On this episode, Marc talks to Nate Patrin, author author of “The Needle and the Lens: Pop Goes to the Movies, From Rock and Roll to Synthwave,” published on November 28th, 2023.  It’s a look at the way songs that already exist–needle drops, as they’re known–have been used in films, transforming both the music and the movie. Each of Nate’s 16 chapters focuses on a specific film and a specific song it uses, exploring the background behind each and the way the combination changes both.As Nate writes, “The needle drop is a strange yet vital component of narrative film–an often direct and instantly memorable way for a director to steer the tone of the film by incorporating a crucial element that they had no hand in creating.”We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Nate!

Author Amy Coddington discusses how hip-hop entered the mainstream through pop radio in the 80s and 90s. She explores issues of race, economics, and authenticity, emphasizing how the business model of the radio industry affected rap's relationship to the mainstream. This history reveals the story of money, prejudice, and rap's mainstream potential.

On this episode, Marc talks to Will Hermes, author of “Lou Reed: The King of New York” released on October 3rd, 2023. It’s a thorough yet highly entertaining biography of the legendary musician, who Will depicts as a figure with so many sides and so many pursuits, who really can never be reduced down to a single personality, a single motivation, or a single classification.As Will writes in his introduction, “If you’re hoping for some neat totalizing statement or psychological profile to explain Reed, to fix him like a butterfly specimen, you won’t find it here. Somewhat vexing for a biographer, if thrillingly for a fan, Reed was a shapeshifter who represented–lived–the potentialities of identity without apology, one reason why he remains such a complicated figure.”We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Will!

On this episode, Marc talks with Thurston Moore, author of “Sonic Life: A Memoir,” released today, October 24, 2023. It’s a fascinating story of Moore’s journey through music as a creator and a fan, from his early days discovering records with his older brother, to the end of his longtime band Sonic Youth. It's also a history of the music that surrounded and inspired him, with so many great stories about some of the amazingly creative people he’s met along the way.We hope you enjoy Marc's talk with Thurston!And if you're interested in Marc's new book "High Bias: The Distorted History of The Cassette Tape," check out highbiasbook.com and highbiasbook.bandcamp.com. Thanks!

On this episode, our host Marc Masters is the subject, talking about his new book "High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape," released in October of 2023.  It’s a technical and cultural history of the cassette tape format, charting the many ways that cassettes changed the course of music and brought new possibilities and new kinds of freedom to creators and listeners–tape artists, bootleg traders, mixtape makers, international tape hunters, current tape labels, and more.To talk about how he put the book together, Marc invited writer Jesse Jarnow to be this episode's guest interviewer. Jesse is the author of great histories of Yo La Tengo (“Big Day Coming”), The Weavers (“Wasn’t That A Time"), and a “Biography of Psychedelic America” called "Heads," and he's currently working on a book that includes an exploration of the cassette tape as well.  Jesse is also the co-host of the Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast, which you can find here: https://www.dead.net/deadcastWe hope you enjoy Marc's talk with Jesse!To order a copy of "High Bias" direct from Marc, as well as a companion tape of music from labels featured in the book, go to highbiasbook.bandcamp.com. Thanks!

Lior Phillips, author of “South African Popular Music,” discusses the connections between African music, modern music, and the history of apartheid. They share their motivation behind writing the book, the challenges faced, and their extensive research process. The speaker emphasizes the political statement made by creating music in South Africa and the importance of understanding the connection between past and present artists.

On this episode, Marc talks to Jeff Schwartz, author of “Free Jazz,” published in April of 2023. It’s a smart survey of free jazz that’s structured not around individual artists but more around aspects of free jazz, with chapter titles such as "Energy", "Spirituality", and "Self-Determination."As Jeff writes, “Few pieces or artists will fall neatly into one chapter…There is no discography or recommended listening list at the end of this book. The goal is to suggest things to listen for rather than what to listen to.”We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Jeff!

On this episode, Marc talks with John Szwed, author of “Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith,” published in August of 2023. It’s a fascinating and superbly skillful portrait of a man who played so many roles: anthropologist, archivist, musicologist, filmmaker, painter. He's best known for his massively influential Anthology of American Folk Music, but he did so much more. Szwed takes a figure who is so hard to pin down and crafts a real story without losing all the mystery of his life and work.As John writes in his introduction,“How are we to understand the paradox of an artist whose life was almost completely outside the public’s view, always on the edge of calamity–if not death–and yet so influential in so many ways?”We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with John Szwed!

Clifford Allen, author of 'Singularity Codex: Matthew Shipp on Rogue Art,' discusses collaborating with Shipp, exploring his releases, analyzing albums, the role of the engineer and recording space, and reflections on creating the book.

On this episode, Marc talks to Audrey Golden, author of “I Thought I Heard You Speak: Woman At Factory Records,” published in June of 2023. It’s a fascinating oral history of the legendary UK record label told exclusively by women involved in at all levels. Golden talked to nearly 100 individuals for her book, from people who ran the office, to people who managed the bands, to people who promoted the music, to people who worked at the label’s nightclub, the Hacienda, and so much more.As she writes in her introduction, “I set out to do two things: to create an innovative historical record of Factory and its cultural influences, and to collate an archive of women’s experiential knowledge in all its vast, varied, and anecdotal complexity.”We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Audrey!