July 2026
Date Added: 7/1/26
Song: High Hopes 3000
Artist: ROLE MODEL
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Cool share, I was only so-so on Phoebe Bridgers herself when I first heard her on an SNL performance but I've come around on her a lot. Ironically, I like her a lot as a featured artist on other people's work, and she sounds great on jasmine.4.t's track. In the spirit of indie rock, my contribution today is from another indie band that my wife likes and it sticks with the summer-y vibe we've been pushing. This a young buck named Role Model, he's got kind of a vibey, airy indie pop/rock sound. I wouldn't say it's anything we've never heard before, but it's executed well - my pick is a new song he just dropped, "High Hopes 3000." We threw it on in the car the other day, and even when we reached the store we sat there in the parking lot to... hear it out, as it were."
Date Added: 7/2/26
Song: Matcha
Artist: Wic Whitney
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "High Hopes 3000 has a cool nostalgic feel. I like the rhythmic piano and am into anything with a solid piano presence, we need more! Good share.
This is definitely a different style, a sort of funk rap bop instead of that country lean, but shares the piano as a primary instrument. All that plus a fun and really honest sounding story has made this a sticky track for me. "Matcha" by Wic Whitney "
Date Added: 7/3/26
Song: Dancing Circles 2.0
Artist: Sampha
DJ: Tricia
Commentary: “Ooh Matcha is a new one for me. Never heard of Wic Whitney either! I like the sound - reminded me of this also very piano forward artist: Sampha. Will also post another song of his that is a real tribute to piano in the second choices channel. But here’s Dancing Circles 2.0”
Date Added: 7/4/26
Song: Change of the Guard
Artist: Kamasi Washington
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “I love the energy Tricia is bringing to the group! This was a really interesting pick and i LOVE the blending of genres with the jazz and hiphop stylings (ok yeah i know there is a lot of overlap already historically but this had a good groove).
Seeing as how im not super well versed in hip hop and rap, I decided to take this in another jazzy genre blending direction, this time with the opening track off Kamasi Washington's seminal album The Epic. And I appologize for posting a 15 minute song, but please at least give this one at least listen to the first 3 minutes or so. In this album Washington was blending hard bop and modern avant garde jazz influences with choir influenced by what sounds to me the likes of Orff and Stravinsky and other mid 20th century classical composers. I feel like it truely does make for some pretty epic jazz compositions and is a really fascinating stretching of what Jazz can be. And Washington's pure raw power on the tenor sax is just :chefs kiss: straight to my gut.”
Date Added: 7/5/26
Song: Shofukan
Artist: Snarky Puppy
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “Epic jazz? Powerful sax?? Choral singing??? There is only one song that I could possibly post: Snarky Puppy - Shokufan
Snarky Puppy has all of the same elements but orchestrated into a more funk oriented group. This particular album (We Like It Here) managed to get, who I consider, the best living drummer: Larnell Lewis. The drumming around 5:30 with the singing is absolutely wild... especially since he was only given the sheet music before his 7 hour flight to Amsterdam to record the album. Anyway, if funk could be epic, this is the album to listen to”
Date Added: 7/6/26
Song: Unclean Waters
Artist: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
DJ: John
Commentary: “Thanks for sharing Snarky Puppy Ron - that was a new one for me. I’m not too acquainted with epic jazz, but that drumming was fun to listen to. When I think of music adjacent to this that I enjoy, the brass bands of New Orleans come to mind. Here’s one of the best - Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Unclean Waters.”
Date Added: 7/7/26
Song: Simple Song
Artist: Rustic Overtones
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “The instruments and style of unclean waters reminds me of the first band I ever saw live, Rustic Overtones. It was in a basement that was probably like 1000sqft and the ceilings were low enough that the crowd surfers could touch them. The lead singer kicked off the set by screaming through a megaphone into the mic, which completely blew my 14 year old brain. To this day I’ve never seen an audience so into a show. It ruined the curve for my future concert experiences. I really like “shaker” (mislabeled in Spotify as “the shaker”), They have a lot of protest songs, and they’re generally good but this one is just fun. https://open.spotify.com/track/1b4F7m9WyxGAFTLCy8pwxn”
Date Added: 7/8/26
Song: Here We Go
Artist: Dispatch
DJ: John
Commentary: “Okay I’m going off of Simple Song since I’m a Tidalist. I can definitely hear the thread from Dirty Dozen Brass Band. I love the isolated sounds at the end from the baritone sax (underrated instrument, imo) and the little bass guitar chords.
I knew almost immediately what I was going to share upon hearing this. The vocal delivery of Rustic Overtones instantly brought me way back to Dispatch, specifically the song, “Here We Go”. The percussive, rhythmic vocals and the musical style (minus the horns) almost instantly made the connection for me.
Fun fact: if you were strolling around Cherry Creek Reservoir in the summer of 2005, you would have heard Jeff and I busking and playing this song (along with many others).”
Date Added: 7/9/26
Song: Die Young (Echo Mountain Sessions)
Artist: Sylvan Esso
DJ: Tricia
Commentary: “Ok motherfuckers. Hold on tight because we’re going on a historical and spiritual journey today. So with the help of wikipedia, I discovered that Dispatch formed in Vermont and played their very first show in Durham, NC while they were visiting a band member’s sister at Duke. Another musical duo that launched its career in Durham, NC is.. who? You ask? Sylvan Esso. Also fun fact: Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso’s lead singer) was also in a trio (Mountain Man) that hails from Vermont, though they released music slightly after Dispatch and seems to otherwise have no connections. So with that, here’s Sylvan Esso’s Die Young!”
Date Added: 7/10/26
Song: Vampires
Artist: The Midnight
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “Ok, I was so stuck on this one. Amelia Meath's vocals around 0:17-0:33 are so similar to another song (both in melody and in rhythm) and it's all I could think of... except I can't remember the freaking song. I looked for so long and came up empty. So there is a song I was going to pick but I have no idea what it was I think it was a song that I listened to back in college?
Anyway, the other thing that really stuck out was that sultry sax solo in the middle of the song. I know a lot of songs with sultry sax solos and one of my favorites is Vampires by The Midnight. I was really into the 80s synth music about 10 years ago and this really hit the summer synth vibes I was looking for back then.”
Date Added: 7/11/26
Song: Bizness
Artist: Tune-Yards
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “Admittedly, this one's much closer to Sylvan Esso than it is to The Midnight. It's 2010s female-fronted Indie music featuring saxophone. Plus the frontwoman, being from about a million different places, has once called Vermont home. (Perhaps of interest to Kristin, she's a Smith College alum.)
But I'm supposed to connect the song to the one preceding it, not its predecessor's predecessor. So I can keep the saxophone connection. The band is officially from Oakland and it looks like The Midnight is from LA. So let's say in addition to saxophone, both artists are from California. Certainly, there aren't too many musicians from that particular state, right?
Anyways, here's Bizness by Tune-Yards. I've put the album version off of W H O K I L L on the playlists, but watch their Live on KEXP version for some added enthrall. https://youtu.be/mTQl1QGKToI”
Date Added: 7/12/26
Song: Astonished Man
Artist: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “Oh man Claire tee'ed one up perfectly for me. SO for my pick im going with Thao and the get down stay down and the opening track on their 2016 album A Man Alive
The connection here is that Merrill Garbus, the lead person in TuneYards produced the album. You can really hear the influence in the bombastic percussion and overall kind of angularness to the sound. I love how sparse the music is at times (in both TuneYards and Thao) while still having power and edge. Anyway, the whole Man Alive album is fantastic. Its been on heavy rotation for me for years. And there is a great song exploder episode about it if you want to dig in more: https://songexploder.net/thao“
Date Added: 6/13/26
Song: Bleecker Street
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
DJ: John
Commentary: "Tidal immediately started playing this song after the Dylan song yesterday, and there was no way I could argue not posting this one.
That Bob Dylan era is Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and there is no song that represents this era more to me than this S&G classic about the most famous street in Greenwich Village."
Date Added: 6/14/26
Song: Nothing To It
Artist: The New Basement Tapes
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Okay, this is slightly closer to Brian’s post from the day before (is that allowed in Hear Me Out?) but still a variation on the New York Greenwich Village 60s theme. The New Basement Tapes is a project by T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, the Mumford and Sons guy, the singer from the Carolina Chocolate Drops etc. Basically the lyrics are all from a trove of Bob Dylan lyrics that weren’t used in the Basement Tapes and they took them and set them to music in 2014. Apparently Dylan was just sort of like “okay, cool, I don’t remember writing any of those.” Some of the songs are a little too of that 2010’s pioneer rock era à la Mumford and Sons, but I really like this one a lot and feels more timeless to me:”
Date Added: 6/15/26
Song: One Fast Move or I’m Gone
Artist: Jay Farrar, Benjamin Gibbard
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “I’d like to think that John would have made this same selection if he was seeded with The New Basement Tapes. Maybe he even saw my pick coming.
In 2008, Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar released the soundtrack for a documentary called ‘One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur’. The book, the film, and the album are all about Jack Kerouac, in his post-On-The-Road-fame, seeking comfort in a remote Big Sur cabin. While there, instead of finding refuge, he found that he couldn’t escape his own alcoholism and mental illness. The connection to The New Basement Tapes is that all the lyrics on the album were adapted from Kerouac’s own words.”
Date Added: 6/16/26
Song: Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)
Artist: Darren Korb
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “The deliberately slow intro strum into a dragging tempo really lit up my nostalgia synapses for the video game Bastion. I know Dan played it; did anyone else? The ending song, Setting Sail, Coming Home, is a fantastic song that gives me Firefly or Battlestar Galactica vibes (something futuristic but also haphazard, western cowboy). Darren Korb is a great musician an does a lot of the music for Supergiant Games (as well as a lot of the voice acting!). The feel and lyrics of the One Fast Move or I'm Gone is completely different but the first 5 seconds just locked me into this pick.”
Date Added: 6/17/26
Song: Travelers
Artist: Andrew Prahlow
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “ok, so on the theme of video game soundtracks: The Outer Wilds soundtrack has a similar vibe with Bastion's theme. The composer Andrew Prahlow based the music on midwest emo from the late 90s, early 2000s, but on backwoods instruments which lends it a really weird feel. The music is a core component of the gameplay, with each instrument representing a core element of discovery.
I'll admit my enjoyment of it is deeply tied to playing the game, which is definitely in my top 3 of all time. I don't want to give much away because the game is awesome and best played totally blind.”
Date Added: 6/18/26
Song: Burial at Sea
Artist: Aaron J. Shay
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “Banjo you say? Well I got banjo! And robots around campfires? well last time i heard this song we were playing it around a campfire because Aaron is one of my bandmates and this is from one of his solo albums. And its got kind of appocolyptic themes which is kind of like outer wilds so it feels related. More banjo please!”
Date Added: 6/19/26
Song: Wait so Long
Artist: Trampled By Turtles
DJ: John
Commentary: "I want to stick to banjos but narrowly side step pioneer rock, therefore I’m going with one of its influencing genres - bluegrass.
Trampled By Turtles is a band I saw at Twist’n’Shout in Denver when a friend dragged me along. I didn’t know much about Bluegrass or know any of their songs, but left very impressed by their musicianship and how much hectic noise and frenzied chaos they could create just with a banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, fiddle, and upright bass. There are no traditional percussion instruments in the band, as is fairly typical in Bluegrass I believe.
I’ve chosen the song Wait So Long as I feel it’s a good entry point for the band. There are some great fiddle solos in this song as well."
Date Added: 6/20/26
Song: Fox Hunt
Artist: Sierra Ferrell
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Wait So Long slaps, the fiddle solos are a lot of fun. I'm not too heavy into bluegrass, so my first instinct was The Devil Goes Down To Georgia but I refrained. Instead, I re-listened to a bluegrass-y song I'd previously starred from a girl named Sierra Ferrell, "Fox Hunt," and found a quite suitable follow-up entry. It's a foot-stompin' good time and as luck would have it, even features some fiddle solo."
Date Added: 6/21/26
Song: Idumea
Artist: Gwenifer Raymond
DJ: Tricia
Commentary: "Enjoyed the last song very much! Here’s my pick: Gwenifer Raymond, “Idumea” - song before reminded me of her style. Here’s a link to her tiny desk concert"
Date Added: 6/22/26
Song: Spiegel im Spiegel
Artist: Arvo Pärt
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “Idumea felt very traditional to me, so I looked it up and it turns out it's an arrangement of an old hymn (neat). That is probably why it immediately made me think of this Scottish folk song, The Parting Glass. It's a funeral song that drinks to the good ol times. Not to be a downer but today happens to be the 10th anniversary of my mom's death (thank you random selection!). It's honestly a really hard time... but given today is a special day, I want to bend the rules a little bit and pick the song that The Parting Glass made me think of: Arvo Pärt, Spiegel im Spiegel
As we get older, I imagine death will play an ever growing part in our lives but it never gets easier to deal with. This song reminds me of my mom a lot in that it is simple, beautiful, gently asks you to slow down, and makes me cry. Also, if you have seen The Good Place (I know at least Dan has), this is the music they chose to accompany the "wave returns to the ocean" scene in the final season, so the combo of the two had me full on ugly crying the first time I watched it. Anyway, RIP mom miss you lots”
Date Added: 6/23/26
Song: Echo in the Field
Artist: Kelly Moran
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “For my pick today, I want to go off of the "piano and other instrument duet" of Ron’s pick and dive into some very modern classical music with Kelly Moran's 2026 "echo in the field"
instead of violin tho we have synths and electronic, and instead of standard piano we have a prepared piano. This is where they "do stuff" to the piano like put screws or bolts on the strings or tape them or do other stuff to change the sound and response of the various notes. This technique was pioneered by Avant Garde composer John Cage in the 1940's and has been experimented with since. And while I always appreciated the experimentation, I find a lot of John Cages work to be more about the gimmick or the technique than the actual music.
This is why I fell in love with Moran's work. While its still prepared piano, I find there is a simplicity and beauty in this song. It's active and intricate and has a quickness to it, but it feels somehow light like flitting butterfly wings. For as active as it is, there is an almost minimalistic, meditative quality to the song that then builds up and hits me just right in a big exhale moment before fluttering off again.”
Date Added: 6/24/26
Song: Awake
Artist: Tycho
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Thanks Liz - I like the unique sounds Kelly Moran gets mixing analog and electronic sounds. I assume the prepared piano is what gives the chords almost a percussive tambourine-like element?
The meditative instrumental of Echo in the Field brought me to Tycho who makes similar slow paced soundscapes by mixing analog and digital sounds. Tricia introduced me to Tycho when we first started dating and we saw them perform last winter. It made me appreciate how much of their sound is actually created manually on good old fashioned guitar (with effects pedals) and bass and drums. Though there are elements of synth mixed in too.
This is Awake off their 2014 album also called Awake.”
Date Added: 6/25/26
Song: Summer’s Over
Artist: Jordana, TV Girl
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “A year or two ago, in an effort to expand my tastes, I did a deep dive on ambient genres. It was pleasant to listen to, but I still came out the other side craving vocals. There was one artist that caught my attention - TV Girl. They're not ambient per se, but ambient-adjacent, Chillwave Indie Pop. And yeah, there's singing, so sorry to end our instrumental streak.
I chose Summer's Over feat. Jordana. I wish the timing worked out on this a little better, since I'm featuring it at summer's peak. The groove is super summery, but the lyrics are less Fourth of July and more Labor Day.”
Date Added: 6/26/26
Song: Space Song
Artist: Beach House
DJ: Brian
Commentary: “Definitely feeling the Labor Day vibes of Summer's Over (in b4 "lol did u see the title???"), given that my taste generally skews more toward fast/loud/noisy rock-type music it's an almost therapeutic change of pace to listen to something chill and breezy, and as suggested above, pairs nicely with the season.
The song that first came to mind is the Sheryl Crow track where suns are soaked up, but that's been done to death and I never super loved it anyway. The next one that popped into my head is an older Beach House song that got sort of retro-popularized by TikTok a few years ago -- my wife is a big TikTok-head so this was playing in our house a lot. The upside it's also a chill enjoyable summer jam, so my pick is Space Song by Beach House.”
Date Added: 6/27/26
Song: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Artist: The Flaming Lips
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “Ok. I know it’s one everyone has heard before but the track that immediately jumped to mind is “yoshimi battles the pink robots, pt. 1” by The Flaming Lips.
something about the synth/digital part of the music just puts it front of mind.
Fun fact that I’ve summed up from a few sources: The Yoshimi from the tracks title came from Yoshimi P-we, the drummer of Japanese band The Boredoms (who appeared in the album),
While recording, the band used vocalizations from P-We, including screams and karate-chop sound effects. During the session, producer Dave Fridmann remarked that her vocalizations sounded like someone either having sex or being killed by a giant robot, so they named it after her.”
Date Added: 6/28/26
Song: Dirty Computer
Artist: Janelle Monae feat. Brian Wilson
DJ: John
Commentary: “Thanks Dan for the chance to listen to this classic with new open ears. I noticed a lot of details I’d never heard before.
I tried to approach this as if I’d hadn’t heard this song before. I was picking up a bit of a summery Beach Boys vibe from the guitar, but also from some of the experimentation with unique sounds and layering.
There is also the theme of human and machine, or human and large existential force or power. Janelle Monae’s earlier work is in a similar space thematically, and she also came to mind as I listened to yesterday’s track.
So for today, I’m combining the two: Janelle Monae plus Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys on the track Dirty Computer. I do have to caveat, this track is just the opener to an entire concept album and the end of the individual song sounds a little incomplete. You’d do yourself a favor to go ahead and just put the whole album on today. It’s got many a banger on it and a great summertime listen.
Date Added: 6/29/26
Song: Revolution Lover
Artist: Left at London
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “Before Pride month is up, I'm going to use this opportunity to pivot from one nonbinary artist to another. Left at London is a Seattle-based, KEXP darling and 'Revolution Lover' is the perfect song for the current political climate.”
Date Added: 6/30/26
Song: Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation
Artist: jasmine.4.t
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Thanks Claire for posting Left at London. I really liked the upbeat bounce to the song, which I think gives a sense of hope in dark times.
My song for today is one I’ve been looking to use in Hear Me Out for some time. In full disclosure, I heard it first on one of Tricia’s playlists but I didn’t know until she told me yesterday that the primary artist, jasmine.4.t is trans, so my contribution also squeezes one more non-binary artist in on the very last day of pride month!
AND, as an extra little bonus for John, Phoebe Bridgers, who helped sign jasmine.4.t, is featured doing vocals for this track too (or, if the music video is an indication, it’s actually muppet Phoebe Bridgers). A little something for everyone!”
June 2026
Date Added: 6/1/26
Song: Jenny Jenny
Artist: AnnenMayKantereit
DJ: John
Commentary: "I watched the music video for Psychos and it fit the 1970s Fleetwood Mac themes perfectly. I can really hear Dreams in that song and it’s hard to imagine it’s not an homage to that.
With that in mind, we’re not going to the 1970s but instead we are staying in Jenny-land (which, incidentally, is not the Bronx).
I’m sharing the track Jenny Jenny (we’re doubling up on Jennies) by the band AnnenMayKantereit. These guys are one of my favorite German bands and the lead singer’s vocals are quite unique and impressive. This is actually one of their more pedestrian songs when it comes to his vocals so I’ll share a couple more songs of theirs in second chances.
The general premise of this song is that Jenny “Cloud Rider” is a flight attendant and her job is simultaneously monotonous - greeting passengers and showing them their seats - and something many dream of - visiting far off lands like Panama - but only being able to see them for 10 minutes before you have to turn around and come back, and the disconnect between those and its impact on her identity."
Date Added: 6/2/26
Song: Jeannie Becomes a Mom
Artist: Caroline Rose
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks John for the song Jenny Jenny. I think there’s a lot of really interesting elements in that song. Between his voice and the German lyrics, it really adds some texture to the playlist.
If we’re starting to double up Jennys, my first thought was 867-5309. But then in thinking about songs about jennys, I found a different one whose theme was an interesting contrast to Jenny the flight attendant who never really has a home and can never really put down roots.
My pick for today is Jeannie Becomes a Mom (I hope it’s okay it’s a Jeannie and not a Jenny) by Caroline Rose off her 2018 album LONER. In contrast to flight attendant Jenny, Jeannie is putting down highly conventional domestic roots in Kansas, and maybe it’s for the better and it’s giving her stability, but maybe she’s also going to be left behind by the Jenny flight attendants of the world…"
Date Added: 6/3/26
Song: Expert In A Dying Field
Artist: The Beths
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “Alright, I didn't pick a Jenny song. I'm sorry. I understand if you need to kick me I picked a song by The Beths (arguably, a better first name)
I went purely on sound this time. Female lead, indie but sort-of grungy guitar, kind of 80's vibe. I really like The Beths (and you probably will too, if you liked Regina Spektor back in the day) and Expert in a Dying Field is one of my faves of theirs.”
Date Added: 6/4/26
Song: Archie, Marry Me
Artist: Alvvays
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “I went on a bit of a journey and might be doing something different and picking a song thats [new to] me! I was trying to come up with something related to the Beths sound and I really was tuning in on the fuzz guitar and female vocals and that sort of lo fi sound. None of the bands I was coming up with fit quite right, and so I turned to the internet and algorithm suggestions and one band kept popping up: Alvvays. So I started to listen and was really digging what I heard! This one seems to be their most popular song and for good reason”
Date Added: 6/5/26
Song: The Start Of Something
Artist: Voxtrot
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “Let's see...Jenny, Jeannie, Beth, Archie...I bet the members of Voxtrot probably also have names. And like Alvvays, they substitute the letter 'V' for another letter that would make more sense.
But mostly, I'm running off the anachronistic sounds both bands produce. Love songs are common in modern popular music, but songs about engagement and marriage feel ripped out of the 1950s. That goes doubly so for the name, Archie. And then there's the whole dreamy, lo-fi sound of the track. It sounds older than its 2014 production date, but simultaneously ahead of its time. In 2026, Dream Pop is trendier than ever.
Similarly, the stripped down recording quality of 2005's 'The Start Of Something' could be that of a 1970s Garage Punk band. But the Twee-coded Indie Rock songwriting sounds early 2010s.”
Date Added: 6/6/26
Song: Lady, You Shot Me
Artist: Har Mar Superstar
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “Ok. This is one of those easy ones where the next thing comes to mind instantly. Unfortunately it’s really hard to explain why. I think it’s the vintage sound in general.
A friend introduced me to this guy like 10 years ago or so. I love his hilarious “late era Ron Jeremy” look, and his music really compliments the whole slightly gross white guy with hugely excessive self confidence vibe. The music is all pretty fun so I’m going to just throw the top ranked track on Spotify. If you like it the rest is worth checking out. If not, bail immediately.”
Date Added: 6/7/26
Song: Sour Candy
Artist: Melt
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “Har Mar Superstar really caught me off guard (I watched the music video as my first listen through). Lady, you shot me was a great song. I really like the sultry voice delivering a song about a love/hate relationship. I have a song that I think is really similar
Sour Candy is a lot more jazz-y but the lyrics are thematically similar and I really, really dig the lead singer's voice.”
Date Added: 6/8/26
Song: Where It’s At
Artist: beck
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “There's some debate in our household whether the keys in Sour Candy are a Fender Rhodes or Wurlitzer electric piano, but we're leaning towards the latter. With that in mind, two turntables and a Wurlitzer”
Date Added: 6/9/26
Song: Sheep Go To Heaven
Artist: CAKE
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Where It’s At is my favorite song by Beck and it automatically plays in my head whenever I see a recycling bin labeled “bottles and cans.”
For some reason there’s a strong association in my head between Where It’s At and Sheep Go to Heaven by Cake. Maybe it’s that I bought the albums pretty close together in a similar era. Maybe it’s the talk-singing. Maybe it’s the sassy horn snippets. But these songs are very intertwined in my head.”
Date Added: 6/10/26
Song: Home Again Garden Grove
Artist: The Mountain Goats
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “Speaking of goats, you know who is the GOAT? John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. I'm picking Home Again Garden Grove as its one of my favourite but lesser known songs compared to This Year or No Children. I love the distorted very very forward vocals that give this song such character. Its one of those ones that i feel like is mixed "incorrectly" but It would loos so much had it been done differently”
Date Added: 6/11/26
Song: I’m Waiting For The Man
Artist: The Velvet Underground
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “I feel like a weird outliner in that so many of my friends and cultural peers love The Mountain Goats, but I never really got into them so I'd never heard Home Again Garden Grove. It's a cool track and the theme of going where you shouldn't to buy drugs immediately sends me to "I'm Waiting for the Man" by The Velvet Underground. The songs share a similarly "rough" sound, but really it's the narrative theme that links them to me.”
Date Added: 6/12/26
Song: Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Artist: Bob Dylan
DJ: Brian
Commentary: “I've always thought the vocalist for The Mountain Goats sounds like Ben Gibbard from Death Cab singing through a filter -- which, incidentally, quite appealing! But listening to this track from The Velvet Underground, I kept thinking ‘Bob Dylan. Yep, Dylan. Yeah, this dude sounds to me like Bob Dylan.’“
Date Added: 6/13/26
Song: Bleecker Street
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
DJ: John
Commentary: "Tidal immediately started playing this song after the Dylan song yesterday, and there was no way I could argue not posting this one.
That Bob Dylan era is Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and there is no song that represents this era more to me than this S&G classic about the most famous street in Greenwich Village."
Date Added: 6/14/26
Song: Nothing To It
Artist: The New Basement Tapes
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Okay, this is slightly closer to Brian’s post from the day before (is that allowed in Hear Me Out?) but still a variation on the New York Greenwich Village 60s theme. The New Basement Tapes is a project by T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, the Mumford and Sons guy, the singer from the Carolina Chocolate Drops etc. Basically the lyrics are all from a trove of Bob Dylan lyrics that weren’t used in the Basement Tapes and they took them and set them to music in 2014. Apparently Dylan was just sort of like “okay, cool, I don’t remember writing any of those.” Some of the songs are a little too of that 2010’s pioneer rock era à la Mumford and Sons, but I really like this one a lot and feels more timeless to me:”
Date Added: 6/15/26
Song: One Fast Move or I’m Gone
Artist: Jay Farrar, Benjamin Gibbard
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “I’d like to think that John would have made this same selection if he was seeded with The New Basement Tapes. Maybe he even saw my pick coming.
In 2008, Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar released the soundtrack for a documentary called ‘One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur’. The book, the film, and the album are all about Jack Kerouac, in his post-On-The-Road-fame, seeking comfort in a remote Big Sur cabin. While there, instead of finding refuge, he found that he couldn’t escape his own alcoholism and mental illness. The connection to The New Basement Tapes is that all the lyrics on the album were adapted from Kerouac’s own words.”
Date Added: 6/16/26
Song: Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)
Artist: Darren Korb
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “The deliberately slow intro strum into a dragging tempo really lit up my nostalgia synapses for the video game Bastion. I know Dan played it; did anyone else? The ending song, Setting Sail, Coming Home, is a fantastic song that gives me Firefly or Battlestar Galactica vibes (something futuristic but also haphazard, western cowboy). Darren Korb is a great musician an does a lot of the music for Supergiant Games (as well as a lot of the voice acting!). The feel and lyrics of the One Fast Move or I'm Gone is completely different but the first 5 seconds just locked me into this pick.”
Date Added: 6/17/26
Song: Travelers
Artist: Andrew Prahlow
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “ok, so on the theme of video game soundtracks: The Outer Wilds soundtrack has a similar vibe with Bastion's theme. The composer Andrew Prahlow based the music on midwest emo from the late 90s, early 2000s, but on backwoods instruments which lends it a really weird feel. The music is a core component of the gameplay, with each instrument representing a core element of discovery.
I'll admit my enjoyment of it is deeply tied to playing the game, which is definitely in my top 3 of all time. I don't want to give much away because the game is awesome and best played totally blind.”
Date Added: 6/18/26
Song: Burial at Sea
Artist: Aaron J. Shay
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “Banjo you say? Well I got banjo! And robots around campfires? well last time i heard this song we were playing it around a campfire because Aaron is one of my bandmates and this is from one of his solo albums. And its got kind of appocolyptic themes which is kind of like outer wilds so it feels related. More banjo please!”
Date Added: 6/19/26
Song: Wait so Long
Artist: Trampled By Turtles
DJ: John
Commentary: "I want to stick to banjos but narrowly side step pioneer rock, therefore I’m going with one of its influencing genres - bluegrass.
Trampled By Turtles is a band I saw at Twist’n’Shout in Denver when a friend dragged me along. I didn’t know much about Bluegrass or know any of their songs, but left very impressed by their musicianship and how much hectic noise and frenzied chaos they could create just with a banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, fiddle, and upright bass. There are no traditional percussion instruments in the band, as is fairly typical in Bluegrass I believe.
I’ve chosen the song Wait So Long as I feel it’s a good entry point for the band. There are some great fiddle solos in this song as well."
Date Added: 6/20/26
Song: Fox Hunt
Artist: Sierra Ferrell
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Wait So Long slaps, the fiddle solos are a lot of fun. I'm not too heavy into bluegrass, so my first instinct was The Devil Goes Down To Georgia but I refrained. Instead, I re-listened to a bluegrass-y song I'd previously starred from a girl named Sierra Ferrell, "Fox Hunt," and found a quite suitable follow-up entry. It's a foot-stompin' good time and as luck would have it, even features some fiddle solo."
Date Added: 6/21/26
Song: Idumea
Artist: Gwenifer Raymond
DJ: Tricia
Commentary: "Enjoyed the last song very much! Here’s my pick: Gwenifer Raymond, “Idumea” - song before reminded me of her style. Here’s a link to her tiny desk concert"
Date Added: 6/22/26
Song: Spiegel im Spiegel
Artist: Arvo Pärt
DJ: Ron
Commentary: “Idumea felt very traditional to me, so I looked it up and it turns out it's an arrangement of an old hymn (neat). That is probably why it immediately made me think of this Scottish folk song, The Parting Glass. It's a funeral song that drinks to the good ol times. Not to be a downer but today happens to be the 10th anniversary of my mom's death (thank you random selection!). It's honestly a really hard time... but given today is a special day, I want to bend the rules a little bit and pick the song that The Parting Glass made me think of: Arvo Pärt, Spiegel im Spiegel
As we get older, I imagine death will play an ever growing part in our lives but it never gets easier to deal with. This song reminds me of my mom a lot in that it is simple, beautiful, gently asks you to slow down, and makes me cry. Also, if you have seen The Good Place (I know at least Dan has), this is the music they chose to accompany the "wave returns to the ocean" scene in the final season, so the combo of the two had me full on ugly crying the first time I watched it. Anyway, RIP mom miss you lots”
Date Added: 6/23/26
Song: Echo in the Field
Artist: Kelly Moran
DJ: Liz
Commentary: “For my pick today, I want to go off of the "piano and other instrument duet" of Ron’s pick and dive into some very modern classical music with Kelly Moran's 2026 "echo in the field"
instead of violin tho we have synths and electronic, and instead of standard piano we have a prepared piano. This is where they "do stuff" to the piano like put screws or bolts on the strings or tape them or do other stuff to change the sound and response of the various notes. This technique was pioneered by Avant Garde composer John Cage in the 1940's and has been experimented with since. And while I always appreciated the experimentation, I find a lot of John Cages work to be more about the gimmick or the technique than the actual music.
This is why I fell in love with Moran's work. While its still prepared piano, I find there is a simplicity and beauty in this song. It's active and intricate and has a quickness to it, but it feels somehow light like flitting butterfly wings. For as active as it is, there is an almost minimalistic, meditative quality to the song that then builds up and hits me just right in a big exhale moment before fluttering off again.”
Date Added: 6/24/26
Song: Awake
Artist: Tycho
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Thanks Liz - I like the unique sounds Kelly Moran gets mixing analog and electronic sounds. I assume the prepared piano is what gives the chords almost a percussive tambourine-like element?
The meditative instrumental of Echo in the Field brought me to Tycho who makes similar slow paced soundscapes by mixing analog and digital sounds. Tricia introduced me to Tycho when we first started dating and we saw them perform last winter. It made me appreciate how much of their sound is actually created manually on good old fashioned guitar (with effects pedals) and bass and drums. Though there are elements of synth mixed in too.
This is Awake off their 2014 album also called Awake.”
Date Added: 6/25/26
Song: Summer’s Over
Artist: Jordana, TV Girl
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “A year or two ago, in an effort to expand my tastes, I did a deep dive on ambient genres. It was pleasant to listen to, but I still came out the other side craving vocals. There was one artist that caught my attention - TV Girl. They're not ambient per se, but ambient-adjacent, Chillwave Indie Pop. And yeah, there's singing, so sorry to end our instrumental streak.
I chose Summer's Over feat. Jordana. I wish the timing worked out on this a little better, since I'm featuring it at summer's peak. The groove is super summery, but the lyrics are less Fourth of July and more Labor Day.”
Date Added: 6/26/26
Song: Space Song
Artist: Beach House
DJ: Brian
Commentary: “Definitely feeling the Labor Day vibes of Summer's Over (in b4 "lol did u see the title???"), given that my taste generally skews more toward fast/loud/noisy rock-type music it's an almost therapeutic change of pace to listen to something chill and breezy, and as suggested above, pairs nicely with the season.
The song that first came to mind is the Sheryl Crow track where suns are soaked up, but that's been done to death and I never super loved it anyway. The next one that popped into my head is an older Beach House song that got sort of retro-popularized by TikTok a few years ago -- my wife is a big TikTok-head so this was playing in our house a lot. The upside it's also a chill enjoyable summer jam, so my pick is Space Song by Beach House.”
Date Added: 6/27/26
Song: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Artist: The Flaming Lips
DJ: Dan
Commentary: “Ok. I know it’s one everyone has heard before but the track that immediately jumped to mind is “yoshimi battles the pink robots, pt. 1” by The Flaming Lips.
something about the synth/digital part of the music just puts it front of mind.
Fun fact that I’ve summed up from a few sources: The Yoshimi from the tracks title came from Yoshimi P-we, the drummer of Japanese band The Boredoms (who appeared in the album),
While recording, the band used vocalizations from P-We, including screams and karate-chop sound effects. During the session, producer Dave Fridmann remarked that her vocalizations sounded like someone either having sex or being killed by a giant robot, so they named it after her.”
Date Added: 6/28/26
Song: Dirty Computer
Artist: Janelle Monae feat. Brian Wilson
DJ: John
Commentary: “Thanks Dan for the chance to listen to this classic with new open ears. I noticed a lot of details I’d never heard before.
I tried to approach this as if I’d hadn’t heard this song before. I was picking up a bit of a summery Beach Boys vibe from the guitar, but also from some of the experimentation with unique sounds and layering.
There is also the theme of human and machine, or human and large existential force or power. Janelle Monae’s earlier work is in a similar space thematically, and she also came to mind as I listened to yesterday’s track.
So for today, I’m combining the two: Janelle Monae plus Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys on the track Dirty Computer. I do have to caveat, this track is just the opener to an entire concept album and the end of the individual song sounds a little incomplete. You’d do yourself a favor to go ahead and just put the whole album on today. It’s got many a banger on it and a great summertime listen.
Date Added: 6/29/26
Song: Revolution Lover
Artist: Left at London
DJ: Claire
Commentary: “Before Pride month is up, I'm going to use this opportunity to pivot from one nonbinary artist to another. Left at London is a Seattle-based, KEXP darling and 'Revolution Lover' is the perfect song for the current political climate.”
Date Added: 6/30/26
Song: Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation
Artist: jasmine.4.t
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: “Thanks Claire for posting Left at London. I really liked the upbeat bounce to the song, which I think gives a sense of hope in dark times.
My song for today is one I’ve been looking to use in Hear Me Out for some time. In full disclosure, I heard it first on one of Tricia’s playlists but I didn’t know until she told me yesterday that the primary artist, jasmine.4.t is trans, so my contribution also squeezes one more non-binary artist in on the very last day of pride month!
AND, as an extra little bonus for John, Phoebe Bridgers, who helped sign jasmine.4.t, is featured doing vocals for this track too (or, if the music video is an indication, it’s actually muppet Phoebe Bridgers). A little something for everyone!”