Amanda Shires has made her mark on American music as a singer, songwriter, and fiddle player, both solo and a member of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit. On this episode, she discusses how songs by Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen, and Richard Buckner shaped

Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)

Nov 13th, 2020 43m 40s

Thurston Moore's name and work have been ever-present in the last 40 years of underground culture, from his years in Sonic Youth and his solo career, his many musical collaborations, his record-label and book-publishing activities, and his uno

Bob Mould

Oct 26th, 2020 33m 22s

Bob Mould has turned out decades worth of impassioned singing and songwriting as leader of Husker Du and Sugar and a longstanding solo artist. In this episode, he talks about how songs from the Beatles, the Ramones, and My Bloody Valentine shap

Marcus Moore

Oct 16th, 2020 25m 12s

Music critic Marcus Moore became an author with his new book The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America. On this episode, he discusses what songs by Roberta Flack, Common, and Stevie Wonder have meant to him.

Chris Frantz (Talking Heads)

Sep 24th, 2020 28m 10s

Drummer Chris Frantz provided the rhythms for two seminal groups, Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club, a career he discusses in his memoir, Remain in Love. In this episode, he discusses how Jimmy Dean, the Beatles, and James Brown shaped his lif

Matmos

Sep 1st, 2020 1h 5m

MC Schmidt and Drew Daniel of the electronic duo Matmos have built their body of work from manipulating unusual sounds. On this episode, recorded live at Fadensonnen in Baltimore, they talk the music that influenced their own.

Flying Lotus

Jul 23rd, 2020 25m 29s

Flying Lotus's music has consistently overflowed the barriers that separate electronic music, hip-hop, jazz, and other genres over the course of five albums and many side projects and collaborations. In this episode, he discusses how his work w

Gwenifer Raymond

May 29th, 2020 31m 14s

UK guitarist Gwenifer Raymond has adapted the sounds of the American South for her own intricate, and sometimes riotous, acoustic compositions. In this episode, she discusses how tunes from the Pixies, Roscoe Holcomb, and John Fahey guided her

Jeff Parker (Tortoise)

Apr 27th, 2020 38m 7s

Composer/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Parker is a prolific solo artist and a member of esteemed post-rock quintet Tortoise. Here he explains how songs by a jazz drummer, a master sampler, and a legendary jazz trumpeter shaped his musical vision.

Dan Deacon

Mar 2nd, 2020 44m 18s

Baltimore-based musician Dan Deacon has evolved substantially in both the scope and ambition of his artistic endeavors since his breakout 2007 album Spiderman of the Rings. In this episode, he talks about how Pee-Wee Herman helped indirectly c

Clint Conley (Mission of Burma)

Feb 18th, 2020 46m 59s

Bass player and vocalist Clint Conley of seminal post-punk band Mission of Burma has influenced a generation of musicians with his work over the course of the band's multiple decade existence. In this episode, he talks about how songs by Music

Andy Shauf

Jan 23rd, 2020 23m 19s

Andy Shauf's understated, gentle, and expertly composed pop songs are miniature gems that grow in appeal with each listen. In this episode, Shauf talks about how Elliott Smith, Wilco, and The Beatles guided and inspired his understanding of how

Thalia Zedek

Dec 23rd, 2019 40m 58s

Thalia Zedek's distinctive voice and soul-baring songwriting have powered a series of bands, including Live Skull and Come, as well as her own solo career. On this episode, she discusses a seminal moment with Patti Smith, obscure Kentucky band

Bibio

Dec 5th, 2019 30m 17s

Since his breakthrough 2009 Warp Records release Ambivalence Avenue, Stephen James Wilkinson, better known as Bibio, has released six albums of delicate, moody folk imbued with deft electronic touches. Fragile, wistful, and often brief, his re

John Stanier (Battles)

Nov 7th, 2019 45m 46s

Drummer John Stanier has turned heads throughout his career, first with '90s alt-metal act Helmet and in recent years as part of omindirectional electronic rock band Battles.In this episode, he talks to us about his prog-rock past, making every

Ian Williams (Battles)

Oct 7th, 2019 26m 51s

Guitarist/keyboardist Ian Williams has blazed a unique path through underground music, with Don Caballero, Storm ---- Stress, and now with Battles.On this episode, the first of two that interview both Battles members, he talks about getting rid

JPEGMAFIA

Sep 20th, 2019 22m 38s

MC and producer JPEGMAFIA came out of Baltimore and exploded on the national rap landscape, not part of any particular music scene but drawing from many. In this episode, he talks about how songs by Janelle Monae, Bjork, and Cam'ron shaped his

Hanif Abdurraqib

Aug 5th, 2019 26m 49s

Writer Hanif Abdurraqib has risen to prominence in recent years thanks to They Can't Kill Us Til They Kill Us, a collection of essays, and Go Ahead in the Rain, his recent book about hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest. In this episode, he tal

Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens)

Jul 17th, 2019 21m 35s

Robert Forster spent decades, off and on, as one of the singer/songwriters behind beloved Australian indie-pop band the Go-Betweens, along with his late creative partner Grant McLennan. Forster has also conducted parallel careers as a solo arti

Marin Alsop

Jun 13th, 2019 19m 13s

Marin Alsop has spent her life surrounded by music—as the child of professional musicians, as a violinist, and as the acclaimed music director for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In this episode, she discusses the beauty of Brahms, playing mu

Juana Molina

May 8th, 2019 31m

Juana Molina won an audience far beyond the borders of her native Argentina by crossing the streams of singer/songwriter reflection, pop tunefulness, and electronic burble and drone. In this episode, she muses on her childhood impressions of mu

Juana Molina

May 8th, 2019 31m

Guy Picciotto - Fugazi

Mar 26th, 2019 50m 17s

Guy Picciotto was a founding member of numerous DC bands of the 80's that made an impact on the direction of American rock music, but none more so than Fugazi, the band led by him and fellow DC punk legend Ian MacKaye. After the band went on hi

Sarah Davachi

Jan 31st, 2019 34m 35s

Experimental composer Sarah Davachi has constructed her own soundworld out of sustained tones and drones, using instruments both electronic and medieval. In this episode, she discusses music by Todd Rundgren, Soft Machine, and Ennio Morricone.

Wume

Jan 3rd, 2019 39m 1s

Baltimore duo Wume draws on the motorik pulse and cosmic synths of vintage Krautrock, but update them with mesmerizing patterns of complex rhythm and a wide-eyed sense of exploration. In this episode, Al Schatz and April Camlin discuss three tu