Hot Wax Club

This episode is a low-pressure format experiment to let myself freestyle a bit. 

I opened by catching up on listener boosts from the Vinyl in the Wild episode, reflecting on physical media, liquidity, imperfections in used records, and why I don’t buy into vinyl elitism. From there I riffed on what it means to make creative work in the twenty-first century: not waiting around for inspiration, finding better systems, and giving myself room to talk about more than just albums when that feels useful.

I also got into some bigger-picture thoughts on Nostr, value-for-value, and the weird future of music online—especially the idea of decentralized music discovery, direct artist payments, and what happens when AI keeps blurring the lines around ownership and authorship. I talked through recent listening recommendations including The Callous Daoboys, Daniel Markham, Pat and the Pissers, and Daisychain, then wrapped up with thoughts on TIDAL’s direct-to-fan model, Bandcamp’s cut, Square and Lightning as payment rails, and my ongoing effort to improve the visual side of the Illinois companion content on the website.

• Illinois companion https://www.hotwax.club/illinois/ 
• Hot Wax Club Illinois episode https://fountain.fm/episode/IE09N9ScZXfnWYMX0KBH?ref=hotwax.club
• Local Bitcoiners podcast: https://localbitcoiners.com/
• Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/app
• Podcast Guru: https://podcastguru.io/
• Podcasting 2.0: https://podcasting2.org/
• Boost Me Bitch: https://github.com/ChadFarrow/boostmebitch
• TIDAL Direct-to-Fan Sales: https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/44704222091025-Direct-to-Fan-Sales
• TIDAL AI statement https://tidal.com/magazine/article/were-for-real/1-98742
• Bandcamp: https://bandcamp.com/about?lang=en_US
• Lightning Network: https://lightning.network/
• The Callous Daoboys: https://thecallousdaoboys.com/
• Daniel Markham: https://danielmarkham.bandcamp.com/
• Pat and the Pissers: https://patandthepissers.bandcamp.com/album/how-its-done
• Daisychain: https://www.daisychainmusic.net/

Tonight I kept things firmly in the Midwest and pulled Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois off the shelf. I dug into how this record came out of the famous 50-states concept, why Michigan made the bit feel believable, and how Illinois turned into a full-blown piece of musical world-building instead of just a state-themed indie record. I talked through the homework behind the album, the cheap gear and mostly solo recording process, the over-the-top ambition of a 22-track, 74-minute double LP, and why songs like “Chicago,” “Casimir Pulaski Day,” “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” “Jacksonville,” and “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts” are the pillars that make the whole thing stand up.

I also got into the physical record itself: the AKR014 pressing, the unusual gatefold presentation, Divya Srinivasan’s artwork, and the long-running Superman cover-art story that forced later copies to swap the hero out for balloons. Along the way I touched on the album’s Illinois lore trail—UFOs, ghost towns, Mary Todd Lincoln, Metropolis, and all the rest—and why the project still lands years later, right down to inspiring the stage production Illinoise. For me, this is one of those records that rewards patience: not something I need on all the time, but absolutely a very good record and a seriously committed concept.

• Hot Wax Club: https://www.hotwax.club/
• Sufjan Stevens Official Site: https://xmas.sufjan.com/home
• Illinois by Sufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty store page): https://store.asthmatickitty.com/products/illinois
• Michigan by Sufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty store page): https://store.asthmatickitty.com/products/sufjan-stevens-michigan-cd
• Asthmatic Kitty Records: https://asthmatickitty.com/info/
• Asthmatic Kitty statement on the Illinois/DC Comics cover issue: https://asthmatickitty.com/a-statement-from-asthmatic-kitty-and-dc-comics/
• Superman (DC official character page): https://www.dc.com/characters/superman
• City of Metropolis, Illinois: https://www.metropolisil.gov/
• Casimir Pulaski Day in Illinois law: https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=134&ChapterID=2
• Mary Lincoln biography (White House Historical Association): https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/mary-lincoln
• Divya Srinivasan: https://divyasrinivasan.com/
• Illinoise stage production: https://illinoiseonstage.com/
• Little Miss Sunshine: https://www.searchlightpictures.com/littlemissunshine/
• Bitcoin: https://bitcoin.org/en/

• Hot Wax Club: https://www.hotwax.club/
• Vinyl Quickstart Guide (Hot Wax Club): https://www.hotwax.club/vinyl-quickstart/
• U-Haul: https://www.uhaul.com/
• Avril Lavigne - Let Go: https://music.apple.com/us/album/let-go/315025768
• Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf: https://music.apple.com/us/album/songs-for-the-deaf/1440759826
• Black Sabbath - Sabotage: https://music.apple.com/us/album/sabotage/785231031

Not For Sale
ZZ Top’s Degüello.
Adiós to the Texas petting zoo.
Pulp fiction & babes. Dawn of the beard. Expect no quarter!

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected]
X: @HotWaxSC
Hot Wax Social Club: npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex
Logues: npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m

This pressing: Warner Bros. Records – HS 3361 Vinyl, LP, Album US, 80s Winchester Repress
https://www.discogs.com/release/13247903-ZZ-Top-Deg%C3%BCello
Sample this album here: https://tidal.com/album/491649636/u
RIP Frank Beard. 

Not For Sale
Fu Manchu’s A Look Back: Dogtown & Z-Boys.
Soundtrack to a documentary about a documentary. Drag race music. Nothing wrong with a good compilation record.

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected]
Hot Wax Social Club: npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex
Logues: npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m 

This pressing:
At The Dojo Records – ATD024 (Blue LP and Green LP with etching)
https://www.discogs.com/release/21501007-Fu-Manchu-A-Look-Back-Dogtown-Z-Boys

Sample this album here:
https://tidal.com/album/199609737/u 

Come to the Club, we're dirtmaxxing.
The philosophy of Joe Dirt. Resilience, optimism, kindness, low-brow on purpose. A familiar soundtrack, with some gems. Skynyrd, you know the vibes.

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected] website
Hot Wax Social Club: 
npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex 
Logues: 
npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m 

On making something cool.

Ten pillars of Club business. Thinker stuff. A retraction clarifying the Guerilla Council's earlier proposal.

First run of original art, credited to ARNA, paid in Bitcoin.

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected]
Hot Wax Social Club: npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex
Logues: npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m

Note: since the episode first aired, a proposal has been made to consider an additional pillar for Resilience (clarifying points discussed as Sovereign Creativity in the episode). Moved; pending formal vote. Philosophy remains intact. -MGMT HWSC  9/24/26

King Gizzard's I'm In Your Mind Fuzz. 
How to get psychedlic. Letting ideas cook. The flute as a secret weapon. Melt with us.

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected]
Hot Wax Social Club: npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex
Logues: npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m 

HWSC x KGLW x Oddments.
King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard. Deep cuts. Fan favorite. A rest stop before an epic run. The power of lo-fi.

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected]
Hot Wax Social Club: npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex
Logues: npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m
 

Low antics, high signal in this one. The best first turntable is a free turntable.
It might be good just to get some hobbies in case touching grass catches on....

P.S. It's not the Club's responsibility to orange pill KV through the ether. You know he's dead, right? RIP legend ️️️

Website: https://hotwax.club
Email: [email protected]
Hot Wax Social Club: npub1er2vkexlh7kd56j929crc4stw83hqzvl0xpewsrv3ceyda9ld3xszwjwex
Logues: npub1mc909r6rtu2kfmzfy9u5vzy60jlhgqgzty0jqlz0qhkdraxcypcqduvk2m