This Night Flight segment from one of our early seasons ('81-83 era) features a 1955 episode of "Showtime at the Apollo," featuring an ensemble of African American performers live from the the landmark Apollo Theater in Harlem. The show is hosted by "Mayor of Harlem" Willie Bryant and features incredible performances from Bill Bailey, Ruth Brown ("Have a Good Time"), Cab Calloway and his Orchestra ("Minnie the Moocher"), Lionel Hampton ("Cobb's Idea"), Leonard Reed, "Big" Joe Turner ("Oke-She-Moka-She-Pop") and Sarah Vaughan ("Perfidio").

“It’s a quiet storm…” Nigerian-born fashion designer turned singer Sade is the subject of tonight’s Video Profile. Pat Prescott starts us off with an introduction to the “smooth and sexy high priestess of soul,” before jumping into a Sade mega-mix cut with exclusive interviews with the artist from the Night Flight studio (originally filmed in 1985). In her interview segment, Sade talks about her record Diamond Life and finally provides instructions to the American audience on how to pronounce her name.

A young girl develops telekinesis.

Tonight, we go back to 1988 to Take Off to Futurism in Music Videos. "The future is upon us, with Robots, Computers and new technologies" Pat Prescott informs us at the top of tonight's episode. Kicking off with Bonnie Tyler scored supercut of Fritz Lang's Metropolis this episode shows a multitude of visions of the future through music. Re-flex is "Hurt," the Earons explore "The Land of Hunger," Tangerine Dream's Peter Baumann signs of "Strangers in the Night" and DEVO tell the tale of the "Worried Man." This episode on the future has the special honor of being bookended by a good friend from the past, Mr. Bill.

A spoof of educational films about gravity.

In "Take Off to Comedy IX," enter Jackie Mason's mind with the brilliant compilation “The World According To Me,” Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi get Brian Wilson out of bed to go surfing in a long forgotten clip that was one of our most popular stories on the blog last year. Other gems include Divine’s “These Lips Were Made For Kissing,” Dweezil Zappa, Weird Al Yankovich and an original segment with comedian Ritch Shydner’s hilarious bit in the Night Flight studios.

A radical hybrid of spy, sci-fi, Western, and even horror genres, Craig Baldwin's Mock Up On Mu cobbles together a feature-length "collage-narrative" based on (mostly) true stories of California's post-War sub-cultures of rocket pioneers, alternative religions, and Beat lifestyles.

Tonight on Night Flight Originals, we’re prepared the best slice of nighttime TV you’re going to find anywhere on the dial. Put down that remote! You’re about to experience Video Profile’s of two of 1980s most intriguing dance rock bands: The Thompson Twins and OMD. Packed with rare deep cuts, sentimental favorites and behind the scene’s interviews, this two for the price of one special is a knockout!

Tonight, we’re opening Night Flight’s closely guarded vaults and dedicating a full hour to Video Classics. “The diamonds, emeralds, pearls, gold, frankincense and myrrh of video history” host Tom Juarez explains in one of his interstitial antics. Catch the episode in our 1990’s Syndication Episodes row!

Welcome back its time to climb into the video vault for Devo, and follow the bands career through their experimental clips. Night Flight looks at the hottest metal in 1986 with new Twisted Sister, Black 'n Blue, Autograph, Kiss and more metal masters.

Salvador Dali, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground and other denizens of Andy Warhol’s netherworld make an appearance in this long-lost footage from the Factory for Nico's "Frozen Warnings." Featuring the gorgeous, droning arrangements of John Cale's pipe organ, and the otherworldly voice of Warhol’s muse, this The Marble Index deep cut is a perfect backdrop to some of the best looking footage of The Factory you can find.  “Somewhere along the line, punk and disco got all mixed up in the pulsating metal machine music of Industrial sounds.” Hell yeah, Pat Prescott. Sign us up. For Night Flight’s industrial dance mega-mix, our editors creatively synced footage of ‘60s Go-Go Dancers with crackin’ edits from Meatbeat Manifesto, Renegade Soundwave, KLF and 9 Inch Nails [sic].

Episode 278. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring George Clinton, Tony Carey, Tracey Ullman, and more.

Episode 286. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring Wang Chung, The Alan Parsons Project, and a summer movie preview.

Night Flight takes you to the dazzling animation of contemporary music videos, from Herbie Hancock's computer-assisted imagery to the kaleidoscopic videos of Adrian Belew and the Tom Tom Club.

Your perfect Oscar weekend companion has arrived... 35 years late. Tonight's Night Flight Original Episode is a preview for the 1985's Award's show! Ray Parker Jr. tells us about writing the Ghostbuster's theme, master filmmaker David Lean discusses Passage to India, up for Best Picture (lost to Amadeus) and much more.

We've seen the comments on Facebook and Instagram. It's clear that for many of you, Night Flight was the point of discovery for The Police. Let us just say (1) we’re honored by that fact and (2) tonight you can watch the official Video Profile (1985) that may have introduced you to them!

“Take Off” to Chicago-based independent label Drag City featuring music videos from Bill Callahan, Ty and Denée Segall, Circuit des Yeux and Smog.

“Take Off” to Chicago-based independent label Drag City featuring music videos from Bill Callahan, Ty and Denée Segall, Circuit des Yeux and Smog.

Former geotechnical engineer Lucrecia Dalt's experimental compositions.

Today we’re highlighting Sacred Bones Records, including music videos by SQÜRL, Mort Garson and Maria BC.

Bézier is the moniker of all-live-analog electronic wizard Robert Yang from San Francisco. Yang’s studio set up includes a variety of vintage Roland and Korg synthesizers as well as the Italo Disco favorite LinnDrum.

Founded in 2010 by Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski, the group uses ethereal synth pop tones mixed over surging industrial beats. With the release of their first album TRST in 2012, the duo went their separate ways and Alfons continued to record and tour under the name. As a solo project Alfons began incorporating more elements of acid house and techno into his next release Joyland in 2014, which debuted to massive critical and commercial success.

“There’s a strange romanticism to going a little bit crazy and playing the piano to yourself and singing into the night." Singer/songwriter Cate Le Bon began her career collaborating with fellow Welsh musicians Gruff Rhys and Richard James before releasing her first EP, the Welsh language Looking in the Eyes of a Borrowed Horse in 2008. In 2019 Cate Le Bon signed with Mexican Summer for her fifth album, Reward, released to critical acclaim. Here's the video for "Home To You."

In 2020 Kentucky-based singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle, known for her brand of dark and expressive post-rock, teamed up with Louisiana metal band Thou for one of the most interesting collaborative projects of the year. May Our Chambers Be Full, released on Sacred Bones, channelling Rundle’s brooding lyrics and Thou’s atmospheric sludge into a record that showcases the DIY versatility of both parties.

His fellow musicians call him “Fitzy” a term of both affection and respect. Born March 27, 1970, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the hockey loving multi-instrumentalist is always busy. In his long, eclectic career, he has worked with Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Theory of a Deadman, Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, Union, Gene Simmons, The Guess Who, Brad Whitford from Aerosmith, Derek St Holmes, and Ronnie Montrose just to name a few. This caffeinated conversation took place at our mutual favorite, Star Wars-themed local coffee house, Grouchy John’s, just days before he hit the road for a three-month European stint with the Dead Daisies. He is truly a prince in a land of few gentlemen.

John Carpenter, the American director, producer and screenwriter has made a name for himself as a master of horror and science fiction with film scores just as memorable, and haunting as the violence they accompany. Directing and composing over a dozen features, Carpenter, along with his son Cody and his godson Daniel Davies, teamed up with Sacred Bones to release his debut studio album Lost Themes in 2015 and then the sequential Lost Themes II in 2016. Following the success of these albums, as well as a series of rerecordings of his most iconic cinematic themes, Carpenter and family returned in 2021 with Lost Themes III: Alive after death.

Fernando Perdomo born Fernando Jose Perdomo on August 17, 1980, is an American musician and producer. He is best known as one of the guitarists in the acclaimed music documentary, Echo in the Canyon, where he backed up Jakob Dylan, Fiona Apple, Beck. Nora Jones, Regina Spektor, Brian Wilson and Cat Power. He is currently a member of The Dave Kerzner Band, the highly regarded progressive rock ensemble that performs annually on the sold-out Cruise to the Edge. It was aboard a floating city in the middle of the Caribbean where I first encountered Fernando. He was laying down some mind-blowing riffs on the windy outdoor pool stage. I approached him after the set wearing a rare Kate Bush “Cloudbusting” shirt. “That’s the best Kate tee I’ve ever seen!” he shouted. “You and I are gonna be friends.” The session here was conducted in his cabin on the 2025 CTTE where he lent his formidable chops to three different groups.

Dinosaur Jr. frontman's project for Sub Pop records. Featuring music from 2018's "Elastic Days" and more.

Legendary Japanese heavy rock group Boris “continue their musical creation and destruction” with 2022’s W, their first release with Sacred Bones.

Australian Singer/Songwriter Indigo Sparke was born into a musical family and knew from a young age she wanted to perform. After teaching herself guitar, Indigo began establishing herself in the Sydney-music scene with quiet but commanding folk music, releasing her debut EP Night Bloom in 2016. Over the next few years Sparke would continue to build her profile in the contemporary folk world. Her first full-length album Echo arrived in 2021 on Sacred Bones.

Soft-focus sounds from painter and an ambient composer Tor Lundvall on Dais Records.

“Take Off” to Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop featuring music videos from Father John Misty, Tad, The Jesus and Mary Chain and more.

Taos-based artist Diatom Deli, or Delisa Paloma-Sisk, is an experimental multi-instrumentalist and vocalist whose work is driven by ethereal sonic experimentation that comprises hypnotic loops, bright samples, and subtle melodies. Her third album, Time~Lapse Nature, is a transportive continuation of the blooming sincerity that characterizes Deli’s musical inclinations.

Axis: Sova began as the experimental psych-rock solo project of Chicago artist Brett Sova, who wrote and recorded much of the bands early output before settling on a full lineup. Since 2018 the band has consisted of Sova with Tim Kaiser on guitar and Jeremy Freeze on bass.

Chilean psych band Föllakzoid, known for their hypnotic rhythms and Andean folk and krautrock influences, was formed by childhood friends Diego Lorca, Domingo García-Huidobro, and Juan Pablo Rodríguez in 2008 as a trance experience, jamming on a single song for two hours in their first practice session. This free-form approach to playing and performing influenced their early output, working for years on their self-titled Sacred Bones debut EP released in 2011.

Alan Vega, visual artist and frontman of punk pioneer duo Suicide, passed away in 2016 after a 50 year career in art and music. In addition to his musical output, Vega’s sculpture work gave him a notorious reputation in the New York art world, later opening a 24-hour gallery space that would go on to serve as an early venue for bands like the New York Dolls, Television and Blondie.

Minimal electronic abstraction and '80s Japanese-inspired pop from Kate NV.

Today we’re looking at DAIS Records, whose roster of emerging and influential artists include AURAGRAPH, Cold Gawd, and Body of Light.

Let’s return to Drag City, whose roster includes Natural Information Society & Bitchin Bajas, Geologist & Doug Shaw, Faun Fables and Jim White.

“intertwined etymologies of spirit and breath” from RVNG Intl.'s Ka Baird.

Moscow natives Dima Pantyushin and Sasha Lipsky create a musical landscape that bounces between the terrestrial and divine in an “immaculate synth-pop ecosystem” on their debut album Peshekhod.

Roxy Petrucci, born Roxanne Dora Petrucci, arrived on Planet Rock March 17, 1962, in the iron fisted Michigan village of Rochester. Rox and her sister, Maxine, formed Madame X in the mid 80s but she is best known as the highly respected drummer of the all-female glam metal outfit, Vixen. As the last original member standing – and Godmother of the group – she continues to hit kit harder than most of her male counterparts. We go back to 1989 when I green lip the first Vixen feature for Rip. Puts her heart into every kick and fill.

In a time rife with alienation, Magic Touch, the latest album by the ubiquitous and mysterious Jack Name to be released on Mexican Summer, offers the comfort of contact. With a body of work that ranges from the catchy to the cacophonous, Name has earned the reputation of a musician who’s difficult to define and has been a fixture in the Los Angeles underground for over a decade.

Suzanne Doucet got her start as a successful pop-star in Germany before moving to the US and embarking on her new-age career, releasing over 40 records in the states.

Actor, screenwriter and artist Karen Black cemented a place for herself in the New Hollywood movement of the 60s and 70s with starring turns in films like Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970). During an acting career that spans 5 decades and over 200 credits, Black began writing and recording music with notable producers Bones Howe and Elliot Mazer. Decades later under the oversight of Cass McCombs, her work has been restored from the original tapes for release on Mexican Summer’s Anthology Records label.

Today we’re looking at Don Giovanni, an independent record label from New Brunswick, New Jersey whose catalog includes Melissa Paternoster, Keith Secola, and Bad Bad Hats.

Queens-based experimental rock duo Blues Control, composed of Russ Waterhouse on guitars and electronics and keyboardist Lea Cho, established themselves in NY with exciting live shows and a series of self released cassettes and vinyl.

Initially getting its start as a noisy and abrasive solo project in the basement of Philadelphia guitarist Mike Polizze, before expanding into a power trio, Purling Hiss made their name in the sceen playing alongside acts like the War on Drugs.

Eiko Ishibashi’s blend of jazz, funk and even noise gives her work a singular voice

Welcome back to our profile of indie label Drag City, featuring Ty Segall, Whitney Johnston & Lia Kohl, Geologist & Doug Shaw and Prison. Here’s “Buildings,” from prolific psych-rock legend Ty Segall.

Cellist Oliver Coates's "ambient braindance" compositions.

“Take Off” to Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop featuring music videos from Orville Peck, Shannon Lay, Father John Misty and Lael Neale.

Slowcore pioneers Low on Sub Pop Records. Featuring music from 2018's "Double Negative" and more.

This is Unusual Sounds: A deep dive into the mysterious world of library music; the extraordinary stock recordings that soundtracked the heyday of B movies, low-budget television, and scrappy genre filmmaking curated by David Hollander and released by independent label Mexican Summer.

Veteran folk artist Devendra Banhart teams up with Mexican Summer labelmate Cate le Bon for spare new direction on Flying Wig, his eleventh album.

Dylan Moon is a Los Angeles musician who debuted in 2019 with Only the Blues. His second full-length, Option Explore, is a collection of clever, colorful songs filtered through frequencies, timbres, and dreams discovered and discarded while its maker shifts from one sub-genre to the next.

Dark analog dance songs for the post-modern era.

Xylouris White is the folk duo of Greek lute player George Xylouris and Australian drummer Jim White. Their 2014 album, Goats, features a fluid mix of regional folk traditions with psych and rock inspirations. They would expand on this with subsequent releases, including their punk influenced Drag City debut The Sisypheans

RVNG Intl’s 2019 release "Becoming Peter Ivers" collects 25 songs transferred from a survey of over 500 reels and cassettes along with an incredible amount of unseen photos and ephemera.

Ski Patrol were a band formed in 1979 in the Brixton area in response to the darkwave and post-punk bands that were gaining popularity in England at the time.

High Vis, led by enigmatic front person Graham Sayle, play “aggressive, gripping, and artful punk” that is sonically beyond the parameters of any single genre or scene. On their second album Blending, they bring a more introspective focus to their political lyrics.

Natalie Mering's orchestral folk project, signed to Sub Pop records. Songs from 2019's Titanic Rising.

“Take Off” to independent label Dais Records featuring music videos from Cold Showers, Pierce with Arrow, ADULT., and Xeno & Oaklander.

“Take Off” to Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop featuring music videos from Chai, Mudhoney, clipping., and Ya Tseen.

Black Marble, Chris Stewart’s 80s influenced synth-pop group, began releasing music in 2012 with the EP The Weight Against the Door and later the gloomy full length A Different Arrangement. This moody atmosphere, created by an arsenal of analog synths, would later give way to lighter and warmer sounds on Stewart’s successive releases, including 2019’s Bigger Than Life and 2021’s Fast Idol, both on Sacred Bones.

Philly post-punk outfit Death of Lovers on Dais Records.

Horse Lords is Owen Gardner, Andrew Bernstein, Max Eilbacher, and Sam Haberman, an instrumental quartet formed in 2010. Its music is defined by repetition and complexity, “humanized with exploration and passion.”

Los Angeles’s Geneva Jacuzzi has been combining high art and avant-pop since her 2010 debut Lamaze. Her third album, Triple Fire, came out in August of 2024.

Magik Markers member Elisa Ambrogio released her pop-influenced solo debut The Immoralist on Drag City in 2014. The album paired her soft and distant vocals with pop arrangements, all imparted with the rough textures of her noise rock roots.

“Take Off” to Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop featuring music videos from Weyes Blood, Metz, Wolf Parade and Bully.

Legendary singer-songwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s new album Keeping Secrets will Destroy You is for keeping people together, and for listening together.

Tonight we take off to indie label Drag City, home of artists such as Cory Hanson, Prison, Edith Frost and Dean Spun.