429. Emily Wurramarra on Cleo Sol 'Gold' (2023)

07/11/24 • 25 min

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Today the spellbinding Emily Wurramurra joins me to discuss Cleo Sol's dynamic 2023 album 'Gold'. We talk about how she discovered and fell in love with Cleo's music, how Cleo builds community and connection through her music, the genuine hope and optimism in this album vs the toxic positivity of soical media, relating to the album's religious themes as a non-religious person, how Emily surrounds her daughter with music that will inspire her, the music she starts the day with, standing up for the power of art, "fucking shit up in a loving way" and more.

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428. The Revered Shawn Amos on Junior Wells Blues Band with Buddy Guy 'Hoodoo Man Blues' (1965)

Today, I'm joined by the Reverend Shawn Amos to turn a spotlight on a classic blues record that has reverberated down almost six decades since its recording - Junior Wells 'Hoodoo Man Blues'. We talk about the contrast between Junior Wells unprecedented creative feedom and the restraints on blues artists at Chess Records, the interplay with Buddy Guy's guitar playing and Buddy's friendship with Junior, how the album defies blues stereotypes, Junior's harmonica playing, Wells' influence on Shawn as a live performer, the trap of fake authenticity, inventing yourself as an artist, what Beyonce and Bob Dylan have in common, how the album fits into the context of the mid-60s, hiccup licks, how Shawn approaches performing 'Hoodoo Man Blues', why blues music shouldn't be a museum piece and more.

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430. Steven Hyden on Bruce Springsteen 'Born in the USA' (1984)

Today, Indiecast co-host, Uproxx cultural critic and author Steven Hyden returns to the show to discuss his book about one of the most iconic albums of all time, "There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" and the End of the Heartland.

Steve talks about the album's uneasy relationship with Bruce's die-hard fans, Bruce's internal tug of war with the level of fame this album brought, misread meanings of Bruce's songs and how his music has become more didactic over time, the universality and timelessness of Nebraska and Born in the USA vs the more explicit protest music of the time, Springsteen the storyteller, the "Bruce voice", the emotional comedown whiplash of exiting an E Street Band show, the death of the unifying American myth, 'heartland rock' as a genre, Bruce's hopefulness vs the fatalism of Fogerty and Mellencamp, why the Replacements were the antithesis of Springsteen, the lessons Bruce drew from Bob Dylan and our hopes for the Born in the USA 40th Anniversary.