Chicago’s FACS create entire worlds out of dissonant noise and chaotic rhythms. But there is a method to the madness and a beauty to be found in the chaos. Join us on our journey into this new sonic universe PLUS spin some music we love from Erin Rae’s new album Lighten Up and Elza Soares on an all-new episode of the all-new Discologist.

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass were one of the pillars of the mighty Philadelphia International label run by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. On their fourth album (and last with Pendergrass) mixed social issues with quiet storm and the results were an album that – despite hitting #1 on the R&B charts in 1975 and producing a ubiquitous disco hit – still seems underappreciated to this day.

It’s been a long road, but Phil Cook has slowly but surely become one of the most important voices in modern Americana. On his latest LP All These Years, Cook takes it back to his roots – just a man and his piano – and the sublime results are the most honest work of his career. Eduardo and Kevin discuss this quiet masterpiece, the WHY of the return of Discologist, and share tracks by Oceanator and Poco that made them fall in love with music all over again on the beginning of the next chapter of the greatest music podcast that ever was.

Hi. Hello. How are you? It’s really great to see you. We missed you. 💛

Above all else, this has been a show about finding your family. We hope you are as lucky as we are to have found ours.

Thanks for tuning in. We love you.

Somebody hit the lights on the way out...

After almost nine years and five-hundred episodes it is finally time to say goodbye to the #1 music podcast ever made in a basement in Washington, D.C., and other places.

Join us as here at the end as we discuss some of the iconic bands that we never quite made it to, the importance of listening, and more.

It has been a long, strange trip. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

While the pandemic of 2020 affected just about every aspect of our lives, it was professional musicians who may have been hit the hardest. Without the possibility of tours or even an audience, artists who previously relied on performing their work for a living were forced to re-evaluate how they would get by. For many, this meant a shift to DIY streaming performances, which, while they have the potential to offer uniquely intimate connections to artists, have not proven to be a suitable replacement or method of output. Enter bassist Dezron Douglass and harpist Brandee Younger and their series of shows on Instagram.

What began as a simple way to connect to friends and fans over “brunch” became a bright spot to look forward to in the early days of the pandemic. Locked down in their apartment in New York City, the two interpreted an entire history of song revealing almost by accident that no matter what the circumstance, no matter how bleak it got, music and art would find a way.

Force Majeure, the resulting album of highlights from those performances, is many things, but above all, it is a gift. For all the darkness we ALL experienced this year, despite all the confusion and pain, Douglass and Younger’s spirit manages to illuminate the world and let the listener know how not alone they really are. A musical journey through our seemingly endless days so filled with beauty, humor, and, most of all, life, Force Majeure stuns, not by being flashy, but by being human.

For most of us, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years of our lives. It has changed the way we relate to our world, each other, and our music.

On an all-new episode of Discologist, Kevin, Eduardo, Wes, and special guest Philip Bassnight (Broke Royals) are taking time to explore the music that meant the most to us this year, what songs both old and new lit up our darkest hours, and why now, more then ever, it is so very important that us human’s continue to strive to connect with each other any way we can.

The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited The Soul Of Black America is as much a document of the Compton superstar’s journey-to-date as it is author Marcus J. Moore’s journey from one of the most recognizable and important names in music journalism to a burgeoning cultural pundit whose voice is already having an impact. Moore’s words take you inside the culture that fueled Lamar’s ambitious work and beyond to explore the real-world implications of black excellence and community in an America that still, in 2020, largely rejects both.

This week, Moore joins us for a candid discussion of his work, a re-imagined view of creative culture, and how the journey is the thing you can often learn from the most.

On their new album Never Give Up, Canadian rockers Partner are putting an end to decades of machismo mediocrity and claiming the rock n’ roll throne for two queer Canadian young women, as it was always meant to be. Join us as we take one of the most joyous albums of 2020 out for spin and head off towards a new world where Partner rule over us all.

Violinist Johanna Burnheart shines on her lush and challenging debut record Burnheart, and harpist Mary Lattimore returns with Silver Ladders, one of the strongest releases of her career. Join us as we dig into these stellar releases, talk ambient, and the future of music on an all new episode of Discologist.

On Heritage of the Invisible II, Aquiles Navarro (trumpet) and Tcheser Holmes (percussion) – one half of the mighty Irreversible Entanglements – are celebrating their Afro-Carribbean heritage in ecstatic fashion. The resulting album is less a collection of songs than an organic rendering their culture, friendship, and seemingly telepathic level of communication the duo shares.

PLUS! Discover a collection of gorgeous new songs about transformation and peace with Jennifer Castle’s Monarch Season.

In 1998 nobody would have expected that Willie Nelson would deliver what is arguably the best album of his career. But that is exactly what happened with the Daniel Lanois produced Teatro. We’re digging into what makes this essential classic one of the most perfect distillations of Nelson’s talent and how it reinvigorated the country legend’s already storied career

PLUS! Country superstars Brothers Osborne are back with another dose of countrified rock n’ roll on their new album Skeletons.

Thirty-five years ago, Brothers In Arms took over the airwaves with some pop perfection and a generation-defining video for the song “Money For Nothing.” But there is much more to this classic than money for nothing and chicks (or whatever gender norm you find yourself attracted to!) for free.

After creating a life affirming album (With) and tour with some of their closest friends, Sylvan Esso has reverted back to duo form (Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn) for their stunning new release, Free Love, their most potent statement on the complexity and power of our humanity to date.

Join us as we explore the music of the most necessary albums of 2020 and the conversations that Sylvan Esso’s latest work inspires.

Saxophonist Nubya Garcia has long been a standout in the burgeoning London jazz scene, and now with her debut album Source she has fully arrived. We’re digging into this instant classic and checking out a reissue of trumpet player Billy Brooks iconic 1974 album Windows Of The Mind on this all new episode of Discologist.

On their 11th album Strange To Explain, indie-folk band Woods isn't rocking the boat, they're just continuing in their tradition of making consistently exciting and slightly left-of-center folk psychedelia. We're digging into this dazzling release and making the case that Strange To Explain isn't just one of 2020's essential releases, it warrants a revisiting of this just-under-the radar band's entire career.

Most people first heard of Asher Gamedze when he contributed drums to Angel Bat Dawid's acclaimed 2019 release The Oracle. Now, the South African drummer is back, this time as bandleader, crafting a powerful statement on colonialism and his country's history with his debut album Dialectic Soul, a record many have called the best release of 2020.

Bruce Hornsby returns with Non-Secure Connection, his most out-there set of songs in years, and Madeline Kenney is reminding us how awkward love can be on her sugary new LP Sucker’s Lunch.

PLUS! New music from garage rockers L.A. Witch from their upcoming LP Play With Fire!

On an all-new episode of Discologist, we’re taking you on a musical journey with three great releases from three completely different genres. The first stop is the refined folk of North Carolina’s The Dead Tongues and their new album Transmigration Blues. Next, we’re moving on to the London scene and Ego Ella May’s uplifting Honey For Wounds. And finally, it’s back home for a history lesson with saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins’ stirring Blue Note debut, Omega.

Ripley Johnson’s Rose City Band project started as an act of wish fulfillment. One of the creative minds behind Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo just wanted to “start a country-rock band so I can retire and just play down at the pub every Thursday night during happy hour.” The resulting first album in 2019 was a hazy stroll through the morning dew of a not yet technicolor world. With hints of psychedelia and twang, it was a peak at the source of a style of music before it heads further out into the cosmos.

One year later, Johnson is back with Summerlong, an album that echoes Rose City Band’s quiet beginnings but imbues its primal sound with brightness and warmth that is worthy of its title. Brokedown Pod’s Jonathan Hart joins us to discuss this latest chapter in Ripley Johnson’s wild trip across the universe.