About Desert Oracle

https://desertoracle.com

Posts by Desert Oracle:

EPISODE #118: SPOOKY TALES FOR THE ST. PATRICK’S STORM

The pyramids of Guinness 12-packs at our High Desert grocery stores reminded us of St. Patrick’s Day coming up, but the grey cloudy skies and green hillsides of the Mojave Desert this month are reminders that the old pagan tales are with us still, wherever the landscape is haunted and strange. And that supernatural entities always gather in their ancient homes: wild forests, dramatic outcroppings of rock, and any lonesome place whipped by the winter winds.

This is EPISODE #118: SPOOKY TALES FOR THE ST. PATRICK’S STORM. Listen to the radio broadcast Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & all over the Mojave High Desert, or enjoy the podcast now.

New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Written & hosted by Ken Layne. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free podcast at our Desert Oracle Patreon page.

Become a Patron!

EPISODE #217: VOICE OF THE DESERT

The storms continue, the wildflowers begin to appear, and Chantel (our mysterious PCT through-hiker) probably made it to the Canadian border without any kind of Mountain Monster getting her, which is good. Also: What is the Voice of the Desert?

This is EPISODE #217: VOICE OF THE DESERT. Listen to the radio broadcast Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & all over the Mojave High Desert, or enjoy the podcast right now:

New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Written & hosted by Ken Layne. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free podcast at our Desert Oracle Patreon page.

Become a Patron!

EPISODE #216: MAKE IT SACRED

Nothing is sacred unless we set it aside as sacred. As Americans rapidly abandon organized religion, and the formerly sanctified church and temple sites go up for sale as designer homes, where are the places that are truly sacred? The places set aside for contemplation, meditation, festivals, the rituals of life & death?

There ain’t much. Not nearly enough. But that can be fixed. New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Written & hosted by Ken Layne. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free podcast at Patreon.com/desertoracle.

Become a Patron!

This is EPISODE #216: MAKE IT SACRED. Listen to the radio broadcast Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & all over the Mojave High Desert, or enjoy the podcast right now:

EPISODE #215: AMONG THE STATELY TREES

The Sacred Grove

Where’s the beautiful part, anyway? Well, start by walking about a mile past the last parking lot or dirt road or residential car-parts dump or informal halfway house or accidental pit-bull breeding farm, and keep going in the direction of the difficult terrain: the hills and the mountains and the boulders. Not the hills covered in radio relay towers, but the ones with nothing up there at all, nothing except more boulders, more spiky yucca trees that slash your arms, gnarled junipers and needle-armed Joshua trees, up to the craggy peak where the stately pinyons stand proud. Keep going that way.

On the second half of the program, Patrick Donnelly (newsletter) from the Center for Biological Diversity returns to talk about an international land grab dreamt up by a local commissioner in Lincoln County, Nevada, along with the nation of Denmark, which plans to destroy centuries-old forests of pinyon and juniper on your public lands to mush into “bio-fuel” for container ships. What?!

Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show via our Desert Oracle Patreon.

Become a Patron!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver; written & produced by Ken Layne. This is EPISODE #215: AMONG THE STATELY TREES. Listen to the radio broadcast Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the Mojave High Desert, or enjoy the podcast right now:

EPISODE #212: THE TYPING LIFE, w/ GUEST MATT WELCH

We are releasing this beast from the Patreon Archives — where you can find many more Patreon-only/Patreon-first episodes. A month ago, our old friend & collaborator Matt Welch joined us by telephone from New York City to talk about a magical time in California. Between 1999 and 2002, a wave of “news bloggers” washed over the calcified Los Angeles media landscape, and the effects were both surprising and long-lasting. Your host Ken Layne was part of that strange time, along with Mr. Welch and a cast of dozens.

We ain’t whining about it, nor excessively celebrating it. Just telling funny stories from the turn of the century. This episode wasn’t on the radio, which it why it runs 35 minutes instead of the usual 28 minutes. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free podcast on our Patreon Desert Oracle page. EPISODE #212: THE TYPING LIFE, WITH GUEST MATT WELCH

Become a Patron!

EPISODE #213: THE BALLAD OF MOJO NIXON

Mojo Forever!

Our old friend and mentor Mojo Nixon passed away this week, after playing a blistering set of rock ‘n roll for his fans aboard a hillbilly cruise ship. Tonight, we remember the showman, songwriter and deejay who was a towering figure in American underground culture for a long, long time. RIP Mojo Nixon.

Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show via our Desert Oracle Patreon.

Become a Patron!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver; written & produced by Ken Layne. This is: EPISODE #213: THE BALLAD OF MOJO NIXON. Listen to the podcast now or the radio broadcast Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the entire Mojave High Desert.

EPISODE #210: THE HERMIT’S LIFE

THE HERMIT

For some of us, the only peace of mind comes in absolute solitude, in those still numerous places where the calamitous noise of our civilization is mostly kept at bay. Ask anybody who completed a long hike — such as the PCT up the Western Spine of America — what they loved most, what made it such an unforgettable time. The solitude, they will often say. The quiet. Not the absence of sound, that’s rarely what anyone means, but the absence of the sounds of civilization. That awful, unending racket.

Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show via our Desert Oracle Patreon.

Become a Patron!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver; written & produced by Ken Layne. This is: EPISODE #210: THE HERMIT’S LIFE. Listen to the podcast now or the radio broadcast Friday nights at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the entire Mojave High Desert.

EPISODE #211: HORROR ON THE CALIFORNIA BACKROADS

Trouble Bound

The first new Desert Oracle Radio of the year: The strange true tale of a missing child, a newspaper that hired a talk-show psychic to find that child, and the cops reporter who covered the grim & baffling end of the case.

Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show via our Desert Oracle Patreon.

Become a Patron!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver; written & produced by Ken Layne. This is: EPISODE #211: HORROR ON THE CALIFORNIA BACKROADS Listen to the podcast now or the radio broadcast tonight at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the Mojave High Desert.

EPISODE #209: GADZOOKS, IT’S SOLSTICE-TIME!

A wet winter is visiting the American High Desert this Week of the Winter Solstice … which used to be the same day as Christmas and New Year’s and the Birthday of Dionysus, until Big Government caused the chaos and disorder of the present. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show via our Desert Oracle Patreon.

Become a Patron!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver; written & produced by Ken Layne. This is EPISODE #209: GADZOOKS, IT’S SOLSTICE-TIME! Listen to the radio broadcast tonight at 10 p.m. on KCDZ 107.7 FM in Joshua Tree & the Mojave High Desert.

EPISODE #208: LIVE FROM EARTH

Tonight’s episode comes to you live from Los Angeles, where Desert Oracle Radio opened the show for “Seattle’s Slowest,” the legendary group EARTH on its 30th Anniversary Tour for the Sub-Pop album EARTH2, at Glendale’s Alex Theater. Sounds by RedBlueBlackSilver; words by Ken Layne.

Thanks for supporting this advertising-free show via our Desert Oracle Patreon. PS — SPOTIFY HAS REMOVED THIS EPISODE, SAYING OUR SOUNDSCAPE BACKGROUNDS USED IN EVERY EPISODE FOR SEVEN YEARS IS NOW A “CONTENT VIOLATION.” PLEASE DON’T USE SPOTIFY TO LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST, IF YOU WANT TO HEAR NEW EPISODES. [And now it’s back, after an “appeals process.”]

Become a Patron!

Soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver; written & produced by Ken Layne. This is EPISODE #208: LIVE FROM EARTH.