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PODCAST

The Music Book Podcast

A podcast about music books, talking to authors about how they wrote their books about music! Hosted by music writer Marc Masters.

music music interviews

All Episodes

45:50

057 Mark Doyle on John Cale's Paris 1919

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/04/01

On this episode, Marc talks with Mark Doyle, author of "John Cale's Paris 1919," published in February of 2025 as part of the 33.3 series of short books on individual albums. It's a fascinating examination of John Cale's 1973 album, which Doyle approaches along the theme of "ghosts," with chapters on "The Ghosts of New York," "The Ghost of Dylan Thomas," "The Ghosts of HIstory," and "The Ghosts of Christmas." As Doyle writes, "If you are looking for some systematic explanation of the songs' m...

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48:40

056 S.H. Fernando Jr. on DOOM

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/03/18

On this episode, Marc talks with S.H. Fernando Jr., author of "The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconoclast," released in October of 2024 by Astra House. It's a thorough and thought-provoking biography of the legendary rapper, writer, and producer known best as MF DOOM. Fernando delves into the mystery of DOOM's work and life while also capturing the magic that his music conjured. As Fernando writes, "As a complex character who cherished his privacy, DOOM's very nature precludes...

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42:18

055 Eric Shade on the Bangles

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/03/04

On this episode, Marc talks with Eric Shade, author of "All Over The Place - The Rise of The Bangles From The L.A. Underground," published in January of 2024. It's a super detailed, comprehensive biography of the Bangles from the childhoods of each member up to the present day, as well as a compelling depiction of the LA scene, especially the Paisley Underground, that they grew up from and are still really a part of. Eric has been a Bangles fan since he was a kid and the amount of knowledge a...

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47:31

054 Angela Jaeger on her Punk Diaries

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/02/18

On this episode, Marc talks with Angela Jaeger, author of “I Feel Famous: Punk Diaries 1977-1981,” released on February 4th, 2025. It’s a compendium of her diary entries when she was a teenager living in New York and London, going to see punk bands at CBGB’s, Max’s, Tier 3, and many other places. Jaeger seemingly saw and met every band around, forging friendships with the Cramps, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, X-Ray Spex, the Raincoats, and the Clash, among many others. Her diary entries rush w...

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52:55

053 Donna-Claire Chesman on Emo Rap

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/02/04

On this episode, Marc talks with Donna-Claire Chesman. She’s the author of “Crybaby: The Artists Who Shaped Emo Rap,” published on January 21, 2025. It’s a fascinating look at a genre that grew up from the Soundcloud underground to become wildly popular, focusing on artists like Atmosphere, Lil Peep, Yung Lean, and Juice WRLD. “Crybaby” does justice to a musical subculture that’s more complex and rewarding than you might realize. As Donna-Claire writes, “The history of Emo Rap is imperfect, a...

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48:22

052 Daniel Spicer on Peter Brötzmann

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/01/21

On this episode, Marc talks to Daniel Spicer, author of "Peter Brötzmann: Free-Jazz, Revolution and the Politics of Improvisation,” published January 14, 2025. It’s a thorough and fascinating biography of the German musician best known for his roaring saxophone tone and boundary-breaking albums like “Machine Gun” and “Nipples." Talking with Brotzmann and his collaborators, Spicer digs deep into his many great recordings, performances, and partnerships, showing him to be a three-dimensional ar...

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54:57

051 Liz Pelly on Spotify

The Music Book Podcast ·

2025/01/07

On this episode, Marc talks with Liz Pelly, author of “Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist,” published on January 7, 2025. by One Signal. It’s a deeply reported expose of the streaming service Spotify and how their decisions and manipulations have changed music both for artists and for listeners. Liz has been reporting on Spotify for almost a decade and her many published articles on the subject led her to this fascinating book, which will hopefully change t...

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62:17

050 Brendan Greaves on Terry Allen

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/12/17

On this episode, Marc talks with Brendan Greaves, author of “Truckload of Art: The Life and Work of Terry Allen,” published in March of 2024. It’s a thorough and compelling biography of artist, musician, and performer Terry Allen, whose art has crossed lines from museum-hosted visual art to outlaw country to work that no genre can contain. Greaves, who runs the record label Paradise of Bachelors, met Allen many years ago and reissued many of his classic albums, forging a relationship in which...

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51:31

049 Jim Saah on Photographing Punk

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/12/03

On this episode, Marc talks with Jim Saah, author and illustrator of “In My Eyes: Photographs 1982-1987,” originally published in 2021 and out in a second edition now. It’s a huge, beautiful book of black and white photographs taken by Saah of an astounding array of punk and post-punk groups, from the Ramones to Black Flag to Fugazi to Pavement. It also includes Saah’s interviews with artists who work at the cross sections of music and imagery, including J. Robbins, Jon Langford, Shepard Fair...

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49:18

048 Marcus J. Moore on De La Soul

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/11/19

On this episode, Marc talks with Marcus J. Moore, author of “High and Rising: A Book about De La Soul,” published today, November 19. It’s a biography of the legendary rap trio that also weaves in Moore’s own story as well as the evolution of rap from the 80s, when De La Soul started, to today. It's a follow up to Moore's first book, “The Butterfly Effect,” about Kendrick Lamar, which came out in 2020.As Marcus writes, “High and Rising doesn’t just tell the story of De La Soul; it unpacks the...

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54:30

047 Laura Davis-Chanin and Liz Lamere on Alan Vega

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/11/05

On this episode, Marc talks with Laura Davis-Chanin and Liz Lamere, co-authors of “Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega,” a deep and thorough portrait of the man most know as half of the innovative duo Suicide, but who also had an amazing career as a visual artist and poet. Laura and Liz weave a compelling narrative of his life with extended quotes from many people whose lives were affected by him, as well as an amazing wealth of images from along his entire, massively-productive career.As ...

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48:23

046 Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/10/22

On this episode, Marc talks with Steve Wynn, author of “I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True: A Memoir Of Life, Music, And The Dream Syndicate,” published in August of 2024. It’s an entertaining and insightful memoir of his music-obsessed life, from his childhood biking to the store to buy records, to his days as a record store clerk and radio DJ, to his co-founding of the Dream Syndicate, the LA band whose debut album “Days of Wine and Roses” is a classic of 80’s post-punk.As Wynn write...

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49:35

045 Jonathon Grasse on Eric Dolphy

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/10/08

On this episode, Marc talks with Jonathan Grasse, author of “Jazz Revolutionary: The Life and Music of Eric Dolphy,” due out on October 15. It’s a thorough history of the legendary jazz multi-instrumentalist, who produced an impressive body of work both on his own and in groups led by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, and many more, before his tragic death in 1964 at age 36. Grasse crafts the first truly comprehensive biography of Dolphy by tracing nearly every step of his music c...

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55:33

044 Corey duBrowa on The EP

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/09/24

On this episode, Marc talks with Corey duBrowa, author of “An Ideal For Living: A Celebration of the EP,” published in early 2024. It’s an overview of some of the best EP’s from the 1950s until the present, with decade-themed chapters containing entries on individual releases by a wide range of writers. In addition, duBrowa wrote an opening chapter on the history of the format, and put together a final chapter of what he and his friends deem the best EPs of all time. There’s also an intro by ...

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69:33

043 Henry Rollins on Staying Fanatic

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/09/10

On this episode, Marc talks with Henry Rollins, author of “Stay Fanatic! Volume 4,” the latest entry in his series of books chronicling, as he puts it, “Lessons in Possession and Confessions of Obsession.” Written in diary form, “Stay Fanatic!” dives into Rollins’ adventures in listening to music, finding out about music, and hunting for records on Ebay and Discogs. It’s also a kind of travelogue, as many entries were written while Rollins was on tour, as well as a kind of evolving philosophi...

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50:58

042 David Stubbs on Why People Get Rothko But Don't...

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/08/27

On this episode, Marc talks with David Stubbs. He’s the author of “Fear of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don't Get Stockhausen,” originally published in 2009 and recently reissued. It's an examination of how avant-garde visual art gets mainstream acceptance but avant-garde music is comparatively obscure and unpopular. It's also a pocket history of modern art and music that brings up all kinds of interesting issues and associations among many different artistsAs David writes, “Part of this ...

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55:18

041 Frans de Waard on RRRecords

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/08/13

On this episode, Marc talks with Frans de Waard, author of “America’s Greatest Noise,” published in July of 2024 by Frans’s own imprint, Korm Plastics. It’s the story of Ron Lessard, founder of RRRecords in Massachusetts, which he ran from the mid-80s until 2009. It's a story told in Lessard’s own words, compiled by de Waard from a series of Skype conversations the pair had over the past year. There are so many fascinating and often hilarious stories about how Lessard put together his re...

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48:39

040 Robyn Hitchcock on 1967

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/07/30

On this episode, Marc talks with Robyn Hitchock, author of “1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left,” published in July of 2024. You probably know Robyn as an incredibly creative and accomplished musician. His first book could be called a memoir, but it’s confined to the year 1967, when he left home at age 13 to enter boarding school in England, and fell in love with music. It's a super compelling book filled with Hitchcock’s vivid depictions and idiosyncratic notions, written to read like...

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49:45

039 Toby Manning on Pop and Politics

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/07/16

On this episode, Marc talks with Toby Manning, author of “Mixing Pop and Politics: A Marxist History of Popular Music,” published in May of 2024. It’s an extensive examination of pop music from the early 1950’s to the present in America and England, and how it interacted with the political culture of its respective times. Covering a vast selection of songs and albums, Manning finds connections and provides insights that you might never have considered. Anyone interested in pop music of the la...

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56:04

038 Mike Smith on Popular 60s Jazz

The Music Book Podcast ·

2024/07/02

On this episode, Marc talks with Mike Smith, author of “In With The In Crowd: Popular Jazz in 1960s Black America,” published in May of 2024. Smith argues that most studies of 60s jazz focus on the avant-garde centered around John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and more, and he sets out to balance that with a history of the more popular jazz artists from that decade, such as Eddie Harris, Nancy Wilson, and Ramsey Lewis, showing how their music also influenced the form and culture of...

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77 results

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