2020: 3 Podcasts That Got Me Through

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I always shunned podcasts because, if I was gonna listen to anything, it was gonna be music. Frankly I don't really care to listen to people talk for an hour or two. But whether it was a sign of the apocalypse or I was just really bored, it took a pandemic for me to start. Since I don't really watch TV anymore I suppose it's a suitable replacement that doesn't require me to look at anything. Now in 2021 I'm into houseplants. I'm not even sure who I am anymore! Anyways, here are a few music-related podcasts that helped get me through 2020.

Barely Human
Host Max Easton is a writer and musician from Sydney who plays or played in cool bands BB and the Blips, The Baby, Basic Human, Romance, Dry Finish, and Point Being. He also has a smooth, soothing Aussie accent with which, on Barely Human, he gives "underground music anti-history" lessons on counterculture legends such as Randy Newman, The Fugs, The Shaggs, Roky Erickson, Death, GG Allin, X-Ray Spex, Butthole Surfers, R.L. Burnside, and Country Teasers, as well as current Australian legends like Dick Diver, Total Control and Low Life. In each in-depth episode that highlights 2 seemingly unrelated artists, Max finds unique and unexpected connections between them to tie it all together. The episodes clock in at around 30 min so it's not a huge time commitment, but the educational payoff is through the roof. A fascinating podcast that's very interesting and well-thought out, I can't recommend this enough. Start with the first episode and tear through them all. He's currently running a Patreon to help fund the research for S2 so if you like what you hear and can't wait for more, kick in a few bucks will ya?
anchor.fm/barelyhuman

Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal
Conan self-describes his podcast as "Great talks with great artists that may not be household names, but are worth paying attention to." In other words, most people have never heard of these rockers but they're cool AF. So if you listen to loud noisy music from the '90s and '00s like I do, this is the podcast for you! My favorite episodes that aired last year were Andy Falkous (mclusky, Future of the Left, Christian Fitness), Steve Albini (Shellac, Big Black, Rapeman), Ross Knight (Cosmic Psychos), Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard, Tomahawk), and Kevin Rutmanis (Cows, hepa.titus, Tomahawk, Melvins). When Conan isn't chatting with noise rock's finest, he's playing in his band Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends.
www.protonicreversal.com

Modern Australian Underground
This podcast started up late last year and focuses on the new Australian underground punk and electronic music that's so hot right now. Host Christina Pap conducts long form interviews while sprinkling in some radio shows playing the best jams from Down Under. I really enjoyed the chat she had with Rich Stanley (Aarght! Records, Ooga Boogas, The Onyas, Drug Sweat) and Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Alien Nosejob, School Damage, Hierophants, Drug Sweat, etc.) about their bands, gigs, records and Discogs pages. Also, I now know how to correctly pronounce Geelong, a city near Melbourne, that's been a hotbed for punk in its own right for decades. Christina runs the bad ass label Blow Blood Records. She also sings in SWAB and sang in Vanilla Poppers while she was living in North America.
www.litmus.media/podcasts/modern-australian-underground

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