Blasst

Today's episode brings us an interview with one of my favorite people in the entire world, John Morales. I've known John for about 5 years now. We met through some friends in the RGV music scene and would eventually become bandmates via one fateful evening at the end of 2012, which we delve into in this wonderful episode, among other excellent subjects such as John's many bands both current and past, our mutual love of Sonic Youth, and most importantly...food. We both had a lot of fun in this one, and it brings me great pleasure to add John to the list of BLASST guest DJs. Tune in again next week for regularly scheduled programming...whatever that means.Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts so we can get higher placement on their charts, above all the normally spelled "B-L-A-S-T" podcasts. It's a weird flex but it's my weird flex, ok. Thank you very much. con respeto,Ferrerito Rocherito over and out.Blog: http://blsst.blogspot.comInsta: @u_punkTwitter: @universal_punkE

Today's episode brings us a wide array of tunes that I've been stockpiling for the past two weeks (some even longer), which may be why some of the stylistic shifts in the show are a little more jarring than others. Nonetheless! This episode paints a pretty clear picture of what I've been jamming lately, save for a few releases that are a little too mainstream or popular to warrant being featured on my show (It's not like the new Mariah Carey LP, Caution, the new Travis Scott LP, Astroworld, or the new Beatles White Album remaster need any promotion from my humble little self and my humble little program, anyway. They do just fine on their own, I'm sure). I try to feature stuff that isn't necessarily on a major label or under some popular radar, though with literally ALL of the taste-making arenas constantly on the hunt for the latest underground, undiscovered, proverbial oil well of sensational music--sonic gold, if you will--, that is sometimes not the easiest thing to do. Hey,

Today's episode features an interview with one of the premier hardcore groups of the Rio Grande Valley, Reinforce. The band is on the verge of releasing their first full-length album, Blemish, which is a milestone for the band, who've previously only released smaller collections of songs such as EPs. In this interview, I speak with Danny, Levi, and Pat--the vocalist, bassist, and guitarist from the group respectively--about the new album, their journey as a band, and as musicians themselves. It proved to be a very informative and revealing conversation, as members of the band have seen and experienced several waves and generations of goings-on in the Rio Grande Valley music scene, and wear those experiences on their sleeves. It was a privilege to speak so candidly with them for an evening, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

In short, today's episode has me a bit frustrated. I kept getting stuck reading headlines about the military's operations on the border aka my BACKYARD. It's surreal to say the least, and hard to think of as real, despite there being evidence to the fact. I featured excerpts from two different news stations on the show, one from a national outlet, Democracy now, and one from a local outlet, KRGV Channel 5, which I've been watching since I was a kid. The perspectives are very different. Where Democracy Now is a left-leaning operation, they also make sure to feature some of the more damning and volatile part of the news cycle, while our local station (one of 3) gathers a variety of opinions (from people who actually cross the border regularly, aka older latines who have a very complicated perspective on life in the rio grande valley. Nothing has ever been simple here since it was overtaken by white entrepreneurs in the 10s and 20s looking to establish a new tourist attraction on the border.

Here we have the first official Blistering Listens & Strange Sounds Thank You episode dedicated and painstakingly curated for a Halloween audience, since Halloween lands on this coming Wednesday. Technically if you're reading this, that's tomorrow, so let that be noted. I'm really not looking forward to having my neighborhood filled with cars--making it impossible for me to park and get into my apartment, but you know what's worse than that? The US' delivery of military forces to the border, further militarizing an already militarized zone, in response to the incoming wave of Central-American refugees seeking shelter in the United States from the dangers of their homelands (which were orchestrated in large part by the United States). I honestly don't know what to say to a situation like this. The RGV will become a very tense place once again, no doubt we will also be filled to the brim with journalists from every publication imaginable spinning this story for their respective

Alright folks today's episode cover a lot of different ground: we've got some fresh new hardcore from MURO and SOUL GLO alongside some great guitar rock from Austin's prophetic four-piece CHRONOPHAGE, Olympia, Washington's TABLE SUGAR and we open up with a fresh new single from Olympia's own OLD TIME RELIJUN. All around a great episode in which I begin by driving to order Whataburger for the show, realize I forgot my wallet, retrieve it, and pick up my food--all during the intro. That's how we do things here at Universal Punk, I'm afraid. DON'T MISS THIS WEEKEND'S HALLOWEEN TRIBUTE SHOW AT THE ECHO HOTEL! SATURDAY OCTOBER 27TH! 8PM! $8! 18+! GO! I'm in the black sabbath cover band "SABBATHO GIGANTE", which is a reference to SABADO GIGANTE, the popular Univision variety show hosted by the immortal Don Francisco, who's deep grandfathery voice is forever burned in my brain. ALSO! U-PUNK'S MUSIC MARKET II is in less than two weeks! Sign up to b

This was an especially fun broadcast to put together. It's been a while since I've played mostly punk on the show, and I'll admit, this particular instance is not an uninspired one. If you listen to the show, you'll notice most of the people playing in the groups on the playlist are women, and cut from some kind of punk cloth. This is because I've been on the hunt for groups featuring women, lgbtq artists, and most importantly, people of color. I have found several groups with queer members and frontpersons, and plenty of unsung female heroes in the post-punk realm, but not very many groups from this realm featuring members of color. I tried looking a little closer to my own timeline and still have not found very many, the few groups in existence today have been found and are great and slowly getting their well-deserved attention, but still not quite what I'm looking for. I've felt so compelled to fill this gap myself--and I might sooner than later--but until then, my search

This episode is a good one, as usual. Less talking done though due to my car having some troubles and my needing to work on them immediately after the broadcast, which prompted me to do all my post-production work during the show. Sadly, the repairs did not help my car much. I'm pretty sad about that. But in other news, I heard about Kavanaugh later into Saturday (a surprising development in my social media-burnt life cycle) and it's not surprising at all that the people who currently make decisions for this country appointed a rapist to the Supreme Court, and not just because they've already done it once before (looking at you, Clarence Thomas), but because these senators and representatives were elected by people who voted with their interests in mind, people who exist in the same world you and I do, dear listener. It should go without saying that voting matters in every election, but this upcoming election in particular is of great importance to the future of our world as we know it (at leas

We've got an eclectic one for y'all this week. A brief warning: we do discuss the Kavanaugh thing for a hot minute, but in better news: I also reveal the name I have decided to give my new cat.......Dindi! She's named after my favorite Antonio Carlos Jobim song, specifically the version sung by Frank Sinatra.

Speeding Motorcycle...won't you change me? What an intro. We start today with a chance collaboration between Daniel Johnston and Yo La Tengo on the finest free-form radio station in North America (BLASST doesn't count of course), WFMU! Today's episode also pays tribute to Hardy Fox, founder and primary composer behind the enigmatic titans of art-brut, parody, and experimentation--The Residents, who recently announced (personally) that he is living his last few days on this planet. A mammoth of a career summarized into three songs...(five if you heard the live broadcast). Tune in for a good time.

On today's show, I replicate Alvin Lucier's "I Am Sitting In A Room" piece with a little BLASST flavor added into it. Tracks by the Fearless Flyers, Ava Luna, Devon Welsh, and more abide within. Reach out if you would like to be a part of our new interview series about downloading music, called P2P. Hit my line about it if you're about it! Rate and review us goddamnit~ BLASST BLOG: http://blsst.blogspot.com E-Mail: uupunk@gmail.com Instagram: @u_punk Twitter: @universal_punk That's it I think!

Today's episode finds our fair program returning to the world of cinema! We've got all sorts of movie magic in store for y'all, including choice cuts by Ennio Morricone, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and a few names you might not recognize as much as you do their work! So kick back, pop some popcorn, and take a listen to BLASST SOUNDTRACKS II. Honestly this episode works best around rain, as it was recorded in the middle of a thunderstorm. Check out the BLASST Blog for more information: BLSST.BLOGSPOT.COM Instagram: @u_punk Twitter: @upunk_ E-Mail: uupunk@gmail.com Rate and review us! Please and thank you!

! ! ! ! ! ! LET ME MAKE YOU BUTTONS SO I CAN AFFORD A NEW CAT ! ! ! ! ! ! GREAT SHOW TODAY ! Drop us an e-mail at uupunk@gmail.com We're on twitter: @upunk_ Instagram: @u_punk Find us wherever you listen to podcasts to take this show on the go! Thanks for listening!

Today I eat a pickle and play some music. I'm recording in a different room in my apartment, and hope it sounds a lot better than my kitchen, where I usually record. A wide variety of delectibles on the plate today, searing walls of noise into some choice rhymes into some star-crossed french pop. Drop us an e-mail at uupunk@gmail.com We're on twitter: @upunk_ Instagram: @u_punk Mixcloud.com/BLASST for our back catalog of episodes. Rate and review us if you haven't! Thanks for listening!

On today's episode we are once again visited by our good friends in prog rock magic, the mighty Dezorah. Hot off the heels of their first (two-month) tour throughout the US, the band recalls the ups and downs of learning how to live on the road as full-time musicians and shares some of their favorite moments and most important takeaways from their experience. This is not an episode to miss, for the first half of this narrative, check out episode #42, which features the band's first appearance on the show. To buy your tickets for RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA in September, go to the following link: https://www.tugg.com/events/ryuichi-sakamoto-coda Look up BLASST & Universal Punk on your social media! FB: /BlisteringLIstensAndStrangeSoundsThankYou Instagram: @u_punk Twitter: @upunk_ E-Mail: uupunk@gmail.com

Today's episode of BLASST veers in so many different directions, it's hard to keep track of. We've got the latest Moses Sumney and Protomartyr/Spray Paint singles, tracks by The Raincoats and Pentagram, it's a smorgasbord today tbh. ALSO - Universal Punk is proud to be hosting a screening of the exciting new documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA, September 5th, 2018 at the AMC 18 theater in Edinburg, TX, powered by Tugg. Aside from the screening in Dallas, this will be the only other Texas screening. To purchase your tickets, visit the link below (not the theater). It's a good excuse to visit the Rio Grande Valley TBH. Tickets to Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA - www.tugg.com/events/ryuichi-sakamoto-coda E-Mail: uupunk@gmail.com Instagram: @u_punk Twitter: @upunk_ Facebook: /BlisteringListensandStrangeSoundsThankYou

Today's episode begins with our second BLASST POINT. These are segments in which I (Andres) address an important subject in our daily lives. Today's subject is very similar to the last one, toxic masculinity. Following the BLASST POINT, our episode features an entire lineup of groups from or featuring members from JAPAN. Noise, rock, pop, folk, experimental, ambient--we got it all!

Today's episode features a lot of guitar-based music, because I'm feeling traditional. It also features the first emergency RR break, so forgive the half hour block of tunes with my absence. I swear the tunes are good ones. Families are slowly being reunited and released down here again. The nightmare is slowly coming to a close. This chapter of it, anyway. My birthday's in less than two weeks, and I have something special planned for the episode following it. Rate us and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts! Follow us: Instagram at @u_punk Twitter at @upunk_ e-mail us at uupunk@gmail.com Find our back episodes at http://mixcloud.com/blasst You can find us on Facebook but we never update the page (who wants to pay to work in today's economy?) Show notes and tracklists can be found on the BLASST BLOG: http://blsst.blogspot.com Cheers!

Today's episode was an unexpected studio piece. With our live broadcast unexpectedly interrupted by an unexpected shut down of my computer, I had to swoop in and record everything from scratch! How about that! Anyway, as a result, we have some extra bangers on here, all averaging around 7-10 minutes in length, and from all over the world. Music from Saharan Cellphones to the depths of the human(?) soul. Both BLASST and Universal Punk both firmly believe that borders are tools of the state that are used to enact violence against innocent people. If you want to do something about it, donate to the organization below to help support the reunion of these immigrant families. All of these links will also be on our blog, which is also linked below. Please like and review us on whatever platform you choose, and check out our back episodes on Mixcloud! Texas Civil Rights Project: http://texascivilrightsproject.org/ BLASST BLOG - http://blsst.blogspot.com E-Mail - uupunk@gmail.com Instagram - @u_punk Twitter -

Today's episode is brought to you by THE TRUMP REGIME IS STILL SEPARATING FAMILIES, INFANTS ARE BEING PUT ON TRIAL, COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR BRIEF, FRAGILE EXISTENCES. THIS COUNTRY IS GARBAGE, OUR LEGISLATORS ARE GARBAGE FOR LETTING THINGS GET THIS FAR, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY WE HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT OURSELVES. THIS IS A COLLAPSE, AND THE WRITING'S BEEN ON THE WALL FOR DECADES IF NOT CENTURIES. THIS PROGRAM AND IT'S MANAGEMENT FIRMLY REFUSE TO SERVE AS HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN FUEL TO THE NIGHTMARE THAT IS THIS MADNESS MACHINE. Today's episode is a real good one, plenty of rock and punk goodness featuring eye-popping tracks by Jay Som, Wimps, Heterofobia, Sungod, and so much more. As I mentioned on the show, Heterofobia & Cremalleras were robbed while touring through Oakland a few days ago and are raising money to replace all their personal belongings that they lost, (INCLUDING THEIR VISAS), if you can, please donate at the link below