Music

The THUMP Podcast

Every week, THUMP’s Editor-in-Chief Emilie Friedlander and a panel of guests discuss the people and stories shaping the contemporary club culture and nightlife. Our objective: to pinpoint what it is that we go looking for when go out, and what we find out about ourselves when we get there.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 7: Music in the Algorithm Age Apr 06, 2017

Show notes

Are you worried about the rise of machines? We are! This week, Emilie's joined by Associate Editors David Garber and Ezra Marcus as well as VICE's Senior Culture Editor Larry Fitzmaurice to talk about how unseen tech forces are shaping our music taste. First up, we discuss the rise of the hazy genre people are calling "lo-fi house," partly on the back YouTube's related video algorithms. Next, Ezra digs deep into the weirdly anonymous songs that pop up on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic song chart, and Emilie talks about musical.ly's emergence as a major label marketing tool. Finally, we delve into the upsides and downsides of Spotify Discover and other digital music recommendation services, and whether playlists might someday kill us all. Be very afraid. Be very, very afraid.

Episode 6: Going Out to Get Laid Mar 30, 2017

Show notes

Emilie convenes a panel of THUMP editors this week to talk about the only things that matter—sex and death. Features Editor Michelle Lhooq, News Editor Anna Codrea-Rado, and Managing Editor Colin Joyce join Emilie for a debate about whether it's ever ok to go to a club solely for the purposes of getting laid—which ends up sparking a discussion about the historical significance of LGBTQ bars and the rise of TGI Fridays. Elsewhere, Anna leads a discussion about unconventional rave locations—including a recent rave in a sewer—and Colin confronts his mortality through the lens of Pharmakon's new album, Contact.

Episode 5: Get Money Mar 23, 2017

Show notes

Emilie's back from Austin with lots of thoughts about SXSW. Features Editor Michelle Lhooq, associate Editor Ezra Marcus, and Managing Editor Colin Joyce join our host for a conversation about the complexities of artist compensation in 2017, from streaming to playing festivals. Colin discusses SoundCloud's recent decision to compensate (some) DJs for mixes uploaded to the service, and Michelle talks about perceptions of a scene-wide crackdown on live music events in New York City following the Oakland fire—an important source of income for many of the city's artists. Ezra gives us an update on the club scenes in Madrid and Lisbon, and how promoters and artists from Europe face many of the same challenges as those from the US. Also we talk about Drake. Somehow it always comes back to Drake.

Episode 4: Running Through a Brick Wall Mar 17, 2017

Show notes

Emilie is away this week speaking on a panel at SXSW, so we decided to get a little weird. Managing Editor Colin Joyce is joined by Features Editor Michelle Lhooq, Associate Editor David Garber, and VICE.com social editor Trey Smith for a wide-ranging conversation about Norwegian black metal, Future, and throwing beers at cops. Elsewhere, we do actually talk about electronic music—including a trend of club music producers taking influence from nu metal and turn of the 20th century alt-rock and the pressure that David feels to have fun at massive club nights. We also debate the best non-New York places to party in the USA. It gets heated.

Episode 3: Party Safer Mar 09, 2017

Show notes

This week, as part of a series called Dancing Vs. the State, THUMP is publishing a collection of stories exploring the relationship between club culture and the law. Episode three of The THUMP Podcast is a special installment about safety at parties and festivals where drugs are present. Emilie is joined by News Editor Anna Codrea-Rado, as well as Kellye Greene, the president and director for DanceSafe's New York chapter, and Stefanie Jones, Director of Audience Development at the Drug Policy Alliance for a conversation about challenges events promoters face in keeping in people safe, the legality around club searches, and strategies for mitigating risk when you're taking drugs.

Episode 2: Drunk Discogs-ing Mar 02, 2017

Show notes

It's episode two! Today, Associate Editors David Garber and Ezra Marcus and News Editor Anna Codrea-Rado join Emilie to talk about—among other things—the most expensive records ever sold on Discogs, and a curious footnote in Moby's career that Ezra thinks predicts the confusing state of our culture. Anna also gives us an update on the state of Oakland's DIY community after last year's tragic fire at the Ghost Ship. Oh, and everyone talks about Lana Del Rey. A lot.

Episode 1: Love Saves the Day Feb 23, 2017

Show notes

On episode one of the THUMP Podcast, News Editor Anna Codrea-Rado, Features Editor Michelle Lhooq, and Managing Editor Colin Joyce join host and Editor-in-Chief Emilie to reflect on the impact Trump's travel ban will have touring electronic musicians, as well as the responsibility that artists have to use their platform for politics. We also mull over the ways the Grammys fail electronic music and the lessons Michelle learned from spending a month going to clubs sober. Also discussed are our Valentine's Day faves: Prince, David Mancuso, and twitchy ambient music.

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