Podcast
Transmissions
Hosted by Aquarium Drunkard · EN
Weekly interviews with musicians, artists, authors, and filmmakers presented by Aquarium Drunkard.
38episodes
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Transmissions :: Bruce Hornsby
5d ago01:01:50Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with Jason P. Woodbury. Near the end of his latest LP Indigo Park, our guest this week, Bruce Hornsby, sings something of a conclusion. Or perhaps, a belated introduction: "I've been seeking magical thinking/I think I detect a trend/This could be the start of something/Or this could be an end." The lyric isn't cited to suggest the 71-year-old songwriter is going anywhere. If anything, Indigo Park speaks to the hot streak Hornsby's been on since 2019's Absolute Zero. With that album, he began mining his vast bank of musical cues created for various projects with his longtime collaborator Spike Lee, crafting them into full songs. To his surprise, these late period albums caught the attention of fans of adventurous music, his reputation bolstered by artists like Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, Haim, and others citing Hornsby as an elder statesman. Recorded with co-producers Tony Berg and Will Maclellan at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and The Large Cloth-Eared Collider in Williamsburg, Virginia, Indigo Park demonstrates just how unexpectedly Hornsby operates. From the chiming folk rock of the title track to the Bonnie Raitt-assisted art pop of "Ecstatic" to "Might As Well Be Me, Florinda," a woozy duet with the late Bob Weir aided by the sparking guitar of Blake Mills and Pino Palladino's liquid metal bass, the album showcases Hornsby's vast—ahem—range. At once funny, poignant, and audacious, it's a gem, one of my favorite records of 2026. Earlier this year, Aquarium Drunkard caught up with him to discuss the album, basketball chants, his work with The Grateful Dead and the Dead’s legacy, his taste in literary fiction, and much more. We published a condensed and edited version of this interview in print on Aquarium Drunkard back in April, but now, we’re pleased to present the full chat in the podcast feed—complete with an exclusive piano performance that sonically illustrates Hornsby’s Protestant hymn-soaked youth in Christian Science congregation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transmissions :: Lenny Kaye
2w ago01:09:27Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with Jason P. Woodbury. There are certain artists who straddle the line between music and prose, between songwriting and music writing. Think of Ira Kaplan from Yo La Tengo, who spent his early years as a rock journalist, or the doomed Peter Laughner, or even Lester Bangs, who cranked out a couple of raucous singles on Ork Records in addition to his pioneering criticism. Then there are the patron saints of this dual discipline: Patti Smith and today’s guest, her longtime collaborator Lenny Kaye. Kaye’s creative output is kaleidoscopic: he’s a founding member of the Patti Smith Group, bringing his slashing guitar style to classic records like Horses; he curated the legendary rock & roll compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts of the First Psychedelic Era; he’s produced records for artists like Jessi Colter, Allen Ginsberg, and Suzanne Vega; and he’s written a number of books, including one about Waylon Jennings, Waylon: An Autobiography, and Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll – An Insider's Exploration of the Crossroads That Shaped Music. Lenny is with us today to discuss Goin’ Local, his first proper solo album, out July 17 on Yep Roc Records. Cut with his longtime bandmate Tony Shanahan and featuring Lenny’s longtime creative partner Patti Smith, Goin’ Local brings a little country & western, a little garage rock, a little folk, and lots of psychedelic energy to the table. Kaye joined us to discuss the new record, his roots in science fiction fandom, getting mystical with Jessi Colter, the queen of outlaw country, and the time your humble host asked Lenny if he could sample one of his songs. Lightning is striking—it’s time for Lenny Kaye on Transmissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transmissions :: Annahstasia
3w ago00:55:15Tap to summarizeAnnahstasia is one of the most exciting singers and songwriters in the modern folk space. Originally courted by major labels in her youth, she found herself drifting away from the bedroom pop and R&B genres where music business execs thought she belonged. Drawn to folkier material, she emerged in the 2020s with a sound that blends the soul jazz of Terry Callier with Nick Drake’s hushed chamber folk, her magnificent voice way out front in the mix, sometimes recalling the fullness of singers like Odetta or the jazzy sway of Hejira-era Joni Mitchell. In March of this year, she released a live album, Live at Glasshaus, recorded at the Brooklyn studio and performance space. Drawing her full discography, Annahstasia and her band re-imagine the material and present in a fresh and intimate way in front of a limited audience of only 100 attendees. On this week’s show, Annahstasia joins us to discuss the spaciousness and quietude required to get into a creative zone, the influence of Terry Callier, blazing her own trail as a self-described “Black girl playing her guitar.” We also get into her earliest memories of listening to her parents CDs, the most frequently cited book on Transmissions, Hazrat Inayat Khan's The Mysticism of Sound and Music, and how creating from the heart puts you in touch with the divine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transmissions :: Don Was
4w ago01:10:45Tap to summarizeHello and welcome to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with Jason P. Woodbury, presented by the Talkhouse Podcast Network. We're kicking off our new season with a fantastic guest: Don Was. Was' CV is stunning. In addition to his genre-bending work with Was (Not Was), Don has collaborated with some of the most respected artists in music history: Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, The B-52s, Ringo Starr, Roy Orbison…the list could go on. These days, you can find Don with his band, The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, whose latest album is called Groove in the Face of Adversity, and behind the desk at Blue Note Records—he’s been the president of the legendary jazz label since 2011. But Don has joined us today to talk about one of his very first recording projects: Ted Lucas' Impossible Love, an unheard album he cut with the cult Detroit songwriter in 1979. Impossible Love is part of Third Man Records’ new collection of Lucas gold, Images of Life. Following their reissue of his stoned folk classic 1975 LP, Third Man Records has unlocked the vault, offering a comprehensive look at one of the late ’60s and ’70s’ most dynamic Detroit talents. Spanning Lucas’ career, the set includes recordings by Lucas’ early regional sensations like The Spike Drivers, The Misty Wizards, and The Horny Toads, acoustic demos, and his long-lost second album, produced by Was. Don joined us to discuss his time with Ted–including a disastrous gig they played with Black Sabbath—and help us uncover this lost Motor City counter culture story. And that’s not all—Don also reflected on his work with the late bandmate Bob Weir, the legacy of the Dead, and of course, his work on Garth Brooks’ ill-fated 1999 Chris Gaines project. That's right: we went there. So roll up your sleeves and let's get to it, Don Was on Transmissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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All One Song :: Lee Ranaldo on "Down By the River"
Jun 1701:03:58Tap to summarizeTyler Wilcox has spent season two of All One Song conversing about Neil Young with musicians, writers, and artists. And now, we’ve reached the end of the road for this Neil journey, with a very special guest: Lee Ranaldo, dropping in to discuss “Down By The River.” Lee is a founding member of Sonic Youth. Along with Thurston Moore, Lee redefined how we hear the electric guitar in a rock setting. Sonic Youth is no more, but they just released a wild Plunderphonic collage from the archives: Diamond Seas. Ranaldo joins us to talk about a Neil classic, one that dips from muder ballad terror to cosmic life affirmation. When we had Micah Nelson on, we discussed how immense this song is. Lee offers a great ramble about, as well as hear about Lee’s own experiences on the road with Neil and Crazy Horse with Sonic Youth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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All One Song :: Matt Valentine on "Berlin"
Jun 1001:15:01Tap to summarizeWe’re coming dangerously close to the end of the road for this latest season of Neil Young deep dives. And the end of the road is the topic at hand when it comes to today’s song — “Berlin.” Now, we’ve covered some deep cuts over the course of the past two seasons. But “Berlin” has to be one of the deepest. It was passed over on the recent Archives Vol. III box and you can’t even stream it via Neil’s site; the only official way to experience this moody tune is to watch In Berlin, the concert film that captures the last performance of the semi-chaotic Trans tour of Europe in 1982. With its doomy synths, piercing guitar, tortured vocals and synthetic handclaps, “Berlin” provides a fascinating glimpse of this short-lived band, which featured a grab-bag, rag-tag bunch of players from Neil’s past, all grappling with a new decade and new sounds. In Berlin itself is an amazing document, highlighted by Neil and Nils Lofgren performing bizarro dances and duets on such Vocoder-laced tracks as “Transformer Man” and “Sample and Hold.” You gotta see it to believe it. Here to talk about “Berlin” with us today is someone we've been fans of for a long time now—the mighty Matt Valentine. MV has been making beautiful noise for over three decades now, from Tower Recordings to MV & EE (with his partner Erika Elder) to various solo excursions and collabs. For the past decade, Matt’s primary focus has been Wet Tuna, which also features Erika and bassist Jim Bliss. The latest Tuna LP is called Vast — and you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a better title for this collection of strange and funky flights. Released on the venerable Three Lobed label, it’s a wide-open, far-flung album, deeply textured and ridiculously detailed, but somehow spacious and inviting. A psychedelic micro-galaxy/macro-dose that teems with life and imagination. You gotta hear it to believe it. You also gotta hear the recent Wet Tuna Lagniappe Session, which was posted up over on Aquarium Drunkard earlier this spring. One of its many highlights is an inspired medley of “Cortez the Killer” and Sonic Youth’s “Providence” that lasts close to 30 minutes. It’s outrageous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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All One Song :: Matt Sweeney on "Barstool Blues"
Jun 300:55:46Tap to summarizeHello and welcome back to All One Song, a Neil Young podcast presented by Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with your host Tyler Wilcox. We’ve covered a lot of Shakey ground so far during seasons one and two, leaping from decade to decade, from era to era, from album to album. It’s easy to do when you’re dealing with a body of work that is so vast, spanning 60 years now. But somehow, we’ve yet to talk about any songs from Zuma. Neil fanatics — like our hero — can be an ornery, contrarian bunch. It would be tough to get them to agree on anything. But I think I’m safe in saying that everyone loves Zuma. If you don’t … well, you’re crazier than Crazy Horse. Here to help us unpack "Barstool Blues," one of the album's high points, is Matt Sweeney. Sweeney is one of those guys who is impossible to sum up. He’s a musician who has been a part of so many great bands, projects and records over the years — Superwolf, Chavez, Guided by Voices, the Hard Quartet, Iggy Pop, Current 93, Cass McCombs, Andrew WK … the list goes on and on. He’s a consummate collaborator, perhaps the only person alive to have played with both Johnny Cash and Endless Boogie…with both the Dixie Chicks and Baby Dee … with both Adele and Six Organs of Admittance. Matt also hosts the excellent Guitar Moves web series, which gets into fascinating discussions with a wide array of guitarists. Definitely dial it up when you get a chance; even if you don’t play, it is always a blast. So pull up a stool and belly up, here's Matt Sweeney on "Barstool Blues." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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All One Song :: Zachary Cale on "Ambulance Blues"
May 2701:16:45Tap to summarizeAs the second season of All One Song rolls on, we’re talking to some of our favorite musicians and writers about their favorite Neil Young songs. And we have got a doozy of a Neil Young song to talk about today — “Ambulance Blues." First appearing as the closing track on Neil’s 1974 masterpiece On the Beach, this is one of the man’s major works, a long, dark dirge that surveys the surreal mid-1970s landscape, from Patty Hearst to Richard Nixon, all accompanied by a brilliantly skeletal musical backdrop from Ben Keith, Rusty Kershaw, Ralph Molina and the mysterious Joe Yankee. It’s a towering tune, haunting and haunted, but also with a glimmer of hope shining through. Here to help us decode the mysteries and metaphors of “Ambulance Blues” today is NYC-based singer-songwriter Zachary Cale. Zach has been making terrific records for more than two decades now, all centered on his expert guitarwork, sweet vocals and piercing lyrics. His latest album, however, doesn’t feature any of the latter element. Love’s Work is a purely instrumental affair, with Cale joined by bassist Shahzad Ismaily, percussionist Jeremy Gustin, pedal steel-ist JR Bohannon and pianist Robert Boston for a collection of gorgeous pieces. But throw a dart anywhere in Zach’s growing discography and you’ll find great sounds, guaranteed. So! Without further ado, here’s Zachary Cale on All One Song … Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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All One Song :: Jerry David DeCicca on "From Hank To Hendrix"
May 2001:21:06Tap to summarizeIn case you haven't caught on already, All One Song host Tyler Wilcox loves talking about Neil Young. And he's always fascinated by where these free-form conversations go, whether it's deep dives into lyrical obsessions, personal history, chord progressions, Shakey lore … or some indefinable blend of all of that. This week’s episode is no different! We’re back in the 1990s this time around, taking a look at a song from Harvest Moon — “From Hank To Hendrix.” It’s a song that has been a regular setlist inclusion ever since it first appeared in late 1991. Young usually does it solo acoustic, and it feels like a fairly straightforward statement of intent from Neil, an acknowledgment of his restless nature, his refusal to stay in the same place for too long, the joys and dangers of duality. A simple song, right? Well, probably not. Nothing is ever completely simple when it comes to Shakey. And here to plumb the depths of “From Hank To Hendrix” today is Texas-based singer-songwriter Jerry David DeCicca. Like Neil, Jerry’s songs are often made out of seemingly simple materials, but the more you listen to them, the deeper they become, simplicity transforming into something wonderfully complex. For example, one of his best songs deals with the cosmic pleasure of watermelons. Jerry’s albums are all awesome — if you need an entry point, go ahead and start with the most recent one, Cardiac Country from 2025, which Aquarium Drunkard writer Jennifer Kelly praised for detailing “the sweet transitory pleasures of living here on earth with an awareness of the unknowable beyond.” Jerry doesn’t have a new album coming out this year, but he is also an active producer, with great records by Ed Askew, Chris Gantry, Bob Martin and more under his belt. His latest production effort is the debut album by 83-year-old living legend Frank “The Wild Jalapeño” Rodarte, entitled, naturally, The Return of the Wild Jalapeño. It’s a fantastic listen, featuring tunes written by Jerry, alongside killer covers of songs by Bill Callahan and Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound. It’s soulful, spiritual, strange and an album that could only have been made in Texas. But hey, back to Neil Young. Tune in to hear Jerry David DeCicca on All One Song … Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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All One Song :: Matthew Specktor on "T-Bone"
May 1301:11:33Tap to summarizeThe second season of All One Song rolls. Throughout seasons one and two, we’ve jumped from era to era, from style to style, from album to album. But no one has had the guts yet to tackle one of Neil’s true masterpieces, his most visionary set of lyrics, his most powerful statement. That’s right, friends, we're talking about “T-Bone.” Released in 1981 on Re*ac*tor, “T-Bone” is perhaps the most boneheaded, monomaniacal tune in Neil’s entire discography, a grinding, nine-minute three-chord Crazy Horse jam that features only these words to guide us: “Got mashed potatoes, ain't got no T-bone.” Our guest today is far from boneheaded, however. Matthew Specktor is a novelist, a memoirist, a critic, a screenwriter, an editor and much more. His most recent pieces of nonfiction, Always Crashing the Same Car and The Golden Hour are fascinating blends of autobiography, Hollywood history, cultural criticism and more. Specktor brings bygone years and characters to vivid life, finding emotional resonance and insight in unexpected zones, and delivering biting wit and hard-earned wisdom on every page. These books are also terrifically entertaining—check ‘em out, you will not be disappointed! And hopefully you will not be disappointed as Matthew makes a five-course meal out of “T-Bone.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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