Primer Maximum Fun
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- Music
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Primer is a music podcast about translation and illumination. Host Christian Dueñas is joined by a different co-host each season to explore a genre of music from outside the English-speaking world. In its debut season, music writer Yosuke Kitazawa (PBS SoCal, Light in the Attic) joins Christian and special guests to explore Japanese City Pop. They celebrate the lives of its artists, explore the cultural and historical context of the songs, and reflect on the impact that music had on listeners everywhere - including personally, as fans. Primer invites both newcomers and crate diggers alike to find their next favorite album and learn more about the music they already love.
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03. I Hate the City (Patrick St. Michel // Taeko Onuki)
Music writer Patrick St. Michel joins us to talk about his experience interviewing Taeko Onuki, the incredible personnel on this incredible album, and how ahead of the game SUNSHOWER really was.
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02. Gravy Is Shaped Like a Heart (Devendra Banhart // Yasuko Agawa)
Singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart joins us this week to talk about how Gravy sells a beautiful fantasy of Los Angeles, Augie Johnson's work with Yasuko Agawa, and how City Pop affects his own work. Plus, we get on the phone to talk with singer Miki Howard about her work on Gravy and it's recent resurgence in popularity.
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01. Crying in the Club (Linda Marigliano // Miki Matsubara)
On our inaugural episode of Primer, radio/tv presenter Linda Marigliano joins us to discuss City Pop icon, Miki Matsubara and her debut record, Pocket Park. We get into the unexpected renewed interest in Mayonaka no Door, the story behind Miki's sudden departure from the music scene, and Linda's personal connection and discovery of City Pop.
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Coming soon from Maximum Fun: Primer
Primer is a music podcast about translation and illumination. Host Christian Dueñas is joined by a different co-host each season to explore a genre of music from outside the English-speaking world. In its debut season, music writer Yosuke Kitazawa (PBS SoCal, Light in the Attic) joins Christian and special guests to explore Japanese City Pop. They celebrate the lives of its artists, explore the cultural and historical context of the songs, and reflect on the impact that music had on listeners everywhere - including personally, as fans. Primer invites both newcomers and crate diggers alike to find their next favorite album and learn more about the music they already love.
Customer Reviews
The opposite of gatekeeping!
I had a college / indie radio show for several years in the 00s and while I loooooved hearing and learning about tons of new music and inventive genres I’d never encountered before, I absolutely loathed the attitude some people had where if you didn’t know about a band or genre or scene since the moment it began, then you don’t deserve to learn about it now unless you can solve their riddle of “it’s like if [obscure artist] was in a [more arcana] band.”
Primer is the 180-degree opposite of that! Primer invites new audiences in. They want to share the details, history, and just joy of a thing they love. And that is much, much better than gatekeeping hipsters. And so far each episode has been enthusiastic people from different backgrounds being nice and charismatic as they geek out about a genre (in this case, City Pop from mid 80s-early 90s Japan). I love it! Can’t wait to continue my journey of knowing 0% to a bunch of %s about City Pop and whatever genres they cover in future seasons! Yay!
I love a deep dive
Do I love the music? Not yet. But the presenters and presentation is 👍.
WELL DONE! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Old school cool
This show came at a perfect time where I’m in a musical rut! This show is opening my horizons and introducing me to a whole new genre of music I’ve never heard of before. The hosts, guests and information is always on point.