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 …
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.
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#201: Ivan Neville Gets Personal (but Still Funky)
Ivan is the keyboardist/singer/multi-instrumentalist son of Aaron Neville and has played with the Neville Brothers, The Rolling Stones and Keith Richards' solo band, The Spin Doctors, Soul Asylum, and Robbie Robertson among others. He has released eight albums since 1988, half of these under the band name Dumpstaphunk (a collaboration that includes his cousin Ian Continue Reading …
NEM#200: Mikaela Davis: Singer-Songwriter-Harpist
Mikaela has a degree in harp performance and has been recording since 2011. We discuss "Cinderella" (and listen at the end to "Leave It Alone") from her second label-released album, And Southern Star (2023), "Left Hand Path" (2002, released on the compilation album Spelljams), and "In My Groove" from Delivery (2018). Intro: "When You're Away" (recorded 2015). Hear more at 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#197: Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah’s African Head Charge
Bonjo started in the '70s as a session hand percussionist with groups like the Foundations and Desmond Dekker, played for a few years with Creation Rebel, and became a band leader in 1980, first recording a bit as Noah House of Dread, then joining with British producer Adrian Sherwood to create African Head Charge, which has had more than 20 releases, all recorded with 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 …