In this chat, we get to meet Peter Moren and Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John. Unfortunately, John could not join us for this conversation, but we soldiered on! The trio's 2006 album Writer's Block turns 20 years old this year - in fact, its 20th birthday is the very day of this episode's publication! And so in this talk, Peter and Bjorn and I dive into the album that made them an international…
In this chat, we get to meet Joan as Police Woman, the musical project of singer, songwriter, violinist, composer Joan Wasser. Joan came up in the New York music scene of the 90s, but it wasn't until 2006 when she put out her debut solo LP as Joan as Police Woman, Real Life. Well now, exactly 20 years later (to the day!) Joan as put out Real Life Evolution, a total wall-to-wall reimagining and…
In this chat, we get to meet The Fiery Furnaces. The band first rose to prominence in the 2000s, but after a sort of garage-y debut album, they released a slew of highly experimental, avant-garde, quirky abstract pop and rock epics, putting out numerous records in a short time span. Then they stopped. And while they both have had robust solo careers, the duo - made of brother and sister Matthew…
In this chat, we get to meet aja monet. aja is a poet and songwriter and composer, who has just released her 2nd album of jazzy, inviting, varied, potent spoken word music, entitled the color of rain. And in this conversation, she and I talk a lot about this record. We get into what led to its inception, what some of the songs touch on specifically, as well as the musicality inherent in poetry…
In this chat, we get to meet Rostam. The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer has a brand new record out now, called American Stories. While you may know him best from his tenure in Vampire Weekend (he formally departed after the first three records, though he co-wrote, performed on, and produced those albums, and continues to work sporadically with the group), Rostam has built…
In this episode, we get to meet Gay Meat - aka Karl Kuehn. In this conversation, Karl and I dig right in to his brand new debut full-length solo LP, Blue Water. The album was written all about his mother - both the deep relationship he had with her, and her passing a couple years ago after a prolonged health battle. Karl was super candid, and was ready to talk all about his mother. In her health…
In this chat, we get to meet Peaches, the iconic electronic/electro-clash/pop singer, songwriter, and producer. After a lengthy absence, Peaches is back with a new LP, No Lube So Rude, and if you know Peaches' work, then you know what to expect: lots of crude humor mixed in with serious commentary on sex and sexuality, politics, human rights, and being a woman or even really just being a human in…
In this chat, we get to meet Asher White. Asher is a singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and lots of other things, and has just put out a special new project: a full-album cover of Jessica Pratt's self-titled debut record. It's an odd choice, perhaps, but it pays off in a really lovely and intriguing rendition of a great modern folk album. In this conversation, Asher and I do get…
In this chat, we get to meet 3/4 of the experimental rock band Animal Collective. The band just reissued its seminal album Feels for its 20th anniversary this fall, and so I was delighted to have Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz) join me for a deep dive into the album. (If you want to hear me chat with Avey Tare/Dave Portner, by the way, you can go listen to…
Ok, catch up part two. Now, in this episode, we get to meet singer-songwriter Edith Frost. Edith released her first record in about twenty years this past winter, called In Space, and in late spring I got the chance to chat with the underground folk icon all about the album, her road back to making music, studying jazz chords, and more. We talked about her infamous Twitter ban, the delights of…