NPR – Spinning Platters

Single Of The Week: Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert

Is this cheating? 23 minutes of the most ecstatic MC work I’ve ever heard as a “single” of the week? Yeah. It is cheating. But I’m the Music Editor, and I make the rules, so I’m stretching it because this is SO FREAKING GOOD. She burns through 7 songs in a tight 15 minutes and then lets the final number, “Black Girl Memoir,” breathe, allowing the whole band to show off their chops.

Doechii’s debut album, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is available in stores both virtual and physical now. I hope to see more of her in the coming year because this is AMAZING.

Single Of The Week: “National Song” by Nana Adjoa

Yes, Spinning Platters is still dealing with an avalanche of great singles from 2020 that we missed… We will get to 2021 soon enough, but 2020 was so dark and painful that a lot of music got lost in the shuffle and I’m glad it’s shuffling back to the surface. Our single this week is “National Song” by Nana Adjoa, a track off last year’s Big Dreaming Ants. It’s a bold, haunting, dark number with a slightly “off” fragile synth line that does that thing where a part of a song makes your heart all gooey and warm. It’s a stunner of a single that belongs in the same class as the best material from Portishead and Feist.

Big Dreaming Ants is out now and available in all of the usual places! And don’t forget to check out her performance on NPR’s World Cafe!

SF Sketchfest Review: NPR’s Ask Me Another on 2/5/2014

Ophira Eisenberg in action at Ask Me Another's home at The Bell House in Brooklyn. — Ophira Eisenberg in action at Ask Me Another’s home at The Bell House in Brooklyn.

This is a review of a radio show that hasn’t happened yet. Because of that, I’d like to start with a giant spoiler alert. You’ll be able to listen to most of what transpired here tonight on the radio on March 14, and on podcast soon after that. I won’t tell you any specific quiz questions, and I won’t tell you who won, but I’m gonna spoil some surprises, for sure. As for why anyone would ever want to go to a radio show taping of a radio show they already listen to? I’ll try my best to explain. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: NPR’s Ask Me Another on 2/5/2014”

10 Quick Questions: an Interview with Sara Benincasa

Sara Benincasa is one of my absolute favorite comedians that I have never seen live. She has one of the finest YouTube channels, filled with brilliant characters, excellent political humor, and two great vodcasts: Advice Time, where you get actual advice about issues you may be going through and Gettin’ Wet, where Benincasa interviews important cultural figures from her bathtub! Her Twitter (@sarajbenincasa) feed is pretty on point, too. She probably doesn’t remember this, but her Twitter introduced me to Die Antwoord many years ago. She’s currently working on her second book, and will be performing this weekend all over Sketchfest! She will be performing as part of The SF Sketchfest Dozen with Jonah Ray and Dave Thomasan Friday, February 1st at 8 PM and Saturday, February 2nd at 9:15 PM. She will also be doing You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes alongside Kumail Nanjiani at a special matinee show on Saturday, February 2nd at 1 PM. We had a few minutes to chat with her ahead of these shows, and this is what we talked about!

Continue reading “10 Quick Questions: an Interview with Sara Benincasa”

Spinning Platters Interview: Kelli Scarr

header — Photo by David Price, taken at Hotel Utah, 7.27.10

Kelli Scarr is a native of Folsom, CA. She has spent many years playing in different bands, before ending up as a collaborator on Moby’s 2009 release Wait For Me, as well as playing in his band on his corresponding world tour. She’s recently released her debut full-length solo record, Piece, which as an absolutely stunning piece of work. Spinning Platters had a chance to speak with her before playing the intimate confines of the Hotel Utah Saloon.

How did you end up hooking up with Moby?
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Kelli Scarr”