Late afternoon, Miami, and Iggy Pop and I were standing watching for a manatee that occasionally swims up along the river at the end of his garden. Pop was bare-chested in cerise trousers, talking about Brendan Benson. "Well you know Brendan," he said, "you how Brendan is, how Brendan sounds..." and as he spoke he waved his hand, stirring the warm air.

He was telling me why he had invited Benson to sing on a track on the Stooges' 2007 album the Weirdness. "I wanted a sweet, clean, effortless American voice on that particular chorus," he explained, as we looked down the river. "And Brendan had the voice."

It wasn't until this moment that I truly realised the Americanness of Brendan Benson. I'd long had him pinned as an Anglophile; heard in the glint of his lyrics, in the texture of his music, the influence of Elvis Costello, the Beatles, Bowie.

California-based fiddle, guitar, and banjo player, and ardent 78 collector Frank Fairfield has made his living as a musician, often found playing on the streets of Los Angeles. Handpicked by Fleet Foxes to open their U.S. tour last year, Frank released a 7" on Tompkins Square and recorded his self-titled debut album. His 7" won over tough critics and purists like Grammy winning producer Chris King (Charley Patton, People Take Warning box set), Phil Alexander (Mojo) and Greil Marcus, to name a few.