All Your Days

Pamela Means is among the most incisive and insightful describers of injustice and indignation, anger and antipathy — on a level with few others. Her songs create a lens, and in its focus we can call out the racists, the fascists, the homophobes, the horror dealers among us. And yet, Pamela Means is at the same time a writer of love songs, making space for love. This is the story of her career doing both and more and how Pamela continues to honor that heavy responsibility, speaking the truth and calling things out.

Clips in this episode:

1. James Cameron (Pamela Means, ‘Single Bullet Theory’ - 2003)
2. Maybe You Should (Pamela Means, ‘Cobblestones’ - 1998)
3. Strange Fruit (Pamela Means, ‘Single Bullet Theory’ - 2003)
4. Potholes (Pamela Means, ‘Bone Spurs’ - 1995)
5. Speak - Live w. Ani DiFranco (Pamela Means, ‘Bone Spurs’ - 1995)
6. Truth (Pamela Means, ‘Cobblestones’ - 1998)
7. Maggie’s Farm (Pamela Means, ‘Pearls’ - 2000)
8. Two Halves (Pamela Means, ‘Single Bullet Theory’ - 2003)
9. My Funny Valentine (Pamela Means, ‘Jazz Project, Vol. 1’ - 2006)
10. My Brother Was (Pamela Means, ‘Plainfield’ - 2016)
11. Impeachment Now! (Pamela Means, ‘Impeachment Now!’ - 2018)
12. Color of the Skin (Pamela Means and The Reparations, ‘Live at Northfire’ - 2020)

'All Your Days' is back in your ears on February 7. It’s Season 4, and the talks are intense and funny and sad and sometimes angry as I step into the discussion with artists and athletes, poets and ad executives, historians and colleagues and friends — all the creative souls I know who’ve been putting in the work and dealing with the world in which we live.

We start with the Conan O'Brien moment. Songwriter Michael McDermott has been loved by luminaries (Stephen King wrote his liner notes), followed by fans, showcased on the biggest stages, and written about by the widest-reaching publications. Yet, as Michael puts it, he still suffered under a kind of reversal — pleasure over peace, the quick fix over the long game. Join us for the finale of Season Three, a journey into Michael's roaring music, his meteoric rise, his subsequent crashes and resurrections, and now the incredible album and memoir he's riding to new heights in a lighter — and light-filled — reality.

Clips in this episode:

1. Bells (Michael McDermott, 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' - 1996)
2. A Wall I Must Climb (Michael McDermott, '620 W. Surf' - 1991)
3. 20 Miles South of Nowhere (Michael McDermott, 'Last Chance Lounge' - 2000)
4. Scars From Another Life (Michael McDermott, Live Reading - 2022)
5. Annie and the Aztec Cross (Michael McDermott, 'Last Chance Lounge' - 2000)
6. Knocked Down (Michael McDermott, 'Out From Under' - 2018)
7. Dance With Me (Michael McDermott, 'Ashes' - 2004)
8. Pack the Car (Michael McDermott, 'St. Paul's Boulevard' - 2022)
9. Getting Off the Dime (Michael McDermott, 'Last Chance Lounge' - 2000)
10. Shadow in the Window (Michael McDermott, 'Willow Springs' - 2016)

In a sense, Andras Jones has always lived in a world that overlaps with dreaming. His father was a dream researcher. In the 1980s, Andras starred in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 4' (he also appeared on 'Saved By The Bell' and in films with Drew Barrymore, Alice Cooper and Jeffrey Combs). All the while, he has been conjuring his own world with a guitar and a head full of clever, funny, angry songs. 

In this episode of ‘All Your Days,’ we join Andras’s journey, exploring the triumphs and frustrations of wrangling with dreams and, as a writer about synchronicity, how in giving attention to different ways of perceiving the "real" world Andras has redefined his own dream and its pursuit.

Clips in this episode:

1. Get Normal (The Previous, 'UnPop' - 1998)
2. The Firecracker Kid (Andras Jones, 'A Curmudgeon For All Seasons' - 2004)
3. Hold Your Nose and Vote (Andras Jones, 'A Curmudgeon For All Seasons - 2004)
4. Three Day Weekend (Andras Jones, Unreleased - Live 2001)
5. Superlame (Andras Jones, Unreleased - Live 2001)
6. The Sync Web of Andras Jones: Showman/Shaman (Part 3 of 3, dir. William Morgan - 2013)
7. Paint My Day (Andras Jones, 'All You Get' - 2019)
8. The Things I Have To Live Without (Andras Jones, 'All You Get' - 2019)

Adam Brodsky gives zero fucks. Adam Brodsky cares very, very deeply. This is the dichotomy and part of the genius at the center of Philadelphia's own King of Anti-Folk (though he'd put that crown on your head and mine, just as quickly ... but maybe only if you deserved it). In this episode, Adam and I dig deep into rejection, betrayal, and hard traveling. Plus yelling at Nazis, landing a Guinness World Record, early days, vanishing acts, life, death, new recordings, and all things 'All Your Days'.

Clips in this episode:

1. Clap You Fuckers Clap (Adam Brodsky, ‘Dork’ — 1998)
2. Diesel Dyke (Adam Brodsky, ‘Dork’ — 1998) 
3. Gaucho Named Klaus (Adam Brodsky, ‘Dork’ — 1998)
4. Blow Me (Adam Brodsky, ‘Folk Remedy’ — 2000)
5. Even Wittier Banter (Adam Brodsky, ‘Dork’ — 1998)
6. Unmitigated Freakshow (Adam Brodsky, ‘Folk Remedy’ — 2000)
7. Uncivil Rights (Adam Brodsky, ‘Hookers, Hicks & Heebs’ — 2002)
8. Rejection (Adam Brodsky, ‘Hookers, Hicks & Heebs’ — 2002)
9. Betrayal (Adam Brodsky, ‘Hookers, Hicks & Heebs’ — 2002)
10. Hard Travelin’ (Adam Brodsky, ‘Hookers, Hicks & Heebs’ [Woody Guthrie] — 2002)
11. BLM (Adam Brodsky, demo, unreleased — 2022)
12. The King of Anti-Folk (Adam Brodsky, demo, unreleased — 2022)
13. Thank You (Adam Brodsky, ‘Hookers, Hicks & Heebs’ — 2002)

Just before the pandemic, there was this restaurant, our neighborhood local. Chef Camille Rodriguez ran its kitchen, and she kept us well fed, well poured, and just plain happy at our end-of-the-bar dinner spot. Then, when the quarantine locked down New York, Chef Camille transformed her talents into a lifeline for those of us stuck inside. From her apartment kitchen, she emerged with a full bistro menu, lovingly cooked with the help of her tiny team. In this episode, we dive into how she managed to stay alive, stay creative, and thrive as a food person in a world where hospitality and breaking bread went on hold. Lot’s more, too: Late starts at the cooking career, equity in the kitchen, and traveling to learn what people eat. A feast!

Join us for a story of survival and guarding a cultural treasure in the face of terrible odds. Matt Smith is the managing director of Passim, the legendary folk club in Harvard Square, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The room saved my life more than once in the late 1990s and early 2000s. And then, in 2020, Matt faced an incredible dilemma — how to keep the 60-plus-year-old venue alive during the lockdown of quarantine. He's on the pod, taking us through those months and moves, steps and challenges, and ultimately triumphs. We also talk about the remarkable changes folk music — and what we call folk music — has undergone since those days I worked (and played) in the room.

Clips in this episode:

1. In My Head (James O'Brien, 'A Bothersome Injuries Forty, Vol. 7' - 2018)
2. Kris Delmhorst, 'Emergency Club Passim Social Distancing Hour' - 2020
3. Matt Smith, 'Make Us A Video for Keep Your Distance Fest' - 2020
4. Passim Streams: The Bigfoot Research Organization - 2020
5. Passim Streams: Melissa Ferrick - 2020
6. Passim Streams: Virtual Open Mic 9/22 - 2020
7. Alice's Champagne Palace (Ellis Paul, Live - 2014)
8. I Will Wait (Mumford & Sons, 'Babel' - 2012)
9. Once There Was No Sun (Jake Blount, 'The New Faith' - 2022)
10. Chase the Buffalo (Pierce Pettis, 'Christine Lavin Presents - Follow That Road' - 1993)

At the turn of the millennium, I learned to mix sound for an Arabic music series at a famous folk club in Massachusetts. Every month was a musical challenge; every month a personal reward. And then, in the middle of our work together, 9/11 changed everything. Joining me on this episode is the remarkable Karim Nagi — one of the great culture bearers; a masterful musician — who created and shaped that series. We talk about the post-9/11 world, his vast array of musical projects, being an ally in antagonistic times, and the future of hope for pluralists and multiculturalists in 2022.

Clips in this episode:

1. Alla al-Balad al Mahbub (Sharq Arabic Ensemble, 'Arabesque Mondays: Collection 1' - c.2000)
2. Bin al-Balad (Sharq Arabic Ensemble, 'Arabesque Mondays: Collection 1' - c.2000)
3. Saidi ya Dallaa (Sharq Arabic Ensemble, 'Arabesque Mondays: Collection 1' - c.2000)
4. Karim Nagi (TedX, 'The Tambourine: My Partner in Diplomacy and Disruption' - 2020)
5. Istihlal Huzam (Karim Nagi, 'Huzam' - 2022)
6. Longa Riad (Karim Nagi with Abdul-Wahhab Kayyali, 'Arab Pan Eastern Music Live' - 2004)
7. Munyati (The Arab Blues, Live - 2021)
8. Baladi TukTuk (Karim Nagi, 'Detour Guide' - 2015)
9. Arabiqa (Karim Nagi - 2019)
10. Dulab Huzam (Karim Nagi, 'Huzam' - 2022)
11. Future Folklore: Zaman Zaman (Karim Nagi, 'Future Folklore' - 2022)
12. Alive & Diverse (Karim Nagi, Live - 2018)

A powerful painter with a very personal perspective, Annie Leist takes us into the mind, the oils, and the brushes. We talk about her eyes, which deliver visual information differently than the typical pair, and her advocacy for accessibility and equity. Hot and cool times at the canvas. New work with photos at the Mall of America. The artist and advocate at large; please meet Annie Leist.

Clips in this episode:

1. Annie Leist on Andrew Wyeth's 'Christina's World' (MOMA/UNIQLO Artspeaks, 2021)
2. Paint (James O'Brien, A Bothersome Injuries Forty, Vol. 1, 2017)
3. Thief and Painter (James O'Brien: Unreleased, 2002)
4. Paint (James O'Brien: Unreleased, 2001)

To put it mildly, it's a raging Season 3 kickoff episode with the unbelievable guest presence of Hamell on Trial. We get into the records, the stages, the wages, and what's next for an artist who's seen a lot, done more, and earned the right, night after night, to give us all a couple pointers on the unbelievable shit that's going down.

Clips in this episode:

1. Big As Life (Hamell on Trial, 'Big As Life' - 1994)
2. The Meeting (Hamell on Trial, Live at The Sidewalk Cafe - 2012)
3. Dead Man's Float (Hamell on Trial, 'Big As Life' - 1994)
4. When Bobby Comes Down (Hamell on Trial, 'Choochtown' - 1999)
5. Choochtown (Hamell on Trial, 'Choochtown' - 1999)
6. Nancy's Got A New Boyfriend (Hamell on Trial, 'Choochtown' - 1999)
7. Go Fuck Yourself (Hamell on Trial, 'Choochtown' - 1999)
8. Tough Love (Hamell on Trial, 'Tough Love' - 2003)
9. Ain't That Love (Hamell on Trial, 'The Happiest Man In The World' - 2014)
10. Melting Snow (Kill Them All) (Hamell on Trial, 'Night Guy At The Apocalypse: Profiles Of A Rushing Midnight' - 2018)
11. All The Things I Miss (Hamell on Trial, 'The Pandemic Songs' - 2020)
12. Meet Me At The V (Hamell on Trial, 'V for Valentine' - 2022)