What Is This 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."

Episode 1: Chilly Gonzales - The Unguilty Pleasure

Chilly Gonzales is a musical entertainer and, most recently, author of the book Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures. He joins old friend and collaborator Malcolm to talk about the book, his personal journey through musical taste, why it's important for young people to seem cool, the value of cultural criticism, and several other topics.

Photo by ANKA