You can listen to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic on:

Or purchase The Epic on:

“Malcolm’s Theme”—when I was younger I got caught up in gangs and I was headed down that path. I had two things that brought me out of that, I had a cousin give me an Art Blakey mixtape and I was in this program and we read Malcolm X’s autobiography. I always wanted to give that same thing back. It had such a profound effect on me that maybe I could help someone else. If I could do something that people would look back on the message he was giving during his life, with the music.

“Interview: Kamasi Washington”, Spectrum Culture

Volume I: The Plan

Volume II: The Glorious Tale

Volume III: The Historic Repetition

Volume I: The Plan

Volume II: The Glorious Tale

Volume III: The Historic Repetition

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You can listen to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic on:

Or purchase The Epic on:

I also loved “Leroy and Lanisha,” it had a similar calm energy to it. For some reason it reminded me of a lullaby. Like, I had never heard it before, but it felt like I had, like someone had sang it to me, or something.

That was my homage to Charlie Brown, it was my version of “Linus and Lucy.”

That makes sense! When I was listening to it, it reminded me of the books my mom read to me when I was a kid, it felt very nostalgic.

Yeah that’s exactly what that was. I always loved Charlie Brown growing up—Vince Guaraldi, you know? I was listening to that and I started playing around with that melody.

“Interview: Kamasi Washington”, Spectrum Culture

“The Magnificent 7” is actually about a homage to a band I was playing with a lot. That was the band I started writing a lot of songs for this album with. “Henrietta Our Hero” is about my grandmother, who was a very powerful figure in my family. She was a little small woman, but she did a lot with a very little. She struggled with some mental illness and stuff like that, but even with all that, she helped my dad and all his brothers buy their first homes, she got me my first car, she got my brother his first car, she did a lot for someone who didn’t have much to work with.

“Interview: Kamasi Washington”, Spectrum Culture

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You can listen to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic on:

Or purchase The Epic on:

His recent triple album, “The Epic,” is a nearly three-hour suite for a 10-piece jazz band, backed by a 32-piece orchestra and a 20-person choir.

“Kamasi Washington’s Giant Step”, The New York Times Magazine

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You can listen to Sun Kil Moon’s Benji on:

Or purchase Benji on:

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You can listen to The Explorers Club’s Grand Hotel on:

Or purchase Grand Hotel on:

Marc’s suggested, alternative album order:

Side 1:

Side 2:

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Note: Some of the singles picked and sampled throughout the episode contain explicit lyrics and/or content.

The mixtape

Mistakes

The road-pavers from the iTunes catacombs

Mistakes

Familiar, old favorites

Mistakes

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You can find Caity Cooper’s other work at caitycooper.com.

1st Pick: Final Fantasy X (Remastered)

2nd Pick: Mario Odyssey

3rd Pick: Night In The Woods

Honorable Mentions:

1st Pick: The Last of Us

2nd Pick: LittleBigPlanet

3rd Pick: Kingdom Hearts II

Honorable Mentions:

1st Pick: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

2nd Pick: Pokémon: Black and White

3rd Pick: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (The Twilight Symphony fan cover album)

Honorable Mentions:

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You can listen to Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth on:

Or purchase A Sailor’s Guide to Earth on:

My paternal grandfather, when he was in the army in World War II — he was over in the South Pacific and he thought he was gonna die. And he wrote a letter to my grandmother and their newborn son, thinking he wasn’t gonna come home. And years later, after he was dead, and then once she’d passed, I was at her house and I just decided, “I’m gonna read this letter.” And I probably learned more about him in those few pages than I ever could have sitting in a room with him. I remember going down the road on the [tour] bus one day and thinking, “What if I could just write a letter to my kid, telling him exactly who his dad was?” Like, everything I’m going through right now, at this point in my life. It was just like, “Ok, I’m gonna go make this really pure and beautiful thing for my son and incorporate all this music that I loved, outside of and other than country or bluegrass,” which is all I’ve really had a chance to represent up until now.

NPR Interview: Sturgill Simpson Shares His “Guide To Earth”

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Look, up in the sky!

With the fire roaring and hot cocoa piping, join the Barrowclift siblings as they go head-to-head to see who can create the best Christmas EP. Whose is the best? You decide!

Be sure to let us know which EP is your favorite! Also, what would your Christmas EP be? You can reach out on Twitter, with an email, or on badmusichertz.com’s contact form. Merry Christmas!

Focused on capturing the “distinct sound” of Christmastime by utilizing beloved classics and instrumental pieces.

Listen to the full Youtube playlist

Strived to make a cohesive, well-paced EP composed of both nostalgic favorites and new favorites alike.

Listen to the full Youtube playlist

Honored fond memories of decorating the tree when we were little with an emphasis on cozy, chill nostalgic favorites.

Listen to the full Youtube playlist

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You can listen to Lord Huron’s Strange Trails on:

Or purchase Lonesome Dreams on:

“Yeah I definitely let things spin off into fiction. But, my sort of approach or philosophy has always been to begin with something that happened to me, or to someone close. There’s always something at the centre that’s from a real experience. To me that feels like the only way for the work to be true.” - AAA Backstage interview with Ben Schneider

“All the stories on the album are either about my life or the lives of people who are close to me. I look at them through a fictional lens, but they all come from stuff that’s happened to us.” - LA Music Blog interview with Ben Schneider

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