Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Weezer's 'Black Album'

Weezer are the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, and they have returned (Again?) to bestow the [checks notes] gift of a none more Black Album upon an unsuspecting world just when we “needed “ it most.

Goddamit…we can’t believe we’re talking about Weezer. Still. Again.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Cass McCombs's 'Tip Of The Sphere'

On his latest release Tip Of The Sphere, songwriter/man of mystery Cass McCombs is embracing spontaneity and delivering one of his most vibrant sets of songs to date. Recorded relatively quickly at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn, Sphere captures the looseness of his collaboration with The Skiffle Players (and associations with members of the Grateful Dead) and breathes new life into McComb’s trademark wit and incisive commentary on the world today.

On the latest episode of Discologist, we’re reviewing this newest slice of weird Americana PLUS spinning a new track from trippy up-and-comers Garcia Peoples!

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Bob Mould's 'Sunshine Rock'

Bob Mould is one of the pioneers of indie rock, and on his latest LP Sunshine Rock, he’s looking back to better times and making one of the best albums of his careers in the process. Guest PJ Sykes joins us to discuss why the album is an essential ray of light in these dark times, how to learn to love an icon, and much more!

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Julian Lage's 'Love Hurts'

On his latest release Love Hurts, jazz guitar wunderkind Julian Lage is making bold steps towards furthering his reputation of being one of the most visible and respected figures the ongoing jazz renaissance of the past few years. Presenting classics of American jazz, folk, and even some rock and roll through the lens of his trio (featuring Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums) Lage draws listeners old and new into some familiar territory while still managing to get some of his exquisite ya-ya’s out in the process.

Join us as we make a jazz with our guest Casey Rae and dig into the latest from one of the modern eras most exciting and talented voices in jazz, or any other genre.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Robert Ellis's 'Texas Piano Man'

If Robert Ellis’s self-titled 2016 album announced him to the world as a songwriting force to be reckoned with, then is new LP Texas Piano Man makes the case that he is the stuff of legend. Swapping his six strings for eighty-eight keys, Ellis’s latest finds him pairing his trademark gut-wrenching honesty and melodic sophistication with the panache of late 70’s pop rock (think Elton John and Leon Russel), and the result is undeniably the best album of his career.

Tune in to the this latest episode of Discologist as we dive deep into this rock and roll masterpiece and try to come back with some of it’s truth’s on the other side.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Aaron Abernathy's 'Epilogue'

Aaron “Ab” Abernathy is a singer, a music director, an activist, a man of faith, and, most importantly, a man trying to do and BE his best. His journey towards this end chronicled on 2016’s Monologue and 2017’s Dialogue, now comes to its conclusion on his latest album Epilogue. Bursting with soul, raw emotion, and honest truth Epilogue tells the tale of two people finding love despite years of heartache through self-reflection, honesty, and kindness.

Join us as we dig into this instant classic on the latest episode of Discologist!

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Interviews, Discologist Kevin Hill Interviews, Discologist Kevin Hill

Aaron Abernathy Returns

On the inaugural edition of Discologist, we’re hanging out in the basement one last time with our friend Aaron Abernathy to discus his remarkable, trilogy-capping new album Epilogue, love, faith in the modern era and much, much more.

Change is good friends.

RIP ChunkyGlasses: The Podcast.

Long live DISCOLOGIST!

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 400: The End (For Now)

We’ve run our mouths from a basement in Washington, D.C. for four hundred episodes now, but sadly it is time to say goodbye.

Please join us for a bittersweet final hang in the basement with the people that we hold most dear saying goodbye to this chapter the only way we know how: Talking about Boston’s Third Stage.

Thanks for listening. Y’all are the goddamn best.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 399: How To Make Friends And Influence People By Becoming A Steely Dan Fan

For many, the music of Steely Dan is an enigma. For us…it’s our lifeblood.

On our penultimate broadcast from a basement in Washington, D.C., Dead To Me’s Casey Rae and Eduardo Nunes are sitting in to fulfill a promise that Kevin made long ago, and turning up the nerd to nigh impossible levels in the process. Any major dude will tell you that whether you’re a super-fan or just Steely Dan curious, this episode is probably your destiny.

It sure as hell was ours.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 398: A Look Back At The Music of Washington, D.C. in 2018

Washington, D.C. has been our home for over a decade now, but our time here is rapidly coming to a close. In one of our final broadcasts from our nation’s capital, Kevin sits down with Lindsay Hogan (Music Journalist/DIY maven) and Paul Vodra (Hometown Sounds) to talk about some of the music that moved us in 2018, how we got to this point, and where we’re going from here.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 396: Van Halen's '5150' [Discologist]

Van Halen’s 5150 was a turning point for the legendary party rockers for more than one reason. The replacing of original front man David Lee Roth with rocker Sammy Hagar was what was driving headlines, but the real news was in the music. Revved up, radio-friendly, and raring to go, this “new” Van Halen supplemented often questionable machismo with synths, honest-to-god pop hooks, and, most radically: Feelings.

Washington Post Pop Critic Chris Richards and Broke Royals’ Philip Basnight are joining us as we reconsider one of the most divisive albums of Van Halen’s career, reveal it’s secrets, and more.

This, dear listener, is what dreams are made of.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 395: Laura Gibson's 'Goners'

On her latest LP Goners, Laura Gibson is taking on grief and the joy that can be found through grieving, and the result is her strongest record yet. Lush, adventurous, and human AF, Goners drags the listener down to the bottom, where it may be dark, but at least you’ve got good company.

PLUS: Maryjo Mattea is in pretty much ALL of the bands in Washington, D.C., and on her new single she’s being joined by good friend Cody Valentine (Allthebestkids) for a potent tale of personal empowerment and the joys that are out there waiting for us when we set ourselves free.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 394: The Skiffle Players are back with 'Skiff' and thoughts on 'The Beatles (Super Deluxe)'

The members of The Skiffle Players — Neal Casal (Circles Around The Sun/Chris Robinson Brotherhood), Dan Horne (Beachwood Sparks), Cass McCombs, Farmer Dave Scher (All Night Radio/Beachwood Sparks), Aaron Sperske (Father John Misty/Beachwood Sparks) — are some of the most respected musicians on the scene today. So when they find the time to get together for a new Skiffle Players album, you’d best believe it’s going to be something special. Skiff, the collective’s second LP, expands on the foundation they laid with 2016’s Skifflin’ and hints at a blindingly bright future that looks a lot like the past that they’ve been celebrating.

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Episode 393: In Conversation with Melissa Wright [Mink's Miracle Medicine]

On paper, an album about heartache, anxiety, and ancient aliens doesn’t seem like something that would work (or should even exist), but on Pyramid Theories, Mink’s Miracle Medicine are singing about those themes and more resulting in their best release to date.

We’re catching up with the Melissa Wright of this Appalachian-based duo to dig into the trials of life as a creative, edibles, woodworking, aliens, and how their remarkable new album came to be.

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Interviews, Discologist Kevin Hill Interviews, Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 392: In Conversation with Marian McLaughlin

On her new album Lake Accontink, Marian McLaughlin invites the listener along on her quest to try and make sense of the many ways in which we impact and are impacted by the environment, and what it all may mean in the long run. We’re sitting down with the Baltimore-based musician to talk about what inspired her self-described “music for the Anthropocene Epoch,” the perils of capitalism in the modern age, the joy of playing in a room with one-hundred other guitarists and much more!

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 391: Makaya McCraven's 'Universal Beings' and new music from Braxton Cook

To call Chicago’s Makaya McCraven, just a drummer would be doing the multi-talented musical truth seeker a grave disservice. Over the past few years, McCraven has been refining a production technique that mixes live jam sessions and impromptu performances with radically creative editing to produce some of the most exciting jazz of the modern day. On Universal Beings, an album recorded in four different locations with four distinct groups of musicians at each, McCraven seems to have perfected this technique, and the result is one of the best albums of 2018. Meditative, complex, smooth, and even funky, Universal Beings points to blindingly bright future for not just McCraven, but jazz as a whole.

PLUS! Saxaphonist, vocalist, and DMV native Braxton Cook is back with a new album No Doubt, and we’ve got a listen to it’s title track to help you get hip to this remarkable talent!

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 390: Celebrating the Music of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

Just in time for Halloween, we're talking about the music of one of the most revered cult films in history:The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Joining in the fun as we celebrate this culture-shifting masterpiece are our good friends Sean Barna, Philip Basnight, and very special guest, DC drag queen extraordinaire, DONNA SLASH!

So come up to the lab, see what's on the slab, and always remember: Don’t dream it, BE IT!

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 389: Noname's 'Room 25'

In 2016 Chicago rapper Noname (Fatimah Warner) stepped out of the shadows of her collaborators to deliver Telefone, one of the best albums of 2016, and easily one of the best hip-hop debuts in recent memory. One move to L.A. and a good bit of growing up later, Noname is BACK with her first “official” album, Room 25. Self-produced and self-released, Room 25 is an ambitious step forward for one of music’s brightest talents, and we’re joined by special guest Philip Basnight (Broke Royals) to discuss what makes it so great, and what we’re looking forward to from Noname in the future.

Plus! Washington, D.C.’s very own Dupont Brass is back with a new EP Halftime that’s all about enjoying yourself, and we’re spinning its first single.

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Discologist Kevin Hill Discologist Kevin Hill

Episode 388: Huey Lewis and the News' 'Sports' at 35

With over eight million copies sold worldwide, four Top 10 hits, a “unique” reputation in cinematic history, and more, it is no wonder that the “heart of rock and roll” beats strong with Huey Lewis and The News bar room masterpiece thirty-five years after its release. Sports wasn’t just the sound of a band finally arriving on the scene, it encapsulated everything that was important to being goddamn American in the early 80’s even if it was all just a fantasy that has since faded, like so many Schlitz Tall-Boys, into the dark night of history

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