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Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 26 (SIRIUS), and channel 43 (XM), can now be heard twice, every Friday – Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST. SIRIUS 141: Jean Michel Bernard – Generique Stephane ++ Vivian Girls – He’s Gone (Chantels) ++ Sonic Youth – Dirty Boots ++ Yo La [...]

One of the achievements of Phosphorescent’s ode to Willie was how comfortable Matthew Houck was at interpreting (or reinterpreting) Willie Nelson. It wasn’t just that he carefully selected songs that had mostly filtered out of the cadre of Willie popularity. But he was also succeeding the wintry folk soul-lashing of Pride just two years prior. [...]

Sings Hank Williams began a string of excellent albums by Del Shannon that culminated with The Further Adventures of Charles Westover from 1968. Not only is this a great country album but many consider this one of the best records from the time. This disc was released in 1964 and predated the country-rock boom by [...]

I reintroduced Madeleine Peyroux’s cover of Elliott Smith’s “Between The Bars” into my radio playlist last month. Found on Peyroux’s Careless Love LP, from 2004, the track exudes a haunting, maudlin, ambiance that feels entirely displaced from the 21st century—it’s this exact displacement that gives it legs. Mystery. MP3: Madeleine Peyroux :: Between The Bars [...]

Awhile back the folks at Soul Generation started up a side blog dedicated to a rambling genre hybrid that can only be described as “titty shakers,” entitled (of course) tittyshakers.com. From their manifesto: “The roots of tittyshaker can be traced back to ’50s America where in major cities ,through to backwater shacks and pit-stop bars, [...]

Reissues are nothing new.  But last year, when news of the promise of the reissued Fela Kuti catalog surfaced, there was reason to get excited. The newly resurfaced Knitting Factory Records is responsible for the comprehensive catalog overhaul. Last week we caught up with label manager Brian Long to find out why.  Interview after the [...]

(Sevens, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, pays tribute to the art of the individual song.) AD is spending the month of May looking at some one-hitters from the 90s; an age rife with overlooked “alternative” gems from the days of 120 Minutes and the just below-the-surface power-pop scene that was bursting with great music. [...]

Our friends at Flannelgraph Records just hooked us up with the upcoming, six-song, Richard Swift EP (Laminar Excursion Monthly Volume 9). A co-release with Crossroads of America, ‘Wolfman’ is available later this month on 3″ CD.  Dig that.  Just in time for Weird Summer II. MP3: Richard Swift :: Drakula (Hey Man!) ———————— + Download [...]

The world in which the five members of The National—and, I suspect, at least 90% of AD readers—live and move and gesture towards being is a wide, wide space with very low ceilings. It is a world in which many things are possible but very few of them provide any kind of lasting satisfaction, and [...]