Songs of Our Lives

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Concepcion Huerta!! She’s got a fantastic new album out, “Nothing Remains Everything Resonates,” on July 3 recorded at EMS in Stockholm. We talked about that, resonance and signal paths, and the magic of every day sounds. Then we get into her love of Cumbia, Psychic TV, Los Saicos, Moondog, Los Kipus, Les Rallizes Denudes, Sun City Girls, Coil, and more!...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Ben Vida! I can’t overemphasize how much of a fan I am of Ben’s work generally, and especially his latest album, “Oblivion Seekers.” It follows-up the brilliant “The Beat My Head Hit,” and as ever, there is nobody working with language in the way Ben does, and in a way that I find utterly captivating. We talk all about it before getting into the likes of...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s zakè! For expansive ambient music, he and his label Past Inside the Present have become my go-to. He just released his second collaborative album with marine eyes, “Still Beauty,” and celebrated the 20th anniversry of his first solo album. There’s so much to take about! Then we get into the goods with Beck, Boards of Canada, Khanate, The Smiths, Radiohea...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Bob Holmes! I had a great time chatting with Bob about the new incredible new SUSS record, “Counting Sunsets,” a staple in my listening the last couple months. We talked all things Across the Horizon as well before getting into Glen Campbell, Brian Eno, The Monkees, Walt McClemenets, Springsteen, Yes, and plenty more! Listen to all of Bob’s picks HERE “C...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Ruth Garbus! After an unexpected hiatus, this is the perfect episode to get back in action. Despite both of us being a bit tired when recording, we had way too much talking about Ruth’s new record, “Profound,” Gabriel Faure, treating anxiety and depression, and then a pile of songs from D’oa, Donny Hathaway, UB40, Bob Dylan, Sly & The Family Stone, K...

**Still on an unexpected hiatus but new episodes will be back very soon! This week, let's revisit YATTA's awesome episode before blasting "Palm Wine" to start the summer.** On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s YATTA! Even though we had to fight through some technical difficulties throughout, we had a great time talking about YATTA’s latest album, “Palm Wine” (one of the albums of the year),...

Still on an unexpected hiatus but new episodes will be back very soon! This week, let's revisit this episode & then listen to Whitney’s trio album with Lia Kohl and Macie Stewart. On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Whitney Johnson! Whitney did something I’ve always dreamed about - releasing two different albums (under two separate names no less!) on the same day, and both of them are...

**Still on an unexpected hiatus but new episodes will be back very soon! This week, let's revisit one of my favorite episodes w/ one of the most underrated musicians out there! ** On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Tomin! This one feels full circle. Ever since learning about Tomin’s music nearly four years ago, I’ve felt a special connection to it. It’s been hard to explain, but after see...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Caroline Davis! I am smitten with her latest record, “Fallows.” It’s her first saxoxphone and electronics album, and it feels like this fully-realized version of her creative practice in this moment. There is so much to hear and feel, it’s remarkable. We talked a lot about that, her work with Creatives Against Carceration, and then dug into a load of mus...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives - THE REMIX, it’s Lea Bertucci! I am so excited to have Lea back on the show to not only talk about a bunch of rad songs, but also her incredible new album, “The Days Pass Quickly Immersed in the Shadow of Eternity.” We talk about this new step for her, and the magic of working with Norbert Rodenkirchen before diving into Donna Summer, 4 Non Blondes, Throbbing...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Chaz Prymek! The main question here is how in the hell did it take me so long to have Chaz on the show? That’s all on me. Anyway, this is such a fun episode - we had a blast hanging out, talking about his new duo record with friend-of-the-show, Matthew Sage, and a whole host of great songs from Tupac, Roberta Flack, Ross Gay, Nérija, Eddie Kendricks, Bol...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Walker Farrell! We’re celebrating the start of spring with Walker’s new album, “Crocus,” out now on Ceremony of Seasons, and after talking about that, living through Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, and more, we get into the weeds with D Train, Miles Davis, Gang Starr, Joanna Newsom, Vivien Goldman, Kermit the Frog, Parliament, and more! Listen to all...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Tristan Allen! I genuinely adore Tristan and their work so, so much, and their new album (part 2 in a trilogy!), “Osni the Flare,” has taken that up a level. After talking about the album and the puppet show, we get into Zabelle Panosian (and the greatness of Canary Records!), Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Carrier, ABBA, Actress, In the Nursery, Richard Ramire...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Brett Naucke! Old heads unite! We get into his most recent album, “Ground Fault Matinee” (his punk record?!) before going down all kinds of rabbit holes with Joanna Newsom, Sade, The Misfits, “Blue” Bene Tyranny, Madonna, Alice Coltrane, Dire Straits, DJ Rashad, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and plenty more! Listen to all of Brett’s picks HERE Ground Fault Matine...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Molto Ohm! (aka Matteo Liberatore!) Matteo’s Molto Ohm project has been revelatory, showing such an incredible synthesis of his varying approaches and techniques. His latest record, “Reality Pills,” is somehow both infectious and off-putting, which, of course, makes me love it even more. We talk about its background and creation before getting into Anton...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Ben Seretan! What a joy this episode was to record. Ben’s the best. His new album, “Sunbeam of No Illusion,” with John Thayer is one of my early favorites so far this year. After talking about that, we get into all kinds of whimsy and fun with Arthur Russell, Sinai Vessel, Wham!, Clarence Carter, Celine Dion, Prince, Pet Shop Boys, and plenty more! Liste...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Tusco Embassy’s Nathan Bowers! This episode is all over the place. Tusco Embassy re-emerged a couple years ago with a series of ‘Roulette’-style compilations - basically, records that will play a different song each time you play it. We get into how it works, why it rules, and all that, so if this sounds confusing, don’t worry! Then we go roulette-style...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Carlos Giffoni! To me, Carlos is a legend, so it was great to have him on the show. His new album, “Pendulum,” is full of great collaborations (Zola Jesus, Ben Chasny, Greg Kelley, Mabe Fratti, Lea Bertucci, & Iggor Cavalera), and really shows the range of his compositional approaches. Plus, he just announced that No Fun will return in 2026 - hell ye...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Geologist! For decades, I’ve loved the sound of the hurdy gurdy, but I’ve never heard it used like Geologist uses it on his new solo record, “Can I Get A Pack of Camel Lights?” If SST put out a hurdy gurdy record in the late 80s/early 90s, it might sound like this. We talk about the instrument, Keiji Haino, and having fun before getting into songs by Thi...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Sam Wenc! Sam’s new record, “Language At An Angle,” is the first under his own name. We talked about that, the processes behind it, and how it feels performing the work. Then we dig deep into the trenches with the multitudes of Okkyung Lee, Susan Alcorn’s all-time greatness, Robert Wyatt’s immortality, the romance of Henry Flynt, Green Day, Jeremy Lee Fa...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Danz CM! From her recent album, “LARM,” to her new song “Over the Ocean” to Synth History and so, so much more, there was a lot to discuss. She’s a one-person show in so many ways. After all that, we get into the all-time greatness of Broadcast, Yo La Tengo’s romance, The Kinks, Link Wray, Radiohead, Eiffel 65, World Party, and lots more! Listen to all o...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Peter Taylor! I’ve known Peter for nearly 20 years now - he’s a true Foxy Digitalis lifer, having first written for the site around 2006. He also makes music as MAbH, and is the person behind Foxy Digitalis’s Inside No. 9 podcast series. He’s a real one. So I’m thrilled to have him on for the 2025 Christmas Special talking childhood memories, favorite so...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Matt Evans! Among the many awesome things Matt gets up to, he’s got a new record from his duo with Amirtha Kidambi, Neti Neti, called “Echo of Being / Grace in Rot.” We talk about all the things surrounding the creation of the project and the record before diving into a laundry list of great tunes from Weezer, Alvin Lucier, Pq, Tracy Chapman, Terry Riley...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Andrew Weathers! In celebration of the 10-year reissue of his inredible, “Fuck Everybody, You Can Do Anything,” on Debacle, a REMIX episode w/ AW was needed. We get into a bunch of the songs connected to the record (plus a few more) through the questionnaire, digging into the likes of The Progress, Drake, Rites of Spring, Buell Kazee, Andrew WK and plent...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Sean McCann! It’s always a blast to connect with someone I’ve known for years, and especially around the occasion of their first-ever opera. In this case, Sean’s latest, “The Leopard.” We get into that, the difficulty in completing it, and plenty more before diving into the effervescent magic of Albert Ayler, The Blue Nile’s specific kind of romance, Bil...