Nakedly Examined Music Podcast

Michael is the songwriter and guitarist for the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies (featuring two of his siblings and a childhood friend), with whom he’s released 20+ studio albums and several live albums since 1989. We discuss “Throw a Match” from Such Ferocious Beauty (2023), “He Will Call You Baby” from More Acoustic Junk (2025), remade from One Soul Now (2004), and &#82...

Teddy, golden-voiced son on Richard and Linda, is more tied to ’50s/’60s rock and country than he his to his parents’ folk influences, and he’s recorded ten solo albums of tuneful, straightforward but highly idiosyncratic rock and country tunes since 2000. We discuss “Come Back” (and listen at the end to “So This Is Heartache”) from Never Be the Same...

Richard joined the British art-rock band Japan in 1975, playing with them through their five albums, 1982 break-up, and 1991 one-off reformation (as Rain Tree Crow). He continued to collaborate with Japan drummer Steve Jansen, recording four instrumental ambient albums with him (and one pop album in 1987 as Dolphin Brothers), between 1985 and 1995, adding Japan bassist Nick Karn for a couple more...

Tom was an integral member of the Greenwich Village early ’60s folk scene (playing originals regularly before Bob Dylan did). His tunes have been covered by Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2009. We talk about “Rebel Gal” from Together Again (2026) (a collaborati...

After studying at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, Alan released two albums with folk-rock band Knots and Crosses in the early 90s, put out one solo album in 1994, then became a freelance recording engineer and earned a PhD in ethnomusicology. He released three albums between 2010-2019 fronting Birdsong at Morning and released two more solo albums. We discuss “Just Like Wate...

Bill is a singer/songwriter who recorded five albums of catchy tunes between 1989 and 1991, then retired but came back a vengeance in 2014. He’s now just released his 13th album, Haunted , and we talk about “Perpetual Tourist” and listen at the end to the title track from that, “Trentham” from A Trip to the Coast (2014) and “Pigalle on a Tuesday is Charming&#822...

Guitarist Kavus began in dual-guitar bands in the ’90s with his buddy Dan Chudley, most notably Monsoon Bassoon. He joined the Cardiacs for their final lineup in the late ’00s, recorded an unreleased album with The Pogues’ Spider Stacey, and was a guitarist in several other bands. His project Knifeworld released the first of its four albums in 2009, he released solo albums in 202...

Lande started in the 2010’s in the British punk-pop group Muncie Girls, with six releases (mostly EPs), and began her solo career in 2019. We discuss “Coming Home” (and listen at the end to the title track) from her fourth solo album Lucky Now (2026), “80 Days of Rain” from Going to Hell (2011), and “Learn In School” by Muncie Girls from From Caplan to Bel...

John has released at least fifteen albums, more than half of these under the name King Missile, but even this name covers three different bands, since John until recently didn’t play any instruments, so his music is always collaborative with one or more music writers. Apart from his various musical projects, he’s published around 50 books of poetry and publishes poems every day on his...

Folky singer/songwriter and psychotherapist Robert started in the ’80s but considers 1994 his professional debut and has now released his seventh album since then, The Space Between Us . We discuss “Attic of Desire” (and the intro is “The Forest From the Tree”) from that album, plus “Uncertain” from Beloved (2017), the title track from Earthside Down (1998...

Ontario guitarist Darren has released six albums of concise instrumentals since 2019, often using metal guitar tones and tropes, but with a great range of tones and often catchy melodies. We discuss “The Day Beneath Yesterday” (and listen at the end to “Dangerous Curves”) from Perpetual Night (2025), “Broken Glass and Disappointment” from Thoughts and Scares (20...

In a special holiday episode, we get to meet the talented and very British musician and podcaster Roger Heathers, who is my new audio editor for this show and most of my others starting in Jan. 2025 or so. At the beginning and the end of the show, you get to hear two tracks from his soon to be released Upward Spiral : “Guard Dogs” and “Hopefully.” They both feature a warm,...

Corey has released many of zydeco music since 2004 (I count eight, but his bio says 16), and mixes his dedication to tradition (even recording a recent album in Louisiana Creole) with his love of many types of music. We discuss “J’ai Parti dans la Campagne” (and listen at the end to “Outro”) from his new release, Live in Alaska ; “That Girl Wanna Dance” fr...

Marshall began creating his catchy, harmonically thick rock tunes in the early ’80s with six major label albums, but went indie in the ’90s to record four more as well as several EPs and live collections. We discuss “Stranger and Stranger,” newly reworked for From the Hellhole (2025) but originally released on the Stranger and Stranger EP (2012), “Right On Time”...

Mark is joined by returning NEM guest Don Rauf (singer/songwriter from Life In a Blender ), singer/songwriter/cartoonist David Heatley (featured on Mark’s other show Pretty Much Pop ), and writer/musician Dave “Diggy” Dawson aka Dave Philpott (featured talking about his letters-to-popstars books on Pretty Much Pop ). Our topic is humor in music. Is funny music necessarily less si...

Singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Jonathan (currently based in Minneapolis) has been putting out indie rock solo albums since 1992, but has also ventured into traditional Finnish folk music and has multiple releases of tunes that I won’t call Christian rock, but more rock that grapples with being someone who goes to church. We discuss “Diner by the Train” (and listen at the...

Adrian has applied his distinctive, spacey dub mixing techniques to numerous recordings since 1978, often released under his On-U Sound label, and has effectively served as a key band member in groups like Creation Rebel, African Head Charge, Tackhead, and New Age Steppers. He has produced and/or remixed many artists including Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Lee “Scratch” Perr...

Eric was a major figure in the 1960s NYC folk scene, and his early tunes have been covered by Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and many others. He’s released 22 solo albums plus several live albums and two albums with The Band’s Rick Danko as Danko/Fjeld/Andersen. We discuss “Don’t It Make You Wanna Sing the Blues” from Dance of Love and Death (2025), “Rain Falls Down i...

This is an in memoriam reissue of a 2022 episode with a newly recorded introduction by Mark (your host, not the guest). Mark Stewart led the Pop Group through two albums in the late 70s two later reunion album and has released nine solo albums of trippy, experimental dance music. We discuss “Rage of Angels” (feat. Front 242) from VS (2022), “Age of Miracles” by The Pop Grou...

Maia has released ten lush, Americana-influenced singer-songwriter albums since 1997 and has collaborated with artists like Art Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, and Trisha Yearwood, and been covered by Cher, Paul Carrack, etc. We discuss “Counterintuition” (and listen to the title track) from Tomboy (2025), “Phoenix” from The Dash Between the Dates (2015), and “A Home”...

…OK, maybe not his ending , but it’s a late career boost into overdrive: This 66-year-old has been making music since the ’80s, but you’re only going to find two of his releases on the streaming services right now, and only this new album (released 20 years after the previous one) has the polish to count as a world-conquering, professional release. We discuss two songs from...

New York singer-songwriter Willie has released sixteen albums since 1980. He has opened for The Who and Bruce Springsteen, among others, but rejected the major label life after his first two albums. Sponsor : Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership. We discuss “An Irish Goodbye” (feat. Paul Brady) from The Great Y...

Not only is John a multi-instrumentalist (e.g. mandolin and flute) who’s played with Violent Femmes, Allen Ginsberg, Hal Willner, John Prine, The Meat Puppets, et al, but he’s released around 24 albums as a solo artist or with several groups including the NYC world music outfit TriBeCaStan. He’s also a poet and author . We discuss “(Be Careful What You Say to) An Armed Lady...

This famed finger-style guitarist became famous through Jefferson Airplane’s seven albums from 1966-1972, recorded eight with Hot Tuna 1970-1976 (with subsequent reunions by both bands), recorded his first solo album in 1974 and then 10 more from 1981-2025, and still plays live constantly solo or with his Tuna/Airplane partner, bassist Jack Cassady. He’s also recently recorded three al...

Chris has around 20 releases since 1991, mostly under his own name, while moonlighting as a metal guy and otherwise collaborating. We discuss “She Looks Good in Black” from Obsolete Path (2025), “Intransitive Proverb” from Limitations of the Source Tape (2017), and “Angel Be Mine” from Your Own Chosen Speed (2001). End song: “Sisiphus” by Däng from T...