Rough Sundays

Back from a three-week hiatus, but bearing musical gifts to make up for it. From the raw power of Son House to the Ethiopian Elvis, some proper James Cleveland revival sounds and not one, but two Queens — one Cuban, the other New Orleans. It's half-an-hour of wake-me-up-slowly Sunday goodness. Hit play! 

A bittersweet final show from South Africa — a country that provided more sites, sounds, color, culture and confusion than any other place we've done the show from — and it's a celebration of the best tracks we've uncovered these past three months. From the controversial Brenda Fassie to the sounds of Soweto provided by my tour guide Lerato, a few more upbeat + anti-apartheid tracks and we end it all with an appearance from GoPhari, who explains the importance of the final song - one that was forbidden to be sung in the 1970s. It's Rough Sundays - The Best of South Africa Show! 

Our second-to-last show from South Africa and packed with some gorgeous old tracks — from the inventor of "Zumba" to one of the most moving choir performances you'll ever hear, some more penny whistling and even "The Voice of South Africa" making an appearance. 

While the evils of apartheid justifiably made the top headlines, it was the music coming both from within — and later, from outside — that drew international attention to one of the world's darkest chapters. But they weren't dark songs - quite the opposite, in fact; deceivingly upbeat and catchy. So join us for an (incredibly) brief overview of what exactly apartheid was, but more for the incredible tracks made to speak out against the racist government... including one that will absolutely surprise you. From Cape Town, South Africa, it's Rough Sundays. 

An XL show (our 40th!) and an XL lineup. Half an hour of old South African music — featuring two gems from the township of Soweto, more Mbaqanga, Joseph Shabalala and friends live, a bit of Boyoyo and yet another track from the incredibly addictive Amaswazi Emvelo. Plus much, much more. It's Rough Sundays - live from Cape Town!

Without knowing it, host Aric S. Queen used an incorrect term when talking about a certain group of people and was not only called out, but found himself in some serious trouble, so in order to (begin to) right this wrong, an apology show was put together — a show so good that not only do we go back to Soweto for some township goodness, but we’re also joined by singer / writer Laura Jansen — of whom you can see in the new film “Annette” alongside Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard — to talk about Miriam Makeba’s influence on her. Not to mention a 1970s track so addictive, we’re forced to play it twice. Plus much, much more.

Coffee. Sit. Play. Listen. Okay. Perfect. 

From the base of Table Mountain here in Cape Town, it's another episode exclusively dedicated to South African jazz + swing—namely from the townships and most pre-1960. From "marabi" to penny-whistling, Skylarks & Kings, it's 26 wonderful minutes of Rough Sundays—South Africa! 

Was there ever a more controversial album than "Graceland"? From assassination attempts to UN boycotts, cultural appropriation to apartheid, plagiarism to grenades being thrown into studios, it's hard to make the case for any other being surrounded by so much drama. In our third and final look at the stories and South African musicians behind the album in question, we hear from Ladysmith Black Mambazo's disappointment, Good Rockin' Dopsie's pretty good case for stealing and why Los Lobos (still) hate Paul Simon... plus much more. Coffee + "play" + enjoy. 

Assassination plots and grenades thrown at the person in question might sound like something out of a movie, but this - along with a whoooooooole lot more controversy - actually happened to Paul Simon after he released Graceland. In Part Two of a three-part series, we dive into not only the South African musicians who made this into one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time, but the true story about the uproar, outrage and hit put out on Simon. Coffee + sit back + hit play… you know the drill. It’s Rough Sundays - live from Durban, SA!

It's Oprah's favorite album of all time. It might be your favorite album of all time. It's definitely host Aric S. Queen's favorite album of all time. And in 1986, it gave the sounds of South Africa a worldwide stage — and one that launched bands like Ladysmith Black Mambazo into the well-deserved spotlight. But it also would become one of the most controversial albums of all time, too; the backlash including UN sanctions, hits put out on Paul Simon and even three grenades tossed into his storage unit. So, since we're down in South Africa, we're going to not only lay out exactly what happened — the recording, the subsequent turmoil and the apology-ish tour — but more importantly, we're going to get to know the artists behind each individual track. So make a cup of coffee, sit way back and let's start the first of three episodes dedicated to a little album called "Graceland".