Talkin About The Passion

The son of evangelical missionaries, The Drifter Luke traveled frequently as a child, eventually settling in Washington state by age 9. He loved music from an early age singing bluegrass/gospel tunes with his family in church performance. By age 15, Luke began to focus more and more of his time to writing and creating original songs. With songs tackling ideas like addiction, faith, regret, expectation versus reality, and the seasons of life, The Drifter Luke's music sheds a fresh and compelling light on the human condition. https://www.thedrifterluke.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/

Electric Light Orchestra's 1977 double album Out Of The Blue... Largely inspired by a sudden burst of sunshine while writing in the Swiss Alps, songwriter/producer Jeff Lynne didn't pull any punches with this gargantuan recording. A notorious studio hermit, I'd almost call him a "musician's musician" if it weren't for the fact that ELO was also a commercial juggernaut. I only knew the hits before, so patron Joe helps me break it all down for our chat this week! www.niagaramoonmusic.com/

Bjork, the Icelandic musical oddity (and ya know, massive global pop-star), set her artistic sights ever higher with 1997's Homogenic. This album of "strings and beats" is beautiful, fiery and glacial all at once. So, so good. And fellow Bjork enthusiast Attxla is here to get just as excited about it with me! He's a phenomenal multi-genre singer from Houston, TX. His R&B/electronic full-length debut "Ebb" is top-notch. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://attxla.com/

I meet and hang with another Moondog! Beau from St. Louis - he's quite a culture vulture, and has a fascinating backstory. We talk about gigantic book collections, Van Dyke Parks, and a whoooole lot more. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/

That's right. The Beatles. At the height of their powers in 1966. This album is 55 years old(!), everyone loves it, and everyone's talked about ad nauseam... You know what though? It's still an amazing, mind-blowing collection of tunes that I thoroughly enjoyed discussing, along with my cohort Dan Barracuda. I think these guys are still worth the hype. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.danbarracuda.com/

With but 35 minutes of immaculate pop songs, The Zombies both secured their legacy and faded into obscurity with 1968's "Odessey & Oracle". (Yes, that spelling is a typo...) Every piece of this is a win. The songwriting team of Rod Argent and Chris White matched with Colin Blunstone's heavenly vocals. Recording at Abbey Road with the Beatles' engineer Geoff Emerick. They even used Lennon's mellotron! And Thin Lear is back to help me break it all down. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/

It's David Bowie in 1975, like we've never heard him before (or since). "Young Americans" is the first and probably most notable example of Bowie completely changing genres - like no one else before... But does the Plastic Soul sound work? We sure think so! Sign up for The Quest For The Sound before April 1st: theniagaramoonexperience.com/the-quest-awaits https://www.danbarracuda.com/

Thundercat nailed it with this 2017 R&B(?) album Drunk. From the insane cover photo all the way to the slew of slick cameos (Michael McDonald, anyone?), Stephen Bruner tells a personal, bordering-on-embarrassing story in an outlandish & goofy way. And the songs are undeniably funky. The bass lines... Joining me in breaking it down is San Antonio duo Cadillac Muzik. CaddyMack & DaddyD'Vil are true appreciators and craftsmen of the funk. Definitely recommend their new EP "Stayin Alive". Sign up for the Quest For The Sound - a virtual NM album tour coming April 1st: https://theniagaramoonexperience.com/the-quest-awaits https://www.itscadillacmuzik.com/

Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea from 1998... I mean, there's life before having heard this album, and then life after it. I suspect Jeff Mangum is actually some wizardly music spirit, rather than simply a 90s indie pop recluse. Safe to say, both myself and pod friend Thin Lear had lots of kind things to say about it. It's pretty cool, and pretty weird. Sign up for my new musical storybook experience: https://theniagaramoonexperience.com/the-quest-awaits Thin Lear makes some damn fine music himself: https://www.thinlear.com/

Honored to have gloitchpop maestro Basic Printer (aka Jesse Gillenwalters) on the pod once again, this time to talk about his brand new album Fantastic Wrist! It's a symphonic electro-indie-folk-pop mastahpiece. The story behind the album is also very personal, revelatory, and purgative. Jesse is kind and open enough to take me through the whole thing, in this very special long-form episode. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.basicprinter.com/

Who doesn't like a little Elton John? This 1972 album features the man at the height of his powers, playing classic hits with the best band he ever assembled. I'm all about Honky Cat... Dan Barracuda and patron Joe agree - this one has some funky classics. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.danbarracuda.com/

Hey, isn't that a Niagara Moon album? It is indeed. Longtime musical bud and friend of the pod Basic Printer wanted to come on and talk about it with me! Who was I to decline? Hear some of the stories behind this 2017 NM debut... https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.basicprinter.com/

Roger Waters the poet. The genius. The tyrant...? I love so much about 1983's The Final Cut, but to think of it as a Pink Floyd albums feels strange... Nevertheless, lots of lore to dig into and many wonderful, solemn musical moments. To help me along I have fellow musicmaker Dan Barracuda and studious patron Joe. It's a good time. https://www.patreon.com/niagaramoonmusic https://www.danbarracuda.com/

(and not just because I play piano/keyboards on all the songs!) The artist Hoonah - aka my friend Sarah - just released her album Marram Grass. It's 12 songs of achingly beautiful, melancholic folk ala Nick Drake or Vashti Bunyan. Throw a little Joanna Newsom in there too for good measure. She gave me permission to share it with you here in its entirety. You'll love it. Thank me later. https://hoonah.bandcamp.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/

Gorgeous harmonies, rich arrangements, sophisticated soul-searching lyrics. Where can you go wrong with 2011's "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes? Robin Pecknold, man... Sounds like Father John Misty gave him a hard time though. Not only am I joined by Dan Barracuda for this one, but also his musical partner Ian! We have a goofy good time. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.iandanmusic.com/

Leonard Cohen and Phil Spector team up in 1977 to make this "beautiful mess" of an album. There were guns, drugs, master tape thefts, and all sorts of shenanigans. Yet "Death of a Ladies' Man" is weirdly wonderful - or at least wonderfully weird. NYC folk/baroque pop songsmith and Cohen superfan Thin Lear(aka Matt Longo) joins myself and Dan Barracuda to break it all down! https://www.patreon.com/niagaramoonmusic https://thinlear.bandcamp.com/album/wooden-cave https://www.danbarracuda.com/

Dan Barracuda brought this band up enough times that my interest was piqued. And then podcast friend Mark Grundhoefer came in saying they were one of his top favorites! So I listened beyond the hits. But then Dan couldn't make it... Ah well. Mark and I still talk the ins and the outs of this often misunderstood 80s pop duo. He also takes me to task on our sometimes less than favorable "Aja" discussion. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://markgrundhoefer.bandcamp.com/

I meet and hang with a bonafide Moondog! Joe from Ohio calls in, and we talk travel, vinyl, teaching art, and much more. https://www.patreon.com/niagaramoonmusic

The Magnetic Fields (aka Stephin Merritt) had a very unique vision when he set about making 1999's "69 Love Songs". 69 songs - 3 hours - dedicated to the idea of "a love song". Not even love itself! Who better than longtime die-hard fan and fellow singer-songwriter Nicholas Krgovich to help us dive in, and learn how/why this thing works? https://nicholaskrgovich.bandcamp.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ http://danbarracuda.com/

Dan and I bring on our first guest to help us break down an album! Jordan Prince makes infectious, fun and distinct indie-pop over in Munich, Germany - though he originally hails from New Orleans. The expatriate life seems to suit him wonderfully. He's also an excellent candidate to discuss the work of Mac DeMarco. There's no other indie rocker out there like the Mac. His hazy sound, tender songwriting, carefree vibe, meticulous use of tape and masterful guitarwork all come together for a truly impactful combo. How many new bands point to him as an influence? A lot - that's how many. http://www.jordanprincetunes.com/ Moondogs - use discount code "RUDI" at checkout to get 50% off any one item in the Niagara Moon store: www.niagaramoonmusic.com/store www.danbarracuda.com