RiYL

A talented flautist trained as an opera singer, Melanie Charles wanted to make a splash with her Verve Records debut, Y'all Don't (Really) Care About Black Women. She taught herself to sample and tackled a slate of songs by some of jazz’s all-time greatest vocalists, from Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald to Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln. The result is a bold and expansive meditation on music and the many civil rights that permeate to this day, hitting a kind of fever pitch in recent years. Charles joins us to discuss her journey, the role of meditation and building on the work of some of music’s biggest names. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Editor’s note: Apologies for the rough audio quality this time out.Just shy of hallway through Tunnels, two of the books leads engage in a spirited exchange. The Israeli and Palestinian characters are debating who got there first. The moment is central to the plot of Rutu Modan’s latest graphic novel, while reflecting the underlying tensions of an on-going conflict that informs much of the artist’s work. It pokes lighthearted fun at the matter without being heavy handed or dismissive. An exploration of such conflict peppers a story that is, at its heart, an adventure tale. Over the years, Modan’s work has drawn aesthetic comparisons to Herge, and here she full embraces a search for the search for the arc of the covenant in a manner that equally embraces Spielberg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The past two years have afforded us all plenty of time to reflect – for better and for worse. For all of those who’ve devoted pandemic hours to reaching into past and wondering how we might change the past, given the chance, The Garden presents an ideal metaphor. Over 16 tracks, Basia Bulat revisits her past, breathing new life into old songs with the aid of a band and string arrangements. It’s an opportunity for the singer-songwriter to cover her work as she has countless others, from Daniel Johnston to The Strokes. The singer-songwriter joins us to discuss given birth during a global pandemic, the importance of remaining present and the music of Alice Coltrane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nostalgia is a strange thing for any artist – particularly so for a group like Pere Ubu. Perpetually striving for change and innovation, the band’s evolution has afforded little time for reflection. Last year, however, saw front man David Thomas remixing the group’s 11th and 12 albums,  Pennsylvania and St. Arkansas. It provided a rare opportunity to revisit and reflect on a pair of 20-year-old albums representing the halfway mark of the band’s career to date. Thomas’ musical career dates back even further, to the legendary – if short-lived -- Rocket from the Tombs. Pere Ubu represents to the next step in that musical evolution, a journey that took him and an ever-changing lineup through 2019’s The Long Goodbye. In spite of health problems, both Thomas and Pere Ubu still a mission to keep bringing music to the world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years of pandemic couldn’t keep Melvins down. In 2021 alone, the group released a pair of LPS: Working with God and Five Legged Dog, their 24th and 25th, respectively. The latter found the band revisiting their back catalog with acoustic reimaginings of 36 tracks. Last month, the group released the four-song EP, Lord of the Flies, a preview for yet another full length due out later this year. Frontman Buzz Osborne and drummer/bassist Dale Crover have remained the driving force for the band’s nearly 40-year history. Through the decades and a rotating cast of musicians, Melvins have remained a defiantly pioneering – and weird – force. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When she hops on the call, Naomi Yang is still in the middle of an editing project. It’s one she’s not quite ready to talk about. At it for a little over a decade, filmmaking is a relatively recent passion, but she’s managed to compile an impressive list of projects, including the 2013 short film Fortune and a number of music videos for artists including Marissa Nadler and Waxahatchee. An accomplished photographer, Yang also designs book covers for Exact Change, a publishing house she co-owns with partner, Damon Krukowski. But in amongst her myriad projects, she never strays too far from music. Along with Krukowski and Dean Wareham, Yang cofounded the short-lived, but extremely influential group, Galaxie 500. Since 1991, the pair have performed as Damon & Naomi, releasing their 9th album, A Sky Record, in August of last year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fresh off a rescheduled tour opening for Drive-By Truckers, I manage to catch Carl Nichols at home. In the not so distant future, he’ll be back on the road, with a headlining stint bookended by tours with Houndmouth and Valerie June. It’s a far cry from the years and months spent at home during quarantine in his newly adopted home of Austin, Texas. Still, he sounds restless. Having graduated from his hometown of Milwaukee and found acclaim with his self-titled debut, Buffalo Nichols, the singer is ready to branch out from the blues genre. It’s a familiar feeling for a musician who never feels comfortable staying in one place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July 2013, Lester Chambers was attacked. Performing at a Bay Area blues festival, the singer had just launched into the Impressions’ classic, “People Get Ready,” as a woman charged through the crowd incensed that he had had dedicated the song to Trayvon Martin. It’s something of a dramatic understatement to say Chambers is a survivor. The musician has seen the heights of music stardom, from fronting The Chambers Brothers to guesting on albums by fellow musical legends like Miles Davis. But the years have found the singer battling labels for royalties and even spending a period homeless and uninsured, battling severe medical issues. But while the industry may have abandoned him, Chambers never lost faith in the music. Keeping the family tradition, he’s returned to the stage with his son Dylan, as part of the musical collective, Moonalice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years, Mark Oliver Everett interjects, isn’t really that long away from the road. In March, the Eels return to the road for the perfectly titled, “Lockdown Hurricane” tour.   Even as the rest of the world shut down, the band was never away for too long, releasing Earth to Dora in 2020, and returning this month with Extreme Witchcraft – their 14th album overall. It’s a hard rocking affair, a reinvigorated return for a band that’s managed a remarkable run over the past 20 years. It’s a musical project that’s held together even in the face of Everett’s own doubts, which not even a proper pandemic could keep away for too long.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021 saw reissues of some of the most beloved albums in the Lilys’ 30+ year history. After many years out-of-print, A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns, Better Can't Make Your Life Better and The 3-Way were all reissued. The band kicks off 2022 by revisiting those classics on tour. It’s been more than 15 years since the Kurt Heasley-fronted group has released a proper LP, but something is definitely happening in Lilys land. To commemorate going back out on the road, Heasley – the band’s sole consistent member – joined us to discuss the heady days of the 90s music industry and the Lilys’ lifelong aversion to staying in one place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.