Songs of Our Lives

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Thor Harris! I don’t think Thor needs much introduction, but I have to mention the incredible new Thor & Friends Album, “Heathen Spirituals,” that’s out this week. It’s such a cathartic joy to listen to - so many moving parts, all of it interlocked and moving together beautifully. Thor and I talk about the marimba gifted to him, the album, and plenty...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s the return of Sarah Hennies! I always knew I’d have Sarah back, and with her new album with Tristan Kasten-Krause out now on Dinzu Artefacts, it was the perfect opportunity. (The album is incredible, by the way). We talk a lot about the point of singular genius that is Jandek, belting out “The Piano Man,” Hatebeak, The Shaggs, Cerberus Shoal, Bobby Conn,...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Greg Davis! Greg and I go pretty far back - I think I first covered him on Foxy Digitalis when “Curling Pond Woods” came out in 2004, but this year he’s got a new LP from Asterisk, his awesome hip-hop/beats project. With a slew of incredible MCs on board, “No School” is fun, deep, and an incredible record that invites repeat listens. We get into all of t...

**This episode was originally published on February 6, 2024, but the warm days from the last few weeks have had me bumping PHASOR a lot, so - let's hear from Roberto! ** For this episode of Songs of Our Lives, I invite Helado Negro on the show. After talking a little about his process and the story of Lupe Lopez, he takes us on quite the journey (including me reacting to one of his off-the-cuff pi...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Kaho Matsui! This is, full stop, the most fried episode so far, and I mean that as the biggest, baddest compliment possible. We talk about her latest record, the incredible “Life Lover,” plus being prolific, and a whole lot more. Then we go into the wilds with the majesty of Dragonforce, all the things that make more eaze great, Manami Kakudo being amazi...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Mark Nelson! Mark has been involved in so many incredible things across the last 30+ years - Labradford, Pan American, etc. - that this episode is a bit of a dream. His new album with Michael Grigoni, “New World, Lonely Ride” is one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard this year. After talking a bit about how the collaboration came together, we go int...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Macie Stewart! Her new album, “When The Distance Is Blue,” has resonated with me in such a powerful way, and talking to her about some of the ideas and emotions behind it helped explain why. From there, we talk about ultimate earworms, the greatest band of the last 20 years, still getting shocked by Arthur Russell, the GOAT of GOATs, Dick Raaijmakers, Wi...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Circuit des Yeux! My love for Haley Fohr’s work goes way, way back (shout out Night People), but this new record, “Halo On The Inside” is a different beast entirely. I am pretty much floored by it, so this was an absolute treat. We get into eternal love for the Bee Gees, Joëlle Leandre’s tearjerker, Neil Young at his worst, vibing with Jandek, the madman...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Lucy Liyou! If it was up to me, Lucy would be a global superstar. Her music means that much to me. This episode was way too much fun. After talking about her incredible new record, “Every Video With Your Face, Every Sound Without Your Name,” it all goes up. We talk about loving Lee Greenwood’s schmaltzy voice, the audacity of Remy Ma, Nicki Minaj’s maxim...

**This episode was originally published on January 16, 2024, but with Grails announcing a new record this week, I thought it was a good time to revisit this classic episode ** For this episode of Songs of Our Lives, I invite Ilyas Ahmed on the show. After reminiscing a bit about the 2007 Digitalis music fest, Bottled Smoke, we talked about both incredible albums Ilyas released in 2023 - his solo j...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Katy Henriksen! Season three of her excellent podcast, Sound Off, debuts on March 6th, so we talk about what to expect from the upcoming episodes, and the challenges in producing podcasts on your own. Once we get into the music, we talk Thelonius Monk, Etta James, Beirut, Mingus, Tumi Mogorosi, all the incredible versions of “Sometimes I Feel Like A Moth...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s James Toth! I’ve known James for almost 20 years now (which is hard to get my head around), and in that time he’s made a ton of music that’s near and dear to me, written a lot of things that have inspired, and generally been a fellow lifer that does work that resonates with me. So, getting him on the show was a no brainer! We talk about his excellent Dun...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Damon Locks! Over the last long while, Damon’s been one of my favorite artists on the planet. From the Black Monument Ensemble, his visual art, and all things in between, I have endless gratitude and awe for his work. We talked about his new, text-based record, “List of Demands,” before waxing on about Nikki Giovanni’s influence, The Hues Corporation bri...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Sam Sodomsky! Sam is an old friend and an OG Foxy Digitalis alum who has gone on to much bigger and brighter things including The Bird Calls. His latest record, “Melody Trail,” is a big leap for the project and a record I’ll be returning to a lot. After we talk about that and old time Foxy Digitalis days, we get into our love of Bruce Springsteen. how no...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Sarah Belle Reid! She’s got a fantastic new record, “Accidental Ornithology,” in collaboration with Vinny Golia (the legend!) out now. It’s such a fun record. We talk about that a bit, Vinny’s magic, and her learning synthesis courses. Then, it really goes places with memories of Taj Mahal, finding joy in playing music, all the places Mahler’s 5th takes...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Martha Skye Murphy! Her debut album, “Um” - released last year on AD 93 - has etched itself into my bones in the last couple months. We get into all of that and the weirdness of the holidays before going long on early Spice Girls memories, Gavin Bryars’ all-time turn, being in awe of Scott Walker, Langley Children’s Choir perfection, Bill Callahan, Patti...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Ava Mendoza! She’s been one of my favorite guitarists for quite some time, and her latest album, “The Circular Train,” is incredible. We get into the details behind the record plus her time with the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet before Ava educates me on different Blues’ styles from various regions in Mississippi (and then some!) Then, we talk about concept...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Tony Rolando! I first learned about Tony through his incredible solo work, not realizing that he was the co-founder of one of the most interesting synthesizer companies of the last decade or so - Make Noise Music. Putting it all together, the depth and unique scope of his sonic explorations and compositional approach made more sense. His latest, “Imagine...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s the return of Jeff Tobias!! In this first REMIXED episode, we tackle a whole new list of questions. We also talk about his busy 2024, the “Mandatory Liberation Vol. 1” compilation he released with Gold Bolus, and plenty more. After that, we get into Lindsey Buckingham’s insane solo arcs, Don Cherry at his most whimsical, love for Ponytail, Joe Jackson, T...

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), the Palm Wine genre, making music videos, and more. Once we get to the questions, we go long about their granduncle, S.E. Rogie, the undeniable magic of Brenda Fassie, mome...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Jeff Parker! Look, when it comes to favorite guitarists, Jeff is on my Mount Rushmore. A few years ago, he put together one of the best bands around with his ETA 4tet - Jeff, Anna Butterss, Josh Johnson, and Jay Bellerose, and they’ve got a new album - “The Way Out Of Easy” - out now on International Anthem. After talking about that and Tortoise, we get...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s LEYA! I’ve never done a regular episode with two people at once, so not only is this a first, it was such a blast. After digging into some of the concepts behind their new mini album, “I Forget Everything,” and fangirling about more eaze, we get after it. Conversations around the epicness of Yanni, the Barbie movie, getting hyped with Big Moe, Guillaume...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Alan Licht! Alan is an absolute legend, and his latest album, “Havens,” explores new ground in a career that has covered almost all of it. We talk about that and the idea of phantom harmonics before diving into kid’s show theme songs, controversial Lou Reed songs, Jackson Browne hitting the spot, Afrika Bambaataa’s greatness, Will Oldham, Big Thief, Robe...

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 fabulous. We talk about that and some other sound projects before diving into all the sides of Sonny Sharrock, Prince’s all-time greatness, unrepentant love for ABBA, Psychic TV destro...

On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Jason Woodbury! After a quick chat about the connection and influence of writing about music and playing music, plus his new EP with Dad Weed, we get into unfortunate moments with the Bob Seger Band, the lifetime of influence Vince Guaraldi has had, sticking up for The Smiths, Judee Sill’s transcendent lyrics, Bill Evans replayability, Bob Dylan, Cocteau...