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.
DIG IT.
Subscribe by email to get new episode announcements, vinyl giveaways, and the occasional announcement. ✌️
You can unsubscribe at any time. We won't sell your email address because we're not terrible people.
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
Transcript
Note: our transcripts are mostly AI-generated for now.
Cliff: Welcome to Friday Heavy. Your guide to the world of loud music that is usually aggressive and abrasive and, and other things that, uh, make people look at us weird when we tell them that we like it brought to you by the people behind tune dig. I’m cliff.
Kyle: and I’m still Kyle each episode we cover three things. Expediently if at all possible one brand new release and why we think it’ll be worth a spin one brand new release, specifically in the world of heavy and loud and abrasive and adjectives music.
As cliff said secondly, one playlist we’ve curated to explore a heavy sub genre or artists or scene got another one I’m excited about today. And third one organization doing critical culture impacting work in their community, cuz that’s what punk rock is all about, baby. Let’s get into it. Cliff hit me with a little bit of a, a left fielder, a band, I didn’t know, on, on this one.
Cliff: Yeah, we don’t take too many wild shots, but this one felt like a good one. And, I love that we can not only bring in maybe a less known band in the. But also one that has clearly just like figured out how to split the uprights so well that people would like to sign them up for a record deal,
which is sick. Today, we’re talking about vomit fourth and their new release today, seething malevolence. And you’re already getting the idea from all the words that I just said in that, in that collection. but so vomit fourth is out of Connecticut and doing just like goddamn death metal, just modern death metal.
That’s I, that
Kyle: I hope that they hear this and they put that on a shirt.
Cliff: I would love that I would wear that.
Kyle: I would, I would
Cliff: Vomit forth, God damn death metal, just to kind of immediately set the stage, like you’re gonna draw from a lot of the modern death scene in general here. Like whether it’s UN death or a band, like full of hell, who’s pushing into more the noise territory.
Clearly they are huge fans of napalm death which we see pretty quickly, not only in their music, but also in their interviews, but then also like one thing to draw here in case we need to. Bring in someone from left field. This is very silent circus era between the buried and me as well. Like I hear a lot of the guitar tone, riffs drumming cuz you know, that was a plea pre Blake drummer release from BT bam.
Anyway. And so there, there’s kind of a wide range of coverage here. that’s drawing in death metal trying to make it weird and a little bit different than.
Kyle: and yes, obviously that’s personal bias creeping in hearing BTBM cliff. How many times would you venture to say you’ve seen the band between the buried and me live in concert?
Cliff: Adventure to say that I’ve affirmatively definitely seen them more than 40 times. I think I’ve crossed 50, but I can’t be sure yet.
Kyle: Love it
Cliff: this is my life and I get to do what I want to do. So, the vocalist of vomit forth, whose name is Kane. I, I just wanna read a couple of things from them, cuz I, I think it’ll help position
Kyle: like the wrestler, not the candy.
Cliff: So he said, we, we felt like people were hopping in that didn’t necessarily like the death metal genre. And he said, you know, modern death metal needs to be more than this archetypal arche. Typical. Is that what he says here? Archetypal, Neanderthal, dumb down sound.
We want to add something real and challenging to the genre and make it more legitimate. which, uh, I mean, shots fired saying that most death metal isn’t legit. To begin with. So I’m already kind of into this
Kyle: When I read that quote, when you shared that quote, it made me think of, every, like this happened in black metal, 10 or 12 years ago, and the liturgy guy wrote that whole screen and it was like, he looked like a Seinfeld character or whatever. It’s just as weird as the people who are too earnestly committed to metal for metal’s sake are the people who do metal ironically.
Um, so I appreciate the little bit of intelligent distance here from Kane in the band.
Cliff: Canne would also say there’s a specific Northeastern sound that you hear with bands like suffocation and internal bleeding and Peria, and there’s not too many bands doing that. And he says, we wanna put.
East coast sound back on the map. And like, I am just here for death, metals, little tiny version of.
coast battles. Okay. Cuz I get it and I totally know what they’re referring to and it’s true. And you can really hear it here. but even beyond what they think of themselves, right? Like even Blaber mouth, describe this new record from bomb at forth as death metal done properly and with, with utmost conviction and that’s all you can possibly expect out of a death metal review.
Kyle: yeah. Right on.
Cliff: Yeah. So we’ll cover two of the singles today. There are three out right now. you know, we like to make a joke a lot that, uh, on this idea of a podcast doing 32nd snippets of singles is a absolute fools errand for the genre bending that we tend to do, that’s not really gonna be the case here. Uh, these singles are gonna point you right in the correct direction without too much imagination required.
So the first thing that we’ll hit on is called OUS incantation. So again, we are, we are extremely on brand the whole.
Yeah.
Kyle: Just, you can only hear it in a guttural. The song is called type voice from the stage. The song is OUS in implantation.
Cliff: that track was referred to you as well in another, you as such a monstrous burst of noise, which is probably the correct environment, uh, to be
Kyle: Also gruesome vocal slurry, which sounds like a thing that you order at dairy queen, which is tight
Cliff: Uh, next step we’ll play another single predatory
Kyle: another predatory predatory savior.
Cliff: this will begin to hint at a little bit of a broader approach in some of their music. Cause not to overstate it. Modern death metal. Isn’t just straightforward death metal, or it wouldn’t really be modern. You’ve gotta have not only a new approach to production.
But you’ve gotta have a tip of the hat to all the old stuff while figuring out how to integrate the new type of stuff you want to do. And that’s, what’s creating so many of these. Sub sub genres we’re talking about now where, you know, hardcore kids push into one of those angles or another, and you end up with really weird interludes or really proggy stuff, or really ambient drone type stuff thrown on top of it.
But predatory savior here is gonna give you a little bit of some of that. But also also is gonna hit, hit on the rifts pretty hard.
Kyle: So if you’re into those and we very much hope you are, please check out seething malevolence out today on century media records. Go listen to it. However you please, and then very importantly, send this band, your money through shows at which they will. Gutterly tell you the names of the titles before they play them.
Hopefully. cops of merch. I haven’t seen their merch yet, but with a name like vomit forth, I can almost assure beyond a shadow of a doubt that it will be tight or a direct donation, DM them folks and be like, what’s your Venmo? The next.
Cliff: That’s always the move and the next move is always the move, which is me going Kyle. So you always make a playlist about a thing that we talk about on the podcast, and I’m always like, I don’t really understand how this is gonna lead anywhere. and then you give me some sort of slammer that I end up putting into headphones and, and, uh, eviscerating everything in my general presence, uh, after I listen to it.
So
Kyle: I was really excited. I knew that I’d, I’d really nailed it. When you texted back I will play this on the mountain when it’s snowing and I’m snowboarding. Oh yeah. All right. I did it. I was not necessarily super keen on trying to push into another death metal thing right after just a few episodes after we did decapitated, And I, I didn’t want to try to lean too heavily on you for a here’s what a modern death metal.
I, I, don’t just, I don’t have it as nuanced and understanding as you do, but absolutely agree with everything you said. Um, but something clicked when you sent me the album trailer on YouTube. It. Reminded me of a Rob zombie film. And it made clear to me instantly that they’re hidden at something different.
And that sent me off in a direction. And the quote that you just shared from Kane, the vocalist validates that that, aesthetic is just as important as sound when it comes to setting a heavy band apart and lots of heavy bands try to be scary or repulsive. And most of the time just wind up. pure and, and weird and not, not repulsive in the cool way. but there’s a genuinely insidious thing happening with vomit forth. Like they, they leave me feeling about five degrees, a skew. So basically this is a collection of stuff that sonically, I think there’s a lot of similarity with 75%, but with the other 25%.
And the whole thing in total, it’s unsettling in the best way. And it’s designed to leave you feeling a little off your access. You know, it’s got tiny temps tip through tiptoe to, through the tulips in it. so you’re always in for a little bit of a fucked up time when that gets thrown into the middle of the proceedings.
Um, but it’s fun to have the birthday party, Nick Cave’s birthday party and death grips on a playlist alongside some of. Absolute nastiest, riffing and production possible. The closing track from nails abandon all life and the song, black breath by repulsion and all sorts of really nasty stuff.
Two things I would call out on this one in particular that are just like personal for you and me things. don’t sleep on the heaviest song. He has legend ever, ever wrote serpent sickness or a son’s bathy homage from black one, which is complete with vocals, literally recorded inside a coffin. And if you’re interested in more on that story, go find our black one episode of tune dig, which is still one of my favorite things I learned while preparing to record an episode of that podcast.
Cliff: Yep. We went hard on that episode. Yeah. To me the MVP is the last five songs, like edge of sanity, DSI, throbbing, gristle, God speed. You black emperor. And then the sun track you’re talking about now we are here to inflate you with cred and we have done it yet again on this playlist.
You’re welcome.
Kyle: the edge of sanity song, title sums up what this playlist kind is. And that’s hell is where the heart.
Cliff: Thank you for that, Kyle, your playlists are a blessing upon us all. So this week, we wanna talk about another organization that’s doing important work in their community. And we’re gonna be hitting on something that’s a little bit closer to our geographic literal home. It’s it is relentless to try to always align this with the current reality of American politics.
So we try to hit on that when we can. But it’s important to remember. The other stuff is always going on behind the scenes too. It is just, it’s endless. But we wanna start out with one thing in particular and that’s that Atlanta is known as a city in a forest, and we wanna talk about the importance of trees.
And then we wanna tell you about trees, Atlanta, uh, really long running non-profit who’s done awesome work in our hometown, but Atlanta’s known as a city and a forest because we Serious tree coverage. I mean, I know that that’s really obvious, but think about the metropolitan areas you’re in, they’re not like Atlanta, literally.
There are a lot of different estimates, but we’ve got roughly 50% tree canopy coverage in the city.
Kyle: And if you’ve ever flown into Hartsfield Jackson international airport, we don’t have to tell you right. If you’ve ever been laid over in Atlanta, you’ve seen it. It’s green, it’s unusually green when you fly into the city. So
Cliff: Yep. And obviously that like lush tree canopy filters out pollutants and it cools buildings and it cools sidewalks in streets. And so that tree canopy. I can’t believe we have to say it. The tree canopy is under attack. Good grief by two specific things, right. Which are constantly wreaking havoc on our collective reality.
In general, one of them is climate change, obviously. And the other one. Is police so real quick for that latter bit, because this is very Atlanta. And I’m very glad to see that it has both on Twitter and Reddit and in some other places, like the story has continued to pick back up and gained some notoriety.
So other folks can know what’s going on here. But we, we do want you to know, first of all, about a grassroots effort to prevent the Atlanta police department from literally wrecking 300 acres of historic forest. Just a few miles from where I live over in entrenchment Creek.
Kyle: For context, central park is half that we’re talking about two central parks bro. 300 acres.
Cliff: And what they want to do, um, with that 300 acres is build a new massive training facility to learn how to do cop shit better. Which I don’t know, we kind of don’t want but even aside from that purpose, cuz like, it’s. It’s gonna be a long and uphill battle to have cities, literally not letting police officers train.
we understand the realism of that, but so the, the main issue currently is that even though this has been theoretically. Approved and gotten feedback from people the Atlanta police department and its foundation, and the people involved in this project have engaged in like really shady behavior, literally trying to fool the public, literally ignoring basic built in processes.
Uh, literally ignoring large mountains of feedback. From the public and in neighborhoods and organizations around the area who all say, this is just a really terrible way to go about this problem. There are a lot of better ways to handle the fact that the police might need a better training facility where we don’t have to give up a historic forest.
And so we, we did wanna bring attention to that. And so if you wanna learn more about that, go to defend the Atlanta forest.org or actually just on Twitter search, the hashtag stop cop city. That’s.
Kyle: And you can go to stop cop.city as.
Cliff: Nice. Yeah, but it’s been a real grassroots and organic effort from a lot of people who are doing a lot of work every day to figure out how to destabilize this project, because it’s, it’s quite literally being done against all of our collective wills. If you look into it you’ll understand more of what we mean by that and that that’s not just.
Our opinion, everything’s on the record and just got ignored anyway. So moving beyond how police are destroying everything, lets go back to climate change. The other enemy that we always have, one Atlanta based organization has been working to mitigate Atlanta’s tree loss since. 1985. Okay. Trees, Atlanta. I is a, a 5 0 5 0 1 C three nonprofit.
Like we always try to cover here and they’re empowered by a community of volunteers and they protect and improve our forest by planting and conserving and educating folks about the tree canopy. So to date trees, Atlanta has planted or cared for more. 150,000 trees in Metro Atlanta. And if you’ve ever visited Atlanta, if you’ve ever visited our city and walked around, used the path, used the belt line, pretty much just gone anywhere into a public park, whatever you’ve seen them you could not avoid them.
If you tried, they’re everywhere. They’re out, literally
smiling at you as you walk. Taking care of plants, just like being super nice and being really helpful. And they protect and plant the plants in the ecosystem that we really take for granted. And so in their own words, I wanted to bring forward something.
Trees, Atlanta felt was important. They said living in an urban forest comes with a lot of advantages. In addition to the aesthetic value trees, improve air quality, they help to conserve energy through cooling. They reduce storm, water runoff, they mitigate noise pollution. They provide shelter for wildlife and studies have highlighted the link between trees and green space and physical and mental wellbeing.
Urban nature has a calming effect on us while also encouraging learning and inquisitiveness and mental alertness. The presence of trees helps us to helps to enhance our community and increase property values, which that last part that’s fine. If that works out for people, uh, we want people to be able to make money, uh, in the way that people build generational wealth.
Yes, but that’s not our primary concern. Trees help us in a lot of ways beyond just making sure that our home value goes up every year. So the collective nature of not only what we’re doing to protect the forest, but also what organizations like trees, Atlanta are doing to proactively protect it from a, a number of variables, including climate change is super critical and it literally makes our city.
Kyle: organization Atlanta proactively protect it from a number of they’re super critical and literally makes our sense. Yeah, whatever your motivation, we need trees bad, bro. Everyone should be able to agree on that. So we encourage you to learn more about this organization at trees, atlanta.org, and. If you’re so inclined to consider becoming a donor to help save the Atlanta forest, or if you more than likely don’t live in or around Atlanta or.
Don’t care to support a city. You don’t live in look for your local equivalent in climate justice, because we can promise you that it exists. And we can also say beyond a shadow of a doubt, this issue affects you at your local neighborhood level where some of these may not touch you directly.
This one absolutely unequivocally does. And especially in ways that you may not even be aware of. It’s definitely a topic worth finding your local expert and champion and Crusader on because they are guaranteed to blow your mind. They’re gonna teach you things about the neighborhood that you live in that, that are number three will shock you so to speak.
And that person absolutely exists and is probably plugged into a great organization. And this is one where, where hyper local. Pays off too. We’re talking about the city of Atlanta. I live a little bit outside the city, look for somebody in your neighborhood unit, in your HOA, whatever, wherever you live in the world, no judgment.
Just make sure that the tree canopy is cared for. Because we are shit outta luck without it
Cliff: Yep.
Make
Kyle: Anything, else before we depart?
Cliff: Nope, but I love that. Make friends with your local outdoor education major. Give them the new vomit fourth record and let them listen to it while they are climbing and saving your trees. that’s the way to go.
Kyle: at risk.
Cliff: there.
Kyle: song.
Cliff: this has been Friday heavy. We’ll see you
Kyle: Peace
Cliff: 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. 😎
-
“Bitches Brew” Vinyl with Handpainted Original Gatefold by George F. Baker III
$350.00 Add to cart -
“Bitches Brew” Vinyl with Handpainted Original Gatefold by Sachi Rome (Variant 1 of 2)
$350.00 Add to cart -
“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.