Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 282: Sign O' The Times - Prince [Discologist]

Thirty years has passed since Prince dropped the strangest, most complex, and possibly best album of his career. A mash-up of Prince's past, present, and future, Sign O' The Times wasn't just Prince's boldest artistic statement to date, it was a game-changer for the artist AND the multitudes of artists that would (try to) follow in his footsteps for years to come.

Join Kevin, Marcus Dowling, Sarah Godfrey, and special guest Timothy Anne Burnside from the National Museum of African American History and Culture for a deep dive into what made this album so special and why its secrets, subtleties, and lessons are still being revealed and discovered to this day.

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Interviews, Discologist Kevin Hill Interviews, Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 156: The Pines

Above The Prairie, the latest release from Minneapolis folk auteurs The Pines, is a sonic tapestry rich with atmosphere that transports the listener to a land that is as recognizable as it is just down the road from nowhere. David Huckfelt and brothers Benson and Alex Ramsey just kicked off their tour for Above The Prairie, and stopped by the basement before a recent DC stop to talk about the inspirations for the album, working with Native American author, poet, and activist, John Trudell, and what it’s like to create worlds from nothing but heart and imagination.

DC’s Stronger Sex is back with a new track, an expanded lineup , and approximately 4.7 times the awesome.

If you need us, we'll be selling plasma and our first born to try and snag some Bey tickets.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 70: Purple Rain at 30

In June of 1984, a diminutive musician from the most unlikely of musical hotbeds started a revolution with the release of his magnum opus, Purple Rain. Part film, part soundtrack, part fiction, part autobiography, and all rock n’ roll, it didn’t just charge across racial divides to conquer the radio, box office AND the album charts, it shattered any notion that we had as a culture that there were limits to what we can create. Pulling from every conceivable style of music and sounding like none, Purple Rain wasn’t just the high water mark of Prince’s career; it was the purest expression of everything he’s done before, or since.

Thirty years after this landmark achievement, Kevin, Adam, Derek, and Marcus “gather(ed) here today” not just to “get through this thing called life,” but to try to figure out just what makes Purple Rain tick, discuss its impact on music today, share stories of growing up with such a grown up record, and more. 

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