Have you ever listened to a gentle bruise on a crisp apple? You're about to! Mookie and Hannah from Portland dream-pop maximalists Laska join the party this week! Fresh on the heels of recording a new batch of songs and a summer of shows, they chop it about the particular alchemy of growing up in the Midwest, their embrace of randomness and fun in the songwriting process, electric fences, the spiritual significance of dice, the existential melancholy of jellyfish, and the relative aesthetic value of echidna genitals.

Music this week:

• “Daisies” by Laska (25:51)
• “Hear No” by Nappy Nina (38:20)
• “Ten and Two” by Laska (53:07)
• “Loss” by Unseen Object (1:12:45)
• “Intruder” by Cherry Cheeks (1:34:12)

I'm sure most of you have written a few rock musicals in your day, but WE HAVEN'T! That's why we were so excited to speak with Portland multi-instrumentalist and composer Justin Radford. He takes us deep into the strange, joyous, and ambitious world of In Odin's Name, his Norse mythology-inspired rock musical that has been 15 years in the making. We learn the origins of the work that connected Justin with a far-off French lyricist; we chat about the valid and proper disdain of rock operas, the lost art of the Mexican pizza, the Short Kings of the monster truck world, and navigating the song-to-sex pipeline. Plus rock effing musical, bro!!!

Music this week:

• “Dance of Swords” by Justin Radford / In Odin’s Name (21:42)
• “Such Great Reward” by Justin Radford / In Odin’s Name (42:15)
• “Angel” by HYD (1:14:20)
• “By the Blood in My Veins” by Justin Radford / In Odin’s Name (1:30:24)

Portland’s Jesse Valencia is many things: musician, activist, filmmaker, author, raconteur. But this week, he adds perhaps his most prestigious appellation: Haute Garbage podcast guest. Jesse’s seminal Arizona (now PDX) band Gorky is celebrating 25 years of killer tunes, and Jesse joins the show to discuss his approach to music, UFO encounters, the origins of his book Keep Music Evil about the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the fight for Portland independent music, and the legacy of the late, beloved Gorky co-founder Ben Holladay.

Music this week:

• “Action Pants” by Gorky (22:39)
• “First Blood” by Moderator (49:50)
• “AM Radio” by Gorky (1:01:54)
• “Shopping” by Rayon (1:26:04)
• “Swinger” by Salo Panto (1:44:49)