In this episode, David Humphrey interviews the New York artist and writer, Dike Blair. They explore the crossroads of personal resonance, nostalgia, and the transformative power of music. This episode ranges from '60s psychedelia of the to heart-wrenching country tunes of the '80s and '90s: the shimmering "Shine," Merle Haggard's evocative "Sidewalks of Chicago," and George Jones' poignant "The King is Gone." Dike talks about his flirtations with the New York punk scene, his musical past at CBGB, and the thin line between escapism and transcendence.

⁠Dike Blair⁠ (b. 1952) is a writer and teacher as well as an artist and came up in the downtown scene of 1970s New York among punk rockers and Postmodernists.

Image: Untitled, 2007. Photograph courtesy of ⁠Karma Karma⁠.