Beginnings

On today's episode, I talk to married writers and directors Alex Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. Originally from New Jersey and Adelaide, Australia respectively, Alex and Eleanor have been working in film in various capacities from looping to producing for over a decade. As writers and directors, the two have made a number of shorts separately; of note, Eleanor wrote and directed Everything All at Once starring J. Smith-Cameron in 2015 and Alex directed the Cocoon Central Dance Team film Snowy Bing Bongs Across the North Star Combat Zone in 2017. As a duo, the two wrote and directed the wonderful 2020 film Save Yourselves!, and their latest, Wicker, starring Olivia Coleman and Alexander Skarsgård, just opened last week in the US, and folks, it is 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 Will Schwartz and Roddy Bottum of Imperial Teen. While they grew up in different decades, both Will and Roddy cut their teeth in Los Angeles and individually moved to San Francisco. In 1981, Roddy joined the fledgling band Faith No More, playing keyboards and writing lyrics - famously for their hit "We Care a Lot" - until the band broke up in 1998. In the 1990s, Will and Roddy met through a mutual friend and the two along with Lynn Truell and Jone Stebbins formed Imperial Teen. They recorded their first album Seasick half a year later, and it became an instant classic. In the years since, the band has released over a dozen albums and EPs, and their latest, All Over You, just came out a few weeks ago on Merge Records, and folks, 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 Rob Crow. Originally from New Jersey, Rob moved to San Diego when he was a teenager. In the early 1990s, he formed the band Heavy Vegetable, and while the group was only together for a few short years, they were extremely well-liked in the San Diego scene. Rob continued to perform and make records under a number of different names including Optiganally Yours and Physics, and in 1998, he formed Pinback with Zach Smith. This propelled him into the limelight, and the band released five incredible albums on labels like Touch and Go, TRL and Absolutely Kosher. While they haven't released an album since 2012's Information Retrieved, Rob continues to record in different bands and under different names, and most recently, his group Goblin Cock released their fifth album Traumanaut on Joyful Noise Records, and folks, 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 musician Chris Brokaw. Originally from Scarsdale, NY, Chris attended Oberlin College, a scene that birthed much of the indie rock of the 1990s. After graduating, he played drums for a number of bands, most notably with G.G. Allin, and in 1989 he formed the band Codeine with his fellow Oberlin grad Stephen Immerwahr. The group released two albums on Sub Pop before breaking up, but by that time, Chris had formed the band Come with Thalia Zedek. Starting with their acclaimed record 11:11, the band would go on to release four records in total on Matador before breaking up towards the end of the millenium, though both bands have reunited at various times over the intervening years. Since then, Chris has released over two dozen albums, scored numerous film soundtracks, played in bands like The New Year and Consonant with Mission of Burma's Clint Conley, and this is just a fraction of his expansive CV! 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 Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comics creator Evan Dorkin. Originally from Brooklyn, Evan has been making comics since 1986. One of his earliest books Pirate Corp$ was published by Eternity Comics and then after that Slave Labor Graphics, who later published his series Milk and Cheese. Other notable comics include Dork, Eltingville and Beasts of Burden, which are all well worth your time. As a TV writer, Evan has written for Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Batman Beyond, Yo Gabba Gabba and many more. This is all just a small sampling of his CV. Just this year, Dark Horse published Nerd Inferno; The Essential Evan Dorkin, an anthology of Dork, Milk and Cheese and Eltingville, and folks, 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 musician Hutch Harris. Originally from New York City, Hutch's family moved to San Jose, California when he was still a kid. After high school, he met Kathy Foster, and they played in various bands until moving to Portland, where they formed The Thermals. In 2003, they released their first album More Parts Per Million on Sub Pop, who would release their next two albums as well. The next four albums were released on Kill Rock Stars and then Saddle Creek, and in 2016, the band went on an indefinite hiatus. Until recently, that is. A few weeks ago, The Thermals released their latest album Under Crushing Rain, 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 musicians Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug AKA Sweeping Promises. Originally from Arkansas and Texas respectively, Lira and Caufield met in college and made music together in a number of different bands before forming Sweeping Promises in 2019. Their first album Hunger for a Way Out was released the next year on Feel It Records in the midst of the early stage of the pandemic and garnered them a great deal of acclaim. They then signed to the wonderful label Sub Pop who released their second album Good Living Is Coming for You in 2023, and just this August their third album You Say I Romanticize came out, and it is 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 cartoonist and humorist David Rees. Originally from Chapel Hill, NC, David first gained acclaim during the Bush years with his comic strip Get Your War On, which perfectly captured the insanity of the times. In 2010, David started the satirical Artisanal Pencil Sharpening service and followed that up with the book How to Sharpen Pencils. As a TV creator, he hosted Going Deep with David Rees and co-created the FXX animated show Dicktown with John Hodgman, and as a podcaster, David co-hosts the wonderful show Election Profit Makers, which you can get wherever you get your podcasts! 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 Elisabeth Esselink AKA Solex. Originally from Voorschoten, Netherlands, Elisabeth eventually moved to Amsterdam and in the early1990s performed in the indie pop band Sonetic Vet, who released one album, Peer, in 1994. She then began to make music on her own as Solex, and in 1998, Matador released her debut album Solex vs. the Hitmeister. Since then, Elisabeth has released numerous albums and EPs, and this year, Matador is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her third album Low Kick and Hard Bop with an expanded vinyl edition out next week! 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 Elanor Moss. Originally from Lincolnshire, Elanor grew up in a very creative, devoutly Catholic family and began playing music at church events. She started writing her own music while studying English Lit at the University of York. In 2022, she released her first EP Citrus followed a year later by the Cosmic EP. This garnered her some attention, and her debut album The Knife, The Needle was just released on Merge 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!