Discologist

Technology can be both isolating and empowering, but the gulf between the two gets wider every day. On their debut full-length Follow the Cyborg, Miss Grit (aka Margaret Sohn) is wading into the liminal space that separation has created to explore themes of identity, alienation, and acceptance through a future-pop lens. A heady, often unsettling ride that touches on everything from how Sohn relates to the world as a non-binary artist, to stardom, and to the “looming” threat of artificial intelligence, Follow The Cyborg is a must listen for anyone who loves their pop with a side of concept album. PLUS! Music we love from Baltimore’s Horse Lords and a classic track from country-soul legend Jim Ford!Discussion Guide0:00 - Shop Talk11:10 - Tracks We Love28:49 - Follow The Cyborg57:50 - Wrap UpSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lonnie Holley’s Oh Me, Oh My is a continuation of his exploration of the darker rooms of our history that were the centerpiece of his 2018 album Mith. On that release, Holley seemed content to simply illuminate for the sake of awareness. Oh Me, Oh My finds the lauded artist/poet/musician settling for nothing less than carrying the listener to a home in the light that everyone, Holley seems to argue, deserves no matter what hardship came before. It’s a message of hope that will thaw even the coldest of hearts, and an early (and easy) contender for the best album you are likely to hear in 2023.PLUS! Eduardo and Kevin are spinning tracks from percussionist Joe Westerlund’s new LP Elegies for the Drift and Los Angeles music collective Wild Up’s exploration of the work of Julius Eastman!Discussion Guide0:00 - Shop Talk5:15 - Tracks we love24:43 - Oh Me, Oh My1:01:15 - Apple Classical Music App / Wrap upSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa

On Oceanator's latest, "Nothing's Ever Fine," Elise Okusami dishes out riffs and feelings from morning to evening. No, literally: "Morning" and "Evening" are the opening and closing songs on the record, which is structured to to feel like the emotional arc of a day. After wrapping up her US tour, we caught up with Elise a few weeks ahead of a jaunt to Europe, to sci-fi, guitar gear, and, uh, basketball?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the latest episode Discologist, we’re discussing the remarkable glow of Arun Ghosh’s Seclused In Light, the award winning clarinetist/composer/music educator’s “lockdown” album. In his exploration of the universal fear and isolation of the past few years, Ghosh was able to find pull inward and find that beauty still remained - not just in himself, but in all of us. A welcome hug from the end of the world, Seclused In Light is a masterpiece of humanity that deserves a place in everyone’s life.PLUS! Eduardo and Kevin are spinning tracks from Milwaukee hip hop artist Grey Genius, and and new solo music from Pavement’s Spiral Stairs.Discussion Guide0:00 - Shop Talk4:00- Tracks we love22:20 - Seclused In Light48:47 - Wrap upSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brad Allen Williams may not be a household name, but having spent years backing up some of your favorite performers both on stage (Brittany Howard, Bilal, Ce Ce Winans) and behind the console (José James), there is little chance that you haven’t heard his work. On this year’s œconomy (pronounced like “economy”) the lauded jazz guitarist is stepping out as the front man for the first time since 2015’s Lamar and trading in guitar heroics for a more complex and experimental sound.Join us as we sit down with Williams to talk about the making of œconomy, his career as a sideman, guitar in the 21st century and much more.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the latest episode Discologist, we’re exploring Kamakiriad, Donald Fagen’s (Steely Dan) misunderstood masterpiece. Join us as we reveal some of the album’s subtle triumphs and try to suss out where all of this Steely Dan hatred is coming from, why it is misguided, and where it might lead. PLUS! Eduardo and Kevin are spinning tracks from folkster Alan Wachs, and NOLA based dance punks, Special Interest.Discussion Guide0:00 - Shop Talk5:15- Tracks we love28:15 - Kamakiriad and an introduction to Steely Dan1:25:15 - More on artificial intelligence / wrap upSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Nabil Ayers set out to write his memoir he could have focused on a long list of personal and professional accomplishments. He’s been a drummer in bands on major labels. He opened and ran a record store in Seattle that is known and revered worldwide. He has had his writing published in the New York Times, NPR and more. He has run a division (4AD) of one of the world's most revered indie record labels (Beggars Group) and currently is the president of that label’s U.S. operations. Exploring any one of those journeys could have been enough to fill a book, but instead he focused on something unexpected: His relationship with his father, jazz great Roy Ayers.“My Life In The Sunshine” tells the story of Ayers reconciling his complicated relationship with a father who was, by design, absent from his life. Ayers’ often complicated journey to acceptance (both of his father, and himself) is a compassionate look at what family means, and, more importantly, what it CAN mean, in the world today.  Join us as

Welcome back to an all-new season of Discologist! New beginnings can be exciting and full of surprises, but one thing you can always count on is that if we’re kicking off a new season of Discologist, we’re talking about one of legendary saxophonist Sonny Stitt’s albums. This time we’re digging into Never Can Say Goodbye, Stitt’s 1975 release that featured covers of some timely “hits” (“The Way We Were” and “Theme from The Godfather 2”) but still managed to branch out into some surprising territory with influences ranging from Blaxploitation style funk to Brazilian folk working their way into the mix. Before that though, Eduardo and Kevin are talking a little shop, discussing the potential impact that artificial intelligence may have on the arts community and sharing new-to-us music that love from Brad Allen Williams, and Milwaukee’s The Beat Index. Discussion Guide0:00 - Shop Talk11:30 - Artificial Intelligence in art33:00 - Brad Allen Williams/The Beat Index53:00 Sonny Stitt’s Never Can S

In our final episode of the year (and final post for ChunkyGlasses) we’re talking about some of the music that meant the most to us and more. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bill Frisell’s latest LP Four is a masterclass in subtlety and connection. To celebrate the release, we’re dishing up a brief history of Frisell’s work and what it means to the American songbook. Then we’re digging into the new album to find out if his latest fits comfortably alongside his earlier releases or if maybe he’s starting to go a radical new direction. PLUS! Some great new music from the nation’s capital by hip-hop powerhouse Raw Poetic, and the edgy, effervescent pop of Pretty Bitter, and more!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 2016’s The End Of Comedy and its 2019 follow up Raw Honey, it was clear that Drugdealer, the LA-based musical project led by Michael Collins had one foot firmly planted in the era of AM smooth-rock glory. On Hiding In Plain Sight, Collins and his semi-rotating cast of co-conspirators fully embrace that aesthetic and in doing so not only accept their destiny as the inheritors of Steely Dan’s legacy but deliver one of the most forward thinking yet familiar sounding records of the year.  PLUS! Some “weird” but great nü-folk from Richard Dawson, mind-expanding jazz from Charles Lloyd and his friends Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan from Lloyd’s Trios project, and more!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Swedish psychedelia masters Dungen are leaning into a poppier sound on ‘En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog’, — their first album in seven years — but they’re losing none of the head-trippy goodness that fans have come to know and love. Join us as we dig into this far-out listening experience, discuss what music can mean if the listener doesn’t understand the language it is sung in, and more!PLUS! Music we love from Holly Bowling and Tom Hamilton’s new improvisational project Lacuna, some cinematic feels from Rodrigo Amarante!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this edition of discologist we’re spinning new tracks from Milwaukee’s Ladybird, Sweden’s HNNY, and then digging into 1992’s Play With Toys, the forgotten classic by the Michael Ivey fronted “hip hop” group Basehead from Washington D.C.Tune in now for all this PLUS new music from Maximilian and the Reinhardt, and a discussion about THAT Pitchfork list that everyone is talking about. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over a decade, singer/songwriter/Southerner Kim Ware has been crafting indie-folk songs full of heart and twang with her project Kim Ware and the Good Graces. On her latest album Ready, she’s digging deeper inside then ever before. The result is an album overflowing with brutal honesty, (often hilarious) youthful angst, and an emotional core that could melt even the most hardened of hearts. Join us as we sit down with Ware to discuss the new album, making music in isolation, working with producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo, Tift Merritt), and much, much more. PLUS! Music we love from Chicago’s Bitchin Bajas, some tasty guitar work from Jon Camp, and a whole lot more!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re kicking off Season 11 with a THICC episode packed full of great music!Depending on who you ask, saxophonist Sonny Stitt is either one of the most revered players in jazz history or the guy who never said no to a session, no matter how schmaltzy. Over his career he played on hundreds of albums and we’re diving deep into one of his best, 1974’s Satan!PLUS! Music we love from Chicago’s Psalm One, an ambient masterpiece from Nashville’s Rich Ruth, and a whole lot of shop talk!Breaks over friends, so strap your headphones tight, it’s time to get back on the bus! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Depending on your frame of mind, black midi are either an acquired taste or one of the most essential bands of the 21st century. On their new album Hellfire, the trio continues to push their maximalist sound to its limits while polishing the execution of their high-minded art till it shines brighter than ever. If finding beauty deep within absolute chaos is your idea of a good time then tap in as we discuss one of the wildest, and best, albums of 2022 to date.  PLUS! Music we love from California Celtics The Fire, and new sounds from the wild, wonderful world of The A’s (Amelia Meath and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig)! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In layman’s terms, the Boltzmann Brain Theory imagines a universe where the only thing that matters is what we perceive. Are we beings flitting about in a universe of someone else’s design or are we simply “brains” floating briefly thru the void, imposing OUR universe on that emptiness and anyone who happens to cross our path?  That central idea was the spark that drove this piece for most of its development, but as it came in to sharper focus the question of “what?” or “why?” we exist and perceive became secondary to the act of perceiving itself.  We spend so much of our lives searching for answers — Why do I exist? Why would “God” allow so much suffering in a world of his own creation? Is Bigfoot real? — and rarely have the thought to simply let a moment be, let it go, and look forward to the next. And that’s where this piece landed.  At nearly twenty minutes of loops upon loops upon loops upon loops…it asks for commitment. It asks YOU, the listener, to put down whatever questi

Washington D.C.’s Broke Royals have always been one of the hardest working indie bands we know, but like a lot of up-and-comers, COVID-19 slammed the brakes on what should have the beginning of their ascent to the big leagues. But rather than wait for things to return to normal, the band started a video series (Alone, Together), headed in exciting new creative directions, and came out of the experience stronger than ever!Now the band [new addition Rebecca Silverstein (keys), Ben Wilson (guitar), Taimir Gore (bass), Colin Cross (drums), and Philip Basnight (vocals, guitar)] are back with a new energy, a new look, and a brand new album, Local Support (produced by Bartees Strange), ready to take over the world with a thrilling take on pop rock for the 21st Century. Join as we sit down with one of the most exciting bands in D.C. on a very special edition of Discologist: In Conversation with Broke Royals. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inform

Panamá 77, the debut album from Chicago’s Daniel Villarreal (drummer for Dos Santos) is a psychedelic exploration of the music of his culture married to the modern jazz scene that label International Anthem excels at shining a light on. Part live session, part studio wizardry, and ALL soul, Panamá 77 is a powerhouse of undeniable vibes featuring a who’s who of special guests (Elliot Bergman, Jeff Parker, Kellen Harrison, Bardo Martinez, and more!), and is one of this, or any years, most enjoyable listens. PLUS! Music we love from producer/multi-instrumentalist Bastien Keb off of his upcoming release Organ Recital, and new sounds from music legend Bruce Hornsby from his latest release ‘FlictedISupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Music plays a huge role in shaping the tone of any film, and on a special Holiday edition of Discologist we’re exploring some of the best to ever put sound to image, starting with John Carpenter whose new score for the film Firestarter mines familiar territory for the director/composer but manages to be a unique and essential addition to his growing film score catalog. Dim the lights and break out the popcorn, we’re headed to the movies!  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/discologist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.