New IMN Podcast Up and Jef Lee Johnson

The new IMN podcast is up - download it directly from here or listen at the site or WFYI.

This is the last time I get the chance to use this picture, and it seemed appropriate to use it here because of the mention on the podcast. As is sometimes the case with tape-delayed (or hard drive-delayed, as the case may be) broadcasting, we had to do the show before the election results were known. Hence, the stupid foolishness at the beginning. In light of the actual outcome, it seems a little out-of-place now. Think of it as a quick glance back before we move forward.

Speaking of quick glances back, I've been working my way through Jef Lee Johnson's Hype Factory the past couple days, and I'm just staggered on how it fits in so well right now, seven years after it was released. The songs aren't tightly structured (some border on repetitious, others meander amiably), but there's so much virtuosic ear candy thrown in that it's impossible to set aside. Not rip-your-head-off, poo-down-your-throat shredding, but little flourishes from bass, guitar and vocals that compliment the song so well that, despite being small touches, they make the song. I remember being excited about getting the album if/when it ever came out quite a few years ago, but it took a chance reminder on eMusic to make it happen.