Time is elastic, let’s stretch. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
Month: March 2021
Winds :: Look At The Sky
Look At The Sky — a record perfectly suited for the break of spring. The debut album from the Los Angeles-based Winds is a collection of sun-soaked, baroque pop imbued with distinctive west coast magnetism. With tropicália-laced tints intertwined throughout, expect a swirling range of vocals, earworm melodies, and bouncing rhythmic patterns….
Noah Lekas & Ethan Miller of Howlin’ Rain :: Transmissions
This week on the show, we’re joined by poet and music journalist Noah C. Lekas and Ethan Miller of Howlin’ Rain and Comets on Fire. They’ve got a new collaboration featured on Sounds From the Shadow Factory, a 10″ record from Blind Owl: a rock & roll adaptation of “Saturday Night Sage,” the poem from Lekas’ recent book of the same name. The two joined us for a discussion about spoken word, their paths in psychedelia, blue collar mysticism, and the current state of the counter culture. Heading deep underground, this week on Transmissions.
Prince Jammy :: Computerized Dub
The duppy in the machine. Originally released in 1986 (and later coupled on compact disc with Wayne Smith’s Sleng Teng in ’92), Computerized Dub is truth in advertising. Seven years out from the dubscapes of “Slaughterhouse Five”, our Prince caught the digital bug and swung headfirst into the zeitgeist, lacing his riddims appropriately.
Archie Shepp :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Over the course of six decades, Archie Shepp has blazed new trails. To celebrate his latest, Let My People Go, a collaboration with Jason Moran, he explores personal standards. Shepp was interviewed by Sarah Louise for Aquarium Drunkard.
Catching Up With Steve Gunn
This Thursday, April 1st — Aquarium Drunkard presents an intimate livestream performance with Steve Gunn. The Brooklyn-based artist has been recording new material in Los Angeles and made time to stop by the East Hollywood venue, Gold Diggers, for a set of recorded music. Gunn’s first fully produced livestream event finds him dusting off a few of his catalog standbys, along with debuting new material.
In anticipation of the set, Gunn joined us for a few quick questions about stepping back onto a stage, how he’s been staying creatively occupied, and his forthcoming album.
On the Lasting Allure of Thought Forms
The mystical notions of theosophy have inspired long artists like Sun Ra, Van Morrison, and Elvis Presley. With the publication of the 1905 text Thought Forms, Sacred Bones Records continues a long tradition of music and the occult intertwining in the pursuit of making the unknown knowable.
Bill Callahan :: Cowboy
For the track “Cowboy”, off last year’s Gold lp, Callahan tagged up with filmmakers Anthony Gasparro and Mikey Kampmann to bring the song to visual life.
Below, we flip the script as Callahan catches up with the pair to discuss their working relationship, storytelling, synchronicity, rippling kindness and the power of the tuna melt as edible nostalgia.
Kenneth Anger & Scorpio Rising: Iconography, Identity & Hollywood Folklore
Welcome to Videodrome. A recurring column plumbing the depths of vintage and contemporary cinema – from cult, exploitation, trash and grindhouse to sci-fi, horror, noir, documentary and beyond.
Stack Waddy :: Willie The Pimp
In 1972 Stack Waddy’s second and final effort, Bugger Off!, posed the question “could ‘Willie The Pimp’ really get any nastier?”, and then proceeded to answer it with an emphatic, phlegmy, “yes.” Proto-punk in form and approach, the four-piece were signed to John Peel’s Dandelion label, knocking out a pair of lps before calling it in 1973.
This is Hot Rats in the garage with paint thinner.
Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter Four
Welcome back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard’s Book Club, our monthly gathering of recent (or not so recent) recommended reading. Your librarians this month are Justin Gage, Nereya Otieno, and Kyle Fortinsky, exploring books on music, Black feminism, solitude, and the brutal (and shifting realities) of the late Lou Reed.
Willie Dunn :: Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology
Most known for his searing 1971 anthem “I Pity The Country”—which sadly still remains so incredibly poignant and relevant—that opens the monumental Native North America, Vol. 1: Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966–1985 compilation, the trailblazing Indigenous singer-songwriter, activist, filmmaker, and politician Willie Dunn finally gets his due.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PST, Channel 35)
The deep pool of sound. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
John Fahey :: Live in 1967
John Fahey: resurrected once again. This 1967 soundboard recording, discovered among lost readings by beatnik poets Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, is the oldest recorded solo concert from the acoustic guitar innovator.
Martin Courtney of Real Estate :: Transmissions
Our guest this week on Transmissions is Martin Courtney of Real Estate. On March 26th, the long-running New Jersey group releases a new EP, Half a Human, which embraces the jammier side of the band and continues the stylistic explorations of 2020’s The Main Thing. We discussed record stores, adjusting to life without live music, Twin Peaks, and Courtney’s 2015 solo album Many Moons—and its forthcoming follow up.