Category: Uncategorized
New Music: “Happy Yet” from Bleeding Hearts Featuring Bob Stinson
Good news for Replacements fans – you haven’t heard your last blast of Bob Stinson’s guitar. You get the first volley, “Happy Yet,”...... Read More
S2EP1 – Comedian and Daily Show Writer Josh Johnson
I first spoke to Johnson in 2019 for The Boston Globe, and back then he was already an established headlining comic with a...... Read More
Gary Gulman On Writing Through the Pandemic, Chris Fleming’s Refreshingly Surreal Comedy
It has been a while since I posted here, but I have a couple of bits of comedy-relating news I wanted to share,...... Read More
The DoT EP112: Paul Hansen of The Grownup Noise On New Music, New Instruments, and Some Personal History
Welcome back to the Department of Tangents Podcast, a special new episode with Paul Hansen of The Grownup Noise. You may have noticed...... Read More
The Artist Check-In Podcast EP2 – Chris Johnson, Musician, Sound Engineer
The Artist Check-In is a limited series of conversations with comedians, musicians, authors, and creative people about how they are handling, personally and...... Read More
The Artist Check-In Podcast EP1 – Dave Rattigan, Comedian, Booker, Teacher
My day job is talking to artists, mostly comedians, for different publications, which means I know a lot of people whose livelihoods have...... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Kelly MacFarland – You Woke Up Today! Also, I’m Fine.
The Artist Spotlight posts are meant to help out musicians and comedians who depend on gigs for income. Today’s spotlight is one of...... Read More
Artist Spotlight: The Rivergods’ “Yankee Rant (Stay)”
As I said in the previous post, it’s a good day to stock up on music from your favorite indie artists. BandCamp is...... Read More
Please excuse our mess…
As of November 1, The Department of Tangents Blog & Podcast is on hiatus. We will return after this brief existential crisis.... Read More
DHFF 2019: Keep An Eye Out for “Peekers”
Every day through October, the Department of Tangents brings you the Daily Horror Film Fest – one short horror film for every day...... Read More
DoT EP110: Monster, She Wrote Authors Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson On the History of Female Horror Writing, Plus New Comedy from Corey Rodrigues
If you ask a random reader to name foundational women horror writers, you might get two or three names. Mary Shelley. Shirley Jackson....... Read More
DHFF 2019: “The Cat With Hands” Will Grab You
Every day through October, the Department of Tangents brings you the Daily Horror Film Fest – one short horror film for every day...... Read More
DoT EP109: Sue Costello On Staying Positive, Sexism, CBS, and Simmah Down, Plus New Music From Rebecca Turner
Sue Costello is someone I saw early on in Boston, specifically playing a show organized by Jimmy Tingle that featured Costello, Patrice Oneal,...... Read More
DoT EP108: Dave Ross On Smart and Dumb Comedy, Punk, Masculinity, and Kale, Plus Newly-Released Early Dead Kennedys Music
Dave Ross has a fantastic new album out now called The Only Man Who Has Ever Had Sex. You can download it, but...... Read More
DoT EP107: Mike Watt on Jumpstarted Plowhards, The Minutemen, and Keeping the Creative Juices Flowing, Plus New Comedy from Dave Ross
Mike Watt is a bona fide punk rock legend. And he probably hates being described like that. His work with The Minutemen and...... Read More
DoT EP104: Author Matt Moore on Personal Apocalypse, Brevity, and Brain Chemistry, plus New Music from Steve Poltz
This is the third and final interview I recorded at NECON 2019, which I have previously described as a mashup of a horror...... Read More
DoT EP101: Why Save MAD? with Michael Gerber and Ian Scott McGregor, plus New Music from Twin Peaks
In early July, rumors started to surface that MAD Magazine was going to cease publishing new material and just reprint old stuff with...... Read More
DoT EP100: J. Edwin Buja On His Debut Novel, King of the Wood, Plus New Music from TC&I (formerly of XTC)
This is episode 100 of the podcast, and I thought about doing some sort of compilation of previous interviews, as I’ve done a...... Read More
DoT EP98: Blood On Black Wax Authors Aaron Lupton and Jeff Szpirglas Talk Horror Movie Music, Plus New Music From Miss June
I had been thinking a lot about how sound – the score and incidental music – effect the mood and even the story...... Read More
DoT Minicast: Love and Death with Jim Breuer
I have been working on this one since last fall when I saw Jim Breuer at the Comics Come Home benefit show in...... Read More
DoT EP86: “Walk This Way” Author Geoff Edgers with New Music from Nat Freedberg
If you are a fan of music or comedy, you should already know Geoff Edgers. He was a longtime arts writer with The...... Read More
DoT EP84: Musical Alien Micropixie Explores the Dark Sight of the Moon, plus New Comedy from Jess Salomon
If you are used to our usual theme song, do not adjust your iPod at the beginning of this episode. This week, we...... Read More
DoT Minicast: Daniel Sloss On Offensive Jokes, “Dad” Jokes, and Why He’s Not a TV Comic
I interviewed Daniel Sloss a few weeks back for the Boston Globe when he came to town with his new show X, a...... Read More
DoT EP82: Musician and Journalist Ted Drozdowski plus an Audiobook Excerpt from Sarah Moss’s Ghost Wall
I first became aware of Ted Drozdowski when I was working at the Boston Phoenix, reading his reviews and features as I helped...... Read More
DoT EP81: Comics Artist and Musician Guy Gilchrist with New Music from Ted Drozdowski
This is an inadvertently Nashville-themed edition, as featured interview subject, comics artist/creator and musician Guy Gilchrist, and the musician behind this week’s featured...... Read More
DoT EP80: Writer/Producer/Puppeteer Bill Diamond with New Music from Teardrop City
The Department of Tangents Podcast is 80 today with this episode, featuring an interview with writer, puppet creator, producer, and all around problem...... Read More
DoT EP77: Celebrating 30 Years of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Kids In the Hall on TV
This week’s episode is a bit different from previous episodes, in that it doesn’t feature an interview with one person about their work....... Read More
VIDEO PREMIERE Transmission, A Dystopian Short Horror Film
Yesterday’s video premiere of “The Great Love Letter of This Great World” by Paul Weinfield and Beccs was a chance to look on...... Read More
Daily Horror Film Fest: Spider-Man Meets Slender Man
Every day during October, the Department of Tangents presents a different short film for the Daily Horror Film Fest. It can be flat-out...... Read More