RiYL

September saw the release of the Trover Saves The Universe soundtrack. The 31 instrumental tracks were composed for the 2019 game from Rick & Morty co-creator, Justin Roiland. The work finds composer Asy Saavedra outside of her comfort zone. Since 2012, she’s been one-half of the sibling duo, Chaos Chaos — though the band’s work actually stretches back another dozen year. The pair released their first single as Smoosh in 2000 when the sisters were, quite literally, children. Saavedra joins us to discuss two decades of making music, art during COVID and the importance new creative pursuits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time Alex Winter was on the show (his second appearance), we discussed his recently launched crowdfunding campaign to produce a documentary about Frank Zappa. With the film finally out five years later, the director joins us again to discuss the process of combing through the legendary musician’s archives to create a portrait of one of the 20th century’s most fascinating musicians. In spite of everything, it’s been a fruitful year for Winter, even beyond last month’s release of Zappa. In July, the filmmaker release Showbiz Kids, an unflinching look at another subject close to his heart, having been in the public eye since early teenage years. The following month, Winter reprised his most iconic role, playing opposite lifelong friend Keanu Reeves in the long-awaited sequel, Bill & Ted Face the Music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to speak with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo for TechCrunch. What follows is a more complete audio of a conversation primarily focused on his (relatively) newfound love for coding. Fair warning that it’s not a deep dive into the band’s music, but it’s a fascinating conversation nonetheless, I think.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ultimately, The Contradictions serves as an important turning point for both its lead character and author — both, coincidentally, named Sophie. For the fictional Sophie (a college student with more than a few common traits with her creator), the road trip is a journey of self discovery. For Yanow, the book finds her hitting her stride as a storyteller and artist. Prior to the publication of her first book for Drawn & Quarterly, the cartoonist cut her teeth creating comics journalism for a wide range of outlets, including The Guardian and New Yorker. She joins us to discuss making comics, practicing leftist politics and where the two meet.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 20 have passed since the last Semisonic album, All About Chemistry arrived. The band’s third LP didn’t live up to the massive popular success of 1998’s Feeling Strangely Fine, but the charts are a fickle thing. A proper reunion was never a guarantee, in spite of the fact that the trio remained close. The members moved to different cities, found new musical outlets, and, in the case of drummer, Jacob Slichter, a gig teaching writing at Sarah Lawrence. Wilson has found plenty of success as a solo artist — and perhaps even more notably as a songwriter for other artists, including The [Dixie] Chicks and Adele, each of which scored him a Grammy. This year finds Semisonic releasing the EP, You’re Not Alone, the band’s first new music in 19 years. Wilson joins us to discuss songwriting and returning to the band for which he’s best known.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s hard to say precisely what semi-retirement means for a standup comic. Kyle Kinane has been tossing the term around for a while — well before this year’s release of his fourth album, Trampoline In A Ditch. Mostly it seems to be involve taking time for himself and generally enjoying life — all good things. Though Kinane is quick to acknowledge that there’s a certain element of semi-retirement in the simple of of being a full-time standup. Following the release, Kinane joined us to discuss comedy during quarantine, relocating to the Pacific Northwest and the effects of alcohol on comedy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been no shortage of deeply personal stories during Adrian Tomine’s long, celebrated career in comics. But up to now, they’ve been almost exclusively filtered through a fictional lens, from his on-going series Optic Nerve to 2015’s Killing and Dying. With The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, Tomine finds himself diving head-long into autobiographical work. The book features some of his funniest and most honest work today, told through a loose style perfectly captured by its sketchbook packaging. Two years after his first appearance on the show, Tomine joins us again to discuss the task of telling these deeply personal — and often embarrassing — tales.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unbeknownst to me, Van Dyke Parks is seated at his piano. This fact becomes clear numerous times during our conversation, as he tickles the ivory to punctate points. It’s not as if he requires the tool during the interview. Parks is a raconteur, above all. He seemingly has a story for everything, winding his way through fascinating avenues to make profound points about life, music, politics and art. Parks have lived several lives by popular culture standards, with a professional career that began as a child actor in the 50s. Ten years later, a musical break found him working as an arranger for Disney’s The Jungle Book. After a brief stint in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, he was paired with The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, writing lyrics for Smile. The following year, he released his wildly ambitious solo debut, Song Cycle. In 2015, Parks gave his final piano performance, following unsuccessful hand surgery. But he continues to remain active. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his underrated reunion with Wilson, Orange Crate Art, we spoke to Parks about his work and the role music can play in one of the most dire moments in our country’s history.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brand-New Shade of Blue finds Chris Stamey exploring jazz music in the mold of the cool movement of the 50s/60s. Composed on sheet music, the album was finished with remote recordings amid a pandemic shutdown — a less than ideal scenario for a genre defined by in-person collaboration. The music has spent recent years exploring new horizons, mostly notably with 2019’s New Songs for the 20th Century, Vols. 1 & 2, which saw him compositing songs in the style of the Great American Songbook. A year prior, he released the memoir A Spy in the House of Loud, which traced his early days in music, leading up to the formation of the Sneakers and the dB's, perhaps his two best known musical collaborations.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Released in 2018, American Dharma blindsided its director. Errol Morris had spend decades making some of the universally acclaimed documentaries of all time. This time, however, the press wasn’t having it, accusing the filmmaker of “platforming” his subject, Steve Bannon, or at very least, never pushing back hard enough against Trump’s political strategist. In many ways, however, the documentary is quintessential Morris, built around 16 hours of interviews with a single subject. It’s territory he perfect with films like The Fog of War and and The Unknown Known, exploring controversial figures Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld. Two years into the Trump presidency, however, it’s clear the wounds were still to fresh, a fact that the filmmaker has, to some degree, come to grips with. Tied together with footage from classic war films — a passion shared by Morris and Bannon — the film offers rare insight into one of the most influential and damaging political figures of his era.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.