Two new tracks arrive from cosmic country crooners Tobacco City just in time for a dumb, weird American summer. A-side “America” finds Chris Coleslaw and Lexi Goddard inebriated in hymn to our national idiocracy and the existential paradox of its existence.
Year: 2023
Transmissions :: Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot is one of the most intriguing and dynamic guitarists in music. But when he wants to cut loose, he unites his punk-informed trio Ceramic Dog. Ahead of the charging Connection, Ribot joins us today on Transmissions to discuss musician labor rights, Hal Willner’s Night Music and more.
Miki Hirayama :: 電子レンジ (Denshi Lenzi)
London-based reissue label Time Capsule, which released the AD-heavily rotated Mário Rui Silva’s Stories from Another Time 1982-1988 a couple years back, returns with Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 later this fall, a collection of Japanese reggae pop that, based on this first taste, promises to be revelatory.
Arthur Russell :: Picture of Bunny Rabbit
The oracular songs that make up Picture of Bunny Rabbit, the latest (and potentially final) posthumous release by minimalist/experimental/mystic composer Arthur Russell were recorded at about the same time as his best-known work, World of Echo. And they share that album’s fragile, evocative, just beyond your fingertips elusiveness.
Sonic Youth :: Death To Our Friends (1981-2011)
Live In Brooklyn 2011 captures Sonic Youth’s extraordinary final NYC performance. It’s been available digitally for a few years now, but Ethan Miller’s Silver Current Records is giving it a bootleg-a-rific double LP/CD physical release.
Want to dig even deeper? Check out this lovingly curated fan-made collection of (mostly) live Sonic Youth. Presented (mostly) chronologically, Death To Our Friends takes us from those scuzzy No Wave days to that Lollapalooza haze to the band’s excellent latter daze. Take a dip in the Diamond Sea this summer.
Calling From Elsewhere :: Hayden Pedigo on The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored
With The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored, Texas guitarist Hayden Pedigo wordlessly shares stories of fate and sustaining hope. A meticulous and detailed player, he’s spent the last decade refining and shaping his sound, pushing for ultimate clarity of expression. But just give that cover painting by Jonathan Phillips a good look: Pedigo is just as interested in stoking creative impulses that align him with his comedic heroes—here’s a guitarist who borrows from Harmony Korine nearly as much as John Fahey and names albums after quotes by National Lampoon co-founder Doug Kenney. Pedigo joins us to discuss bringing the unexpected into his work.
Celtic Guru :: Van Morrison In The 80s | No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Part 6 of our Celtic Guru series. Perhaps ‘No Guru’ is a veiled admission that Van’s vehicle of theosophy, literature, and astral tendency to suspend himself and audiences in a frozen moment of space-time simply could not deliver on the spiritual awakening sought after for so many years. Having come up short, why not hunker down and make use of the mystic foundations he had built up over the decades in search of these answers in the minutiae of daily life.
Dave Schools :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Now in their 37th year as a working outfit, we connected with founding member and bassist Dave Schools from his home in northern California to discuss the evolution of Widespread Panic, the early influence of Athens, GA, collaborations, their DIY approach, touring, mentors and beyond.
Neil Young :: Eurotour 2003
Hallelujah, Neil Young is back on the road after a long pandemic delay — perhaps the man’s longest break from touring … ever? On his west coast solo tour, Neil is going (relatively) deep into his back catalog, playing some rarely heard numbers from the days that used to be.
Som Imaginario :: Live at Museu de Arte Moderna
A “Nature Day” concert at a modern art museum in Brasília, 1976. Enter Som Imaginario, the Tropicalia legends known for their own stellar album run in the early seventies (in addition to backing Milton Nascimento). With their wailing psychedelic fuzz guitar and blistering jazz rhythms, recently unearthed relic Banda Da Capital is a fascinating glimpse into the group’s live prowess. At times, eerily reminiscent of the original Soft Machine line-up in the best possible way.
PJ Harvey :: I Inside the Old Year Dying
PJ Harvey makes new sonic and literary worlds each time the tape recorder is on. Her 10th album, I Inside the Old Year Dying is a 12-song cycle sets Harvey’s 2022 verse novel Orlam to music, folding natural sounds and Dorset dialect into a set of eerie post-industrial folk songs.
Catching Up With M. Ward
“I’m not a scientist, so I don’t exactly understand how radio waves are sent through the air. But as a kid, it was magic.” M. Ward joins us to discuss Supernatural Thing, Elvis, his collaborative process, the influence of Howe Gelb of Giant Sand, and more.
The Budos Band :: Frontier’s Edge
The Budos Band swaggers into the fray in Frontier’s Edge with a brilliant squall of brass and a sinuous rhythm section, splitting the difference between classic 1970s blaxploitation and a serpentine ethio-jazz groove. The Brooklyn-born large ensemble—which includes a full horn line and multiple percussionists in addition to the standard rock instruments—made six albums and two EPs on soul-funk revivalist Daptone Records. Now, they’re continuing the saga on their own Diamond West label.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)
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
Transmissions :: Jared Swilley (Black Lips)
While Black Lips have matured and grown since forming in 1999, the Atlanta-based garage band haven’t “settled down.” Case in point is Apocalypse Love, the group’s 10th album, released last year on Fire Records. Incorporating gospel and country influences, it’s as strange and exciting as the band’s early work, but it also showcases a new depth to the band. Today on Transmissions, Black Lip Jared Swilley joins us to discuss his pentecostal roots, his minister father coming out of the closet, the importance of the Bomp Records catalog, his mentor The Mighty Hannibal, and much more.