Rough Sundays

Back from a three-week hiatus, but bearing musical gifts to make up for it. From the raw power of Son House to the Ethiopian Elvis, some proper James Cleveland revival sounds and not one, but two Queens — one Cuban, the other New Orleans. It's half-an-hour of wake-me-up-slowly Sunday goodness. Hit play! 

A bittersweet final show from South Africa — a country that provided more sites, sounds, color, culture and confusion than any other place we've done the show from — and it's a celebration of the best tracks we've uncovered these past three months. From the controversial Brenda Fassie to the sounds of Soweto provided by my tour guide Lerato, a few more upbeat + anti-apartheid tracks and we end it all with an appearance from GoPhari, who explains the importance of the final song - one that was forbidden to be sung in the 1970s. It's Rough Sundays - The Best of South Africa Show! 

Our second-to-last show from South Africa and packed with some gorgeous old tracks — from the inventor of "Zumba" to one of the most moving choir performances you'll ever hear, some more penny whistling and even "The Voice of South Africa" making an appearance. 

While the evils of apartheid justifiably made the top headlines, it was the music coming both from within — and later, from outside — that drew international attention to one of the world's darkest chapters. But they weren't dark songs - quite the opposite, in fact; deceivingly upbeat and catchy. So join us for an (incredibly) brief overview of what exactly apartheid was, but more for the incredible tracks made to speak out against the racist government... including one that will absolutely surprise you. From Cape Town, South Africa, it's Rough Sundays. 

An XL show (our 40th!) and an XL lineup. Half an hour of old South African music — featuring two gems from the township of Soweto, more Mbaqanga, Joseph Shabalala and friends live, a bit of Boyoyo and yet another track from the incredibly addictive Amaswazi Emvelo. Plus much, much more. It's Rough Sundays - live from Cape Town!

Without knowing it, host Aric S. Queen used an incorrect term when talking about a certain group of people and was not only called out, but found himself in some serious trouble, so in order to (begin to) right this wrong, an apology show was put together — a show so good that not only do we go back to Soweto for some township goodness, but we’re also joined by singer / writer Laura Jansen — of whom you can see in the new film “Annette” alongside Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard — to talk about Miriam Makeba’s influence on her. Not to mention a 1970s track so addictive, we’re forced to play it twice. Plus much, much more. From Cape Town, South Africa, it’s Rough Sundays! Coffee. Sit. Play. Listen. Okay. Perfect.   

From the base of Table Mountain here in Cape Town, it's another episode exclusively dedicated to South African jazz + swing—namely from the townships and most pre-1960. From "marabi" to penny-whistling, Skylarks & Kings, it's 26 wonderful minutes of Rough Sundays—South Africa! 

Was there ever a more controversial album than "Graceland"? From assassination attempts to UN boycotts, cultural appropriation to apartheid, plagiarism to grenades being thrown into studios, it's hard to make the case for any other being surrounded by so much drama. In our third and final look at the stories and South African musicians behind the album in question, we hear from Ladysmith Black Mambazo's disappointment, Good Rockin' Dopsie's pretty good case for stealing and why Los Lobos (still) hate Paul Simon... plus much more. Coffee + "play" + enjoy. 

Assassination plots and grenades thrown at the person in question might sound like something out of a movie, but this - along with a whoooooooole lot more controversy - actually happened to Paul Simon after he released Graceland. In Part Two of a three-part series, we dive into not only the South African musicians who made this into one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time, but the true story about the uproar, outrage and hit put out on Simon. Coffee + sit back + hit play… you know the drill. It’s Rough Sundays - live from Durban, SA!

It's Oprah's favorite album of all time. It might be your favorite album of all time. It's definitely host Aric S. Queen's favorite album of all time. And in 1986, it gave the sounds of South Africa a worldwide stage — and one that launched bands like Ladysmith Black Mambazo into the well-deserved spotlight. But it also would become one of the most controversial albums of all time, too; the backlash including UN sanctions, hits put out on Paul Simon and even three grenades tossed into his storage unit. So, since we're down in South Africa, we're going to not only lay out exactly what happened — the recording, the subsequent turmoil and the apology-ish tour — but more importantly, we're going to get to know the artists behind each individual track. So make a cup of coffee, sit way back and let's start the first of three episodes dedicated to a little album called "Graceland". 

While the past six days have been chaotic, violent and - at times - terrifying, yesterday saw thousands of residents of all shape, color and culture cleaning up what was burnt, looted and/or destroyed. And with that, a celebration of the country of South Africa — famously infamous if all you unfairly base your version on is what happened 30 years ago. But it's a handful of tracks, a few stories and even our favorite guide Lerato taking us to another spot in Soweto where an upbeat-yet-secretly-about-apartheid song was penned. Plus much more. Make coffee. Hit play. Sit back. And enjoy yet another episode from the magic of South Africa. 

Our second show from Joburg, South Africa and a star-studded one. No really. Famed travel writer Farirai Sanyika joins us to teach the proper way to pronounce those "Zulu clicks", tour guide Lerato takes us to the bottom of a mine where one of the world's most famous songs was composed (and later stolen), not to mention the Mahotella Queens, Elite Swingsters, Dolly Rathebe and a penny-whistle'r who would have been world famous if not for Bob Dylan... plus a whole lot more. So pour a big cup of coffee. Sit way back. And welcome to South Africa. 

Our first show from Africa — South Africa, to be exact — and what an incredible place to be. So incredible, that we've made THE FIRST SHOW FROM AFRICA YOU GUYS an entirely South African one. From the voices you know via Paul Simon to two songs dedicated to the neighborhood not far from me here in Johannesburg, to the bad girl of Afropop, some Pata Pata and even a track by Mama Africa herself. And while this show* was formed on moving slowly, this week it might make you do the exact opposite. Pour coffee. Hit play. And welcome to South Africa!  *Recorded in Africa, btw. 

The final show from Istanbul before a BIG NEW ADVENTURE and it's the Roughest Rough Sundays in a long while — much in part to a going-away party that ended in a near-scuffle with the police. Recorded in bed, we've got the Godfather of Rap and a story that can't be told, 22+1 skiddos, the Queen of Gospel, songs about wine and we dive back into the book Midnight at the Pera Palace for one final track from a 1930s Istanbul... plus a lot more that I've probably forgotten about. Oh yeah, a nice song heard here on the ferry from Asia to Europe and some sounds from the fish market.  Rough Sundays Vol. XXI - final show from Istanbul. Make coffee. Press play. Be happy-ish. And subscribe in Spotify.   

If it's music that'll make you pop out of bed, you've come to the wrong show. But if it's an easy, lazy Sunday morning mood you're after CONGRATULATIONS - you chose wisely. From the women who invented rock n' roll to one of the world's most-talented choirs, to France's most controversial export and ugly kids, plus how Easy-E got away with stealing one of soul's most catchy hooks. And we end it all with the sounds from a mystic Islamic sect here in Istanbul. Make coffee. Hit play. Move slowly. 

A moody, overcast and grey morning here in Istanbul sets the scene for a fantastic show — despite the hungover host's attempts. From Zamrock to Dinah Washington, a passage from a book that leads to the first recorded Turkish Tango, plus blind boys, some old school Jimmy Hughes and a conversation with my barber that leads to the most sampled track in musical history. It's Rough Sundays, okay great! 

Back from a week away and Good God! do we have some goodness to play you this week. From Louis Armstrong's questionable employment pre-trumpet to a Jesus-based funk album, to Django and his brother (plus story of the fire in his Romani camp), as well as a journey back to 1993, when an CD appeared at the mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma and ended up taking 4 teenagers' heads off... plus much more. Grab coffee. Press play. You know the drill. It's Rough Sundays! (Subscribe in Spotify) 

Probably the most upbeat show to date and rightfully so. We kick it off with some New Orleans goodness and then a roller-coaster of Partons and Wilsons, Cannonball and Dizzy, plus much, much more. Recorded in Istanbul and heard ALL AROUND the world - it's Rough Sundays!

All over the place in the most wonderful of ways, it's your totally favorite Sunday morning wake-me-up! We cover a James Brown cover, one of Little Britain's most powerful women, the magic of Michel Gondry and how he + Mos Def helped introduce a younger generation to the great Fats Waller, not to mention some Marion Williams goodness, some stories from life back in New York (and Shanghai), your (and our) new obsession doing her "organic moonshine roots music" ... and, most importantly, an update on last week's guest, Ben.  Make a cup of coffee (make it big, host Aric S. Queen is quite chatty this week, sit back, hit play and start your Sunday off in the most wonderful of ways. 

This is Ben. Ben is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but now lives as a refugee with his wife and 3 children in South Africa. They're about to be evicted. And we want to pay his rent — a bit of an abrupt way to start the show, sure, but it's important that you know that above anything else. In the weeks we spent putting this show about Congolese music together, he was also being unlawfully kicked out of his apartment. This was a story host Aric S. Queen read from a friend of his on Facebook and so the idea was had to bring Ben - a musician himself - on to talk about old 1960s, 70s and 80s music from the D.R.C... and that's all we told him. But what we want to do, as stated, was raise enough so that Ben and his family can have a month or two to breathe. But don't be fooled into thinking that the setting for this show is the mood of this show - it's anything but! So grab your coffee, sit back, listen to the world's nicest guy (and the greatest laugh) teach us about Sunday morning music from o