Monday, January 27
Forever is the new album from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Lilly Hiatt. We’ll hear selections from that release as well as music from Mogwai’s The Bad Fire.
Tuesday, January 28
Unravelling in Your Hands is the 2024 album from British guitarist James Blackshaw. Blackshaw took a hiatus from music in 2016 citing financial difficulties and a climate that made touring difficult. When he suffered serious injuries in 2022 that left him unable to work and his beloved dog died not long after, he wondered if he would ever make music again. His determination to do so resulted in this new recording which he released to little fanfare at the end of 2024. We’ll hear selections from it as well as music from the new self-titled release by Daryl Johns.
Wednesday, January 29
In early 2000, musician Mike Watt fell ill with a near fatal infection that plagued him with fever for several months and ultimately resulted in a complicated surgery that left him with a lengthy recovery. As he recovered he began working on his third solo album, The Secondman’s Middle Stand, inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy. We’ll hear selections from that release as well as music from Double Nickels on the Dime, the 1984 double album from Watt’s former band, Minutemen.
Thursday, January 30
Released in 1979, Slow Train Coming reflected Bob Dylan’s recent conversation to Christianity and ushered in a series of recordings devoted to his experience with faith. The album features Dire Straits members Pick Withers (drums) and Mark Knopfler (guitar) as well as production work from the legendary Jerry Wexler. We’ll hear music from this release as well as selections from the 1980 album from Dire Straits, Making Movies.
Friday, January 31
We’ll hear music from Indianola Mississippi Seeds, the 1970 album from B.B. King featuring contributions from Joe Walsh, Carole King, and James Taylor/Jackson Browne drummer Russ Kunkel. We’ll also hear selections from Electric Mud, the 1968 release from Muddy Waters.
Saturday, February 1
In late 1993, Robert Pollard had been leading the band Guided By Voices for a decade with no commercial attention or success. Feeling pressured to focus his attention on his family and his career as an elementary school teacher, Pollard felt that the band had to come to an end. Instead, he went ahead with the recording of a new album, titled, Bee Thousand,which became the breakthrough album for Guided By Voices and which set in motion a series of events that finally allowed him to leave his teaching post for good. We’ll hear selections from Bee Thousand on this episode as well as music from Pollard’s 2006 solo album, From A Compound Eye.
