How We Heard It

122 Episodes

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M for music: Madonna's blitzkrieg, plus everyone from Paul McCartney to Metallica

2026-10-2401:17:39

This time on "How We Heard It," the guys finish the dive into their music collections that they started last week, this week charging through the middle part of the alphabet (i.e. the letters L and M) as they give their quick takes on a genre-hopping range of some 50 artists. Naturally some of the biggest stars in all of popular music are on tap - including Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Metallica and Joni Mitchell - and you might be surprised by some of the points the hosts make about each of them. Also in the mix, you'll hear about Huey Lewis and the News, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Bettye LaVette, The Lemonheads, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Mellencamp and Kylie Minogue. And who could forget the Lascivious Biddies or Meco? Meanwhile, be sure to catch how the studio lights up when Sarah Baker (co-host Wayne Bledsoe's girlfriend) joins the group mid-show ... especially when she teams up with co-host Chuck Campbell for an animated discussion on how Madonna ambitiously took over pop music in the 1980s with an astounding marketing blitzkrieg. There's something for everyone this week on "How We Heard It" - including you.

This time we’re covering everything from J to L!

2026-10-1701:21:57

Your “How We Heard It” hosts never know what they’ll find to talk about when they dig through their music collections - albums they forgot they had, albums they didn’t realize they had, albums they could never forget about. This week they’re at it again and unusually focused, concentrating primarily on artists that start with J, K or L. The guys give their short takes on some 50 artists - including Etta James, Jethro Tull, Joy Division, the Kinks, Kraftwerk, Lenny Kravitz, Patti LaBelle, k.d. lang, Cyndi Lauper, Los Lobos and dozens of other acts. Rock, pop, R&B, country, jazz, rap, Latin and electronic music are all included in the breezy free-for-all, so buckle in and take a ride!

Weird and offbeat music we love

2026-10-1001:36:26

We praise "weird" music because it's engagingly unpredictable, creative and nonformulaic. We condemn "weird" music because it's self-indulgent, affected and weird just for the sake of being weird. It's not that we can't make up our mind if weird music is good or bad, it's that weird music can be weirdly good or weirdly bad. This week on "How We Heard It," Chuck, Wayne and John run through a spectrum of offbeat artists who are sometimes, usually or always considered weird, including Frank Zappa, The B-52's, Devo, Bjork, Captain Beefheart, Enya, Beck, Throbbing Gristle, The Residents, Sonic Youth, Marianne Faithfull, PJ Harvey, Pere Ubu - and even the Beatles and the Beach Boys. Sometimes emerging genres seem weird till they go mainstream. Sometimes the addition of an instrument like the sitar or bagpipes can make the conventional sound fascinating. Sometimes an unusual voice is enough to make music sound weird. This episode explores why some of our favorite music is offbeat, and why some offbeat music is simply unlistenable. Who are your favorite (or most hated) "weird" music acts?

Home sweet home? That depends on the song

2026-10-0301:36:08

Songwriters know there's no place like home - for better and worse. Home is where the heart is, and home is where the hurt is. We might get homesick when we're away and then feel trapped when we return. For some, home is a retreat into seclusion, and they won't even answer the door. Meanwhile others never intend to darken the doorstep of their home again. This week the hosts of "How We Heard It" look at our complicated feelings for "home" as presented in songs - and the range of emotions is expansive. For a loving couple, home is a blissful house of joy. For an abused child, it's a place of hellish torture. A home can be a place where dreams come true for some and a place where dreams die for others. And for some, "home" isn't a physical place, it's a state of mind. Whatever you think of "home," there are songs that match your feelings. From broken homes to temples of love to haunted houses, we've got it all.

Gray music for gray days

2026-09-2601:19:03

As we chug deeper into fall, the sunrise comes later each day, and the sundown comes earlier. The thermometer readings are on a steady decline, and there's a pronounced chill in the rain. Somehow those sunny songs of summer just aren't cutting it anymore. But an awesome thing about music is there are songs for every mood, every atmosphere and every season. So this week on "How We Heard It," your hosts bring attention to songs that you might have put out of your mind months ago but should bring back to the forefront. Maybe you need something for Halloween, creepy and maybe festive or maybe menacing. Or something darker for when we make that long march through November and eventually come face to face with another winter. Wayne being Wayne, he suggests songs and albums with ill-fated victims (because who doesn't want death tolls with their music?), while all the guys recommend music that's a little more introspective and quiet, if not grim. Whether you prefer rock horror, goth malaise or emo blues, they've got you covered. And there might also be a smattering of scares lurking within the gloom. You can't avoid it, so you might as well embrace it.

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