In 2019, The Black Watch Celebrated its fourth decade with a career spanning compilation. The cheekily titled 31 Years of Obscurity was an effort to shine on one of indie rocks most-enduring and unsung bands.  Though “band” is, perhaps, something of a stretch, with John Andrew Frederick serving as both the project’s creative leader and sole constant member. And while relative obscurity has become, perhaps, a kind of running joke, Frederick seems largely unfazed, maintaining a remarkable consistent output through ten or so record labels and  around two dozen EPs and LPs. Frederick also teaches, paints and has written several books, including 2017’s Fucking Innocent: The Early Films of Wes Anderson.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Decades before “Despacito” arrived, Erika Ender was a hit machine. The Panamanian musician’s compositions have appeared on more than 200 albums, and in 2017, she became the youngest person ever inducted into the Latin Songwriter Hall of Fame. In this conversation, Ender traces an unlikely path to success that includes a stint as a newscaster and the decision to hide her gender in order to breakthrough as a songwriter. It was her role cowriting 2017’s “Despacito,” that broke her — and all involved — onto the national stage. The Spanish language song shot to the top of the charts in 47 countries. Late last year, Ender released MP3 - 45, a language- and style-spanning concept album. Ender joined us to discover her journey, charity work and mindfulness practice — along with an unexpected cameo from her new puppy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does having a style mean when one’s work is almost exclusively based on recontextualizing the work of others? It’s a question that’s long been at the heart of R. Sikoryak’s art.The New York City artist has been publicly producing work since the 90s, beginning his career as an editor of the legendary comics anthology Raw, alongside some of the era's top cartoonists. Sikoryak's best-known work is almost certainly found in Masterpiece Comics, built around mashups of classic comics and the literary canon. More recently, he has produced Terms and Conditions, with comics based on Apple Terms of Service and Constitution Illustrated, a recreation of the U.S. founding document. The cartoonist joined us to discuss remote teaching and discovering one’s style by recreating the works of others.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When he first traveled to the Canadian Northwest Territories, Joe Sacco wasn’t looking to book length comic about the Dene people. But to hear him describe it, the cartoonist’s books more often than not have a tendency to take on a life of their own. Sacco is almost certainly best known for pioneering comics journalism that has often taken him to heavily conflicted corners of the globe. It’s a sentiment that was probably best expressed in the title of his 1997 collection, War Junkie. Paying the Land is a quieter book in a number of respects — but the story it tells is every bit as important. Sacco seeks to document the story of an indigenous culture ravaged in the name of “progress.”  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September saw the release of the Trover Saves The Universe soundtrack. The 31 instrumental tracks were composed for the 2019 game from Rick & Morty co-creator, Justin Roiland. The work finds composer Asy Saavedra outside of her comfort zone. Since 2012, she’s been one-half of the sibling duo, Chaos Chaos — though the band’s work actually stretches back another dozen year. The pair released their first single as Smoosh in 2000 when the sisters were, quite literally, children. Saavedra joins us to discuss two decades of making music, art during COVID and the importance new creative pursuits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time Alex Winter was on the show (his second appearance), we discussed his recently launched crowdfunding campaign to produce a documentary about Frank Zappa. With the film finally out five years later, the director joins us again to discuss the process of combing through the legendary musician’s archives to create a portrait of one of the 20th century’s most fascinating musicians. In spite of everything, it’s been a fruitful year for Winter, even beyond last month’s release of Zappa. In July, the filmmaker release Showbiz Kids, an unflinching look at another subject close to his heart, having been in the public eye since early teenage years. The following month, Winter reprised his most iconic role, playing opposite lifelong friend Keanu Reeves in the long-awaited sequel, Bill & Ted Face the Music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to speak with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo for TechCrunch. What follows is a more complete audio of a conversation primarily focused on his (relatively) newfound love for coding. Fair warning that it’s not a deep dive into the band’s music, but it’s a fascinating conversation nonetheless, I think.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ultimately, The Contradictions serves as an important turning point for both its lead character and author — both, coincidentally, named Sophie. For the fictional Sophie (a college student with more than a few common traits with her creator), the road trip is a journey of self discovery. For Yanow, the book finds her hitting her stride as a storyteller and artist. Prior to the publication of her first book for Drawn & Quarterly, the cartoonist cut her teeth creating comics journalism for a wide range of outlets, including The Guardian and New Yorker. She joins us to discuss making comics, practicing leftist politics and where the two meet.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 20 have passed since the last Semisonic album, All About Chemistry arrived. The band’s third LP didn’t live up to the massive popular success of 1998’s Feeling Strangely Fine, but the charts are a fickle thing. A proper reunion was never a guarantee, in spite of the fact that the trio remained close. The members moved to different cities, found new musical outlets, and, in the case of drummer, Jacob Slichter, a gig teaching writing at Sarah Lawrence. Wilson has found plenty of success as a solo artist — and perhaps even more notably as a songwriter for other artists, including The [Dixie] Chicks and Adele, each of which scored him a Grammy. This year finds Semisonic releasing the EP, You’re Not Alone, the band’s first new music in 19 years. Wilson joins us to discuss songwriting and returning to the band for which he’s best known.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s hard to say precisely what semi-retirement means for a standup comic. Kyle Kinane has been tossing the term around for a while — well before this year’s release of his fourth album, Trampoline In A Ditch. Mostly it seems to be involve taking time for himself and generally enjoying life — all good things. Though Kinane is quick to acknowledge that there’s a certain element of semi-retirement in the simple of of being a full-time standup. Following the release, Kinane joined us to discuss comedy during quarantine, relocating to the Pacific Northwest and the effects of alcohol on comedy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been no shortage of deeply personal stories during Adrian Tomine’s long, celebrated career in comics. But up to now, they’ve been almost exclusively filtered through a fictional lens, from his on-going series Optic Nerve to 2015’s Killing and Dying. With The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, Tomine finds himself diving head-long into autobiographical work. The book features some of his funniest and most honest work today, told through a loose style perfectly captured by its sketchbook packaging. Two years after his first appearance on the show, Tomine joins us again to discuss the task of telling these deeply personal — and often embarrassing — tales.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unbeknownst to me, Van Dyke Parks is seated at his piano. This fact becomes clear numerous times during our conversation, as he tickles the ivory to punctate points. It’s not as if he requires the tool during the interview. Parks is a raconteur, above all. He seemingly has a story for everything, winding his way through fascinating avenues to make profound points about life, music, politics and art. Parks have lived several lives by popular culture standards, with a professional career that began as a child actor in the 50s. Ten years later, a musical break found him working as an arranger for Disney’s The Jungle Book. After a brief stint in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, he was paired with The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, writing lyrics for Smile. The following year, he released his wildly ambitious solo debut, Song Cycle. In 2015, Parks gave his final piano performance, following unsuccessful hand surgery. But he continues to remain active. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his underrated reunion with Wilson, Orange Crate Art, we spoke to Parks about his work and the role music can play in one of the most dire moments in our country’s history.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brand-New Shade of Blue finds Chris Stamey exploring jazz music in the mold of the cool movement of the 50s/60s. Composed on sheet music, the album was finished with remote recordings amid a pandemic shutdown — a less than ideal scenario for a genre defined by in-person collaboration. The music has spent recent years exploring new horizons, mostly notably with 2019’s New Songs for the 20th Century, Vols. 1 & 2, which saw him compositing songs in the style of the Great American Songbook. A year prior, he released the memoir A Spy in the House of Loud, which traced his early days in music, leading up to the formation of the Sneakers and the dB's, perhaps his two best known musical collaborations.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Released in 2018, American Dharma blindsided its director. Errol Morris had spend decades making some of the universally acclaimed documentaries of all time. This time, however, the press wasn’t having it, accusing the filmmaker of “platforming” his subject, Steve Bannon, or at very least, never pushing back hard enough against Trump’s political strategist. In many ways, however, the documentary is quintessential Morris, built around 16 hours of interviews with a single subject. It’s territory he perfect with films like The Fog of War and and The Unknown Known, exploring controversial figures Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld. Two years into the Trump presidency, however, it’s clear the wounds were still to fresh, a fact that the filmmaker has, to some degree, come to grips with. Tied together with footage from classic war films — a passion shared by Morris and Bannon — the film offers rare insight into one of the most influential and damaging political figures of his era.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Sun Piano, Laaraji returned to his first instrument. After years of eschewing the keys in favor of something more portable, the New York-based new age music finds himself reconnecting with his first love, in the first of a trilogy of piano records. It’s the electric zither for which the artist is best known. In one of 20th century music’s more charmed tales, Laraaji opened his eyes after an extended transcendental busking jam on the instrument, to find a note from Brian Eno. The chance encounter in Washington Square Park gave rise to the third record in the iconic Ambient series, Laraaji’s Day of Radiance.  In the interviewing the years, he’s become one of the most iconic artists, espousing the concept of sound vision through ambience and drone.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have 20 years to write your first record and 18 months for your second. For The Ace of Cups, the first part of the equation took roughly two and half times the conventional wisdom, but in 2016, the band finally released its self-titled debut. Four years later, the band has returned with Sing Your Dreams. Like its predecessor, the sophomore record features an all-star lineup of collaborators, ranging from Jackson Browne to Sheila E. To Wavy Gravy. A charter member of Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters prior to forming the band in the late-60s, singer and bassist Denise Kaufman continued playing music during The Ace of Cups’ decades-long hiatus. She’s also an activist and yoga instructor. In her second appearance on the show, Kaufman discuss her life life in Hawaii, keeping hopeful in the time of COVID and why QAnon conspiracy theories have caught on so quickly with members of the wellness community.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When publishers refused to release an updated edition of his 1975 classic of beltway bureaucracy Who Runs Congress over concerns of commercial viability, Ralph Nader did what he often does. He wrote another book. This time, the lifelong political activist took another tack entirely, trading dry political prose for a fable. The book first saw life as How the Rats Re-formed Congress, published on Nader’s own Center for Study of Responsive Law in 2018. This year, it sees an abridged reprint on Fantagraphics as The Day the Rats Vetoed Congress, featuring art from political cartoonist, Mr. Fish. The work is an attempt to get readers to “laugh themselves serious,” according to Nader, featuring a guide for citizen action. At 86, the lifelong consumer advocate and government reformer shows no signs of slowing down.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It should be painfully obvious from the title alone that Anime, Trauma and Divorce is a deeply personal record — and part of Open Mike Eagle’s continued evolution as a songwriter. A good punchline is never more than a track or so away, by the Chicago-turned-L.A. emcee bares his soul on his latest LP in new and sometimes uncomfortable ways. But hip-hop is just one of several outlets for the musician. He’s also the host of several podcasts, including those hosted on his own network, Stoney Island Audio. The list includes, perhaps most notably, What had happened Was, which finds him interviewing legendary producer Prince Paul, album by album. Ahead of the release of his latest record, we sat down to discuss his musical evolution, music as therapy and enduring appeal of professional wrestling.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2013, Fruits Bats broke up — or at least as close to a breakup as an essentially solo project can come. Frontman Eric D. Johnson was going about it on his own as EDJ. It was a short-lived venture. By 2015, the band was back together. Fruit Bats, it seemed, was too good a thing to let die. After all, the band has recently released two of its best albums to date — The Ruminant Band and Tripper. Re-formed in 2015, the Fruit Bats also had their popular peak ahead of them — something very few indie rock bands can say nearly 20 years into their career. Johnson has continued to play on other projects, as well. There was a stint in The Shins in the late-00s, and more recently serving as one-third of indie-folk supergroup, Bonny Light Horseman. Amid the quarantine, Johnson finds himself as prolific as ever, readying a new album and releasing a track-by-track cover of the Smashing Pumpkins’ classic, Siamese Dream. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Hey There Delilah” was a turning point for Ariel Rechtshaid. The simple, stripped down pop song was a massive hit, putting the musician on the map as a producer. Since that 2006 breakthrough, Rechtshaid has become one of music’s most in-demand names, worked with some of the industry’s biggest names, including U2, Madonna, Beyonce and Adele. His work has also found him working closely with indie superstars like Vampire Weekend and Haim.In this conversation, we revisit a career that found Rechtshaid producing hip-hop records in high school and getting signed to Interscope as the front man for the Los Angeles ska-punk outfit, The Hippos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clocking in north of 1,100 pages (when you included the end papers, he’s quick to point out), Reaganland is the final chapter in Rick Perlstein’s massive tetralogy documenting the rise of contemporary conservatism in America through 1980. The series offer unique insight into a history that feels both intensely relevant to the current moment and impossibly far away. It’s a sometimes-dry and frequently infuriating topic that the author captures with a panache that has made him one of the most consistently engaging historians of the modern era. When I first emailed Perlstein to set up an interview about writing, he sent a series of videos featuring him playing solo jazz piano, somewhat jokingly stating that it his process. There’s truth to the sentiment, as he explains in this conversation, “I don’t understand how anyone can be a writer if they’re not a musician.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The same scene inevitably plays out at every convention Carlos Alazraqui attends. At some point someone the epiphany. Rocko the Wallaby, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, Mr. Weed from Family and Garcia from Reno 911 are all the same guy. After beating out Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt in 1993’s San Francisco International Comedy Competition, Alazraqui used his winnings to move to Los Angeles. An addition for Nickelodeon landed him the lead role on Rocko’s Modern Life and began a long and fruitful career in voice work. On the heels of Quibi’s Reno 911 revival, Alazraqui joined us to discuss diversity in voice acting, comedy during quarantine and the ups and downs of voice over anonymity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2012, Cidny Bullens was ready to tell the world who he really was. An article published in The Daily Beast gave him the opportunity to explain the previous year’s transition in his own words — the realization of something he’d long known but hadn’t allowed himself to be honest about. This year, Bullens released his first album under his name, a major step for an artist whose professional career has spanned more than 40 years. In those early days, he’d found work backing Elton John, sang the lead vocals on three tracks on the Grease movie soundtrack, and found a Grammy-nominated hit with the 1979 album, Desire Wire. The 80s found him leaving music to raise raise two daughters, returning the music in the late-90s following a personal tragedy. The event transformed Bullens’ work into something far more personal, serving as an important tool in his arsenal some 12 years later, when he announced to the world that he was a transgender man. Walkin’ Through this World finds Bullens ready to tell his story in an entirely new way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From a distance, it seems that Noah Van Sciver is able to make comics roughly as fast as most of us are able to read them. Each social media update from the cartoonist seemingly presents another project he has in the works — an admirable trait in a field that tends to attract so many procrastinators.I’ve talked to Van Sciver a number of times over the years, but this chat was designed to be a kind of make for a previous appearance on RiYL, held at his table at Comic Arts Brooklyn a few years back. Shows aren’t an ideal setting for interviews. They’re busy, chaotic and time is fairly limited. I think it’s safe to say, however, that this particular talk delivered on those things the previous one lacked. Ostensibly about Fantagraphics’ massive collection of the the very good and funny Fante Bukowski, we quickly veered into the subject of Van Sciver’s upbringing in the Mormon church — the basis of his upcoming book on the prophet Joseph Smith.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Retirement was short-lived for Matt Pond PA. The eponymous front man very publicly toyed with the moniker that’s continued to tie him to his home state, but a 20 year run like that isn’t something one walks away from so easy. Pond continues a prolific career, often teaming with producer and guitarist Chris Hansen, a core collaborator and creative life mate. This month, the duo released Songs of Disquiet, a seven-song EP written and produced amid the current pandemic. It’s an album that, among other things, maintains his long standing passion for juxtaposition loving cover songs with originals. Ahead of the pandemic clamping down on travel, Pond came down from his nearby Hudson Valley, NY home to discuss the ups and downs of a life in indie rock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forty years after forming in New York’s late-70s punk scene, the Bush Tetras are still going strong. 2018 saw the release of the Take the Fall EP, the product of a band content to release music for the pure love of it. There were rocky times, of course. By 1983, the band saw some key membership turnover, ultimately dissolving that same year. There was a short-lived stint in the 90s, but it’s this latest reunion — spurred in 2005 by increased interest in the post-punk genre — that marks the band’s longest stretch. Vocalist Cynthia Sley joins us to discuss the band’s early years, its legacy and the drive to keep making music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a great video from early last year. Taken onstage at the End of the Road Festival, Ezra Furman is tasked with interviewing John Cale. You get pretty much what you’d expect from the Velvet Underground founder — soft spoken, deliberately thoughtful answers. Furman, clearly a massive fan, is far more excitable. Above all, they’re searching for a connection with the legendary musician on topics of creativity and songwriting. It’s a both endearing and insightful view of a musician like Furman, who appears to prefer to retain some mystery around their own process. And certainly there’s a strong argument to be made for letting the music speak for itself. Recent releases like Twelve Nudes and Transangelic Exodus have become of some of the most celebrated indie rock releases of the past decade. On a recent trip to Boston, Furman joined us for a thoughtful discussion about the personal, the professional, gender, religion and the ups and downs of the creative process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time Ryan Walsh appeared on the show was during another trip I took to Boston. At the time, he spoke of his upcoming book about Van Morrison.What, admittedly, sounded like a fairly niche examination of the musician’s time recording a legendary album became one of the year’s most acclaimed music books. Astral Weeks finds Walsh playing detective, seeking to answer some longstanding questions, while exploring the largely unremarked upon Boston psychedelic scene of the time. Last year Walsh’s band Hallelujah the Hills released I’m You. The album finds the musician writing and singing his most straightforward — and arguably best — set of songs in its decade-plus existence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few can rival the indie rock pedigree of Tanya Donelly. At the age of 15, she cofounded 4AD stalwarts Throwing Muses with best-friend-turned-step-sister Kristin Hersh. Seven years later, she joined forces with Kim Deal on her then-side project, The Breeders. But it was the formation of Belly the following year that really allowed Donelly to shine as both a front woman and songwriter, scoring one of the era’s most memorable singles, “Feed the Tree” in 1993. After a less than amicable breakup in the mid-90s, the musician began a decades-spanning solo career, culminating in the five column “Swan Song Series” in 2013-2014. In recent years, Donelly has found a second career, working as a postpartum doula for new parents, even as the siren call of music has beckoned to her yet again through recent projects, including Belly’s 2016 reunion.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adapted from a podcast of the same name, Ways of Hearing explored the countless knock-on effects that play out in both production and listen when music shifts from analog to digital. The book explores similar notions as Damon Krukowski’s previous work, 2017’s The New Analog — subjects that are near and dear to him as a member of the iconic groups, Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi. In addition to the works he has published through the  New Press and MIT Press, Krukowski is also cofounder of independent publishing house Exact Change, along with partner, Naomi Yang. Krukowski joined us to discuss how technology has changed the way we play and consume music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a journeyman musician, Kyle Forester’s resume reads like a who’s who of indie bands from the past decade and a half. Most notably, the multi-instrumentalist has spent time as a member of Crystal Stilts, Woods and Elephant 6 mainstays, The Ladybug transistor. More recently, he played on the David Berman’s Purple Mountains LP. In 2016, Forester released his self-tiled debut solo record, following it up with Hearts In Gardens earlier this year. Forester joins us to discuss life as touring indie musician, scoring films and why he’s still hopeful about the future, in spite of it all.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2018, Kat Edmonson declared herself an “Old Fashioned Gal,” with an LP and track of the same name. The Brooklyn based musician sings and writes songs steeped in pop-jazz stylings of another era. But her work aims deeper than simple nostalgia. This year brought followup album, Dreamers Do, a mix of Disney covers and originals. “Too Late to Dream” finds Edmonson pondering her approach to the world during a sleepless night, a notion that gave rise to what amounts to a loose concept album. The singer joins us to discuss jazz singing in 2020, going through the major label ringer and the major label wringer and the connection between insomnia and the creative process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a video shot in 1991 of a 13-year-old Jen Shyu playing the hell of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on grand piano backdropped by the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. A lifelong musician who studied theater and opera at Stanford and has performed at  Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Shyu’s current work veers into the experimental and avant-garde, all while paying homage to a wide range of musical traditions, including Taiwan an East Timor.Often highly theatrical, her work utilizes a wide range of languages (she speaks ten) and instruments, including piano, violin, the two-string Taiwanense moon lute and the Chinese er hu, among others. Shyu closed out last year with the performance of her show “Zero Grasses,” a part of John Zorn's on-going Commissioning series in New York. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Change of Diet finds Elliott Moss living in the wake of a decade-long relationship. The singer writer grapples with the all of the major and unexpected knock-on effects of such a life change. It’s his most deeply personal record, intertwining such sentiments with a dense electronic soundtrack over the course of its 11 tracks, marrying the brutally honest with the willfully opaque. Like much of the rest of his work, the musician record the album largely solo, constructing its pieces with an arsenal of multi-instrumental prowess. On a recent visit to the city, Moss discussed the process of musical catharsis and transforming the personal into a public display. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well before her debut album We Need to Talk arrived in April 2019, Tayla Parx had already established herself as a music force. As a songwriter, she’d penned tracks for some of the biggest names in the business,fFrom Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande, to K-Pop bands like BTS. A decade prior, Parx made her film debut, in the role of Little Inez in the adaptation of the stage music. At the ripe old of age of 26, the music is ready to take on the world, courtesy of a prolific writing career, tireless work ethic and a thoroughly choreographed stage show. We sat down with Parx in a Manhattan rehearsal space for broadway performers — a perfect temporary home for the Los Angeles musician. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was shaping up to be a banner year for Wire. When we sat down in the Musical Hall of Williamsburg green room, the band was in the process of adding a west coast leg to their tour in support of the band’s terrific new record, Hive Mind. The band also used the opportunity to announce 10:20, a second new LP released in conjunction with Record Store Day. The album finds the band taking a very Wire-esque approach to revisiting old material, revamping sketches and long abandoned work from earlier decades. There are no half-measures with Wire — and there has very rarely been a misstep. It’s an absolutely remarkable track record for a 44 year old band that took nothing less than a global pandemic to monetarily slowdown. Frontman Colin Newman joins us to discuss how the band has managed to stay ahead of the curve so many decades into its career and describe the touring life of rockstars who are now pushing 70. Episode 400 also features an introduction from friend of the show, The Moth’s Dan Kennedy.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 19, Kelli Dunham was living in Haiti in the midst of a Civil War. From there, it was a fairly straightforward path to becoming a nun — albeit one that also required a conversion to Catholicism. These days, Dunham lives in New York City as a genderqueer nurse and standup comedian. It’s a natural combination for an artists who happily draws the line between comedy and tragedy, drawing on material from her own life for both. Experience as a hospice nurse and the death of two partners who died of cancer have left her uniquely positioned to grapple with the darkest subject matter in her comedy routines. What’s more, she manages it all with an unwavering sense of positivity, no better exemplified than in the track “Deep Biological Optimism” from her new standup album, Not the Gym Teacher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I first met Emily Panic, she was a touring musician. Her work as a bass player and backup singer brought tours with Foxygen, Run the Jewels, Sleigh Bells and Miike Snow. There was even a spot performing vocals on a Bryan Ferry album. In recent years she’s shifted into comedy — arguably an even harder racket than the life of a professional musician. But her sketch work has landed her a hosting gig for Pitchfork and appearances on Funny or Die and Netflix. She also cohosts the paranormal comedy podcast, Ghosts to Show You. Panic joined us to discuss transitioning career focuses, the ups and downs of comedy and a podcasting run-in with a pig ghost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The grandson of an opera singer, Michael Blume took to music at an early age, first learning the piano and trumpet and ultimately touring with an a cappella group while attending Yale. Yes, the it was the Whiffenpoofs. But the singer found his true voice after moving away from academia. Supporting himself in New York first through SAT tutoring and later wedding gigs, Blume has since become and idiosyncratic front man, blending genres and peppering in performance art. To mark the release of his latest track, In Between, Blume joined us to discuss queer identity in music and simple acts of transgression in the age of Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A fixture in the New York indie comics scene for some years, Colleen AF Venable has made a name for herself designing covers for publishers like First Second. An accomplished author in her own right, Venable has released a number of children’s and YA titles, including Mervin the Sloth and the Guinea Pig series. Most recently, her young adult comic, Kiss Number 8, earned her and artist Ellen T. Crenshaw a National Book Award nomination. Venable joins us to the discuss the genesis of the book, which deals with a range of deeply personal issues, from LGBTQ identities to Catholic school. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 19, Jamie Drake was sure that she was too told to break into the music business. Nearly two decades later, she officially has, with the arrival of Everything’s Fine. There was music in the meantime, of course, but the singer-songwriter is confident that she finally found her voice of what’s been deemed her debut LP. And indeed, she’s in fine form, as both writer and musician. On a trip to New York, the Los Angeles-based musician sat down to discuss the road that brought her the debut, and how she learned to stop worry and love simply love the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the music world, everyone sounds like someone — except Mary Halvorson. All musical touchstones feel like a stretch when attempting to describe the work of the New York-based musician. Avant-garde or free jazz works to the extent that either actually describe a musical style. There’s rock in there, certainly, and I’ve even seen the term “experimental flamenco” bandied about. But all belie the unpredictable nature of her time signatures and chord progressions. Among her best known works is a cover of “A Little Help From My Friends” that sounds like a familiar work stripped bare, run through the grinder and reassembled in ways that defy the laws of physics. It’s the sort of things that rewires the listener’s brain, while giving you hope for a continued way forward for jazz experimentation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, Saves the Day’s debut LP, Through Being Cool, turned 20. Unsurprisingly, the New Jersey band marked the event on the road, with a tour that found them playing the album in its entirety. Two decades and nine full lengths in, a lot has changed for the band, including several lineup shifts that have left frontman Chris Conley as the sole founding member. Now 40, the musician has come a long way from the teenager who penned one of emo’s most iconic debuts. Conley is now the parent to a teenager himself. But through all the ups and downs, his music has remained a constant. Hitting a major milestone has given him ample opportunity to reflect on his work and where he and the band go from here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For those exclusively familiar with Nels Cline’s work as the guitar player for Wilco, Spinning Creature may come as a kind of surprise. But well before the musician began playing with the indie rock juggernaut, he was never afraid to let his freak flag fly. A student of jazz and the New York rock and avant garde scenes that gave birth to legends like John Zorn and Sonic Youth, much of Cline’s work is a sort of musical 180 from the band. CUP, a duo that finds him collaborating with Cibo Matto alum (and his wife) Yuka Honda, mines deep veins of experimental pop. Following the release of the band’s debut last fall, Cline sat down to discuss his musical history, the ups and downs of the gig economy and finding his voice as a musician. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Formed in Southern, California by teenage brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, Redd Kross was never one to follow pop cultural trends. Torch bearers for a more classic rock sound, the band rose the through ranks with hardcore legends like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks (even sharing members in the process). But the group was never truly belonged to any scene — and somehow belong to them all, in the process. Redd Kross kicked off the 90s by signing to Atlantic Records, finding some mainstream success alongside the rise of grunge music. Following an end-of-decade hiatus, the brothers returned to the band in 2004, eventually releasing sixth album in 2012, after a 15-year gap. It was only five years this time, as Beyond the Door hit legendary indie label, Merge. The McDonalds crowded around a microphone ahead of a show with tour mates (and shared bandmates) The Melvins to talk punk, major labels and K-Pop. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week marks the 12th anniversary of Stop Podcasting Yourself. What began as a venue for two Vancouver-based comedians has since become one of the longest running and most beloved comedy shows in the medium. For more than six-hundred weekly episodes, the show has been a remarkable consistent — and hilarious showcase for cohosts Dave Shumka and Graham Clark, along with a rotating cast of established comedians. Shumka’s podcasting bonafides extend beyond SPY, including the one-off musical series, Our Debut Album (cohosted with Clark) and his work on the well-received This Sounds Serious, a takeoff on popular true shows like Serial and Making a Murderer that is currently on its second season. On a recent trip to New York, Shumka joined us to discuss his podcasting career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Pornographers are running late. It’s hard to say whose decision it was to drive from midtown at this time of day on a weekday — likely not former New York City resident, Carl Newman, if I had to guess. These days the ringleader and frontman lives a far more idyllic life, a two-and-a-half hour drive away in Woodstock. To hear him tell it, it’s a veritable retirement home for rock legends — well, insofar as rock legends ever retire. It helps, of course that Newman’s wife is the manager of the late-Levon Helm’s studio. For their part, The New Pornographers show no sign of slowing, even after the official departure of longtime collaborator, Dan Bejar. In fact, the band’s latest (their eighth), In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, is easily one of their best in years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Punk rock, politics, history and some gracious nods to science — there’s a lot to like about The Future of Another Timeline. Annalee Newitz’s latest explores the possibilities of time travel in a world where the sci-fi standby is downright utilitarian. The book is a lovingly researched second novel for Newitz, who joined us back in 2017, shortly after releasing their debut, Autonomous, an exploration of artificial intelligence and big pharma set in the nearish future. Scientific accuracy has long been a focus for Newitz’s speculative fiction. Prior to the release of autonomous, they were best known as the founder of io9 and EIC of Gizmodo, with a focus on real-world science breakthroughs. The science has, perhaps, been fudged a bit to allow for a mundane sort of time travel to pervade through out, but in an era routinely referred to as “the darkest timeline” by many an online commentator, it’s an ideal lens with which to examine our own reality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.