Discologist

Over the course of his over 30-plus year career, Bruce Hornsby has been a pop star, avant-garde provocateur and jazz titan, folk hero, member of the Grateful Dead and more. On his new album Absolute Zero, Hornsby is tapping into all of these facets of his talent and more and the result is a complex, dense, and immensely satisfying collection of songs that speak to the state of our world, and...

On the latest episode of Discologist, we’re talking about Damien Jurado’s latest album “In The Shape Of A Storm,” a simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting collection of songs that get to the very heart of what makes Jurado one of the greatest songwriters of the modern age. Show Notes Check out our 2015 interview with Damien Jurado Intro music from Jason Mullinax’s Near Future , available...

21 years ago and four albums into their career, Richmond, Virginia Hardcore legends Avail released what many consider to be their masterpiece, Over The James . The album was a love letter to the band’s hometown, and more importantly set the bar for an entire generation of musicians to follow. On this episode of Discologist, we’re discussing Avail’s legacy, their eye for a great cover, and more. So...

On this episode of Discologist, we’re celebrating 25 years of Pink Floyd’s swan song, The Division Bell. No matter what side of the Gilmour/Waters divide you find yourself on, The Division Bell’s return to form for the band has…ahem…divided fans of the band for decades. So we’re here to set the record straight on why this album stands alongside some of the bands’ best work, no matter who was at th...

On their second full length, Natural Facts, New Jersey’s Garcia Peoples are doubling down on everything that made 2018’s Cosmic Cash such a blast. Double the fuzz. Double the vibes. And, most importantly, double the fun, Natural Facts is the sound of a band cashing the advance on their future as rock and roll legends. PLUS! Phil Cook released a surprise collection of unreleased/out-of-print sonic...

Washington, D.C’s Ex Hex are back, and on their sophomore release It’s Real (Merge Records) they’re unapologetically kicking out the mother f$%$ing jams, taking no prisoners, and still leaving room for some serious emotional heft just for good measure. PLUS! Synth-rock band Loi Loi (also from Washington, D.C.) has a new album entitled Me Dystopia (Blight Records), and we’re spinning its latest sin...

2009’s Crack The Skye was a high water mark for Atlanta metal quartet Mastodon. By doubling down on the sci-fi nerdery and adding in an extra dose of tragedy and pathos, the band crafted a masterpiece that secured their place at the top of the American metal scene. Tune in as we’re joined by special guest Brian Gruner to discuss the album’s legacy, how Mastodon has evolved from this defining point...

On her new LP Quiet Signs , Jessica Pratt continues to perfect her chilly yet hopeful update of English folk music, and her efforts – this was Pratt’s first album recorded in a proper studio – more than pay off. Quiet, contemplative, chilly, yet supremely comforting, Quiet Signs is Pratt at her very best. On a new episode of Discologist, we’re discussing this unique artists latest, the future of f...

The end is nigh, and The Comet Is Coming’s latest effort, Trust in the Lifeforce of The Deep Mystery , may be the perfect soundtrack for the end of the world. Since 2015 this jazz/dance/sci-fi trio featuring saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (“King Shabaka”) on saxophone, Dan Leavers (“Danalogue”) on keys, and Max Hallett (“Betamax”) on drums has mounted a sonic assault on the apocalypse and the force...

Twenty years ago, riding high off of the dual successes of their second album Being There and Billy Bragg collaboration Mermaid Ave, Wilco was still 2 years away from becoming one of the most revered band’s of their generation. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would propel Jeff Tweedy and crew into the stratosphere, but it was on 1999’s Summerteeth that they truly found their voice. Experimental, lush, and he...

Weezer are the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, and they have returned (Again?) to bestow the [checks notes] gift of a none more Black Album upon an unsuspecting world just when we “needed “ it most. Goddamit…we can’t believe we’re talking about Weezer. Still. Again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On his latest release Tip Of The Sphere , songwriter/man of mystery Cass McCombs is embracing spontaneity and delivering one of his most vibrant sets of songs to date. Recorded relatively quickly at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn, Sphere captures the looseness of his collaboration with The Skiffle Players (and associations with members of the Grateful Dead) and breathes new life into McComb’s tradem...

Bob Mould is one of the pioneers of indie rock, and on his latest LP Sunshine Rock, he’s looking back to better times and making one of the best albums of his careers in the process. Guest PJ Sykes joins us to discuss why the album is an essential ray of light in these dark times, how to learn to love an icon, and much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On his latest release Love Hurts , jazz guitar wunderkind Julian Lage is making bold steps towards furthering his reputation of being one of the most visible and respected figures the ongoing jazz renaissance of the past few years. Presenting classics of American jazz, folk, and even some rock and roll through the lens of his trio (featuring Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums) Lage draws...

If Robert Ellis’s self-titled 2016 album announced him to the world as a songwriting force to be reckoned with, then is new LP Texas Piano Man makes the case that he is the stuff of legend. Swapping his six strings for eighty-eight keys, Ellis’s latest finds him pairing his trademark gut-wrenching honesty and melodic sophistication with the panache of late 70’s pop rock (think Elton John and Leon...

Aaron “Ab” Abernathy is a singer, a music director, an activist, a man of faith, and, most importantly, a man trying to do and BE his best. His journey towards this end chronicled on 2016’s Monologue and 2017’s Dialogue , now comes to its conclusion on his latest album Epilogue . Bursting with soul, raw emotion, and honest truth Epilogue tells the tale of two people finding love despite years of h...

On the inaugural edition of Discologist, we’re hanging out in the basement one last time with our friend Aaron Abernathy to discus his remarkable, trilogy-capping new album Epilogue , love, faith in the modern era and much, much more. Change is good friends. RIP ChunkyGlasses: The Podcast. Long live DISCOLOGIST! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve run our mouths from a basement in Washington, D.C. for four hundred episodes now, but sadly it is time to say goodbye. Please join us for a bittersweet final hang in the basement with the people that we hold most dear saying goodbye to this chapter the only way we know how: Talking about Boston’s Third Stage. Thanks for listening. Y’all are the goddamn best. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

For many, the music of Steely Dan is an enigma. For us…it’s our lifeblood. On our penultimate broadcast from a basement in Washington, D.C., Dead To Me’s Casey Rae and Eduardo Nunes are sitting in to fulfill a promise that Kevin made long ago, and turning up the nerd to nigh impossible levels in the process. Any major dude will tell you that whether you’re a super-fan or just Steely Dan curious, t...

Washington, D.C. has been our home for over a decade now, but our time here is rapidly coming to a close. In one of our final broadcasts from our nation’s capital, Kevin sits down with Lindsay Hogan (Music Journalist/DIY maven) and Paul Vodra ( Hometown Sounds ) to talk about some of the music that moved us in 2018, how we got to this point, and where we’re going from here. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

2018 was a wild ride, and on one of our final broadcasts from Washington, D.C. we’re celebrating the music that moved us the most. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Van Halen’s 5150 was a turning point for the legendary party rockers for more than one reason. The replacing of original front man David Lee Roth with rocker Sammy Hagar was what was driving headlines, but the real news was in the music. Revved up, radio-friendly, and raring to go, this “new” Van Halen supplemented often questionable machismo with synths, honest-to-god pop hooks, and, most radical...

On her latest LP Goners , Laura Gibson is taking on grief and the joy that can be found through grieving, and the result is her strongest record yet. Lush, adventurous, and human AF, Goners drags the listener down to the bottom, where it may be dark, but at least you’ve got good company. PLUS: Maryjo Mattea is in pretty much ALL of the bands in Washington, D.C., and on her new single she’s being j...

The members of The Skiffle Players — Neal Casal (Circles Around The Sun/Chris Robinson Brotherhood), Dan Horne (Beachwood Sparks), Cass McCombs, Farmer Dave Scher (All Night Radio/Beachwood Sparks), Aaron Sperske (Father John Misty/Beachwood Sparks) — are some of the most respected musicians on the scene today. So when they find the time to get together for a new Skiffle Players album, you’d best...

On paper, an album about heartache, anxiety, and ancient aliens doesn’t seem like something that would work (or should even exist), but on Pyramid Theories , Mink’s Miracle Medicine are singing about those themes and more resulting in their best release to date. We’re catching up with the Melissa Wright of this Appalachian-based duo to dig into the trials of life as a creative, edibles, woodworkin...