Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

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Usher: Super Bowl Bonus Feb 08, 2024

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Four decades into his career, Usher is at the peak of his powers. In the year since he was on Broken Record, Usher became the king of the Las Vegas strip. According to Billboard, he grossed over $100 million dollars during his beloved Vegas residency.

To celebrate his much anticipated halftime performance at this year's Super Bowl, along with his upcoming arena tour, and the release of his new album “Coming Home,” here's Justin Richmond's conversation with the one and only, Usher.

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Love Me Do: McCartney A Life in Lyrics Feb 07, 2024

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Countless decisions, large and small, aided The Beatles’ ascent to the top of popular culture. The release of their debut single, “Love Me Do,” in the UK in the fall of 1962 was one of those decisions. Their debut on American television was another. In this first episode of season two, Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon discuss the early evolution of The Beatles.

Season Two of McCartney: A Life in Lyrics comes out weekly starting February 7th, and features the stories behind songs like Yesterday, Band on the Run, Here, There and Everywhere, Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me) and many more. Follow the show to learn more about Paul McCartney’s songwriting process, the creation of Wings, the development of McCartney’s bass playing over the life of The Beatles and more! Binge the entire season early and ad-free starting February 7th by subscribing to Pushkin+ on our Apple show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.

“McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” is a co-production between iHeart Media, MPL and Pushkin Industries.

The series was produced by Pejk Malinovski and Sara McCrea; written by Sara McCrea; edited by Dan O’Donnell and Sophie Crane; mastered by Jason Gambrell with assistance from Jake Gorski and sound design by Pejk Malinovski. The series is executive produced by Leital Molad, Justin Richmond, Lee Eastman and Scott Rodger.

Thanks to Lee Eastman, Richard Ewbank, Scott Rodger, Aoife Corbett and Steve Ithell.

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James Fauntleroy Jan 30, 2024

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James Fauntleroy is one of the most prolific pop songwriters of the past 15-plus years. Some of his most prized placements include writing songs for Beyoncé, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars. He’s also contributed background vocals to songs by Travis Scott, Jay-Z and his longtime friend, the late Nipsey Hustle.

Similar to his music industry idol and mentor Babyface, James Fauntleroy is also an artist in his own right. While his songs have lived on streaming platforms over the past decade, in December James released his official debut album, The Warmest Winter Ever—a Christmas album put through the Fauntleroy filter.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to James Fauntleroy about why he decided to drop his debut album well over a decade into his career. He also explains how hundreds of his songs were stolen and posted online by international hackers. And why he considers both Weird Al Yankovic and John Mayer among some of his biggest musical influences.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite James Fauntleroy songs HERE.

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Future Islands Jan 23, 2024

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The Baltimore-based synth-pop band Future Islands was first thrust into the national spotlight in 2014 after making their TV debut on The Late Show With David Letterman. The band’s unassuming frontman Samuel T. Herring danced ecstatically around the stage seething with emotion. The performance quickly went viral, making it one of Letterman’s most memorable live appearances of all time.

At the time of their big break, Future Islands had already released three albums and been touring relentlessly for nearly a decade. And while they would become one of the most prominent bands on the festival circuit for the next several years, Future Islands has always maintained a sense of unparalleled raw vulnerability on-stage—in part because of the deeply confessional nature of Sam’s songwriting and electric stage presence.

On today’s episode Leah Rose talks to Future Islands lead singer Samuel T. Herring about the band’s latest album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore. Samuel also describes the physical toll his energetic performance style has taken on his body over the years. And his long-held gripe with guitar-based music.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Future Islands songs HERE.

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Sleater-Kinney Jan 16, 2024

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Sleater-Kinney has long been a safe space for band members Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker. What started as a group born out of the feminist punk riot grrrl scene in Olympia, Washington in the early 90s, has grown into a life-affirming artistic endeavor. In late 2022, tragedy struck when Carrie’s mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident overseas. In the months after, Carrie found a respite from her immense grief by playing the guitar for hours on end, and writing new music.

Sleater-Kinney’s latest album, Little Rope, is in part a meditation on Carrie’s grief, but it’s also proven to be a triumph for the band. Corin Tucker, who handles the bulk of the singing on the new album, has been racking up rave reviews, including one from the New Yorker who noted that Corin’s performance is the most dynamic and flexible of her career.

On today’s episode, Bruce Headlam talks to Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker about their intimate recording relationship, and how their sometimes opposing approaches to creative work complement one another. They also talk about the matriarchal nature of the early Olympia music scene, and why they wanted their new album to sometimes sound gross and obnoxious.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Sleater-Kinney songs HERE.

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Noah Kahan Dec 26, 2023

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2023 has been a helluva year for singer/songwriter Noah Kahan. Just three years ago he started uploading snippets of his indie-folk songs to TikTok while waiting out the pandemic at his dad’s house in rural Vermont. Those songs quickly caught fire across social media and eventually turned into Noah’s most recent album, Stick Season.

After releasing collaborations with Kacey Musgraves, Hozier, and Post Malone, Noah has amassed 4 billion streams globally. It’s no surprise that last month he was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy.

On today’s episode Leah Rose talks to Noah Kahan about navigating his often overwhelming new-found success, and how he feels about being labeled the new “sensitive woodsman” singer/songwriter du jour. Noah also opens up about initially being embarrassed about his singing voice, and his plans for evolving his sound on his next album.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Noah Kahan songs HERE.

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Ludwig Göransson Dec 19, 2023

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Ludwig Göransson is one of the most accomplished and distinctive film composers of the 21st century. In 2020, after working on the movie Tenet together, acclaimed director Christopher Nolan hired Göransson to score what has become one of the biggest movies of 2023: Oppenheimer.

Ludwig, who emigrated to Los Angeles from his native Sweden in 2007, has racked up dozens of writing, producing and scoring credits. He started out working in TV and he eventually started scoring films with his old college friend Ryan Coogler. Ludwig composed music for all of Coogler's hit movies including Fruitvale Station, the Creed series, and both Black Panther films—the first of which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 2019.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Ludwig Göransson about his incredible body of work as a composer and producer. He explains how his rigorous musical training in Sweden prepared him to write the complex sections of the Oppenheimer score. Ludwig also plays some of the more moving sections of the score for us in effort to show us how he came up with one of the best soundtracks of the year.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Ludwig Göransson songs HERE.

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Janelle Monáe & Nate Wonder Dec 12, 2023

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Janelle Monáe has had a lot to smile about this year. After a run of successful albums over the last decade, in June she released her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. The album was just nominated for two Grammys including Album of the Year. This project is important—it signaled a big tone shift for Janelle whose past albums have centered in part around a recurring character named Cyndi Mayweather, an android who represents society’s new “other.”

Esthetically Janelle has always been buttoned up. For her first few album releases she made a point of always appearing in public in some iteration of a tuxedo. For The Age Of Pleasure though, she literally stripped down to almost nothing, flaunting a newfound freedom centered around Black joy and acceptance.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Janelle Monáe and her long time music partner Nate Wonder poolside, at their creative home base in the Hollywood Hills called Wondaland. Nate explains how The Age Of Pleasure album started with the simple conceit of making Janelle smile. Janelle also talks about why she decided to ditch a career in musical theater after college, and how THE Grace Jones ended up topless in Wondaland’s now-infamous pool.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Janelle Monáe songs HERE.

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Corinne Bailey Rae Dec 05, 2023

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Corinne Bailey Rae is an English singer/songwriter whose career started with a bang. In 2006 her debut album topped UK charts and was certified triple platinum with the help of her first hit single, “Put Your Records On.” A slew of awards and other “best new artist” distinctions followed. As she released subsequent albums, Corinne aspired to stretch herself as an artist beyond neo-soul pop-music success.

In September, Corinne Bailey Rae released her excellent, genre-hopping fourth album, Black Rainbows. It’s an album inspired by her time spent exploring Chicago’s historic Stony Island Arts Bank—a vast collection of Black cultural relics and writing.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Corinne Bailey Rae about the years she spent in the Arts Bank archives and the stories that inspired her new work. She also talks about her record label’s exhaustive effort trying to push her to recreate the success of her first album. And how an indie skateboarding magazine helped clarify the look of her new album.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Corinne Bailey Rae songs HERE.

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David Paich Nov 28, 2023

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David Paich is a prolific musician and songwriter who’s perhaps most well known for writing and co-producing Toto's classic song, “Africa.” Before David co-founded Toto with drummer Jeff Porcaro in 1977, he was an innovative keyboardist and session player. David honed his chops early growing up in L.A. where he worked under the tutelage of his father Marty Paich—an esteemed composer who worked with artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Mel Tormé.

While in college at USC David started playing keyboard professionally and touring with Sonny & Cher. From there he went on to co-write and play on Boz Scaggs’ multi-platinum album Silk Degrees. He also worked extensively with Quincy Jones, playing on multiple iconic albums including Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Bad. All throughout his work as a session musician, David also served as Toto’s principal songwriter and wrote chart-topping hits like “Rosanna,” “Hold The Line,” and of course, “Africa.”

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to David Paich about what it was like to be such an accomplished player at such a young age. He shares crazy stories about working with Michael Jackson and Quincy on Thriller, and how he came up with the intro to Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature,” a song written by Toto’s drummer, Jeff Porcaro. He also plays parts from some of the best songs he’s written, and talks about how they came to be.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite David Paich songs HERE.

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