Vinyl Emergency

In 1995, a fervent and wry rapper (Sean Daley, aka Slug) and a dexterous deejay (Anthony Davis; Ant for short) helped co-found a platform to help put Midwest -- and more precisely, Minnesotan -- hip-hop on the map. Three decades later, Rhymesayers Entertainment is one of the most popular and influential modern rap labels in existence, releasing seminal LP's by MF Doom, Freeway, Aesop Rock, Brother Ali, and Atmosphere: Slug and Ant's infectious repartee that helped define the Rhymesayers aesthetic from the jump: While Daley puts the listener in a metaphorical chokehold -- thanks to a volatile delivery of vulnerable self-reflection -- Davis' textured musical milieu allows plenty of room for revelry within a hybrid of soul, gospel and rap's golden age. On this week's episode, the pair ponder how record shopping has actively made their lives better, why racially integrated album covers usually lead to great music, and when their first-ever appearance on vinyl became a time capsule of their first-ever collaboration. Atmosphere will commemorate the 20th anniversary of their landmark release You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having by kicking off their aptly-titled Imagine The Fun tour in January. Tickets, social media and pre-orders for Ant's third volume of his Collection of Sounds series (dropping next month) are all available at atmospheresucks.com. 

Bruce Springsteen once said that the secret to good songwriting was striking a balance between the personal and the universal: Get specific with people and locations first before shading in the rest with the kinds of generalities that make your listener relate, and hopefully, feel something. Craig Finn -- leader of the rough-and-ready, Grammy-nominated outfit The Hold Steady -- has subscribed to this philosophy in spades, garnering a cult-like fandom over 20+ years. On critically-acclaimed albums like Separation Sunday and Boys & Girls In America, the band has wheeled-and-dealed jaw-dropping tales of overdoses, arrests, confessional debauchery, and post-party pathos on par with any binge-worthy crime drama. Yet, despite those circumstances, the most fervent fans of The Hold Steady often connect most with the undying optimism that lies within Finn's brash and bewildered characters -- many of which show up on multiple tracks. Recorded in front of a live audience at Pinwheel Records in Chicago, Craig spotlights a lyrical trick he learned from Paul Simon, the babysitter who schooled him on Led Zeppelin, and the intriguing plot of his next solo album, due in spring. Visit craigfinn.net and theholdsteady.net for news, social media, tour dates and more. You can also subscribe to That's How I Remember It -- where Craig examines the connections between art and memory -- wherever you listen to podcasts. Live sound engineer: Manny Medina

Between his father's banjo picking and his mother's love of Motown, Superdrag's John Davis eventually began writing tunes that would channel Stax's classic soul and Big Star-adjacent power-pop through the blurred guitar wall of My Bloody Valentine -- an eventual blueprint for the band's cult classic debut album Regretfully Yours in 1996. But between grueling tours and generous MTV airplay for the infectious "Sucked Out," John would discover a second home in local Knoxville, Tennessee music shop Lost & Found Records, where he says owners Mike and Maria Armstrong became like a surrogate aunt and uncle, further deepening his love of vinyl. On this episode, John chats about sobriety, Superdrag's future, and nostalgia's double-edged sword. His latest solo outing titled Jinx is now available digitally, on CD and wax via lostinohio.com. Follow @johndavisbrandmusic and @superdragofficial on Instagram for updates.

On a random night in August 1992, while DJ'ing at an Atlanta strip club, Cecil Glenn pops in a tape he and his musical counterpart Steve Gibson have been working on. Influenced by the pulsing Miami Bass scene, it's also layered with fast-paced Georgia swagger and an infectious call-and-response chorus. Immediately, patrons rush Cecil's audio booth to find out who made this track, and how they can get a copy. Record labels, MTV hosts and more also came calling, leading to "Whoomp! (There It Is)" quickly going platinum, a mere six weeks after he'd quit that same DJ gig, to focus on original music full-time. Fast-forward 30+ years and “Whoomp!" remains not just the best-selling rap single of all-time, but a ubiquitous pop culture reference, with Cecil (aka DC The Brain Supreme) and Steve (Roll'n) touring the globe and continuing to pump up crowds of all-ages. This week, DC discusses how "Whoomp!" continues to find new audiences, how he leans in to thinking backwards, and why a blizzard ended up being a perfect storm for the duo's early success. Follow @dcglennatl and @tagteamwhoomp on Instagram.