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It’s a special show this week as the Kel­Ry unit records live from their living room couch. The subjects today touch on all three of the pillars (music, mortality, and happiness) that are the foundation of the show. Listen in as our intrepid twosome tell some personal stories about their many different lives in the music industry as DJs, musicians, promoters, entrepreneurs, publishers and administrators. The show wraps up with a few words about two very special folks that have recently shuffled off this mortal coil.

Music is such an integral part of our everyday life that we hardly take the time to stop and notice the extent of its pervasiveness. Whether you’re plodding mindlessly through some mundane task or piously participating in a sacred act, chance are, that if you bend your ear a bit, you’ll hear a soundtrack. With this in mind, Kell Bell and Ryno have a spirited discussion about the connection of music and ritual. To top it all off, they steal a song from an adjacent culture’s jukebox and perform it for you. 

This week’s episode finds our desolate duo recently returned from a field trip to the local movie house where they went for a viewing of the recent release, “I Saw the LIght”. The film is a bio pic based on the turbulent life of country music legend, Hank Williams. Kelly and Ryan don their movie critic hats and share their respective reactions to the movie and then cap the discussion with a performance of the classic gospel song, “Driftin’ Too Far from the Shore”. 

This week Kelly and Ryan took some time from their busy schedules to talk over the art, science, and lore of avoiding labor. From bum anthems to laziness manifestos, our tireless yet work­adverse couple conversationally examine the prevalence, provenance and importance of “work­shirkin’” songs in the folk tradition. Kick up your feet, call in sick and pop in your ear buds for yet another edifying episode of The Aching Hearts Show! 

One part informational and one part editorial, this episode finds our capricious co­hosts rapping about the folk phenomenon known as fiddle tunes. Listen in as Kelly and Ryan paint both an historical and a contemporary picture of this musical sub genre and it’s curious practitioners. 

The Binary Babbling Consortium is at it again. In this week’s thrilling episode they flip last week’s script and have a frank chat about the legacy of patriarchal domination in our culture, marriage as a kind of house arrest, sexism, the Greek pantheon, suffrage, and how Socrates’ nagging wife did us all a solid. ‘Nuff said. 

True to Aching Hearts form, our intrepid hosts take a good look at the age old tradition of melodious “man­ hating”. Find out what some songs in the folk tradition have to say about lazy, drunk, cheatin’, tobacco­ spittin’ husbands and the women charged to put up with them. To top it all off, Kelly and Ryan perform a classic of this sub­genre in which the narration wryly compares and contrasts the two sides of the matrimonial coin.    

Inspired by their recent attendance at the Folk Alliance International conference, Kelly and Ryan shine the spotlight on a handful of hard­working musicians you may or may not have heard of. The aim of this special episode is to champion a few fellow folk­a­nauts while introducing you to a curated roster of exceptionally­ talented musicians out on the scene today. Bands to check out: Dori Freeman - dorifreeman.com  “Colonel” JD Wilkes - jdwilkes.com  Kaia Kater - kaiakater.com  Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton - blindboypaxton.com  High Plains Jamboree - highplainsjamboree.com  Miss Tess & the Talkbacks - misstessmusic.com Halden Wofford & the Highbeams - hibeams.com  Betse & Clarke - betseandclarke.com  Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons - benjoemusic.com  Kristin Andreassen - kristinandreassen.com  Jefferson Hamer - jeffersonhamer.com  Anna & Elizabeth - annaandelizabeth.com  Adam Tanner - adamtannermusic.com  Los Texmaniacs - texmaniacs.com

Our loquacious lovebirds take a look at the curious profusion of anti­authority narratives that exist in so many folk and roots songs. From law­breaking to rebellion to no-­holds­barred militant libertarianism, there’s no shortage of plunky disobedience in the people’s music. Kelly and Ryan examine a few of these unruly songs and then sing you a peppy rendition of an agitatin’ classic.  

No exploration of Americana/folk music is complete until one has seriously considered the chicken and all of its culturo­-musical implications. Though this episode may lack some of the erudition and sophistication you’ve come to expect from Spearman & Wells, this deep­ dive into the wonderful world of ​Gallus gallus domesticus ​will not fail to edify and delight the lucky listener​!

The king and queen of myocarditis return to the studio to kick off the second round of The Aching Hearts Show. The season opener features an in depth and sometimes downright silly, conversational exploration of innuendo as a cornerstone of the American folk experience. If you’re prone to blushing then please be advised that you listen at your own risk.

In this episode (the season finale!) our beloved dyad delves into the prevalence and role of Christian symbology in folk/roots music and post-colonial American culture in general. Pop in them there earbuds and soak up a bit of this seasonally-relevant waxing. Also, make sure to stick around till the end to hear a special announcement about the next big Aching Hearts event on the horizon.

It’s no secret to folk and roots music enthusiasts that there exist a phenomenon known as “the floating verse”. These floating verses, as they’re called, have a way of showing up again and again in many an otherwise disparate folk song. What’s going on here? Were our ancestral composers too lazy or too busy to come up with some lyrics of there own? Or is the unignorable ubiquity of these verses a series of messages from the collective unconscious? Where do we, the torch-bearing folk purveyors of the present day fit into all of this? Find out (or not) in this amazing episode of The Aching Hearts Show.

It’s amazing how adaptive we humans can be and how, as a result of this condition, we can end up taking for granted so many of the miracles of our daily experience. These magical experiences are happening all the time, right under our noses...and right on our feet. Strap on your ear buds, open your minds, and bask in the dubious conclusions of our valiant co-hosts as they conversationally consider the glory that is: the shoe.

The listeners have spoken and The Aching Hearts have listened! Well, kind of. Actually, a listener suggested that our beloved duo do a show focusing on shoes and their symbology in folk & roots music. So, not quite getting the message, Kelly and Ryan decide to talk about walking instead.  So, grab your walkin’ cane and take a stroll with The Aching Hearts as they travel down the twisted path of folksy free association.

Diverging a bit from the show’s standard format, this special episode has Kelly and Ryan turning their attentions to the lyrics of a single old song by the name of “I Truly Understand”. This reversal of the show’s usual process makes for some delightful moments as the pair jumps through a variety intellectual hoops in an earnest attempt to find deep, life-affirming meaning in some dead hillbilly’s stolen lyrics.

Today’s topic is whisky. A companion to last week’s coca-centric convo, this session contemplates the culturo-musical impact and importance of spiritus frumenti. So, raise a glass and gather round the ole’ virtual Philco for another exciting episode of The Aching Hearts Show.

If you’re a fan of older, American folk & roots music you’ve surely noticed that there are quite a few songs about cocaine. Kelly and Ryan dig into some reasons why cocaine has made so many cameos in the folk & popular music of yesterday and today. Pursuant to the subject matter at hand, our dynamic duo seems to be having an extra lively time during this episode. We think you will too!  

The Aching Hearts have a lively discussion about absurdity and the arts. Kelly and Ryanshare their own absurd musings as the chatter moves from muskrats to World War II nihilism to non lexical vocables. ‘Nuff said.

Is there any better modality for the sharing of human experience than the story? Have a listen and decide for yourself as Kelly and Ryan explore the function of stories in history, music, and everyday life. As per usual, the conversation covers a lot of ground, from personal tales to mythology to 90s rock bands, and ends with a song.