Episodes

  • "Twelve Tone Girl": A conversation with Kenneth Stewart about music's most befuddling genre

    "Twelve Tone Girl": A conversation with Kenneth Stewart about music's most befuddling genre
    May 8 2024
    What is twelve-tone music? Made famous by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton von Webern and Alban Berg, it was a new concept in how to construct music. It was developed roughly around World War I, and for a while was all the rage in conservatories and bastions of serious music. But it can be difficult to listen to, and as such made for a great topic for a (ironically) very tonal song, Aaron & Michael’s “Twelve Tone Girl.” In this fascinating episode, we take a deep dive into twelve-tone music with Kenneth Stewart, a Durham, N.C.-based guitarist/cellist, conductor and composer. He considers […]
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    56 mins
  • Dave Criddle's "Flabbergasted"

    Dave Criddle's "Flabbergasted"
    May 2 2024
    Jude Hayden and Dave Criddle met at Miami University in 1989 and played epic, acoustic duo shows for the next decade, playing an eclectic mix of Prince, XTC, Elvis Presley, They Might Be Giants, The Coasters and Robyn Hitchcock, among others. In about 1995, Dave started getting serious about recording and they created two home recorded albums and an EP with surprisingly high production value, especially for the early days of the home recording revolution. The second record by their band, The Bees, attracted some attention in the local Cincinnati magazine, City Beat, bringing them a drummer for live […]
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    27 mins
  • How to write a positive song about computers

    How to write a positive song about computers
    Apr 23 2024
    In their best moments, whether it’s electronic music, or creating the best gadgets, our devices are designed to bring out our humanity, to reveal the human spirit, and allow people to do what we do best. And that’s how I got turned on to the idea of writing songs about computers that don’t criticize the devices. This episode, and the prior one, are a recording of my recent lecture at the Trenton Computer Festival. The title was “Zero-One Sunshine: Technology As a Force For Good, as a Theme in Popular Music.” In this lecture, I discussed the genesis of our […]
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    8 mins
  • Why do we vilify computers in song?

    Why do we vilify computers in song?
    Apr 16 2024
    Computers and technology have both improved our lives and complicated them; made us safer and more vulnerable; and brought both joy and sorrow into our world. And yet when it comes to popular music, the overwhelming majority of songs pile up on the negative side of the ledger. Popular songs about technology tell of destruction and illness. They sing: “Video killed the radio star,” “Machines dehumanize,” “Virtual insanity,” and even “I’ve got Pac-Man fever, I’m going out of my mind.” In this episode, Aaron talks about songwriters’ tendency to tear down these devices in song, even as we use them to […]
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    6 mins
  • Serenity Fisher's "Winter"

    Serenity Fisher's "Winter"
    Apr 10 2024
    Serenity Fisher & The Cardboard Hearts is a family band in many senses of the phrase, and not just because Michael, who plays cello, is married to the lead singer (pictured in the center here). There are all kinds of family ties that bind this group together, literal and figurative. The band blends playful pop-rock with a Tim Burton-esque quirkiness, which is especially true on this song. A wordsmith, Serenity coaxes stories into becoming songs by telling her truth, writing lyrics that are especially visual, and melodies that are dreamy. She is a powerhouse singer whose nuanced vocals vary from bluesy belt to sultry […]
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    9 mins
  • Peter Macdonald Blachly's "Vicksburg"

    Peter Macdonald Blachly's "Vicksburg"
    Apr 2 2024
    A few weeks back we featured Peter MacDonald Blachly as our interview guest as we discussed the song “Evening,” which Michael wrote as a posthumous co-write with Peter’s great-uncle, the poet Clarence Dan Blachly. Michael and Aaron also wrote “I Stood Upon a Hill,” from our album Crooked Fiddle, based on Clarence Dan’s words. In addition to being a great custodian of his family’s history, Peter is also a great performing songwriter in his own right. This week we’re featuring his song “Vicksburg.” It’s based on one of the stories he told us during our conversation. This story is covered […]
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    9 mins
  • The classical side of Michael G. Ronstadt

    The classical side of Michael G. Ronstadt
    Mar 26 2024
    You know Michael G. Ronstadt’s alternative folk side, but do you know he’s classically trained, with a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music? Check out this piece, which we bet you’ll like.
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    9 mins
  • Tim Reisert's "Oleander True"

    Tim Reisert's "Oleander True"
    Mar 20 2024
    Tim Reisert writes songs with meditation, nature, and memory close to the surface. His songs bring the listener into a shared world. He began writing songs while living in New York City, then spent a few years involved in the DIY music scene in Phoenix, Arizona. He currently lives and teaches in Cincinnati, Ohio. His album Viewfinder is a love letter to the natural world–with no expectation of a reply. It is his view of the natural world through the lens of fatherhood, love, and photography. Here’s what he has to say about the song “Oleander True”: “The story of […]
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    7 mins