FLUXBLOG HOUSING WORKS EVENT PODCAST

Fluxblog at Housing Works: 10 Years of Perfect Tunes

You can download a podcast version of the Fluxblog 10th anniversary event at Housing Works in New York City earlier this week above. It was recorded by the kind people at Housing Works, and it sounds really good. The show is being presented with no edits, but there were only a couple little flubs along the way, so it’s no big deal. I’m really proud of how this turned out – everyone was great, and without any of us having an idea of what each other was doing, the songs all flowed together well and there were a lot of complementary themes. (I’m particularly pleased with how the idea I laid out in my intro was resolved in Rob Sheffield’s finale.)

Here is the running order of speakers:

• Matthew Perpetua on Scissor Sisters’ “Paul McCartney” and music as a way of communicating with and connecting to people we’ve never actually met.

• Emily Gould on Martha Wainwright’s “Love Is A Stranger” and songs that keep you from destroying your life.

• Heather D’Angelo of Au Revoir Simone on Electrelane’s “The Valleys” and how creativity triumphs over destruction.

• Mark Richardson on Silver Jews’ “How to Rent A Room” and learning how to enjoy settling down in one place.

• Amy Rose Spiegel from Rookie on the Delays’ “Nearer Than Heaven” and learning how to find music that you love.

• Sean T. Collins on Nine Inch Nails’ “Leaving Hope” and finding peace of mind in hopelessness.

• Amanda Petrusich on Interpol’s “NYC” and adjusting to life in New York City.

• Dick Valentine of Electric Six on Mark Mallman’s “True Love” and how love songs are often not what they seem to be.

• Rob Sheffield on Stephen Malkmus’ “Malediction” and looking to musicians for advice about life, and finding good advice in unexpected songs.

Plus, the entire group discusses the merits of R. Kelly’s classic “Ignition (Remix).”

You can download a mix featuring all ten of the songs here. Please do what you can to support the writers, the artists and Housing Works, which is a terrific charity and worth your time and money.