Rock's Backpages

For this episode Sid Griffin joins us to talk about the great Gram Parsons on the 80th anniversary of the alt.country forefather's birth. After we hear our guest's thoughts on the "Blue Tsunami' of the Midterms in his distant homeland, he reflects on his Kentucky upbringing, his years in journalism school at the University of South Carolina, and his late '70s move to Los Angeles. He also describes his deep immersion in that city's retro-psych "Paisley Underground" scene, including his friendships with the likes of the Bang(le)s. Sid revisits the formation of his "cowpunk" [sic] band the Long Ryders and considers the influences of such L.A. forebears as the Byrds and the Buffalo Springfield on the group. Which leads us pretty seamlessly to the subject of Gram Parsons, the first biography of whom Sid published back in 1985. Clips from a never-before-heard 1973 audio interview with Gram are interwoven with our collective thoughts on his music from the Shilos to Grievous Angel via Sweetheart of the Rodeo and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Following Sid's ruminations on how much he has (or in some ways hasn't) assimilated to the UK in his Coal Porters years, William quotes from pieces about the Beatles' Yellow Submarine (1968) and Mumford & Sons (2011). Jasper then talks us out with remarks on Roy Trakin's florid appraisal of Television's 1978 album Adventure and Sara Scribner's early live review of Ben Harper playing a 1993 benefit gig at the Roxy on Sunset.

In this episode we welcome the (more) brilliant Kodwo Eshun to west London and ask him about – among other things – his polemical 1998 book More Brilliant than the Sun. In a wide-ranging conversation, we commence with our guest's memories of his north London childhood as the son of a Ghanaian diplomat. He is candid about his improbable teenage passion for Hawkwind and Yes, to both of whom he remained loyal even after becoming smitten with the Smiths, New Order and Cocteau Twins in the '80s. From there we jump to Kodwo's immersion in literary theory at Oxford and his earliest writing on music for i-D, where he became part of a cabal of pop-culture intellectuals that included the late Mark (k-punk) Fisher. Conversation turns to our guest's incipient awareness of so-called "Afrofuturism" via the influence of writers such as Greg Tate and Mark Sinker. The germination of the neologism-strewn More Brilliant – subtitled "Adventures in Sonic Fiction" – is addressed, along with our guest's thoughts on the UK's '90s jungle scene and today's "generative AI" music proliferation. Clips from Frank Broughton's 2005 audio interview with Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills prompt a conversation about Underground Resistance and the Motor City electronica of the '90s. After William quotes from a 1980 Unicorn Times piece about James Brown, Jasper talks us out by reading his wonderfully idiosyncratic review of a recent live show by the bizarre and (more) brilliant Angine de Poitrine. Many thanks to special guest Kodwo Eshun. Pieces discussed: Public Enemy Number 1, Outing the In-Crowd, Drum & Bass: Sonic Youth, Kodwo Eshun: More Brilliant Than The Sun – Adventures in Sonic Fiction (Quartet), Jeff Mills (2005), James Brown: Live and Lowdown at the Apollo, Vol. I Solid Smoke, and Angine de Poitrine: Troxy, London.

In this new episode we invite the splendid Tonya Pendleton to join us online from her adopted Philadelphia – in her own words "the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection". The former Vibe scribe turned Philly radio host tells us about growing up in New York City and listening to WBLS legend Frankie Crocker and, later, DJ Red Alert. She also remembers the internship that led to her becoming music director at WILD in Boston, where she befriended New Edition and New Kids On The Block! After recalling her stints at Def Jam and Arista Records in New York, Tonya talks about her move from New York to Philly, where she fell in with the scene around the Roots and Jill Scott. We ask our guest about the early pieces she wrote for YSB (Young Sisters and Brothers) magazine, including her 1994 interview with the infamous and now-incarcerated R. Kelly. We then move on to her fascinating XXL cover story about the late great D'Angelo, who died a year ago this week, plus Tonya revisits her 1998 trip to Paisley Park for an audience with the Prince then known as The Artist. After discussing X-rated female hip hop pioneer Lil' Kim, we mark the 20th anniversary of the classic Back to Black album by listening to clips from Amy Linden's exclusive 2007 audio interview with the amazing Amy Winehouse. Finally, William quotes from pieces about former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock (1983) and Geese (2026), after which Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on pieces about Boyz II Men et al. (1992) and early rap icon Coke La Rock (2012). Many thanks to special guest Tonya Pendleton. Follow her on Instagram @iamtonyapendleton. Pieces discussed: Voodoo Chile: D’Angelo brings something wicked this way A Portrait of The Artist: His Purple Reign Continues When And Where I Enter: The Lil’ Kim Story Amy Winehouse (2007) Neil Kinnock: It’s My Party Geese: Barrowlands, Glasgow Voicing alarm Coke La Rock: The Bronx’s unsung hero has the distinction of being hip-hop’s first rapper

For this episode we invite the legendary Nik Cohn to join us from upstate New York to discuss his extraordinary career and his brilliant new book Corner Boy. Also joining us — from New York City — is the book's editor Ben Ratliff, himself the author of an acclaimed 2007 biography of John Coltrane. We start by asking Nik about the epiphanic teenage moment he discovered rock'n'roll in Derry, Northern Ireland, before jumping forward to his early pop writing for Queen in the mid-'60s. Along the way, Ben explains Corner Boy's conception and the book's collaborative process. Inevitably we revisit the writing and publication of 1969's explosive Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom, plus its enduring reputation as rock's first great book. We also ask Nik about his close relationship with the Who and their manager Kit Lambert, and about Guy Peellaert and Rock Dreams; the 1976 article that gave birth to Saturday Night Fever; and our guest's abiding love of New Orleans. Mention of Nik's 2005 book Triksta: Life and Death and New Orleans Rap leads us into clips from David Toop's 1984 audio interview with hip hop forefather Grandmaster Flash, and to a general discussion of rap's impact on our guests. After Nik reflects on the 1983 drug bust that inspired the Corner Boy piece 'Apprehension', Jasper and William talk us out with their highlights from recent additions to the Rock's Backpages library. Pieces discussed: ⁠James Brown: Walthamstow Granada, London⁠,  The Shangri-Las, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Close-Up: Nik Cohn, Nik Cohn: My Book is Rubbish but it's the Best, Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The book that declared pop music dead, Grandmaster Flash audio (1984), Lawrence Welk & Johnny Hodges, Love You, New Orleans, Is Elvis Belittling His Early Hits?, and Kim Gordon: from Sonic Youth to self-proclaimed "sociologist".

For this episode we're joined in Hammersmith by the much-travelled Tony Fletcher as he returns to his homeland to promote his new book POW! When UK Punk Went Pop, 1980–84. We begin by asking our guest about Jamming!, the fondly-remembered fanzine he launched in South London at the tender age of 13. He recalls the huge impact of the Jam on his adolescent life and the friendship with Paul Weller that grew out of his passion for the band. After discussing how Jamming! evolved into a proper monthly magazine — scooping early '80s interviews with Paul McCartney, Morrissey and U2 along the way — we ask Tony about the hyper-tribalism of the period POW! covers. He ponders the way punks like Adam Ant "went pop" while other bands forged a rearguard return to rock. A conversation about '80s "rockism" and its foes leads to clips from the late Richard Cook's February 1982 audio interview with U2, conducted in America just as the Irish quartet was commencing its full-scale ascent into the stadium-rock stratosphere. After we hear about our guest's post-Jamming! life as an author and biographer based in Brooklyn — and then upstate New York — Jasper talks us out with quotes from (and thoughts on) Chris Bohn's 1981 NME piece about Budapest's "semi-legal" musical underground... and a great Dua Lipa interview from 2022.