Discologist

Seán Barna’s An Evening At Macri Park’ has been a long time coming both figuratively and literally. Completed just before the world shut down in 2020, the album was the culmination of a decade’s worth honing his craft, finding his truest voice through his collaboration with producer and friend Dave Drago, and finding himself in the process. And while technically the setting for Barna’s tales of triumph and tragedy in the queer community is one night at a very real place, the truths that are revealed over the album’s 42-minute runtime speak to everyone who’s ever struggled, regardless of the community you come from.  

On a very special episode of Discologist, we catch up with our long-time friend to talk about his journey to becoming himself, famous friends, and why, above all you gotta be kind, baby, if any of us are ever gonna make it through.

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The Steely Dan renaissance (aka the Danaissance) shows no sign of abating in 2023, with good reason: it is clear now that history is the slow process of discovering that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have always been several steps ahead of the rest of us. This is a band that gave us memes before memes were a thing; a band whose tracks are recognizable to hip hop heads, jazz bros, and eminent hipsters across all cohorts; a band whose music is still capable of taking center stage in what we know refer to as "discourse," just because someone of some consequence decided to vent. 

Not content to settle on letting Steely Dan be a mood, Joan LeMay and Alex Pappademas decided to plunge into the Daniverse through the fascinating characters that haunt the songs. Their new book, Quantum Criminals, is an entirely new way of looking at the band's catalog. Armed with curiosity, imagination, and a thick file of obscure facts and Dan trivia, Alex and Joan bring these characters to life in ways that will surprise and delight even the most hardened and jaded Dan fans. 

Join us as we talk about this thrilling new book, but first, mind if we make a pitstop on Sunset? Never you mind what it's for, I promise it'll just be a minute.

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Despite having a career that spans 20 years, 10 iconic albums, and stints in some massive indie and folk bands (The Shins and Bonny Light Horseman, respectively) you might be amazed to discover that he still doesn’t quite feel like he’s “made it.” But one listen to A River Running To Your Heart, his latest album with Fruit Bats should dispel any doubt that Johnson has slowly but surely become one of the most important and unique figures in modern American music.  

Join us as we talk to Johnson about the peaks and valleys of his career, breaking your heart with a song, his new album, and more! 

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Sometimes it is best to let the music to the talking, and on this all-new episode of Discologist taking quick look at four new/upcoming releases that we think you’re gonna love.

Whether you’re a fan of indie rock (Wednesday), banjo with a side of Beatles (Alison Brown), countrified ambient (Nashville Ambient Ensemble) or some wild electronic/guitar vibes (Rachika Nayar), we’ve got you covered.

So kick back, tune in, and get ready to find some new music to love. You deserve it.

Discussion Guide

0:00 - Shop Talk

6:50 - Tracks We Love

57:45 - Wrap Up

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Technology can be both isolating and empowering, but the gulf between the two gets wider every day. On their debut full-length Follow the Cyborg, Miss Grit (aka Margaret Sohn) is wading into the liminal space that separation has created to explore themes of identity, alienation, and acceptance through a future-pop lens. A heady, often unsettling ride that touches on everything from how Sohn relates to the world as a non-binary artist, to stardom, and to the “looming” threat of artificial intelligence, Follow The Cyborg is a must listen for anyone who loves their pop with a side of concept album.

PLUS! Music we love from Baltimore’s Horse Lords and a classic track from country-soul legend Jim Ford!

Discussion Guide

0:00 - Shop Talk

11:10 - Tracks We Love

28:49 - Follow The Cyborg

57:50 - Wrap Up

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Lonnie Holley’s Oh Me, Oh My is a continuation of his exploration of the darker rooms of our history that were the centerpiece of his 2018 album Mith. On that release, Holley seemed content to simply illuminate for the sake of awareness. Oh Me, Oh My finds the lauded artist/poet/musician settling for nothing less than carrying the listener to a home in the light that everyone, Holley seems to argue, deserves no matter what hardship came before. It’s a message of hope that will thaw even the coldest of hearts, and an early (and easy) contender for the best album you are likely to hear in 2023.

PLUS! Eduardo and Kevin are spinning tracks from percussionist Joe Westerlund’s new LP Elegies for the Drift and Los Angeles music collective Wild Up’s exploration of the work of Julius Eastman!

Discussion Guide

0:00 - Shop Talk

5:15 - Tracks we love

24:43 - Oh Me, Oh My

1:01:15 - Apple Classical Music App / Wrap up

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On Oceanator's latest, "Nothing's Ever Fine," Elise Okusami dishes out riffs and feelings from morning to evening. No, literally: "Morning" and "Evening" are the opening and closing songs on the record, which is structured to to feel like the emotional arc of a day.

After wrapping up her US tour, we caught up with Elise a few weeks ahead of a jaunt to Europe, to sci-fi, guitar gear, and, uh, basketball?

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On the latest episode Discologist, we’re discussing the remarkable glow of Arun Ghosh’s Seclused In Light, the award winning clarinetist/composer/music educator’s “lockdown” album. In his exploration of the universal fear and isolation of the past few years, Ghosh was able to find pull inward and find that beauty still remained - not just in himself, but in all of us. A welcome hug from the end of the world, Seclused In Light is a masterpiece of humanity that deserves a place in everyone’s life.

PLUS! Eduardo and Kevin are spinning tracks from Milwaukee hip hop artist Grey Genius, and and new solo music from Pavement’s Spiral Stairs.

Discussion Guide

0:00 - Shop Talk

4:00- Tracks we love

22:20 - Seclused In Light

48:47 - Wrap up

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Brad Allen Williams may not be a household name, but having spent years backing up some of your favorite performers both on stage (Brittany Howard, Bilal, Ce Ce Winans) and behind the console (José James), there is little chance that you haven’t heard his work. On this year’s œconomy (pronounced like “economy”) the lauded jazz guitarist is stepping out as the front man for the first time since 2015’s Lamar and trading in guitar heroics for a more complex and experimental sound.

Join us as we sit down with Williams to talk about the making of œconomy, his career as a sideman, guitar in the 21st century and much more.

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On the latest episode Discologist, we’re exploring Kamakiriad, Donald Fagen’s (Steely Dan) misunderstood masterpiece. Join us as we reveal some of the album’s subtle triumphs and try to suss out where all of this Steely Dan hatred is coming from, why it is misguided, and where it might lead.

PLUS! Eduardo and Kevin are spinning tracks from folkster Alan Wachs, and NOLA based dance punks, Special Interest.

Discussion Guide

0:00 - Shop Talk

5:15- Tracks we love

28:15 - Kamakiriad and an introduction to Steely Dan

1:25:15 - More on artificial intelligence / wrap up

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