PODCAST

the riley rock report

Tim Riley

listen smarter rileyrockreport.substack.com

music music history

All Episodes

7:26

Lars Vogt, Janacek, and Alternate Realities

the riley rock report ·

2022/09/16

To die in the midst of a thriving career at 51 exacerbates the loss of this quietly gripping pianist. This piece ran last fall when I fell in love with his Janacek recording, music I hadn't known before; Vogt drew me in and made me listen closely. I'll also miss his chamber music collaborations with violinist Christian Tetzlaff. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

25:24

Reverse Cool: Buddy Holly, John Lennon, and Four-Eyed...

the riley rock report ·

2022/09/09

Buddy Holly looms over the Beatles catalog, and his influence gets harder to overstate the more history recedes. A celebration of the songwriter and record-writer pegged to his birthday... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

4:14

Unlike a Tramp

the riley rock report ·

2022/08/19

Unlike a TrampIntro to Madonna: Illustrated by Tim Riley. Hyperion, 1992. When I wrote this book, Madonna's command of pop's cosmos felt unprecedented. Now in her fifth decade, triumphs like "Papa Don't Preach" and "Justify My Love" have lost their bang sooner than expected, and her Dick Tracy Oscar nomination now looks misplaced... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

13:03

Childlike Wisdom

the riley rock report ·

2022/08/07

Soviet Pianist Maria Yudina Converses With Greatness“Cats Are Indescribably Wonderful,Shostakovich’s Fugues Less So”Playing with Fire: The Story of Maria Yudina, Pianist in Stalin’s Russia, by Elizabeth Wilson, Yale University Press, 352ppLos Angeles Review of Books, August 4, 2022 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

13:45

Reconsider Baby: On Baz Luhrmann's Elvis

the riley rock report ·

2022/07/22

Among other things, Elvis Presley invented the rock ’n’ roll comeback. Up until 1968, ”coming back” from a career break barely existed in the new style since most fell short, or failed... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

25:29

Woody Guthrie at 110: This World Was Lucky

the riley rock report ·

2022/07/08

To mark Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday, this issue reprints a Radio Silence (RIP) essay pegged to the second volume of Mermaid Avenue and several other releases. Guthrie's words keep on inspiring, and as his shadow lengthens, most of Wilco's and Bragg's catalog now takes place inside this new context. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

10:54

MADE FOR TV: Watergate at 50 and Arkansas Elvis

the riley rock report ·

2022/06/24

During another summer of congressional hearings, fights over national memory and history itself, Watergate can feel further than five decades in the past. In retrospect, Richard Nixon’s story feels both sealed off from our modern squabbles and a little pathetic; the petty cover-up President may actually gain stature next to the riverboat gambler insurrectionist cult tyrant. The Republican congress that impeached President Bill Clinton for lying about his tryst with Monica Lewinsky feels closer, and

9:44

#HBD Prince: Shame About the Lyrics

the riley rock report ·

2022/06/10

Prince' Graffiti Bridge, a double album originally billed as a film soundtrack, ran on some very fine fumes (Sign O The Times, Batman). And the guest-stars made the party hop. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

5:19

Enigmatic Negation: Bob Dylan's Love and Theft

the riley rock report ·

2022/05/27

This Dylan release, famously issued on September 11, 2001, has aged better than expected. But it still makes you wonder what kind of weirdness Dylan swims in if he can knock off this sequence of deadpan humor in the middle of such epic indifference. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

7:56

Born-Again Brahms

the riley rock report ·

2022/05/13

Andras Schiff performs the two Brahms piano concertos on an 1859 Blüthner for a new transparency. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

30:08

One-Hit Wonders with Sarah Hill

the riley rock report ·

2022/04/29

Sarah Hill has edited a new collection of essays about One-Hit Wonders that covers wayward hits for intriguing angles on rock history. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

6:15

Loretta Lynn Schools Courtney Love, Melissa Auf Der Maur

the riley rock report ·

2022/04/12

As Loretta Lynn turns 90, we celebrate her punk influence, compare Love to Frank Sinatra, and ponder how Jack White white striped C&W royalty. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

2:33

Nick Lowe plays Emerson College 2019

the riley rock report ·

2022/03/22

Thinking back on Nick Lowe's Emerson College solo acoustic set, with custom playlist. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

17:14

Nick Lowe Biography & Power Pop History

the riley rock report ·

2022/03/21

Celebrating the omnivorous Nick Lowe, with a celebrated solo acoustic show for WERS in 2019, a review of Will Birch's 2020 biography, and more. March 24, 2022the riley rock report: listen smartera 2x monthly brief that ties today's pop culture up to rock history in music’s first audio newsletter… watch for future issues celebrating classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein, an exuberant new rock history from Patti Smith’s guitarist Lenny Kaye, and much more… visit:

11:45

Roger Daltrey Turns 78 Before He Gets Old

the riley rock report ·

2022/02/28

The Who play Sullivan Stadium in 1989, 14 years after I first see the Who By Numbers tour in Denver. The ghost of Keith Moon, the spectre of standing as the oldest man in the stadium, and how youth music made creeping sense of middle age. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

13:49

Horowitz's Dvorak, That Prophecy, and American Style

the riley rock report ·

2022/02/07

Tim Riley reviews Dvorak's Prophecy by Joseph Horowitz This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rileyrockreport.substack.com

62:44

Riley and Kruppa Discuss Get Back and Beatles Politics

the riley rock report ·

2022/01/20

Producing the Beatles podcast host and author Jason Kruppa (All Things Must Pass: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs) spoke about technical matters, where Jackson "fudges" some of his audio syncs up with film, and some promising new developments for scholarship. He also mentioned the Steve Hoffman audio forum. We start by discussing why Peter Jackson's Get Back doesn't work as a "documentary," and why it opens up new threads of scholarship. Tensions

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