Kreative Kontrol

Ep. #242: Josh Gondelman

Post author By vish
Post date March 17, 2016

Josh Gondelman is a Peabody winning and Emmy nominated comedy writer, author, and stand-up comedian who currently lives in New York City, where he works as a writer on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Raised in Boston, Gondelman has also written for Billy on the Street and is the co-author of the Shorty Award-winning Modern Seinfeld Twitter account. Oh, and his own Twitter feed, @joshgondelman, was named the best account of 2015 by Paste Magazine. In summary, Josh Gondelman is very good at everything. This spring he’ll be appearing on Conan and Night Train with Wyatt Cenac to spread the word about Physical Whisper, his breathtakingly hilarious sophomore comedy album, which is out via Rooftop Comedy on March 18. Here, Josh and I discuss how well things are going, hanging out with his dog on off-days, how America is doing right now, how great Canada is doing right now, a golden or easy age of comedy, comedian versus citizen, the position Last Week Tonight with John Oliver took against the election news cycle and Donald Drumpf, the now crowded field of delivering fake news on television, everything is news, the making of and story behind Physical Whisper, when material is material, comedy peer support, how a second album by New York Josh Gondelman might relate to a first album by Boston Josh Gondelman, his style as a comedian and relationship with stand-up, Gary Gulman, becoming a more confident performer, his comedy nerd level, the Modern Seinfeld Twitter account that Josh co-writes, the way Seinfeld would name things, create a lexicon of its own with distinctive characters, and influence comedians, breaking down a Jerry Seinfeld joke, breaking down his own joke “The Entire Spectrum of Human Potential,” German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, when it hit him that this real life thing might be fodder for a bit, delayed realizations, downtime, balancing life and work, future plans, the album cut “Surprise!” and that was the end of a very nice conversation.

Related links: twitter.com/joshgondelman vishkhanna.com

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Tags Boston, Donald Drumpf, fake news, Gary Gulman, Hillary Clinton, Jerry Seinfeld, Josh Gondelman, Larry David, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Modern Seinfeld, Otto von Bismarck, Physical Whisper, Rooftop Comedy, Seinfeld

News Podcast

Ep. #241: Rangda

Post author By vish
Post date March 15, 2016

Rangda is a powerful, American instrumental trio featuring guitarists Sir Richard Bishop and Ben Chasny and drummer Chris Corsano. Their new album is called The Heretic’s Bargain, it’s out now via Drag City, and they’re on the road right now with forthcoming shows in Bloomington, IN, Columbus, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, Baltimore, MD, and Philadelphia, PA. In fact, they were just in Toronto for a tremendously powerful show at Double Double Land in Kensington Market where I had the opportunity to speak with the band about high chairs in Kensington Market, getting a sense of the tour from Rick and the story about a pastel artwork piece of Donald Drumpf he discovered in Brooklyn, Canada’s new president, ravishing Justin Trudeau, madness now versus Reagan and multiple Bush madness, how Rick is convinced Hillary Clinton was preordained to be president, conspiratorial political theory, waking Ben up to dodge three or four questions, weird things people say about Rangda, Ben subscribes to Just Say No, no rage, the first time Johnny Mathis is mentioned by Rick, emotional miscue, song titles in an instrumental band, “Without Us” and Family Ties, when Chris met Ben, how Rangda came together, Rick’s hat, why Ben’s band Six Organs of Admittance keeps oscillating, over sensitive rock, I can’t get no fulfillment, richardbishopbookseller.com, occult books, people who cast spells on their employers, Canada and its border, Montreal and Harris Newman, weird jazz festivals, Chris is busy and Rick’s busy but Ben’s somehow got a lot of free time, Rangda sort of have a band meeting in the middle of our interview, not-so-busy Ben, the song “Mondays Are Free at the Hermetic Museum,” and then I finally get to leave Chris Corsano eating my dust.

Related links: dragcity.com/artists/rangda vishkhanna.com

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Tags Ben Chasny, Chris Corsano, Donald Drumpf, Double Double Land, Drag City, Harris Newman, Hillary Clinton, Johnny Mathis, Kensington Market, NO, Rangda, Sir Richard Bishop, Six Organs of Admittance, The Heretic’s Bargain, the occult

News Podcast

Ep. #240: A Way That’s Clear – Tortoise & The Making of ‘The Catastrophist’

Post author By vish
Post date March 8, 2016

Over the past 20 years, Tortoise has honed a distinctive sound, spurred on by strange, synthetic tones, stunning guitar interplay, and an utterly unique and highly influential approach to playing and recording drums. Citizens of Chicago, they’ve absorbed that town’s rich history of noise and musical innovation, touching upon every genre in their abstract work, while always somehow sounding exactly like Tortoise.

For fans of the band, which is comprised of multi-instrumentalists Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Doug McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker, every new Tortoise record feels like some exciting departure. But there are things, both obvious and subtle, about The Catastrophist, their seventh full-length album released by Thrill Jockey Records, that will genuinely startle listeners who appreciate the storied quintet’s daring.

Here, McCombs and McEntire along with album collaborators, Todd Ritmann, and Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley discuss the history, making of, and future of The Catastrophist.

tortoise_group_shot