Known to most of the world as a political playground, Washington, D.C. is a city where decisions that shape the course of, not just American, but HUMAN history, are made every day. More than that though, D.C. is a city where cultures collide resulting in a creative class that produces some of the most compelling and diverse art in the world. Built on the legacy of jazz and go-go, D.C. is on the cusp of a creative explosion and bringing everything from hip-hop to indie rock into the fold.

In part two of our Sounds of Washington, DC series, we're joined by the duo April + Vista, one of the city's rising stars, to explore a little bit of the history of "Chocolate City", some of the music that made the nation's capital such a fertile landscape for African-American musicians to thrive in, and how economic shifts and gentrification have changed things for that tradition, maybe for good. 

Eight years ago, before To Pimp A Butterfly, before The Epic, the West Coast Get Down was a rising force in the Los Angelas jazz scene...who recorded their epic work in Kamasi Washington's garage.

On The Optimist, WCGD trombonist Ryan Porter is unleashing some of the group's early work as scrappy young jazz savants and in the process revealing the heart of what drives its member's dominance of the music world to this day. Bandcamp's Marcus J. Moore joins Kevin and Marcus K. Dowling (Iconoclasm) as they dig in on this sumptuous slice of music history.

Every great band starts somewhere and for Radiohead, their introduction to the world was the biggest hit of their career wrapped in an album of loud, forward-thinking, guitar rock.

And for some reason their fans hate it. 

We're holding court to defend this classic album and show why it's not just so much more than "Creep", it's one of the best albums of their career.

All it took was an off-the-cuff show back in 2014, and the trio of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan knew they had something special. Formalizing this new union under the name I'm With Her, the three powerhouses have spent the past few years sporadically touring the group around, releasing an EP, and now they are releasing their much-anticipated debut full-length, See You Around.

Built on a foundation of tradition, intimate confessionalism, and expert musicianship, See You Around owes as much to the musician's past as it seems like a logical waypoint on their journey through song. We're going in on the supergroup's debut to find out if I'm With Her has got legs or if we're going to be seeing them around for a long time to come.

PLUS! Kim Ware's The Good Graces is back with The Hummingbird EP, and we've got it's charming AF leadoff track for you to put in your earholes!

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we thought it was high time to explore the dumber side of love. Throughout history, men have been writing songs about love in a quest to continually pitch their woo, but sometimes - pretty much every time - it just comes out wrong.

Join Kevin, Carrie, Marcus, and Ian as they embark on a journey into the heart of derpness and laugh their way through some of the most egregiously awkward "love" songs that missed their mark, and then some. 

In the late 70's on the Sunset Strip an, ahem,  eruption of pure rock-and-roll was about to occur, and it was to be led by four dudes by the name of Eddie, Alex, David, and Michael. Van Halen didn't just bring "ass-rock" into the 80's, the guitar wizardry of Edward Van Halen revolutionized the electric guitar in every way, from how it was played, to the gear that was used to keep it dialed up to 11.

Join us as we celebrate the 40th anniversary this monster of rock with our friends Casey Rae (author, 'The Priest They Called Him: William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll') and Marcus K. Dowling (Decades, Medium). We're on a quest to find out what makes rock-n-roll tick once and for all - or at least say the word "cock" a lot. 

Washington, DC's The North Country has changed a lot in its seven years of making music. One thing that has remained consistent is front-man Andrew Grossman's commitment to creating electric and innovative pop and folk music pushes artistic boundaries as much as it honors them.

On our latest episode, we're sitting down with Grossman to talk about the past and future of the band, what it takes to stay dedicated to making art in the nation's capital, Sean Barna, their new Ardor EP, and much, much more.

Before they were country music's most "controversial" superstars, the Dixie Chicks ruled the charts with their savvy mix of bluegrass, country, and pop. On our latest episode, we're digging into the trios finest hour and the record that jump-started their career, 1998's iconic Wide Open Spaces. 

What was the legacy of this monster crossover hit on not just country music, but pop and rock? Why has endured as not only a classic, but a standard-bearer for excellence? Eduardo, Marcus, and Kevin are asking these questions and more as we dive deep into one of the biggest albums in country music history. 

Known to most of the world as a political playground, Washington, D.C. is a city where decisions that shape the course of, not just American, but HUMAN history, are made every day. More than that though, D.C. is a city where cultures collide resulting in a creative class that produces some of the most compelling and diverse art in the world. Built on the legacy of jazz and go-go, D.C. is on the cusp of a creative explosion and bringing everything from hip-hop to indie rock into the fold.

On our latest podcast, we're kicking off a twelve-part series exploring the sounds of our home, where they come from, and where they may be going. Joining us for this inaugural installment of Sounds Of Washington, D.C. are Hometown Sounds host Paul Vodra, and Philip Basnight, one-half of D.C. folk-pop powerhouses Broke Royals.

Legendary drummer and bandleader Chris Dave has made a career out of playing with the best of the best. Featured on tracks by artists as diverse as D'Angelo, Justin Bieber, Adele, and Dolly Parton, Dave is a musical omnivore of the highest order. On his debut album with the Drumhedz, he's throwing everything into the mix (including the kitchen sink) to craft a potent stew of funk, jazz, pop, rock, soul, r&b and, of course, hip-hop, that educates, stimulates, and vibrates with life from start to finish. Featuring guest shots from Anderson .Paak, Bilal, Goapele, Phonte and more, Chris Dave and the Drumhedz is more than a showcase; it's an education. Join Kevin, Ian, and the mighty Marcus J. Moore (Senior Editor, Bandcamp) as they dig into this delicious treat for newcomers and music nerds alike.  

PLUS: 16-year-old DC native MILES ave makes potent, politically charged, and, most importantly, honest hip-hop, and we're giving you a taste of his latest work, "The Debt."

From the beginning, it was clear that Merril Garbus (tUnE-yArDs) is a force of nature. Over the course of now four albums, she has reshaped the pop landscape into a much more meaningful, and blissfully weirder, place. 

i can feel you creep into my private life, her most straightforward work to date (and now a duo featuring longtime collaborator Nate Brenner) isn't just a record that challenges what it means to be tUnE-yArDs, but the privilege and power that pop music commands in the modern age.

PLUS! As Washington DC's The North Country continues to evolve, Andrew Grossman and crew take some time to revisit their latest full length (In Defense Of Cosmic Altruism) plus some choice outtakes on their luxuriant Ardor EP.

In 2008, Klara and Johanna Söderberg were just two Swedish kids with powerful voices and an undeniable love for American country and folk music. That same year, a video of them performing the Fleet Foxes track " Tiger Mountain Peasant" rocketed them into the spotlight, and they've never really left. On their fourth album Ruins, the duo moves beyond merely celebrating the American folk canon; they take their place as masters of the craft alongside the artists they idolize. 

PLUS! Singer/guitarist Lauren Calve and her band Run Come See have taken a hard look at the state of Trump's America, and on their latest single they're making it clear that they're not gonna take it anymore. 

Fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died for holding the simple belief that ALL people were equal, regardless of religion, race or creed, racism still plagues the human condition. On our latest episode we’re taking time to honor his legacy, exploring the music that surrounded, shaped, and carries forward, his mission of equality for all, regardless of race or creed.

Special guest Timothy Anne Burnside (NMAAHC) joins Kevin, Eduardo, and Marcus K. Dowling in the basement for a deep journey through some of the songs of freedom, righteousness, and truth that the Civil Rights Movement was built on, and continues to fight through to this day. 

me of the songs of freedom, righteousness, and truth that the Civil Rights Movement was built on, and continues to fight through to this day. 

Before they were the mega-hit makers of the 80's, Daryl Hall & John Oates were just a couple of doods in love with soul and R&B on a mission to share it with the world. On their 1973 masterpiece Abandoned Luncheonette, their second album for Atlantic records, the duo were coming of off an underperforming debut (Whole Oates) and were desperately searching for their identity.

SPOILER ALERT: They found it. 

Sarah Godfrey and Marcus K. Dowling join Kevin in the basement to talk about an unmitigated classic that almost got lost in time...like we do. 

It's likely that we'll look back at 2017 as the year almost everything fell apart, downerism ruled the land, and we came very close to being broken as a people. 

But we didn't break. We made it. And on this final installment of ChunkyGlasses: The Podcast for 2017, we're discussing the music that lifted us up, dropped us down, and sometimes even showed us the way, but never, ever let us down.

Thanks for tuning in all year. We'll see you soon. Until then be good to your ears, but be better to your people...

In 2017, Country was king, and there was no more significant player than Chris Stapleton. For the follow up to his Grammy-winning 2015 album Traveller, Stapleton teamed up again with producer Dave Cobb - the new proprietor of the historic Studio A in Nashville - to craft a record that was worthy of that room's history. 

The result was a two-part LP that represents the scope of Stapleton's musical identity. Where Volume 1, was a collection of newer songs, and an extension of his work on his debut, Volume 2, finds Stapleton not just mining his own past as a songwriting by putting to wax some of his oldest songs, but his history as a music fan through some choice covers.

Join Kevin, Marcus, and Eduardo as we finish out our album reviews for 2017 on a high note, talking about Chris Stapleton's powerful sophomore release, From A Room.  

Over the course of nine LP's Langhorne Slim (real name Sean Scolnick) has been crafting folk-pop gems that have taken him from small, backroom shows to the stages of the legendary Newport Folk Festival.

On his latest effort, Lost At Last, Vol. 1, having grown weary of the usual recording cycle and the daily pressures of always being connected, the singer/songwriter and his band "...holed up in a friend's house in San Francisco to rehearse about twenty-five songs for five days and headed up to Stinson Beach to play 'em live in a room all together and press record." 

The result? Nothing less than one of the best albums of 2017. An album that feels spontaneous yet lived in, with songs that are just the right salve at just the right time to help heal the spiritual wounds that this year has set upon us all. 

Mavis Staples, one of the greatest voices of this generation, or any, is back with a powerful new LP If All I Was Was Black. Continuing in her collaboration with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy in the production chair, the civil-rights icon is going back to her Chicago blues roots and delivering a powerful statement on racism in America in 2017.

PLUS! Robert Ellis and Courtney Hartman have teamed up for an album celebrating the music of John Hartford, and the iconic first single is just as exquisite as you would expect.

After the surprise success of their thoroughly weird and seismic shift in their sound on their 1992 Grammy-winning LP Out Of Time, Athens, Georgia's R.E.M., promised a loud, raucous follow up. What they delivered instead was a monument to the joys of melancholy, loss, and the never-ending quest for beauty in the world. 1994's Automatic For The People, seen by many as the high point of the band's career, cemented their status as rock-and-roll legend's, and it's humanity still resonates today, twenty-five years later. 

Join us as we look back on this modern masterpiece and explore how it's meaning has changed for our panel of superfans so many years later, why some of its messages are MORE important today, and much more. 

With six albums under her belt, Taylor Swift has built a career that has made her one of the biggest pop-stars in the world. So how is it that her latest album, Reputation is such a complete, million unit selling failure?

Kevin and Marcus K. Dowling - both avowed Swift fans - are taking one for the team and attempting to navigate the depths the most narcissistic, cultural appropriating, and, to be clear, worst album of 2017. 

Yea...we're where fun goes to die.