Episode 263: Mount Royal - Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge
PledgeMusic is a crowdfuning platform that aims to help artists of every genre and creed achieve their dreams. Every artist except Wheeler Walker, Jr. it would seem. In an unprecedented move, the artist friendly org recently cancelled the country star/comedian's campaign to raise funds for his upcoming sophomore album, and we've got some questions.
On their second album as a duo, guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge (Punch Brothers) are travelling down well worn musical paths, but still manage to kick up some dust along the way. We journey deep into Mount Royal and find out where the music they're making is taking bluegrass and folk, and contemplate a new dawn of acoustic music in a super-untz age.
PLUS! Son Volt is BACK. Crank up "Back Against The Wall" off of their new LP, Notes Of Blue, and be ROCKED.
Episode 262: FUTURE/HNDRXX - Future
Atlanta rapper Future just made history by knocking himself out of the top spot on the Billboard charts with his second release in as many weeks, HNDRXX. Join us for a very special episode as Marcus Dowling (Bandcamp, Decades) guides Kevin through the past, present, and...future of this record setting artist. (Spoiler: This is gonna be awkward.)
PLUS! Ameripolitan legends Dale Watson and Ray Benson (Asleep At The Wheel) have united under the moniker Dale and Ray and made a barnburner of an album. We've got their theme song that will two-step its way into your heart.
Episode 261: Go-Go as DC History w/Marcus K. Dowling
Go-Go as DC History is a discussion of five iconic go-go songs from DC's legendary "Chocolate City" past as we seek to preserve that era, as well as determine what of those legendary times will be retained in the rapidly changing cultural present and future of the nation's capital. Andre "Whiteboy" Johnson (Rare Essence), Michelle Blackwell (The What Band), Nico Hobson (Go-Go Radio), and Geronimo Knows (host of "All the Fly Kids" Podcast) join us for this compelling look at one of Washington, DC's most valuable resources. - Marcus K. Dowling
Episode 260: Uprising - Miles Mosley
Eric Church is an OUTLAW and he's proving it by taking the fight to ticket scalpers and reclaiming 25K tickets for his upcoming world tour. OUTLAW.
Bassist Miles Mosly has collaborated with some of the biggest and most creative names in music. Miles Mosely is a badass. Now Miles Mosely has made a badass album. We discuss.
MANWOLVES may not be the reboot of the Wolfen franchise you've been waiting DECADES for, but they are a pretty groovy jazz/hip-hop/rock/funk outfit from Chicago who's starting to make a name for themselves. Dig it with their latest track "Sing Along."
Episode 259: Bobby Thompson of Revelator Hill
After years of laying down the blues as a solo act and sideman extraordinaire, Washington, DC based guitarist Bobby Thompson and some of his closest brothers in arms have joined forces in their new band, Revelator Hill.
It's a conversation you don't want to miss when Bobby drops by the basement to chat about the new album, growing up on a steady diet of rock n' roll, over-the-top guitar nerdery, and more!
Episode 258: Marquee Moon - Television [Discologist]
In 1977 a fussy proto/post punk band from NYC dropped one of the most influential albums in rock n' roll history. Forty years later, we're talking about why this fidgety masterpiece not only influenced and defined a generation of musicians, but why it sounds just as vital and savage as it did way back when.
That's it. That's the pitch.
Are you in, or is you isn't?
Episode 257: Prisoner - Ryan Adams
This year, the Grammy's made it clear that they may have some...issues to work through. Kevin and Marcus Dowling (Bandcamp/Pitchfork) try to clear the air on how the esteemed organization really functions, and what you, YES YOU, might be able to do to change that.
Ryan Adams is one of the most prolific, and most successful singer/songwriters of the past 20 years. On Prisoner, his 16th LP, he's mining the pain of his recent divorce and the glory of 80's rock n' roll in equal measure? Is it another hit for the man with all the feelz, or is Adams just treading water? Tune in and find out.
PLUS! Ibibo Sound Machine is coming soon to a stereo near you. Get to know them and their single "Give Me A Reason" so you can get hype like us.
Episode 256: The El Mansouris - The El Mansouris
First there were whispers. Then there was a video. And finally, after years of waiting there was a debut album. And just like that, Washington, DC "supergroup" The El Mansouris were gone.
Tune in as we dive deep into a minor masterpiece by a band that barely existed, but left a hell of a mark in the short time they had.
PLUS! Tidal Talk is BACK, and now living in our darkest timeline where Net Neutrality is on its last legs and Justin Bieber is the only state approved music for the masses.
OK. That last part isn't true YET, but seriously guys...it's starting to look bleak out there.
PS. We've also got seven minutes of fresh PAIN from our friend Seán Barna for ya.
Episode 255: Faith - George Michael [Discologist]
By the late 80's, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, known to the majority of the world as George Michael, had already seen the heights of fame with his group Wham. He had experienced the power that artists could achieve by uniting their voices with We Are The World, and played an integral part in the video revolution that was MTV.
But the best was yet to come.
In 1987, Faith, his debut solo album dropped and changed the face of pop music forever. Unabashedly open in matters of the heart, sexuality, and reverence for the rich history of American R&B, George Michael's masterpiece didn't just top the charts, it changed them immeasurably for the better.
Join us as we dive deep into this musical milestone with the help of our friends Sarah Godfrey and Marcus Dowling,
It's a celebration. It's a memorial. It's George Michael's Faith
Episode 254: False Youth Etcetera, Vol 1 - Roadkill Ghost Choir
In 2014 Athens, GA's Roadkill Ghost Choir released their masterful full-length debut, In Tongues. With miles on the road behind them and a years worth of waiting, their follow up, False Youth Etcetera, Volume 1 is finally here and we're bringing back a blast-from-the-past to talk through their finest, and poppiest song-cycle yet.
PLUS! Singer/songwriter Lincoln Barr makes some mighty fine "weird folk" music and we've got a taste for you from his new LP, Trembling Frames
Episode 253: Process - Sampha
Sampha Sisay has spent the bulk of his career on the sidelines, singing and producing for the likes of Drake, Kanye West, Solange, and many more. On Process, his first full-length, the multi-talented soul phenom is finally stepping fully into the spotlight, and the results are stunning. Marcus Dowling (Decades, Pitchfork) and Marcus Moore (Bandcamp) join Kevin this week to work through their multitude of feels.
PLUS! Everybody needs more jazz in their life, and we've got a taste of pianist Noah Haidu's upcoming LP Infinite Distances for you to get cultured to.
Episode 252: Life Without Sound - Cloud Nothings
In 2009, Cloud Nothings leader Dylan Baldi dropped out of college to pursue his rock n' roll dreams, and he did so with a vengeance. With their fourth album, Life Without Sound, Baldi and crew have polished their sound, without sacrificing any of the angst and ferocity that made the world fall in love with them in the first place.
We discuss, while Paul relives the 90's.
PLUS! We're setting the wayback machine for a trip back to 1972 and the new-to-us soul of Howard Tate!
Episode 251: Nothing Feels Natural - Priests
After a string of EP's and years of anticipation, Washington DC neü-punk provocateurs, Priests, have finally delivered their debut full length, Nothing Feels Natural. On our latest podcast, Kevin, Paul, Eduardo and Marcus Dowling (Pitchfork, Bandcamp) are hanging out in the basement, getting to the bottom of this raucous new album. Is it the right protest album at the right time, or just another "punk" album for the masses? Tune in to find out.
PLUS! R&B jams from the underground! Sonder's new EP Into is laying down the bedroom vibes, and we've got it's lead track for you to sink your teeth into.
Episode 250: Tourist In This Town - Allison Crutchfield
Allison Crutchfield (twin sister of Katie Crutchfield aka Waxahatchee) has paid her dues in bands like P.S. Eliot, Bad Bananna, and Swearin', but on her new LP Tourist In This Town (Merge Records) she's blasting off into a whole new phase of her career. Lousy with emotionally supercharged synth jams, Tourist reveals Crutchfield as one of the most vibrant voices of her generation, so of course, we're gonna talk about.
PLUS! Sampha's Process drops in a few weeks. We've got a taste of this masterful R&B excursion.
Episode 249: Hang - Foxygen
The largest peaceful protest in American history took place this weekend, not just here in DC but all over the world. We're gonna talk about it. Yes...this is what we mean by the "and nothing but" part of our tagline.
Foxygen isn't just a band, it's a state of mind. On their fifth album Hang, the duo of Jonathan Rado and Sam France are letting their freak flags fly high - REAL HIGH - and the result is a powerful dose of psychedelic bombast, that's equal parts past and future, and 100% alright, alright, alllllright.
Episode 248: PODJAM! 2017 Cometh!
Marcus Dowling (Pitchfork, Bandcamp) and Casey Rae (Sirius XM) join Kevin in the newly upgraded rock-basement to prognosticate about the year before us. We all know about the seismic shift in American politics that is about to take place, but what will it mean for music in 2017? The arts in general? Florida Georgia Line?
Grab your beverage of choice and strap in for 2017's very first PODJAM as we search for answers to these questions and much, much more.
Episode 247: Puxico - Natalie Hemby
Travis Tritt started a tweet-a-cane with his suggestion that artists should stick to their art and leave the politics to...not artists. We've got a few things to say about that.
Songwriter Natalie Hemby has been quietly and consistently killing it behind the scenes by delivering hit after hit for some of Nashville's biggest names. Now she's stepping into the spotlight with Puxico, her debut album. Kevin, Patrick, and Marcus (Dowling) dive deep into this celebration of small towns everywhere, take time to ponder the future of country music in 2017, and more.
PLUS! Take a trip with southern California's Mr. Elevator and the groovy first track from their upcoming LP, When The Morning Greets You.
Episode 246: Fugees - The Score [Discologist]
If you turned on the radio In 1996 your ears were assaulted by the music of artists like Sublime, The Spice Girls, Gin Blossoms, The Prodigy, Alanis Morrisette, and more (the less said about "The Macarena" the better).
Then along came the Fugees.
In our inaugural edition of our new feature Discologist, Kevin is joined in the basement by Eduardo (Nunes) and Marcus (Dowling) [Pitchfork, Bandcamp] for an epic hang to celebrate an album that changed the music industry and turned three relatively unknown artists into international superstars practically overnight.
Episode 245: Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 3
In 2012 rapper/producer El-P and rapper Killer Mike met and discovered that not only did they bring out the best in each other's art, all signs pointed towards them being world's first motherf@#@ing rap superheroes.
With the release of their third collaboration as Run The Jewels, all signs point to the prophecy being true.
Join us as we we kick off our 2017 coverage diving into their latest masterpiece to try and figure out what makes this dynamic duo tick, why they may be the most powerful rap duo of all time, and more.
Best of 2016: Paul's Take
Whatever you want to say about 2016 (and we’ve said plenty), it was a great year for music and Chunky Glasses covered the hell out of it. Well, it was a great year for musical output at least. We lost far too many of our favorite artists but, by fortune or design, we gained some truly extraordinary albums before they passed. More than that, those that remained took up the mantles of the fallen to produce a bounty of sharply observed, deeply felt works. To call it a changing of the guard would be overly simplistic; an artificial narrative created to instill some sense of order on a chaotic year. But, be that as it may, it appears that as the world lurches into an uncertain 2017, at least we’ll still have plenty of exemplary musicians to help us make sense of whatever happens next.