"Hurray for the Riff Raff is the perfect music for this moment," Anna Sale says of the guest on her Slate podcast, Death, Sex & Money. "In it, you hear the sweep of American history and propulsive motion, coming together in joy and protest and marking losses in family and community, and Alynda Segarra's voice—clear and melodic with a sly punk edge." You can hear their conversation, about Segarra's life and music, here via Spotify and Apple Music:

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra)'s new album, The Past Is Still Alive, was created during a period of personal grief, when they found inspiration in radical poetry, railroad culture, outsider art, the work of writer Eileen Myles, and activist groups like ACT UP and Gran Fury. Segarra uses their lyrics as a way to immortalize and say goodbye to those they have loved and lost, and to honor both the heartbroken and the hopeful parts of themselves. "Segarra has created an epic tale of life on the road, a nearly mythic version of their own life story that stands alongside other great American musical travelogues," exclaims NPR Music. "Career-defining." Rolling Stone says: "Segarra has honed their craft into a cohesive, astonishingly realized singer-songwriter record ... the best batch of songs Segarra's ever written." Paste calls it "a celebratory measure of love, sanctuary, and defiance ... In their hands, the trauma of the present day is a prelude to the possibilities of a better tomorrow."