Life Elsewhere

There is something assuringly honest about Harry Stafford’s demeanor. He says without a hint of self-consciousness that he likes to get up on stage and put on a show and if that means dressing the part, then so be it, he’ll gladly do his best. Which goes a long way to explain why the one-time spiky-haired goth rocker now prefers to wear a conservative business suit with a white shirt and tie to pe...

This is the first edition of Life Elsewhere of 2022 . We begin by revisiting part of a conversation with author and political commentator, Jared Yates Sexton , recorded a few days after the historical event of January 6. We were all in shock. Questions were asked. Answers are needed. Please listen carefully. Acclaimed film and media critic, Bob Ross offers his take on the movies of 2021. The vener...

Christmas Pudding. Christmas Crackers. Pantomimes. Mince Pies. Boxing Day. Ah, yes, Boxing Day, if some of the other peculiarities of a British Christmas are explainable, Boxing Day remains a splendid conundrum. Christmas without Boxing Day is unthinkable in Britain. Forget what it’s really all about or where it originated from, December the 26th is certainly not a day to ignore. It’s a holiday, i...

Pylon Reenactment Society is fronted by former Pylon frontwoman Vanessa Briscoe Hay ,  whose inimitable vocal textures and phrasing define Pylon’s sound for most listeners. A sonic powerhouse, Hay also numbered among Paste Magazine’s list of “The 25 Greatest Front Women of All Time”. Pylon Reenactment Society formed from the ashes of Pylon , one of the most influential bands at the outset of...

Compiling a book about a rock band could be a task, putting together the definitive book on Killing Joke had to be daunting. Here is a band that for over 40 years has confounded, confused, annoyed, upset more than a few people and achieved high praise from their peers and the legions of musicians they have influenced. To say Killing Joke is like no other band is quite an understatement. From the v...

“You need to know…perhaps forewarned if you can’t take the raw honesty of her emotions she expresses so readily .” Says Life Elsewhere host, Norman B . Adding, “Listen carefully, you’ll be captivated, but be prepared to be moved.” He is referring to Kristin Hersh , most recognized as the front person for the influential art-punk band, Throwing Muses and power trio, 50FOOTWAVE . In the early ’80s,...

David J modestly says on his Facebook page, “Founding member of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets now flying solo with the help of talented friends.” In conversation with Norman B , the man who wrote the lyrics for Bela Lugosi’s Dead is equally humble. “He graciously chatted openly, and shared his thoughts on all manner of topics without hesitation.” Says the Life Elsewhere host.  David recalls...

In January 2021, thousands descended on the U.S. Capitol to aid President Donald Trump in combating a shadowy cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. Two women were among those who died that day. They, like millions of Americans, believed that a mysterious insider known as "Q" is exposing a vast deep-state conspiracy. The QAnon conspiracy theory has ensnared many women, who identify as members of "...

The Julian Assange story has become muddled in part because so many other news stories have jumped to the fore. The reason the founder of Wikileaks is being held in Belmarsh prison, the UK’s equivalent of Guantanamo Bay detention camp , after being forcibly dragged from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was almost overlooked by the mainstream media until recently. Assange’s partner Stella Morris dr...

Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever by Robin Wigglesworth Fifty years ago, the Manhattan Project of money management was quietly assembled in the financial industry's backwaters, unified by the heretical idea that even many of the world's finest investors couldn't beat the market in the long run. The motley crew of nerds—including econ...

“I admit it!” Asserts Chris Connelly , “I’m addicted to collecting records!” We were deep into part three of our ongoing conversation, the topic of drugs couldn’t be avoided. Chris had recalled his early days in Chicago, hanging with Al Jourgensen and cohorts. The craziness surrounding the young lad from Scotland was fun at first, but there was a limit he soon discovered. “When it was time to stop...

Laurence Leamer - Capote’s Women - A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for An Era   “There are certain women,” Truman Capote wrote, “who, though perhaps not born rich, are born to be rich.” Barbara “Babe” Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy’s sister)—they were the toast of midcentury New York, each bea...

Located about 4 miles east of downtown Sydney, Australia you find the beautiful (and celebrated) Bondi Beach, where you’ll also find the home of Mammal Sounds and Jez Ryan the charming chap who runs the label. Mammal Sounds a self-proclaimed boutique label caught my attention because a number of their releases and artists have become frequent additions to the LEM playlists., including, Benji Lewis...

What do you know about the billionaire venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Peter Thiel? He has been a behind-the-scenes operator, influencing countless aspects of our contemporary way of life, from the technologies we use every day to the delicate power balance between Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Washington. Yet despite Thiel’s power and ubiquity, no public figure is quite so mysterious - un...

Try to probe James Meija just a little about what he does and you’ll get a limited and not exactly enthusiastic response. But, ask the fellow about music, especially the music he likes, and all of a sudden, you have the man waxing lyrical about My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive of any of the fabulous bands on his amazing record label. You see the unassuming Mr. Meija is a fan, a true fan of the...

Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation - Edward Glaeser & David Cutler Cities can make us sick. They always have - diseases spread more easily when more people are close to one another. And disease is hardly the only ill that accompanies urban density. Cities have been demonized as breeding grounds for vice and crime from Sodom and Gomorrah on. But cities have flouris...

Barry Snaith originally hails from Yorkshire, these days he calls Derbyshire home, yet that distinctive brogue remains potently identifiable. A conversation with Barry means he is likely to sound astonished, perplexed, or downright indigent at any given moment because of his heritage’s fondness for a purposefully dry sense of humor. Barry has a new project, not unusual for him, after all, his othe...

David Lowery is proud of his brother. He wishes he hadn’t lost touch with him in the early 90s. “I didn’t get to see him perform live with Ski Patrol” David recalls. The siblings had grown up in Hartlepool in the northeast of England. Once a thriving, industrial area with shipyards, steel mills, and coal mines, after the Second World War, by the late ’60s and early ’70s, unemployment was omniprese...

They are rich, extraordinary tales from ancient Inuit culture that tell of remarkable northern vistas, unfamiliar narratives, strange gods, and unforgettable characters where women can marry dogs, birds beat their wings so hard they create a storm, an old woman turns into a man, and a woman kills her daughter to take her place for a man’s affections and wears her daughter’s skin as a disguise. Poe...

Norman B's conversation with David Bowie from the mid-1990s, recorded in Seattle

They look like they just stepped out of a photoshoot for ID magazine circa 1979 or it could be 2025. Their potent music, like their striking image, is an alluring reverent homage to a past they could have invented, perfectly and seamlessly blended into a brilliant foretaste of the future. Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle are King Hannah . Their moniker is clever, a deadpan kick in the shins of con...

“Sometime, somewhere in the not too distant future, the Stones will be on stage, in the middle of the show when Mick will turn around and see Charlie is not there. It will be like a punch in the gut!” That’s Martin Atkins on the devastating blow the passing of Charlie Watts will have on the band he joined in 1963. For Martin , losing a friend, a bandmate, and the pillar-of-strength that held the S...

Alternative music legend, Chris Connelly joins Life Elsewhere host Norman B for an in-depth conversation about his latest musical project, The Birthday Poems . An album created to celebrate the centenary of Orkney-born poet, George Mackay Brown. For this remarkable enterprise, Chris collaborated with the incomparable, Scottish chanteuse, Monica Queen . Together with a line-up of stellar musicians,...

Dr. Binoy Kampmark is always ahead. 14 hours ahead in Melbourne. Yet, even if the learned professor were in the same dateline, you can be assured his perspective on global events would be considerably ahead of the battalions of pundits scrambling to have their voices heard on every media outlet available. Binoy Kampmark has a gift of not only being able to get to the heart of any news item, he als...

When the PR people from Penguin invited us to talk about a new book, I Alone Can Fix It - Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year our first reaction was, Oh no! Not another book about him. After five years, haven’t we exhausted the conversation? Then, the authors of A Very Stable Genius , Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker were included. That was more than enough information to confirm this was a b...