol Records for 92’s Beautiful Mess. The group  failed to reach the heights of contemporaries like Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili, finally self-destructing not long after its major label debut. Forrest would go on to release one of his strongest works in 1999 as The Bicycle Thief, but his most mainstream success would come from somewhere altogether different. His addiction saw its rock bottom in the mid-90s, kickstarting a journey to become one of the country’s best known drug counselors. In addition to running dependency services and recovery services, Forrest appeared along with Dr. Drew on the TV shows Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. The pair also cohost two podcasts. Last year saw the release of Thelonious Monster’s sixth LP, Oh That Monster.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ginseng Roots finds Craig Thompson returning childhood memoir — albeit in an entirely different form. Currently being serialized as mini-comics through Uncivilized Press, the series is as much the story of ginseng cultivation as it is his formative years growing up in rural Wisconsin. It’s a chance to revisit some important aspects of his youth that failed to make it into his epic 600-page book, Blankets, as well as an opportunity to trace some global history through the roots of one important plant he and family members spent years harvesting. The move toward serialize, meanwhile, finds the artist interacting with his own work in a matter different than the customary seven or so years it takes for him to produce a complete graphic novel. In this conversation, Thompson discusses creating the deeply personal work.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 “Something I realized after we spoke that I curiously never had noticed before,” Peter Stampfel wrote in an email shortly after our interview, “big similarity that hallucinogens and the Smith Anthology both had on me: I saw that the world was much more strange and much more vast than I had previously thought.” The musician’s own long, strange career has almost certainly had its own profound effect on generations of music, from being a driving force in The Holy Modal Rounders and, briefly, a member of The Fugs, to his more recent collaborations with anti-folk artist, Jeffrey Lewis. This year finds Stampfel releasing his most ambitious work to date. Stampfel's 20th Century In 100 Songs is a project roughly two decades in the making. The work finds the idiosyncratic singer tracing the history of popular music through a wide gamut of hand-picked songs. Now struggling with dysphonia, which has left his voice weakened and strained, the musician continues to write and play, looking to continuing expanding his already-broad musical scope.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Power, wealth and mental health,” Craig Finn offers a succinct tagline for a hypothetical Open Door Policy movie poster. These themes, among others, including technology, working and inequality under capitalism clearly emerged as the lyrics for the latest Hold Steady record came into focus. To borrow a quote the singer, in turn, borrowed from Joan Didion, “I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” Finn’s long-time fascination with hard-luck characters continues to populate the world of the Hold Steady and his solo work, but the stars of his songs have matured along with him. The band’s early records often featured tales of drugging and drinking, hard partying youth. These days, the work is more concerned with what happens next.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter and the Wolves is a lot of things. It’s both memoir and biography, as Adele Bertei recounts her early days in music, while showing an oft-ignored side of friend and mentor, Peter Laughner. The  Pere Ubu/Rocket from the Tombs guitarist gave the musician her earliest break in Cleveland, only to die at age 24, following longtime substance abuse. Back in print, Bertei’s book is an effort to show a side of the musician beyond the easy live fast, die young headlines. After Laughner’s passing, Bertei moved to New York, becoming a fixture in the city’s burgeoning no wave scene. The subsequent decades have given way to a fascinating and diverse career, working as a backup musician for some of the era’s biggest names and recording dance hits of her own.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a darkness to Catspaw — something that lurks beyond the innocuous and even adorable title. Culled from an episode of the original Star Trek, Matthew Sweet’s usage is evocative of a certain doom. For an album finished before Covid-19 really took hold, the mood is certainly in keeping with the present moment. Not that things were particularly great prior to the pandemic, of course. Equally fitting is the truly solitary method in which the album was written and recorded — perhaps the most purely solo recording of a decades-long solo artist. In a remote interview, the power-pop star opens up about struggles with bipolar disorder and a unique and lasting career.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot has changed in the nearly five years since the the launch of Beautiful/Anonymous — some for the better and many for the worst. Certainly, the need to listen and be heard has only grown stronger during a pandemic that has left many alienated and alone. Earlier this month, host Chris Gethard announced that the Earwolf series will become a TV show, adding a visual element to the long conversations between strangers. Prior to launching the series, the New Jersey-born comedian was best known for his self-titled variety show, which started life on public access and managed to maintain a celebratory underdog quality, even after moving to Fusion and, ultimately, truTV. In a conversation that’s ever bit as honest and open as his listeners have come to expect, Gethard discusses his struggles with mental health and the role his work plays in fostering his own empathy.  Apologies for some technical difficulties this time out.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The timing of Sonic Boom could have been better, as far as these things go. The first collection of original Nixons music in 20 years arrived about two months into a country-wide shutdown. In 2018, the band toured for the first time in nearly as long. The group’s breakup wasn’t the most amicable, but it’s amazing how bad feelings can dissolve with a couple of decades between them. For singer Zac Maloy, the breakup was an opportunity to explore new avenues in the industry, including the fruitful beginnings of a songwriting career that’s found him collaborating with musicians ranging from Carrie Underwood to Adam Lambert. Ahead of a livestream online event, Maloy joined us to reflect on the band’s career, life as a songwriter and how much to foster his own kids’ musical ambitions.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In September, “Free Fall” seemed to be everywhere. In her latest long form work for The New Yorker, Emily Flake captured a sense of existential ennui that permeated much of the population six months into a pandemic-driven shut down. It was, one of the cartoonist’s most widely-shared works for the magazine since “Young and Dumb Inside,” which explored her decades’ long love for the punk band, Jawbreaker. Flake is probably best know as the long-time publisher of New Yorker gag strips, but her deeply personal comics essays strike an entirely different chord among its readership. Flake joined us to the discuss the process of putting heartfelt and personal work on paper and how the pandemic has impacted her comics.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.