TuneDig is an in-depth and informed conversation between two lifelong friends about the power of music — one album at a time.
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Episode 009
Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child
Norma Jean
Local scenes are forces of nature, catching fire and burning out as people come and go. We kick off season 2 close to home, looking back at a scene stoked by an abrasive, electric mess of a thing from little ol’ Douglasville, Georgia, setting our unsuspecting Southern hometown all ablaze. Guess you had to be there.
NEW EPISODE ALERT.
This album was huge for us. If you grew up loving and seeking out new music, you’ll appreciate the conversation — even if Norma Jean’s sound isn’t your cup of tea.https://t.co/WSCDv31HPw pic.twitter.com/IC9rWPgHOh
— TuneDig (@tunedig) October 5, 2018
Transcript
Note: our transcripts are mostly AI-generated for now.
Episode 009: Norma Jean's "Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child": Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix
Episode 009: Norma Jean's "Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child": this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
You're listening to TuneDig, a podcast for music lovers. The premise is simple: in each episode, we dig deep into an album we love and then we give away a copy to you of that album on vinyl. Go to TuneDig.com To see what's up for grabs and learn more about us.
Today we're talking about Norma Jean's "Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child".
This is definitely one of those welcome into the secret society type of records, you and a bunch of guys were way into this band and we're going to see them way before I was. And it was a few years like kind of in high school for me. I remember it plain as day. I was tired and it was angry. I was angsty and I had a long drive to somewhere and it was a real cold night. And I drove with all the windows down and for whatever reason decided to pop in my burned CD copy of it. Heat up, windows down, bitter cold outside. And that snare hit happened. And by the end of that two minutes, it was the same thing. It was like, I get it now. It's that abrasion and it just kind of warms you up and in its own way about.
Memphis will be laid to waste was just if you could bear hardcore, you had to like that song and you had to know it and you had to know the lyrics. And as comparatively formulaic as it is to the other songs that are on this record, it's still great.
It's got all these lines that are just so repeatable, the pre breakdown and the breakdown. Right. It's got two different ones that got crowds going for years and years. You can't beat mediocrity is the killer. It doesn't even have to mean anything. I'm 16. I don't need new nuance. I want to break everything. Appleby's people are boring. I mean, that's what they're really saying when they say stuff like that. It's a there were a lot of lines in the sand.
I mean, it's all just rock cliches as we get older. But we just have this interesting, unusual, weird vehicle that's kind of regionally specific to us, like all we had punk. That's why I think it's important for us to talk about this record, because it doesn't necessarily get surface globally the way some other scenes do.
Right. Like when we when we did that Husker Du album, you could tell that Zen Arcade was an album for a lot of people that hit them right at that. Just I'm ready to have something new and different hit me, because so many of the responses and messages that we got from people were like, you weren't there in nineteen eighty four in Minnesota.
You'll never really get this record like that, which I appreciate it a lot. Yeah. We, we got a lot of you guys are kind of missing the point. I'm like, all right, point well taken. So for me this is one of those records, this is our Zen Arcade with an easier to follow concept, but also very similarly recorded in a fairly short amount of time live in a room. So there is that same urgency. And so that's an interesting common thread as well.
So going back to Memphis, like you've got Aaron Wise from me without you coming in to do a spoken word thing on the song and like me without you is its own incredible band, making a ton of great music but in their own right. So Nourredine, to me, without you recorded a split before this album came out. Right. With a couple of different variations of two songs off of this record for Norma Jean, the combination of having Aaron Weiss come in and do this like weird, energetic, Aaron used to call it hollering anyway to hear him come in and kind of do this poetry over the backdrop of this like super kind of crushing post hardcore sound that they would have was just unlike anything else that was happening and unlike anything a lot of us had ever heard.
Welcome slam dance poetry.
The order of songs on this record is great because the very first song snare really loud noise and then it hits, then it comes on like a roar.
Dude, I don't know what.
And then it hits this groove that they do on this record. I know that they were inspired by bands like ISIS and like boccie, but they created this groove that people would keep trying to imitate. Honestly, Norma Jean themselves would keep trying to imitate over the years. But it was this combination of that heavy guitar tone with whatever it is that Daniel Davidson was doing. But there was something different and particularly unique about this interplay between we've got Josh Cogan's approach to vocals and the Daniel Davidson's approach to drums, I used to think Skogen was super cheesy and I liked his bands in spite of him.
I really, really respect over the years that he's like a he's a true artist in so many ways and he's trying to make things that don't exist and have a voice and express himself in the world.
I mean, they basically invented the break down that bands would continue to use for the next five years and just try to play in songs over and over again. But again, had a really hard time replicating because Skogen had a nuanced vocal delivery.
There were two parts to the move. Right. And the breakdown is really the the thing that became such a signature, a vocal part, was they took something really simple and impressionistic and visual, honestly, something real jailable, but in a different way than like old school punk bands. Right. Where that was more a rallying cry. This was more post-modern, like a like an excerpt of poetry. But then they did this really beautiful thing that nobody else was ever quite as good at, where a breakdown was just like the wheels coming off. It wasn't just about slowing it down and doing the same thing. Halftime, which is what the cookie cutter movie became. Right. But this band in this moment, the pieces just fell apart, like the flower just kind of wilted. And there's some of that on this record. But when they would do it live and I think Skogen took it to its logical extreme and the chariot and really made it part of the sound on the records. It was ugly and and never quite in concert, but it was all just tight enough that you knew that that's what was happening on this.
Whatever that thing was connected with my person in a way, in a way that I have, I wanted to extend myself into my CD player and just like be a part of whatever that sound was. Yeah. And then to do it, come back in and then do it again.
Slow down n.
There was something about the way that that Daniel kept hitting the snare in a particular way and they would create this groove that and I really want to say that was a Southern thing and maybe that's it felt that way, something that we all maybe over attributed in retrospect.
But the swing was something that the northern bands and especially the Pacific Northwest bands weren't weren't really doing. But that's such a component of Davison's natural feel. And you go on to hear some of his more recent stuff, like when he played with Colorable from Mississippi. Or even when he played with Every Time I die. He introduced sounds to both of those bands that he owned, the thing that they already had, he had swing in the way that in like that Buddy Rich way, like real manic, real, real hard hitting like that dude plays Bonzo hard. This band was sort of so boneheaded and such a wall of sound for a long time that it was hard to appreciate what he was doing back there. But you go back and you look and we've talked about this a lot of times, 15 years of Daniel Davidson's career arc. And you're like, this guy was really on to something that he was doing, something different from the time he was very young. And there's something about that that really needs to be acknowledged.
Most drummers even now in this type of a scene would focus on adult work or subgroups. In more technical or progressive types of music, like even the symbol work, but on this record, the snare and Toms created the mood that almost like set the palette that was needed for all of this noise.
It's very tribal. It's very primal. But it's interesting that you're right. It is totally different than what other people were doing in that way.
There's no way that the vibe that they made was intentional. But somehow it just it's always so creepy feeling.
It feels like the cover of the record. That is one of the things that continued for a long time with them was really strong art direction. I mean, the next record. Oh, God got nominated for a Grammy for the the packaging. But again, it wasn't like they were trying to be too visual or anything like that. Like it created a vibe like you couldn't necessarily really articulate. But it was like it was creepy. It was weird. Do you have a favorite song on this record or is it always put it on start to finish for you?
Shotgun message is one always worth calling out the shortest song in just channels more of like that early 20s Dillinger and Converge feel at the beginning. I mean, there are a lot of kind of Mathie parts in this record anyway, which I love, but they're not usually done at like a faster speed. So there's that and then on the other side of it is pretty soon, I don't know what, but something is going to happen, just this 15 minute long epic of a thing. There's this crazy riff that it drops into like two minutes in and then you get to about eight minutes and they do this thing where they just chant on and on on top of it.
I like sometimes it's our mistakes, so sometimes it's our mistakes that make for the greatest ideas.
Even though I love the abrasiveness of this record, I love the weird spookiness of that song. There's just there's a solitude to this record in a lot of ways, just kind of being in your own headspace, in a dark room with a big ceiling. So. But it's just really interesting because it's got such a mellow, watery vibe, but he still chooses to scream harshly over it, but it all just really works. And I just get that refrain of congratulations in my head at least once a week. But the record goes a lot of places, it's the long song, and then I think the shotgun message is immediately after and then it goes into sometimes our mistakes. So that three punch sequence is interesting and kind of courageous. And again, it's probably one of those things that they didn't put a whole mess of thought into, but it works really, really well. They didn't necessarily put all those dynamics into a song, but song into song and a song, that's where you sort of get dynamics. So it's hard to listen to the song, the songs at a song level, because the context of the record is so important. And the contrast of one thing against another thing works really brilliantly.
Yeah, and that song was a great example to write because that it ends with he just as a fortunate one and then it fades out.
And then the next song I say, cell phones now, I hate car accidents is just like a field recording to start with. And then just you just get, like, weird symbol to start it off and then you come back in like nothing was happening at all.
I even later in the same song, two and a half minutes in, you get weird chants, kind of a chorus of seeming men singing some kind of weird stuff. Base is so loud during that part and he subwoofers in my car, and it was just a great way to experience it because it was just insanely loud, that weird mid-range base that would vibrate everything in your car.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, God, what keys do I have loose, like, what's in the side pocket of my car door?
And then, you know, in the song after that, creating something out of nothing only to destroy it again. We got these kind of Mathie elements. The song is an 11 eight, the good part of the time. And then you get Daniel Davidson, break it down into this little kind of Tom build up. And then they just say, like bringing a knife to a gunfight over and over.
Oh, so many times it always got the pig going.
I rather not show up.
But that was a good example of the tribal drums, like it was just primal. I mean, it was just raw release in that break down.
They went through it until you think it's about time to end it. They kind of stop and then you just hear the bass go, oh, my God, I'm not. And it had all these weird, interesting moments that you wouldn't normally get from hardcore record, there were a ton of them on that song that we just talked about. You get down to the human face, Divine, and then you get to this part where he's just growling flawless and people are just clapping.
When I think about this record, the older I get, the more I think of it like this, it was young people that had nothing going on around them. They wanted to be different. And a whole bunch of bands came after them and tried to sound like them. But they missed the point because it was more of an attitude than a sound.
The closest thing that I know of that sounds like this record is the Red Sea from ISIS, as the eyes can see.
You pointed out we were watching live videos before we started recording the live videos on YouTube or so hysterical because it's like those lights on at the rec center videos and nobody's doing anything types of situations and they're just going nuts under full light. But the thing that struck me that you said was there's basically no pedals other than a tuner was just like, let's just get it right and make it loud and weird and let's just go for it. They barely take a breath on this record, even though they take a long stretch in the middle of the record. It's still very intense. It's it's catharsis without the tension and release. So it's very different than ISIS in that way. I would say the other touch point and the one that people that didn't like this band or what they were meant always talked about was boccie was we are the Romans. And sound, it was ISIS for sure, but in style and structure, it was definitely boccie.
Well, you know, you mentioned at the beginning this. And of oddness of a Christian hardcore scene, and this is very much a part of that, but that that has its own story like so this album came out in 2002 on Solid-State, right. Just two, three, four years before that, Zao was releasing albums about suicide, depression, things like that. And because they were known as coming from a Christian hardcore scene, they were having trouble just playing at normal venues, getting on normal bills and and actually hitting the opposite kind of of what you would expect. Like normally you think about something like Christian Hardcore and you imagine a very insular situation of keeping out bad influences. And that was definitely a part of it. Right. But on the other hand, it took pioneering to have anyone who would even identify with a Christian movement to be a part of something that was specifically not. And so it took work like Zio to enable something like Bless the Martyr, to have the type of impact that it would so that a scene could blossom and just be southern hardcore. And we could nod to and understand the fact that a lot of these lyrics are heavily Christian.
To me, that was just like it never added up to me that these people could contain multitudes, you know, because Johnny Cash could make 40 gospel records, but then could also shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. And like all of country music, all of this other Southern music from a generation ago that our parents grew up with had that dissonance. There was alcoholism and cheating and like all all of the bad stuff and the demons, but then all of the worship. So it was weird that there was so much cognitive dissonance with people looking in upon the scene from the outside, because all of those things make sense because you just live with that as a person in the south all the time. And there's always that tension and it's so present that it just it really makes sense in that way.
And it's worth pointing out that we can collect a lot of the bands who were in that kind of middle area between scenes, and a lot of them were on Solid-State. And it's easy to talk about Solid-State as if it were more of the cause than the enablement. A lot of the reason why there became this separatist approach to music and culture was because there was a very intentionally created subculture throughout the 80s and 90s, and there was an actual attempt to create a separate culture that was marked and separated off from other people that weren't allowed to be there. And so you've got things like Christian bookstores. The older I get, the more offensive it just that it exists for a small but important group of people. Those little stores became ways to get access to darker and crazier things that you wanted to be able to see while having implicit approval from parents, whatever kind of culture you were a part of. And Solid-State was a huge part of that. But Mom, I bought it from life. Exactly right. And there is like a giant solid-state rack that was always in those stores. And so records like this, by all measurements, a terrifying record. It sounds terrifying. The cover art is terrifying to this day. I like everything about it is strange. And similarly, I mean, I know that I am Hollywood from he is a legend. I know that that was purchased for me through a Christian bookstore by someone else, which in retrospect is so weird.
It is so weird.
So for every time we kind of talk about that, this music got collected in a label like Solid-State. We have to at the same time, I think, nod to the fact that that record label found a way to break artists into a subculture that was nearly impossible to get into in any other way. They were almost exclusively riding that line, finding a way to connect just like a larger hardcore scene or in tooth and nail, like a larger emo scene, indie scene and that sort of thing. Like they did this for a lot of artists. Honestly, people like me owe them a debt of gratitude for exposing me to bands like that, because there was there was an easier entry point for me because as much of a a metal aficionado as I've become and was at the time, I was still and still to this day, I'm not a huge fan of like the Gore parts of the subculture. I understand violence as a motif artistically. And there are some bands like Nail's who talk about violence as a motif. I get that and I appreciate that and I like some of that. But there's definitely a line, you know, when cover art is just illustrated, violence, it's not fun to me. And so to be able to. Find a sound like this and go through it and go honestly in both directions, both historically and go back through ISIS and Fugazi and everything else and learn more about that, but then go forward and start to understand more about what sounds like this influenced was huge for me. This is just one of those things that has a really personal connection with us. And it's a record I love to share with people who haven't heard it because it was so celebrated here and still is. You can still go to pretty much any bar in East Atlanta and find somebody who wants to talk about this record with you or one of the guys that made this record chillin at the bar.
Yeah, totally.
It's worth bringing up is worth talking about one person who hasn't listened to it before.
It gives it a shot and tells us what they think of it. I want to hear somebody who is a full grown adult who is experiencing this record for the first time. I want to hear that person's feedback because it is so insular to us.
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Original "Bitches Brew" Art
To celebrate the endless creativity of Bitches Brew—and especially its famous album artwork—TuneDig partnered with two incredible Atlanta-based artists to create one-of-a-kind, handpainted gatefolds.
With the spirit of the original art in mind, each artist brought their own vision to life. These pieces will spark conversation for any jazz fan.
Each piece includes a new vinyl copy of Bitches Brew. 100% of the purchase price goes directly to the artist, so take this opportunity to support the arts in the raddest possible way.
Seriously. There’s literally only one of each. Make it yours. 😎
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“Bitches Brew” Vinyl with Handpainted Original Gatefold by George F. Baker III
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“Bitches Brew” Vinyl with Handpainted Original Gatefold by Sachi Rome (Variant 1 of 2)
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“Bitches Brew” Vinyl with Handpainted Original Gatefold by Sachi Rome (Variant 2 of 2)
$350.00 Add to cart
SEASON 6
Season 6—featuring our most eclectic selection of albums yet—concludes July 1, 2022.
TuneDig Episode 50: Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain”
Before uniting one nation under a groove, the lysergic lords of chaos in Funkadelic harnessed wild lightning into an amulet called Maggot Brain, bestowing the bearer with raw, dark power stronger than any force known to man. Between reaching our 50th episode and coping with the “maggots in the mind” of today’s universe, it felt like the right time to free our minds. We hope y’all’s asses will follow.
TuneDig Episode 49: Alice Coltrane’s “Journey in Satchidananda”
The story of Alice Coltrane — an accomplished bebop pianist from Detroit who transcended into something far greater before walking away from public life altogether — is a glimpse into what it means to be truly free. Alice’s masterpiece "Journey in Satchidananda" is a cosmic dance that sparked creation from destruction. And in a time when we’re all desperately searching for a spark of meaning and hope, Journey abides abundantly.
TuneDig Episode 48: Heart’s “Little Queen”
Take a moment to appreciate Ann and Nancy Wilson, who kicked down the doors of rock ‘n’ roll’s boys’ club with their peerless guitar work, soaring soul vocals, and tight songcraft. 1977’s Little Queen — an oft-overlooked gem in the classic rock canon — offers a snapshot of those elements at their most urgent and pure, powered by the Wilsons’ simple motivation (as described by their producer): “It was a war.”
TuneDig Episode 47: Tangerine Dream’s “Phaedra”
When you think of “electronic music,” what comes to mind may not be a genre you deeply love — hip-hop, house, new wave, or even dub reggae — but all of it owes some debt, scientifically or otherwise, to Tangerine Dream. Dig in with us as we study a prime example of the band’s brand of effortful innovation, where they patiently and persistently labored at the cutting edge of electronic technology to open a portal to new worlds in our minds.
TuneDig Episode 46: Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR”
Did you catch one of 2021’s biggest albums, or like us, did you almost overlook it? If you have any expectations of pop music, "SOUR" will likely subvert them. Teenage dream this is not; it’s an exquisitely universal portrait of a weird time to be alive.
TuneDig Episode 45: Fela Kuti’s “Expensive Shit”
The story of Fela Kuti — one of the most famous people on an *entire continent* passionately struggling to liberate power to more people — is absolutely one worth deeply knowing, regardless of whether you find yourself drawn to Afrobeat or (cringe) “world music.” But once you know it, it’s almost impossible not to fall in love with Fela and Afrika 70 as their revolutionary grooves rewire your brain in magical and meaningful ways.
TuneDig Episode 44: Meshuggah’s “ObZen”
Meshuggah’s ObZen—an artifact of human creativity pushing the limits of what’s possible—will quite literally make you hear music differently. If you’re looking for a new musical adventure, and especially if you don’t think you like “heavy” or “weird” music, consider this your sign to push past your comfort zone.
TuneDig Episode 43: mewithoutYou’s “Catch For Us the Foxes”
A misunderstood wise man once said “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds.” In our most personal and vulnerable episode yet, we do some seeking through the lens of songs that fill us with the bravery and sincerity to love ourselves and others fully. Dig deep with us as we fish for words about our tiny place in the universe and dance with gratitude for our ability to do so.
TuneDig Episode 42: Erykah Badu’s “Mama’s Gun”
Y’all tryna raise your vibrations? Erykah Badu is here to help. Season 6 kicks off with a meditation on realness and what being on “your own wavelength” really means. (Spoiler: it ain’t a single frequency — it’s a whole spectrum.)
FRIDAY HEAVY
For lifelong headbangers and the musically curious alike, a new podcast from TuneDig is here to push your palette with aggressive, abrasive art. Each short, fast-paced episode offers (1) a new metal, punk, noise, or experimental release we recommend, (2) a related playlist we’ve curated, and (3) a heavy issue to consider and an organization doing something about it. Join us in the void.
Friday Heavy: End of Year Review 2022
It was a great year in heavy music. In this episode, we look back at all the new releases we featured and the curated playlists they spawned.
It was a NOT great year in many other ways. We leave you with a parting message of encouragement to connect your energy and angst to on-the-ground organizations doing the work in your community.
Friday Heavy: November 11, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- He Is Legend – Endless Hallway
- Curated playlist sussing out the depths of He Is Legend’s roots, weirdness, and attitude
- Protect Our Winters (POW)
Friday Heavy: October 28, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- Witch Fever – “Congregation”
- Curated playlist of eclectic, high energy that might get your inner goth stoked on (briefly) going out
- Housing Justice League
Friday Heavy: October 14, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- The Lord † Petra Haden – “Devotional”
- Friday Heavy playlist densely packed with thick, meditative vibrations across the spectrum of drone
- Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
Friday Heavy: September 30, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- Escuela Grind – “Memory Theater”
- Friday Heavy playlist dedicated to the absolutely fucking hostile energy that powerviolence can bring to radical inclusion
- Zealous
Friday Heavy: September 16, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed
- Friday Heavy playlist showcasing the incalculably extensive and wildly diverse Shoegaze Cinematic Universe (aka post-rock)
- MTB Atlanta
Friday Heavy: September 2, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- The Callous Daoboys – “Celebrity Therapist”
- Friday Heavy playlist confronting the under-appreciation of Atlanta’s heavy and weird music scene
- Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition – Water Fund
Friday Heavy: August 19, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- Osees – “A Foul Form”
- Friday Heavy playlist fuzzed out on oddball punk that smells like cigarettes just thinking about it
- Women on the Rise GA
Friday Heavy: August 5, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- Chat Pile – “God’s Country”
- Friday Heavy playlist with, uh, a bunch of very pissed off songs directed at christofascist terrorism
- The Grocery Spot
Friday Heavy: July 22, 2022
This week, we discuss:
- WAKE – “Thought Form Descent”
- Friday Heavy playlist that anchors its sound in modern production of sludge, blackened death, and post-metal
- The Planetary Society
Friday Heavy: July 8, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Vomit Forth – “Seething Malevolence”
2. Friday Heavy playlist that’s unsettling in the best way, leaving you feeling a little off your axis
3. Trees Atlanta
Friday Heavy: June 24, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. CANDY – “Heaven is Here”
2. Friday Heavy playlist packed with off-the-beaten-path punk and hardcore from bands that deserve space on your battle jacket
3. Round Rock Black Parents Association
Friday Heavy: June 10, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Sasquatch – “Fever Fantasy”
2. Friday Heavy playlist of heavy grooves for late desert nights and hazy generator parties
3. Feed Buffalo
Friday Heavy: May 27, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Decapitated – “Cancer Culture”
2. Friday Heavy playlist stacked with bands putting their unique and modern spin on (occasionally tech) death metal
3. PropelATL
Friday Heavy: May 13, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Primitive Man – “Insurmountable”
2. Friday Heavy playlist full of SLOW, enveloping, massive and crunchy tone and big feedback
3. National Network of Abortion Funds
Friday Heavy: April 29, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Heriot – “Profound Morality”
2. Friday Heavy playlist packed with mid-tempo, huge guitar tone, big atmosphere and lots of industrial grit and grind
3. Invisible People
Friday Heavy: April 15, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Greyhaven – “The Bright And Beautiful World”
2. Friday Heavy playlist for fans of more choatic + melodic combinations
3. Campaign for Working Families
Friday Heavy: April 1, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Meshuggah – “Immutable”
2. Friday Heavy playlist full of high quality Meshuggah aping that AIN’T “djent”
3. The Bail Project
Friday Heavy: March 18, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Soul Glo – “Diaspora Problems”
2. Friday Heavy playlist with 20+ songs in under 40 minutes, (almost) all under 2 minutes each
3. Equality Texas
Friday Heavy: March 4, 2022
This week, we discuss:
1. Vein.fm – “This World Is Going To Ruin You”
2. Friday Heavy playlist exploring more of Will Putney’s work
3. Books to Prisoners
SEASON 5
TuneDig Episode 41: Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew”
Let’s be clear: "Bitches Brew" is a challenging record, even to some of the best musicians in the world — but all of them say it’s worth the investment. It’s the kind of trip that, even if we *could* draw a map, it wouldn’t take you there. Let go of the need for meaning and enjoy the ride with us. We can promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised where you end up.
TuneDig Episode 40: Fiona Apple’s “Tidal”
On the heels of one of 2020's most acclaimed albums — Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters — we revisited Apple’s debut Tidal and wound up working to extract ourselves from the mostly male gazes that made its reception … much different. We arrive at a question much like writer Jenn Pelly had: “People would constantly prod Fiona on how an 18-year-old could write songs as mature as these ... Why did they not ask instead how she became a genius?”
TuneDig Episode 39: Death Grips’s “The Money Store”
The modern world is accelerating beyond our control, shaping our reality in ways we can’t yet perceive or understand. Enter Death Grips, an art project capturing the chaotic energy and illustrating the absurdity of our hubris in trying to harmonize the surreal and extremely real — never more perfectly than on 2012’s prescient "The Money Store".
TuneDig Episode 38: Augustus Pablo’s “King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown”
Reggae music is easy to take for granted, but its impact is underappreciated and massive — in the case of dub in particular, everyone from Radiohead to Johnny Rotten to Run-DMC owes it a debt. Augustus Pablo and King Tubby together created what’s regarded as “one of the finest examples of dub ever recorded.” Join us as we dive into the culture, history, and unique engineering experiments that made it possible.
TuneDig Episode 37: Rihanna’s “ANTI”
By every measure — sales, awards, chart-toppers, global name recognition — Rihanna is objectively as big as the Beatles ever were. In fact, ANTI is so big it’s still on the charts, a record five full years later. Take a closer look with us at “the record you make when you don’t need to sell records”, and get a taste of the true freedom that comes from focusing on your inner voice when faced with insurmountable expectations.
TuneDig Episode 36: Son House’s “Father of Folk Blues”
All American music traces back to the blues, and deep at the root sits Son House. That the recordings on "Father of Folk Blues" even exist is something of a gray area that cuts to the heart of the great American myth, but wherever you land after hearing these stories, you’ll find that what matters most is what the great Muddy Waters once said of House: “That man was the king.”
TuneDig Episode 35: Melvins’s “Stoner Witch”
The futility of describing the Melvins has stretched critics in the direction of absurd words like “Dadaist” for nearly 40 years now. They’ve belligerently flogged any attempt to pinpoint their essence simply by being themselves, but "Stoner Witch" remains a reliable mall directory for the Melvins’ vast and wild discography. Grab yourself some pretzel bites.
TuneDig Episode 34: Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”
We should talk about Dolly the way we talk about Prince. Her extraordinary kindness and unique kitsch both make her universally loved, but what gets left out of the conversation is the very thing that made her famous: the music. Join in as we focus attention on the sonics and songwriting of the low-key masterpiece "Jolene".
TuneDig Episode 33: The Allman Brothers Band’s “The Allman Brothers Band”
Six enlightened rogues out of Macon, Georgia birthed an entire genre simply by being their soul-powered selves. We have not come to testify, but we’re still hung up on the dream The Allman Brothers Band helped us see. By the end of this episode, you will be, too.
TUNEDIG RADIO
SEASON 4
SEASON 3
SEASON 2
SEASON 1
BONUS TRACK EPISODES
BONUS TRACK: How We Got Here
We got a bunch of interesting listener feedback in our off-season, and it encouraged us to shed some light on why we do things the way we do ‘em. Also, we reflect on our first writeup, which was ... interesting.
WHO WE ARE
We're Cliff (right) and Kyle (left). We’re two dudes born and raised in ATL with day jobs in tech and sustainability, respectively.
We met in middle school, and in one way or another, music’s been the thing that’s kept us close for the two decades since — whether it’s sharing and talking about new music (like this podcast, except in our texts or over beers), going to shows, or working with our favorite record stores to help them survive and thrive.
We started TuneDig as a little art project that connects us more deeply ourselves and to the world through the infinite gift of music. We hope you’ll join us for the conversations, let us know what you think, and share discoveries of your own.
More About TuneDig
TuneDig began as a little something called MusicGrid.me, which we created after realizing there was no place online to directly exchange music recommendations with your friends. Our aim was simple: to make rating albums simple, useful, and social. We got some love from places like Mashable, Wired, Evolver.fm, and Hypebot. We managed to foster conversation between music lovers, get thousands of reviews, and meet great people.
Along the way, we realized that record stores were an essential part of the music lovers’ community. After many a conversation about how we could helpfully connect them to the people who loved them, we began helping them leverage technology to create new revenue streams and embrace streaming services without giving up what’s unique to them: expertise and curation. (Long live the counter clerk who knows exactly which record will be the right introduction to jazz fusion!)
TuneDig is our vision to connect music lovers with the music they love, because no matter how much has changed in the way we discover and enjoy music, recommendations from people you trust and respect will always be the best way to find new music you’ll dig. With this podcast, we’re channeling the spirit of trusted curation pioneered by record stores, and bringing you something to take you deeper into music you can love.