Voices & Visions

Today’s guest is an accomplished film preservationist and archivist named Snowden Becker who I heard interviewed on The Cinephiliacs podcast a little while ago and made note of her many accomplishments. I knew immediately she was someone I was eager to learn from and listen to. There’s a reason why you’ll find many links in the show notes this time, because she has a lot to offer in a variety of ways. Her research interests focus on how audiovisual materials are integrated into, accessed, and preserved as part of a larger cultural heritage. She helped launch the annual international Home Movie Day and explored the increasingly pivotal role of audiovisual recordings in the criminal justice system, the latter of which we didn’t get to explore as much, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we talk some more in the future because Snowden provides a plethora of information and insight.

Follow Snowden:
https://twitter.com/snowdenbecker

Academia Links:
https://ucla.academia.edu/SnowdenBecker

Center For Home Movies:
https://www.centerforhomemovies.org

Personal Website:
https://snowdenbecker.com/about-me

Book Recommendations:
https://pamelaslim.com/body-of-work-book
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-to-be-everything-emilie-wapnick?variant=32122185482274

Marissa loves this band Sparks sooo much! So we watched Edgar Wright's excellent new documentary The Sparks Brothers, sparked up a doobie and sparks began to fly when we turned on the mics! Well, some of that is true anyway. Listen to me discover a whole new band while my guest educates me on the history, favorite songs and so much more. This was a delightful conversation and nice to have someone over for a memorable episode all about music! Now be sure to watch the documentary and listen to some Sparks ASAP! Check out the movie Annette opening at a theater near you soon too!

Follow Marissa:
https://letterboxd.com/m_robertcop
https://twitter.com/m_robertcop

Follow Sparks:
https://allsparks.com
https://twitter.com/sparksofficial

Returning guest Tyler Ritter of the band Shalloboi joins me not from Chicago this time but his hometown of Kansas City. He’s just released a new record called Untangled and if you’ve yet to hear it, you absolutely should especially for fans of the shoegaze / ambient pop genre the likes of My Bloody Valentine. But there are many layers and lots of talent behind this project that are highlighted during our delightful conversation. Please check out the links below to discover and support Tyler’s terrific musical endeavor that has been going strong for a long time now. Stay tuned for another music-centric episode later this week!

https://www.shalloboi.com
https://shalloboi.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/shalloboi
https://soundcloud.com/shalloboi

Listen to our previous conversation here (54:04 mark):
https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/kijakwilliamsritter

A few years back I asked my dear friend and writer/journalist Dan Solomon to join me for a new tradition: going back 20 years to look back at the year in music. Once again we put together our Top Ten Favorite Records from 2001 as well as share some honorable mentions. Joining us in the discussion this time is another wonderful friend that also shares in our unabashed love of music and pop culture, journalist and blogger Jason Simpson.

It’s been a long time since we all three spoke to one another so this was a real treat and more than just an exercise in nostalgia. Get ready to make some playlists and jot down our recommendations. As always there are sound clips included as well. Grateful to Dan and Jason for joining me and truly hope you all are safe + healthy. Stay tuned for a single in the future featuring my cover of the song that closes this episode since I think it’s one of the most beautiful ballads ever written.

Follow Dan & Jason:

https://twitter.com/dansolomon

https://forestpunk.wordpress.com

https://twitter.com/for3stpunk

Previous Years / Episodes:

https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1995

https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1996

https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1997

https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1998

https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music2000

A true blue talent in so many ways joins me for this latest conversation on Voices & Visions. An accomplished actress of course and now an incredibly inspirational artist/painter, Sabrina Lloyd joins me to discuss her career on stage, film, television and her transformation into a gifted artist whose work you can find in the links below. You remember her from shows like Sports Night and Sliders as well as the Sundance hit Dopamine and Hal Hartley’s The Girl From Monday. If you haven’t caught up with any of those, you really should. But we talk about other various highlights & stories from the past and what’s possibly in store for the future. Sabrina is passionate about all-things related to artistic expression and even offers workshops on storytelling and painting! It was such an honor and a joy to talk with someone whose work I’ve enjoyed since the mid-90s.

0:00 - 04:09 - Introduction
04:10 - 46:10 - Interview With Sabrina Lloyd

Follow Sabrina on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sabrina.lloyd_

Check out Sabrina’s online workshop with Joel Mckerrow:
https://www.joelmckerroweducation.com/story

Check out Sabrina’s website:
https://www.sabrinalloyd.com

When this show was once called Pop Culture Club, I asked a band I had just discovered to come on to talk about their remarkable LP The Slideshow Effect, a record I consider to be one of the best of the past ten years or so. When I saw that they were returning with a brand new EP of Beatles covers called Mania, I knew immediately I had to contact them again to check in with what they've been up to these past few years and celebrate their triumphant return! Denise and Evan comprise a true blue dream pop duo that constantly evolves while staying true to a signature sound that always brings me joy. As did this interview of course! We dive deep into the world of cover song creation, the future of the band, the hopes of live performance and more!

00:00 - 05:10 - Introduction
05:11 - 34:12 -  Interview w/Memoryhouse!

Links:
Memoryhouse Facebook
Memoryhouse Instagram
Memoryhouse Website
Memoryhouse Interview (Pop Culture Club era)
When You Sleep Cover (my favorite song - they did it justice)

It’s been awhile since I’ve spoken with one of today’s guests. Art Mayes is someone I share a wild history with given our own collaborations in a band we formed in high school. After we went to different colleges and the band broke up, Art formed a different musical partnership with the great Pete Lents, a remarkably talented musician that now has a very successful Twitch channel that I implore you to check out each and every week. For today’s conversation, Art & Pete share their collaborative history as songwriters in addition to shedding some light on their latest full-length record, Childish Things.

We talk about various inspirations, the joy of recording with others, how the “magic” of a song comes into fruition as well as where they’re currently headed both with their latest endeavor and more songs to come in the future. Included are snippets of nearly every recording they have out there in the land of streaming music so be sure to visit their website for links to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and more! Take note of their Kickstarter campaign below which allows you to contribute but also possibly create with them too! Thanks so much to Art & Pete and looking forward to more musician interviews in the future.

00:00 - 05:50 - V&V Introduction
05:51 - 01:04:40 - Art & Pete Interview

Links:
Art And Pete
Kickstarter Campaign
Childish Things Music Video
Pete's Twitch Channel

Voices and Visions returns and presents a joyful interview with one of the all-time great composers, Rachel Grimes. Her talent has been evident for many years going all the way back to her work with the band, The Rachel’s. For this follow-up conversation, we delve into her latest endeavors which includes one of last year’s very best albums, The Way Forth. There’s also a lot of words spoken about Kentucky history and politics, Rachel’s personal journey both past and present as well as just a lot of hope for the future of music and live performance. Please do your best to support independent artists like her by visiting her website and Bandcamp linked below. Stay tuned for a couple of episodes this month but we certainly start out strong here with so many words of insight and inspiration from a legendary composer whose work will definitely give you peace of mind during these difficult times.

00:00 - 04:07 - Introduction
04:08 - 51:16 - Interview

Buy The Way Forth Here:
https://rachelgrimes.bandcamp.com/album/the-way-forth

Visit Rachel’s Website:
https://Rachelgrimespiano.com

Check out this music video from The Way Forth:
https://youtu.be/xXB097LWLEA

No intro / outro this time even if it has been awhile. Just wanted to launch right into the topic at hand because it's a doozy and one I always look forward to (though we missed last year sadly). A few years back I asked dear friend and journalist Dan Solomon to join me for a new tradition: going back 20 years to look back at the year in music that was. We put together our Top Ten Favorite Records of 2000, share some honorable mentions and for this episode, we discuss our thoughts on the new Fiona Apple album, Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Grateful to Dan for joining me again and truly hope you all are safe + healthy. Stay tuned to the very end in which Wilco's very own Jeff Tweedy played my request on Instagram after his wife, Susan, read my comment aloud.

http://dansolomon.com/
https://twitter.com/dansolomon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_in_music

Previous Years / Episodes:
https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1995
https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1996
https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1997
https://www.voicesvisions.net/episodes/music1998

Reposting one of my favorite interviews with someone we just lost yesterday, way too soon, way too young. There is no denying how much those first two Fountains of Wayne records meant to me and of course throughout the years, songwriter Adam Schlesinger continued to inspire and move any number of people who were blessed to hear his music or collaborate with him.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing him about his collaborative work with Rachel Bloom on the incredible show, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. We spoke for a good half hour about his process but also about his love of music. It’s hard to summarize such a prolific talent like Adam or even make a concise playlist because I pretty much loved every song he wrote over the years. He was taken from us way too soon from this terrible virus that is plaguing the world. Instead of mourning the loss, it’s best to celebrate his talent by listening to any number of songs and records he’s been a part of over the years. I also wanted to repost this conversation I had with him. You can tell that he had a big heart, a great sense of humor and just a love of great pop songs and his music was representative of all that and more. Sending much love to his family and friends today including Rachel Bloom, Chris Collingwood among many others who were touched by this incredible musician.

During the episode, there are snippets of the following:

“Troubled Times”

"Hackensack"

"She's Got A Problem"

"Hate To See You Like This"

"Radiation Vibe"

"Red Dragon Tattoo"

"Prom Theme"

"Settle For Me" (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

"Getting Bi" (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

"All Kinds Of Time"

"That Thing You Do!"