Jacqui rose to fame with the Australian electronic dance band Single Gun Theory (three albums released 1987, 1991, 1994), did some one-off collaborations (e.g. singing for Delirium), and released her first solo album in 2008. After some solo singles (and an album as one half of CiiVE), she's now released her second solo album, Desiderium. We discuss "Planet" (co-written with  Continue Reading …

Glenn was a central figure in the Hoboken punk scene, fronting the band "a" in the late '70s (no released albums) and then The Individuals (one album and an EP) in the early '80s. His next band, Rage to Live (two albums), was the first release from Bar/None records in 1986, and Glenn then joined the label as a partner and signed They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, etc. He  Continue Reading …

Dan was Ben Vaughn's sound-man and released his first solo album of Americana rock in 2004. We discuss "Busted" from his eighth album (produced by Vaughn), the just Dan-and-his guitar effort Dispatches from the Desert, then "Beaumont" from Cast-Iron Songs and Torch Ballads (2023), "Favorite Color" from Rosetta, Please (A Love Story) (2006). End song: "Lookin’ for a Fight" also  Continue Reading …

With his roots in folk, Josh released three rock albums in the '90s before his big hit "Camera One," from Useful Music (2001), which is getting a Silver Anniversary rework/reissue (The intro music for this episode is the newly recorded version). He has released seven albums since then, typically as The Josh Joplin Group, but sometimes as Among the Oak & Ash. We discuss  Continue Reading …

Bruce started as guitarist for the '90s for Vulgar Unicorn and started Pineapple Thief as a solo project in 1999, though it quickly became a full band (and has for the last several albums been a true 4-way collaboration featuring King Crimson/Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison). He's released 16 studio albums with Pineapple Thief and four solo albums (plus a collaboration  Continue Reading …

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 "Rock and  Continue Reading …

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 (2026), "Move At Speed"  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …

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" from Parce Que  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …

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 Belsize (2016). Intro:  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …

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), and we conclude  Continue Reading …

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 (2022), and "The  Continue Reading …

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,  Continue Reading …

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" from the Grammy  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …

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  Continue Reading …