The Music Book Podcast

On this episode, Marc talks with Josephine Reisman, author of "The Last Temptation of Beck: The Untold Story of a Pop Messiah," released in September of 2026. It's a portrait of Beck during the 90s and early 2000s, the way his music and persona changed over that time,and it goes deep into his ties with Scientology, and how his moving in and out of that culture multiple times might have effected his life as an artist and public figure, as well as the lives of those around him. As Josephine wri...

On this episode, Marc talks with Steven Hyden, author of "Is This It: The Never Ending Rise and Fall of The Strokes (And Rock ‘n’ Roll)," released in September of 2026. It's a look at the career and impact of this New York band who got huge waves of attention when their first album, Is This It, came out in 2001, and have since had a kind of up and down career both commercially and critically. Hyden's book is as much cultural analysis and criticism as it is biography, delving into the way rock...

On this episode, Marc talks to Kip Lornell and Tom Mindte, co-authors of "Buzz Busby: Father of Washington, DC Bluegrass," published in June of 2026. It's a thorough and fascinating biography of the Bluegrass pioneer Buzz Busby, who moved from Louisiana to Washington DC as a teenager to work for the government, but quickly became an influential player and songwriter, starring on a daily local TV show, performing everywhere around the region, even participating in the show Louisiana Hayride wh...

On this episode, Marc talks with Ashley Kahn, author of "Days Of Miracle And Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland," released in August of 2026. It's an in-depth look at the making of Simon's classic 1986 album, in which he launched into a new style of songwriting and production, working with many African artists, sometimes in Africa, at a time when there was a loose cultural boycott due to the ongoing apartheid there. Kahn's book delves into how that situation was more ...

On this episode, Marc talks to Ira Robbins, editor of "Zip It Up! Too: More of the Best of Trouser Press Magazine, 1974-1984," published on his own Trouser Press Books. It's a follow up to 2024's "Zip It Up!," the first anthology of pieces from the legendary music magazine which Robbins co-founded and co-edited; I talked to him about that book when it came out, and you can hear our conversation in episode 31 which ran in March 2024. This second volume features more great articles from T...