Alison Gives Us An Update, Bonus CR5 Performances, 25 Years of Elliot Smith's 'XO', Reading 'The Age of Innocence', Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads

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Alison Stewart checks in with guest host Kerry Nolan while she is recovering from her kidney donation surgery.

Recently on the show, we've featured live performances from jazz singer Roxana Amed and pianist Frank Carlberg, as well as singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy. Both groups recorded more live performances with us off the air, so here you can listen to Margaret's new song "Memories" from her album Echo the Diamond and Roxana's "Pido El Silencio."

Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith released XO, his fourth album and major label debut, on August 25, 1998. The album marked a shift in the sound of Smith's music towards grander gestures and lusher production. During its recording, Smith's profile jumped from esteemed indie songwriter to Oscar nominee, for a song featured in 1997's "Good Will Hunting." But XO also turned out to be the musician's second-to-last LP, released five years before his death at the age of just 34. Jayson Greene, contributing editor at Pitchfork, joins us to discuss the legacy of XO and Elliott Smith's career.

For our second and final installment of our summer literature series, Summer School, in which we read a classic New York novel and invite you to read with us and participate on the radio, we spent the last 4 weeks reading Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, The Age of Innocence, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. The book is set in 1870s New York City, which follows Newland Archer and his romantic adventures with two women. Sarah Blackwood, associate professor of English at Pace University, is with us to talk about the importance of the novel, and take your calls.

2023 marks four decades since the Talking Heads performances that would end up as the 1984 concert film, "Stop Making Sense." In the years since, it has consistently ranked among the greatest music documentaries of all time. To celebrate, a 4K restoration of the film will hit theaters later this year, and this Friday, the band will release Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition), which features never-before-released recordings. Talking Heads keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison joins us.

This episode is guest-hosted by Kerry Nolan.