The Music Book Podcast

On this episode, Marc talks with Ian Thompson, author of "Synths, Sax, & Situationists: The French Musical Underground 1968-1978," published in August of 2025. It's a detailed history of a group of French rock bands who, inspired by the protests and civil unrest of May 1968 as well as psych rock and free jazz, broke with convention to create some of the most original music of the 70s. The best known of these groups were Gong, Magma, and Heldon, all of which Thompson covers in depth, but he also delves into bands who haven't gotten their due such as Lard Free and Moving Gelatin Plates, and ones who barely existed yet made a mark, such as Barricade and Cheval Fou. As Ian writes, "It slowly dawned on me that if other anglophones were to discover this essential music they would need a reference - in English. And so, for the last five years I’ve digested everything I could find on the topic and interviewed almost fifty musicians from the scene. Now, at long last, the result of my efforts rests in your hands."You can buy "Synths, Sax, & Situationists" here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Ian Thompson!

On this episode, Marc talks to J. Hoberman, author of "Everything is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde--Primal Happenings, Underground Movies, Radical Pop," released in May of 2025. It's a fascinating, real-time history of the art coursing through New York City in the 1960s, with vivid descriptions of plays, concerts, events, political movements, and all other types of creative moments. Hoberman, the legendary former film critic at the Village Voice, tells his tales in an excited rush of detail-drenched scenes, conjuring the adrenaline of a time when the past was broken and the future was unclear.As he writes, "[New York] was the site of demonstrations, insurrections, strikes, trials, sit-ins, be-ins, bombings, and, as a music, all manner of public theater – one giant happening on an epic urban stage...Although too young to have participated in most of the events I evoke, I am old enough to have experienced what might be termed the normalization of cultural craziness that characterized the 1960s."You can buy "Everything is Now" here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with J. Hoberman!

On this episode, Marc talks with Audrey Golden, author of "Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats," published on July 15, 2025. It's an innovative and thorough biography of the crucial UK band the Raincoats, told through an unconventional structure which divides their history not into eras, but "lives" - those of the band members, their supporters, and the people they inspired.As Audrey writes, "I consider this book–constructed from a Raincoats material archive built by Ana, as well as an archive of oral history and additional research materials collected by me–to be a layered feminist archive unto itself."You can buy Audrey's book here, and you can hear her talk about her previous book, "I Thought I Heard You Speak: Woman At Factory Records,” on our 14th episode here. We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Audrey Golden!

On this episode Marc talks with Jason Schneider, author of "That Gun in Your Hand: The Strange Saga of ‘Hey Joe’ and Popular Music’s History of Violence," published in June of 2025. It's a fascinating look at the way the song "Hey Joe" has weaved its way through music over the course of the past six decades, from its origin in the hands of a singer and guitarist named Billy Roberts, through its height of fame when covered by Jimi Hendrix, through numerous different covers, interpretations, and re-imaginings. As Jason writes, "Great art, even in the form of a three-and-a-half- minute song, exists because of its ability to withstand attempts at dissection. “Hey Joe” is still being performed and recorded today because its expression of raw human emotion remains undiminished."You can buy "That Gun in Your Hand" here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Jason Schneider!

On this episode, Marc talks with Brian Anderson, author of "Loud and Clear: The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound and the Quest for Audio Perfection," published in June of 2025. It's a detailed and compelling tale of how the Grateful Dead, over the first decade of their existence, continually created and expanded their own sound system into a gigantic tower of speakers known as the Wall of Sound. Scores of techs, roadies, and other fascinating figures worked on this monstrous array of gear, which delivered clear, almost mystical sound throughout the venues to which the Dead hauled it.As Brian writes, "Our world has been radically shaped by the Dead, regardless of one's own relationship with the band. And their fabled PA of the early 70s is perhaps the most striking example of that outsized influence."You can buy "Wall of Sound" here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Brian Anderson!

On this episode, Marc talks with Dean Van Nguyen, author of "Words for My Comrades: A Political History of Tupac Shakur," published in May of 2025. It's a fascinating look at the socially-conscious life of rapper 2Pac, developed while growing up around radical black activism, particularly that of his mother Afeni Shakur of the Black Panther Party. This includes a thrilling opening section which serves as a kind of miniature history of the African-American left in the 60s, 70s, and beyond. As Dean writes, "Words for My Comrades is the story of how Tupac Shakur came to exemplify radicalism and revolution...How did a man who made music to dance to find himself elevated to a status that's commonly the realm of civil rights leaders and guerrilla warfare commanders?"You can buy "Words for My Comrades" here, and we hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Dean Van Nguyen!

On this episode, Marc talks with Niko Stratis, author of "The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman," published on May 6, 2025. It's a memoir of Stratis's many experiences and life changes, explored through music that has greatly affected her, with each chapter focused on a specific song. Stratis expertly mixes her own story with the stories of these songs and how those two things intertwine, along the way carving out her own definition of Dad Rock that speaks to who she is, who her own dad is, and how life can be shaped and guided by the music we love.As she writes, "So much of my relationship to music is driven by what it says about who I am. What the things I collect and adore can possibly say about the parts of myself I am desperate for people to see."You can buy Niko's book here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Niko Stratis!

On this episode, Marc talks with Jon King, author of "To Hell With Poverty / A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four," published in April of 2025. It's an engaging, fast-paced memoir by the lead singer of legendary UK band Gang of Four, whose classic lineup also included guitarist Andy Gill, drummer Hugo Burnham and bassist Dave Allen. King's tales of his youth up through the formation of Gang of Four and the four albums they released between 1979 and 1983 are written in the present tense, as if we're there with him experiencing it all, giving To Hell With Poverty a rushing excitement as life moves quickly both for the band and King himself.You can buy Jon's book here or here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Jon King!

On this episode, Marc talks with Lisa MacKinney, author of "Dressed in Black: The Shangri-Las and Their Recorded Legacy," released in March of 2025. It's a thorough history of the 1960's group comprising sisters Mary and Betty Weiss and twins Mary Ann and Marguerite Ganser, best known for their hits  “Leader of the Pack” and “Remember (Walking in the Sand)." MacKinney started this project 20 years ago as a graduate student, gradually unearthing almost every possible detail about this fascinating group, despite not having access to any members.As she writes, "A reappraisal of the Shangri-Las’ small but tremendously significant and influential body of work is long overdue. Repeatedly marginalised in traditional rock narratives, the Shangri-Las deserve to be examined in more informed historical contexts and on their own terms, right now and not later."You can buy "Dressed in Black" here.We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Lisa MacKinney.

Matthew Shipp, a renowned pianist and author of "Black Mystery School Pianists and Other Writings," dives into the connection between music and writing. He reflects on how his artistic journey informs his literary work, touching on inspiration, improvisation, and identity. Shipp discusses the challenges of documenting influential musicians and the art of collaborative writing. He also draws fascinating parallels between jazz improvisation and boxing, emphasizing the spirit of practice and performance. With excitement for his book release, he shares personal anecdotes that connect his musical and social circles.