Last Updated on March 30, 2026
Look, we tried to have a sophisticated chat about interwar music (the stuff between the two big global scraps) but obviously, it devolved into a conversation about penis tattoos and whether or not Reddit is a valid academic source.
Dr. Sam brings the “knowledge” (mostly from books he is actually holding, for once), and Andrew tries to figure out how to eat a Scotch egg without a plate while pondering the sexual deviance of 1920s novelty songs. We cover Duke Ellington’s Mood Indigo, the absolute filth hidden in “I’m Going to Bring a Watermelon to My Girl Tonight,” and why Robert Johnson might have just practiced really hard instead of selling his soul to the devil. It is a rambling journey through jazz, folk, and German Marxist theatre that somehow ends with Woody Allen and a two-fingered guitarist.
Riffs of the week Dr Sam’s Riff
- Dog Faced Hermans – Jan 9
Andrew’s Riff
- Witch Post – Worry Angel
Dr Sam’s track choices
- Duke Ellington – Mood Indigo
- Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band – I’m Gonna Bring a Watermelon to My Girl Tonight
- Brecht – Instead-Of Song
- Harlem Hamfats – Let’s Get Drunk and Truck
Andrew’s track choices
- Laurel and Hardy – Trail of the lonesome pine
- Robert Johnson – Crossroad blues
- Woodie Guthrie – This Land Is Your Land (1940)
- Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli – Minor Swing
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