Nakedly Examined Music is a podcast about making music: Why do we do it? Why do we do it the way we do it? Mark Linsenmayer interviews songwriters and composers famous and otherwise about specific recordings, which are presented in full on the podcast.

REISSUE-NEM#41: Glenn Mercer (Feelies): Produce Yourself

Glenn has put out albums with the Feelies since 1980, filling in gaps with other bands (e.g., The Willies in the early '80s, Wake Ooloo in the '90s) and a couple of solo albums. His albums have a unique sound, due to his insistence that production is part of the composing process. On this interview conducted in 2017, we discuss two songs from the 2017 Feelies album In  Continue Reading …

NEM#202: Richard Lloyd (Television): Guitar is Combustible

Richard with Tom Verlaine were the groundbreaking NYC dual guitar monster that was Television from 1973-1978 plus reunions (totaling three albums), and Richard has fronted seven solo albums while also touring and recording as a guitarist with Matthew Sweet, John Doe, Rocket from the Tomb, and others.  We discuss "So Sad" from The Countdown (2018), "Glurp" from Radiant  Continue Reading …

NEM#199: Alan Jenkins’ Cornucopia of Experiments

Alan started in the late '70s in Leicester as the singer/ songwriter/ guitarist for The Deep Freeze Mice, which recorded 10 albums through 1989. He then headed several more collaborative projects including The Chrysanthemums (4 albums'86-'91), Ruth's Refrigerator (2 albums '90-'92), and The Creams (8 albums '92-'98), released 8 albums as the experimental surf band Thurston Lava  Continue Reading …

NEM#198: Chris Stamey Keeps on Developing

Chris started in the mid 70s playing with his childhood friend Mitch Easter in Sneakers, then backing Alex Chilton, starting a home-based record label that released Chris Bell's legendary single "I Am the Cosmos," and then most famously founding the dB's, which he left after two albums in 1983. He then became a producer, played with The Golden Palominos with folks like Michael  Continue Reading …

NEM#196: Michael Gira (Swans) Is Not Done

Swans started in the early '80s in New York with a brutal sound which by the middle of the decade became more subtle and textured. The band broke up in 1995 after ten albums (and three other releases under the name World of Skin), then Michael released a couple of solo albums and six alt-country releases as Angels of Light before starting a new chapter of Swans in 2010 which  Continue Reading …

NEM#195: Nicholas Tremulis Reads Better Books

Nick started as a teen punk jazz guitarist in Chicago and has fronted 10+ carefully arranged solo albums in various styles from R&B to Latin to alt-country. He has also been in groups with Alejandro Escovedo (Fauntleroys), Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick (Candy Golde), and now the Chi-Town Social Club. He's also a teacher and has scored 40+ films. We discuss "Amanda and  Continue Reading …

NEM#194: Vashti Bunyan Is Not a Folk Singer

Vashti was discovered in the mid-60s by the Rolling Stones manager, recorded a seminal (though commercially unsuccessful) acoustic album in 1970, then quit music until her children were grown, recording two more albums since 2005, touring, and her old songs have appeared on several commercials and soundtracks. She's just released her autobiography, Wayward: Just Another Life to  Continue Reading …

Nakedly Examined Music #193: Peter Case’s Songs About Now

Initially compared as a rock singer with John Lennon in the late '70s and early '80s with The Nerves and The Plimsouls, his subsequent sixteen solo albums beginning in 1986 have embraced blues, solo acoustic guitar, and on his new album, highly percussive piano (on his new album). We discuss "Have You Ever Been in Trouble?" from Dr. Moan (2023), "Every 24 Hours" feat.  Continue Reading …

NEM#192: Guitarist Ivan Julian Serves the Song

Ivan started as a teen guitarist in the early '70s touring with The Foundations and then in 1977 was a founding member of Richard Hell and the Voidoids. After an album with them (and a recording with The Clash), he fronted The Outsets through the early '80s and then toured with Shriekback, briefly co-led a group called Lovelies, toured and recorded with Matthew Sweet, was in a  Continue Reading …

NEM#191: Chris Slusarenko and John Moen As (And Before) Eyelids

Chris and John were friends since the '80s in the Portland music scene, playing separately in several bands (sometimes as front men, sometimes not). By the '00s, John was drumming for bands like the Decembrists, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and Elliot Smith, while Chris was doing a stint on bass for Guided by Voices and running a record shop. They recorded together as Boston  Continue Reading …

NEM#190: Jad Fair (Half Japanese): Being Productive = Being Yourself

Jad estimates he's sung on 2000 songs and released over 180 albums between his band, solo, and collaborative work. He started Half Japanese as an improvisational punk band with his brother David in 1975, and its style evolved through jazz, rock,   and alternative; they opened for Nirvana on one of their biggest tours. The band was based in Maryland for most of its  Continue Reading …

Nakedly Examined Music #189: Claire Hamill’s Epic Journey

Claire started in the early '70s as a folk prodigy, took some detours through country and Elton-John-esque pop rock, played with Wishbone Ash and members of Yes in the late '70s and early '80s, had her real career break-out as a New Age artist in the mid '80s (with some of her music used extensively by the BBC), did a dance record, and has most recently released several records  Continue Reading …

NEM#188: Pat Irwin (Raybeats, B-52s, SUSS) Writes for TV (and Himself)

Pat played saxophone and guitar with Lydia Lunch's group 8-Eyed Spy in 1979, and then moved on to The Raybeats, a "neo-surf rock combo," which recorded four albums through 1984. He wrote for stage shows and eventually joined the B-52s as a second guitarist/keyboardist in support of their Cosmic Thing album in 1989. In 1992 he had his first musical director role for TV with  Continue Reading …

NEM#187: Eszter Balint Interprets Her Past

Eszter is an actor/musician, gaining initial fame starring in Jim Jarmusch's first major film Stranger Than Paradise (1984). She has released four albums of often autobiographical songs since 1998. We discuss "The First Day" (and end by listening to "Freaks") from I Hate Memory (2022) feat. Stew and Syd Straw; this album has been made into a stage show. We then turn to "Exit  Continue Reading …

NEM#186: Simon Ratcliffe (Basement Jaxx, Village of the Sun): From House Music to Jazz Fusion

Simon has produced programmed dance music since the early '90s, and has won Grammys and topped charts with his partner Felix Buxton as Basement Jaxx through their seven albums and several EPs. We discuss his most recent project, Village of the Sun (the song of that name from First Light), which he recorded with jazz drummer Moses Boyd and his partner, the saxophonist Binker  Continue Reading …

NEM#185: Bruce Thomas’ Bass Lines Before, After, and During the Attractions

Bruce is best known as Elvis Costello's bassist for his first on about a dozen albums as The Attractions, but he's been in bands since 1970 and has done numerous session gigs, most notably for Al Stewart's early albums, plus The Pretenders, John Wesley Harding, Billy Bragg, and many more. We discuss his work on "Blood Makes Noise" by Susanne Vega from 99.9 Degrees (1992),  Continue Reading …

NEM#184: Mike Baggetta Feels Out the Guitar

Mike has put out 18 releases of largely instrumental guitar music since 2004, sometimes with his jazz quintet or as a duo with trumpeter Kris Tiner, and more recently in more of an instrumental rock format with legendary bassist Mike Watt and with drums by either Jim Keltner (Traveling Wilburys, Ry Cooder) or Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits). We discuss the title track to  Continue Reading …