Highway Hi-Fi Podcast

Tax Scam Record Labels (Episode 98)

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 01:05:36 -0000

Today, we look at the albums and labels that were born to lose money. The artifacts of music industry mischief and copyright chicanery. So, go ahead and file an extension on your common sense. Declare the next hour or three a total loss and adjust your gross. Put your dependents to bed and audit yourself for a stiff drink. This is going to get taxing. Get ready for the write-off records. In this episode, tax scam labels.

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Non-Human Music, Part 1: Animal Bands (Episode 97)

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 22:54:34 -0000

Animals and robots might seem like strange bedfellows for rock albums, but once you know what you’re looking for, they are hard to miss. There are hundreds of examples of bands who have piped in animal noises for any number of reasons: to provide atmosphere, as a story-song plot device, just to add some insanity, or possibly even something unseemly. Think of all the new-age fodder that relies on birdsongs, crickets, frogs, and tortured pig wails. Hasil Adkins, Lux Interior, Ray Stevens, and Raffi would all be out of work if they couldn’t sing animal noises - and were still alive. And of course, artist as robot is almost commonplace now, what with the non-humanoid success of acts like Kraftwerk, Devo, Man or Astroman, Servotron, Daft Punk, and Michael McDonald. Fauna and automatons in popular music surround us like we’re all riding our Tron motorcycles to Coachella during some post-apocalyptic doomscape.

But what lies beyond this casual relationship? What happens when bands relinquish some control of their aesthetic sound to orangutans and toasters or dugongs and doomsday devices? Are we breaking new ground or just finding yet another source of novelty? Or both. Over two episodes we will explore the merger of non-human caterwauling and popular music. How much of this is simply a gimmick and how much is a sincere exploration of music outside the influence of mankind? We will be returning to this topic in a later episode, where we tackle robot musicians, from player pianos to Terminators. But today, we will devolve to dance among the beasts.

So, tell Marlin Perkins to dust off that keytar, St Francis to open the cages, and David Attenborough to tickle himself some ivories. Get ready for thrillin’ reptilian. Amplified amphibians. Ambles of Mammals. When this ark gets to rockin’, be wary of knockin’. This petting zoo is going to get heavy. Today, non-human bands, part 1: the animal kingdom.

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Underwater Music (Episode 96)

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:26:43 -0000

On today’s episode, we’re casting our line out as far as we can to reel in a history of a music style that is as expansive, deep, majestic, and mysterious as the oceans themselves. Be ready for thrills to your gills and grins to your fins! It’s time to get your snorkel and flippers out of storage and your lures and bobbers out of the tackle box and join us as we flush ourselves into the fresh and damp world of underwater music.

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It's Another Gourd-jus Halloween Mix (Episode 95)

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 01:45:00 -0000

We hope to be back with a fresh batch of episodes very soon!

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Blob Dylan: Halloween Sounds (Episode 94)

Sat, 30 Oct 2021 15:32:19 -0000

In today's episode, we take a break from taking breaks and present a mix of sounds and music to unnerve you.

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Ringo Tribute Songs (Episode 93)

Wed, 12 May 2021 05:24:01 -0000

From 1963 to 1967 hundreds of songs about the Beatles, but not by the Beatles, were issued by no-name artists on tiny fly-by-night labels. An unimaginable amount of these mop top dedications were simply trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel of Beatlemania Bucks. And while the whole band received an unending amount of adulation from the masses of music makers, one member had an almost metaphysical magnetism for bad musicians: Mr. Ringo Starr.

In this episode, we are going to explore America’s Jingoism for Ringoism. The ladies who love the goofball percussionist and the men who love to hate him. Odes to the drummer who is better than the best. Or at least better than Pete Best. And the scores of singers who can’t possibly imagine a better subject matter than those shaggy locks and that Gomer Pyle grin. Listening to this music...it don't come easy. But we’re going to brave the bewildering and backbreaking Beatlemania Bacchanalia to bring you a bounty of the best bedeviling Beatle bauble by bewitched Beatle buffs. In this episode, Ringo Songs.

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The Music of Spaghetti Westerns (Episode 92)

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 15:36:13 -0000

In this episode, we track the legacy of the music of the grittiest of film styles. Scores of scores that are riddled with bullet holes, whiskey bottles, scattered cards, wanted posters, and bloodstains. Tunes that put a bounty on your mind and will ride you down in the desert. So, saddle up your pony and load your six-gun. Down that bottle and kiss your senoritas farewell, Prepare yourself for double-crosses, and double-double-crosses. Get another coffin ready. Today, we’re gunning down the history of Spaghetti Western Music.

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Famously Bad Musicians (Episode 91)

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 14:55:52 -0000

Nobody intentionally builds cathedrals to mediocrity. Music criticism, and really society in general, is often preoccupied with defining, declaring, and debating superlatives by using any means at their disposal, subjective to scientific. Look at the vast array of books, articles, lists, blog posts, and podcasts dedicated to rock’s most important bands or the world’s greatest albums, or the first true trip-hop song, or even the musician with the most substantial mustache. We seemingly have a compulsive need to declare a winner. To pin an imaginary medal for a make-believe achievement of unquantifiable greatness.

What we rarely do is look to the opposite side of the bell curve. To the outliers at the bottom, that is equally rare as their counterpoints at the apex, but not nearly given as much consideration for how unique they truly are. Those who stand out because of their outstanding failure and shortcomings. The best of the worst. The dregs of the entertainment community.

In this episode, we are going to explore the pop stars who found fans in spite of (or perhaps because of) their gross musical incompetence and who were demonstratively aesthetically just plain bad. The small handful of musicians who would be, under all circumstances, considered conventionally terrible at music yet manage to attain success. Those who through sheer will or perhaps complete ignorance managed to make a name for themselves. And those who were exploited, mocked, and enjoyed ironically but still fought to the top.

We seek to understand first what the motive is behind their drive? Were they sincere? Delusional? We’re they okay being a novelty and laughing along with their hecklers? Did they even know it was happening? Or did they just want to cash in by any means at their disposal? And secondly, we explore the motive of their audience. Did these people truly enjoy these exhibitions of atrocity much like watching a train wreck? Or did they get off on holding this secret over an oblivious performer? And finally what sort of unhealthy dynamic is formed from the strange relationship of the two.

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Bagpipers at the Gates of Dawn (Episode 90)

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 19:35:30 -0000

Bagpipes are a sonorous and ceaseless instrument. Almost comically so. The traditional Scottish Bagpipe is the loudest unamplified instrument known to man. Decibel levels range upwards of 110, which puts them far closer to thunderclaps and power tools than pianos and oboes. And if the deafening sound doesn’t get you, then the constancy of its noise certainly will. The chanter of a bagpipe is open, which means that once a piper has used the blow stick to fill the bag, the instrument cannot (and will not) be silenced until all the air is released. The spectacular implacable multi-dimensional soundscapes made by a stand of pipes are typically more unleashed than controlled. In fact, it requires technical playing to create an allusion of articulation and tone accents. In essence, the player bends to the will of the instrument, not the other way around...its the anti-Theremin. As James Reid, Bill Millin, and John Cale can all attest, the bagpipe is a fierce musical weapon. The power seems to be a tempting inclusion to engorge the depths of songcraft, yet, there have been so few popular musical artists who have attempted to integrate bagpipes into their songs. Even fewer used bagpipes on a regular basis.

In today’s episode, we are going to explore the tenuous relationship between the sack and the song. To find the brave souls who marched into the mainstream with nothing but pipes, pride, provocations, and piercing pandemonium. We are going to lift the kilt on one of the world’s most maligned and misunderstood music-makers. So, take a deep breath and blow as hard as you can, squeeze your bag tightly, finger your chanter nimbly, and don’t stop until you or your audience passes out….because we are startin’ to tartan. Today, bagpipes in popular music.

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Non-Holiday Holiday Show! (Episode 89)

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 23:16:47 -0000

It’s that time of year again, where we get pretty sick of hearing about Christmas. For this, unbelievably, our fourth Christmas episode we are going to carry on the tradition of taking an episode to talk about some of the weirder, smaller stories that we’ve wanted to cover, but wouldn’t fit in with a full-length turntable talk. A veritable cornucopia of record oddities. So, sit back and get ready to have your stockings stuffed with some fascinating tales of rock star mishaps and vinyl vanities. Stoke your fire, spike your eggnog, and don your winter’s cap, cause you’re about to be visited by the ghost of music history’s past.

In this episode, we have stories about Adriano Celentano, Eduard Khil, Halyx, Computer Data on Vinyl, Dr. Arthur Lintgen, and Gary S. Paxton. Join us, won't you?

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Puppet Records: Records for Dummies (Episode 88)

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 19:12:30 -0000

In the early 20th century, a puppet fervor slowly crept across the America, like rust on a Chevy Nova, as travelling shows made puppeteers into full fledge celebrities, particularly the self-proclaimed “America’s Puppet Master” Tony Sarg who was instrumental in creating visually appealing versions of classic children’s tales and bringing to life puppets in live action and animated films. Concurrently, ventriloquism acts were breaking from music halls and vaudeville shows to find superstardom led by duos of Arthur Prince and Sailor Jimmy, the Great Lester and Frank Byron Jr., and, of course, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. America got wood for talking wood.

The rise of radio, television, and film provided even broader platforms for puppeteers and ventriloquists to spread their infectious amusements. In a world before special effects, making inanimate objects come alive felt magical and more real than still nascent animation. It was children’s television that really embraced puppets as Howdy Doody and Burr Tillstrom's Kukla and Ollie were beamed directly into the impressionable minds of the baby boomers. Lambchop lovin’ Shari Lewis, sweater-clad Fred Rogers, and googly eyed Jim Henson all followed suit shortly after making themselves and their creations into international superstars.

At about the same nuclear age time frame, you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a socially awkward (and probably sexually frustrated) kid unsuccessfully practicing throwing his voice with a shiny new Emmett Kelly or Mortimer Snerd dummy emulating their heroes like Jimmy Nelson, Bil Baird, and Paul Winchell. They would spend hours listening to instructional records on letter substitutions and tongue positioning. The craze permeated far and wide as even Miss America contestants chose ventriloquism for the talent portion of the show. We even got so lazy that we decided to let robots run our puppets as animatronics started popping up all over place like Disneyland, Showbiz Pizza, and Chuck E Cheese.

In this episode, we are going to stare into the cold dead eyes of the dummies. We are going to explore why and how adults mimicking mannerisms into lifeless masses became the preeminent evangelical apparatus. And how things went so far off the rails. So, dim the lights and focus the spotlight. Put on your duck tail tuxedo. Tip your top hat jauntily askew. Straighten your bowtie. Stick your hand up the bottom of your favorite inanimate object and throw your voice as far it goes. Join as we walk through the uncanny valley of the dolls. Just don’t let us see your lips move. Today, the wacky world of puppet records, you dummies.

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Satanic Fanatics: Sounds of the Occult (Episode 87)

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 21:56:53 -0000

Almost as long as humans have mastered the ability to record the environment around them, they have desired to record the world that is just beyond them. A perfectly logical endeavour, as all recorded music is somewhat supernatural, especially when cocaine and LSD are involved. Recorded sound is by its very nature taken from another place, a distant place, and thrust into a moment where it doesn’t belong and couldn’t exist without human manipulation. The technology that unlocks these past dimensions surely mustn't stop there...what other realms can be explored.

In this episode we explore the sounds of the occult and occultists.

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Music History in Graphic Novels (Episode 86)

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 11:00:00 -0000

In this episode we look at how graphic novels are pushing the boundaries of pop music history, bringing new perspectives and fans. Where life imitating art is just as possible as art imitating life. How like the inked pages themselves, the books color their stories to accentuate their ideas and themes. Lighter, darker, more intense, more fanciful, more realistic, more fantastical. Entire biographies or genres are carefully condensed into imaginative visions. Adaptations that leave lasting impressions that are not necessarily bound by what is real. So move back in your mother’s basement, fire up the Batmobile, and bring out the shoebox of old Zippy the Pinhead comics. In this episode, we explore the symbiotic relationship between music history myth-building and graphic novels.

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Rock Star Commercials (Episode 85)

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 02:05:00 -0000

As radio, and eventually television, became a fixture in American homes, a celebrity culture was solidified. With this fascination for the people that we hear and see almost daily, there was a longing to understand them. A striving for connection that lets people feel like they really know who this star is and maybe, one day, that star could know who they really are as well. These conditions of idol worship created a lucrative playing field for companies to draw upon the status of fame to sell their goods. Beyond the normal response that music can invoke in listeners, the draw was much stronger if the message came from a recognized, trusted, and desirable source. Today, we explore the literal commercialization of rock music.

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Experiential Microgenres: Night Bus, Late-Night Grocery Run, & Pink Motel (Episode 84)

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 13:57:52 -0000

Night Bus, Late Night Grocery Run, & Pink Motel are microgenres that represent their own experiential sound, where the songs are held together by the atmospheres they invoke rather than a specific set of rules or location in time and space. The music, primarily captured on singles, was created by private press or no name labels with dreams of making it big or at least making a few bucks. The mood of these micro-genres provides a faded snapshot of the 1980s with a depraved combination of the excess and frivolity of popular styles of the time: RnB, disco, funk, AOR, and synthpop.

Our episode today is being co-hosted by two cosmonauts of musical taxonomy, Candace and Micah, who launch themselves into the darkest recesses of the musical spectrum and bring back the fragments of unremembered sounds out of the oblivion. They explore musical trends that are mostly forgotten or intentionally pushed away from mass society for its own protection. They have worked diligently to find homes for the “square peg” music that certainly exists, but is, as of yet, unrecognized as a cohesive micro-genre. Music that is little known outside of the basement dwelling record trolls plastered to their discogs, mixclouds, and youtubes.

Listen to Micah's show on WFMU, Music of Mind Control

Archives for WFMU shows hosted by Micah & Candace: Night Bus & Low Rent Grooves/Pink Motel

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Albums Conceived in Institutions (Episode 83)

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0000

There is an unproductive trope of there being a fine line between genius and madman. Constantly, we are encouraged to believe that the works of “artists in asylums” are somehow this perpetual motion machine where mental illness fuels creativity which, in turn, fractures the creator even more creating a cycle toward an inevitable dark end, where we are only left with the work to scrutinize or admire. The truth is a lot less dramatic, but no less sad. Social circumstances, interpersonal relationships, biology, substances, and societal expectations each play relevant roles in determining the well-being of every person: artist, genius, or just the poor soul sleeping on the street. Art and artist are separate. Just as a mental condition and person are separate. Influenced and interlaced, certainly, but we so often forget that works do not define the person, rather the person defines the work.

Many of us are captivated by albums that were created while the artists were in mental hospitals. They are rare artifacts that unfortunately end up defining the artist for their careers while giving an undue amount of weight to the condition of their mind rather than the beauty within it. The artistry that comes from the pain and confusion of confinement . . . in a hospital and in one’s mind. The records are snapshots of musicians on the brink that utilized songs to communicate their struggle or alleviate suffering. Today, we are exploring Institutional Albums by Roky Erickson, Skip Spence, and Danial Johnston.

Sources used for this episode include:

13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History by Paul Drummond

Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, The Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound by Paul Drummond

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The Women Who Pioneered Experimental & Electronic Music (Episode 82)

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 13:08:34 -0000

There is a long history of the unjust treatment of women musicians whose contributions were often overlooked, dismissed, or stolen. Sadly, it’s likely to be a long future as well. This is on the top of the extra effort and persistence that it took to establish themselves in a sexist business that is stacked against female creators and performers. In particular, the development of experimental and electronic music has been established on the skills of a number of women artists who made monumental and transformative contributions to forward-thinking, technology-minded music. Unfortunately, many of these artists remain far too obscure for their importance in progressing the genre. This episode is an examination of the unsung women who shaped the sounds during the formative years of electronic music.

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Desert Island Recordings: The Pod by Ween

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 11:00:00 -0000

Ween set forth on a career-long ambition to tear down standard music industry conventions by hook or by crook. To take that which is weird, obnoxious, and unclean, and show it as important as the falsely pristine parts of life. They were never more successful in this endeavor than on their 76 minute slog of a second record, The Pod. Recorded alone together in Dean and Gene Ween’s apartment that was a converted barn smack dab in the middle of a horse field while both were suffering through mono and high on, well, probably everything. The record sounds like you need to scrape off layers and layers of shit and grime to get the pop tunes hidden within. Underneath the juvenile jokes, the impressive assemblage of vulgarity, fast food orders, molasses-dipped song-smithing, sonic fuckery, squishy atmosphere, and overall friendly misanthropic posturing is a solid and comprehensive American pop music revue. Dinner theater at the slaughterhouse.

So, tonight’s offering...another scoop of isolation but this time with a heaping of flies, scotch guard, and glandular fever. If you’ve ever woken up and found that someone had taken a deuce on your kitchen floor, you’ve already sort of heard this masterpiece. The sludgiest, brownest record of Ween’s illustrious decades long trouncing of indie music. Come on, it's a beautiful night for a walk on the beach, wouldn't you say?

Listen to Fewer Owls, mentioned in this episode!

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The Music of Cults, Part 2 (Episode 80)

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 11:00:00 -0000

Today’s episode is a continuing examination of the strange bedfellows of cults and music. Last time, we discussed some of the more academic reasons why leaders and their minions utilize music to recruit, indoctrinate, isolate, and elevate their group, so today we are going to dive right into the fringiest of the fringe groups. The absurd ashrams. The Kookiest communes. The flakiest faiths. The goofiest gurus. The screwiest sects. And the zaniest zealots. So go ahead and plaster your best “Up with People” smile on that face, schedule tomorrow’s deprogramming session, and hunker in your bunker as we prepare to astrally project the second installment of the fascinating world of cult music.

One of the main resources we used for this episode was WFMU's Music of Mind Control with Micah

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The Music of Cults, Part 1 (Episode 79)

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:30:22 -0000

Cults can manifest themselves in any number of ways. They deal in the currency of human beliefs….religious, political, racist, or terroristic beliefs. And can be delivered in the form of a prophesying doomsday, increasing human potential, or enhancing one’s position using new age techniques, black magic, crystal skulls, anything on Gwyneth Paltrow’s website, or other supernatural means. And while it can be difficult to know exactly when a group is truly a cult, they tend to share three things: a charismatic, often authoritative leader; an indoctrination program into a transcendent belief system; and a system of control through exploitation.

These self-styled leaders prey upon the most malleable members of society. Generally, those are the most stable and predictable of us. Cults use varying means of conditioning and thought reform through deception, isolation, dependency, and fear. One of the more fascinating tools in their horrible toolbox of manipulation is the use of music. As with the case of Bixby and DeGraff, there is a strange balance and codependency of music and mind control. Music is consistently seen playing a role in the establishment and functioning of cults, radical sects, and new religious movements. It can not only bring people together, it can also bring people into the fold.

In this episode, we delve into the bizarre world of music made from within cults. Tunes that were left behind as relics of evidence of exploitation and excessive, destructive devotion. Results that are so strange because they were almost certainly weaponized by a brainwashed minion. Music that is created in a vacuum of narcissism, removed from free thought and outside influence. Hymns to self-appointed prophets, saviors, divine conduits, Christ reincarnates, gurus, faith healers, alien leaders, and Sting (probably). We will look at music from some of the world’s most infamous cults as well as the songs that are so insular, they make no sense outside of their context, even when that context makes no sense either. So, cleanse off your chakra, open your mind, pull on your robes, lace up your Nikes. Today, the music of the cults. Join us, won’t you? Forever?

One of the main resources we used for this episode was WFMU's Music of Mind Control with Micah

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Desert Island Recordings: Laughing Stock by Talk Talk

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 11:00:00 -0000

Like it or not, we are all chained to our past. What we have done slowly becomes who we are. This holds especially true for musicians as they constantly struggle against what they have already created for the world to behold. The pieces of art that fans, labels, journalists, and maybe themselves become forever tethered to their identity. The crusty joke about “I like their old stuff better” is often truly a death knell for a band’s growth. An artist is frozen in time by their own past success. Why try anything new if it won’t matter to most of the people who care about your product anyway? And, frankly, for a lot of bands, they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Changing styles might spark the sell-out or jumped the shark chants with angry mobs carrying pitchforks and reading Pitchfork. If you don’t, though, you risk growing stale and fading away.

Some bands lean into a stylistic steadfastness and can compel allegiance through sheer resolute commitment. The Ramones, Motorhead, and the Cramps built a brand on a singular style, albeit their own very unique style. Most artists with some longevity, ebb and flow, grow and retreat, but hang around their general vicinity of comfort. There are tons of examples of this. Artists like Wilco, REM, Willie Nelson, Rolling Stones, etc. It goes on and on. Some artists reinvent themselves constantly throughout their careers but never to a completely unrecognizable degree. This would include David Bowie, Prince, Madonna, and Bob Dylan. Some simply pinball from one horrific sound to the next. Sting, for example, and his tantrically mediocre existence. Some artists might occasionally take an oddball flier on a totally random genre record that exists squarely outside of their cannon, maybe for fun, or by accident, or out of contract obligations...think Serge Gainsbourg’s Reggae album, Ween’s country album, Neil Young’s Trans, Metal Machine Music, Pat Boone’s unfortunately satisfying metal album, and of course, the oft cited here, Chris Gaines taking off the goatee mask to become Garth Brooks. These often sound more on the wrong side of the “novelty to homage” scale. However, there are a few rare cases when an artist completely reinvents themselves, elevating the limits of ambition and shattering preconceived notions of their music. Scott Walker left behind his teeny bopper career to become a pork-pounding master of the avant-garde. Tom Waits evolved from a barroom balladeer to a carnival barking madman. Brian Eno disrobed from his leopard print glam tendencies to essentially single-handedly herald in ambient music. And finally, Talk Talk who started as a group of synth-toting Duran Duran doppelganger doppelgangers to being at the forefront of the post-rock movement.

As we continue to delve into different forms of isolation shaped and sculpted into musical artifacts, Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock is intentionally distancing from the sentiment and bias of the past. A band that desperately works to create space and blatant disregard from what they are supposed to be. And in the end, it turns out to be too destructive of a force for the group to continue.

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The History of Laughing Records (Episode 77)

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 12:00:00 -0000

For being studied from philosophical, sociological, psychological, and biological perspectives for centuries, there is no one unified theory on the meaning of laughter. A common condition of all cultures, every person is susceptible to these involuntary responses. As Aristotle put it, “Humans are laughing animals”. One factor that most Gelotological philosophers and scientists agree upon is that laughter is an essential social tool. Laughter creates connection, expresses emotion, adds conversational context, signals acceptance, creates positive feedback loops, acts as a defense mechanism, and helps to ferret out the weak and embarrass them. In short, laughter is how we bond. It’s how we tell others and ourselves that things are going to be okay. Social, emotional, and cognitive regulation. A primitive means to deal with our unpredictable, inconsistent, and intense existence. 1900s French Philosopher Henri Bergson wrote that laughter was a collective apparatus that causes a separation from logic and emotion which allows society to intellectually adapt to situations, balance moral quandaries, and correct eccentric behavior. Of course, not too many people are worried about where laughter comes from or what it does, we just know that videos of men sustaining testicular injuries is never not funny.

All this begs the question...what do you get when you cross a joke and a rhetorical question? In the 1920s, an answer to that might have been the laughing record fad. 78s featuring uncontrollable cackling took hold of the culture causing a sort of mass hysteria in the sitting rooms around the world. It was a regular pole-sitter laughageddon. Inexplicably, millions of people could not get enough of songs that were interrupted with the wild pre-recorded howls and snorts flatulating from their Victrola phonograph machines. The bizarre novelty record phenomenon had a long lasting impact in both humanizing the nascent technology and laying the groundwork for embedded laugh tracks to assist audiences with remembering the hilarity they were witnessing. On this episode, we chuckle, chortle, snicker, titter, giggle, and guffaw our way through the bust-your-gut history of laughing records.

Primary sources for this episode:

Ian Nagoski of Canary Records

Cary O'Dell - Library of Congress

Vocal Tracks by Jacob Smith

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Desert Island Recordings: Iron Curtain Innocence by Bobb Trimble

Tue, 26 May 2020 13:34:17 -0000

In a sense, private press records are the ultimate form of isolation music. They are albums that are created completely on an island. Often, recorded by a single person. Usually, created without any support or belief. Always, made without the assistance of a label to provide funding, resources, marketing, or expertise. Putting out a private press record is an act of faith. Faith in yourself...that you are an undiscovered and misunderstood musical treasure. Faith that you’ll see a return on your investment…that the thousands of dollars you spend will be come back tenfold with future riches, fame, and respect. Faith in your fans….the ones that don’t yet exist, but will certainly fawn over you when they finally set the needle down on the shiny black vinyl, spinning at a perfect 33 and a third revolutions per minute. Faith in the system….that if you believe and you work hard, you will fulfill your destiny. Faith, that someone cares and empathizes with your point of view. Faith that you might not be alone.

Bobb Trimble might be the king of the private press. He certainly checks most of the boxes that make a private press record highly sought after: Loner outsider musician, hilariously bizarre cover art, strange story, lo-fi recording, minuscule pressing, cited as influential by big-name independent artists. However, what makes him the master of this lost genre is the music itself which is gorgeously detailed, strangely attractive, shockingly accessible and engaging. Music that is not just rehashed and stylized, but something that lives outside the standard comfortable genre descriptors. Somewhere between acid folk, soft rock psychedelic, fuzzy space rock, and power pop with a streak of musique concrete.

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The Paisley Underground (Episode 75)

Tue, 19 May 2020 20:04:17 -0000

The Paisley Underground might be the first mix-tape scene. Not really a genre at all, but a collective of people who had similar interests and influences who all happened to be in bands. The music was defined more by what it wasn’t...not punk, not singer-songwriter, not hard rock, not New Romantic. It was entirely synthesized by openly combining parts of beloved sounds of the past into a fresh and forward-thinking way. The bands were composed of musicians who wore their hearts on their technicolor dreamcoat sleeves with regards to their love and devotion of 60s music. However, the sounds of the individual bands varied greatly, so it makes little sense to call it a true genre. More a scene that captured shared ideals and fashion sense. As Dream Syndicate main man Steve Wynn aptly put it: “We had enough in common with each other and almost nothing in common with anybody else.”

It involved a wave of kids who became tired of the punk scene which had become what it initially railed against: stagnant music that was too concerned with maintaining status quo uniformity as the kids were getting too violent. Scores of kids who had initially fallen in love with the thrill and DIY mindset of punk, who'd grown bored and felt disenfranchised and left behind. Many of the Paisley Undergroundlings described themselves as bad punks, making music just for the sake of belonging rather than for the sake of the songs. It was the spirit of punk but with a more expansive sound. They started looking inward and backward to the more gentle and pretty sounds of the 1960s. But this wasn’t a neo-hippy movement with romanticized political ideals and stereotypical retro wear. In fact, all the bands gleaned what they liked most about the 60s without any concern for being true to their heroes or dedicated to the sound and fashion.

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Desert Island Recordings: The Coroner's Gambit by the Mountain Goats

Tue, 12 May 2020 11:00:00 -0000

The Mountain Goats released Coroner’s Gambit in 2000, three years after their previous album, Full Force Galesburg. This might not sound like an incredibly long break between records, but some perspective might help explain why this time was important.

In 1991, the Mountain Goats released their first album, a cassette-only release titled Taboo VI: The Homecoming. From that album through 1997, they had 21 releases of various types, cassette-only, CD only, 7” singles, split singles, 12” EPs, and full-length albums. In those 21 releases were 188 songs. In 1998, there were only 4 songs on one 12”. In 1999, zero. What caused this period of seeming inactivity?

Research we used in this episode came from the below and we hope we didn't leave anyone out:

Mountain Goats Website

Annotated Mountain Goats

The Mountain Goats Wiki

PopMatters Interview with John Darnielle

RozzNet: The Official Rozz Williams Website

Turned Out Punk Podcast, Episode 209

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Vinyl Artist Mike Dixon (Episode 73)

Tue, 05 May 2020 10:00:00 -0000

If you collect vinyl, you understand the power of tangible, physical media. You know the thrill of finding a new record, staring at the cover art, pouring through the liner notes, and, of course, the disc itself. Holding sound. Looking at the grooves, the labels, the wax. The record is truly a piece of art far beyond the music contained within.

There is perhaps no one who practices this craft with more skill and dedication than Michael Dixon. Based out of Tucson, Arizona, Mike expands the boundaries of vinyl art through creativity, collaboration, and innovation. He views a vinyl record as a blank canvas which will hold unique one-of-a-kind artifacts that are both beautiful and will play music for perpetuity. Drawing from lifelong loves of education, records, outsider art, and re-purposing junk, Mike uses 1940s record cutting lathe machines to handcraft sonic objects. He has made records out of up-cycled plexiglass, laser discs, picnic plates, cd-rs (playable on both turntable and standard CD player), mirrors, place mats, x-rays, and even 90% cacao chocolate. He has made records that use multiple sides, holes, groove patterns, locked grooves, and overlapping or concentric circles. He has made records that are absurdly entertaining and visually stunning.

On top of this, he runs a record label called People In a Position to Know that focuses on putting out records by artists that he believes in and records that are as individual as the bands. He has made ultra-limited releases for a huge range of big name indie artists like The Flaming Lips, Dr Dog, Ariel Pink, Mike Watt, the Microphones, and Grandaddy as well as making essential music available to fans from bands that you should know like The Graves, Sugar Candy Mountain, and Golden Boots. He has also put out music by several of this podcast’s favorite artists including Wooden Wand, Simon Joyner, and Luna.

Oh and when he’s not doing that, he does short run lathe cuts for bands, fixes lathe machines, is a DJ specializing in private press and bizarro honky tonk, and, coolest of all, educates kids at schools and libraries about the science behind sound and the evolution of sound recording.

We were fortunate enough to spend some time with Mike talking about his passion and his art as well as some mutual interests. We strongly encourage you to check out his process and his products by visiting his websites, michaeldixonvinylart.com and piaptk.com. We guarantee you will find incredible unique music and records that you cannot find anywhere else.

Now, it is another chapter in our continuing series of interviewing people who are truly vital to the vinyl record industry and the fans of vinyl records all over the world. Here’s our conversation with lathe master, label owner, and vinyl artist Michael Dixon.

People in a Position to Know Vinyl Recordings (PIAPTK)

Michael Dixon Art

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Desert Island Recordings: The Trinity Session by The Cowboy Junkies

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 10:00:00 -0000

Faced with the prospect of an untimely death, 25-year-old Mary Lambert Swale drew up an unusually specific last will and testament. The daughter of the wealthy English family, Swale anonymously bequeathed to the Anglican Church of Toronto 5000 sterling, an astronomical sum in 1845, to erect a new church. This gift came with stipulations, however. The building must be constructed in the Gothic Style in a cruciform structure. The congregation must be named Church of the Holy Trinity. And, most importantly, that all people be welcome in the church and that its pews be “free and unappropriated forever.” This was a radical request as a common practice among Anglican churches of the time was charging pew reservations as a way to allow the more affluent to worship undisturbed by the pathetic prayer riff-raff. The Church of the Holy Trinity was dedicated in October 1847 and its doors have ever more been open to all.

It is fitting that this deference to the past, insistence on beauty, and the requirement for openness would be built into a church that 140 years later would play host to a recording session that would make the environment a critical aspect of its music. The Cowboy Junkies would hole up in the Trinity Church and quietly play their haunting Shoegaze Americana into a single microphone nestled in the midst of the five-story Cathedral. The hushed beauty that was committed to tape in that sacred place on the “The Trinity Session” is a commentary against the increasingly digital and frantic world surrounding them.

If you'd like to hear why Lou Reed's "Take No Prisoners" is our favorite live album of all-time, listen to the Love That Album Podcast.

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Reverse Supergroups (Episode 71)

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 15:53:00 -0000

Supergroups are kind of lazy. It’s a lazy term for bands that consist of musicians who have already found success elsewhere. It’s a lazy move for musicians who too often want to become relevant again or make some easy money. It’s a lazy means of promotion for record labels who can just plaster the faces of the band members on the cover. It’s a lazy expectation for fans who are happy enough with artists resting on their collective laurels. However, in this laziness, intentions and expectations are in a strange dichotomy of being very low and being very high, a lot of weird and fun stuff can happen. Raging egos, combined with expensive chemicals can generate a lot of damage.

The rise of many of the most well-known supergroups has been documented to a narcoleptic degree; your Creams, Audioslaves, CSNYs, Blind Faiths, Traveling Wilburys, and Bad Englishes, for example. We are not going to bore you with those stories that you probably know already and we don’t have any interest in in the first place. We are going to take a different highway like the podcasting highwaymen we are.

In this episode, we look at the other end of the spectrum, covering the importance of groups that were supergroups except that no one knew it yet. Groups with multiple members who would go on to greatness, but in the nascent stage were still unknowns. Bands that are sometimes called “Reverse Supergroups”. Totally opposite of the serendipitous accidents or the blatant money grabs of the typical supergroups; proto-supergroups are full of drive, creativity, and unchecked enthusiasm. The powers that the members yield may not be known, but it is a lot of fun to see collaborations between up and comers. Making the case that sometimes the music is more important and more lasting when it was created before anyone was paying attention rather than when it was made after people quit caring.

Great places to visit that we mention in the episode:

Chris Sand AKA Sandman the Rappin' Cowboy

People in a Position to Know Vinyl Recordings (PIAPTK)

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Desert Island Recordings: Ready for the House by Jandek

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 18:45:03 -0000

Jandek’s first album, like most of his career, was made with aggressive alienation. Heralded as a master of American DIY, at no point during the first 25 years of his career did he seek attention, press, or notoriety outside his homemade music. No press kits. No live performances. No ambition or self-awareness. All interviews are summarily denied. Prolific in both his obscurity and output, Jandek would release 45 records (always 12’ full albums until CDs were available) between 1978 and 2006 under the Corwood Industries label. These would all be sold only via mail order from a Houston PO box. In that quarter century, there are only a handful of supposed interviews, which might be a misnomer because interview implies some transmission of pertinent information. He may have worked as a machinist. He may have had formal musical training. The unidentified man, who was Jandek, but only identified himself as representative of Corwood Industries.

If Tom Waits’ song “What’s He Building in There” was non-fiction, it would’ve been about Jandek.

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Desert Island Recordings: Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 15:03:00 -0000

Bruce Springsteen was totally spent after finishing a grueling year long 140 date tour for his massively successful double record The River. Needing a rest, he rented a house by a reservoir in Colt’s Neck, New Jersey. His time spent there allowed him a little bit of respite from life on the road and time apart from the fans. He was able to fully take in and embrace his musical and literary influences, past and present. And while the quiet allowed him to take some time to reflect, he was dealing with insecurity, depression, and the immense pressure that he felt from all sides. And in the silence, he fell prey to a subconscious nagging about the unconnected dots from his youth. Like so many other times in his career, he turned to work and music to escape. However, in a rented room with nothing but his demons, the sound that sprang forth from the man was very different.

This is part two of our isolation albums: Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen

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Desert Island Recordings: Tusk by Camper Van Beethoven

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 19:32:15 -0000

Isolation causes people to do funny things. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes mad, often both. We're both under the recommended self-quarantine and as we're waiting for this pandemic to hopefully quickly subside. We started thinking about albums that were made while in confinement. Many came to mind quickly. The Rolling Stones recorded Exile on Main Street while holed in France avoiding tax penalties. Of course, that is less like quarantine and more like a weekend at Caligula’s. Bon Iver’s post-break-up self induced retreat in a hunting cabin turned into For Emma, Forever Ago. Songs of Pain by Daniel Johnston was recorded in his parents basement as his bipolar swings made social engagements tremendously difficult. The majority of Cat Power’s Moon Pix was written during a terrifying hallucinatory nightmare while left alone in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. And of course, David Allen Coe, Charles Manson, that psycho guy from Burzum, and countless hip hop artists made records while incarcerated.

That's when we remembered Camper Van Beethoven’s Tusk. As we recalled, the band got snowed in at a cabin somewhere in the depths of the California mountains in the late 80s. To stave off boredom, the band did a track by track remake of the Fleetwood Mac maligned bizarro AOR classic, Tusk. CVB got through most of the tracks before the thaw, stashed the tapes, and went about their merry way. Many years later, about to embark on a reunion tour, the band found the tapes, cleaned them up, added and rerecorded bits, and released the record. We both love Camper Van Beethoven and Tusk, so we decided it would be a good exercise in exploring what happens to bands when cabin fever sets in. So, today, break into your emergency vodka, settle into your confinement, and check your supply of toilet paper as we cover the bizarre tale of Camper Van Beethoven’s Tusk.

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Single Song Albums (Episode 67)

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 21:44:00 -0000

Today, we examine the messages that were delivered by seven of the most famous, and some equally infamous, single track records. The emotional tension that went into making them. The strife that went into releasing them. And the waves that were made by listening to them.

Each with a message beyond their declaration of musical independence. A jazz composer completely undoing the constraining rules of his genre. An Afrobeat icon illuminating the political and social unrest around him. A New York legend aggressively rewriting the boundaries of popular music. A Krautrocker’s exercise in boredom relief. A metal band proving monotony and momentum are as critical to sound as dynamics. An artist’s reflecting on decay, death, and the world burning all around him. An eclectic soundscapist’s unraveling the seeming destruction of the medium of music.

The collective sound of these records are full undefinable parallels...challenging and inviting. Simple and complex. From furious to melancholic. Anxious to gleeful. Structured loops and fractured chaos. The only common bond was a total disregard for what had been done before. Today, the single song albums that changed the landscape of music.

We're fortunate enough to be added to FeedSpot's list of "Top 20 Music Podcasts You Must Follow in 2020"

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Who is Kevin Coyne? (Episode 66)

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 06:01:00 -0000

Kevin Coyne released over 40 albums in the course of his 35-year career. He would be hailed and championed by the likes of John Peel, Richard Branson, Johnny Rotten, the Mekons, Sting, and Will Oldham. He unceremoniously rejected an offer from Elektra Records to be the dead Jim Morrison’s replacement in the Doors, quipping that he didn’t like leather pants. He wrote scores of songs about the fringes of humanity dealing with mental illness and addiction with empathy and poise that few could match in even a single song. He penned bizarre operas and theme albums about nefarious characters including the notorious mobsters, the Kray Brothers, subversive comedian Frank Randle, the evil-incarnate Moor Murderers, and the acid-damaged Syd Barrett.

And he would remain known as someone who is famously unknown.

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Tolk-Rock: Music's Obsession with Middle-Earth (Episode 65)

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 04:15:55 -0000

On today’s episode, we are going to seek to understand the bands who spent hours stenciling runes on their guitars and drum heads, writing lyrics in the Black Tongue of Mordor, and filling their pipes with Longbottom Leaf. The bands that wandered into fame beyond belief and those who were lost to the darkest depths of Khazad Dum. Today’s episode: Tolk-Rock: the musical obsession with Middle Earth.

Sources used for this episode:

The Tolkien Music List

An Essay posted on We Are The Mutants by K.E. Roberts, titled “And in the Darkness Bind Them”: The First ‘Lord of the Rings’ Paperbacks and the Making of Fantasy"

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Conspira-Season's Greetings! (Episode 64)

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 17:16:04 -0000

The holidays are a time of peace, joy, and love. They are also the best time to look around, take a breath, and stop a minute to enjoy all the madness that constantly swirls amongst us. Here at Highway Hi-Fi, our Christmas episode is the show we allow ourselves to talk about some of our favorite stories that are too small for a Turntable Talk, but too good to not share. All of which have nothing to do with Yuletide Festivities. And the theme this year is our favorite music conspiracies and myths.

Sure, there are your garden variety conspiracies, like “Paul is Dead”, “Elvis is Alive”, and “Jay-Z is an Illuminati, Lizard Person, and/or Time-Traveling Vampire”. Or we could even go into the typical sort of master of puppet situations like “The Laurel Canyon hippy movement was a government-sponsored action to make war protesters seem like druggy ding dongs” or that “Private prison profiteers conspired with Record Execs to make Gangsta Rap the Nation’s most popular genre”. Heck, we could even bore you with mash-ups like “Darkside of the Rainbow” or that “ABBA became the Residents” or “Stephen King killed Lennon”.

And those are well and good. But here, we like to go a little deeper. A little wackier for our highly discerning audience. So, we rolled up our sleeves and hit the dark webs and sub-sub-sub-Reddits to bring you some juicy bonkers-ness. Websites where every picture is grainy and plastered with Microsoft paint embellishments. Websites where no obsolete detail is too minute. Websites where research is a dirty word and where no news is fake.

Settle in. Take off your Santa Cap, and put on your tinfoil cap. Dump out the eggnog, and start drinking the Koolaid. And quit gazing at the twinkling tree lights, in favor of those unexplained glowing orbs circling the room. Bookmark all 39 of your copies of Catcher in the Rye. Crank up the podcast, you sheeple. Today, we present our Conspiracy Christmas spectacular.

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Turntable Tutelage: How-To Records (Episode 63)

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 03:50:57 -0000

In the middle of the century, a collective thirst for knowledge grew around the world. In these new space age times, people had neither the time nor patience for books, tutors, or apprenticeships. Instead they turned to the newest form of mass media for their learning needs...the vinyl record. The turntable allowed unlimited listens in the private and cozy confines of home making it the ideal vehicle for audio instruction.

As a result, there was a gigantic wave of how-to records, or educational records, produced. These discs were designed to help people learn how to become better. Better ventriloquists, better dancers, better pick-up artists, better mathematicians, and better duck callers. An age of self improvements, decades before YouTube. It gave people a sense of control and purpose in a world where so much was changing over which they had no influence, no power, and often no understanding. This combined with a wave of mass capitalist consumption made for the fertile conditions for the explosion of instructional discs.

Today, we discuss the wacky world of tutelage that are How-To Records.

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The History of Disaster Songs (Episode 62)

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 08:23:35 -0000

While music is often dominated by songs of love...romantic love, fleeting love, spiritual love, love of place, love of country, love of Waffle House delicacies, there is a dark side to that jukebox coin. An obsession we all have with the darkness. A bleak reality that is as unknown as it is universal. It is riveting, enthralling, and oddly comforting to delve into other people’s tragedies. And honestly, we can’t get enough of it. Everyone loves a train wreck. Quite literally and especially if it’s being sung about by the likes of Johnny Cash.

Today, we are examining an old tradition that keeps being reborn in tragedy, public and private, national and local. Songs that are constant reminders that our hubris has blinders, our safety merely an illusion, and our demise inevitable. Often acting as moral reminders of what happens when we flaunt our disregard for our environment, become too enmeshed with technology, or forget the true nature of mankind. Songs that ensured that the victims, and sometimes the perpetrators, would never be forgotten and the tales would be sung for generations. Music of the calamities that are part of national consciousness and of the grim cataclysms that we collectively yearn to forget. Equal parts eulogy, sermon, and tabloid. Today, we bring you the history of disaster songs. Ode, what a feeling.

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Constructing Terror: John Carpenter and the History of Horror Soundtracks (Episode 61)

Sat, 26 Oct 2019 13:14:00 -0000

Today, we are exploring the depths of a genre that can be both ghoulishly fun, menacing, and shocking all within the same side of a record. The twists and turns that composers use to enthrall the audience and make their collective flesh crawl. The orchestral equivalents of Vincent Price whispering sweet nothings into your ear. A left out style of music that has made itself into a viable and influential genre despite being secondary to its own medium. Today, we examine the history of the horror movie soundtrack and its recent unholy alliance with the vinyl record.

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In Recognition of Peter Laughner (Episode 60)

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 02:59:00 -0000

No one man can make a scene. But perhaps one can be an embodiment of it. A representation of what makes a place and its music intertwined. Like his beloved Cleveland itself, the emblematic and occasionally problematic Peter Laughner was on the fringes of the American music canon. A shadowy presence in a shadowy place at the time when rock n roll was dark, smart, and powerful. But that is the thing about underground music...it can happen in the most unlikely places. And underground music needs people with vision and determination to make it live. Though most of Laughner's renown comes from being a member of both the proto-punk master-blasters Rocket from the Tombs and then his short-lived stint in their seminal art-punk offshoot Pere Ubu, he was involved in scores of other bands as well as being a writer and critic of music at one of its most important periods.

The real tragedy of Peter Laughner, beyond his self-destructive tendencies and untimely death, is that he is often remembered most for his self-destructive tendencies and untimely death. Though his importance has been well documented in his circles of influence, his reflective writing, his other-worldly guitar playing, and the scarce snippets of music that were available through bootlegs and a single disjointed compilation, his status as a rock n roll victim and burnt out luminary overshadow the music itself.

Today, we will play an interview with Nick Blakey, a Northwestern Ohio music archivist and a producer on the boxset who spent a decade working on the project. He speaks about what he has learned about Peter Laughner, the sometimes grueling process of culling hours of tapes to a 5 LP set, his perspective on hero worship, and a myriad of fascinating stories about his years as a fan, record collector, bootleg trader, musician, researcher, writer, and archivist.

You can order your copy of the Peter Laughner 5LP box set at Smog Veil Records

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First Wave Ska (Episode 59)

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 04:26:00 -0000

In the late 50s, the streets of Jamaica were alit with music. Bands would bang out jazz and rhythm & blues songs every night, catering to large crowds of people desiring only to dance all night.

It was a disco, but outside in the streets, every night of the week, from dusk till dawn, like Mardis Gras and a discotheque crammed into one big outdoor dance-off.

However, there was a singular prevalent problem. The bands...they wanted breaks, and the breaks lasted too long and people wanted to keep going. A compromise of sorts was agreed upon, a sound system would be brought in and allowed to be play records during an intermission.

No one knew it then, but this compromise would eventually be the end of those bands and the start of ska's rise to prominence.

Research Sources used for the episode:

Heather Augustyn's Ska: An Oral History

The short documentary "The Origin of the Word Ska"

Heather Augustyn's website: Foundation Ska

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Vinyl Pressing Plants - Kindercore (Episode 58)

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 23:37:21 -0000

We don’t really stop and think about it that much, but records are pretty damn amazing. A hunk of plastic that can be so powerful that it can bring us to tears, take us back to childhood haunts, or even make friends out of total strangers almost instantaneously. But beyond records being this incredible social and cultural artifact, records are amazing pieces of innovation. In essence, the basic concept of a record hasn’t changed much since Edison’s needle etched vibrations onto tinfoil wrapped over a spinning cylinder. Records, even today, are still just soundwaves embedded into grooves. Sure, we’ve changed the sizes, material, the rpm, the quality, the technology, and the sound, but still, we’re talking about a unique physical manifestation of audio that holds the ability to summon the whole spectrum of human emotions. Occasionally on the Mr. Rogers show, he would leave his house to take a field trip. He would take us on a behind the scenes tour of some of the coolest places we could imagine … a crayon factory, the post office, the set of The Incredible Hulk show. Mr. Rogers would show us how the machines worked, chat with the people who had our dream jobs, let us in on secrets of the industry. We would see a world that both satiated our curiosity and fueled our fascination. Locating that kind of experience as an adult seems an impossibility at best. Those once thrilling machinations become simply a way to pay the bills, for the most part. There are times, however, albeit rare, when the stars align and time seems to move backward. We were recently lucky enough to have one of those experiences. In Athens, Georgia, a town which is a musical landmark in its own right, there is an out of the way industrial building that’s become home to one of the rarest and coolest parts of the music industry, a record pressing plant. Kindercore Vinyl stands as one of only about 30 operating record presses in the US, the only one in Georgia, and one of the only that is functioning with brand new presses featuring the first real technological breakthrough in maybe 50 years. And they have plans for more innovations that may drastically change the face of record creation. We were fortunate to spend several hours touring the plant, seeing the operation, interviewing, and, as it happens when record folk gets together, talking about music. It was amazing. Though the basic mechanics of record presses seem simple enough...melt PVC, make into puck or biscuit, add the label for baking, smash the PVC together with prepared grooved plates, cut the trim, sort the discs, quality control, and packaging. But, of course, nothing is that simple. Everything factors into how the record gets from being mastered, lathed, and lacquered to spinning on your turntable. Even with 3 beautiful new high tech automated machines churning out a disc every 24 seconds, pressing records is as much an art as it is a science. The type and color of PVC, the dynamics of the music, the heating and cooling temperature, the operator, the temperament of the machine, the humidity in the air (inside and out), each play an integral role. Everything needs to be controlled, checked, and rechecked. And often rechecked yet again. An exercise in multi-tasking, problem-solving, and, occasionally, MacGyvering. Truly, once we understand the planning, processing, and dedication it takes to make a single record...it makes records all the more impressive. Visit Kindercore Vinyl Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The History of Muzak (Episode 57)

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 22:00:00 -0000

What is the cost of silence? What part of the human condition is lost or found in the stillness of sound? At some point, our culture seems to have turned its back on reflective quiet, opting instead for an environment that is constantly using stimuli to condition the population to various ends. Even in an era of personal choice, piped-in music is ubiquitous these days as advertisements are embedded in our daily routines. No doubt the struggle of the avid music listener is to cut out the commercial carpet bombing of inoffensive instrumental pop standards so that we can enjoy, well, anything else really. Today’s episode is a look inside the history of the sinisterly omnipresent background easy listening….today, the history of Muzak. Much of the research for this episode was found in this book: Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong; Revised and Expanded Edition by Joseph Lanza Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Bands Birthed from Movies and TV Shows (Episode 56)

Sun, 18 Aug 2019 14:48:52 -0000

For the past few episodes, we have been examining the thin line that separates authentic from fraud in rock n roll. The fantastical world-building of Mingering Mike showed how one can create true inspiration and beautiful art even without ever actually making music or having an audience. The deception and tomfoolery of the music industry to create whole phantom biographies and personas as a means to some sort of end: financial, creative, critical or otherwise. Today, the last piece falls into place. Not individuals trying to become stars. Nor stars trying to gain back some individuality. No, we are looking at bands that accidentally became real. Bands that took on a new life from an existence that was entirely, by definition, staged. Today’s episode we look at musicians and bands that broke free from the binds of television and movie screens to become actual stars. To learn more about JemCon, read this Rolling Stone article which we used for some of the research. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Sham Bands and Other Hoaxes (Episode 55)

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 22:30:05 -0000

There truly is a fine line between what’s real in rock n roll and what’s just an act. Judging the authenticity of an art form that at its heart is about transformative performance can be difficult, or worse, can take away from the power of it all. Where does one put the line in the sand beyond which is a total fabrication of aesthetic rather than an honest expression of self as art and music? Further complicating the matter is pinning down a measuring stick to determine the value of the music....record sales, billboard charts, financial accumulation, critical accolades, influence on other musicians. Sure, pre-packaged acts like the countless beautifully faceless boy bands seem to be an imitation of actual pop music but can that still count as art or even become art? So are the Monkees counterfeit rock n roll? Are their songs worth less because they were created and enabled by television producers? What about the Sex Pistols? Assembled, manufactured, marketed. So is most of Motown, for that matter. Even the beloved mop tops were shaped and molded and given matching Boots. All this to say, authenticity in rock n roll is on a sliding scale. Today’s episode takes a look at the history of artists that played with the notion of what’s real in music. Artists, who after obtaining fame and success, switch their identity or persona as intentional deceit toward some end...freedom, art, homage, satire, money. Sometimes, they might just be bored. Or prone to the creative use of multiple personalities and dissociative identities. Or just wish they could re-write their autobiography. Sometimes, just for a big fuck you to someone special. Today is an examination of the history of hoax bands. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Mingering Mike's Mysteriously Mercurial Mind Trip (Episode 54)

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 22:00:00 -0000

On January 21, 1977, Jimmy Carter pardoned the Vietnam War draft dodgers. This happened the day after Carter was sworn into office and it was this single act ended the career of Mingering Mike Stevens, who was a singer, producer, label owner, and movie director. For nearly a decade, Mike created a career of epic proportions with tenacity, dedication, and precision. According to a website dedicated to him, here is a list of his credentials: “Between 1968 and 1977 Mingering Mike recorded over fifty albums, managed thirty-five of his own record labels, and produced, directed and starred in nine of his own motion pictures. In 1972 alone he released fifteen LPs and over twenty singles, and his traveling revue played for sold-out crowds the world over.” So how is it that a prolific career can be so lost upon the world? His storied life remained completely unknown outside of his own family for nearly 30 years. Worse than being simply forgotten, it was as if Mingering Mike never existed at all. In this episode, we discuss the history behind the legend of Mingering Mike. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Shyvers Multiphone Jukebox (Episode 53)

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 22:00:00 -0000

Everywhere you look you are surrounded by dead technology. The car you’re driving, the television you’re watching, the phone or computer that’s playing this podcast. Next month it will be outpaced. Next year it will be outdated. And next decade it will likely be obsolete. Proponents of technology always hail the latest and greatest as the critical next step toward inventive actualization. However, you probably wouldn’t be collecting records or listening to this show if you didn’t have some notion of the elegance and importance of antiquated technology. Both as relics of times gone by and reflections of the shared needs that all humans share no matter the era. This episode is an examination of an odd pairing of two technologies that seem to be falling toward the wayside...telephones and jukeboxes. Devices that require human interaction as well as modern technology on both ends of the line. Today an examination of Shyvers Multiphone and the legacy of Dial-Up Music. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Green Vinyl: Music Made for Plants (Episode 52)

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 22:00:00 -0000

A middle-aged lady with a beehive hairdo, cat-eyed glasses, and an orange church dress sits at a piano in the middle of cathedral-like Solarium in the Denver Botanical Gardens. She plays soft, chipper classical music surrounded by families of ferns: Maidenhair, Holly, Horsetail, Cloverleaf, etc. She is being filmed for Leonard Nimoy´s In Search Of, a television documentary show dedicated to the world’s mysterious phenomena. Her undergraduate experiments with music and plants would inadvertently start a chain reaction resulting in a handful of highly specific records made exclusively for Flora. In today’s episode, we discuss Green Vinyl: music made for and by plants. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Ye Ye Scenesters of Ye-steryear (Episode 51)

Mon, 27 May 2019 16:55:50 -0000

In 1959, a new radio show hit the Parisian airwaves called Salut les Copains, which translates to "Oh, Hi!" The show couldn’t have been more popular with teenagers. And on that program, there was a feature called “Sweetheart of the week” which featured one female pop singer. Because of the popularity of the show, those singers were all nearly instant hits, however fleetingly it was for most. In 1963, Salut held a concert to celebrate the launch of its magazine. That concert drew nearly 200,000 people and caused lecherous drooling riots in the streets of Paris. Journalist Edgar Morin dubbed the singers and attendees the Ye Ye Generation immediately following the concert and the name stuck. Most of the ‘sweethearts’ were lolita like figures, rarely over 20 years old and looking sweet and innocent. Most of the songs were French versions of American rock and roll hits, as long as the hits were trite and vacuous. The competition to become a ‘sweetheart’ was fierce and because most of these girls were stylized to look nearly identical, it ended up being those singers who had a niche, or a personality, that made a memorable mark. Among the masses of one-hit wonders, there were several stars that transcended the scene. Much of the research for this episode was found here: Ready Steady Girls! Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Record Keeping (Episode 50)

Wed, 08 May 2019 14:04:58 -0000

For our mid-century episode, We are going to take a bit of departure from the usual. This podcast started as a way to teach ourselves more about music history and to keep on introducing each other to great songs and stories about those songs. Today is an exploration of why we are obsessed with vinyl and what it means to be a record collector. And for this show, we’ve asked some of you to help us narrate the show by telling us about your run-ins with record collecting. We’re going to spend the next hour or so as if we were working at a record store, chatting about the sorts of things we used to spend too much time talking about but now need to make time for. The highlights and lowlights of our prized collection. Vinyl dreams and wax memories. And try to understand the gravitational pull to the black circles. Special thanks to friends and listeners who contributed amazing stories to this Episode: Brian and Brian from the Volcano Vinyl Podcast, Maurice and Tim from the See Hear Podcast, Chris, Abi, Travis, Dennis, Lea, Mathew, Maria, Hannah, and Yetsko. And thanks to everyone who has spent any time listening to the podcast. We hope you’ve learned something new and have had as much fun as We’ve Had in making Highway Hifi. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Trivia Information, Part 2 (more clues and prize announcement included)

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 17:26:24 -0000

To celebrate our impending 50th episode, we've created a trivia contest for you, our beloved listeners. For this quiz, we're playing 8 clips. From these 8 clips, we're looking for a phrase, specifically based on the artists, so you don't need to get the song names. The name of the quiz is "Mixed-Up Confusion" Clues: The answer is based on artists only Use the initials It's an anagram When you think you have the answer, you can submit it to us in 3 ways: Email your answer to highwayhifipodcast@gmail.com Send us a direct message on Twitter with your answer. Our Twitter handle is @highwayhifipod Send us a message on Facebook We will announce the winner during our 50th episode. The winner will be the first person who submits the correct answer. That person will receive a five of a kind canvas record bag for all your vinyl shopping needs. Another winner of the bag will be selected by randomly picking one of the other correct answers. All entries will receive a copy of a mix made from our record collections as a thank you for listening and entering. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Rise & Fall of Zamrock (Episode 49)

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 05:58:32 -0000

Under British control for decades, in 1911, Zambia was merged in with other South African countries to form Northern Rhodesia. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company. Zambia was rich with copper mines and there was an economic boom that carried into the 50s and 60s. This boom, combined with westerners moving into the country as missionaries and expatriates, allowed for Zambians to hear a lot of western music, including gospel, rock, and soul. There are 72 languages spoken in Zambia, so bands there would sing in English, which most people understood as it was the 'official' language By the 60s, as rock music was reaching more and more people, Zambian rock bands were forming, playing mostly covers of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, and others. A lot of the music seemed to be hitting the country all at once, like an injection of 15 years of rock and soul all at one time. These bands became so popular that all white establishments started allowing them to play. Independence came in 1964 with Kenneth Kaunda becoming its first president. Kaunda eliminated all other political parties by the early 70s and when elections were held in 1973, and for at least the next decade, he was the only candidate. As far as authoritarians go, Kaunda was pretty good, for a while. Zambia has one of the worst education systems of all the former British colonies. In 1964, they had fewer than 100 native-born college graduates. Kaunda setup a university in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital and instituted a policy of free notebooks, pens, and pencils for all students, regardless of how much money their parents made. Kaunda was also an outspoken critic of Apartheid, which raised ire on most of Zambia’s border’s, where white minorities were in control of countries like Angola and Zimbabwe. Hostilities at the borders added to an economic burden that was already out of control - these countries were Zambia’s main trading partners. Kaunda instituted a nationalist ideology called Zambian Humanism, which combined loyalty to Africa, and Zambia in particular, a focus on African values, along with state control. Part of this policy, enacted in 1970, required that 95% of the music played on the radio had to be of Zambian origin. Because of that policy, Zambian rock bands had to change what they were doing. They had to start writing their own songs. That was the birth of Zamrock, and that’s what we’re talking about today. A lot of the research for this episode came from the book "Welcome to Zamrock" which goes with two absolutely essential Zamrock compilations, which have the same name. Both the book and compilations were released on Now-Again Records which is an incredible label. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Trivia Contest Information

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 21:04:06 -0000

To celebrate our impending 50th episode, we've created a trivia contest for you, our beloved listeners. For this quiz, we're playing 8 clips. From these 8 clips, we're looking for a word or phrase, specifically based on the artists, so you don't need to get the song names. The name of the quiz is "Mixed-Up Confusion" When you think you have the answer, you can submit it to us in 1 of 3 ways: Email your answer to highwayhifipodcast@gmail.com Send us a direct message on Twitter with your answer. Our Twitter handle is @highwayhifipod Send us a message on Facebook Answers need to be in by April 25th and we will announce the winner during our 50th episode. The winner will be the first person who submits the correct answer. That person will receive a very special prize we had made specifically for this episode. Another winner will be selected by randomly picking one of the other correct answers. All entries will receive a copy of a mix made from our record collections as a thank you for listening and entering.

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Cosmic Country, Part 2 (Episode 48)

Sat, 06 Apr 2019 13:02:05 -0000

Perhaps it’s a fool’s errand to try to define what Cosmic Country is. Like numbering all the stars in the heavens or counting bubbles in your beer. We are those fools though. In the starry fringes of country and western music resides a sound that is powerful, dreamy, and utterly nebulous. And so in trying to wade through this style, it is important to recognize these waters were muddy to begin with and intentionally so. Today, the second part of our history of Cosmic Country. Most of us know Cosmic Country when we hear it. It’s more a substance than a sound. Country music infected with soul, RnB, rock, and psychedelia. Dropping acid in the honkytonk. Swirls of static from AM radio while driving at high speeds down a desert highway. Country gospel delivered from somewhere in the atmosphere. In this episode, we focus on what happened to Cosmic Country from the 80s until today, and where might it be headed? Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Cosmic Country, Part 1 (Episode 47)

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 05:30:15 -0000

Perhaps it’s a fool’s errand to try to define what Cosmic Country is. Like numbering all the stars in the heavens or counting bubbles in your beer. We are those fools though. In the starry fringes of country and western music resides a sound that is powerful, dreamy, and utterly nebulous. And so in trying to wade through this style, it is important to recognize these waters were muddy to begin with and intentionally so. Today, the first of a two-part episode as we try to elucidate and illuminate Cosmic Country - Hardcore History style! Most of us know Cosmic Country when we hear it. It’s more a substance than a sound. Country music infected with soul, RnB, rock, and psychedelia. Dropping acid in the honkytonk. Swirls of static from AM radio while driving at high speeds down a desert highway. Country gospel delivered from somewhere in the atmosphere. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Jazz Album Cover Art and its Gloriously Mustachioed Beginnings (Episode 46)

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 00:19:50 -0000

When 78s were first sold, they were sold individually, with each side lasting between 3 and 5 minutes. The records were relegated to backs of furniture stores as if they were some sort of obscenity. Mostly, the reason for this was the packaging. At that time, records were wrapped in bland, blank paper like hooch or in cardboard sleeves, and sometimes had the name of the producer of the record or the store selling it. By the 20s, record albums started appearing on the market. A record album then was basically just a photo album: a book with empty sleeves that you fill with your own records. That’s how the name record album came to be when describing an LP. Records were pretty fragile and using the album meant fewer records would break. Then, in the 30s, record companies started selling record albums pre-filled. These would be sold by artist or theme or genre. This was a great idea but they still had no artwork to differentiate the albums so it was hard to find what you wanted and often kind of confusing. Columbia, who’d been making records for a while, hired a 23-year-old fresh out of Parsons design school to handle their advertising and marketing. His name was Alex Steinweiss. This was 1938. Steinweiss saw the album cover as an opportunity to increase sales. If the covers stood out, people would notice them. For his first album cover, he and a photographer went to the Imperial Theatre on West 45th Street. Steinweiss convinced the owner to let them change the marquee for a few minutes on a night when the theatre wasn’t open. He swapped out some letters, lit the marquee, and snapped a photo. This photo turned into the first album cover art ever. The album was “Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart”. Today is the first of what we hope to be a continuing series focusing on album cover art. For this episode, we’re going to look at some of the coolest jazz record covers of all time and talk about the people who designed them. Many of these people, almost all men, go figure, created styles and thematic art that’s still being copied today. Unfortunately, a lot of these designers have been forgotten by most. Those are the ones we really want to spotlight. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Clise vs. The Squeeze [Angus MacLise vs. Doug Yule] (Episode 45)

Sat, 23 Feb 2019 08:43:06 -0000

In this special episode, Ryan and Joe duke it out over who is the most essential least essential member of the greatest band of all time, The Velvet Underground: Angus MacLise or Doug Yule. One of them never recorded a single note with the band while the other plays on more tracks than John Cale and Nico combined. One is unfairly maligned for his pop sensibilities and desire for fame and the other is unfairly praised for his staunch experimentalism and anti-consumerist proclivities. One was there at the onset and one witnessed the demise. The Clise versus The Squeeze. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Ach-Tunes - Artists who performed their hits in multiple languages (Episode 44)

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 03:42:49 -0000

As the relevance of rock and roll began to explode, labels and managers wanted to exploit and milk those hits for all they were worth, for fear of it being a fad and dying out quickly. To maximize popularity and exposure, labels in the UK would often prep bands for European tours by having their stars record their own hits in other languages. Most famously, the Beatles were strong-armed into recording German versions of both “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and She Loves You”. These were recorded in Paris and for I Want to Hold Your Hand, they simply recorded the new vocals over the existing instruments like a Liverpudlian karaoke night. With “She Loves You” however, the masters had been erased by EMI which had been standard practice at the time. They re-recorded the whole song, which made this the only song they recorded outside of London. Today, we go over a marketing gimmick designed to expand popularity and ingratiate bands to potential fans across the globe. Some bands were far more prolific and successful with their foreign language recordings. Some were abysmal. Enough of them were fascinating. These are some of the stories of bands and artists performing their own tunes in foreign languages. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Avándaro Festival - Why Don't We Know More About It? (Episode 43)

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 21:00:00 -0000

Are you as sick of Fyre documentaries as we are? We thought so. This week's episode is all about a festival that took place over two September days in 1971. The festival was controversial and featured historic performances from Mexican psychedelic bands at the height of La Onda. It was also condemned by conservative government leaders, with the president of Mexico declaring, "While we regret and condemn the phenomenon of Avándaro, it also encourages us in our belief that only a small part of our youth are in favor of such acts and entertainment." Find out how the festival came about, why it upset so many people, and hear about some of the best psychedelic bands you may know nothing at all about. Yet. Join us, won't you? Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Butthole Surfers in the 1980s - Fecal Manna from Heaven (Episode 42)

Sat, 12 Jan 2019 05:39:00 -0000

In this episode, we explore the world of the Butthole Surfers during the 1980s when they were the best live band in the country and one of the most interesting bands ever. Much of the show is spent on stories of debauchery, including feeding excrement to fish, exploring the flammability of New Jersey, ex-presidents touching defiled suitcases, and more! Join us, won't you? Most of the research for this episode came from these three books: Let's Go to Hell: Scattered Memories of the Butthole Surfers by James Burns Scatological Alchemy: A Gnostic Biography of the Butthole Surfers by Ben Graham Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Silly Musician Anecdotes (Episode 41)

Fri, 28 Dec 2018 02:05:00 -0000

For this episode, we look back on stories we spent time researching but couldn't fit into an episode. That, and just plain goofy stories about goofy musicians. Find out what Prince did to make Michael Jackson run screaming from a room. Find out how to pronounce Hasil Adkins first name correctly. Find out how Ryan's cold sounds after an hour of talking (not good). All that and more!! Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook |

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Music on the Bones: Commie Flexi-Discs (Episode 40)

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 23:00:00 -0000

In our previous episode, we discussed the history of the flexi-disc. Today we delve into its pinko commie cousin, Bone Records. During his post-World War II rule, Joseph Stalin controlled culture in the Soviet Union. Nothing from the west could be allowed in if he deemed it an affront to Soviet dignity. Art, movies, and music were all heavily censored. Western culture was an enemy of the state. The music of America: Blues, jazz, and rock n roll were seen as especially vile to Stalin’s regime. Jazz was officially regarded as decadent capitalist filth. Just talking about jazz was a criminal act. These free-form musical expressions were thought to focus on the individual rather than the state as a whole. Style was propaganda and strictly forbidden. How did music from the west reach the ears of the youth in the CCCP? The answer is, of course, broken bones. Lots and lots of broken bones. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Cereal Killers: The History of the Flexi Disc (Episode 39)

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 22:00:00 -0000

Today, the story of the most utilitarian format of the vinyl record, the flexi-disc. It was embraced by both capitalism and communism. It was disposable enough to be embossed into cereal boxes and mailed as postcards, but valuable enough to create collector frenzy. It's been embraced by the likes of ABBA, Richard Nixon, Jack White, and Alf. It is auditory planned obsolescence. Today, part one of a two-part saga on the strange reign of flexible records: the what and why of Flexi Discs. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Junkshop Glam (Episode 38)

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 22:47:49 -0000

There may never have been a pop music trend as both enthrallingly vapid and often highly critically praised as glam rock. Glam was a performance of reality as opposed to actually presenting it, the precession of simulacra to quote the philosopher, Jean Baudrillard. Though he wasn’t referring to glam, it fits perfectly. It was all about living in a copy of what was real instead of the reality itself which they saw as crumbling detritus. Glam rock was innocence and insincerity gone feral by way of a nostalgia in the future tense. Glam Rock is Stanley Kubrick directing Barbarella. Or, as Bryan Ferry aptly phrased it, “a danceable solution to a teenage revolution”. Books we used for research and suggest you purchase: Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-first Century by Simon Reynolds Glam Rock: Dandies in the Underworld by Alwyn Turner Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Screamin' Jay Hawkins Beats Up Drifters (Episode 37)

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 23:18:17 -0000

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was a dealer in terror, showmanship, hyperbole, and shock. Join us as we go through his climb from being a POW in WWII to drunken recordings, getting banned by a casket association, laying in his own fluids, and Jim Jarmusch. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Disagreeable Turtle-Loving John Fahey & His Ilk (Episode 36)

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:00:00 -0000

This week's episode is about the legacy of John Fahey and how he spawned a new style of music, American Primitive Guitar, by culling from the old, weird American sounds that came before him. Fahey lives on in many young and vital guitarists working today. Unfortunately, he also lives on in other ways too. You know that guy who goes to record stores only on Record Store Day so he can buy as many of everything as is possible so he can flip them on eBay? John Fahey lives inside of them too. American Primitive Guitar is the sound of the emptiness of this nation. The vast rocky space of the Western deserts. The impassable swamps of the south. The abandonment and grime of Midwest factory towns. Ribbons of highways cutting through infinite cornfields and suburbs.The cold, Stark forests of the northwest and the elitist metropolises of the Eastern seaboard. Each equally harrowing and oddly beautiful landscapes. The sound is simple. Steel string acoustic guitar finger picked in the traditional blues style usually in odd open tunings. But the concept is much more. The playing transcends the tired 1,4,5 frameworks with an eye on classical, exotic, and experimental ingenuity. Whereas the blues and country music was familiar and warm, this guitar sound was dissonant and melancholy. Speed and precision were resigned in favor of playing that is emotional, intense, self-aware, and honest. There were spaces in between the notes that would be left hanging in silence for far longer than comfortable. And when the note finally arrived to relieve you of your anticipation it sounded unexpected, maybe uninvited. Much of the research for this episode came from this biography: Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist by Steve Lowenthal and David Fricke Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Library Music Film Interview with director Paul Elliott (Episode 35)

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 04:31:52 -0000

This episode is a bit of a continuation of our Library Music episode but we're joined by someone who has legitimate knowledge of the genre. Paul Elliott, one of the directors of the new documentary, "The Library Music Film", was gracious enough to spend some time with us discussing the film and Library Music. Paul is a wonderful person and incredibly articulate, knowledgeable, and entertaining. We hope you enjoy listening to him as much as we did speaking with him. The Library Music Film opens in the UK on October 6. Find out more here: The Library Music Film Pre-order the soundtrack Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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The Song Poem Industry (Episode 34)

Thu, 13 Sep 2018 20:41:10 -0000

Are your poems worthy of becoming a hit song? The George Liberace Songsmiths certainly think they are. And for a nominal fee, they'll record them for you with a real band. For this episode, the following resources were invaluable: The American Song-Poem Music Website The PBS Documentary from Independent Lens: Off the Charts Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Where are They Now? Hell if We Know (Episode 33)

Sun, 02 Sep 2018 03:38:57 -0000

Today, we try to discover what was truly and utterly lost. Looking for more than just a lost gem of an LP or a record label that never met the masses. Today, we attempt to locate greatness lost. They are out there...maybe. The woman who created the singer-songwriter genre playing bingo with your grandma at the nursing home. The barfly muttering at his whiskey who masterminded a mysterious psychedelic folk-rock album. The smiling stranger on the bus who penned the song that soundtracked the most unforgettable dance scene ever committed to film. Today, we are searching for artists who vanished. Connie Convers | Jim Sullivan | Q Lazzarus Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Check Out Our Library Music Episode! (funny, right?) - Episode 32

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 22:00:00 -0000

If you haven’t yet been initiated into the fun that is Library Music, we’re hoping this episode will change that. This isn’t muzak. Well, the part of the industry we go over isn’t, at least. Library Music, also called Production Music and Incidental Music, is heard in most of the movies and TV shows you’ve ever seen. All those snippets of songs that are playing in the background that is designed to tell you how to feel when you’re watching a show or a movie. Sort of an invisible jumbotron telling you what to feel and when. These songs are usually recorded long before the show or movie ever even existed and they were recorded by people whose names you probably don’t know. And they didn’t care. In this episode, we spend our time focussing on the Golden Age of Library Music recordings, the 60s, and 70s. This book was invaluable to this episode: Unusual Sounds by David Hollander Another great book mentioned in this episode: The Music Library by Jonny Trunk Ralph Peer and the Making of Popular Roots Music by Barry Mazor Documentary about Library Music COMING SOON!: The Library Music Film Clips used in this episode: Keith Mansfield - Funky Fanfare Keith Mansfield - Grandstand John Cameron - 49th Street Shakedown Alan Parker - You've Got What It Takes Mohawks - Champ Alan Hawkshaw - Beat Me Till I'm Blue Alan Hawkshaw - Mysterious Worlds Stringtronics - Mindbender Ron Geesin - Electrosound Sven Libaek - Inner Space Sven Libaek - Misty Canyon Basil Kirchin - Worlds Within Worlds Delia Derbyshire - Dr. Who Theme Joel Vandroogenbroek - Dark Plasma Alessandro Alessandroni - Fistful of Dollars (whistling & guitar) Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotif

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Waffle House Records - Not the Competitive Eating Kind of Records (Episode 31)

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 04:33:31 -0000

This episode is about the story of the tunes made exclusively of the Waffle House, by the Waffle House, for the Waffle House. Songs about truckers, toast, and testimonials. Songs with grit about grits. Songs that you can listen to smothered, covered, chunked, diced, peppered, capped, topped, country, or all the way. The story of Waffle Records. Also, songs, trivia, and another heaping cup of love! Further reading: Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music by Clinton Walker Deadly Woman Blues by Clinton Walker Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Paramount Records: Where Charlie Patton met the Shmenge Brothers (Episode 30)

Thu, 19 Jul 2018 22:00:00 -0000

From 1917 to 1932 a record label in Grafton, Wisconsin may have captured more important American recordings than any other label or person before or since. Not a single one of those recordings feature the accordion or performers wearing lederhosen. Episode 30 of Highway Hi-Fi focuses on Paramount Records, a chair manufacturing company, and blues recording giant. Further reading: THE BALLAD OF GEESHIE AND ELVIE from New York Times Magazine: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/13/magazine/blues.html Paramount Records: The Label Inadvertently Crucial To The Blues http://wlrn.org/post/paramount-records-label-inadvertently-crucial-blues New York Times: They’ve Got Those Old, Hard-to-Find Blues https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/arts/music/12petr.html Jack White Rescues Paramount Records [video from CBS This Morning] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmVMzDqAMZI Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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Peter Pan Records & Playing with Matches (Episode 29)

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 20:00:30 -0000

In this episode, we talk about growing up with the king of the Children’s Music Industry, Peter Pan Records. The weird childhood records that still haunt our memories. We continue with weird by having a quiz about how Prince spells song titles. Also, what's a Peanut Duck and how is it sweeping the nation?

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The Mal Evans Conspiracy (Episode 28)

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 22:00:00 -0000

What if we were to tell you that there was a single man, who you may have never heard of, who co-wrote Sgt. Pepper with the Beatles? Was responsible for Dylan going electric? Pushed Brian Wilson over the edge? Borrowed Frank Sinatra’s Lear Jet? Let down his childhood idol Elvis Presley? Had Thanksgiving with The Band at Big Pink? Conjured a curse that leads several of the world’s brightest musicians to early deaths? And was assassinated just as he was about to reveal the truth about the most famous cover-up in rock and roll history? Today, the fantastic and tragic tale of rock n roll’s greatest conspiracy victim, Mal Evans. A simple man who just happened to be around rock’s biggest stars and ultimately fell into the buzzsaw that was Paul McCartney’s vengeance. Also, songs and trivia.

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Finding Nimoy - The Explorations of a Vulcan Troubadour (Episode 27)

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 22:00:00 -0000

In this, the most special of episodes, Ryan & Joe tackle a subject that is near and dear to their hearts: the music of Leonard Nimoy. Leonard Nimoy produced 5 albums over 3 years and these have, for the most part, fallen by the wayside. They're actually pretty good. Ryan & Joe go through how they happened and what could have been. Also, songs & trivia!

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Eno's Spine-Twistingly Oblique Strategies (Episode 26)

Thu, 24 May 2018 22:00:00 -0000

A perfect episode for those of you feeling stuck inside of a creative rut. Today, Ryan & Joe learn to "be less critical more often" as they cover the nebulous advice practice that is Eno's Oblique Strategies Cards. Hear stories of artists who "discard an axiom" and either loved or lamented these innovative and ambiguous creativity aphorisms. Most notably, Phil Collins petulantly throwing beer cans. So remember: Do we need holes?Trust in the you of now.Slow preparation, fast execution.Use an unacceptable color. Plus trivia and four songs featuring hobos, fevers, underwater soul singers, and Bay City Roller fanboy imposters.

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Contractual Obligation Albums - Sticking it to the Man (Episode 25)

Thu, 10 May 2018 22:00:00 -0000

What happens when recording artists are legally required to make albums? Well, how about: a horrible dance craze called The Screw, an hour of feedback loops (more if you count locked grooves), the meanest divorce settlement album of all time, robot Neil Young, Major Tom's triumphant return, songs about Danishes, and names that can't be pronounced. This week Ryan & Joe explore the wacky, bitter world of contractual obligation albums. Also, four super songs for super people. And trivia backwards and forwards.

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The Swashbuckling History of Record Bootlegging (Episode 24)

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 22:00:00 -0000

Ryan and Joe get all unauthorized and talk about the wild, seedy 'other' music industry: Bootleg Records. From Bob Dylan's alleged motorcycle accident through home taping's destruction of the music industry - and beyond. Hear about the rise and fall and rise again of illegal records and the mysterious people who risked getting brained by mafia goons to make a lousy $35 so some hippie could have a recording of a show he got high at. And, for even more of your listening pleasure, 4 songs you can't live without and trivia that, honestly, you could probably live without.

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RSD Bonus Episode: An Interview with Chris Brown (Episode 23)

Sat, 14 Apr 2018 22:00:00 -0000

Record Store Day Bonus Episode! In this episode, Ryan and Joe ramble on (and on) with Chris Brown of Bull Moose, the inventor of Record Store Day. Chris recounts the rise of RSD, where it's headed, and gives an insider perspective on record store coalitions. The three talk about some of their favorite releases past and present. Questions answered in this episode: Who is the Caretaker? Which Harry Nillson reissue is arguably the greatest release ever for Record Store Day? Who is considered the Leonardo DaVinci of record etching? Huge thanks to Chris for his expertise, openness, and willing to participate in impossible trivia.

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Record Store Day - We Can Be Topical! (Episode 22)

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 22:00:00 -0000

In preparation for Record Store Day on April 21st, Ryan and Joe walk through the history of RSD. How did one email become the genesis of the biggest record buying day in the world? As always, Trivia and songs you need to hear. Stay tuned for a bonus episode featuring an interview with Record Store Day Birther: Chris Brown!

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Finding the House of the Rising Sun (Episode 21)

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 23:00:00 -0000

Ryan & Joe break down the history of the song "The House of the Rising Sun": how old is the song? Where did it come from? Is there a real House and, if so, where the heck is it? Has Eric Burdon ever not been a jerk? As always: Trivia and songs we want to stick in your craw.

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Trucker Songs - The Music Behind the Hats (Episode 20)

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 21:00:00 -0000

Ryan and Joe haul on down the Highway Hi-Fi with the history of music made for big rig jockeys and their groupies. Hear how the music went from celebrating truckers, turning them into folk heroes of the road to unfairly relegating them to novelty song jokes. As always, Trivia and a chat about songs everyone should know better.

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Broadside Magazine! (Episode 19)

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 23:00:00 -0000

This episode focuses on Broadside, the topical song magazine that influenced some of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 1960's, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Nina Simone. We go on an imaginary road trip with John Darnielle, contemplate Hobbit Metal, and square dance with soul.

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Recalling Scott Walker (Episode 18)

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 03:35:01 -0000

Ryan and Joe spend time discussing the evolution of the sounds inside Scott Walker's head - as far as the ones he's released to the public. Expect pleasant nightmares. Also, a very special Valentine's trivia round from Ryan. And it wouldn't be a complete episode without four super-duper songs you may not already know.

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Moogs and Thereminutia (Episode 17)

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 18:29:04 -0000

In this episode, Ryan and Joe recount the history of Electronic Mastermind Bob Moog and butcher his name several times along the way (Moog not Bob). Also, as always: songs you need to know and trivia!

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Jesus Rock & Goofy Schlock - Private Press Records 2 (Episode 16)

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:00:00 -0000

Ryan & Joe dig deeper into the crates to find great Jesus Rock records, great Weirdo records, and great Jesus Weirdo records. A Venn Diagram of fantastic craziness. Plus four more private press gems. And Joe mixes up Ryan with a topsy-turvy edition of Anagram Trivia (AKA "Vagina Air Tram").

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Private Press Recordings & Tax Scam Labels (Episode 15)

Sat, 06 Jan 2018 04:48:42 -0000

Ryan and Joe give the finger to the mob and take on the world of private press records. From the goofy to the sublime to the sublimely goofy, private press records, in their heyday, were something to behold. This episode spends a lot of time talking about the career and influence of Paul Major, the preeminent "Real People" records guru. And, well, trivia, of course.

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Bonus Holiday Show Ho Ho! (Episode 14)

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 14:52:48 -0000

In this truncated bonus episode, Ryan & Joe play underappreciated holiday tunes they hope you'll add to your seasonal playlists. Everyone's favorite Christmas cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer, makes an appearance, along with trivia, as always.

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The Ballad of Tiny Tim (Episode 13)

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 22:00:00 -0000

Ryan & Joe attempt to tiptoe through and around the premature ejaculate that was a novelty career. Also: 4 more stupendous songs and trivia that will melt your mind, dude.

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The History of Colored Vinyl (Episode 12)

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 02:47:33 -0000

Ryan & Joe take you through the story of how and when colored vinyl began so you can see it's been more than just a marketing ploy for the past few decades. It's been that for over 100 years. Also in this episode, 4 songs to pleasure your ears and trivia to pleasure your unmentionables.

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Going to Georgia (Episode 11)

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 22:00:00 -0000

Ryan & Joe meet up in Georgia, a state where donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs. They discuss how and when folk art met college radio and both exploded across America. Also, four Georgia-themed songs featuring: a band you know using an alias and singing something you don’t; a song sampled by 90s staples Beck, the Beastie Boys and Oasis; a song Ryan & Joe covered and turned into a creepy dirge; and a song by a Georgia musician everyone should know and love. TRIVIA TRIVIA TRIVIA

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33 1/3 Book Series (Episode 10)

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 22:00:00 -0000

Ryan & Joe talk about books about albums and unveil four more songs you may not know but should. Also, TRIVIA!

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Halloween (Episode 9)

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 22:00:00 -0000

When played backwards listeners will hear a direct message from Satan. Also, they'll get all of the trivia answers correct.

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Nina Simone (Episode 8)

Fri, 20 Oct 2017 03:00:00 -0000

This episode is mostly about Nina Simone’s life and music. Find out which famous neighbors of hers she may or may not have played charades with and hear one of her strangest and best songs. Also, TRIVIA!

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George Peckham and the Porky Prime Cuts (Episode 7)

Fri, 13 Oct 2017 03:00:00 -0000

Ever wonder who etched the cryptic messages in the dead wax of your Led Zeppelin and Joy Division records? Good chance it was the greatest record engineer of all-time, George Peckham. Also, how well do you know your favorite songs (when they are played backwards) and four songs that should be ear-worming their way to your heart?

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The Great 78 Project (Episode 6)

Sat, 07 Oct 2017 02:43:00 -0000

In this jam-packed episode, Ryan & Joe talk about how archivists are salvaging thousands of rare 78s before they disappear completely. Also in the episode: Kenny Rogers karaoke, Elvis Presley karate moves, 4 songs, and trivia!

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John Peel (Episode 5)

Sat, 07 Oct 2017 02:35:00 -0000

Jack White is only one degree of separation from Jack Ruby - thanks to John Peel. Joe and Ryan discuss the legendary DJ, his mythological record collection, and his still relevant impact on the music industry. Also, how well do you know your rock star deaths? And four songs that should have already been etched in your soul.

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Lester Bangs v. Lou Reed (Episode 4)

Sat, 07 Oct 2017 02:32:00 -0000

If you’ve ever taken Adderall and Ambien at the same time, you may have an idea of what it was like to be in a room with Lester Bangs and Lou Reed. Ryan & Joe talk about how this contentiously respectful relationship both blossomed and wilted. Also in this episode: 4 songs you don’t know you already loved, and Ryan stumps Joe yet again.

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Stagger Lee (Episode 3)

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 18:37:00 -0000

From St. Louis to the depths of Hell: Ryan & Joe discuss how “Stagger Lee” started as a true story ripped from the headlines and led to a larger than life folk anti-hero whose story has been told in song over 400 times. Hang on to that Stetson Hat. Also in this episode: 4 songs you should know, and trivia trivia trivia.

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Butcher Block (Episode 2)

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 02:19:00 -0000

Ryan & Joe talk about the album cover options that even the Beatles thought were over the top – and yes, some include encased meats. Also in this episode: Four songs you should know more about and trivia questions about banned record covers.

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Highway Hi Fi (Episode 1)

Sat, 30 Sep 2017 19:25:00 -0000

Description: Turntables in cars were a tremendous failure, rivaled only by “Heaven’s Gate”, New Coke, and the Edsel. In this, the inaugural episode, Ryan & Joe discuss how this came to fruition and why it was such be a bad idea. Also in this episode: Four songs deserving more attention and Music Trivia.

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