Despite, or maybe because of, everything going on in the world, 2016 has been one of the best years for music in recent memory.

Join us in the basement one last time this year as we count down our favorites, feel out our disappointments, and more.

Despite, or maybe because of, everything going on in the world, 2016 has been one of the best years for music in recent memory.

Join us in the basement one  last time this year as we count down our favorites, feel out our disappointments, and more.

In our final regular podcast of 2016, we're enlisting Paul Vodra (Hometown Sounds), Joe Lapan (Owner, Songbyrd Music House), and Marcus Dowling (Pitchfork, Bandcamp) to work through the year that was here in our hometown of Washington, DC, take a look at the "big picture", and much, Much more. 

PLUS: Thoughts on the tragedy of the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, CA. What can we do to help, and what can we do to try and make sure this doesn't happen again. 

Lin Manuel Miranda's acclaimed musical Hamilton isn't just one of the most successful musicals of all time, it's one of the most important works of art of the 21st Century.

Join us as we dive deep into this new take on a modern masterpiece that is as much a celebration of modern hip-hop and pop music as it is a reaffirmation of the powerful and essential message of it's source material.

What does it take to be a music journalist in 2016? Marcus J. Moore (Bandcamp), Marcus K. Dowling (Pitchfork), and Kevin discuss.

On The Visitor, Kadhja Bonet is mining the past and creating a soulful new sound that feels more than necessary in the crazy year that is 2016. Is it one of the years best, or does this hyper-talented artist from LA still have a little ways to go? Tune in and find out.

PLUS: DC's renewed soul scene continues to grow and thrive. April + Vista are leading the charge. Any questions? Get em answered with their track "Beasts". 

We thought the fighting was done. We thought the battles had been won. Amazon Music had other plans. The streaming wars, continue they must. 

Hailing from the mighty Midwest, The Flat Five, the grooviest "supergroup" known to mankind, has arrived just in time with their debut LP, It's A World Of Love And Hope. After years of performing as a holiday one off, members Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor, Scott Ligon, Casey McDonough, and Alex Hall have captured their magic on wax and are taking the show on the road? Is it groovy, or the GROOVIEST? Tune in to find out.

PLUS! NYC's Hannah vs The Many makes powerful, theatrical rock and roll, and on their latest release, Cinemascope, they're turning it all up to eleven. Check out the first single "Surrender Dorothy" and get hooked. 

It's been eighteen years since A Tribe Called Quest released an album, but on their latest, and last, LP We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, the hip-hop legend's have delivered not just one of 2016's best, but a career defining masterpiece more than worthy of their legacy.

Marcus J. Moore (Bandcamp), Chad Clark (Beauty Pill) and Ian Taronji (The Lucky So & So's) join Kevin in the basement to dig into the new album, consider Tribe's ultimate legacy, and more.

PLUS: Victor Perry makes indie-soul out of his closet in Atlanta, Georgia because DIY. We've got a track from this up-and-coming vocalist for you see how that works out for ya. 

Hip hop's Danny Brown has made a career out of exploring the extremes of his personality. On his fourth LP, Atrocity Exhibition he's brought all of his demons and angels together to create strongest statement yet.  

We've assembled an all-star panel featuring Sarah Godfrey (Washington Post, City Paper), Briana Younger (Bandcamp, Washington Post), and Marcus Dowling (Pitchfork, Bandcamp), explore all the highs and lows that this sonic head-trip has to offer.

PLUS! Post-election talk with Bandcamp's Marcus Moore joining in on the fun.

IT'S PODJAM TIME!

On our latest abuse of the podcast format, Casey Rae, Marcus Dowling, a bottle of rye, and a whole lot of AMERICA join Kevin in the basement to work through this thing we call COUNTRY MUSIC.*^

* Length of podcast may require use of vacation time
^ Pick-up truck not required for general enjoyment

Kingsley Flood frontman Naseem Khuri has built his career writing songs about social injustice and the importance of sticking up for the "little guy"

On their latest album, Another Other, he's turning his observational acumen inwards to explore not just how we relate to others, but, more importantly, why.

Khuri joined us in the basement a week before America's historic election to talk about the new album, writing introspectively versus observationally, the band's upcoming LP release show in Washington, DC on 11/19, and much, much more. 

Bob Dylan has won a Nobel Prize for Literature. This naturally has blown Patrick's mind.

Another legendary poet/songwriter, Leonard Cohen is back with, You Want It Darker, his  self-proclaimed final album. We're digging into Cohen's latest tome, exploring the legacy that he's leaving behind, and more.

PLUS! Guitarist Daniel Bachman has a new self-titled album, and we've got your first taste of his latest instrumental goodness.

Jenn Wasner has spent the better part of the past decade slaying as one half of indie powerhouse Wye Oak. Earlier this year, she released her long-in-the-works solo project, If You See Me, Say Yes, under the name Flock Of Dimes.

Predictably, it TOO, slayed.

Before a recent tour stop in the nation's capital, Wasner joined us to talk about how Flock Of Dimes came about, creating versus destroying, relocation, and the power of small actions on the world around you. 

Did we mention how much Jenn Wasner slays?

Singer/songwriter Skylar Gudasz's debut LP, Oleander, is a sublime exploration of modern romance that wears its influences on its sleeve and is bursting at the seams with humor, heart, and class. It's also one of the best albums of 2016.

When she's not busy making great albums, Gudasz can be found palling around on stage with members of Big Star, Wilco, R.E.M., and more.

She's KINDA a big deal.

Lucky for you, Skylar had time to hang out with us in the basement to talk about her unique approach to songwriting, the making of Oleander, performing with music legends and much more.

Guys...we're gonna need you to get hip to this, OK?

In 1971, history was made when brothers Bobby, Dannis, and David Hackney got together to jam, and inadvertently "created" punk music in the process. That history wouldn't be discovered until almost 40 years later, and having their story told in the documentary A Band Called Death in 2013, the group is touring again, making new music, and finding new fans everywhere they turn.

More importantly, their story has now been recognized by the recently opened National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC, where a piece of their legend is now a permanent exhibit in the latest addition to the Smithsonian.

We caught up with the band the weekend of the museum's opening to talk about their history, their legacy, and so much more. 

Put two musical powerhouses together and blend them up, and what comes out is bound to be (mostly) genius.

We've assembled an all-star panel featuring Marcus J. Moore (Bandcamp,Pitchfork), Briana Younger (Washington Post,Bandcamp), Marcus K. Dowling (Bandcamp,Pitchfork) and Julian Kimble (The Undefeated, Washington Post), to dig deep into NxWorries Yes Lawd!, the new collaboration from Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge!

PLUS! John Davis's Title Tracks has a new album (Long Dream, out 11/18) on the way, and we've got a taste of it's first single, "Low Cool".

Over the course of her career, Sara Watkins (I'm With Her, Nickel Creek) has stretched the boundaries of bluegrass, toured the world, and collaborated with legends of the music industry, all the while continuing to shape her own formidable legacy.

Right now, she's sitting down to chat with us about her new album Young In All The Wrong Ways, how she got hooked on music and more. 

For realz.

Like a sexier version of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, you can now mix your Tinder with your Spotify. Join us as three middle-aged men discuss the implications, you've obviously come to the most qualified source for these sort of things.

Scottish indie-rock legends Teenage Fanclub are back with a new label (Merge!) and a new album (Here!). Kevin's neighbor (and lifelong Teenage Fanclub fan) Michael Zwirn joins us in the basement to get to the bottom of what makes their latest power-pop gem tick.

Stronger Sex is a band from Washington, DC. Stronger Sex is a band you should KNOW from Washington, DC. Good thing we've got their latest track, "Dating", for you to hang all of your hopes and fears on...or just dance to.

A free tier is all fun and games, until you start getting served malware in it's ads. We're getting to the bottom of this so-obvious-we-can't-believe-it-hadn't-happened-yet "crisis" so you don't have to. 

On her latest album Day Breaks, nine time Grammy winner Norah Jones is returning to the jazz sound that made her famous. Join us as we dig into this modern greats' newest chapter.

Moses Sumney is rad AF. But don't believe us. Check out the track "Lonely World" of of his new EP Lamenatations, and join the converted. 

With A Seat At The Table, Solange Knowles hasn't just made the best album of her career, she's made one of the most compelling, and most important albums of 2016.

We're going deep into this modern masterpiece with the help of music journo heavyweights Marcus K. Dowling and Sarah Godfrey (!!!).

PLUS: Daveed Diggs' band Clipping. latest album Splendor & Misery is out NOW, and we've got a taste for ya.  

In the 21st century one of the greatest scourges on the music industry is piracy. Time was though that Seymour Butts could get twelve albums for one shiny penny. 

M.C. Taylor's Hiss Golden Messenger is back with his follow up to 2014's critically lauded, Lateness Of Dancers. On Heart Like A Levee, the North Carolina singer/songwriters second album for Merge Records, Taylor is going deeper into questions of faith and explorations of country soul, and we're tagging along for the most excellent ride.

Because everything is better when it's country AF, we're taking a look at a new track from Atlanta, GA's Chris Stalcup and The Grange off of their latest album Downhearted Fools. Country. A.F.