This month on The Allender Calendar, it's a two-part special as I (Robin Allender) talk to the musician William Doyle about Cass McCombs's beautifully morbid 2011 album, Wit's End. In the first part, we discuss Cass's extraordinary lyrics, what makes him such a unique (and underrated) songwrite, and where we were when we first heard the album.

Interview with Cass McCombs from around the time of Wit's End:

https://www.thefader.com/2011/12/05/cass-mccombs-scorpio-rising

Also in The Fader, this is my favourite interview with Cass from 2022:

https://www.thefader.com/2022/08/17/cass-mccombs-heartmind-interview-new-album-2022

Never Ending Stories podcast interview with Cass McCombs:

https://shows.acast.com/never-ending-stories-pod/episodes/nes-068-the-cass-mccombs-interview

We briefly mention Cass's song Bradley Manning which was recorded before Chelsea Manning transitioned.

William Doyle's Bandcamp page:

https://williamdoyle.bandcamp.com/

If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here:

https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Bloomsday! This month I'm delighted to welcome back writer and top-tier Joycean David Collard to celebrate the publication (on 16 June, no less) of Guillermo Stitch's dazzling new novel The Coast of Everything.

Guillermo Stitch's Substack:

https://guillermostitch.substack.com/

Support the podcast:

https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month on The Allender Calendar I’m talking to comedian, broadcaster, and very good friend John Robins about his book Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life. It's a beautifully written account of alcoholism and recovery – candid, profound and very funny. I’m positive it will help a lot of people. I’m extremely proud of John for writing this book, and for getting to the place he’s at now. It was great to talk to him about the writing process, and about addiction, spirituality and much more. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation!

You can get hold of a copy of Thirst here:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/465247/thirst-by-robins-john/9780241740040

And, if you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here:

https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.