RiYL

Episode 457: Twin Shadow

23 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By his own admission, George Lewis Jr. makes too much music. He describes it like an addition — referencing a folder on his desktop started in late ...

Episode 456: McKinley Dixon

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The third in a trilogy, For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her is McKinley Dixon’s most personal and deeply-felt work to date. The musician has t...

Episode 455: Alison Bechdel

15 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are all manner of reasons The Secret to Superhuman Strength was eight years in the making. For one, Alison Bechdel was dealing with the rather s...

Episode 454: Steve Keene

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the conversation winds down, I go grab my painting off the wall for the artist to describe. It’s a rare opportunity. It’s also the second time ...

Episode 453: Mary Lattimore

08 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a second generation harpist, Mary Lattimore may have been born to play the instrument. After picking up the instrument at 11 and studying at the Ea...

Episode 452: Bonus - Chris Hillman (of the Byrds)

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As much as anything, Time Between is an opportunity to reflect on a remarkable career. It’s one that found a young Chris Hillman falling in love wit...

Episode 451: Kevin McDonald

01 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last March, Amazon announced that the Kids in the Hall would be returning to television sketch com after 25 years. The troupe never really broke up —...

Episode 450: Josh Radnor

24 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2017, Josh Radnor entered the music world in earnest with a major assist from Australian indie-popper, Ben Lee. After two records as Radnor and Lee...

Episode 449: Nicole Georges

17 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Relative Fiction finds Nicole Georges returning to familiar territory. Eight years after the release of her book, Calling Dr. Laura, the podcast minis...

Episode 448: Butch Vig (of Garbage and 5 Billion in Diamonds)

10 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a perfect rock and roll story, and Butch Vig swears it’s true. The day that Kurt Cobain died is the day same day he met future bandmate Shirl...

Episode 447: Kaki King

03 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By most accounts, the heyday of the guitar as a pop cultural force is several decades in the past. But every so often, an artist emerges who breathes ...

Episode 446: Bob Forrest (of Thelonious Monster)

28 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sixteen years is an eternity in this world. But for Bob Forrest, the time was right finally right for a reunion. A brilliant outgrowth of the Los Ange...

Episode 445: Craig Thompson

20 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ginseng Roots finds Craig Thompson returning childhood memoir — albeit in an entirely different form. Currently being serialized as mini-comics thro...

Episode 444: Peter Stampfel (of Holy Modal Rounders)

14 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

 “Something I realized after we spoke that I curiously never had noticed before,” Peter Stampfel wrote in an email shortly after our interview, “...

Episode 443: Craig Finn (of the Hold Steady)

06 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Power, wealth and mental health,” Craig Finn offers a succinct tagline for a hypothetical Open Door Policy movie poster. These themes, among othe...

Episode 442: Adele Bertei

27 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Peter and the Wolves is a lot of things. It’s both memoir and biography, as Adele Bertei recounts her early days in music, while showing an oft-igno...

Episode 441: Matthew Sweet

21 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a darkness to Catspaw — something that lurks beyond the innocuous and even adorable title. Culled from an episode of the original Star Tre...

Episode 440: Chris Gethard

13 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A lot has changed in the nearly five years since the the launch of Beautiful/Anonymous — some for the better and many for the worst. Certainly, the ...

Episode 439: Zac Maloy (of the Nixons)

07 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The timing of Sonic Boom could have been better, as far as these things go. The first collection of original Nixons music in 20 years arrived about tw...

Episode 438: Emily Flake

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In September, “Free Fall” seemed to be everywhere. In her latest long form work for The New Yorker, Emily Flake captured a sense of existential en...

Episode 437: Jimmy Chamberlin (of The Smashing Pumpkins)

23 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In September, The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex returned for Honor. The group’s third album found it returning to its core to deliver the manner of impr...

Episode 436: Suzanne Vega

17 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The timing of An Evening of New York Songs and Stories could hardly have been better. The album arrived nearly six months into a pandemic that complet...

Episode 435: John Andrew Fredrick (of The Black Watch)

10 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, The Black Watch Celebrated its fourth decade with a career spanning compilation. The cheekily titled 31 Years of Obscurity was an effort to s...

Episode 434: Erika Ender

02 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Decades before “Despacito” arrived, Erika Ender was a hit machine. The Panamanian musician’s compositions have appeared on more than 200 albums,...

Episode 433: R. Sikoryak

27 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What does having a style mean when one’s work is almost exclusively based on recontextualizing the work of others? It’s a question that’s long b...

Episode 432: Joe Sacco

19 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When he first traveled to the Canadian Northwest Territories, Joe Sacco wasn’t looking to book length comic about the Dene people. But to hear him ...

Episode 431: Asy Saavedra (of Chaos Chaos)

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

September saw the release of the Trover Saves The Universe soundtrack. The 31 instrumental tracks were composed for the 2019 game from Rick & Morty co...

Episode 430: Alex Winter

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The last time Alex Winter was on the show (his second appearance), we discussed his recently launched crowdfunding campaign to produce a documentary a...

Episode 429 (Bonus): Rivers Cuomo

06 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to speak with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo for TechCrunch. What follows is a more complete audio of a conversa...

Episode 428: Sophie Yanow

05 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ultimately, The Contradictions serves as an important turning point for both its lead character and author — both, coincidentally, named Sophie. Fo...

Episode 427: Dan Wilson (of Semisonic)

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly 20 have passed since the last Semisonic album, All About Chemistry arrived. The band’s third LP didn’t live up to the massive popular succe...

Episode 426: Kyle Kinane

28 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard to say precisely what semi-retirement means for a standup comic. Kyle Kinane has been tossing the term around for a while — well before ...

Episode 425: Adrian Tomine

22 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There has been no shortage of deeply personal stories during Adrian Tomine’s long, celebrated career in comics. But up to now, they’ve been almost...

Episode 424: Van Dyke Parks

15 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Unbeknownst to me, Van Dyke Parks is seated at his piano. This fact becomes clear numerous times during our conversation, as he tickles the ivory to p...

Episode 423: Chris Stamey (of The dB's)

08 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A Brand-New Shade of Blue finds Chris Stamey exploring jazz music in the mold of the cool movement of the 50s/60s. Composed on sheet music, the album...

Episode 422: Errol Morris

01 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Released in 2018, American Dharma blindsided its director. Errol Morris had spend decades making some of the universally acclaimed documentaries of al...

Episode 421: Laraaji

24 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With Sun Piano, Laaraji returned to his first instrument. After years of eschewing the keys in favor of something more portable, the New York-based ne...

Episode 420: Denise Kaufman (of The Ace of Cups)

18 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You have 20 years to write your first record and 18 months for your second. For The Ace of Cups, the first part of the equation took roughly two and h...

Episode 419: Ralph Nader

10 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When publishers refused to release an updated edition of his 1975 classic of beltway bureaucracy Who Runs Congress over concerns of commercial viabili...

Episode 418: Open Mike Eagle

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It should be painfully obvious from the title alone that Anime, Trauma and Divorce is a deeply personal record — and part of Open Mike Eagle’s con...

Episode 417: Eric D. Johnson (of Fruit Bats and Bonny Light Horseman)

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013, Fruits Bats broke up — or at least as close to a breakup as an essentially solo project can come. Frontman Eric D. Johnson was going about ...

Episode 416: Ariel Rechtshaid

26 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Hey There Delilah” was a turning point for Ariel Rechtshaid. The simple, stripped down pop song was a massive hit, putting the musician on the ma...

Episode 415: Rick Perlstein

20 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Clocking in north of 1,100 pages (when you included the end papers, he’s quick to point out), Reaganland is the final chapter in Rick Perlstein’s ...

Episode 414: Carlos Alazraqui

12 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The same scene inevitably plays out at every convention Carlos Alazraqui attends. At some point someone the epiphany. Rocko the Wallaby, the Taco Bell...

Episode 413: Cidny Bullens

06 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2012, Cidny Bullens was ready to tell the world who he really was. An article published in The Daily Beast gave him the opportunity to explain the ...

Episode 412: Noah Van Sciver

29 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From a distance, it seems that Noah Van Sciver is able to make comics roughly as fast as most of us are able to read them. Each social media update fr...

Episode 411: Matt Pond

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Retirement was short-lived for Matt Pond PA. The eponymous front man very publicly toyed with the moniker that’s continued to tie him to his home st...

Episode 410: Cynthia Sley (of Bush Tetras)

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years after forming in New York’s late-70s punk scene, the Bush Tetras are still going strong. 2018 saw the release of the Take the Fall EP, t...

Episode 409: Ezra Furman

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a great video from early last year. Taken onstage at the End of the Road Festival, Ezra Furman is tasked with interviewing John Cale. You ge...

Episode 408: Ryan Walsh (of Hallelujah the Hills)

01 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The last time Ryan Walsh appeared on the show was during another trip I took to Boston. At the time, he spoke of his upcoming book about Van Morrison....

Episode 407: Tanya Donelly (of Belly, The Breeders and Throwing Muses)

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Few can rival the indie rock pedigree of Tanya Donelly. At the age of 15, she cofounded 4AD stalwarts Throwing Muses with best-friend-turned-step-sist...

Episode 406: Damon Krukowski (of Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi)

18 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Adapted from a podcast of the same name, Ways of Hearing explored the countless knock-on effects that play out in both production and listen when musi...

Episode 405: Kyle Forester (of Crystal Stilts and The Ladybug Transistor)

11 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As a journeyman musician, Kyle Forester’s resume reads like a who’s who of indie bands from the past decade and a half. Most notably, the multi-in...

Episode 404: Kat Edmonson

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2018, Kat Edmonson declared herself an “Old Fashioned Gal,” with an LP and track of the same name. The Brooklyn based musician sings and writes...

Episode 403: Jen Shyu

27 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a video shot in 1991 of a 13-year-old Jen Shyu playing the hell of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on grand piano backdropped by the Pe...

Episode 402: Elliot Moss

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A Change of Diet finds Elliott Moss living in the wake of a decade-long relationship. The singer writer grapples with the all of the major and unexpec...

Episode 401: Tayla Parx

13 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Well before her debut album We Need to Talk arrived in April 2019, Tayla Parx had already established herself as a music force. As a songwriter, she’...

Episode 400: Colin Newman (of Wire)

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It was shaping up to be a banner year for Wire. When we sat down in the Musical Hall of Williamsburg green room, the band was in the process of adding...

Episode 399: Kelli Dunham

30 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At 19, Kelli Dunham was living in Haiti in the midst of a Civil War. From there, it was a fairly straightforward path to becoming a nun — albeit one...

Episode 398: Emily Panic

30 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When I first met Emily Panic, she was a touring musician. Her work as a bass player and backup singer brought tours with Foxygen, Run the Jewels, Slei...

Episode 397: Michael Blume

23 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The grandson of an opera singer, Michael Blume took to music at an early age, first learning the piano and trumpet and ultimately touring with an a ca...

Episode 396: Colleen AF Venable

17 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A fixture in the New York indie comics scene for some years, Colleen AF Venable has made a name for herself designing covers for publishers like First...

Episode 395: Jamie Drake

16 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At 19, Jamie Drake was sure that she was too told to break into the music business. Nearly two decades later, she officially has, with the arrival of ...

Episode 394: Mary Halvorson

10 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the music world, everyone sounds like someone — except Mary Halvorson. All musical touchstones feel like a stretch when attempting to describe th...

Episode 393: Chris Conley (of Saves the Day)

22 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, Saves the Day’s debut LP, Through Being Cool, turned 20. Unsurprisingly, the New Jersey band marked the event on the road, with a tour that...

Episode 392: Nels Cline (of Wilco and CUP)

15 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For those exclusively familiar with Nels Cline’s work as the guitar player for Wilco, Spinning Creature may come as a kind of surprise. But well bef...

Episode 391: Redd Kross

07 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Formed in Southern, California by teenage brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, Redd Kross was never one to follow pop cultural trends. Torch bearers for ...

Episode 390: Dave Shumka

01 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week marks the 12th anniversary of Stop Podcasting Yourself. What began as a venue for two Vancouver-based comedians has since become one of the ...

Episode 389: Carl Newman (of The New Pornographers)

22 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The New Pornographers are running late. It’s hard to say whose decision it was to drive from midtown at this time of day on a weekday — likely not...

Episode 388: Annalee Newitz

16 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Punk rock, politics, history and some gracious nods to science — there’s a lot to like about The Future of Another Timeline. Annalee Newitz’s la...

Episode 387: Renee Holiday

15 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fresh off her hiatus, Renee Holiday is ready to put on a show. Late last year, the artist formerly known as Shaprece (full name: Shaprece Renee Richar...

Episode 386: Kevin Huizenga

08 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With The River at Night, Kevin Huizenga found his perfect hook. Casting his go-to surrogate Glenn Ganges as an insomniac, the cartoonist discovered an...

Episode 385: The Milk Carton Kids

31 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We don’t have a lot of time. I’m setting up my gear in some Sirius-XM meeting room, while Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan order lunch. They get s...

Episode 384: Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf (of Krewella)

25 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A lot has changed in Krewella’s world in the seven years since the band debuted with Get Wet. The group’s second full-length finds the one-time tr...

Episode 383: Daniel Clowes

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There have been plenty of opportunities for Daniel Clowes to get reflective in recent years. 2015 saw the release of The Complete Eightball, a massive...

Episode 382: Leslie Stevens

12 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When she arrives, Leslie Stevens is carrying a large beach bag. Protruding from its insides is a large cowboy hat sporting a massive feather. It’s ...

Episode 381: Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga (of Fastball)

04 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It hasn’t always been easy for Fastball. Some night, weeks and even years, playing rock and roll music can feel futile, especially when it’s not c...

Episode 380: Richard Wolff

29 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, Professor Richard Wolff was everywhere. He published two introduction to economics books — Understanding Marxism and Understanding Socialis...

Episode 379: Paula Cole

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In hindsight, things happened quickly for Paula Cole. Before her first record arrived, she was on tour with Peter Gabriel, playing stadiums in Europe....

Episode 378: Randy Randall (of No Age)

13 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sound Field Volume One turned out quite differently than its creator planned. Randy Randall had grand plans for field recordings. Inspired by his ear...

Episode 377: Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy)

07 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

NYLONANDJUNO finds Jason Lytle trying something new. It’s a set of songs constructed around limitations — in this case, all of the music is played...

Episode 376: Aaron Espinoza and John Schlue

05 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The group’s URL evocatively posits the question, Who Is Arthur King? It’s not a particularly easy question to answer. It never is with a collectiv...

Episode 375: Electric Youth

01 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Drive appeared in theaters, Electric Youth was still finding its sound. The track, created in collaboration with producer College, was a defining...

Episode 374: Imperial Teen

24 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There’s been an argument. Actually, that’s probably too strong a word. Some minor disagreement. The entire band is laughing about it by the time I...

Episode 373: Lonnie Jordan (of War)

17 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Having just secured a plate of pasta, Lonnie Jordan’s beaming. Even with a nightly club rider, life on the road as a vegan can be a tough one. But h...

Episode 372: Sammy Harkham

10 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I had to double check, but its seems that, in all of my time writing about comics for various outlets, I’ve never actually interviewed Sammy Harkham...

Episode 371: Josh Gondelman

02 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At times, Nice Try is a book about failure. Josh Gondelman chronicles his struggles as as up and coming comedian, love woes and awkward teenage attemp...

Episode 370: Vivien Goldman

26 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In Revenge of the She-Punks, Vivien Goldman charts feminist ideology in punk across nations, languages and decades. Beginning with 70s pioneers like P...

Episode 369: SonReal

24 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The guest are running late. So far as I’m aware, my conversation with Aaron “SonReal” Hoffman is the first RiYL to get pushed back due to an app...

Episode 368: Lux Alptraum

20 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In Faking It, Lux Alptraum explores a wide range of lies about sex, from faked orgasms to sexual assault. It’s a powerful statement that spans the ...

Episode 367: Whitney Matheson

13 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Life was fairly different the last time Whitney Matheson was on the show. In fact, USA Today pulled the plug on her 15 year culture column Pop Candy s...

Episode 366: Swamp Dogg

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There will never be another Swamp Dogg. At 77, Jerry Williams Jr. has had one of the most fascinating and diverse careers in popular music. It’s har...

Episode 365: Wayne White

29 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Toward the end of the interview, Wayne White gestures to a word painting sit nearby on the floor of his home workshop. “Finally got there, wasn’t ...

Episode 364: Adam Lisagor

22 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Some time in six or so years since I last sat down with Adam Lisagor, something strange happened. He became a nationally broadcast product spokesperso...

Episode 363: Denise Kaufman (of Ace of Cups)

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In November 2018, Ace of Cups released their self-titled debut. The album arrived more than 50 years after the band’s formation. With several tours ...

Episode 362: Lou Barlow

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When he was 16, Lou Barlow formed Deep Wound. Two years later, he and the hardcore band’s  drummer, J Mascis would create Dinosaur Jr. (then simply...

Episode 361: (Bonus) Gastor Almonte

02 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, Gastor Almonte quit his job and went all in on standup. It was no small commitment from a married man with two kids and a six figure s...

Episode 360: Brian Rosenworcel (of Guster)

31 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Things are a lot quieter. The last time I say down with Guster, the full band passed around a mic, seated at a table in the front of the sadly now-def...

Episode 359 (Bonus): Joanna Sternberg

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The first thing you learn upon meeting Joanna Sternberg is that they want to be your friend. It’s nothing about you, specifically, mind. They would ...

Episode 358: Joe Biel

24 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Shortly after appearing on the podcast way back in 2015, Joe Biel sent me an email. Since the interview, he’d been diagnosed with autism (or “Aspe...