RiYL

Seems hard to believe that 40 years into a career of pushing boundaries and taking risks that They Might Be Giants still have anything left up their sleeve. But amidst a global pandemic, when the world is perpetually falling apart at the seams, the band has returned with a new album and accompanying art book. Book (the book) is a beautiful document celebrating Book (the album) with 144 pages of  photography and type-written lyrical art. Most of all, it’s a testament to the fact that a band that’s made a career of making wonderful music staunchly against the cultural grain can still surprise. John Flansburgh joins us to celebrate the release of both and reflect on one of music’s most fruitful collaborations.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A citizen of the world, Cedric Noel has made his home in Montreal for the past five years. His musical influences are every bit as eclectic as his geographical background, result in songwriting that isn’t particularly beholden to any one form. Hang Time, released this year on Joyful Noise, continues his explorations, and a focus on deconstructing the fundamental elements of popular music, be it Salif Keita or Blink-182. In a wide-ranging conversation, Noel discussing near manic bouts of songwriting and freedom that comes with never learning the rules.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The press copy describes Factory Summers as Guy Delisle’s “most personal book.” It’s a strange phrase for a cartoonist whose work often tends toward the autobiographical — but it’s hard to ignore. What begins as a memoir of teenage summers spent working the floor at a Quebec City paper factory ultimately grows into something deeper. Ultimately, the book is a mediation on the relationship between a son and his distant father. That dynamic is the heart of the story — a fact the cartoonist says he only truly recognized as he was deep into the work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fictional Father begins with an apology of a kind — or, at very least, an acknowledgement. Told as a self-effacing autobiographical strip, the preface notes the accidental similarity to the real life story of Dennis the Menace and the 1999 novel, The Funnies. But maybe some stories are too good not to tell through a different lens. “I’m sure you’ll make it your own,” Seth tells Joe Ollmann in the piece. And that certainly proved fortuitous. What happens when your life is made the focus of a parents’ ultra-saccharine comic strip? How does one square a true and fictional father when the two are seeming polar opposites? The cartoonist joins us to discuss the work and some broader truths it brings to the front.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2017’s What I Found in a Thousand Towns finds Dar Williams tackling urban studies. It’s new territory for the singer-songwriter, but one that builds on decades of fascination with the small towns she frequented on tour. The book has taken on a special sort of resident over the past two years, as the pandemic has spurred countless think pieces about the future of life in cities. It’s certainly top of mind as we discuss the force stasis of life during Covid-19, and something Williams is clearly thinking about as her latest album (her first in six years) I’ll Meet You Here is returning her to the road again. This, perhaps, is where the book and album converge, around the concept of “meet[ing] life as it arrives,” as Williams puts it – however and wherever that might be.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We are the apes that are starting to understand the universe and our place in it,” José González says in a statement released ahead of his latest album, Local Valley. The comment refers specifically to the track “Visions,” but the sentiment can be applied to many of the thoughts that occupy this mind. A one-time PhD student for biochemistry, the musician’s social media outreach reflects the sentiments of a person deeply consider with climate change and the state of the world he leaves for his young daughter. As quiet and thoughtful in conversation as in song, Gonzales discusses altruism, the pandemic and teenage years spent playing in hardcore bands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, Numero Group issued I Shall Wear a Crown, an expansive five-LP set that explores the life and work of T. L. Barrett, a Chicago-based Pastor and musician. It’s a testament to the musical genius and master communication of an overlooked artist getting a long-overdue second life. It’s what the label does best, through compilation series like Eccentric Soul and Wayfaring Strangers and spotlights on artists like Barrett and fellow should musician, Syl Johnson. Cofounders Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley join us to discuss the new collection and life as an archival record label in an ever-shifting musical landscape.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The success of Azure Ray’s self-titled debut seemingly took everyone by surprise — not least the band itself. Following the breakup of their group Little Red Rocket, longtime friends Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink reconvened to pen a set of songs aimed at coping with the recent death of Taylor’s boyfriend. Heartfelt and emotional, the sad, dreamy songs would form the foundation for a duo now celebrating its 20th year. There have been hiatuses over the years, finding the musicians focusing on solo and side projects. After releasing three albums in three years, seven would pass between their third and fourth LP. It would be another 11 until Azure Ray released album number five, Remedy, in 2021. But the pair have remained close friends throughout and another album has almost always seemed like an inevitability — even if it takes a move across the country and a pandemic.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every time I speak to Mary Roach, I invariably get hung up on some minor detail — some story or person she’s teased out to unlock a fascinating new world. This time out, it’s the dried tiger penis lady, and really, how could it be anything else? The writer has a world class knack for finding fascinating tales in edges of the scientific world, from the dead bodies of Stiff to the space travel of Packing for Mars. With Fuzz, Roach finds herself exploring the intersection between the natural world and human law, from burglarizing bears to killer trees — and, naturally, dried tiger penis.  Roach joins us once again to discuss the methods of her pop-science madness.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 20 years, Ben Snakepit has been building a magnum opus. Day in, day out, the musician-turned-cartoonist draws another daily strip recounting a scene from his life. It’s rare bit of constancy in a chaotic world. Of course, as with everything else, SnakePit does the strip his way. Bucking the ubiquitous world of webcomics, the artist releases the strips as a collection every three years, allowing for a kind of binging of three years of his life in a single sitting. For the past 17 years, Snakepit has also drawn a comic for the Razorcake fanzine, soon to be collected as the straightforwardly-name, One Hundred Columns for Razorcake. Though, while he finally plugged the plug on that work, he plans to continue drawing Snake Pit until the bitter end.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.