Posts

Richard Parks :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

There are many areas of literature in which American authors have made an indelible mark. Be it jazz, rock, or any other facet of modern music, Americans can take pride in place of first, if not place of best. Another area in which such commentary and greatness do overlap is in our National Pastime: baseball. Into this moment steps Richard Parks III and his new podcast, Dodger Blue Dream . . .

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.

Scott Ballew :: Rio Bravo

"People, they don't change/It's like hugging the crashing waves", Scott Ballew sings on "True Love Can't Surf", a slow-building opening ballad culminating in a rich coda. On his third full length offering, the Texas-based troubadour churns out weathered country crooners with referential touchstones that are equal parts Townes Van Zandt and perennial AD favorite Cotton Jones (in fact, Rio Bravo is produced by Michael Nau himself . . .

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.

Woo :: Robot X & Xylophonics

Originally released in 2016 and 2017 and built on sounds recorded in the '80s and '90s, Woo's Robot X and Xylophonics have been reissued by Independent Project Records, forming a sci-fi saga of mechanized exotica, dubby rhythms, and robo-minimlism . . .

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.

The Lagniappe Sessions :: Orions Belte | Second Session

Orions Belte return with their second Lagniappe Session, a follow up to their 2021 entry which found the Norwegian trio transfiguring material from the likes of Mac Miller and Danzig. This time out they transmute tunes by two disparate American artists: the late rapper XXXTentacion’s 2017 single “Jocelyn Flores”, and roots iconoclast Lucinda Williams’ “Copenhagen” via her 2011 LP, Blessed . . .

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.

Bandcamping :: Spring 2024

There’s another Bandcamp Friday on the horizon (April 5, to be exact) — so if you’re in need of some recommendations, we’ve got ‘em. Dig into fresh sounds and put some well-deserved cash in the pocket of these artists and labels . . .

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.

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

Dub from creation. 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.

Catching Up With Phosphorescent

It’s been five years since the last Phosphorescent album, a dark half decade for most people and especially for those in the performing and creative arts. So it’s not surprising that when Matthew Houck first glimpsed the contours of what would become Revelator, the album seemed like it would be quiet, insular, inward-looking and maybe a bit of a downer. But a funny thing happened when Houck began working and reworking this material. It caught an updraft of hope, of expansiveness, or cosmic revelation. First and second takes with a core band yielded a free, unfettered sound . . .

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.

Transmissions :: Justin Gage

This week on Transmissions, Aquarium Drunkard founder Justin Gage joins host Jason P. Woodbury to discuss big changes coming to Aquarium Drunkard: AD is transitioning to a membership-based model subscription model on April 8th. Transmissions has a very smart audience and one that’s tapped in—so we likely don't need to explain to you how much the online landscape has changed, but this decision wasn’t reached lightly, and this conversation will shine some light on the reasons behind our moves . . .

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.

The Shape Of Things To Come

The internet is an increasingly goofy place — formerly great websites gutted, excellent writers/creators put out of work, horrible user experience, enshittification wherever you look. The algorithm is a trick, SEO an unknowable riddle, social media a bad joke. Like so many other things, this downward spiral feels inescapable/inevitable. But the spiral isn’t the only option. In fact, it’s easy to go back to a simpler World Wide Web, an Edenic online experience made up of unique digital gardens with unusual perspectives and outlooks. Nothing’s perfect — that’s for sure. But there’s gotta be a . . .

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.

Another Bummer :: Neil Young’s On The Beach At 50

Is On The Beach a bummer? Well, maybe. But it’s a brilliant bummer. To celebrate 50 years of the record, dig into an alternate version of the album, made up of rare live renditions and fireside sessions. Neil didn’t often return to many of these tunes onstage, but when he did, he gave them his all. Some of it is solo — “alone at the microphone;” elsewhere, Young is joined by CSN, Ben Keith and, most interestingly, Britfolk legend Bert Jansch, who shows up on a 2006 version of “Ambulance Blues . . .

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.

Rail Band :: S/T

Some serious heat via Bamako, 1973. Having been founded by saxophonist and trumpeter Tidiani Koné as the official orchestra of the Malian state railway three years prior, Rail Band’s self-titled long player, which currently sees reissue via Mississippi Records, is a scorching document of a restless and formative blend of soul, funk, and jazz with traditional West African and Afro Cuban music . . .

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.

Hiroshi Kamayatsu :: Have You Smoked Gauloise?

Kicking off Nippon Psychedelic Soul 1970-1979, the latest from London-based reissue outfit Time Capsule and the follow-up to their Nippon Acid Folk compilation, is Hiroshi Kamayatsu’s “Have you smoked Gauloise?,” a masterstroke of orchestral, mutant-pop . . .

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.

Petra Haden and Mike Watt :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Petra Haden and Mike Watt discuss their nuclear opera Planet Chernobyl, released under the Pelicanman banner and based on the work of poet Charles Plymell: "It's human expression," says Watt . . .

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.

Fosse :: Ground

Fosse’s footprint on music may be small, but there are worlds contained within his releases. Since 2018, SF-based synth and guitar voyager Tyler Chamberlain has shared three sets of recordings—his evocatively titled 2018 debut, Spelunking with Marbles in my Mouth and Fireflies in my Pocket; an instrumental MBV cover given Kevin Shields’ blessing; and now this collaboration with alto saxophonist Ben Almén and guitarist Gyan Riley (son of Terry . . .

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.

Transmissions :: Roger Eno

Incoming transmission from Roger Eno. This week on the show, he joins us for a freewheeling, friendly chat about art, place, and Dune (1984). Eno began his recording life in 1983, when he joined his brother Brian and Daniel Lanois at the latter’s studio in Hamilton, Ontario, to cut one of our favorite albums of all-time, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Imbued with country and western ambiance, it suggests the vastness of space and man’s ventures into it. Not only that, but it serves as one of the foundational documents of the "ambient country" subgenre that practically forms . . .

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.