Episodios
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When I spoke with Chris Stamey way back for Caropop Ep. 30, he shared a sheet music collection called Marvelous Melodies Songbook, New Songs Vol. III. Several of those songs appear on his wonderful new album, Anything Is Possible (out July 11), as do the Brian Wilson-evoking âIâd Be Lost Without You,â the Wilson-covering âDonât Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)â and the optimistic, guitar-driven title track. Stamey has a well-thought-out reason for every musical choice he makes. Here we dig into one of my favorite subjects, chord changes, and discuss writing songs in one's head, on an instrument or on paper. He also reflects on the impact of playing with the Big Star Quintet and the reunited dBâs. Whatâs the connection between âgetting the notes in the right placeâ and creating magic? (Photo by John Gessner.)
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May Pang was John Lennonâs companion for the late-1973-to-early-1975 period that has become known as Lennonâs âlost weekend.â Although Pang has used that phrase for her documentary and photo exhibition, she doesnât see this time as âlostâ for Lennon. Not only did he record two albums (Walls and Bridges and Rock ânâ Roll) and produce another (Harry Nilssonâs Pussy Cats), but Pang reunited him with his son Julian and was there when he reconnected with Paul McCartney and considered writing with him again. She puts Lennonâs Los Angeles nightclub antics in context, describes Rock ânâ Roll producer Phil Spectorâs crazed behavior and details the night she and Lennon saw a UFO from their New York City balcony. She also recounts interactions with Yoko Ono, who set her up with her husband when Pang was the coupleâs assistant, and offers a surprising take on the recent Beatles release âNow and Then.â And she explains why George Harrison ripped Lennon's glasses off his face. (Photo by Scott Segelbaum.)
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Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has been a top audiophile label since its 1977 founding and 2001 reboot after Jim Davis, president of the high-end audio equipment company Music Direct, bought it out of bankruptcy. But the label was hit with controversy almost three years ago with the revelation that it included a digital step in the production chain of albums sourced from original master tapes. Davis issued an apology for âusing vague language, allowing false narratives to propagate and for taking for grantedâ customersâ goodwill and trust, and the company settled a class action lawsuit for $25 million. Speaking inside Music Directâs Chicago headquarters, Davis weighs the lawsuitâs impact on the company and whether it was more about listening or price speculating. He explains the use of a high-resolution digital step and why it results in superior audio quality. He also discusses the significance of MoFiâs new SuperVinyl formulation and Fidelity Record Pressing plant.
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John Hall has been CEO of the family-run Rickenbacker guitar company since 1984, right around when R.E.M.'s Peter Buck was inspiring a generation of jangly bands with his Rick riffs. The Beatles had led a Rickenbacker surge 20 years earlier as John Lennon and George Harrison played Ricks in A Hard Dayâs Night and prompted the Byrdsâ Roger McGuinn to get a 12-string Rickenbacker and basically to invent folk rock. Hall tells a hell of a story about meeting the Beatles and McGuinn, and he reflects on companyâs history, which dates back to 1931. He explains why Rickenbacker still makes all of its guitars at one California factory instead of expanding its production; discusses the companyâs fierce trademark protection; weighs distinctions among hollow-bodied, solid-bodied, 6-string and 12-string models; addresses whether pricey vintage Ricks are actually better than new ones; and, once and for all, clears up the pronunciation of âRickenbacker.â
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David Lowery is looking back while pushing forward. The brainy, witty Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker frontman just released a two-CD, three-LP solo album, Fathers, Sons and Brothers, thatâs a sort of musical memoir. Here he tells stories about those stories, reflecting on the recent Camper shows to mark the debut albumâs 40th anniversary and speculating on whether the band would have had its career if he hadnât written âTake the Skinheads Bowling.â He also discusses the almost accidental ways in which Crackerâs âLowâ and âEurotrash Girlâ became hits, tells whether heâs surprised by which of his songs have had legs, ponders whether he and his bands appreciated the good times, notes his preference of his new album on CD or vinyl, asserts how record companies blew it with streaming, shares new song ideas and weighs the economics of recording them with Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker or on his own. (Photo by Jason Thrasher.)
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Zev Feldman, a.k.a. the âJazz Detective,â has turned his crate-digging passion into a career: He tracks down previously unreleased recordings and jumps through the necessary hoops to get them released, often in lavish packages for his label, Resonance Records. This past Record Store Day featured such Feldman finds as live albums from Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham and Charles Mingus plus a limited-edition double album of previously unreleased Patsy Cline performances, Imagine That: The Lost Recordings (1954-1963). Feldman also co-produced last yearâs incendiary Blue Note release from McToy Tyner and Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs. In this expansive conversation, Feldman tells his Jazz Detective origin story and describes how he finds these recordings (or vice versa), he gets specific about the importance of Record Store Day and these projects' tight margins, and he reveals his white whales. (Photo by Jean-Louis Atlan.)
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Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill, who are married to each other, have been making music for many years but recently released their first album together, Long After the Fire. Peterson has been singer-songwriter-guitarist for the Bangles and Continental Drifters. John Cowsill began drumming for the Cowsills at a young age, more recently was the Beach Boysâ drummer and now fills in as lead singer for the Smithereens. The new album features songs written by Johnâs two late brothers, Bill and Barry Cowsill, and John and Vicki harmonize beautifully and, as youâll hear here, crack each other up. They recount how they decided (and occasionally tangled over) who would sing what and tell great stories too, covering Vickiâs long connection with the Cowsills (which dates back to 1978) and Johnâs cosmic if heartbreaking moment with Brian Wilson. (Photo by Henry Diltz.)
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Called "the Wizard of Vinyl" by the New York Times, Chad Kassem has devoted his professional life to the cause of great-sounding records. In addition to running Acoustic Sounds, a go-to mail-order company for audiophile albums and equipment, the outspoken Kassem oversees the specialty label Analogue Productions, the Mastering Lab, Quality Record Pressings (QRP) and other related businesses, all based in Salina, Kansas. In this freewheeling conversation, Kassem discusses how Analogue Productions has been able to obtain and execute such projects as the Atlantic 75 Series and Steely Dan UHQR releases. He previews upcoming releases from Jethro Tull, Robert Flack and Bob Marley and the Wailers. And he gets into the joys of early recordings, the evils of compression, the market manipulations of record labels, his take on the One Step controversy and the reason a CD has never made him cry.
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With mid-â60s hits such as âJenny Take a Ride!â and âDevil with a Blue Dress On,â Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels all but created the rock ânâ soul rave-up, and he became the musical godfather of the so-called blue-collar rockers including Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. In this career-spanning conversation conducted from his Michigan home, the 80-year-old Ryder reflects on the impact that he and Detroit had on each other, the genesis of those early hits, the assist he gave the Who and Cream, the insulting question he fielded from the British press, his reasons for stepping away from the rock ânâ roll life in the early '70s, his resurgence in Europe and his continued work into 2025 with a new album, With Love, produced by fellow Detroiter (and previous Caropop guest) Don Was. Thereâs also a priceless Prince story. (Photo by Alejandro Saldana.)
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How does a label execute ambitious rerelease campaigns for its key artists, in this case Yes and Talking Heads? We talk with Rhino A&R directors Jason Jones and Steve Woolard about the Super Deluxe Editions, Record Store Day releases and other archival packages they have been assembling for these two bands. Woolard also oversaw Yes rereleases more than 20 years agoâhow have the bandâs audience and their expectations changed since then? Why does the Yes Close to the Edge box mix CDs, a Blu-ray and an LP while the Talking Heads: 77 box is all vinyl? Where are Jones and Woolard finding the treasure trove of live recordings from both bands? Which band members do they work with? Are Tales from Topographic Oceans and More Songs About Buildings and Food the next to get the Super Deluxe treatment, with the later albums to follow?
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As this episode kicks off, Kevin Godley and his longtime songwriting and creative partner, Lol Creme, have just left 10cc, so instead of being part of hits such as âThe Things We Do for Love,â the duo continues pushing their artistic boundaries as Godley & Creme. Godley describes how he and Creme collaborated on music and, eventually, videosâfor themselves and, among others, Herbie Hancock (âRockitâ), the Police (âEvery Breath You Takeâ) and George Harrison (âWhen We Was Fabâ). He recounts work on the groundbreaking video for Godley & Cremeâs biggest hit, 1985âs âCry,â which uses a pre-CGI version of morphing to merge one face into another, as Michael Jackson would do with more technology years later. Godley also tells of the end of his partnership with Creme, the current state of relationships among the four original 10cc members and where his creative drive is taking him next.
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âIf we did something that was too drab, too normal, too obvious, we'd say, âNah, let's give it a kick in the ass.ââ Thatâs how Kevin Godley describes the approach of his former band, 10cc, and his drive for creativity and art has not abated. Godley was 10ccâs angelic-voiced drummer who would go on to make inventive music and groundbreaking videos with Godley & Creme. In Pt. 1 of this illuminating conversation, Godley explains how Lol Creme, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart and heâall strong songwriters and singersâformed 10cc near Manchester, England, and figured out who would do what. They stretched out on such Godley-Creme songs as âSomewhere in Hollywoodâ and "Une Nuit a Paris" (which perhaps inspired Queenâs âBohemian Rhapsodyâ), but the popularity of âIâm Not in Loveâ had unintended consequences. What was it about the new song that Stewart and Gouldman played for Godley and Creme that blew apart the songwriting teams for good?
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Omnivore Recordings co-founder and four-time Gramny-winning producer Cheryl Pawelski has figured out how to do what she loves for a living. She went from obsessing about music in Milwaukee to having great adventures in the "floater pool" at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. With stints at Rhino and Concord as well, she oversaw ambitious reissues by, among others, the Band, Big Star, the Smithereens, the Beach Boys, Pat Benatar, Nina Simone and the Miles Davis Quintet. Her long association with Wilco has included deluxe boxes for Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (which won a Grammy) and, earlier this year, A Ghost Is Born. She won another Grammy for the 2023 7-CD set Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos. She recounts it all with the passion of a fan, even as she deals with the challenges of running a record label and the recent loss of her Altadena home in the Southern California wildfires. (Photo by Greg Allen.)
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Rhino Records has 47âyes, 47âreleases coming out on Record Store Day (April 12), but thatâs not all thatâs been keeping Rhino Senior A&R Director Patrick Milligan busy. The Rhino High Fidelity series, which he oversees, has taken off, with recent Doors and Black Sabbath releases selling out quickly. He also launched the less expensive, still-all-analog Rhino Reserve series with albums from Allen Toussaint and Eddie Hazel. How does the label choose the titles for each series? How did it come up with 47 RSD releases, including live sets from Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Yes and the Grateful Dead? Why on earth is one of these releases a 12-inch picture-disc single of âWe Built This Cityâ? Is it better to press too many of an album or too few? Is the vinyl market still on the rise, or has it plateaued? Milligan bats around these questions and more.
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Over the past year, Peter Holsapple has toured with the reunited dBâs and enjoyed the overdue U.S. vinyl releases of their classic first two albums; seen the release of a book, compilation album and tribute album dedicated to his other band, the Continental Drifters; and, most important, recorded a terrific new solo album. The Face of 68 offers an abundance of Holsappleâs smart, melodic pop-rock songwriting with some extra grit behind it. In this freewheeling conversation, he discusses looking back, pushing forward, adjusting expectations, having music in your head all the time, and maybe or maybe not being the kind of record-obsessive guy he sings about. Talking with Holsapple is like getting together with an old friend with whom you share many musical passions, and he offers up obscure yet mind-blowing rock trivia tidbits as well as deep insights into his own songwriting and hilarious tales. (Photo by Bill Reaves)
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Joe Harley oversees some of the best jazz vinyl rereleases around as producer of Blue Noteâs acclaimed Tone Poet series. Harley picks the titles, and, as he did with the much-coveted Music Matters series, he preps each release with ace mastering engineer (and recurring Caropop guest) Kevin Gray. Here Harley reflects on how he went from growing up (and playing drums) in Nebraska to preparing audiophile versions of albums he loves. What criteria does he use in choosing the Tone Poet albums? How do he and Gray work together? Has the mastering process changed given that more listeners own high-end audio systems now? How do Harley and Gray evoke such three-dimensional soundstages? How did he get the nickname the Tone Poet? And does he still get excited the first time he hears an original master tape of one of these classic recordings?
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Producer Joe Boyd (Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention/Richard Thompson, R.E.M.) has written a massive, highly entertaining, illuminating book about world music called And the Roots of Rhythm Remain, the title a lyric from Paul Simonâs Graceland song âUnder African Skies.â That album is a jumping-off point for Boydâs explorations of music from around the globe, with stops in Jamaica, Cuba, Brazil, India, Russia and Eastern Europe as well as the southern U.S. Here Boyd tackles such questions as: How important is cultural cross-pollination to musicâs growth? Whereâs the line between proper and improper cultural appropriation? What roles have oppression and religion played in great music? Boyd, who was stage manager at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as Bob Dylan went electric, also weighs in on A Complete Unknown: what was true, what was false and what may have been false but felt true. And he has a few words about R.E.M.
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No one mixes fury and vulnerability, ferocious energy and pop smarts like Bob Mould. His 15th solo album, Here We Go Crazy, comes out March 7, and he remains at the peak of his powers. Here he reflects on his tremendous, sometimes turbulent career, starting with his attending Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., meeting Grant Hart at Cheapo Records and launching the trailblazing punk trio HĂŒsker DĂŒ. Why have the Twin Cities punched above their weight musically? Given his triumphs with HĂŒsker DĂŒ, Sugar and the lineup on his most recent six albums, what does he like about playing in trios? How did âbright melody, dark storyâ become such a potent combination? How does he enjoy performing solo vs. with a band? Did he always envision Here We Go Crazy as a three-act song cycle? And whatâs his strategy to address whatâs happening in the world now?
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Mike Mills of R.E.M. and the Baseball Project and a new supergroup with Darius Rucker is here, and weâve got questions: How did R.E.M. come to share all songwriting credits, and why did Mills initially object? What impact did the albumsâ producers have? Given the bandmatesâ senses of humor, why wouldnât R.E.M. smile in photographs? Had R.E.M. decided to call it quits before it made Collapse into Now? What songs did Michael Stipe transform in surprising ways when he added lyrics and vocals? Did Stipe complete every song handed to him by Mills, Peter Buck and/or Bill Berry, and if not, would they consider going back to any of them? Have the Michael Shannon/Jason Narducy R.E.M.-celebrating live shows given Mills new perspective on any of those songs or made him want to play them again with his old bandmates? Why hasnât Mills been driven to make a solo album? And what happened when Mills joined Bruce Springsteen on stage? (Photo by Cass Bird.)
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Part 2 of our conversation with guitarist-songwriter-singer-storyteller Dave Alvin begins with him discussing musical biopics and the one that put him off the genre for good. (Hint: He was in it.) Has he seen A Complete Unknown? How did he wind up actually recording with Bob Dylan? Will any of these recordings ever come out? Alvin also revisits his early songwriting efforts, including the first song he ever wrote and âMarie Marie,â which he wrote for the Blasters and became an international hit for Welsh rocker Shakinâ Stevens. More recently, Alvin had to overcome neuropathy from his chemotherapy treatments to resume playing guitar. How much of his focus now is on being a musician, as opposed to writing songs? Whatâs next? And what was it like when he left the Blasters and realized that not all bands fight? (Photo by Leslie Campbell.)
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