Latest EpisodeThe Organist Episode 13: High-Heeled BoysAnnie Clark, better known by her stage name, St. Vincent, gives the listener a tour through her personal musical history. She talks about the music that raised and influenced her from age two (Ritchie Valens) through high school (Sonic Youth, Solex, Fiona Apple, Big Black). She also made a mix tape for the Organist featuring some of her current favorites: And here’s a video from St. Vincent’s new self-titled album: Previous EpisodesEpisode 12: Worm PeopleA day on the streets of New York with the singular Alabama musician and artist Lonnie Holley. Holley always sang while making his junkyard assemblages out of objects including pick-axes and buckets, but it wasn’t until the age of sixty-two that he began releasing records and performing live, both of which caught the attention of a younger generation of musicians (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Dirty Projectors, Black Keys) who have since become his collaborators. This episode also features a world-premiere of Apologies, a very short radio play written by Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag) and Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live), who together make the sketch-comedy show Portlandia on IFC. The play was performed by Tig Notaro (This American Life, The Sarah Silverman Program) and Kevin Corrigan (The Departed, Pineapple Express, Buffalo 66). Episode Eleven: Another PlanetClyde Casey was a street performer in the 1980s who would often perform in the parking lot of L.A.’s Wallenboyd, the experimental theater space where John Cusak, Tim Robbins, and many others got their start. One night the theater’s security guard didn’t show up, so they asked Casey if he could keep an eye on their patrons’ cars before and during the plays. He agreed, but only if he could stay in character—festooned with toys and musical instruments and homemade chrome-painted sculpture, he metamorphosed himself into a surrealist crime fighter, keeping Skid Row safe using only the powers of art: that night, Clyde Casey became The Avant Guardian. But this is only where Casey’s story begins: he soon commandeered an abandoned gas station across the street from the Wallenboyd and converted it into a remarkable unprecedented (and unrepeated) project called Another Planet, a place beloved and fondly remembered by the hundreds of homeless men and women who frequented it, along with high-ranking city officials, movie stars, and artists. For over twenty years, no one in L.A. knew what happened to Casey. Producer David Weinberg finally tracked him down, and the Organist is thrilled to present his incredible story on our season-two premiere.
This story is a collaboration between the Organist and Love + Radio from Radiotopia. It was produced by David Weinberg, Nick van der Kolk, and Brendan Baker, with special thanks to Tina Antolini and Austin Hines. The Organist is produced by Andrew Leland, Ross Simonini, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Thanks to Shelby El-Otmani, Gary Scott, Jenny Radelet, Mario Diaz, and the staff of the Believer and McSweeney’s. Daniel Handler wrote the thing at the top of the show about the acorn. Episode Ten: ThundershirtInside the January episode of the Organist:
Also: We asked Lena Dunham to help us score the interview, and we made this mixtape of the songs she suggested. The mix complies songs Lena thinks go well with the interview, as well as music she’s currently listening to.
Episode Nine: The Sonic Barber’s PoleInside the December episode of the Organist:
Episode Eight: Kittens in a BasketThe October episode of the Organist features:
Episode Seven: Against LineageIn this month’s episode of the Organist:
Chris Stroffolino’s story was produced by David Weinberg. Kathleen Hanna was interviewed by Jenna Weiss-Berman. Mahzarin Banaji was interviewed by Audrey Quinn. Episode Six: The Pyramid ClubThe August episode of the Organist features:
The David Langlois piece was produced by David Schulman. The episode was produced by Jenna Weiss-Berman, Ross Simonini, and Whitney Jones, and engineered at KCRW by Ray Guarna. Special thanks to Shelby El-Otmani and John Bosson. Episode Five: PlotzIn this Episode:
James Yeh produced the Andy Kaufman piece. Ross Simonini produced the Harmony Korine story. Earlier this year, Sunset Television debuted a web series on our Tumblr. Episode Four: Richard, the Angel of DeathIn this episode:
Jonathan Coulton’s story was produced by Andrea Silenzi of the FMA. Christian Lorentzen appears in the Tao Lin piece. Nick Cave’s story was reported by Anna Altman. Isis Aquarian was interviewed by Patrick James. Listen to a mixtape of songs chosen by Kitty to score this month’s episode. Episode Three: Tween AnxietyFeaturing!
Sarah Silverman’s owl speech was written by Alena Smith. Shane Carruth was interviewed by Ross Simonini, who also produced the Charlie White piece. Conan O’Brien’s Frankenstein riff was produced by Jack White. Nathan Salsburg’s story was produced by Matt Frassica. Thanks for listening! Please give us a rating on iTunes if you have a sec. Sad as it is, podcasts can’t get all of their nutrition from listeners alone — they need iTunes ratings to thrive. Web extras: hear an extended edit of the Rachel Kushner / Laura Owens interview. |
This Month's Contributors |
AnnouncementsSubscribe on iTunes!Don’t miss an episode of the Organist — subscribe to our podcast on iTunes now! Episode Eight Extras!As promised, here are extras from Jesse Eisenberg, as well as some additional videos featuring Mike Kelley, and tracks from Alexis Georgopoulos (ARP)! Ross Simonini’s interview with Jesse Eisenberg Mike Kelley: Being an Artist, the Avant Garde, Frank Zappa Mike Kelley: Art, Sickness, the Fool Mike Kelley Full Interview from 2004 REPLICA 1 – Alexis Gerogopoulos / ARP REPLICA 2 – Alexis Georgopoulos / ARP
Yahoo!Big thanks to Rob Walker for naming the Organist one of “the best podcasts you aren’t listening to but should be”! And apologies to those of you who have been listening to the Organist already who shouldn’t have been. The Organist reviewed in the Onion’s AV ClubTerrific review of the Organist from the Onion’s AV Club: “Stellar…impressive…thoughtful and engaged…fascinating…remarkable depth and richness…an engrossing experience that leaves listeners with plenty to think about long after episodes have ended.” We discovered most of our favorite podcasts from the AV Club’s podcast coverage, so this glowing notice feels extra special. Scroll down on this page to read the whole review. The Organist in CurrentThe public-media newspaper Current published a nice notice about the Organist, including a semi-portentous quote from KCRW about our chances of ending up as a real-live on-air broadcast! New and/or NoteworthyWe are mega-chuffed to report that we’re number two in iTunes’s vaunted “New & Noteworthy” listings! Who knows how long this will last? We are enjoying it while we can. Thank for subscribing to our podcast in iTunes, rating it, leaving prolix reviews, volunteering at your local youth center, etc! iTunes is operational!We’re now available in the iTunes store. Subscribe to the Organist in iTunes. Episode One of the Organist is Here!It’s over there to the left. Listen to it! Roll down the windows and blast it! Subscribe in iTunes (hang on a minute for this — almost there), follow us on Soundcloud, or get the KCRW mobile app and listen on demand. Thanks for checking it out. Social MediaEngage in zesty public conversation with the Organist’s producers on Facebook, Twitter, and a barn. Someone just described Soundcloud as a social media site, so OK let’s include it in this list, too. Soundcloud. |
Web ExtrasSt. Vincent’s Mix Tape for the Believer/OrganistAnnie Clark, aka St. Vincent, made this mix of music she’s currently enjoying. Lena Dunham’s MixtapeLena Dunham assembled this mix of songs by female musicians to accompany her interview with Judy Blume for the Organist, featuring Laura Marling, Nancy Sinatra, Laura Veirs, and others. Listen here. Wooden Shjips’ Swedish progg playlist and interviewAs promised in the December episode, Ripley Johnson from Wooden Shjips has put together a playlist of Swedish “progg” music that we festively strewed throughout episode 9, and is available in its unadulterated form below (or here). Also below, find a quick interview between Johnson and Oneida’s Kid Millions.
It’s kind of like the time in Fort Collins when the hippie jam band told my band Oneida not to worry, their set was short—they only had five songs—and proceeded to play for two hours. But there aren’t any direct correlations between that experience and the experience of listening to this Swedish mix besides duration… and perhaps this mix is shorter and stronger in almost every way. I love the Wooden Shjips and I think you ought to as well—but I haven’t taken anyone’s advice on what to listen to in a long time. The Shjips take the basic building blocks of psychedelic rock and explode the expectations from there—and maybe you’re left confused, ecstatic, frustrated, exhilarated and wanting more at the end of one of their tremendous live shows or one of their equally tremendous albums. These tracks are exciting and emblematic and illuminating to his band’s aesthetic—and they can perhaps point in a direction of further listening if you find them as unique and compelling as I do. This seems like the Wooden Shjips in a nutshell—the music can be strange, awkward and otherwise chaotic and not obsessed with technical considerations (thank god)—they seek a different path to those familiar feelings of dislocation, comfort and repetition—and the vehicle remains as strong as ever. I emailed the Shjips’ guitarist Ripley Johnson a few questions while he was on tour in Europe supporting their new record, Back to Land, out this month now from Thrill Jockey. —Kid Millions
KID MILLIONS: How deeply do you care about physical manifestations of recorded music? Sometimes I walk into a record store and feel despair—mostly because it seems like in the midst of a deluge there’s no space for my own work. But when I leave the store I no longer feel this way. But after watching your Amoeba Records video I thought record stores might be inspiring to you. But God—do we have to romanticize places where the clerks are assholes? RJ: Well, I like vinyl, but most of the vinyl I buy is old and used. So that’s part of my love for record stores. I buy new vinyl, and that’s great, but I really prefer the hunt. I carry around a list of records that I’m looking for at all times. When I go into a record store, even an Amoeba, I’m not usually overwhelmed because I have that list. I used to live just down the street from Amoeba in SF and I would go in there sometimes just to browse endlessly, to pass the time. Now I live in Portland and there are a whole bunch of smaller record stores. They’re funky and cheap. That’s key as well. I’ve shopped for records in NY and got sticker shock. I’m not paying $20 for a scratched copy of Growing Up in Public (r.i.p. Lou). KM: Along similar lines—Neil Young, in his book Waging Heavy Peace, talks about his digital music service Pono—reattaching “soul” to the digital technology that got thrown away with overly compressed MP3s files. His argument is that MP3s remove the ineffable material that allows us to make deep emotional connections to music, but also we listened to shitty bootleg cassette copies of Neil at Massey Hall with at least twenty generations of warbles and tape decay, and we loved every minute of it. RJ: Yeah, I listened to so many classic albums on cassette, vinyl dubs, that had skips in particular places, or were sequenced wrong because sides were dubbed in the wrong order. I still hear those imperfections in my mind when a particular song comes on the radio. Or bootlegs recorded at the wrong tape speed, so everything’s pitched up and fast. I don’t think that’s what Neil is talking about, though, and I don’t think higher quality digital is going to bring back that ineffable quality he’s after—it’s still just ones and zeros. But it’s got to be better than mp3s. KM: Last time I saw you at the Knitting Factory you were killing it on guitar—just shredding. What’s your practice routine like? RJ: I like to play along with records—that’s as close to practicing as I get. I like to experiment with playing wrong notes in interesting ways. Usually I’m trying to unlearn things. But mostly I just make it up as I go along. Kid Millions is the founder and drummer of the bands Oneida, Man Forever and People of the North. He has played drums with Spiritualized, Boredoms, Yo La Tengo and Rhys Chatham. A new Man Forever album, called Ryonen, will be released in April 2014. Episode Eight Extras!As promised, here are extras from Jesse Eisenberg, as well as some additional videos featuring Mike Kelley, and tracks from Alexis Georgopoulos (ARP)! Ross Simonini’s interview with Jesse Eisenberg Mike Kelley: Being an Artist, the Avant Garde, Frank Zappa Mike Kelley: Art, Sickness, the Fool Mike Kelley Full Interview from 2004 REPLICA 1 – Alexis Gerogopoulos / ARP REPLICA 2 – Alexis Georgopoulos / ARP
Videos of the Piano VanMany more amazing videos on Stroffolino’s website, pianovan.com. Web Extras for March 2013Throughout episode two of the Organist are snippets of songs selected by Devendra Banhart (interviewed in this episode by Ross Simonini). Listen to all of Banhart’s selections.
Bonus Items for February 2013Listen to the full interview with George Saunders, stream the Matmos track, and find out more about the music discussed on episode one by browsing the February 2013 Bonus Items. |
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A monthly podcast from THE BELIEVER and KCRW
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