Adam Duritz is no stranger to the spotlight. Counting Crows’ 1993 debut album, August And Everything After, sold over seven million copies in the U.S. Singles released from the album including “Mr. Jones” and “Round Here” dominated radio and MTV at the time. But all the exposure wasn’t great for the band, and according to Duritz, it led critics to focus more on Durtitz’s star-studded dating life, than the band’s music. Regardless, Counting Cr...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 6Ep. 155
Join Justin Richmond and Ben Walter, CEO of Chase For Business, for a special conversation about finding success in the music industry through non-traditional means. Ben shares his insights on balancing risk while scaling a business, as they talk about how the indie label XL Recordings built a sustainable business model by making unorthodox business decisions. He also shares how artists often have an edge in creating original business ideas like when music titans Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine built B...
Apr 03, 2025•14 min
A month ago at the Grammys, Alicia Keys gave a beautiful speech while accepting the Global Impact Award. Part of her speech was dedicated to the women producers who power the industry, women like Patrice Rushen, Missy Elliott, Linda Perry, and others. This was top of mind for Justin Richmond when he sat down with esperanza spalding at the Blue Note club in New York, where she was in the middle of a residency. Not only because she just produced a gorgeous new collaborative album by the unheralded...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 154
Alice Randall is a country music songwriter, a New York Times bestselling author, and a newly minted memoirist. She calls her new book, My Black Country , a love letter to Black country music. In addition to her memoir, Alice also released the album, My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall, that includes a rendition of the song, “The Ballad of Sally Anne” performed by Rhiannon Giddens. The song, which confronts the harsh realities of lynching in the American So...
Mar 25, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 6Ep. 153
In the 30-plus years since Billy Corgan hit it big as the lead singer/songwriter of The Smashing Pumpkins, he’s become many things including the owner of the National Wrestling Alliance, a father and a husband, and an outspoken advocate of free speech through appearances on divisive podcasts hosted by Alex Jones, Joe Rogan, and Bill Maher. Proving to be both eloquent and controversial, Billy is now hosting his own long form interview podcast called "The Magnificent Others" where he intervi...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 152
The Black Keys are gearing up to release their latest album, No Rain, No Flowers. The Akron, Ohio duo consisting of Dan Auerbach on lead vocals and guitar, and Patrick Carney on drums, have released 12 studio albums since their indie debut, The Big Come Up in 2002. On today's episode Justin Richmond talks with Dan and Patrick about their process of mixing the new album. They also share memories growing up together in a town filled with eccentric characters, and they explain their newfound love o...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 6Ep. 151
Tunde Adebimpe is a creative powerhouse. He's a cartoonist, a painter, a director, a Hollywood actor, and for the past 20 years, he’s been the lead singer of the band TV On The Radio. His latest offering—another of his many artistic pursuits—is a solo project called Thee Black Boltz. Tunde began writing these songs back in 2019. And after a stint composing music for the PBS Kids show “City Island” with producer Wilder Zoby, the two decided to set their sights on Tun...
Mar 04, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 150
The British funk band Cymande released their self-titled debut in 1972. The album’s deep calypso and reggae rhythms are inspired by its member’s West Indian roots. And decades after its release, samples taken from Cymande’s albums would find their way into songs that now define hip-hop’s golden era from artists like De La Soul, Gang Starr and The Fugees. While Cymande has found a second life through sampling during the late ‘80s and ‘90s, its primary members, ...
Feb 25, 2025•51 min•Season 6Ep. 149
Big Willie is back! He's traded his larger than life, excessively positive raps for something more dark and complex but equally inspiring. Anyone following Will’s trajectory the last handful of years, or those who've read his wonderful autobiography knows he’s been on a journey of self-discovery and healing. That’s left him wide open to be a bit of a different artist than he’s been in the past. It also drew him back into music. Will’s new project Based On A Tr...
Feb 18, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 148
Nothing says romance like a perfect playlist—except, maybe, a special network-wide episode about love songs. In this Valentine’s Day special, Broken Record hosts Justin Richmond and Leah Rose make their cases: is R&B the undisputed sound of love? Are sad songs more romantic? Can country win the day? Plus, the legendary songwriter Babyface talks about how young love shaped his most enduring ballads, Malcolm Gladwell breaks down the perfect break up song, and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey wri...
Feb 14, 2025•36 min
As if having one of the most beautiful and distinctive voices of all time weren’t enough, Smokey Robinson is also one of the greatest songwriters ever, a top-notch producer, engaging performer, and an indispensable part of Motown's legacy. In other words: he’s an institution of American music unto himself. On February 19th, Smokey turns 85, and as he prepares to head out for another run on the road including a three night engagement at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Smokey sat down with ...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 6Ep. 147
Indie rock band Nada Surf first hit big on college radio in 1996 with their driving, guitar forward song, “Popular.” The band started playing together four years earlier while attending college in Vermont. But they’re perhaps best known as a New York City band, where their lead singer and primary songwriter, Matthew Caws came of age. Caws is known as a vulnerable, and often reflective songwriter who tackles everything from social anxiety to politics in his work. Nada Surf&rsquo...
Feb 04, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 146
Jerry Cantrell has been the lead guitarist and songwriter for Alice in Chains since the band formed in 1987. By the mid ‘90s after a run of multi-platinum albums, Alice secured their spot as one of Seattle’s “big four” grunge bands along with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana. Legend has it that Alice In Chains’ early whirlwind of commercial success wreaked havoc on the personal and professional lives of the band. In 2002, lead singer Layne Staley overdosed and di...
Jan 28, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 145
Today Justin Richmond has a quick chat with Laura Segura, the Executive Director of MusiCares—a Recording Academy non-profit that's currently offering support to musicians and music professionals affected by the ongoing fires in L.A. MusiCares can provide assistance with costs related to evacuation, relocation, instrument replacement, home damage, medical care, mental health services, and other essential living expenses. For more information or to apply for support, contact MusiCares at&nb...
Jan 22, 2025•9 min
Coming off the loss of Quincy Jones, Benny Golson, Roy Haynes and Lou Donaldson at the end of 2024, it’s truly a treat to bring you a fresh interview with one of the last musicians of the Bebop era, the saxophone colossus himself, Sonny Rollins. Since we last spoke, a couple interesting artifacts from Rollins life have surfaced: "The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins" and "Rollins in Holland." We discuss those releases, his spirituality and the loss of some of his comrades in 2024. You can hear a...
Jan 21, 2025•57 min•Season 6Ep. 144
Alejandro Escovedo is a Texas-born singer/songwriter who comes from a rich family of musicians including his niece, Sheila E. Alejandro started out in the pioneering San Francisco punk band the Nuns in 1975. From there he moved to New York, and then eventually settled in Austin where he started playing rootsy rock with bands like Rank and File, as well as The True Believers. In March, Alejandro Escovedo released his latest album, Echo Dancing , a retrospective of his career that spans five decad...
Dec 31, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 143
2024 has been a career-defining year for St. Vincent. In April she released her self-produced seventh album, All Born Screaming . Then in November she released the Spanish language version of the same album, called Todos Nacen Gritando , as a tribute to fans she met in Spain and Latin America. The album doesn’t serve to replace the English language version, but instead supplements it brilliantly and provides a renewed listening experience. Of all the St. Vincent projects dating...
Dec 24, 2024•53 min•Season 6Ep. 142
This week we're sharing an episode from one of Slate's podcasts called Hit Parade. A decade ago, Rolling Stone magazine called 1984 “Pop’s Greatest Year.” A bold statement…but a lot of critics agree. A confluence of factors—the comeback of dance music, the peak of MTV, the Second British Invasion and the emergence of metal and hip-hop—made the radio a great place to be. Join Chris Molanphy in this episode of Slate's Hit Parade as he dissects eight reasons why...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Conor Oberst's music is dynamic, deeply smart, captivating, funny, and sometimes biting. His extensive catalogue dates back to the early '90s and includes music with Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, the Mystic Valley band, the Faint, Commander Venus, Monsters of Folk, a collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers, and of course his solo material. On today's episode Justin Richmond and Conor Oberst discuss Conor's deep catalogue, and Conor recalls how he got his start by sending valentines to his favorite indi...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 6Ep. 141
Hiatus Kaiyote is an incredibly talented group of four Australian musicians—vocalist and guitarist Nai Palm, drummer Perrin Moss, bassist Paul Bender and Simon Mavin on keys. But those aren’t permanent stations for any of them, they often move between instruments and all contribute to writing some of the most beautiful soulful music of the last decade. Their latest album, Love Heart Cheat Code, came out earlier this year. It's the group’s fourth proper album and features some of their strongest ...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 6Ep. 140
Today we have Aoife O’Donovan on the show who was nominated for two Grammy awards this year: Best Folk Album for her latest release, All My Friends, as well as Best American Roots Song for the album’s title track. Aoife is a wonderfully prolific singer and songwriter from the Americana tradition—who also has an academic background, having studied improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her latest album is a gorgeous set of songs inspired by the life and work of suffragist Carrie ...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 139
Kim Deal is an indie-rock icon. In the mid-80s, she joined The Pixies as the band’s original bassist and co-vocalist. After the release of their debut album Come On Pilgrim in 1987, followed by the alt-rock classics Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, Kim took a break from The Pixies to form her own band, The Breeders. With the help of Kim’s twin sister Kelley on lead guitar, The Breeders released a couple EPs and four studio albums, including the platinum-selling ‘90s hit, Last Splash . This year after ...
Nov 19, 2024•49 min•Season 6Ep. 138
Soccer Mommy is one of the stand-out singer/songwriters to emerge over the last half decade. She was born Sophia Allison and raised in Nashville, Tennessee where she started playing guitar at six years-old. Sophia started posting her songs on Bandcamp in 2015 under the name Soccer Mommy the summer before moving to New York to study the music business at NYU. Two years later she dropped out after signing her first record deal with Fat Possum. Since then she has released four albums and toured wit...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 6Ep. 137
Billy Bragg came up in East London—Barking, Essex to be exact. It's fitting given the characteristic howl of his vocals. Listening to him these days, it’s hard not to recall the late-great Joe Strummer or the modern brilliance of Archy Marshall, a.k.a. King Krule. In the mid-80s, a musical era driven by production, Billy Bragg was all about songs. He was one of the great standard bearers of political music carried on from both the folk and punk traditions. On today's episode Bruce Headlam talks ...
Nov 05, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 136
We occasionally field emails and DMs from Broken Record listeners telling us who they’d like to hear on the program. The past handful of years, one name has come up more than others: Julian Lage. Now, if you’re not part of the converted, not a member of one of his devoted legion of fans that may come as a surprise. But if you get the chance to spend some time with his music after listening to this episode… I have one word for you: welcome. Julian’s path in music has been as unique as his gifts. ...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 6Ep. 135
A conversation with Charles Lloyd feels like a veritable interaction with the pages of history. I was continuously surprised throughout my conversation with Charles, along with Don Was, about the depth of his experiences…and the wisdom too. Charles is an inordinately beautiful tenor player from Memphis, Tennessee - who grew up at a time where the region was brimming with talent… Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Parker, Billy Lee Riley, B.B. King and so many more were from there or made their ...
Oct 24, 2024•2 hr 34 min•Season 6Ep. 134
Meshell Ndegeocello doesn’t fit neatly into any “jazz” label - or any label of any kind for that matter. She’s a phenomenal bass player, deep songwriter, beautiful interpreter of song, wonderful band leader and has had one bad ass career. It’s fitting that after a circuitous journey through the industry that started as one of the premiere artists on the Madonna helmed Maverick Records in the early 90s, that she’s now released two albums on Blue Note Records under Don Was. The first was last year...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 133
We’re continuing our celebration of Blue Note Records’ 85th Anniversary this week with a conversation with a certified living legend: Ron Carter. For starters Ron Carter was a key member of a group that’s on the shortlist for greatest band of all time: The Second Great Miles Davis Quintet featuring Mr. Carter, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and, naturally, Miles Davis. And although many conversations with Ron start and end with that period of his life from 1964 to 1968, at 87 years...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 6Ep. 132
Blue Note is one of the first and longest standing institutions of Jazz music. Since its formation in 1939 the label has put out albums by Robert Glasper, Lee Morgan, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Gergory Porter, Bobby McFerrin, and so many more. To celebrate 85 years of music from this iconic label, Justin Richmond and Blue Note’s current President Don Was recorded a series of interviews with the label’s past present and future: Ron Carter, Meshell Ndegeocello, Charles Lloyd, Julian Lage and to...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 6Ep. 131
We have a two-part episode for you today in honor of the great Stevie Wonder. First we will hear the Pulitzer Prize winning writer Wesley Morris talk about the making of his new Audible original, The Wonder of Stevie . Then, Justin Richmond talks to the pioneering electronic music producer Robert Margouleff, who in 1968 together with Malcolm Cecil, built the world's largest analog synthesizer known as TONTO. Over a four year period, Stevie Wonder worked closely with Robert, Cecil, and TONTO to r...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 130
