Curious Sounds from the Solid Sound Festival - Radiolab

Summary4 min read

Radiolab: Curious Sounds from the Solid Sound Festival

Podcast: Radiolab (WNYC Studios)
Episode Date: June 27, 2013
Hosts: Jad Abumrad, with appearances by Reggie Watts and the band Lucius
Episode Theme: A behind-the-scenes update from the Radiolab team’s adventure at the Solid Sound Festival, plus exciting news about the upcoming Radiolab Live tour featuring innovative musicians known for experimenting with sound.

Episode Overview

This short dispatch captures the Radiolab crew’s experience at Massachusetts' Solid Sound Festival, hosted by the band Wilco. The episode is driven by host Jad Abumrad, offering exclusive announcements about the upcoming Radiolab Live tour, and showcasing a standout musical performance by Brooklyn band Lucius. The episode is an invitation to experience Radiolab’s signature curiosity through music, sound design, and community.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Radiolab Visits Solid Sound Festival

Radiolab was featured at Wilco’s annual Solid Sound Festival, a gathering known for its eclectic mix of bands and comedians.
Jad highlights memorable acts:
- Nico Case, Low, Foxygen, and the comedic stylings of John Hodgman and Reggie Watts.
- “Every time I see [Reggie Watts] he blows my mind. It was a really fun weekend.” [00:49]

2. Radiolab Live Tour Announcement

Jad reveals Radiolab’s plans for a fall tour across 21 cities (October & November).
Unique aspect: Live reading of an upcoming episode, accompanied by live musicians, enhancing Radiolab’s signature sound design.
Notable musicians added to the tour:
- Sarah Lipstate, Brooklyn-based guitarist/film composer, known for immersive soundscapes.
- Glenn Kotche (Wilco drummer), known for “otherworldly” percussion using unconventional, homemade instruments.
  - “His drum set looks like some kind of spaceship and he creates sounds which are completely otherworldly.” [02:27]
- Darin Gray (bassist, On Fillmore), famed for unconventional bass noises (“turns his bass into a tuba, literally, so it can sound like a lion”).
  - “He gets his bass to make noises that you just don’t expect a bass to make.” [03:17]

3. Tour Details & Urgency

Ticket demand is high, with some shows already selling out or requiring additional nights:
- “Oakland, New York, Denver went really fast. We had to add another night. We're not going to be able to do that in most cities because of travel schedules. So if you're thinking about coming, don't wait too long.” [03:44]
Listeners are directed to radiolab.org/live for tickets and info.

4. Showcasing New Music: Lucius Live at Solid Sound

Jad introduces Lucius, a Brooklyn-based band discovered at the festival (close ties to the Radiolab team: “literally right on the corner from one of our producers, Andy Mills”). [04:04]
Song feature: “How Loud Your Heart Gets” performed live at the festival.
- Standout moment: The performance underscores the festival’s spirit of sonic exploration and creative energy.
- Lyrics touch on themes of memory, distance, and childhood:
  “We were children now we've grown... Nobody knows how loud your heart can be...” [05:38]
- “Thank you guys so much! Is everybody doing all right so far?” – Lucius [07:41]

5. Closing Warmth & Festival Atmosphere

Shared appreciation for audience and artists, both enduring the summer heat:
- “I know it's hot out there. Thank you. It's pretty hot up here, too.” – Jad [09:02]
Promise of a forthcoming full episode, reinforcing Radiolab’s signature blend of storytelling and curiosity.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Jad Abumrad on Reggie Watts at Solid Sound:
“Every time I see him, he blows my mind.” [00:49]
On Glenn Kotche’s Innovative Percussion:
“His drum set looks like some kind of spaceship and he creates sounds which are completely otherworldly.” [02:27]
On Darin Gray’s Bass Techniques:
“He gets his bass to make noises that you just don’t expect a bass to make... He has found a way to turn his bass into a tuba, literally, so it can sound like a lion." [03:17]
Encouragement to Act Fast on Tour Tickets:
“Oakland, New York, Denver went really fast. We had to add another night... So if you're thinking about coming, don't wait too long.” [03:44]
Lucius Live Lyric:
“We were children, now we've grown... Nobody knows how loud your heart can be...” [05:38]
Lucius Engaging the Crowd:
“Thank you guys so much! Is everybody doing all right so far?” [07:41]
Jad’s Closing Note:
“I know it's hot out there. Thank you. It's pretty hot up here, too.” [09:02]

Timestamps for Key Segments

Solid Sound Festival Reflection: [00:00–01:15]
Live Tour Announcement: [01:15–04:00]
Introduction to Lucius: [04:00–04:30]
Lucius Live Performance (How Loud Your Heart Gets): [04:30–07:41]
Audience & Band Interaction, Closing Remarks: [07:41–09:20]

Summary in a Nutshell

This Radiolab dispatch captures the excitement and communal spirit of the Solid Sound Festival while building anticipation for the Radiolab Live tour. Listeners get a rare peek into the show’s creative process and meet boundary-pushing musicians set to join the adventure. The episode weaves together behind-the-scenes updates, a celebration of curiosity-driven music, and heartfelt exchanges with the live audience, all delivered in Radiolab’s warm, inviting tone.

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Transcript5 lines

[00:00]
A
Hey, this is Jad. So we're about to release our next podcast. This little thing is actually not it. This is just a brief dispatch with a couple of announcements, a couple of sounds. So this past weekend we were in Massachusetts at the Solid Sound Festival. It's a festival that's organized by the band Wilco. Every year they get together a bunch of bands. You know, like when Nico Case was there, Low Foxygen, great bands. They also had comedy, John Hodgman, Reggie Watts. That's Reggie. Every time I see him, he blows my mind. It was a really fun weekend. We were invited to basically do a live read through of part of the show that we're going to be touring this fall. And that's actually the purpose of this little message. I want to make sure you know that this October, November, we're going to be hitting 21 cities as part of our live tour. And here's the news that we just got this weekend. We've added some musicians to the bill, some amazing musicians. So we've already signed up. Sarah Lipstate, Brooklyn based guitarist and film composer, does these epic, amazing soundscapes. She's already on board, which is great. We can now announce the Glen Kochi, drummer from Wilco, will be joining us for a big chunk of this tour. Now, if you've never heard Glenn do his percussion thing like on Wilco, it's more straight ahead rock. But when he's just doing percussion, it's amazing. Classically trained, so he plays bells and vibes and all kinds of things. He builds his own percussion instruments. His drum set looks like some kind of spaceship and he creates sounds which are completely otherworldly. Glenn's gonna be joining us and he happens to play in a band called On Fillmore. And the other member of that band is bassist Darren Gray. And Darren is kind of like Glenn, but on the bass. Like he gets his bass to make noises that you just don't expect a bass to make. For instance, he has found a way to turn his bass into a tuba, literally, so it can sound like a lion. I don't know, I just want to leave that to your imagination. So we're really excited about this, that on Fillmore, you know, Glenn and Darren and Sarah Lipstate are all going to come together to do live scoring. It's going to sound absolutely beautiful. And you should know we just announced the fall tour and actually some nights are moving really fast. Oakland, New York, Denver went really fast. We had to add another night. We're not going to be able to do that in most cities because of travel schedules. So if you're thinking about coming, don't wait too long. Go to Radiolab.org live Radiolab.org live in any case, before we conclude, just thought we'd play one thing for you. This is a band we just discovered at the Solid Sound Festival. I mean, it's a Brooklyn band. They're just down the street, actually, literally right on the corner from one of our producers, Andy Mills. So we should have known about them, but we didn't. We discovered them at Solid Sound. Now the entire office is into them. This is Lucious with a song from a set they played called how loud you'd Heart gets. Robert and I will be back in a few days with our next podcast. In the meantime, enjoy.
[04:04]
B
What if the house is bigger now? Oh. Made each brick a ice like stone no oh, oh It's a fort that can be broken up oh, oh. A place no one would ever find us. We were children now we've grown we were children now we've grown. We were children now we've grown we were children now we've grown oh, nobody knows how loud your heart can be We're a million miles away But I still hear you and I'm going, going, going to get you Tell you all my memories and you tell me yours the colors of my favorite trees before the winter sweets it's you and me should talk about the great unknown Without a distance in between and all the obstacles we know the things we know we just don't know the things we know we don't know oh, oh. Things we know we just don't know the things we know we don't know oh, nobody knows how loud your heart sh. We're a million miles away But I still hear you and I'm going, going, going again. Going, going, going against you yeah, I'm going, going, going, going against you.
[07:42]
A
Like.
[07:42]
B
A rapper in the night I'm going to get you Nobody knows even how loud if I yeah, I'm going, going. Yeah, I'm going, going to get. Thank you guys so much. Is everybody doing all right so far?
[09:02]
A
I know it's hot out there. Thank you. It's pretty hot up here, too.