Trash Man has a grand tradition of making music videos that capture the every day. For “Ten Years” he put together some furniture and changed the oil on his car. In “Eventually,” he made a delicious hoagie (from scratch). “Ruin It,” a fresh pizza. 

With “It’s Over,” we take it back to the source. Where it all begins. The epitome of the every day… grocery shopping. I won’t spoil it but there’s gonna be produce, there’s gonna be basics, and you better believe there’s gonna be rice.

We celebrate the every day. The small things. The enjoyment of providing and cruising around the store finding everyone’s favorite items.* 

“It’s Over” is the second single from Direct Cremation, the third EP from Trash Man headed your way Nov 6th, 2026. It’s explosive, catchy and the perfect two minutes for strolling your local grocer. 

Pick up the sparkle blue cassette or snag a digital copy. The track is also streaming everywhere.

**bonus enjoyment** this grocery store has the largest sign we’ve ever seen. Gotta watch the whole video to see if you agree but you will definitely agree.

The Bat Poet, Sir Cecil Creape, Dr. Gangrene – a small sample of public access TV characters that have emerged from Nashville that deserve a bit of Googling. Now you can add The Sparkle Sisters, Trent Baskum, Zunky Joska, and Dr. Bob The Mentalist to that list as well – along with many more.

All thanks to the wonderful Showcase of the Stars beaming into your eyeballs right now if you just click on through. It’s a variety show of delightful talent and pure entertainment. 

There was a time, not that long ago, that you could turn on the TV and just stumble into a broadcast that was low on budget but high on surreal vibes. Public Access TV gave anyone with an idea the opportunity to share that with whomever happened to be tuned in. Yea, social media lets anyone post whatever they want but Public Access TV was just working with a whole different cookbook. 

Fortunately for us all, Showcase of the Stars has done a helluva job capturing that vibe. It’s downright delightful. Three minutes of Internet time that actually feel great.

One of the pleasures of reissuing a previously released album is all of the research and mining that goes into finding promotional material from a specific era. For instance, with The Features reissue of Exhibit A (Original Sweet Tea Mix), director Chad Denning was able to find the original source files for “There’s a Million Ways to Sing the Blues” video and remaster them into beautifully pristine modern quality.

The video is psychedelic, mesmerizing, and an extremely clever use of projectors. I’m particularly smitten with the shot of the band standing perfectly still while footage is projected on top of them playing with their usual fervor. There are a ton of great moments in the video and I catch something new every time. Now with the 4K quality, I can actually see it all perfectly.

Without meaning to, YK WORLD took a little summer break. The last episode dropped in June and it’s been all quiet on the western front. Except it wasn’t, really! I’ve been researching, writing, recording and editing an episode that I finally finished putting together. Season 2 of YK World starts now:

It’s a well agreed fact that streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music give people access to a wealth of music but the payment systems are rather stacked against an independent creator. I don’t fault anyone for having a subscription with a streamer (I have one myself) but if you’re a music fan looking to support artists, you must seek alternatives. If you’re an artist looking to build a fanbase, you must seek alternatives. If you’re a label looking to grow an audience, you must seek alternatives.

I’ve been a champion of Bandcamp for a long time. They do a great job of supporting independent creators. Their revenue share is fair and the value they provide is undeniable. Over the last few years they’ve hit some rocky shores – selling themselves to Epic Games, selling again to SongTradr, firing a ton of people along the way and then, again, having layoffs as recently as 2026. That tumultuous existence has led others to start their own versions of Bandcamp. There are tons of them out there.

That’s all the preamble to the episode to say – let’s explore those Alternative Music Platforms. I come up with a scorecard for judging each one and dive into what they offer. Bandcamp sets the baseline but Subvert, Ratio and Ampwall are all bringing something very interesting to the table as well. They are just the tip of the iceberg but you gotta start somewhere!

The episode is not about choosing a side – streamer vs music platform. As an independent creator, you gotta do it all. But it is my opinion that there will be more chance at success, validation and enjoyment if you invest time in one (or more) of these platforms.

The episode is on the web but it’s also in every podcast app. Just search for “YK World.”

Also there’s a wild ambient soundtrack to the whole thing by Mac Burrus that I can’t thank him enough for!

“I might think about the inevitability of death more than some other people do,” reflects Alex Mojaverian (aka Trash Man). “It’s not the most healthy way to be, but no one is getting out alive, so everything that we do while we are here is precious and important.”

2024’s Moment of Bleakness and 2025’s Cool Until It’s Not both back up that quote quite effectively with their serious explorations of existential crisis. 2026’s Direct Cremation also hits on those topics as well but Mojaverian seems to be letting a little optimism creep in. Case in point: “Ten Years.”

Through these big hooks, he contemplates the phenomena of changing personalities over a long relationship – “Who were you then? Who are you now?”, “Who was I then? Who am I now?”. These are the kind of big questions we’re all asking ourselves.

“Ten years from now, who are we gonna be? I love you so much and I can’t wait to see.”

It’s unclear who the lyrics are directed at but that’s the joy of ambiguity! Could be a partner, could be a child, could be anything or anyone. Only Trash Man truly knows but the point is clear: the journey changes us and that’s a good thing.

Out now everywhere: Ampwall, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, et al.

Tower Defense consistently write big, bombastic, earworms that tackle some hefty subjects lyrically. “Stop, I Think I’ve Heard This One Before” and “Effects are Temporary” are a shining example of that duality.

These fuzzed-out blasts take on the struggle of losing someone to disinformation and the cost of political complacency. Two ends of the same spectrum, both best dealt with via empathy… begrudgingly.

The last few years have been a slow-motion reckoning with how much can change, how fast, and how unevenly the weight of that change gets distributed. For Tower Defense, the immediacy of the most recent election shook loose a lyrical writer’s block. Equal parts inspiration and frustration, these songs emerged out of the difficulty of what it costs to keep caring.

“Stop, I Think I’ve Heard This One Before” tackles losing people to disinformation and the particular exhaustion of interacting with a loved one you can no longer reach. This isn’t contempt, it’s genuine concern that they’ve permanently lost their grip on reality. Inversely, “Effects Are Temporary” is less patient, conjuring a reckoning around  the human cost of political complacency. It refuses the comfort of “it’s only four more years” for anyone who doesn’t have the luxury of waiting it out.

Together the tracks are about empathy: how hard it is to care about other people right now, and how much harder it gets when that feeling isn’t returned.

Streaming everywhere now: Bandcamp, Ampwall, Subvert, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, et al.

Tune in.

Many many months ago I was clued in to the work of Swimming Sisters (aka Hal Kolodney).* I recall the moment very explicitly because I was immediately smitten. The guitars were bright, the hooks were unforgettable and the vibes were right. If you’ve ever found yourself enjoying a pop song with melancholy, wistful lyrics, you’ll be right at home here.

Over the months that followed, I couldn’t stop listening to Latest Hits!, Vol. 1 and the fitting companion, Latest Hits!, Vol 2. Both were in regular rotation and it struck me, I want yk to help spread the gospel of this work!

Today we are happy to announce the release of a very special limited edition cassette containing both Vol 1 and Vol 2 of Latest Hits!. The sparkly red cassette is wrapped in reversible artwork – you choose which cover you’re feeling at the moment. There’s no wrong choices; every bit of Swimming Sisters you can get into your life is an improvement.

*I believe I owe thanks to Mike for the original heads up!
** There is also Latest Hits!, Vol 3, which you should not overlook

Keeping the yearly tradition alive, yk Records and Trash Man are happy to announce a brand new EP – Direct Cremation. As only Trash Man can, it’s an impossibly memorable blast of blistering rock songs contemplating death, growing old together and the cacophony of our modern age.

We’ll be announcing singles, videos and more in the coming weeks. For now, pre-order the sparkle blue cassette and make sure you’re following @mojobeats on Instagram.

Back in 2021, the Nashville Scene published “Are Streaming Services Unfair to Musicians?” – a blistering piece from The Advice King, aka columnist and (incredible) satirist Chris Crofton. As you would hope, Crofton eviscerates the streaming platforms, their pitiful treatment of artists, and their gluttonous indulgences in their own wealth. The entire piece is great, but this portion in particular should be noted:

The big music labels didn’t want to take the time to figure out how to sell music in a post-Napster world, so they cut a deal. It’s a deal that, criminally and forever, devalued my favorite art form. They sold it all. They sold it all without asking — to Daniel Ek — and now there’s no going back.

Artless hands handling art. That’s the crux of the matter. The executive class’s bloody, artless hands, unloading all the world’s music off the metaphorical back of a truck, in the metaphorical middle of the night.

For the members of Tower Defense, inspiration struck. “Artless Hands” was born. A song about the Faustian bargain artists strike with corporate streaming – the potential for exposure in exchange for forgoing any respectable payment in royalties due.

Today we’re happy to announce the debut of an incredible lyric video from the latest release “Fit for Purpose” / “Artless Hands.” The video depicts the laborious process of making pennies – mining, smelting, molding, and stamping zinc and copper into a monetary currency ironically worth more than 1,000 plays on Spotify.

The reminder is scathing, but the delivery is a bop. Watch the video on YouTube, support the release on Bandcamp, Ampwall, Subvert, Mirlo, and, of course, streaming services.

The song also features lyrical interpolations from Converge’s “Fact Leaves Its Ghost” and Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle,” a surprising extra treat!

Coupler (Ryan Norris) and sugar sk*-*lls (Ben Marcantel) have been in collaboration going on 25 years. They met in college and discovered that their creative approach frequently complemented one another. Norris reflects, “Our minds tend to move along parallel tracks, sometimes crossing, frequently converging, but generally moving in similar directions, two celestial objects careening through space while orbiting one another.”

Their latest work together, New Impossible Object, was seeded as far back as 2015 when Marcantel wrote the beginning of “Yumeji’s Dream,” only to have Norris return it years later.. evolved and transformed. This process repeats for nearly every track on the release, passing seeds back and forth, carving and shaping until the final form emerges.

Experimentation often requires pushing uncomfortable boundaries. sugar sk*-*lls found himself inspired to start and finish a track in a day; a speed previously unknown to him but providing a forcing function to decision making. Coupler brought his voice to the recording, a choice never considered since the project’s beginnings in 2012.

New Impossible Object is six compositions nurtured from boundary pushing experimentation and decades of friendship. The result of two celestial objects that were never traveling alone. These sounds simply weren’t accessible any other way.

Available on Bandcamp, Ampwall, Mirlo, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and everywhere else you stream.