Today we launched a new We Own This Town podcast called Let's Face the Music. The series was conjured up by Ryan Breegle - who previously created Vidalotry and My Fantasy Funeral - and it takes a look at the stories behind the standards of the Great American Songbook.

I must admit that when he introduced the idea to me, I felt very ignorant to the draw of the Great American Songbook. What are the stories to be told? Are there enough stories to fill a season? Fortunately, my doubts were quickly cast aside with the first episode. Episode one covers the story of "Strange Fruit," an anti-lynching song popularized by Billie Holiday in 1939 that was based on a poem published a few years earlier by Abel Meeropol.

It is a difficult and powerful piece that tackles large issues of race; many of which are sadly relevant today. It is a fascinating story and I am honored to be on board with Ryan to help share them.

The official site is at LetsFaceTheMmusic.show and you can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.

I am shocked, a bit humbled and extremely excited that the Nashville Scene named We Own This Town the Best Podcast Network in their Best of Nashville 2019 issue. When I moved back to Nashville from New York a few years ago I knew I wanted to make WOTT be more than just a music review site and I'm overjoyed that people are listening in to the shows and paying attention.

If you haven't yet, cruise on over to We Own This Town and check out our shows. I obviously couldn't be doing this without the help of all the brilliant show hosts and creators and producers, so massive Thank You to all of them. Bandsplainer, Fan/Fiction, Filmography Club, Hott Minute, Ladyland, Liquid Gold, My Fantasy Funeral, Nashville Demystified, San Dimas Today, Thick as Thieves, This Is The Place, Vidalotry and WOTT Music are, 100% honestly, all worth listening to.

It would be easy to point out that this is a Writer's Pick (Thanks Lance!) and that there wasn't really any competition and it's just a local award but, damnit, I'm proud and enjoying basking in the accolade.

When I first shifted We Own This Town to become a podcast network I wasn't sure what kind of shows would emerge but I was open to just about anything. Ryan Breegle approached me with an idea for a limited edition show about Gore Vidal that became Vidalotry. After that had run its course, I wondered what Ryan would come up with next... He pitched me My Fantasy Funeral, an interview show that asks its guests to design their own funeral. Here's the elevator pitch:

Imagine you are dead but you get to design your own funeral. What songs will be played? Who will deliver your eulogy? And where will your remains rest, forever more?

What we think about death, says a lot about the way we live our lives now.

The first episode will debut next week and we've got a little teaser up now. You'll find the show on Spotify, Google, YouTube, etc. I've heard the first few episodes and it's a wonderfully fascinating listen.

I'll post updates here about the show as episodes post.

We're closing in on the final episode of Vidalotry, the Gore Vidal podcast that I help distribute. This episode, the penultimate ninth, focuses on Gore Vidal's issues with Ronald and Nancy Reagan. But, moreso, it tackles much bigger issues that we are still grappling with today. Host Ryan Breegle inspects the idea of The Celebrity Politician - as Reagan was an actor turned President that many felt didn't have quite the experience to handle the job. Fittingly, there was also a nationwide obsession with his hair. Sounds familiar.

Gore was also livid over the need for a President to always be at War. The constant need to seek out some enemy to be battling against not only makes the President itself seem heroic but it creates an excuse for war debts and excessive spending. Also sounds familiar.

I don't know where the tenth, and final, episode will take us but this episode is a great example of why you should be listening to this show. It's historical, it's entertaining and it's terrifyingly relevant.

In an effort to not flood the site with only things I'm working on, here's a rundown of recent projects and involvements of mine that I'd love for you to be aware of:

• Hott Minute: Maymorial Day - this new episode came out on Memorial Day and finds the hosts experiencing a lot of synchronicity; which leads to quite a bit of hilarious observations. Always a good listen.
• Vidalotry: Gore's Watergate Fix - a great episode of the Gore Vidal podcast that follows Gore's suspicions of Nixon and how he was ultimately provided correct. Prescient you might say.
• Quichenight Listening Party - if you're in Nashville, come by the Bowery Vault on Thursday, May 31st, to hear the new Quichenight record, Cooler Heads. No bands playing, just a good time with friends and great new music. Also, the album is out on Friday, June 1st, so just go ahead and save it to your Spotify.
• Skyway Man, Liquid Landing Test 3 - again, for Nashville residents, come by The Basement tonight (May 30th) to hear Skyway Man play a handful of new songs off a forthcoming, as yet unfinished, record.
• Forget Cassettes - "Venison" - I'm going to be continuing to post videos from this 2003 show at The End where Forget Cassettes played a bunch of songs from their first two albums, Instruments of Action and Salt. This particular song is from the later but the former is now on vinyl.
• Garth Brooks Chris Gaines Countdown - I have mentioned this before and I WILL mention it again but I'm legitimately trying to ignite a campaign wherein Garth Brooks hosts SNL in honor of the 20th anniversary of his 1999 appearance as both himself and musical guest, Chris Gaines. It's over a year away but it's never too early to start a movement, right? Tweet about it!

That's not everything I'm up to but it's a nice overview. Hopefully something in that list hits you as enjoyable.

Keeping with the theme of sharing things I'm helping to put out into the world, the seventh episode of Vidalotry is now available. This episode explores the relationship between Gore Vidal and the Kennedy family. Turns out, somewhat unsurprisingly at this point, it's a contentious and complicated relationship. There's only ten episodes in total for this particular podcast so we're definitely on the backend. It's a tough sell to convince people to listen to a podcast about Gore Vidal - a guy they likely know very little about that's been dead for six years but I was in that same boat and have been enamored with these episodes. They're relatively short, informative and give some nice historical perspective that our political landscape has always been tumultuous and there's always been champions of the underdog.

The latest episode of Vidalotry was recently posted and it documents the relationship between Gore Vidal, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote. That period of time is a fascinating piece of American history, particularly when viewed through the lens of a highly progressive, openly homosexual individual like Gore. Just hearing about his woes with adapting Tennessee Williams Suddenly, Last Summer and the interaction's he had with the National Legion of Decency makes the episode a worthwhile listen... There's only four episodes left in this series and I highly recommend diving in.

If you missed the last episode of Vidalotry, the podcast about Gore Vidal, please go have a listen as it covers the vitriolic debates between Vidal and William F. Buckley. It really gets gnarly. This latest episode, Mean Mad Mailer, continues that story with the contentious relationship between Vidal and Norman Mailer; involving a bickering debate and a headbutt. Hearing about this Mailer debacle and how a female journalist on The Dick Cavett Show put them both in their place is a real treat. We're halfway through this series overall - there will only be 10 episodes total of Vidalotry - but it continues to be an impressive list of outlandish and outspoken events.

The latest episode of Vidalotry, the Gore Vidal podcast, is a lengthy one (40 minutes) that explores the extremely heated debates between Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr. It's interesting because, up to this point, Vidal has been extremely progressive in his views and his biting wit has never seemed too mud slinging (more catty than anything) but he seems to reach his breaking point in the debates with Buckley. The debates are from 1968, which was not that long ago but long enough that you'd hope we'd grown up beyond this kind of behavior.

All and all, well worth a listen. Subscribe or just play it now.

The latest episode of Vidalotry, Hollywood and Howard, is a compelling look into Gore Vidal's involvement with Hollywood - namely his writing on a Classic that stirred a bit of trouble. On the whole, these episodes are incredibly refreshing to hear someone speak so eloquently on topics of homosexuality, entertainment, politics and even marriage from a time that we all consider to be less informed. Vidal really was a pioneer and I think these episodes show how we're reaping the benefits of the path he laid.

As I've mentioned a few times, there's a limited edition series podcast over on We Own This Town focusing on Gore Vidal. The second episode focuses on Vidal's political career and it's beyond fascinating how much of his outlook can be reflected in our current atmosphere.

But my point here is that much of the episodes are supplemented by the Vidalotry Instagram, where you can see video clips, campaign imagery and further insight beyond what you hear in the episodes. Recommending you cruise over there and give it a follow.

The second episode of Vidalotry, the podcast that explores Gore Vidal, is now available. "Candidate Vidal" explores the political career of Mr. Vidal and it's a twisting, turning and sorted tale. Even more interesting is Vidal's refreshingly progressive take on just about every question tossed his way. For instance, this interview from 1981:

Q: Every American boy is told that he could become President. Do you still believe you could become President?
Vidal: Every American girl now is also told she can become President. The Presidency is not something I don't think you really want to have now. The political situation is such that the actual governing United States is not done by the President or Congress, it's done by the Chase-Manhattan Bank - a very important bank, the oil companies, the defense industries... People in Board Rooms run the United States.

In one breath he reminds the interviewer of the equal capabilities of Men and Woman to be President and clarifies that our political system is run by private influence.

It's a phenomenal episode filled with parallels to our "modern" political world, here in 2018. It's streaming on all platforms or you can fire it up right here.

When now-host Ryan Breegle approached me about releasing a podcast about Gore Vidal I was immediately intrigued, largely because I know next to nothing about him. I've heard his name for a solid twenty years but never took the time to really learn about what his place in the zeitgeist really was. So, I'm really happy to have this opportunity for myself, and for everyone else, to take the deep dive and learn more.

The first episode, Gore and the Gay Novel, is now streaming everywhere. The piece is only 14 minutes long but does a great job of looking at Vidal's complex, and somewhat contradictory, take on homosexuality. It's important to remember that Vidal's prominence took place from the 50's and beyond. Not exactly a "woke" time to be open about homosexuality, which makes it all the more interesting. The Vidalotry series will be limited to 10 episodes in total, each one examining a different aspect of Vidal's fascinating life.

...and, of course, you can subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, etc. etc. Please do. I think we'll all be enlightened for it.

Happy to announce a new, limited, podcast on the We Own This Town network. Vidalotry is a ten part series from Ryan Breegle that explores the wit and wisdom of famed intellectual Gore Vidal, in his own words. The show's teaser gives a good overview of what to expect from the show; namely the range of controversial topics that Vidal was not shy about speaking on publicly.

The first of ten episodes will be available on Monday, Feb 19th. So fire up your podcast apps and start subscribing now. Ryan has done a phenomenal job of exploring a vastly interesting human being that I've always wanted to know more about.