RiYL

In Faking It, Lux Alptraum explores a wide range of lies about sex, from faked orgasms to sexual assault. It’s a powerful statement that spans the wide range of her many years of writing about sex — the good, the bad, the unspoken. As an author, her work has appeared in a wide range of outlets, including The New York Times and the Guardian. She also served as the editor of Fleshbot, a pop culture sex site formerly operated under the Gawker Media banner. Following the release of Faking it, Alptraum joined us to discuss lies, reproductive rights and writing about sex in the era of Trump and #MeToo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life was fairly different the last time Whitney Matheson was on the show. In fact, USA Today pulled the plug on her 15 year culture column Pop Candy sometime between the recording of the interview and its publication.  In the intervening half decade, Matheson took up a teaching gig, moved to Tennessee and had a kid “It's funny how life can change on a dime” is how she put it as we were discussing running the original interview. From the sound of things, however, recent changes have been for the best. Now back in the city, Matheson has written a children’s book about comics publishing and started a newsletter that brings Pop Candy’s spirit to a weekly digest. She’s ghostwriting and writing a play in her spare time after some hard learned lessons about not taking any of it for granted.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There will never be another Swamp Dogg. At 77, Jerry Williams Jr. has had one of the most fascinating and diverse careers in popular music. It’s hard to believe the same man created the psychedelic funk of 1970’s Total Destruction to Your Mind, manage a young Dr. Dre, and penned the country standard, “She’s All I Got. While his career career and life have hit plenty of rough patches, he’ll be the first to admit that he’s been incredibly lucky when it comes to music. Covers and samples have helped keep his work relevant through the decades, even as he refused to play live. Last year, Williams’ embarked on the latest stage of his eclectic career with Love, Loss and Autotune, a new collection of song created with the help of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The high profile released has seen the musician embraced by a new generation of fans drawn to his soulful tracks and biting humor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toward the end of the interview, Wayne White gestures to a word painting sit nearby on the floor of his home workshop. “Finally got there, wasn’t so great,” he says, reading the big, block letters out loud. “That’s the story of life. It’s been a heck of a journey, though. In the late-70s, the Chattanooga kid moved to New York, to attend classes at SVA, including a brief stint studying under Art Spielgman. By the mid-80s, he found T.V. work as a puppeteer, imprinting his work on countless young minds with the puppets of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. The have been Emmys along the way and Grammys for music videos like Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time” and The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight.” More recently, White has carved out a niche in the fine art world, further catapulted to prominence with the delightful 2012 documentary, Beauty is Embarrassing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some time in six or so years since I last sat down with Adam Lisagor, something strange happened. He became a nationally broadcast product spokesperson. It wasn’t the career trajectory any of us were expecting, but here we are.  Over the years, the video producer had begun to appear on camera during his signature well produced startup ads. But it was TrueCar that made him a in inescapable presence during nationally televised commercial breaks. For those who’d come to know him as Lonely Sandwich on Twitter and through (relatively) small but loyal online offerings like You Look Nice Today, it was odd watching Lisagor become a kind of peer to a Flo from Progressive or the “Can You Hear My Now” guy. A lot, too, has changed with his production house, Sandwich Video, which has grown to include brands like Starbucks alongside Series A startups. Lisagor joins us from his Los Angeles offices to discuss the journey and newfound focus on music video pet projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 2018, Ace of Cups released their self-titled debut. The album arrived more than 50 years after the band’s formation. With several tours and a second double album on the way, it’s clear the group has every intention of making up for lost time. The groups was an anomaly during its first go-round. The all-female rock quintet shared stages at legendary venues like the Fillmore with the likes of now legendary contemporaries like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. They shared a studio with John Fogerty’s pre-Creedence garage band, the Golliwogs. Ex-pat Jimi Hendrix told Melody Maker that the band was his favorite thing about the States. What sounded like a recipe for superstardom had fizzled by the early 70s. With the band reunited, singer and bassist Denise Kaufman joined us to discuss the band, her time with Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters and why the Kawaii-based yoga instructor still has hope for the future of humanity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When he was 16, Lou Barlow formed Deep Wound. Two years later, he and the hardcore band’s  drummer, J Mascis would create Dinosaur Jr. (then simply Dinosaur), one of alternative’s most beloved and influential groups. Barlow stuck around for three albums — regarded by many as the band’s best. That would have been enough to have cemented his status in the indie rock pantheon, but the music would go on to form an additional pair of hugely influential groups: Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. The former, in particular was a defining voice of the genre’s lo-fi revolution. And like Dinosaur, the group resumed operations earlier this century, now boasting a pair of post-hiatus LPs. 2013’s Defend Yourself was met with largely positive reviews, though Barlow is quick to dismiss certain aspects as the result of a particular rough patch in his personal life. This year’s Act Surprised, however, finds both Barlow and the rest of the group in top form. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five years ago, Gastor Almonte quit his job and went all in on standup. It was no small commitment from a married man with two kids and a six figure sales job. But a supportive wife, encouraging family members and his position as a landlord in East New York, Brooklyn allowed him to take the leap. With the recent release of his debut album, Immigrant Made, things appear to be paying off. Almonte’s success is a combination of natural humor and an impressive drive that finds him writing jokes every day like a 9 to 5 and working the comedy clubs at night. The comedian joined us to discuss his life in comedy, love of his neighborhood and prioritizing happiness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things are a lot quieter. The last time I say down with Guster, the full band passed around a mic, seated at a table in the front of the sadly now-defunct Grassroots on St. Marks Place. Percussionist/drummer Brian Rosenworcel came alone this time, and the ambience is little more than an office air conditioner. It’s a welcome change and one that allows us to get to the heart of the group’s nearly 30 years of existence. Out in January, Look Alive is the band’s eight record. As with all of their releases, it finds the quarter exploring new venues for music making, including the debut single, “Overexcited,” which adopts a British accent for a surprising homage to Madness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first thing you learn upon meeting Joanna Sternberg is that they want to be your friend. It’s nothing about you, specifically, mind. They would love to be friends with everyone, but there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. The second thing you learn, quite probably, is Sternberg’s lifelong love of Motown bassist James Jamerson. It’s a fact pertinent enough to be list in the two sentence bio at the top of their website. The Funk Brother may stand head and shoulders above the rest, but Sternberg’s love for music is deep and varied, influence that’s left its marks on a life in music that includes orchestral lessons on the piano and double bass. But Sternberg’s third record (and for reasons we go into, the only one currently available online) Then I Try Some More presents singular voice. It's a soft-spoken indie folk that draws on a classical education and an idiosyncratic singing voice to tell stories of love, addiction and penguins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.