What Is This Music?!

Episode 11: DJ Stashu - An Innocent Rage

DJ Stashu is the host of Dance With Me, Stanley (on legendary free-form radio station WFMU), a show dedicated to the joys of polka and other musical delights. She joins me to talk about her discovery and love of polka, giving music respect, curation as an act of kindness, novelty music, Dr. Demento, Gordon Thomas, the role WFMU has played in both our lives, and more.

Check out Stashu's Spotify playlist of polka and related music.

 

Episode 10: Michelle Ayoub - Al Time High

Michelle Ayoub is known in the Montreal music community as a production worker behind the scenes, as well as co-owner of rock bar Turbo Haüs. She's also notable as a massive fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic, and joins me in a detailed discussion of Al's appeal and the mystery of his person and persona, with digressions on Michelle's emergence in the music biz as a young teen, her friendship with GWAR's Oderus Urungus, and more.

Check out Michelle's Spotify playlist of Weird Al essentials here.

 

Episode 9: Sarah Feldman - Rethinking Music Education Sounds Good

Sarah Feldman is a Vancouver-based musician and composer, as well as the host of the Sounds Good Channel on YouTube, a biweekly series of music education videos. She joins me to talk about the hangups of the classical music world, the value of music theory, making music education more welcoming, formalism vs. symbolism, and more.

Enjoy Sarah's Spotify playlist of music we discussed on the show and/or featured on Sounds Good episodes.

Check out Sarah's own music on Bandcamp.

 

 

Episode 8: Natasha Pickowicz - Food for Thought

Natasha Pickowicz is a pastry chef based in NYC, but before that she was a DIY promoter and enthusiast of the avant-garde music scene in Portland, Ithaca and Montreal. She joins me to talk about her  appreciation of free jazz and noise music, along with our shared history at Montreal's convenience store/diner Dépanneur Le Pick Up, the death of the alt-weekly paper, her current project, and the connections between food, music and community.

Check out Natasha's Spotify playlist of related music.

Photo: Georgia Hilmer

 

Episode 7: Jesse Staniforth - Punker's Progress

Montreal writer Jesse Staniforth, with his reflections on punk music, politics and culture, is one of the inspirations for this podcast. He joins me to describe how he got into punk, what it means to him, neurochemical reactions to music, the pros and cons of punk politics, oppositional-defiant disorder, how harsh music can be inspiring, and much more.

Check out Jesse's playlist of music we discussed.

Enjoy the episode, and see you in 2021!

 

Episode 6: Daiquiri (Mike Hickey and Leigh Newton) - Bungle Fever

Mike "Major Entertainer" Hickey and Leigh Newton's many musical projects have included their synth metal duo Daiquiri, who among other things did a notorious (if only to ourselves) US tour with me back in 2004. Here we discuss many topics, including but very much not limited to the nominal subject of the episode: their love of one of my most disliked bands, conceptual circus-metal provocateurs Mr. Bungle.

Also check out Leigh's Spotify playlist of related music.

Episode 5: Kathryn Jezer-Morton - Dead Reckoning

Montreal writer Kathryn Jezer-Morton joins me to mount a spirited defence of one of her favourite (and my most misunderstood) bands: The Grateful Dead. Kathryn discusses becoming a Dead fan despite (not because of) growing up on a commune, liking bands because of (not despite) their flaws, the Dead becoming unexpectedly cool again, and other topics.

Check out Kathryn's playlist of live Dead faves.

Episode 4: Steve Kado - 2003, The Year Pop Ruled

Was 2003 really an amazing year for music, or are we just a couple of grumpy old hipsters? Artist, musician and noted 2003 enthusiast Steve Kado joins me for a wildly digressive discussion about this brief heyday of mainstream and underground music, nostalgia for nihilism, the relative relevance of Drake, algorithmic targeting, and much more.

Also, check out our Spotify playlist of 2003 top hits + Toronto underground faves of the era.

Episode 3: Erin MacLeod - In the Dancehall Space

Writer and music enthusiast Erin MacLeod talks about why she thinks Jamaican musical culture is the best, with asides on the decline of music media, the colonialist roots of the "guilty pleasure," not getting Radiohead, and more.

Read more of Erin's writings on music and other topics at www.erinmacleod.ca. And check out the Spotify playlist she made specially to accompany this episode.

Episode 2: Eliza Kavtion - Nü Metal Princess

Eliza Kavtion joins Malcolm to discuss one of rock's most maligned (and one of her favourite) genres: nu metal. We also discuss KISS, Frank Zappa,  "bands who wear makeup" as a genre, nu metal as bubblegum, Len's "Steal My Sunshine," and much more.

Eliza Kavtion's record, The Rez Last Svmmer, is available on Bandcamp.

BONUS: Eliza created this Spotify playlist of "the finest moments in the genre imo."