Living legend Willie Nelson will once again be hosting his annual 4th of July Picnic this year, more than 50 years after the Lone Star State tradition kicked off. For those of us who can’t get down to Texas this Independence Day, this concert doc from ’74 will have to do. Don’t worry, it’s about as good a time as you can have — you can practically smell the reefer, sun tan lotion and BBQ as tens of thousands of fans enjoy a weekend of the burgeoning outlaw country scene’s best: Jerry Jeff Walker, Sammi Smith, Waylon Jennings, B.W. Stephens and many more.
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Aquarium Drunkard :: 2025 Midyear Review
The clock never stops, but sometimes music manages the impossible: slowing time for a moment. It’s in those vibrational encounters with music that we find peace and we find ourselves. In the spirit of sharing the stuff that moved us, we’re back with our midyear review. As always, the list is unranked and unruly; there’s more than enough here to guide you into those rare encounters with deep time.
All One Song :: Steve Gunn on “Will To Love”
Welcome to the very first episode of All One Song: A Neil Young podcast, presented by Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions. Join liner notes author, musician, and Shakey historian and Doom and Gloom from the Tomb host Tyler Wilcox along with an array of great musicians and writers discussing their favorite Neil Young song, diving deep into Shakey lore and getting personal about this amazing body of work. It’s a series for Neil heads by Neil heads. Up first? Steve Gunn, with a look at Neil’s epic fish daydream.
All One Song: A Neil Young Podcast from Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions
All One Song: A Neil Young Podcast is coming this summer from Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions, hosted by Shakey historian and superfan Tyler Wilcox. Tune in via the Transmissions feed starting Wednesday, June 25.
Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: June 2025
Freeform transmissions from Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. Airing every third Sunday of the month, RFAD on dublab features the pairing of Tyler Wilcox’s Doom and Gloom from the Tomb and Chad DePasquale’s New Happy Gathering. This month, Chad kicks it off with some languid summertime folk & woozy dream pop, and Tyler follows with some singer-songwriter-ish zones. Sunday, 4-6pm PT.
History Repeats Itself: Guitarist Steve Caton on ‘80s L.A., Electric Minimalism and the Eternal Return of Repetition Repetition
A new compilation excavates the curious history and powerful sound of Repetition Repetition, a 1980s L.A. guitar/keys duo that merged the transcendental dissonance of the avant-garde with the serene pulse of new age and the limber nerves of rock ‘n’ roll. Surviving member Steve Caton recalls the scene, hanging out with a Toto guitarist, meeting with Harold Budd and a wedding-reception run-in with Jon Hassell.
Weird Herald :: Just Yesterday
OK, so not every northern California band that played the Fillmore West or the Family Dog back in the late 1960s needs to be rediscovered and given a deluxe reissue treatment. But Weird Herald deserves your attention — and anyway, barely anyone heard them during their brief lifespan. On the scene from 1967 to 1969, the group released just one promo-only 45 and didn’t even see too much success on the Bay Area club circuit. But Just Yesterday, a new compilation drawn primarily from ancient, nicely toasted reel-to-reel tapes, proves beyond reasonable doubt that Weird Herald had more than enough talent to go along with their relatively bad luck (not to mention pure tragedy).
Dylan Golden Aycock :: No New Summers
Though he’s released music in a variety of configurations and collaborations over the past few years (not to mention invaluable work behind the scenes with his ever-reliable Scissor Tail Editions label), Dylan Golden Aycock hasn’t released an album solely under his own name for quite some time. But the Tulsa-based guitarist comes back swinging with No New Summers, a seven-song effort that ably shows off his many talents — and even adds some welcome new vistas.
Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter 33
Welcome back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard’s Book Club, our monthly gathering of recent (or not so recent) recommended reading. In this month’s stack: all things Roxy Music, some narco strung out street-lit by way of east Texas, the infinite puzzle that is the crack in the cosmic egg, the ever erudite and entertaining travels of the late Patrick Leigh Fermor, and more. Your librarians for this installment are Justin Gage, Tyler Wilcox, Ian Everett, and Mark Neeley.
Transmissions :: Justin Gage (2025)
We close out the 10th season of Transmissions with a special look under the hood with Justin Gage, who founded Aquarium Drunkard 20 years ago in 2005. Initially envisioned as just a place to share cultural recommendations with friends, Aquarium Drunkard blew up as the blog rush began. Suddenly, Gage found himself running a respected media outlet. 20 years later, he joins host Jason P. Woodbury to discuss how Aquarium Drunkard has stayed true to the maxim of only the good shit.
Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: May 2025
This month, Tyler and Chad are joining forces to pay tribute to Bob Dylan, in honor of the man’s birthday coming up on May 24. Tyler is zoning in on Dylan’s miracle year of 1965, playing some rarities, oddities and live performances, while Chad is taking a wider view with an hour’s worth of demos, outtakes, live cuts and album tracks from 1970-1993. Sunday, 4-6pm PT.
Grails :: The Sounds Behind Miracle Music
Grails has never been afraid of big moments—David Axelrod’s bold, dramatic arrangements come to mind. However, Miracle Music isn’t all crescendo and climax. There’s a subtlety and sensitivity at work here, an attention to detail that pays off enormously. And though the group leans towards the darker side of things, there’s a lot of joy to be found as well, musicians doing exactly what they want to do and generously sharing the goods with the rest of us. And speaking of sharing, Grails’ Emil Amos, Alex Hall and Ilyas Ahmed have put together a useful listening guide of crate digs that inspired and informed their latest masterpiece.
Transmissions :: Dean Wareham
Do you ever connect with an old friend and find that, despite however many years it’s been, you pick up right where you left off, as if no time has passed at all? That’s sort of what happened between today’s guest, Dean Wareham and producer Kramer in the making of Dean’s new album, That’s the Price of Loving Me. You know Dean from his work with Luna and Dean and Britta, his duo with his wife Britta Phillips, but when Kramer and Dean last teamed up, it was for the recording of Dean’s old band Galaxie 500’s final album, 1990’s This Is Our Music. This week on Transmissions, Dean joins us for a spirited discussion about the new album, movie matinees, guitars, his work with director Noah Baumbach, the influence of Lou Reed—and Dean’s experiences meeting him—and what happens when you, what happens when you embrace the magic of the unintended.
In The Spiritual Kingdom Of Love :: Robyn Hitchcock Dissects The Soft Boys’ Underwater Moonlight
Forty-five years after it was first released, the Soft Boys’ Underwater Moonlight sounds better than ever. The glorious chime of Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberley Rew’s guitars, the buoyant rhythm section of drummer Morris Windsor and bassist Matthew Seligman, the interlocking vocal harmonies, Hitchcock’s surreal and bewitching lyrics … it all adds up to a bona fide masterpiece.
To dive deep into the stories behind the songs, we went straight to the source. Below, Robyn Hitchcock walks us through the album’s 10 tracks.
Bandcamping :: Spring 2025
We’re somehow barreling our way through 2025, time speeding up as spring’s renewal comes around again. The future is unknown, but music keeps us sane, humanity at its best. With another Bandcamp Friday hitting on May 2, check out a few recent recommendations below. Fill up your cart and keep on dreaming.