If there’s an official mission statement for the kind of music we all love, it’s “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll.” These are the three main food groups in this world. All three of these
Read MoreGoing on tour is hard. You’re away from home for months at a time. There’s little sleep, bad food, too many drugs, a surfeit of alcohol, late nights, temptations into bad behavior, crazy
Read MoreHere’s a simple question with a very complicated answer—and I’m not even sure we know the answer: why do we have music? There’s no known evolutionary or biological need for it. We could
Read MoreThere are so many things in this universe that we just can’t explain. Science, law enforcement, researchers, internet detectives—they continue to come up empty. The fate of Amelia Earhart is a good one.
Read MoreEver hear of Jeremy Bentham? He was an Englishman, a political philosopher who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries—and he was, by all measures of his time, a radical. He was against
Read MoreIn 1938, a 23-year-old graphic designer named Alex Steinweiss was hired as the first-ever art director for Columbia Records in New York. He was assigned a project: to help promote a new release
Read MoreThis is going to be a very visual program, which may be a bit of a challenge because you’re either listening to this as a radio show or a podcast, so I need
Read MoreIt’s one thing to simply listen to a song. We find certain forms of organized noise very pleasant—and it can be great. But there’s a way to make listening to music even better.
Read MoreThis program begins with an advisory. No, no, not that kind. There’s nothing dirty, obscene, or controversially political coming up. It’s just that, well—what you’re about to hear is different. Very different. And
Read MoreLet me tell the story again. In 2007, a couple of listeners asked if I would do another Ongoing History episode on the origins of band names. I’d done a few in the
Read MoreOne of the most important parts of music is beat and rhythm. Without beats, without rhythm, there’s no groove. Without a groove, there’s no movement or dancing or physically getting into the music.
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