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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 17: How Radiohead Made Computers OK Jun 30, 2017

Radiohead's landmark record 'OK Computer' is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, so we're marking the occasion with a special episode of the THUMP Podcast. Our host Emilie Friedlander is joined by Associate Editor Ezra Marcus and Managing Editor Colin Joyce to discuss how that album sparked the band's long fascination with electronic music, and how their music channels some of Western society's greater anxieties about machines. Also, Colin forgets that 'The King of Limbs' ever happened.

Episode 16: What It Means to Call a Party "Queer" Jun 22, 2017

We're deep in the midst of a celebration of Pride month and the LGBTQ communities that birthed dance music. So this week's episode digs deep into some of the work we've done highlighting the ways that queer culture intersects with nightlife across America. Host Emilie Friedlander is joined by THUMP contributor Rose Dommu for a discussion of the DJ and promoter's recent op-ed about what it means to call a party "queer." Features Editor Michelle Lhooq, Associate Editor Ezra Marcus, and Managing Editor Colin Joyce also join the cast to chat about LGBTQ nightlife in non-coastal cities as well as gay square dancing—which is totally a thing.

Episode 15: The Weirdest Corners of House Music Jun 15, 2017

No music goes better with the humid summer heat than a breezy house track. So as New York rapidly heats up, Associate Editors David Garber and Ezra Marcus and Features Editor Michelle Lhooq join Managing Editor Colin Joyce for a conversation about what's going on in the land of the endless 4/4. We dig into the group of lo-fi house producers who are rapidly moving into more fully realized pieces, a new generation of DJs who are slowly incorporating ambient music into their work, and a few musicians taking grammar of house tracks and turning it into something more strange and surreal.

Episode 14: The Greatest Spectacle in Raging Jun 09, 2017

We're continuing our stint in the trenches on the frontlines of festival season this week. Half of the THUMP staff spent some time at Detroit's Movement Festival—the yearly Memorial Day dance music celebration that some have taken to calling "Techno Christmas." Features Editor Michelle Lhooq and Associate Editor Ezra Marcus explain how the festival's non-stop slate of afterparties—both official and under-the-radar—make it electronic music endurance test unlike any other. We also spent some time at one of the weirdest EDM festivals going: the absurd patriotic spectacle of the Speedway, Indiana's Snake Pit, which happens in the infield of the Indy 500 as the race goes on.

Episode 13: Will We Survive Festival Season? May 25, 2017

Ah summer, the warm months of tank-topped bros sweating all over you under the dayglo lights of big stages at outdoor EDM shows. Our host Emilie Friedlander and Managing Editor Colin Joyce have just returned from Durham, North Carolina's Moogfest, so we decided to dedicate this episode to the dawning festival season of 2017. After we chat about our experiences at the festival, features Editor Michelle Lhooq joins the cast to talk about a piece we published last week about helping a friend through a bad psychedelic trip, which is always good knowledge to have on hand when you're within spitting distance of a mainstage. Associate Editor Ezra Marcus talks about the qualities that make a "Song of the Summer." And since last month marked the 40th anniversary of Studio 54's opening night, we talk about Nicky Siano's account of the club's troubled first month.

Episode 12: A Roundtable on the Adventurous State of Gay Nightlife May 22, 2017

Some of the country's best DJs and promoters were in New York last week for an event put on by Red Bull Music Academy called Trade Show. Representatives from Honey Soundsystem, Honcho, Wrecked, the Carry Nation, The NeedlExchange, and Men's Room all united under one roof. The show was meant to demonstrate the rise of a network of gay parties across the country that prioritize adventurous musical selections running the gamut from disco, to techno, and even more gnarled forms of club music. We figured it'd be a good time to get all of them in one room for a chat, so this week's episode of the THUMP podcast is an overstuffed two-parter on the state of the gay underground. Features editor Michelle Lhooq leads Aaron Clark (Honcho), Baronhawk Poitier (TNX), and aCe (Men's Room) through a discussion of the intersection of partying, politics and inclusivity on the first part. Then after a break, she returns with Jackie House (Honey Soundsystem), Ryan Smith (Wrecked), and Nita Aviance (The Carry Nation) for a talk about the differences between mainstream and underground gay parties. Also there's some real estate given to everyone's favorite party drug...poppers.

Episode 11: The Strange Rise of Flute-Rap and Other Hip-Hop Production Trends May 11, 2017

After a week off, we're back with an in-depth episode about hip-hop production. With people like Lil Yachty making songs that sound like M83 and Lil Uzi Vert rapping over beatless ambient tracks, it's hard to talk about the evolution of electronic music without talking about the evolution of rap. Our associate editor Ezra Marcus hosts a discussion between freelance journalist Drew Millard, Noisey Staff Writer Lawrence Burney, and Vice.com Social Editor Trey Smith about young rappers' tastes for strange sounds. Elsewhere, we discuss the experimenters working on the fringes to bridge club music and rap, the handful of producers ruling pop rap, and flutes. It's 2017, so of course we're talking about flutes.

Episode 10: Music's Biggest Day Apr 27, 2017

Hey, it's our tenth episode! That's a nice round number. This week, Emilie's brought on our News Editor Anna Codrea-Rado, Managing Editor Colin Joyce, and Social Editor Dillon Riley for a spin through some of this week's dance music news. Anna talks about a piece she's written about the language we use to report on drug deaths at music events—one of the first articles in a series about harm reduction that we'll be running throughout this summer's festival season. Colin gives us a walk through of his cover story on the reclusive producer Cashmere Cat, who's set to release his debut album 9 this Friday. Finally, to celebrate everyone's favorite holiday— Record Store Day—Dillon recounts a stressful trip to a local music megastore, and we discuss the event's continued relevance after nearly a decade in existence.

Episode 9: All About Weed Apr 20, 2017

It's Weed Week here at VICE, which means that across all of our sites we're exploring the culture, art, and politics around the green stuff. So we decided to dedicate this THUMP Podcast to delving into its relationship with club culture. Features Editor Michelle Lhooq hosts this week, alongside Associate Editors David Garber and Ezra Marcus, and News Editor Anna Codrea-Rado. They spend some time debating whether weed is a good club drug and what makes for good weed music. David also talks about GRiZ, a dance producer who crafted an award-winning weed strain, and Anna explains the phenomenon of the "Weed Flower Crown," which is apparently a thing now.

Episode 8: A Brief Debate About the Chainsmokers Apr 13, 2017

Look, so the most popular dance act in the world released an album last week. They played SNL. You heard their songs on the radio in the grocery store. Whether you like it or not, you can't avoid the Chainsmokers at this point—even if you wanted to—so this week's episode finds our crew of guests puzzling just how this even happened in the first place. Emilie is joined by Associate Editor Ezra Marcus, Managing Editor Colin Joyce, and VICE's Senior Culture Editor Larry Fitzmaurice for a deep dive into both the icky and transcendent sides of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart's wildly successful business endeavor. We give their unlikely origin stories, discuss all the upsetting stuff they've said in interviews, and attempt to determine whether the weaponized nostalgia of their new record Memories...Do Not Open is interesting or just empty.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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