The Lydian Spin

In this episode, Overachievers and Underachievers, we sit down with artist Justin Gradin and poet John Tottenham—two creators who dig into the absurd, the anxious, and the unpolished truths of life. From Gradin’s grotesquely layered visual chaos and insomnia-fueled narratives, to Tottenham’s hilariously bitter verses on failure, resentment, and reluctant ambition, this conversation explores the fine line between doing too much and doing just enough. Both Justin and John have new books out in 2025. Checkout Justins new book on Fantagraphics Pageant.  John's book Service is out on Penguin Books.

Gavin Friday, former Virgin Prunes frontman, has built a solo career rooted in electro-pop and theatrical storytelling, with collaborations including U2, Sinead O’Connor, and Laurie Anderson. He has also composed award-winning film scores and worked with artists like Quincy Jones, Fifty Cent and Scott Walker. Known for constantly evolving rather than revisiting past glories, His latest album, Ecce Homo, was released in 2023.

English musician Graham Lewis is a  founding member of the legendary post-punk band Wire. Known for his minimal yet charged presence as bassist, vocalist, and lyricist, Graham helped shape the band’s stark aesthetic since 1976. Beyond Wire, he’s explored experimental sound through projects like Dome, He Said, Hox, and UUUU. An art school background and fascination with the underground shaped his career. Graham is based in Uppsala, Sweden.

Pat Thomas is a historian and editor whose latest work, Dispatches From The Literary Underground: Evergreen Review, compiles and reprints the first 100 issues of Evergreen Review (1957–1973) in full color. Drawing on interviews with former staff and new essays from cultural commentators, the book documents the magazine’s role in publishing and promoting voices that shaped the postwar counterculture—writers, radicals, musicians. Pat approaches Evergreen not as nostalgia, but as evidence—archival, visual, unembellished—of how literature and politics intersected in print.

Frank Hurricane is a musician and storyteller blending blues, folk, and spoken word. His album Quintorian Blues showcases his mix of humor, adventure, and spirituality. Recently featured on PBS in an Emmy-nominated documentary, known for his eclectic style, combining country blues with hip-hop influences to create a unique and immersive experience.

Photo By: Julia Gorton Adam Sobel, nephew of Sumner Crane of the band Mars, studies extreme weather and climate dynamics, focusing on tropical cyclones, severe convection, and precipitation. A professor at Columbia since 2000, he combines theory, observation, and simulation to understand atmospheric behavior and assess risk. Adam also hosts Deep Convection, a podcast featuring conversations with leading climate scientists.

Rose Tang is a musician, multidisciplinary artivist, and event curator who leads over 30 groups in New York and Seattle. Her music, described by record labels and critics as experimental, free jazz, post-punk, noise, and "Weird Shit", blends diverse influences and unconventional sounds. A Mongol from Sichuan, Rose plays piano, electric guitar, and percussion, while also performing vocals, spoken word, and movement. Her music has been released by ESP-Disk’ and 577 Records, and she has organized and hosted concerts in New York and California. Beyond music, Tang has performed stand-up comedy at the Peek Pique Peak Festival at The Brick theater in New York. Her paintings, sculptures, photography, and performance art have been exhibited in Berlin, Los Angeles, and New York. Previously, Rose was a decorated journalist, named Best Local Journalist by the Society of Publishers in Asia and recognized as a Champion for Freedom of Speech by the Visual Artists Guild in the U.S. She taught journalism at Princeton University and worked for CNN, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and numerous media outlets across the U.S., Australia, Hong Kong, and China.

Dave Markey is a self-taught filmmaker and musician who has documented underground music and punk culture for over four decades. His films, including 1991: The Year Punk Broke and Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, capture the energy of the punk scene with a direct, DIY approach. He has worked with Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks, among others. His latest documentary, The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell (2025), explores the influence of a key figure cultural figure, bull rider and cop Bill Bartell.

Jack Rabid has spent 40 years documenting underground music as the founder and editor of The Big Takeover. His writing has appeared in Spin, Creem, Village Voice, and dozens more. He drums for Even Worse, Leaving Trains, Last Burning Embers, and Springhouse. He hosts The Big Takeover Show on realpunkradio.com. Based in Brooklyn with his wife and two kids, he remains a fixture in punk journalism and radio.

Tony O’Neill, a British-born writer now in the U.S., has built a career that moves between fiction, non-fiction, and screenwriting. A former musician who played with Marc Almond and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, he made his literary debut with Digging the Vein in 2005, followed by noir-tinged novels like Sick City—now edging toward a TV adaptation with Bret Easton Ellis. Tony's work has found an eager audience in France, where 13e Note Editions translated much of his output. He’s also co-authored bestselling memoirs and worked with screenwriters like Jim Uhls. When not writing for The Guardian or Vice, he resides in New Jersey with his family.