WGXC-90.7 FM

Music in Time: Episode 38: Ambient Detective Mix Series 1

May 27, 2026: 10am - 11am
WGXC 90.7-FM: Radio for Open Ears

90.7-FM in NY's Upper Hudson Valley and wgxc.org/listen everywhere
http://www.wgxc.org/

Hosted by Evan McCormick.

On this  slightly esoteric episode of Music In Time, host Evan McCormick introduces listeners to the world of 'Ambient Detective' -- a curated mix of dark jazz and ambient music selected for the purposes of fueling late-night historical research. Unsettling, compelling, mysterious: this is the music designed to accompany forays into the depths of the archives. Presented as a two-sided mix (a: twilight investigations/b: midnight research), this one goes out to all the amateur sleuths poring over the files late into the night. The truth is out there!

Side A: Twilight Investigations
1. Subterraneans - David Bowie
2. Générique - Miles Davis
3. Black refraction - Tim Hecker
4. Stool Pigeon - Paul Pritchard
5. Theme From "The Conversation" - David Shire
6. Sollen Es Doch Alle Wissen - Bohren & Der Club of Gore
7. Sintesi n.2 - Massimo Martellotta
8. Not Like This - Till Brönner

Side B: Midnight Research
9. Main Title ("Body Heat") - John Barry
10. Méditation des Enfants - Alain Goraguer
11. Red Riding 1983: Finding Hazel - Barrington Pheloung
12. Pinned and Mounted - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
13. Walk To Still My Beating Heart - Jim Williams
14. It's Over - Tom Waits
15. Windswept - Johnny Jewel

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Music does not just exist. It exists in specific times and places and in the sonic world of each individual listener who engages with it. That’s the basic idea behind "Music in Time," which explores the social and political context in which songs and albums emerge, are listened to, and reflected on over the years. Host Evan McCormick uses different formats to play with the idea of music in time—sometimes focusing on a single album and detailing the social and political circumstances surrounding its release, sometimes putting together playlists that explore a theme or concept in songs through the years. Each broadcast asks: how is music shaped by its own historical moment, and, in turn, how does music shape the histories that we remember?

By day, Evan McCormick is a historian at Columbia University, where he uses oral history interviews to understand how people remember and make sense of the past. By night, McCormick is a music lover and singer-songwriter, recording under the stage name Egan Caufield. For most of his life these two worlds remained separate, but after relocating to Catskill in 2020, he chose to bring history and music together over the airwaves, and "Music in Time" was born.

Playlist:
  • Desire Path / King In Yellow
  • Christine’s Tune / The Flying Burrito Brothers
  • Sin City / The Flying Burrito Brothers
  • Wheels / The Flying Burrito Brothers
  • Poison in the Well / 10,000 Maniacs
  • A Day Called Zero / The Sugarcubes
  • Feels Like Summer / Childish Gambino
  • Walk to My Still Beating Heart / Jim Williams
  • It's Over / Tom Waits
  • Windswept / Johnny Jewel