The Trace

William and I love talking about religion.  He is on the the Buddhist path with a great interest in all religion.  I am currently reading the Bhagavad Gita which gave William and I the chance to discourse on Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other traditions. The purpose of this talk is to build bridges between religious thought as opposed to debate or competition.  I found this conversation to be genuinely inspirational and I hope you feel the same!

Andrew Hiller and I have been friends for many years.  He is a musician/artist that I originally met in the late-90's/early-2000's.  We have stayed close ever since even though we never live near each other.  He has been making music for a long time with many bands inlcuding Mr Klein and the Wizards of Time, Yairms, Damn Union, Treasure Mammal, and as AlhhlA.   We discuss friendship, music collectives, the art life, religion, fear, and his experiences practicing communal living.  

Brian Durkin is an editor and musician from Los Angeles.  He is a major movie lover and I had been wanting to have him on The Trace for quite a while. Every interview I have done on The Trace has been in person but with the current quarantine it felt like the right time to have talks with people in other states and countries.   Brian and I discuss our top 5 films of the 1990’s.  Everybody needs movie suggestions during this time so hopefully some of these are good options for your viewing pleasure. We also talk about a bunch of other movies, life in the time of quarantine,  and how we are dealing with these strange times.

Back to it here on The Trace with some social distancing episodes.  We all need movies to watch, podcasts to listen to, and various ideas on how to best pass the time during this strange season of life. Today I discuss my top 5 Scarlett Johansson films.  She has done so much great work and it's a perfect time to go back to watch some of her best.  

A story about a woman who tries to jump off a bridge but is caught by the arm.

This is a breakdown of my favorite albums of the decade and their relation to cultural and political events of our time.  This is a subjective list that is more about feel and themes than genre.  Check out thetracepodcast.com for the full list of 200 albums.

This week I share a story I wrote and performed with the help of Seattle band Mount Savage.  This is a Halloween story that I shared at an event at Hotel Albatross last week.  I've never shared a fiction piece on here so this is a first.  I hope you enjoy!

This week my guest is Matt Johnson.  He is a drummer who has been in bands like Roadside Monument, Blenderhead, 90 Pound Wuss, and many more.  We discuss underground punk rock music in Seattle in the 90's and how times have changed since then.  I am so proud to have him as a guest!

This is my first installment of an idea I have wanted to do for a while: a deconstruction of a famous Bible story.  In this case it's Psalm 23.  I go through the text looking at the original language and searching for other possible readings.  Keep an open mind as you listen!

Seattle artist SPECSWIZARD is my guest on this episode where we discuss the movies The Shining and An American Werewolf in London. From there we vamp into talks on religion, the nature of evil, judgment culture, and the importance of checking yourself.  Listen to his music at https://specswizard.bandcamp.com.

On this episode of The Trace we look at Richard Linklater's 1995 romantic drama "Before Sunrise".  This gives us a chance to talk about being seen, falling in love, commitment, and the nature of desire.  Plus we touch on Keith Green, Amy Grant, and The Joker at the end.

We discuss Hal Ashby's "Coming Home" along with current headlines like the new 1975 song "People", SNL, Taylor Swift, the VMA's, and Trump's desire to buy Greenland.

Brett Hamil is my guest this week.  He is a comedian and political voice in Seattle.  We talk about comedy, Seattle, politics, local news, and street papers like Real Change.  Wonderful conversation!

David Lynch explored the depths of mysterious beauty and ugliness in his 1986 film "Blue Velvet".  Hannah Haddix and Sam Sundquist are my guests as we discuss themes related to the movie like #MeToo, shadow work, meditation, 80's America, and violence in the movies.  Heavy stuff but necessary conversations.

This week Sam Sundquist and I used the 1990 bizzarro rom-com “Joe Versus the Volcano” to talk about some serious existential issues.  Themes covered are: What would you do if you found out you had 5 months to live?  When have you realized that there was more possible for you then you previously knew?  Are people generally “good” or “bad”?  We also admitted to some embarassing stuff from our youth.

This week Hannah Haddix, Sam Sundquist, and I discuss themes of despair, living in a world of injustice, and hope.  We use the movie "First Reformed" as a case study for the backdrop of these issues.  We get in some debates on how to react to climate change, our understandings of political responsibility, and even bring some references to "The Red Shoe Diaries" at the end!  

I discuss Ari Aster's "Midsommar" and despair.  In this sense it is, in a Hannah Arendt understanding, political despair.  That means that human beings do not have the ability to minimize suffering.  I rage against the idea that "life is suffering" and that human beings do not have the power to minimize suffering and bring about healing.  

My guest this week is the therapist, and dear friend of mine (!), Joshua Horvath.  He works with kids experiencing trauma.  Our talk centers around Paul Thomas Anderson's 2012 film "The Master" as a case study for trauma, violence, and recovery.

Today I talk with Sam Sundquist about Paul Thomas Anderson's now classic "Magnolia" from 1999.  We discuss inherited shame, incels, suffering, hope, love, and forgiveness.  The film does a wonderful job of showing human pain while retaining possibilities for positive transformation.