Posts

Yo La Tengo :: Electr-O-Pura at 30

Yo La TengoPosted on

1995 was an inflection point for so many of indie rock’s finest. But in the story Yo La Tengo, Electr-O-Pura doesn’t invite lofty historicizing. Sandwiched between two of their most important records, it feels like business as usual—and that’s why it’s so good. 30 years on, we can see how we were lucky enough to be invited inside their little world of inside jokes and off-kilter psychedelic jamming . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Yo La Tengo

Transmissions :: Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate)

Podcast Steve Wynn The Dream SyndicatePosted on

This week on the show, a return guest: Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate and solo fame. He last joined the show part of a trio: in 2018, we taped with him, Howe Gelb of Giant Sand, and Robyn Hitchcock live at the KXCI studio at Hotel Congress in Tucson Arizona. That talk also made it into the Transmissions feed again in 2021 . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Podcast Steve Wynn The Dream Syndicate

Flea :: A Plea

FleaPosted on

"I'm not being corny/this shit's for real," Flea intones over a bubbling jazz fusion groove on "A Plea," a new solo single which finds the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist returning to his first instrument: the trumpet. Backed by a cadre of the West Coast's most innovative and hip jazz players, this a musical rebirth for the Funky Monk . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Flea

Wednesday Knudsen :: Atrium

Wednesday KnudsenPosted on

An immersive double LP of woodsy ambient from upstate New York. You may recognize Wednesday Knudsen’s name from her various collaborative projects — Pigeons, Stella Kola, Weeping Bong Band, a killer duo LP with Willy Lane, and probably many more. But Atrium is a true solo project, with Knudsen layering sax, synth, guitar, flute and autoharp to create a rich and spacious landscape worthy of such masters as Joanna Brouk, Laraaji and Iasos, alongside the Japanese environmental music tradition . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Wednesday Knudsen

Totem Pocket :: Chump

Totem PocketPosted on

The latest offering from Denver’s Totem Pocket begins with its wooziest, weirdest song, a bad trip translated into thick, sludgy sound. Stick with it though! You’ll be rewarded with a truly awesome slab of fuzzy and fierce dream pop. One crucial ingredient in the band’s very tasty recipe is pure volume — an element that many worshipers at the altar of shoegaze somehow forget about . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Totem Pocket

Bandcamping :: Winter 2025

BandcampingPosted on

Hark, the snow is falling! At least in some places of the world it is. As winter descends, we’ve got some recent/recommended records to soundtrack the chillier months. Fill up your cart for the latest Bandcamp Friday on Dec. 5 . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Bandcamping

Videodrome :: Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)

VideodromePosted on

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) is an affecting meditation on the theatrical experience, exploring the nuances of film exhibition and the paradoxical loneliness of experiencing cinema in a darkened room amongst strangers — all together, yet still alone. It's a bittersweet love letter to the vagabond souls who seek solace in theaters, who relish in the ceremonial comforts of getting popcorn, settling into their seats, and waiting for the house lights to dim. This is a movie that not only loves movies, but also postulates that such love comes from going to see a movie in a theater, the experiential factor . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Videodrome

The Quiet Revolution: Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock

Talk TalkPosted on

Some records feel impossible to write about. Not because they lack substance, but because they possess too much of it: too much quiet, too much space, too much mystery. They resist language the way water resists a net. Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991) feel like works designed to escape description altogether. And perhaps the paradox is this: the quieter the music becomes, the more words people spend trying to grasp it. Silence invites interpretation; these albums invite entire libraries. Approaching them feels like stepping barefoot into a dark, vast hall – your perception sharpened, your . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Talk Talk

The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

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 . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on SIRIUS

Zachary Cale :: Love’s Work

Zachary CalePosted on

A year ago, Brooklyn songwriter Zachary Cale took a break from routine and made an album entirely on piano. Now Cale is back to his primary instrument, the guitar, in a new collection of songs that bridge the difference between Glenn Jones-style finger-picking and expansive, nearly new age-y instrumental music a la Yasmin Williams . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Zachary Cale

Transmissions :: Steve Von Till

Podcast Steve Von TillPosted on

Welcome back to Transmissions. This week: Steve Von Till, of sludge legends Neurosis, the tribal ambient spin-off Tribes of Neurot, solo albums under this own name, and the psych folk project Harvestman. He runs the independent label, Neurot Recordings. And as if all that isn’t enough, he’s also a poet, and an educator—when he’s not playing music, he’s bringing knowledge to the next generation, working as a fourth grade teacher in North Idaho . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Podcast Steve Von Till

Snocaps :: S/T

SnocapsPosted on

There’s a real pleasure in hearing genetically linked voices singing together, as the individual ticks and characteristics meld in a single, dizzying tone, and especially these two with their burred Americana grace. Add to that the multifarious contributions of MJ Lenderman, playing drums, bass, electric guitar and 12-string, and Megafaun’s Brad Cook (bass, drums, recording and engineering), and you get an extraordinary debut record, wry and self-lacerating in parts and kick-down-the-amps rowdy in others . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Snocaps

Wouter Dewit :: Still

Wouter DewitPosted on

Via Hasselt, Belgium. These fleeting weeks between Halloween and Christmas, when the polyester cobwebs on the front porch are swapped out for tinsel garland, have no time to stake out their own identity. They're forever lost in transit from one holiday to the next. But during these ephemeral days between "The Monster Mash" and "Silver Bells," an album like Wouter Dewit’s Still (2017) finds its place, mirroring the shift in seasons —and in ourselves—with bittersweet introspection . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Wouter Dewit

Dollar Diamonds :: Volume Three

Dollar DiamondsPosted on

There’s a lot of great records out there that can still be had for very little money. You just have to crouch down and give them a chance. How is it possible that these 2-sided slices of the human spirit can exist among us, in some cases, for over 50 years and still only be $1?

Welcome to Dollar Diamonds, Volume 3. This month: Jesse Winchester, Eric Andersen, Neil Diamond, Doug Kershaw, Graham Parker, Tom T. Hall, and Robert Palmer . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Dollar Diamonds

Paul McCartney & Wings :: Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)

Paul McCartney WingsPosted on

With a new oral history providing fascinating context on the self-proclaimed "madcap" formation and career of Wings (a good chunk of which comes from Paul McCartney himself), spacey instrumental "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)" has proven worthy of a closer listen. The deep cut oddity from 1973's oft-maligned Red Rose Speedway is an experimental studio piece featuring Minimoog synthesizer and plays out like a mini-prog opus, a little reminiscent of a Pink Floyd soundtrack cut. "Hard to explain", in the musician's own assessment . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

To continue reading, become a member or log in.

Posted on Paul McCartney Wings