TuneDig is an in-depth and informed conversation between two lifelong friends about the power of music — one album at a time.

In each episode, we go down the rabbit hole to spend a while in the strange world we discover. We take an honest look at creativity in all its complexity—from writing and production to history and cultural impact.

We promise you’ll learn something new every time, no matter how much you already love the album we explore.

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Friday Heavy: August 5, 2022

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Pw5WnKZC_W0

This week, we discuss:

  1. Chat Pile – “God’s Country”
  2. Friday Heavy playlist with, uh, a bunch of very pissed off songs directed at christofascist terrorism
  3. The Grocery Spot

Transcript

Note: our transcripts are mostly AI-generated for now. 

Cliff: Welcome to Friday Heavy. Your guide to the world of aggressive and abrasive and loud music brought to you by the two folks behind TuneDig. I’m cliff.

Kyle: And I’m Kyle, and I’m always appreciative of how you come in. You try to find a way to come in totally differently on the same, the same intro every time

If you’ve never listened to Friday heavy before I encourage you to go back and listen and splice all of Cliff’s intros together for fun, cuz that would be fun.

But here’s the premise. If you’ve never listened before each episode, we cover three things. One brand new release from the world of heavy, weird, extreme, strange alternative music. And why we think it’ll be worth a spin. One playlist we’ve curated to explore a heavy sub genre or artist or scene. And boy, do we have a hell of a one for you?

And thirdly, and most importantly by far one heavy cause one, one organization doing heavy lifting around a heavy cause specifically critical and culture impacting work in their community around that. Cause cuz

that’s what The spirit of punk rock is all about. Cliff, we got a real one

today.

Like some real deal shit. Let’s get into it. Talk to him.

Cliff: The earnestness. I feel it welling up inside of me. . today we’re talking about Oklahoma city’s chat pile who just released a

record at Kyle. You tell me if I’m wrong, but kind of at the exact intersection of a couple of our favorite forms of heavy one is auditory in the way that it sounds and feels and all that.

And the other is conceptual

Kyle: in your

body, heavy in your soul.

Cliff: 100%.

So the sludgy quartet chat pile from Oklahoma city released God’s country last Friday July

29th. Was it? Yeah, last July 29th.

Kyle: Still ripping hot off the

press.

Cliff: Oh, it is, it is devastating. so inside of Friday, heavy, we usually or often are bringing you a release. We haven’t been able to hear yet, cuz it’s like

releasing on the day or even in a, in a future week. So in this one, we we’ve had enough time to actually see it, listen to it, uh, and listen to what other people are thinking about it. And so we’re actually.

Kyle: we’ve all collectively gotten our doors blown off by

Cliff: That’s right, dude. I real true story. I pointed my bike downhill last weekend. Once I figured out that this record was

out and I caught myself smiling and yelling and angry and happy all at once.

Just

Kyle: PRI primal screaming with your whole

Cliff: Woo. So in the words of Pitchfork who have correctly labeled this as some of the best new.

Chat pile sound is as ear as ugly

as their inspiration, a

Kyle: it is. it is. ugly.

Cliff: Yeah. Oh, it’s a terrifying embodiment of cancerous shit brought to the surface that should have been left, buried deep below. And when they are talking about chat piles,

inspiration, they’re talking about what the term chat pile means.

So, instead of going off about that here, which would be my normal move. Why don’t you just Google chat pile and discover yet? Another way to be really upset about the way that the federal government treats people that they can categorically forget. Anyway, back to the record. God’s country. is God about something too.

Okay. It doesn’t just sound awesome. It’s about something. So we’re just gonna take two quotes directly from band members. This band is a four piece and they all use pseudonyms. So from the vocalist Raygun Bush quote in Oklahoma city, there are, go ahead.

Kyle: R a Y G U N, which is tight. I appreciate that play.

Cliff: So, oh, Regan says in Oklahoma city, there are huge crosses and statues of Jesus and enormous

churches everywhere. And yet the teachers of Christ cannot be found implemented anywhere. This is true for much of America and probably the world. Why I hate seeing suffering. Don’t you? Why should I live in a house while someone else lives under a bridge?

Why do people have to live outside wickedness all around us? Real horror in quote next quote from the basis St. Quote, why the song contains a sample of the infamous Oklahoma tornado siren, which aside from going off regularly during the busy spring storm season is tested every Saturday at noon in Oklahoma city, one particular Saturday, all four members of the band were recorded.

The siren independently in different locations, then synced the recordings together and play it into the song to help add a sense of place. And also to drive home the impending doom. We. Feel, we hope it makes your stomach nod up with anxiety the way it does ours.

so I love this band. I love this band

in those two quotes should bring it right up to your, your logic.

Kyle: and for a bit of context, you don’t like drop into the halfpipe with that much enthusiasm very quickly with very many bands. Like you’re all in on this band, the way that I was on probably turn style five years ago, I would drop the DJ. CalEd like, like it’s massive. Hey, cliff thinks this different thing is real tight.

Everyone should sit up in their

chair.

Cliff: Kyle, me and you talked about it a little bit because they made enough

noise, generically speaking as a band to have caught our attention because they were already doing some pretty wild

shit

in general, just with the

Kyle: Yeah. I’d heard that song slaughterhouse and the single artwork had the like flooded, uh, strip mall photo on it and it was

like unclassifiable. And So we were, we both kind of arrived at them separately and were. Holy shit what’s happening here.

I don’t quite know what this is. It was a great feeling. It was an exhilarating

feeling.

Cliff: So speaking of slaughterhouse, that was one of the first singles they released. So actually, we’ll go ahead and play that now. And it’s gonna give you a pretty good overall idea of the sound

and production, uh, in the way that this is, is going to feel.

Cliff: All right. So while that ripped for sure. Okay. Next I wanna play the single that made me. Kyle you described this sometimes when you, like you hit a song or a

moment or

something and you sit up like this made me take all of my attention from whatever I was thinking about or doing. I lost it and went to this song and focused entirely on it.

This is called why? And I’m not usually big on caring about lyrics in heavy music. We’ve even talked about that some before and that’s for a number of reasons. My primary reason is that most of the time they’re a giant waste of my energy and general intellect. You’re gonna need to carry about the lyrics in this song.

This one’s gonna do it for you. So we’ll jump in.

Kyle: I appreciate why? Because it hits that Aaron Weis, funny bone deep in your soul. When I first heard it

I was like, this is a natural and, and nasty, gnarly evolution from cliff. Loving me without you.

Cliff: I didn’t want to say it, but I did kind of feel like it was Aaron Weiss, uh, is the front

man for idols now.

Kyle: PI pissed, poetic.

Cliff: yep.

Kyle: very, very up our alley. I think sonically it’s it’s right. My wheelhouse and, and lyrically, vocally red in yours. So cannot underscore enough. I think we’re psyched every time we pick out any record, but we are probably the most psyched of all of them so far. For you to check out God’s country and somewhat in turn style fashion, we have been very excited to see in the first few days, the reception that it’s getting and seems to be transcending their expectations for it.

So God’s country is out now on the Flinor. Self-described as a dark music label from San Francisco respect go listen to God’s country, however you want. And then please, please, please send this band your money through shows, merch and, or especially a direct donation. They are making a

fucking dent in the world and we need more chat pile.

So send them ya money.

Cliff: you know, personally, uh, go check out the

merch store because the last song on this record, which may be the best one, uh, is Grimma smoking weed dot JPEG, and there is a shirt that aligns with this song title and just everything about it is a hundred percent. Yeah. So thank you so much. So, Kyle, Generally, I don’t get to love and enjoy prompts that I send to you quite the way I did when I was like, Hey, what if we talked about religion being terrible?

And then we started throwing parties together, and I immediately at the idea of being able to talk about this at all. So Can you channel

this into a playlist?

Kyle: Uh, and the answer is yes, because I’m angry about it all the time and no less than 24 hours after you suggested that prompt the pit posted an article with the headline upcoming metal Fest, accused of opening a portal to hell and summoning Satan by the local Christian community.

And that would be the Tennessee metal devastation music festival in west Tennessee, which is a part of the country. We mostly love in SP in spite of itself. We certainly feel an affinity too, cuz it’s real near where we grew up.

Cliff: Yep.

Kyle: So cliff, if we’re made in God’s image what does that say about God?

When you look around? I started. With why on this one. And then just typed in keywords to try to remember all the songs about this, that you and I really love, uh, you type in God and sin and prayers and preacher and all that. And you’re get to some really gnarly stuff. So we have, God is war. Great opener from all picks must die.

We have the song that probably started to radicalize me around all this stuff, disciple by Slayer to be in high school and to see the words God hates us all sitting right there neatly on the warehouse. Music shelf was a, was kind of a canonical moment for me growing up in a town full of big churches.

Then we go. Black breath sect. Who you turned me onto? Another banger. Chris Cohan, man, with crocodile prayers. One of the great anti-religious lyricists VE in prison goat who surprise Panera love being able to work in Panera around a serious topic. and D aside a band that I probably never would’ve listened to.

If we hadn’t become friends and I’m very grateful that they exist. Um, and then some that I forgot about

like early graves. You remember early graves their singer died a while back. Great, great. Real like This is the most pissed

playlist that we’ve done.

There’s a. There’s a fervor to this.

So if you’re mad generally about the way things are going in your hometown or with the economy or your parents’ brains, getting scooped out and replaced with hospital jelly via Fox news. This is a playlist to keep you mad enough to do. Something about it to just put a proverbial head on a stick at any given moment?

Not literally just figuratively speaking. I have said a couple of times over, this is my favorite playlist that we’ve put together. This one will probably remain the high water mark of, a Friday heavy for me, just. What it represents and what we’re leaving behind for the children. I hope one 15 or 16 year old discovers this little time capsule and sees a path on the road out of their shitty oppressive Christo fascist hometown.

so we hear at tune dig and Friday heavy reject crystal fascist terrorism

in all its forms. And. We hope that this collection of songs fuels your continued to protest against that big, horrible tax evading machine

Cliff: And if you feel like that’s too intense at this moment for your particular point in life, why don’t you go ahead and save this playlist? Cuz they’re

fucking coming for you two.

Kyle: Yeah. Yeah. If you don’t need it now or you’re scared of it,

be cuz you’ll, cuz you’ll need it later.

four to five myself for the end times, fight my friends.

Cliff: get

Kyle: Yeah, this is my, wherever you go. There you are. This is my renew, I myself, completely

again and again And again, this is my meditation. Wake up, cross your legs and scream at God. Cause he’s not real. And he’s not

Cliff: And with that being the case,

let’s talk about fucking groceries.

Kyle: care of each other, cuz that’s all. That’s all. That’s real on this fucking planet.

Let’s talk about groceries. Ah,

Cliff: back in June, we talked about an organization called feed Buffalo, which is a nonprofit serving the Buffalo New York community. And they’re making a really outsized impact in the wake of the mass shooting at the tops grocery store that happened earlier this year. Okay. Check that out because we were able to talk about food deserts in that episode and the concept of, only having very limited spots for certain people to be able to get their own food.

Because again, not everybody drives a 20, 21 Denali and can hop down the interstate to like, you know, Walmart or whatever’s nearby.

Kyle: Costco To get an in insufferable, insane amount of

paper, towels and

Cliff: 48

toilet

papers and one gusher please. But food desert is one way to describe a number of different, concepts that are affecting people’s ability to just get food. Okay. And so right now, another thing that’s happening in, if you’re pretty much anywhere and anywhere near the working class, you’re aware of it.

Outta control. Is directly impacting family’s abilities to put food on the table. Now if you’re listening to this and you’re still like not actively angry about anything in your general life, just go ahead and look a little bit into you. Whether that outta control inflation is actually just corporate profits and how they’re able to describe and report finances in a way that passes down cost to the lower classes.

Kyle: in consumer package goods and gas,

which is the thing that people love to blame on policy. So just, just go read some 10 Ks and some quarterly earning reports from some of your favorite parent companies.

Cliff: yep. You gotta know how to deal with it now. And you also gotta know what’s causing it so we can fight back against.

The next time we can dig ourselves out from under this. So this week we wanted to highlight a donation based grocery store. That’s over on the west side of Atlanta in the Grove park neighborhood, it’s called the grocery spot and they’re currently spending about $500 every day to serve two to 300 families in the community.

And they’re relying on a pay what you can model from the shoppers themselves and then donations from other folks. So that could be monetary donation. Food donations or even some in kind donations for certain hygiene products. Like if I recall correctly, they wanna make sure people have diapers or toothbrushes different things like that.

Right. And so not only are they serving the local community over there on the west side, but on top of it, like they have noted themselves, the organization that they’re serving college students from tech, from state, uh, and from the other universities that are nearby.

Kyle: And that’s sort of an invisible gap, right? Closing the opportunity gap means getting first generation college students into the college degree pipeline to be able to get good jobs, but it’s little things. It’s small partial amounts of tuition and fees. It’s food and lodging. It’s the, $200 here, the $150 there that can Make or break somebody trying to break themselves

out of generational poverty.

And we see that in schools, especially like my Alma mater Georgia state that has become a national model for closing that opportunity gap. So it’s a real thing and it

matters.

Cliff: And that can be very respectfully. That can be a blind spot for folks who had a college experience where either there was a way that it was paid for, uh, or, honestly, someone was just buying their groceries, right. Not

everyone has that

experience.

And there, there are different degrees of it, but yeah, I’m glad we were able to point that out because this isn’t just an issue that affects say the elderly or the especially poor in our community.

It also just affects people who don’t have the family support necessary to get everything they need while they’re trying to move on with

Kyle: their lives.

Yep. Very happy that you selected this, brought this to our attention cliff, um, to learn more about the grocery. And more importantly, to get involved, go to the grocery spot.org as always, our perspective is rooted in the community that we live in Atlanta, where we were born and raised, but we encourage you wherever you’re listening from to find similar organizations in your own community and support them.

Um, we’re not suggesting that you pour into our community. We are helping you try to find vectors to do so where you live, cuz that’s where it happens. Right? You can make a difference where you can see and, and touch the. Atlanta alone, though, for instance, has a ton of folks doing similarly impactful work.

And we’re so, so grateful for the grassroots folks that continue to show up and show out on issues like this. One that comes to mind for us that we both love and have supported over the couple of years, since it started up is free 99 fridge. So look them up on Instagram. Help people in your community do things like free 99 fridge and like the grocery spot somebody is doing some kind of mutual aid food stuff.

That’s different from the food bank model. It’s, it’s direct grocery shopping, pay what you can type thing. Please help people in your community get

decent food so they can have a chance of being happy and healthy, cuz that will also directly impact the quality of life that you yourself experience in your neighborhood.

Cliff: Awesome. This has been Friday, heavy. we’ll be back in two weeks.

Go to tunedig.com or follow us on Instagram and Twitter for links to the new release, the playlist and the organization that we talked about today.

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. 😎

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.”

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

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.

Read More

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?”

Read More

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".

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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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.”

Read More

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.

Read More

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".

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TUNEDIG RADIO

SEASON 4

SEASON 3

SEASON 2

SEASON 1

BONUS TRACK EPISODES

Kyle and Cliff

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.

Read More

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 MashableWiredEvolver.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.