Lost Notes: Groupies - KCRW

8: The Groupie Dream Nov 20, 2024

As the first wave of LA punk started to take hold in Hollywood, both on and off the Sunset Strip, the girls of the rock n roll underground flattened scene hierarchy by carrying the torch of the sexually charged, “I do what I want” spirit exemplified by the most notorious Hollywood groupies–in creative and unexpected ways. Then, Lori, Morgana, Dee Dee, and Pamela look back on their rock'n'roll lives, and consider their own personal mythologies.

7: The Dawn of Punk Nov 20, 2024

In the mid 1970s, as glam rock fizzled out, new kids began to trickle in on the block–kids who looked up to the groupies as party girl icons, as rock’n’roll legends, who went out there and got what they wanted…come hell or high platforms. Kid Congo Powers, Alice Bag, Pleasant Gehman, and Theresa Kereakas all were pulled towards the glitter and guitars and debauchery, and give their first-hand teenage accounts of those crucial years where glam burnt out and in its embers, early LA punk started cooking.

Supreme Glamour (from "Dressed") Nov 18, 2024

Hello Lost Notes fans! The final two episodes of Groupies: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk are coming later this week. But first, we want to share an episode of the podcast Dressed: The History of Fashion. Mary Wilson is a founding member of one of the most iconic, successful—and stylish— 1960s singing groups of all time: The Supremes. Mary has been collecting and archiving the gowns the Supremes wore and shares many of the glittery details with Dressed. New episodes of Dressed drop on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?

Dressed's website and online fashion history courses
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6: From the Slutmobile to the Starship Nov 13, 2024

Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco. The Continental Hyatt House. The Rainbow Bar & Grill. Glam rock was the genre du jour and there was no more convenient or welcoming a circuit for an intrepid teenage groupie to land in than the Strip in the early 1970s. As for Led Zeppelin, LA became their spiritual home-away-from-home (read: wives). From flying in on their private jet, the Starship, to cruising down Sunset picking up groupies in their white stretch limo, the Slutmobile, Led Zeppelin’s superstardom marked a new era, and level, to groupiedom.

5: The Oral History of Star Magazine: Bad But Not Evil Nov 06, 2024

A teen magazine so daring, so outrageous, so scandalizing and sexually suggestive that it only lasted…five issues. Star Magazine: from the publishing empire that brought you Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Guns & Ammo, and later in the 90s, Sassy, there was, in 1973, a red-hot new music rag that glamorized the teenage groupie lifestyle rampant on the Sunset Strip. Or did it? We asked the original staff who made the magazine: who, exactly, was a Star girl?

4: Hollywood Encounters Oct 30, 2024

As a girl, Dee Dee Keel ditched the doldrums of Venice for the thrills of Hollywood. Just a few years later, she would soon become the woman behind the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go... as well as an infamously active groupie. Meanwhile, Morgana Welch, a scene-savvy Beverly Hills High Schooler, gets in with Rodney Bingenheimer, Led Zeppelin, and other powerful party boys and scene insiders, as she tries to chart her own path into the rock n roll lifestyle—Hollywood encounter by Hollywood encounter.

3: Girls Together Outrageously Oct 23, 2024

Venice Beach teen Dee Dee Keel was desperate to find out what was happening behind the scenes, in the clubs and hotel rooms of Hollywood: so she tracked an intriguing local rocker, Jim Morrison, on his way to the Strip. That’s where she first saw Miss Pamela in all her groupie glamour.

By 1969, Pamela Des Barres was no longer a Valley teenybopper; she had transformed into a rock icon-in-the-making. Her freaky clique of Laurel Canyon sprites were ordained by Frank Zappa to become the world’s first all-girl band of all-girl groupies, the GTOs. Soon, they had the likes of the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Who, and Led Zeppelin taking notice, just as Rolling Stone dedicated an entire issue to the groupie phenomenon and made the GTOs its centerfold.

2: The Fairytale of Miss Pamela Oct 16, 2024

The origin story of Miss Pamela Des Barres, the original queen of the groupies, author of the iconic memoir, I’m With the Band. From her mid-Sixties teenage bop room Beatlemania, to in a few short and sexy years, having Mick Jagger on the prowl looking for her – Pamela learned quickly, through friendships with Captain Beefhart and Frank Zappa, that she was something special.

1: Lori Lightning and the Baby Groupies Oct 16, 2024

In 1973, the Sunset Strip was the epicenter of the rock n roll universe, where rockstar mythology was being built in real time. This is where fourteen-year old Valley girl Lori Lightning found herself, along with her clique of Sable Starr and Queenie Glam, known as the Baby Groupies, as they became the teenage rulers of the Hollywood music scene.

Coming soon... Groupies: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk Oct 10, 2024

In the early 1970s, LA’s Sunset Strip was the epicenter of the rock'n'roll universe. Drugs, sex, private planes, limos, destroying hotel rooms – it wasn’t a myth. At at the center of it all, were groupies. It’s a story we all know – but it’s never been told from this perspective. This season, on Lost Notes, we bring you GROUPIES: The Women of Sunset Strip, from the Pill to Punk. The real, riotous, rock'n'roll stories of the girls who lived it all, hosted by Dylan Tupper Rupert, from KCRW and Golden Teapot.

Chasing the Watermelon Man Sep 18, 2024

An audio folk story examining the tradition of Black watermelon long-haulers, who drive to farms in the South for watermelon and sell them in Black neighborhoods around the US.

Gloria Jones In Conversation Aug 28, 2024

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B scene of the 1950s-1970s. Support KCRW’s original programming like Lost Notes by donating or becoming a member.

This season of Lost Notes kicked off with the story of “Tainted Love” – and, more specifically, the story of its original singer, Gloria Jones. Despite a fascinating and wide-ranging career that stretched over decades, Gloria largely suffered the indignity of being a one-hit wonder who never even enjoyed having that one hit for herself. But as anyone who heard our episode knows, Gloria Jones was responsible for so much amazing music … with a life story to match.

Now, we conclude our season by hearing it all from Gloria herself, from the original recording of “Tainted Love” to her songwriting career at Motown and her life with Marc Bolan of T. Rex – as well as the 60th anniversary of that legendary and iconic song. Gloria sat down with Michael Barnes at KCRW in July of 2024.

Talking Fela Kuti with Sandra Izsadore Aug 14, 2024

KCRW’s relationship with Fela Kuti goes back to 1980, when KCRW’s Tom Schnabel and Roger Steffens were connected with the mighty Afrobeat innovator while he was still imprisoned in Nigeria. Six years later, once Fela was free and clear to tour internationally, he came to Los Angeles and visited KCRW in person, again with Tom Schnabel.

The connective tissue between these two events is Sandra Izsadore, who returned to KCRW for the first time in decades to talk with Lost Notes co-host Michael Barnes about meeting Fela in LA in 1969, and her essential role in the creation of the Afrobeat genre. It’s safe to say that without Sandra, there would have been no Fela as we came to know him soon thereafter. And that’s no exaggeration.

Larry Mizell Live in Conversation at KCRW HQ Jul 31, 2024

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B scene of the 1950s-1970s. Support KCRW’s original programming like Lost Notes by donating or becoming a member.

On Wednesday, July 17, Lost Notes welcomed the legendary Larry Mizell to KCRW’s Annenberg Performance Studio for an incredible evening of stories and music about his pioneering work with his brother Fonce in 1970s Los Angeles.

Anyone who’s been keeping up with the show will already know about the Mizell Brothers … but if you’re new to the family, we encourage you to stop right now and back up to our episode on Larry and Fonce Mizell from earlier in the season.

The Mizells’ story is so rich and amazing that it deserves to be heard from the very beginning. And if you know their story, then this week’s episode is going to be extra-special. Today we bring you our live, in-person conversation with a man who, along with his brothers, helped create the sound of Los Angeles in the 1970s: Mr. Larry Mizell.

Nia Andrews & Terrace Martin on Reggie Andrews Jun 19, 2024

Lost Notes brings you behind-the-scenes conversations with Nia Andrews and Terrace Martin about the legendary Reggie Andrews.

Do What You Want To Do: The Legacy of Reggie Andrews Jun 05, 2024

Lost Notes examines the legacy of Reggie Andrews, a world-class musician, producer, and mentor who changed the lives of countless young musicians in South LA.

Andrews spent more than four decades in the LAUSD school system, teaching and mentoring generations of notable musicians: Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Cameron Graves, Ronald Bruner Jr. and his brother Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, Patrice Rushen, Gerald Albright, Ndugu Chancler, Rickey Minor, The Pharcyde, Syd from the Internet, Tyrese Gibson, and hundreds more – taking them from South LA to the Hollywood Bowl stage and far beyond.

Dear Ruth: How Ruth Dolphin (Re-)Built a Musical Empire May 22, 2024

Lost Notes celebrates the life of Ruth Dolphin, who went from being a terrified widow with four kids to the mother of an LA musical empire.

Go with the Flow: Community, Virality, and the Politics of Dancing May 08, 2024

Lost Notes presents a story about Soul Train, the Slauson Shuffle, and what’s lost – and found – when a regional dance suddenly belongs to the world.

Places & Spaces: The Mizell Brothers’ LA Alchemy Apr 24, 2024

Lost Notes introduces a pair of brothers - one from NASA, the other from Motown - who launched an entire musical universe from their Hollywood Hills hideout.

Kendrick Lamar and the big samples (from “Switched on Pop”) Apr 17, 2024

Lost Notes returns with a brand new episode next Wednesday. To tide you over, we’re featuring a deep dive into Kendrick Lamar’s 2022 album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers from our friends at Switched on Pop.

Viva Tirado: The South/East LA Connection Apr 10, 2024

Lost Notes explores how the song “Viva Tirado” exemplifies the inter-generational musical conversation between LA’s Black and Brown communities.

My Lady’s Frustration: How Fela Kuti Found Afrobeat in LA Mar 27, 2024

Lost Notes explores how Fela Kuti’s time in LA in 1969 was instrumental in the creation of his legendary Afrobeat sound.

Mojo on Trial: The Seedy, Greedy World of Ruth Christie Mar 13, 2024

Lost Notes details the darkly hilarious schemes of record-label magnate Ruth Christie, who instigated one of the most absurd court cases in music history.

The True Story of ‘Tainted Love’ Mar 13, 2024

Long before “Tainted Love” was an ‘80s anthem, it was a 1965 B-side by LA’s Gloria Jones. We trace the song’s journey from a warehouse floor to the annals of pop history.

Lost Notes Returns with the True Story of ‘Tainted Love’ Nov 01, 2023

‘Lost Notes’ returns for Season 4 with a special preview episode about the song “Tainted Love,” and its lesser-known origins as a forgotten ‘60s soul gem from LA.

Jonathan Demme: 'Stop Making Sense' interview and guest DJ set (1984) Sep 28, 2023

Talking Heads’ 1984 film, Stop Making Sense, has long been regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest concert films ever made. A new A24 restoration of the film is out in theaters now.

Director Jonathan Demme dropped in on Deirdre for a guest DJ set while the film was still in theaters. Demme sat in for SNAP No. 172 on November 8, 1984, spinning a wild selection of his favorite music — including the premiere of a then-unheard Talking Heads song — and discussing the making of the now-iconic film.

Read on for their conversation and dive into his song choices with our Jonathan Demme Spotify playlist.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 10: Rollins Dec 30, 2021

Throughout “Bent By Nature,” you’ve heard many stories of the lifelong connections set in motion by Deirdre O’Donoghue. But none were quite as surprising as the bond between Deirdre and fellow iconoclast Henry Rollins, the former Black Flag frontman, musician, writer, actor, activist, and longtime KCRW host. After a chance meeting in early 1984, Rollins became a regular voice on “SNAP!” And he quickly became one of her most treasured co-hosts and friends.

In our final episode of “Bent By Nature,” Rollins shares his remembrances of Deirdre: the DJ, tastemaker, and human being who changed his life irrevocably.

“You’re impossible to pigeonhole is what you are. You are simply Rollins. That’s all there is to it. And I rather like it.”

— Deirdre O’Donoghue, “SNAP!,” 3/22/84

Bent By Nature - Ep. 9: Promised Land (with Julian Cope) Dec 23, 2021

The artist has got to be not like the historian.
The historian’s got hindsight. He can go back and go, “That was a great moment.” But the artist’s got to go, “No, I was there.” It’s like, history is something that happens. You can’t be there at history.
— Julian Cope, May 10, 1991

It’s May of 1991. Deirdre is in London, chatting backstage with post-punk indie underground legend Julian Cope. Cope has just released “Peggy Suicide,” one of the most ambitious and successful albums of his career. And while Deirdre’s in town, they’re hatching plans for Julian to appear on “SNAP!”

But just days after that announcement, “SNAP!” was off the air. Deirdre left KCRW for good in June of 1991. Then she left LA, too, for a while.
The following year, she showed up in rural England to live with Cope and his family. Cope joins Bent By Nature to recount their unique relationship and roles in each other’s lives.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 8: Half A World Away (with Michael Stipe) Dec 16, 2021

It’s September of 1984. And Deirdre is head over heels for a fast-rising quartet from Athens, Georgia called R.E.M. In just a few years, the band’s music will be inescapable on commercial and college radio alike — and their massive success will mark a turning point for the American musical underground.

“There were moments when R.E.M., my former band, were hugely popular,” says ex-singer Michael Stipe. “And we were able to really push the boundaries of what's acceptable within mainstream culture. KCRW and Deirdre and ‘SNAP!’ were doing the same thing.”
Stipe was a close friend of Deirdre’s, and of the countless bands who passed through their orbit. He gave Concrete Blonde their name; produced Vic Chesnutt’s first two albums; and introduced Deirdre to Hugo Largo, which led to their signing with Brian Eno’s record label. In this episode, Stipe reflects on his life in LA in the mid-’80s, at a time when he and Deirdre were kindred spirits.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 7: Ages of You Dec 09, 2021

In the mid-1980s, two young women are coming of age in the San Fernando Valley. In a few years, when they’re teenagers, they’ll both latch onto DJ Deirdre O’Donoghue, for totally different reasons. Felicia Daniel becomes obsessed with the new music Deirdre is playing on “SNAP!” Her best friend, Tanja Laden, gets into Deirdre’s deep-dives into the past on her Sunday morning show, “Breakfast with the Beatles.”

On this week’s episode of “Bent By Nature,” we pay tribute to the listeners, whom Deirdre called “the heart and soul of ‘SNAP!’” It’s a story about two young women finding their way as outsiders, and the courage that music gives us to imagine our futures.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 6: Crossing Over (with David Lowery) Dec 02, 2021

It’s New Year’s Eve, 1986. Deirdre is talking with the LA Times’ music critic, Robert Hilburn, about the musical trends of 1985.

Deirdre O’Donoghue: I don't think that the big, quote-unquote, "rock" stations can very much longer ignore the growing numbers of people who are listening to alternative radio stations all around the country ... with which you're seeing album sales, at least on a smaller level, but it's making a bump.

Among the acts Deirdre discovered that year was a crew of self-described “pot-smoking hippies from Santa Cruz.” Camper Van Beethoven lit up the college circuit in 1985 with their breakout single, “Take the Skinheads Bowling.” And they quickly became one of Deirdre’s firm favorites.

David Lowery is Camper Van Beethoven’s guitarist and de facto frontman. He explains that Deirdre’s show was just one taproot for a larger movement which was spreading across the country in the mid-’80s. In this episode of “Bent By Nature,” he shares how the band navigated their own transition from indie darlings to major-label recording artists.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 5: Haywire (with Kathy McCarty & Brian Beattie) Nov 25, 2021

It’s Independence Day Weekend, 1988. And Deirdre is celebrating the return of Glass Eye, her favorite independent act from Austin, Texas. They’ve just released their third album, “Bent By Nature.” But Deirdre’s allegiance to the band went much deeper than a catchy title. For her, they represented the very best of what Austin had to offer, which at the time also included “SNAP!” staples like the Reivers, the Wild Seeds, and Poi Dog Pondering. Glass Eye’s two principals, Kathy McCarty and Brian Beattie, say that whenever Glass Eye came to LA, Deirdre welcomed them with open arms and a sincere appreciation of their own bent nature.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 4: Almost Magic (with Syd Straw) Nov 18, 2021

It’s September 4, 1986. And Deirdre has just met a kindred spirit in singer Syd Straw. Like Deirdre, Syd traveled in good company. You could pick out her voice on records by Los Lobos, Rickie Lee Jones, Was (Not Was), and more. As an early member of the indie supergroup The Golden Palominos, she was a feature on Deirdre’s playlists long before she became a regular guest.

Most artists that appeared on “SNAP!” will tell you how comfortable Deirdre made them feel. That absolutely resulted in fantastic on-air performances. But Syd and Deirdre took that to a whole new level. If Deirdre had an official partner-in-crime, it was Syd Straw, who appeared on the show five times. She would sing with a band, or over backing tapes that she brought with her, or she would just guest DJ. And no topic was off limits. They had their own wild chemistry: funny, fearless, and more than a little bent.

In 1989, Syd struck out on a solo career which eventually took her to New York City. But even now, Syd is rich with memories of the pioneering DJ and friend whom she called “The Godmother.”

Bent By Nature - Ep. 3: Inside Out (with David and Bekki Newton) Nov 11, 2021

In 1988, while most of the music world was fawning over Morrissey’s solo debut, Deirdre O’Donoghue was all-in on a new record from a lesser-known English band: The Mighty Lemon Drops. After years of support on “SNAP!,” their single “Inside Out” blew up in the U.S., becoming a college rock anthem and MTV staple that launched the band into pop consciousness and amphitheater tours.

The Lemon Drops’ guitarist David Newton and his wife Bekki join us to discuss the strange twists and turns which brought them together, with Deirdre in tow, as the Lemon Drops reached their ascendancy.

Illustration of Deirdre O'Donoghue with birds and a cup of tea — **Bent By Nature - Ep. 2: Music Could Be Your Whole Life** Nov 04, 2021

Illustration by Meredith Schomburg

In episode two of Bent By Nature, co-producer Bob Carlson explores the life of influential and enigmatic DJ Deirdre O’Donoghue behind the mic. Born in New York City and DJing across the country before landing at KCRW to host "SNAP!", O’Donoghue didn’t talk much about her past or private life — even in the face of personal demons, and eventually, her deteriorating health.

But O’Donoghue’s fierce passion for music manifested in close friendships with those who came through her studio and beyond, from artists like **Michael Stipe** and **Julian Cope**, to record store owners, to young station volunteers she nurtured and mentored. Even amidst a kind of self-appointed solitude, O’Donoghue devoted herself to those she chose to let in, coming to the aid of artists in dire straits and offering solace within her record-filled apartment alongside a cup of tea and her cherished pet birds.

Her presence could, and did, change lives. Here, some of O’Donoghue’s closest friends, including **Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano**, **Tricia Halloran**, and the late **Pat Fish** of **Jazz Butcher**, reflect on O’Donoghue’s life away from the studio and the many stories they shared.

Bent By Nature - Ep. 1: This Is 'SNAP!' Oct 28, 2021

Before Soundcloud and Bandcamp, there was Deirdre O'Donoghue and "SNAP!," the LA DJ and radio show that served as a waypoint for underground music, artists, and its fans — and helped shape the sound of independent and D.I.Y. culture today. In the first episode of "Bent By Nature," co-producer Bob Carlson introduces O’Donoghue and goes inside the community she cultivated, her passion for music, and the problems she had with KCRW’s management and staff. Featuring archival live performances by Camper Van Beethoven, the Meat Puppets, Glass Eye, Jazz Butcher, the Dream Syndicate, and more.

Bent By Nature: Trailer Oct 19, 2021

She was the most influential American DJ you’ve never heard of. Deirdre O’Donoghue was a vital force in the musical underground of the 1980s. Countless artists crammed into her studio to perform live on her late-night show, “SNAP!” on KCRW. And after 40 years, those legendary sessions will be heard again. Join Michael Stipe, Henry Rollins, Julian Cope, and more for a sound-packed series from the producers of Lost Notes and Unfictional transporting you to the heyday of ‘80s independent music and the DJ who shaped it.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 7: Grace Jones Sep 24, 2020

In 1980, anti-disco sentiment was at a high and Grace Jones was coming off a trilogy of disco albums. If she stayed stagnant, it felt like her career could be swept away. And so out of disco’s death rattle – driven by the discomfort of white male tastemakers – Grace Jones rose, reinforced and reimagined in a new decade freshly obsessed with risk.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 6: Minnie Riperton Sep 24, 2020

Most know Minnie Riperton because of one part in one song. “Lovin’ You” was Riperton’s biggest hit, and she doesn’t sing that magic, piercing note until around the 3-minute mark. Cancer took Riperton away tragically in 1979, and the next year producers got to work on a posthumous album. Filled with leftover recordings and celebrity cameos, “Love Lives Forever” is an album full of ghosts.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 5: Hugh Masekela & Miriam Makeba Sep 24, 2020

In December of 1980, two exiled artists and freedom fighters attempted return to their home in South Africa for a concert. Jazz musician Hugh Masekela and singer Miriam Makeba were briefly married, but they had a robust collaborative relationship that stretched across multiple decades. The 1980 concert wound up happening in neighboring Lesotho — and the performance became about defiance, namely against the Apartheid government in South Africa. But a recording mishap meant the concert needed to be recorded in a more intimate, perhaps even better, setting.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 4: John Lennon & Darby Crash Sep 24, 2020

Punk singer Darby Crash dreamed of immortality. The single full-length Germs album was to become a holy grail of music history, and his passing might’ve made him a legend, but Darby Crash died on December 7th, 1980. By the time the news of his death began to circulate, it was well into December 8th, the day John Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman. As radio stations in Los Angeles began to start their marathon of Germs songs, John Lennon lay dying in New York, at the doorway to his apartment. Eventually news and radio stations broke away to deliver what must have seemed like a larger, more urgent heartbreak.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 3: Ian Curtis Sep 24, 2020

In May of 1980, Joy Division lost its lead singer, Ian Curtis. The band decided that they would carry on with a different name. From the cutting room floor, a song with Ian Curtis haphazardly slurring the words he’d written became the first single for a decade-defining band. New Order was made up of people who were weighed down by grief and regrets. Straining themselves to make sure they did justice to the words Ian Curtis couldn’t bring himself to sing.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 2: The Sugarhill Gang Sep 24, 2020

In 1979, "Rapper’s Delight" was released and went on to become the first Top 40 hip-hop single. Sugarhill Gang almost had no choice but to follow the single up with a full-length. So in the early months of 1980, a six song, nearly forty minute album by a rap group was released. The debut, self-titled album by the Sugarhill Gang wasn’t received without controversy, and wasn’t received without skepticism. When one thinks about the greatest rap groups of all time, Sugarhill Gang might be an afterthought, says Lost Notes host Hanif Abdurraqib. But, sometimes, legacy is not about the spark itself, but about the flame the spark causes.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 1: Stevie Wonder Sep 24, 2020

Stevie Wonder released seven albums from 1970 to 1976. It is an impenetrable run of albums and songs, one of the greatest in music history. Then, in 1979, he faced his first defeat of the decade. Reviews for “Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants” were harshly mixed. So in 1980 Stevie was due for a comeback. Lost Notes host Hanif Abdurraqib reflects on the album and Wonder’s call for the observation of Martin Luther King’s birthday as a national holiday.

Lost Notes: 1980 - Introducing Lost Notes: 1980 Sep 10, 2020

This season the poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib explores the year 1980. It was the brilliant, awkward and sometimes heartbreaking opening to a monumental decade in popular music.

Lost Notes S2 Bonus: Teenagers Surfing on the Wave of the Apocalypse Aug 06, 2020

Our second of two Lost Notes bonus episodes for this summer. This one is about The Student Teachers. In 1977, a group of music obsessed friends got together and decided to form a band. Most of them were still in high school and almost none of them had even picked up an instrument before, but they lived and breathed the New York City music scene and wanted nothing more than to be a part of it. They worked in record stores, ran fan clubs, and spent every second they could together, hanging in clubs like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City — clubs they’d eventually headline.

Soon after they formed the band, they played a practice gig at one of their high schools and took off from there. They spent their days studying for physics tests and practicing for French finals and spent their nights drinking White Russians and rubbing elbows with their rock heroes. In their two years together, they headlined their favorite clubs, went on tour, made recordings, got interviewed on the radio, opened for Iggy Pop and hung with David Bowie in the recording studio. As the decade came to a close and they got a little older, their love for each other dwindled, and the band imploded. But what a beautiful and wild ride it was. This is the story of the Student Teachers, in their own words.

Lost Notes S2 Bonus: Power to the People Jun 18, 2020

The new season of Lost Notes will be here in September. Meantime, this summer, we’re sharing a couple of bonus episodes. Fifty years ago, an unlikely musical group evolved out of the Oakland chapter of the Black Panther Party. They were called The Lumpen. And although they quickly gained a following for their air-tight funk, they were always meant to be much more than mere entertainment. Peter Gilstrap reports on the rise and fall of an unlikely R&B group born out of social upheaval.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 8: Song of a Gun Jun 13, 2019

As long as there have been guns, there have been songs about guns. But American culture's relationship with guns is changing. Does popular music reflect that? We take a look at the history of music's relationships with guns, and gun control activism, to find out.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 7: Beyond Disco: Nermin Niazi and Feisal Mosleh Jun 06, 2019

In the early ‘80s, two teenage siblings in London recorded an album that fused Pakistani pop and British New Wave. It became a perfect harmony of the two worlds they lived in. This is the story behind their lost masterpiece.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 6: Imagining Billy Tipton May 30, 2019

Jazz pianist Billy Tipton has been celebrated by some as a trans pioneer – but his story resists an easy telling.

Lost Notes S2 Bonus: More on John Fahey and Legacy May 28, 2019

As a supplement to our episode on John Fahey, we share a conversation between Jessica Hopper and Carla Green about artist legacies in the era of cancel culture and #MeToo.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 5: Living with John Fahey, aka A Room Full of Flowers May 23, 2019

John Fahey’s guitar playing influenced the sound of the American underground for generations. But how does that legacy change when you hear from three of the women who knew him best?

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 4: A Castle On Top of A Hill: The True Story of Fanny May 16, 2019

The rock band Fanny ruled the Sunset Strip in the 1970s, and they were supposed to be the next big thing. They explain the price women pay for being ahead of their time.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 3: Sonic Sculptor: Suzanne Ciani May 09, 2019

Synth pioneer Suzanne Ciani used an esoteric instrument to design some of the most well-known commercial sounds of the 20th century.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 2: To Chan Marshall: A Letter to Cat Power May 02, 2019

Poet and author Hanif Abdurraqib's letter to Cat Power about how her album The Greatest worked its way into his life.

Lost Notes S2 Ep. 1: Teenage Offenders: Reckoning with a Punk Past Apr 25, 2019

The Freeze were an early American punk band. Now, 40 years later, two members reckon with the lyrics they wrote as teenagers.

Lost Notes: Introducing Season 2 Apr 03, 2019

On this season of Lost Notes, the music journalist and author Jessica Hopper is looking at artist legacies. How do they hold up? How do they change over time? Learn how decades on a song can find new meaning, something different than when it was written. Find out what happens when we apply our 2019 politics to 1974’s songs. And hear from pioneering women who have been written out of music’s history.

S1 Bonus - Reissue: Unfictional - Nature Boy Jan 31, 2019

The strange story of the postwar pop standard "Nature Boy" and its enigmatic creator, eden ahbez.

S1 Bonus - Reissue: Heat Rocks - Cymande Oct 10, 2018

Legendary DJ/crate-digger Cut Chemist professes his love for Cymande’s 1972 self-titled debut.

S1 Bonus - Reissue: The Dove Aug 21, 2018

A global pop icon appears in a most unexpected place in this story from Pod Planet’s Clive Desmond.

S1 Bonus - Reissue: Mad About the Boy Jul 31, 2018

We resurface a story from Falling Tree Productions that takes a look at the empowering flip-side of pop fandom.

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 8: Searching for the Root: The Incredible Journey of Aisha Ali May 24, 2018

In the wake of the swinging ‘60s, a young woman named Aisha Ali travels to North Africa in search of her roots. There, she single-handedly documents hours and hours of music and film from Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt ... much of it still unheard.

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 7: A Million Dollars Worth of Plastic May 17, 2018

In 1989 McDonald’s ran the biggest flexi-disc promotion ever, sending out 80 million discs (playing the “Menu Song”) as inserts in newspapers all over the country. A very special copy of this record was almost burned to heat a family home in Galax, Virginia. Instead, it ended up winning the homeowner a million dollars.

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 6: Shaggs' Own Thing: The Story of the Wiggin Sisters May 10, 2018

One of the most unlistenable bands of the ‘60s became a cult favorite decades later, gaining praise from the likes of Frank Zappa, Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth. But did the Wiggin sisters from Fremont, New Hampshire even want to be in a band in the first place? The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean recounts her reporting on the band’s strange trip to unexpected fame.

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 5: Johnny Tried: The Ballad of Glen Sherley May 03, 2018

When Johnny Cash played his iconic concert at Folsom Prison he covered the song of one very talented inmate. Johnny pulled some strings, plucked Glen Sherley from prison and brought him out on the road. Did this turn of fortune wind up helping or hurting the formerly unknown songwriter?

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 4: New Edition's Neighborhood Secret Apr 26, 2018

The boys in New Edition were basketball fans from Boston - Celtics country. So what happened when they hung out with the L.A. Lakers in a music video during the height of the 1980s Celtics/Lakers rivalry?

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 3: Electricity: Conversations with Captain Beefheart Apr 19, 2018

In this intimate radio portrait of one of music’s most legendary eccentric geniuses, writer Kristine McKenna offers you a visceral experience of what it was like to be friends with Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart).

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 2: Outlaws of the Airwaves: The Rise of Pirate Radio Station WBAD Apr 12, 2018

Pirate radio station WBAD in New York was a beloved source for fans of underground, unsanitized hip-hop in the 1990s, but how high could this illegal operation fly while also staying under the radar?

Lost Notes S1 Ep. 1: Louie Louie: The Strange Journey of the Dirtiest Song Never Written Apr 12, 2018

An FBI Investigation, an engagement ring, wine coolers... the surprising story behind the ubiquitous anthem that every teenager bangs out on their first guitar.

Lost Notes - Season 1: Introducing Lost Notes Apr 05, 2018

Hear a preview of Lost Notes, an anthology of some of the greatest music stories never truly told. Top journalists present stand-alone audio documentaries that highlight music’s head, heart and beat, with host Solomon Georgio as your guide.

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