Drawing on Jamaican dub, progressive rock, and outsider art traditions, Public Image Ltd was a band much more than the sum of its parts. Formed by John Lydon —shedding the "Johnny Rotten" persona he utilized with the Sex Pistols —along with bassist Jah Wobble , drummer Jim Walker, former Clash member Keith Levene , who passed away on November 11, 2022), the band's eponymous debut single hit the charts in October 1978. Dropping the needle on this strident and stark recording, John and Marc dig in...
Nov 23, 2022•33 min
Sam and Jason are deep in the record crates this week, with an episode focused on cult music icons, including the Judee Sill, Emitt Rhodes , sunshine popper Curt Boettcher , garage rockers from Mars ? & the Mysterians , and Stephen Kalinich —plus appearances by a few mega-stars including Meat Loaf and Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys. Along the way, explorations of bank robbery, anti-ASMR train noises, and a little bit about the mythical Taco Bell Big Beefer. Too many clicks for one heart to ...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 17 min
You're walking 'round like you're front page news, pressing play on a new episode of The Spindle. On this episode, the guys focus on The Monkees' 1967 hit "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," with a couple detours into other versions of the song, including Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Sex Pistols, and Minor Threat. As post-modern as it gets, The Monkees were (and are) a pop phenomenon, and this single illustrates why. About The Spindle: The 7-inch record isn’t just a format—it’s an art form. On ...
Nov 10, 2022•35 min
We're back with an all-new Click Vortex, featuring record store owner, local business advocate, and shoegaze drummer Kimber Lanning . With her underground-centric shop Stinkweeds and Local First Arizona , she's dedicated to telling under-discussed stories. Joining Sam and Jason in the 850 Lincoln loft studio, she discusses record store life, her beloved indie rock venue Modified Arts , and her crucial '90s band Half String and some legendary shows they opened for–including a run-in with infamous...
Nov 03, 2022•56 min
In 1982, Black Flag found themselves in the unlikely position of having what seemed like a potential "hit record." A satirical jab at the couch potato schlubs complete with peppy handclaps insisted on by their handlers, "TV Party" was released by SST and Unicorn Records, a division of the major label imprint MCA, in 1982. Backed with "I've Got To Run" and "My Rules," the EP finds Black Flag at the height of its powers, led by the snarling Henry Rollins. On this episode of The Spindle, Marc and J...
Oct 27, 2022•31 min
Today on WASTOIDS With, we talk with punk lifer and deep music head Keith Morris . Across the last four decades, he has fronted foundational hardcore bands like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and more recently, OFF! That latter group just released a free-jazz/spazz punk epic called Free LSD on Fat Possum Records. Layered in fury and noise, it finds Morris and his musical foil Dimitri Coates joined by new members from And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead and Thundercat ’s band. It’s an unexpected...
Oct 23, 2022•32 min
From deep within the depths of the internet, it's Click Vortex. This episode is all over the map, focusing in on the 20th anniversary of Cody ChesnuTT 's profane and fuzzy lo-fi gem The Headphone Masterpiece , the TV theme song glory of Andrew Gold , Outkast 's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below , Quarterflash , garbage apple pies, and much more. And when you get done listening, check out this great playlist from Favorite Vegetable and Astrologer , featuring power pop cuts discussed in this episode and...
Oct 20, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Welcome to part one of Nilsson Talks Nilsson with Olivia Nilsson. Along with her siblings, she runs the Harry Nilsson estate, and is dedicated to sharing interesting tidbits, unknown stories, and personal experiences related to the legendary singer, producer, interpreter, and composer. Nilsson Talks Nilsson is geared to the Hardcore Harry Heads out there, so dive in with Olivia and host Jason Woodbury as they explore his obsession with Watergate, his songs as featured in film and TV, and his fin...
Oct 18, 2022•26 min
This week on The Spindle, Marc Masters and John Howard drop the needle on Swell Maps, "Read About Seymour" b/w "Ripped and Torn" and "Black Velvet." Initially released on the band's own Rather Records and then reissued by the Rough Trade label in 1979, this single presents Nikki Sudden, Phones Sportsman, Epic Soundtracks, Jowe Head, along with D. Mint and Golden Cockrill, as young adolescents. John and Marc both have personal ties to the Swell Maps crew, which they get into plus much more on thi...
Oct 13, 2022•36 min
Welcome to part one of Nilsson Talks Nilsson with Olivia Nilsson. Along with her siblings, she runs the Harry Nilsson estate, and is dedicated to sharing interesting tidbits, unknown stories, and personal experiences related to the legendary singer, producer, interpreter, and composer. Nilsson Talks Nilsson is geared to the Hardcore Harry Heads out there, so dive in with Olivia and host Jason Woodbury as they explore his interest in science fiction, his many innovations—including pioneering mash...
Oct 11, 2022•32 min
Your clicking duo is more than a little excited about WASTOIDS season one, our four-episode anthology series now streaming on Night Flight Plus . For this episode, Sam and Jason use Night Flight as a starting point and let their scrappy television production imaginations run wild. True crime, tragedy, children's shows, psychedelia, and art pop madness: this episode of Click Vortex from WASTOIDS has it all. To start, Sam digs into the history of Boston's WVJV-TV channel 66, an upstart TV station ...
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 10 min
" Hello? This is your mother, are you there? Are you coming home? " Welcome to a discussion of avant-pop artist Laurie Anderson's 1981 7" single "O Superman" b/w "Walk The Dog." Released by 1-10 Records, the record signaled the arrival of a fascinating, one of a kind sound creator. For this episode, your regular hosts Marc and John are joined by Alex Reed, author of Laurie Anderson's Big Science . From her layered vocal abstractions to the dog noises on the B-side, no one sounds like Laurie and ...
Sep 29, 2022•53 min
WASTOIDS is coming to our favorite streaming service, Night Flight Plus , on September 30th, with a four-episode anthology series baked and fried in the Sonoran Desert and New York City. Featuring some of our favorite live performances from bands like Wednesday, Supercrush, Portrayal of Guilt, Reptaliens, and more, oddball skits, video segments, demented fun, WASTOIDS lo-fi fever dream, available only on Night Flight Plus. And because we’re so excited, we figured we’d celebrate with Mr. Night Fl...
Sep 28, 2022•48 min
From Dick Clark 's unbelievable middle name to Jimi Hendrix to late night radio trips, this (Pace picante sauce-voice) New York City-centric edition of Click Vortex with special guest DJ Johnny Volume has it all. Dive into Will Hermes' Love Goes To Buildings On Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever , Richard Lloyd of Television 's power pop gem Alchemy , legendary radio deejay Alison Steele, "The Nightbird," The Chordettes, and the Killer himself, Jerry Lee Lewis. Plus, Sam bre...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Originally situated in Iowa, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 established themselves in the Bay Area in the late '80s. Clattery, complex, and super musical, TFUL282 combined tight songcraft with rough edges, pulling from spaghetti western tropes, absurdist poetry, and spiraled noise rock to create a singular body of work. On this episode, Marc and John drop the needle on The Natural Finger , the band's 1990 7" EP and sort out what makes it tick in its unique fashion. About The Spindle: The 7-inc...
Sep 15, 2022•32 min
Band Shirt Day is a brand new holiday from the folks who bring you WASTOIDS. On Friday, September 16, artists like Sonic Youth, Best Coast, Black Pumas, Portugal. The Man, Blondie, Mac DeMarco, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and many are donating proceeds from t-shirt sales to causes like Planned Parenthood, Children of Ukraine, the Ally Coalition, MusicCares, TransLifeline, the ACLU and other vital organizations. To celebrate, we’re doing a special live episode of Click Vortex with specia...
Sep 14, 2022•14 min
Nick Reinhart is in a million bands. Seriously! Tera Melos, Undo K From Hot, Bygones, Swollen Brain, Death Grips ...he's absolutely everywhere. And today, he's on Click Vortex, breaking Wikipedia and discussing the Angus soundtrack (Weezer, Green Day, Ash), Sha Na Na, Harmony Korine, Nuno Bettencourt, Rihanna, the videography of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris , and tons more with your regular click crew, Sam and Jason. And oh yeah, there's an awesome new Disheveled Cuss album coming out calle...
Sep 08, 2022•1 hr 26 min
The roots of Cleveland indie rock/post-punk institution My Dad Is Dead stretch all the way back to 1984. Led by Mark Edwards, early recordings featured little more than drum machine and guitar. By 1990, the time the Shine double 7" EP was released by Scat Records, Edwards had incorporated other players—including bassist Chris Burgess and drummer Scott Pickering—but the core of the project remains him on his own, his Ian Curtis-style deadpan vocals and slacker guitar buzzing away. Join Marc and J...
Sep 01, 2022•32 min
Today on WASTOIDS With, we're sitting down with songwriter and painter Kenny Becker of Los Angeles dream pop quartet Goon , who joins us for a discussion of the band's latest, Hour of Green Evening , the overlap between visual art and music, and one of the enduring loves of his life: playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on his N64. You can check out some of Kenny's beautiful paintings right now over at WASTOIDS , as well as on the cover of Hour of Green Evening , which is available on Ba...
Aug 30, 2022•29 min
The world wide web, like the universe itself, is constantly expanding. With each episode of Click Vortex, Sam Means (The Format) and Jason Woodbury (Aquarium Drunkard) bring you a biweekly survey of their online adventures. For the 12th episode of the show, our dynamic duo drops some knowledge about the new charity-driven holiday Band Shirt Day (September 16) , and then get to clicking on the baffling and compelling Tom Jones and Van Morrison team-up "I'm Not Feeling It Anymore," Swedish technic...
Aug 25, 2022•1 hr 1 min
We're back with Arkansas' own Dylan Earl , sitting down for another honky tonk-themed episode with DuWaun Johnson, co-host of one of WASTOIDS' favorite podcasts, The Country Brothers . Over on his Bandcamp page, where one can sample from his collection of hard working, honest country music, Earl writes: "I’m from where I woke up this morning. I write the songs that come to mind and struggle with the ones that don’t. I find humor in misconceptions and solace in laughter, love in the street and fi...
Aug 23, 2022•32 min
Yoko haters f**k off: Marc and John put the needle down on Plastic Ono Band 's 1969 single, featuring "some of the best guitar [John Lennon] ever played—bone rattling, Flipper-esque" and proto-Krautrock boogies. About The Spindle: The 7-inch record isn’t just a format—it’s an art form. On each episode of The Spindle podcast, music writer Marc Masters (Pitchfork, The Wire, Bandcamp) and music historian (and music maker) John Howard dive into a great 7-inch, dissecting its background, impact, and ...
Aug 18, 2022•36 min
We're hanging out with Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray to discuss the forthcoming remastered edition of Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables . Featuring a sonic once-over from Chris Lord-Alge, whose credits include everyone from Prince to Madonna to Green Day and My Chemical Romance, as well a new 40th anniversary book featuring essays and quotes from Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Duff McKagan (Guns 'n Roses), this new edition provides a fresh angle on this e...
Aug 16, 2022•23 min
The world wide web, like the universe itself, is constantly expanding. With each episode of Click Vortex, Sam Means (The Format) and Jason Woodbury (Aquarium Drunkard) bring you a biweekly survey of their online adventures. For the 11th episode, Sam explores the supernatural power of Roy Orbison , drum god Jim Keltner , takes a trip through the cemetery to visit Buddy Rich (noted for his drumming prowess and profane tirades to his band) and unpacks some traumatizing memories of Jim Henson's Mupp...
Aug 11, 2022•55 min
Welcome to The Special Podness , a four-part mini-series dedicated to the history of The Special Goodness by the three dudes who (probably) know it best: Pat Wilson of Weezer, drummer Atom Willard (Rocket From the Crypt, Plosivs, Against Me!) and Karl Koch, Weezer historian. This is our final episode of the podcast for now, and in it we’re going under the hood to discuss where Pat’s inspirations as a songwriter, discuss the band’s time on Weezer’s Enlightenment Tour, shows with Audioslave and Th...
Aug 05, 2022•28 min
Released at the dawn of the remix era, New Order’s "Temptation" b/w "Hurt" came in two formats—33 ⅓ speed 7” and 45 RPM 12”—on the same May 10, 1982. With this single, bassist Peter Hook, keyboardist/guitarist Gillian Gilbert, drummer Stephen Morris, and guitarist/vocalist Bernard Sumner stepped out from Joy Division’s shadow to establish themselves as a distinct entity. Painstakingly played alongside sequencers, Hook’s melodic bass to Sumner’s mantric vocals are unmistakable. About The Spindle:...
Aug 04, 2022•32 min
Today on WASTOIDS With, we're talking with country singer and raconteur Dale Hollow . "Yours truly" might possess signature yellow lens glasses and a Manu Ginobili-like frame—with a wit and tongue ‘n cheek bravado to match—but behind all that is a distinct voice, delivered with the ease of a natural songsmith. For this WASTOIDS chat, Hollow sits down with Duwaun Johnson of The Country Brothers to talk about how he hooked up with masked singer Orville Pec k, his love of basketball, his cover of t...
Aug 02, 2022•28 min
Crack open the new vinyl edition of The Special Goodness’ Land Air Sea , and what you’ll find in the gatefold liner notes isn’t an essay on the recording process, an invocation of the band’s songwriting influences, or anything related to the actual tunes. Instead, you’ll find a statement from Pat Wilson of Weezer about his and Atom Willard’s shared obsession: vintage cars. From the cover of Land Air Sea to the bitchin’ new shirt over for sale, cars and trucks play heavy into the Special Goodness...
Jul 29, 2022•24 min
On this episode of Click Vortex, we're talking about musicians who have seen UFOs, including George Clinton of Parliament/Funkadelic, Stevie Nicks , Frank Black of The Pixies , and Kendrick Lamar . Then, we explore the lounge jazz of Paul McCartney 's side project Thrillington, the artistic spirit of Linda McCartney, Electric Light Orchestra , Roy Wood , and the true crime rock & roll saga of drummer Binky McKenzie . About Click Vortex: Sam Means (Hello Merch/The Format) and Jason P. Woodbur...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 46 min
Hey, welcome to WASTOIDS With Jaan Uhelszki of the legendary CREEM Magazine. Founded in Detroit in 1969, CREEM covered rock & roll irreverently and with a wickedly funny style. It closed up shop in 1989, but 30 years later, a new documentary film, 2019’s CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine , helped to reignite interest in the publication, and now, CREEM has returned in full force over at CREEM.com . Not only is the site home to a remarkable archive—featuring stories by Lester Bangs,...
Jul 26, 2022•43 min
