Nakedly Examined Music Podcast

Rebecca has balanced her musical career with her acting career since the mid '80s, starting in Scotland with Ruby Blue and then moving to New York in 1989 and releasing 10+ solo albums. We discuss "Silent Sound" from Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound (2022), the title track to the Stark Naked EP (2020), and "24 Hours of Love" from New York Girls' Club (1996). End song: "You Have Got My Number" from Blue Dress On (2013). Intro: "So Unlike Me" by Ruby Blue from Glances Askances (1987). More at rebeccapidgeonmusic.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Buy and sell music products like beats, loops, etc. at beatstars.com/NEM, which is free for beginners, or get a free one-month virtual store using code NEM. Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Mike played keyboards and shared lead vocals for synth jazz-pop Level 42's initial run for nine albums from 1982-1994 (and rejoined in 2006) and is working on his fourth solo release. We talk about his new single, "Atlantia," plus "Madness" from On the One (2011) and Level 42's "Weave Your Spell" from The Pursuit Of Accidents (1982). End song: "Heart of the Matter" from Conversations with Silence (2003). Intro: "Something About You" by Level 42 from World Machine (1985). More at mikelindup.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Chastity has since 2007 released seven albums from Minneapolis that she calls "new blues," but which spread into pop, Americana, soul, and Irish-flavored spirituals. We discuss "Wonderment" and listen at the end to "Back Seat" from Sing to the Walls (2022), "Drive Slow" from Silhouette of Sirens (2017), "Many Prayers" from Do the Best You Can (2007). Intro: "Colorado" (a 2014 single included on 2017's Silhouette of Sirens). More at chastitybrownmusic.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.Sponsors: Buy and sell music products like beats, loops, etc. at beatstars.com/NEM, which is free for beginners, or get a free one-month virtual store using code NEM. Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

Susan teaches songwriting at Berklee and has released six albums since 2009. She wanted to be a Nashville songwriter, decided to then sing country songs herself, but that felt phony, so she remade her whole style. We discuss "Broken Things" (and listen at the end to "Time + Love + Gravity") from All Is Quiet (2022), "Revival" from Haunted Heart (2014), "Shave" from Heaven to Heartache (2011). Intro: "Work Hard Love Harder" from The Hammer & the Heart (2017). More at susancattaneo.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. The supporter version adds a bonus song with more discussion with Susan. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Bill has been a hit-making country songwriter for his duo Foster and Lloyd as well as artists like Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood, but his true love has been power pop, starting with Sgt. Arms (our intro song is the 1982 single, "Caught in Traffic," a 1982 single) through his 10+ solo albums. We discuss the title track from Don't Kill the Messenger (2020), "What Time Won't Heal" (co-written with Graham Gouldman) from Working the Long Game (2018), and "Off and Running" a track from the expanded version of his first solo album Feeling the Elephant (1987). End song: "Rough Edges" by Cimarron 615 (a 2022 take on a song that he wrote with Rusty Young and Radney Foster for the band Poco). More at billlloydmusic.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Supporters will get a bonus song with more discussion with Bill about his collaborations and formative projects. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

It's a music discussion episode! How does canonization work in popular music? Is Rolling Stone's 500 Best Albums of All Time list just a modest record of the favorite albums of people associated with Rolling Stone? Is it a statement of what “experts” in popular music enjoy? Does it reflect English-American popularity, and what responsibility to list-makers have to experience and include world music, indie music, and other music by those not powerful enough to have promotional backing? Mark is joined by  journalist Noah Berlatsky (who wrote The Best Greatest Albums of All Time Ever), musical artist Mobley, and The Hustle podcast host Jon Lamoreaux to discuss the album as a format, music curation, the subjectivity of taste, and our childhood love affairs with particular albums. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Richie Reinhardt drummed for The Ramones for three albums and has released two solo albums and some singles. We discuss his new single "Not Afraid," his 2013 solo version of "I Know Better Now" from Entitled (2013), "Human Kind" by Ramones from Too Tough to Die (1984), and "I Fix This” from Cellophane (2016). Intro: "Somebody Put Something in My Drink" by Ramones from Animal Boy (1986). End song: "The Last Time" (a 2018 single). For more see richieramone.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

Portland's Drew Grow has put out around 10 albums since the 90s, gradually developing his jagged, visceral style through several projects. We discuss the title track from Cockroach in a Ghost Town, the debut album from his new band Slang with Janet Wiess, then "Abandon" from the eponymous album by Modern Kin (2014), and "Spider" from his debut solo album Next Lips (2007). End song: "King Gunn" also from the new Slang album. Intro: "Lights" by Careen from Crash Couture (2005). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

Queen Esther started releasing her solo albums mixing Americana and jazz in 2004, with her fifth in the works now.  We discuss "The Whiskey Wouldn’t Let Me Pray" from Gild the Black Lily (2021), "Somebody Else’s Baby" from The Other Side (2014), and “Trouble” from by Hoosegow (Queen Esther and Elliot Sharp) from Mighty (1996). End song: "Where Is Home?" from Rona (forthcoming). Intro: "Help Me" from Talkin’ Fishbowl Blues (2004). For more see queen-esther.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Mark led the Pop Group through two albums in the late 70s two later reunion album and has released nine solo albums of trippy, experimental dance music. We discuss "Rage of Angels" (feat. Front 242) from VS (2022), "Age of Miracles" by The Pop Group from Citizen Zombie (2015), and "Liberty City" by Mark Stewart & the Maffia from Learning to Cope with Cowardice (1983). End song: "Cast No Shadow (Leather Strip Mix)" by feat. Stephen Mallinder and Eric Random from VS. Intro: "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" by The Pop Group from Y (1979). More at markstewartmusic.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

Ben has released over 20 albums of retro rock since the early '80s, written for TV soundtracks, produced bands like Ween, and hosts a radio show. We discuss "Wayne Fontana Was Wrong" from The World of Ben Vaughn (2022), "I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)" from Vaughn Sings Vaughn (Vol. 1) (2007), "Too Sensitive For This World" from from Dressed in Black (1990), and "Candyman" by Alan Vega, Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn, from Cubist Blues (1996). We listen to his lockdown single, "Dancing in My Mind." Intro: His 1985 single, "My First Band." For more, see benvaughn.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Get 15% off at atMasterClass.com/examined.

Bob has released 20+ albums since the early '80s. We discuss  "Forecast of Rain" from Blue Hearts (2020), "I Don’t Know You Anymore" from Beauty & Ruin (2014), "JC Auto" by Sugar from Beaster (1993), and "In A Free Land" by Hüsker Dü, 1982 singe remixed for Savage Young Du (2017). End song: the title track to his new acoustic EP, The Ocean. Intro: "If I Can't Change Your Mind" by Sugar from Copper Blue (1992). For more see bobmould.com.  Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

Wesley started performing as John Wesley Harding in the late '80s (often eliciting comparisons in his early work to Elvis Costello), moved from England to the U.S. in 1991, and has 20+ releases, switching to his own name in 2013 as a result of his success as a novelist. We discuss "The Impossible She" (and end by listening to "Come Back Yesterday") from Late Style (2021), whose music was written by David Nagler; "When I Knew" from Wesley Stace (2013), and "Your Ghost (Don’t Scare Me No More)" from Awake (1998). Intro: The title track from Here Comes the Groom (1990). For more see wesleystace.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Clive is a keyboardist, orchestrator, singer, and composer of three musicals and several concept albums as a solo artist or collaborator. He's played with Pendragon since 1986 and has led the bands Shadowlands and Arena since the 90s. We discuss "Dragon Fire" from his most recent solo album, Song of the Wildlands (2021), "Silent Words" from his musical King's Ransom (2017), and "The Tinder Box" by Arena from The Seventh Degree of Separation (2011). We conclude by listening to "A Descent into Madness" by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman from Dark Fables (2021). Intro: "The Key" by Strangers on a Train from The Key Part 1: Prophecy (1990). More at clivenolan.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

David has released 8 albums and some EPs as the London-based Comet Gain since 1994, putting out literate, energetic, sloppy rock, typically splitting the lead vocals with a female voice. As a pandemic project, he just released his first album under his own name. We discuss "Mum’s and Dad’s Other Ghosts" from Those We Met Along the Way (2021), "An Arcade From The Warm Rain That Falls" from Howl of the Lonely Crowd (2011), and "The Kids at the Club" from Realistes (2002). End song: "Mid 8Ts" from Fireraisers Forever! (2019). Intro: "Strength" from Magnetic Poetry (1997). More at comet-gain.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Shankar played with John McLaughlin in Shakti in the mid-70s and has released over 25 solo albums while backing A-list artists including Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Frank Zappa, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Metallica, Korn, and more. We discuss "Can't Wait" (feat. Jonathan Davis) from Chepleeri Dream (2020), "Back Again" from M.R.C.S. (1991), and "Darlene" from Touch Me There (1979), plus we introduce "Savior" from Christmas from India. Intro: "Psychic Elephant" from Vision(1983). For more, see lshankar.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 15% off at Masterclass.com/NEM. Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Hear Chuck D. host Words + Music at audible.com/songs.

The Grammy winner and 90s hitmaker has released 10 studio album since 1994 after backing Peter Gabriel on his Secret World tour in the early '90s. We discuss "Blues in Gray" from Revolution (2019), "Father" from 7 (2015), and "Hush, Hush, Hush" from This Fire (1996). We also listen to "Steal Away/Hidden in Plain Sight" from American Quilt (2021). Intro: "I Don’t Want to Wait," also from This Fire. For more, see paulacole.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

The legendary Texas singer-songwriter has put out 10 studio albums since 1989. We discuss "If It Don't Bleed" (and listen to "Blackberry Winter") from The Horses and the Hounds (2021), "How'm I Gonna Find You Now" from Complicated Game (2015), and "Be With Me" from It Had to Happen (1997). Intro: "Choctaw Bingo" from Saint Mary of the Woods (2002). For more see jamesmcmurtry.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.

Lilli is also an activist, folk-rock diva, and record label exec. She's released 10 albums and 3 EPs since 2003. We discuss "Coffee Shop Girl" and listen to "Copper John" from Americana(2021), "Warm and Gentle People" from We Belong (2019), and "Song for the End of Days" from Castles of Her Crystalline (2005). Intro: "Lady" from The Coming of John (2003). Hear more at folkrockdiva.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).

Ray started Asleep at the Wheel in 1969 and has put out 26 albums of original tunes and classic covers while touring constantly. We discuss the title track from Half a Hundred Years (2021), "Pedernales Stroll" from Keepin' Me Up Nights (1990), and "Am I High" from The Wheel (1977). Intro: "The Letter (That Johnny Walker Read)" from Texas Gold (1975). Closer: "The Road Will Hold Me Tonight" feat. Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, recorded in the early 80s but only released now on the new album. Learn more at asleepatthewheel.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Gift one annual membership and g Gift one annual membership and get one free at MasterClass.com/examined. Get 3 months free of Amazon Music Unlimited at Amazon.com/nempod.