Micro Pod HWSC 02 The Selling of the Chairs

This episode is a low-pressure format experiment to let myself freestyle a bit.

Tonight we kept things firmly in the Midwest and pulled Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois off the shelf. We dug into how this record came out of the famous 50-states concept, why Michigan made the bit feel believable, and how Illinois turned into a full-blown piece of musical world-building instead of just a state-themed indie record. We talked through the homework behind the album, the cheap gear and mostly solo recording process, the over-the-top ambition of a 22-track, 74-minute double LP, and why songs like “Chicago,” “Casimir Pulaski Day,” “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” “Jacksonville,” and “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts” are the pillars that make the whole thing stand up.

After hours at the HWSC. Boosting you up to follow your ears.

Not For Sale ZZ Top’s Degüello. Adiós to the Texas petting zoo. Pulp fiction & babes. Dawn of the beard. Expect no quarter!

Not For Sale Fu Manchu’s A Look Back: Dogtown & Z-Boys. Soundtrack to a documentary about a documentary. Drag race music. Nothing wrong with a good compilation record.