Van Dyke Parks :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Ahead of planning an upcoming concert at the Getty Museum, Van Dyke Parks caught up with AD from his home in Los Angeles. In addition to his philosophies on arranging and composition, we discuss some of the more understated (yet fascinating) parts of his prolific career: the audio/visual unit he created at Warner Brothers, relationship with Haruomi Hosono, fascination with steel drums and tuneful percussion, the moment he was embraced by psychedelia, and much more.

Bandcamping :: Autumn 2022

With a welcome chill in the air and a fresh Bandcamp Friday hitting on November 4, it’s time for one more 2022 edition of AD’s Bandcamping, filled with recent & recommended sounds. Fill up that cart and find some new favorites.

Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: July 2021

Sweltering Sunday on Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. July 18 from 4—8 PM Pacific. Hour one features selections from Arthur Magazine’s Golden Apples of the Sun compilation, a 2004 record curated by Devendra Banhart. In hour two, Range and Basin with Jason P. Woodbury reflects on death and heat. In hour three, Tyler Wilcox’s Doom and Gloom from the Tomb, presenting selections from James McNew of Yo La Tengo and Dump. And to close, Playing Dumb, a 45 RPM mix by DJ Donald Five Pennies, aka the late Richard Swift.

Caleb Landry Jones :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

The Mother Stone is a collection of fifteen tracks entirely out of step with whatever modern trends are currently gripping independent music. It feels peerless, out of time, from a different dimension. It isn’t a record you can play quietly in the background as you respond to emails. It requires headphones. Focus. Attention. Which isn’t to say it isn’t any fun. Because it is.

Aquarium Drunkard :: Decade / 2010-19

Well, that was fast. Decade is just about over, and as it draws to a close, its highs look awfully high in the rearview. Presented here, an unranked sprawl of 100 records that stuck with us, managing to break through the noise of an increasingly distracting age, and stick around in our heads.

The Aquarium Drunkard Guide To Drag City Records: Volume One

Chicago’s venerable Drag City turns 30 years young in 2019. In perhaps typical fashion, the label doesn’t seem to be doing much in the way of commemoration — no star-studded festival, no limited edition boxed set, no self-congratulatory excess. Instead, Drag City is doing what it’s always done: releasing great records.

But those past glories deserve a little celebration, don’t they? That’s why the Aquarium Drunkard team has put together this eclectic guide to Drag City’s immense catalog: 30 masterpieces for 30 years.

The Aquarium Drunkard Show

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard every Wednesday at 7pm PST with encore broadcasts on-demand via the SIRIUS/XM app.

Music from Julien Gasc, Goldmund, Atlas Sound, Chris Cohen, Cleaners From Venus and more [..]