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E165: Michel Faber on music & sound + Nick Cave + Captain Beefheart Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we welcome acclaimed novelist Michel Faber to RBP's Hammersmith HQ and ask him about his new book ... as well as about a 1979 interview he did with the young Nick Cave.

Barney gets the ball rolling by asking the author of Under the Skin and The Crimson Petal and the White what he set out to do with Listen: On Music, Sound and Us. Viewing music through a variety of prisms — from nostalgia and snobbery to racial bias and auditory biology — was the book at least partly an exercise in demystification?

A stimulating conversation unfolds as Michel answers questions about "MOJO-fication", vinyl fetishisation, and live performance. A tangent on tinnitus takes us to his memories of seeing (and hearing) one of the Birthday Party's last shows... and waking up temporarily deaf the next morning. Which in turn leads to discussion of the interview our guest did as a student at Melbourne University with the pre-Birthday Party Boys Next Door, and then to clips from a 1995 audio interview in which Nick Cave answers Andy Gill's questions about Murder Ballads and Kylie Minogue.

Finally the "panel" considers the week's featured artist (and a key influence on the early Birthday Party): the archetypal "MOJO-fied" cult hero who traded musically under the moniker Captain Beefheart — and whose exceptional paintings as Don Van Vliet feature in a new exhibition at Mayfair's Michael Werner Gallery.

After Mark quotes from recently-added library pieces on Little Walter, Sylvester, Ornette Coleman and Björk, Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on articles about the aforementioned Kylie Minogue, Goodie Mob and The Face.

Many thanks to special guest Michel Faber. Listen: On Music, Sound and Usis published by Canongate and available now from all good bookshops

Pieces discussed: 'Revolution 9', David Byrne's How Music Works, Nick Cave: A Boy Next Door, Nick Cave audio, People talk about BEEFHEART!, Captain Beefheart, Don Van Vliet, Little Walter, Joni Mitchell, Iggy & the Stooges, Ornette Coleman, Björk, Phil Everly, Sylvester, McAlmont & Butler, Kylie Minogue, Goodie Mob and The Face.

E164: Kate Simon on Bob Marley + Sounds + Joni Mitchell Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we welcome the great Kate Simon, who Zooms in from New York City to answer our questions about her stellar career and the new edition of Rebel Music, her book of classic reggae portraits.

Kate talks about the formative moments that made her a music photographer, plus the 1972 move to London that brought her into the pages of Disc & Music Echo and Sounds. Her hosts quiz her about her timeless shots of David Bowie, Rod Stewart and the Clash before we hear of her first trip to Jamaica in 1976 and the start of her long association with Bob Marley and his fellow Wailers. We also learn more about Kate's friendships with Sounds colleagues such as Jonh Ingham, Vivien Goldman and art director Dave Fudger.

After hearing about Kate's return to her native soil and her '80s work for The Face – as well as her personal preferences as a photographer — we switch coasts to California in order to mark the imminent 80th birthday of Joni Mitchell. Clips from Dave Zimmer's 1983 audio with the First Lady of Laurel Canyon – with her wry observations about Messrs. Crosby, Stills and Nash – prompt more general thoughts on her peerless music from Blue to Hejira to Night Ride Home.

With Mark sipping the last of the summer wine in his beloved Crete, Jasper concludes matters with quotes from — and reflections on — newly-added library pieces about Miles Davis, Rod Stewart and Steve Reich... not to mention a priceless Billy Eckstine reminiscence of gigging with John Coltrane.

Many thanks to special guest Kate Simon. The new edition of Rebel Music: Bob Marley and Roots Reggae is published by Genesis Publications.

Pieces discussed: Kate Simon interviewed by Paul Gorman, Reggae: Black punks on 'erb, Richard Hell, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell audio, The Seeds, Miles Davis, Rod Stewart, Billy Eckstine, Steve Reich, Queen Latifah and Michael Kiwanuka.

E163: Evelyn McDonnell on Joan Didion + The Motels + Carla Bley R.I.P. Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we welcome acclaimed critic, author and professor Evelyn McDonnell and invite her to discuss her new Joan Didion book, along with the Motels, Britney Spears and California's pop history in general.

Evelyn talks about her early L.A. memories and childhood move to Wisconsin before we hear how she progressed from her college paper in Providence, RI, to becoming the pop critic for the Miami Herald. We also note books such as her Runaways biography Queens of Noise, a suitable jumping-off point for a long conversation about her fellow Californian, Didion.

Mark and Martin reminisce about the impact of Didion's extraordinary essay collections Slouching towards Bethlehem and The White Album, after which we follow her career through to the bestselling Year of Magical Thinking. The L.A. theme continues as we hear two clips from Steve Roeser's 2001 audio interview with Motels singer Martha Davis, putting that band into historical context with discussion of the pre-punk D.I.Y. "Radio Free Hollywood" shows in 1976.

From there we fast-forward to the very different "L.A. Woman" that was and is Britney Spears, which in turn prompts our guest to give her very pertinent take on the [Jann] "Wennergate" debacle of the past month. At a significant remove from all this Hollywood Babylonia was avant-jazz giant Carla Bley, whose death we mark in a conversation about 1971's extraordinary Escalator Over The Hill.

Finally, Mark mentions pieces he's recently added to the RBP library, including interviews with Laurie Anderson and the Byrds' Roger McGuinn, and Jasper rounds the episode off with remarks on pieces about Herbie Hancock and Steve Goodman's Hyperdub label.

Many thanks to special guest Evelyn McDonnell. The World According to Joan Didionis published by HarperOne and available now.

Pieces discussed: Hollywood Swinging: Joan Didion in '60s L.A., The Runaways, The Motels' Martha Davis audio, Britney Spears at Staples Centre, Britney Spears interviewed by Steven Daly, Carla Bley interviewed by Brian Case, Carla Bley at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Dwight Twilley Band, Dwight Twilley: Magical Mystery Man, Queen Latifah/DJ Mark the 45 King, The Byrds, Laurie Anderson, Steve Goodman & Hyperdub and Herbie Hancock.

E162: Billy Bragg on forty roaring years + Skiffle + Woody Guthrie Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we welcome the left's very own "national treasure" Billy Bragg – beamed in from his adopted Dorset – and ask him about the long and remarkable career that's enshrined in forthcoming box set The Roaring Forty.

Billy revisits his Barking boyhood and early pop and folk influences, culminating in the 1977 formation of Clash-inspired punks Riff Raff. After a brief 1981 detour via the British Army, he explains how he settled on his unique solo style and delivery – and how he wound up on the cover of the NME in January 1984.

Inevitably the conversation turns to politics and the way Billy has managed to retain his charm, humour and compassion in the face of hatred and extremism. An audio clip of Spectator editor Boris Johnson haranguing him at Glastonbury in 2000 is followed by discussion of left-wing patriotism, Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party and our present-day hyperpolarisation.

Martin recalls the day Billy came to tea to ask about the RBP co-founder's father Bill and uncle Ken – and the catalytic impact Ken Colyer's Jazzmen had on the music Billy chronicled so impressively in his 2017 book Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World. From the Colyers and Lonnie Donegan we cross the big pond to talk about Woody Guthrie, the agit-folk bard whose lyrics Billy and Wilco turned into 1998's Mermaid Avenue album. Clips from Chris Smith's 1999 audio interview with Woody's daughter (and archivist) Nora Guthrie prompt conversation about the Okie icon's mighty legacy.

After Mark quotes from recently-added articles about the Stooges, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Dr. Dre, Jasper wraps matters up with remarks on Truth Hurts and FKA Twigs.

Many thanks to special guest Billy Bragg. For more about The Roaring Forty, as well as Roots, Radicals and Rockers, visit his website at billybragg.co.uk.

Pieces discussed: Billy Bragg on the cover of the NME, Who the hell does Billy Bragg think he is?, Billy Bragg comes to tea, Nora Guthrie audio, Billy Bragg's Mermaid Avenue, The Stooges, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Dr. Dre, Truth Hurts and FKA Twigs.

E161: Mick Gold on Let It Rock + Pub Rock + Bruce Springsteen + Jann Wenner Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we welcome music writer/photographer turned award-winning TV director Mick Gold and ask him to return to the mid-'70s to discuss pub rock, Bruce Springsteen and the wonderful Let It Rock magazine.

Mick explains how he fell in with Let It Rock's "hard-up left-wing intellectuals" after penning a 5,000-word Beatles thesis at Sussex University. We then hear about the magazine and its eclectic agenda, along with our guest's parallel career as a photographer and his 1976 photo-essay book Rock on the Road.

This in turn leads to a conversation about the "pub rock" scene that mushroomed in London during Let It Rock's 1972-75 lifespan. Along with Mick's 1975 Dr. Feelgood interview, Mark, Martin and Barney share their memories of gigs by Kilburn & the High Roads and Chili Willi & the Red Hot Peppers. The gradual transition from Pub to Punk is recalled and analysed with passing reference to Mick's 1976 Street Lifeinterview with Patti Smith.

The mid-'70s theme takes us into clips from a 2016 audio interview in which Bruce Springsteen talks to Vanity Fair's David Kamp about 1975's breakthrough classic 'Born to Run' — and then to a further discussion of the Boss' inclusion in Jann Wenner's controversial new book The Masters.

After Mark quotes from interviews with Dizzy Gillespie, James Brown, Todd Rundgren, Chic and Wham!, Jasper talks us out with his notes on pieces about Nona Hendryx and Rammellzee.

Pieces discussed: The Band, Rock on the Road introduction, Bob Dylan at 60, Brinsley Schwarz, Dr. Feelgood, Pub Rock Proms, Bruce Springsteen on 'Born to Run', Dizzy Gillespie, Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Todd Rundgren, Chic, Wham!, Bruce Springsteen, Nona Hendryx and Rammellzee.

E160: Richard Grabel on Hip Hop + Kool Lady Blue + Beastie Boys Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we invite Richard Grabel to reminisce about his long career as a journalist and music-biz lawyer.

We hear how Richard had his mind blown by an early CBGB double-bill of Television and the three-piece Talking Heads — and about his first reviewing efforts as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. He describes how he got his foot in the door at New York Rocker– reviewing one of Lowell George's last shows for editor Andy Schwartz — and then at the NMEon a 1978 visit to London.

Richard's classic reports on NYC's early rap scene provide a perfect opportunity for us to ask him about his visits to the South Bronx and his interviews with Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash. He's also namechecked in a clip from Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton's 1998 audio interview with Brit rap promoter Kool Lady Blue, whose legendary nights at the Roxy club in Chelsea he discusses with his hosts.

After reflecting on the rise of the Beastie Boys and the story of how rap's "flash-in-the-pan" novelty status led to the genre's global domination, Richard explains how he became a high-profile lawyer for such alt-rock bands as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.

After Mark quotes from interviews with Betty Davis, Jackson Browne and George Michael, Jasper concludes the episode with remarks about pieces on Smash Mouth, *NYSNC and the 16-year-old Lorde.

Many thanks to special guest Richard Grabel.

Pieces discussed: Kurtis Blow, The Funky Four + 1, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Lady Blue, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Beastier Boys, Beastiest Boys, Jackson Browne, Ray Parker Jr., Betty Davis, George Michael, Smash Mouth, Blue-eyed soul and Lorde.

E159: Vernon Gibbs on Marvin Gaye + Talking Heads + A&R at Arista Aug 29, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we're delighted to invite Vernon Gibbs to look back on his career as a pioneering soul scribe and A&R man.

Vernon begins by describing his early years as a scholarship student who took the G train from Brooklyn to school on Manhattan's Upper East Side — and his formative years at NYC's Columbia University. He describes how he fell in with the counterculture and began writing about music for the Columbia Daily Spectator. A discussion follows of pieces he wrote about the death of Jimi Hendrix and — later, for NME — the decline of Sly Stone. He also talks about contributing to Crawdaddy! and other rock publications in the mid-'70s.

The 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On gives Vernon's hosts a chance to ask about the 1974 interview he did with the Motown superstar for Zoo World. He then explains how he was hired for A&R positions at Mercury and — more notably — Clive Davis' Arista label, where he worked with P-Funk offshoot Quazar and 'Disco Nights' hitmakers GQ.

Vernon's return to music journalism takes us into a discussion of the downtown New York punk scene and a 1983 Creem interview in which Richard Hell defines "the blank generation". This in turn leads to clips from Jim Sullivan's 1996 audio interview with Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth — and Vernon's thoughts on that most un-punk of CBGB bands — in the week when Jonathan Demme's concert documentary Stop Making Sense is given well-deserved a cinematic re-release.

After Mark quotes from archive interviews with Philly International legend Kenny Gamble (1976), L.A. bete noire Kim Fowley (1979) and smoooooth jazz man Kenny G (1988), Jasper rounds off the episode with his thoughts on Lloyd Bradley's celebration of London's Harlesden scene (2001), Def Jam rapper Ludacris (2005) and "jazz-rock" trio the Bad Plus (2013).

Many thanks to special guest Vernon Gibbs.

Pieces discussed: Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, Let's Get It On, Richard Hell, Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth audio, Gamble & Huff, Kenny G, Kim Fowley, Do the Harlesden Shuffle, Ludacris and The Bad Plus.

E158: Charles Shaar Murray on the NME + John Lee Hooker + Robbie Robertson Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we welcome NME legend Charles Shaar Murray, beamed in from his adopted Ipswich to reminisce about his career from Oz magazine to his John Lee Hooker biography Boogie Man.

We start by discussing Charles' 1970 interview with the mighty Muddy Waters, his "favourite singer since I was 12 years old". Our guest talks about the Oz "School Kids" issue and the other underground publications for which he wrote before he was recruited by New Musical Express in the summer of 1972.

We hear how "CSM" became NME's unofficial David Bowie correspondent and how — under Nick Logan's editorship — the paper radically broadened its rock remit to embrace film, literature and politics. Taking the story into the early '80s, we discuss the continuing passion for blues that led to years of research for Boogie Man. Clips from Tony Scherman's 1992 audio interview with its subject Mr. Hooker prompt our guest's memories of coaxing information out of the veteran bluesman.

From John Lee and Muddy Waters we turn our attention to a Canadian guitarist who fell heavily under their spell: Robbie Robertson, whose death we learned about the night before recording this episode. After we hear audio of the Band man talking in 1991 about his "musical brother" Levon Helm, we discuss what the proto-Americana quintet meant then and now. We also pay tribute to punk artist Jamie Reid and Mexican-American cult hero Rodriguez.

Wrapping up the episode, Barney quotes from late '70s interviews with Ted Nugent and Bruce Springsteen, after which Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on pieces about Monie Love and Beyoncé...

Many thanks to special guest Charles Shaar Murray. His books, including Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker, are available from all good bookshops.

Pieces discussed: Muddy Waters, David Bowie, Crosstown Traffic, John Lee Hooker, John Lee Hooker audio, Robbie Robertson, The Second Coming of Robbie Robertson, Jamie Reid, Rodriguez, Ted Nugent, Bruce Springsteen, Monie Love and Beyoncé.

E157: Jim Farber on Glam Rock + Marc Bolan + Sinéad O'Connor Jul 31, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we invite acclaimed New York writer Jim Farber to tell us about his 50-year career and his experiences of "growing up gay to a Glam Rock soundtrack", to cite the title of a superb 2016 piece he wrote for The New York Times.

We start by asking the former Chief Music Critic of the New York Daily News about his Scarsdale childhood and his formative musical memories. He explains how Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen' became a portal to both obsessive fandom and the urgent need to write about rock for Creem, Circus and Rolling Stone. Additionally he recalls interviewing Robert Fripp for Creem in 1978 and then being reunited with King Crimson's prog-rock dissident in 2022 when the extraordinary In the Court of the Crimson King film came out.

After Barney quotes from "The Androgynous Mirror", Jim's brilliant essay for the 1998 book Rolling Stone: The Seventies, we discuss Glam Rock and listen to clips from Keith Altham's 1971 audio interview with T. Rex's Marc Bolan. A brief digression about Queen and Freddie Mercury leads to Jim's thoughts on the openly gay, overhyped and ill-fated Jobriath, who died 40 years ago this week.

The awful loss of Sinéad O'Connor on the eve of this episode's recording prompts reflections on the Irish singer's blazing talent and turbulent life — particularly from our guest, who interviewed her three times for the Daily News.

Finally, Mark quotes from newly-added library interviews with John Lennon and Kraftwerk's Ralf Hütter, while Jasper wraps things up with notes on the Strokes (and the White Stripes) and Belle & Sebastian (and Norah Jones).

Many thanks to special guest Jim Farber. Follow him on Twitter @JimFarberMusic.

Pieces discussed: Growing up gay to a glam rock soundtrack, Soft Cell's Marc Almond, Robert Fripp, Marc Bolan audio, Jobriath, Jobriath @ the Bottom Line, More Jobriath, Glitter rock's lingering shadow, Sinéad O'Connor audio, Skinéad, Lennon & Yoko, Kraftwerk, Primal Scream, Strokes/Stripes, Pet Shop Boys and Belle & Sebastian.

E156: Richard Boon on Buzzcocks + Manchester + Morrissey audio Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Richard Boon joins us to talk about his life in music, taking in the birth of Buzzcocks, the Smiths on Rough Trade and his time as "the world's coolest librarian" in Stoke Newington.

The punk instigator takes us back to 1976, when he went to see the Sex Pistols live in High Wycombe together with a certain Howard Trafford and Peter McNeish. This shock to the system led to Richard inviting them to play his art studio in Reading, plus the near-mythological Lesser Free Trade Hall show that everyone in Manchester later claimed to have been at. Once Howard and Pete re-christened themselves Devoto and Shelley and formed Buzzcocks, Richard fell into managing the group and put out their seminal Spiral Scratch EP on his New Hormones label.

We then ask Richard about his move to Rough Trade around the same time as he brought them the Smiths. Clips from Martin Aston's 1986 audio interview with Morrissey form the backdrop for a discussion of why the band were special, their reluctance to film music videos and their relationship with their fans.

Following discussion of featured writer Cath Carroll, whose early interview with Morrissey and Marr plus pieces on Linder and New Order round out the Manchester theme, Mark and Jasper finish up on library highlights including Sandy Bull, Yazz, the Spice Girls,and Lewis Capaldi.

Many thanks to special guest Richard Boon.

Please note that this episode was recorded before the death of Jane Birkin.

Pieces discussed: Buzzcocks, Spiral Scratch, Pete Shelley audio, Morrissey audio, The Smiths, Linder, New Order, Sandy Bull, Van Morrison, Little Feat, Yazz, The Spice Girls, Pete Rugolo, Chuck Berry and Lewis Capaldi.

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