On today's episode, I talk to musician Marc Hollander. Born in Geneva, Switzerland right after WWII, Marc was raised in Brussels and started the band Aksak Maboul in 1977 when producer Marc Moulin commissioned him to write and record an album for his label Kamikaze. Aksak Maboul was one of the handful of bands that was part of the exclusive Rock In Opposition movement, and they produced two brilliant albums before going on hiatus in the early 1980s. In 1980, Marc founded Crammed Discs, which over the last 45 years has been one of the most interesting and eclectic independent labels in the world, releasing music from bands and musicians like Tuxedomoon, John Lurie, Fred Frith, Konono Nº1 and many, many more. In 2014, Marc ended the long Aksak Maboul hiatus by releasing the "lost" third album from the early '80s, and since then has made two further albums. Their latest, Before Aksak Maboul (documents & experiments 1969-1977), a collection that traces Marc's musical evolution from his first band at 19, Here and Now, up through the formation of Aksak Maboul, is out next week, and it's a blast! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to journalist and writer David J. Roth. Raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, David started out his writing career writing and editing content for the backs of Topps trading cards. This led to writing for The Wall Street Journal's sports blog, co-founding and editing his own sports blog The Classical, and contributing to Vice and The Baffler, as well as many other publications. In 2017, David became an editor-at-large at Deadspin, and two years later, he and the entire writing and editorial staff resigned, protesting major editorial interference from the private equity holding company that had bought the publication. The following year, David and a number of the other former Deadspin writers formed Defector Media, one of the exciting new worker-owned journalism companies, and in the last five years, it has become one of the most well-regarded sites online. In addition to all of this, David also hosts the wonderful Defector podcast The Distraction. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Thalia Zedek. Originally from Washington DC, Thalia attended college at Boston University for one semester before dropping out to pursue a musical career instead. Each band she formed saw a little more success than the last, and her breakthrough was the group Uzi in 1984. They only stayed together for a short time though, and she next joined the New York no wave band Live Skull, who stayed together until 1990. From their break-up until 2001, Thalia was in the band Come, which she formed with Codeine's Chris Brokaw; in their time together, they released four acclaimed records on Matador, and since then, she's been performing as Thalia Zedek Band. They've released nine albums, mostly on Thrill Jockey, and her latest The Boat Outside Your Window was just released in May of this year. On November 14th, Dromedary Records will release the lost EP of Via, Thalia's other Live Skull-era band, and it's a delight! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Gina Birch. Originally from Nottingham in the UK, Gina formed the seminal art-punk band The Raincoats with Ana da Silva in 1977. They released three incredible records on Rough Trade - self-titled, Odyshape and Moving - and then broke up in 1984. But this was merely the start of Gina's artistic career. She worked with Red Crayola, formed the band Dorothy, became a filmmaker and music video director, reunited with Ana to support Nirvana on tour and subsequently make another album as The Raincoats, and of course, record music under her own name. Her first solo album I Play My Bass Loud came out in 2021, and her latest Trouble was just released on Third Man Records, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Joelton Mayfield. Originally from the Marble Falls/Granite Shoals area of Texas, Joelton grew up in a family where music was intertwined with religion. As a teenager, he was even the music director of his church and led Wednesday night worship services. As he gradually moved away from the church, both geographically and spiritually, he began to write music for himself, and released the I Hope You Make It EP in 2019. His debut album Crowd Pleaser comes out next week on Bloodshot Records, and it's fantastic! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Julia Kugel. Originally from Belarus, Julia and her family immigrated to Atlanta, GA when she was a child. In 2006, she formed The Coathangers along with Meredith Franco and Stephanie Luke. In the last 19 years, they've released over a dozen albums, EPs and singles, mostly on Suicide Squeeze Records. In addition to The Coathangers, Julia records with her husband as Soft Palms, and on her own, both as White Woods and Julia, Julia. The latest Julia, Julia album, Sugaring a Strawberry, just came out at the start of September, and it is wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Hannah Frances. Growing up just outside of Philly, Hannah was doing all kinds of creative work from a young age, from singing to poetry to composing. In 2018, she made her first album White Buffalo, and since then has recorded four other albums. Her fourth album Keeper of the Shepherd garnered a great deal of acclaim leading Fire Talk Records to reissue it earlier this year, as well as release her new album Nested in Tangles, which is out next week, and it is fantastic! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar of the band Anamanaguchi. In 2004, school chums Peter Berkman and James DeVito would form the chiptunes band Anamanaguchi, and two years later, they released their debut EP Power Supply on the 8bitpeoples label. In 2009, Ary Warnaar and Luke Silas joined the band cementing the line-up that continues to this day. In the last 16 years, the band has released over a dozen albums, EPs, compilations and soundtracks, including the soundtrack to the Scott Pilgrim video game, and their latest album Anyway just came out in August on Polyvinyl, and it's a delight! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to comic artist Nick Dragotta. Originally from Cape May, NJ, Nick came to prominence working on Fantastic Four with Jonathan Hickman, which then led to their incredible creator-owned work East of West. Beyond this, Nick has done the art for a number of great books including X-Statix, wrote and drew his own book Ghost Cage, and co-created the character America Chavez. Most recently, it was announced that Nick will do the art for the final arc of Once Upon a Time at the End of the World, while he continues to draw the fantastic Absolute Batman! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Dan Wriggins. Originally from Yarmouth, ME, Dan started playing piano and guitar in high school, and around this time he met his future bandmates in Friendship, Michael Cormier-O'Leary and Peter Gill. In the last ten years, Friendship have released five records starting with 2015's You're Going to Have to Trust Me on Burst & Bloom, and their latest, Caveman Wakes Up, was just released in May on Merge Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!