Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo helped transform the possibilities of the electric guitar at a time when its role in rock music could seem well established. He came of age in New York City’s downtown No Wave art scene in the late 1970s before co-founding Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon in 1981. Over the next three decades, the band became an artistically and critically important act in American rock, serving as a conduit between the underground and the mainstream.

Since Sonic Youth’s dissolution in 2011, Ranaldo has continued to work prolifically as a solo artist and collaborator, moving freely between noise, folk, drone, and spoken word. His work reflects a restless curiosity that has made him a genuine musical polymath.

On today’s episode, Justin Richmond talks with Lee Ranaldo about his life and work, including the recent release of The System, a soundtrack he composed for Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema’s documentary about three climate activists working to imagine a different world.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Lee Ranaldo HERE.

Sonic Youth&rsquo;s Lee Ranaldo helped transform the possibilities of the electric guitar at a time when its role in rock music could seem well established. He came of age in New York City&rsquo;s downtown No Wave art scene in the late 1970s before co-founding Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon in 1981. Over the next three decades, the band became an artistically and critically important act in American rock, serving as a conduit between the underground and the mainstream.
Since Sonic Youth&rsquo;s dissolution in 2011, Ranaldo has continued to work prolifically as a solo artist and collaborator, moving freely between noise, folk, drone, and spoken word. His work reflects a restless curiosity that has made him a genuine musical polymath.
On today&rsquo;s episode, Justin Richmond talks with Lee Ranaldo about his life and work, including the recent release of The System, a soundtrack he composed for Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema&rsquo;s documentary about three climate activists working to imagine a different world.
You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Lee Ranaldo <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5BAKDKqJbctLkcbjEuEQuv?si=669f6ad6d320455d&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=40349673a5cb45de">HERE</a>.

Music and storytelling meet on Broken Record, where artists across genres and generations sit down to explore the joy, chaos, and vulnerability of creating—and what it means to devote a life to music. From legendary icons to groundbreaking new voices, each episode captures artists in conversation sharing the inspirations and experiences that shape their craft.

Music and storytelling meet on Broken Record, where artists across genres and generations sit down to explore the joy, chaos, and vulnerability of creating&mdash;and what it means to devote a life to music. From legendary icons to groundbreaking new voices, each episode captures artists in conversation sharing the inspirations and experiences that shape their craft.

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts. 

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts.&nbsp;

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Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f0af817d-8f91-4ef6-a710-b4cc0157ac35/transcript

Brandon Flowers’ new album, Thrasher, is a beautifully written ode to the Southwest where he grew up. It’s a deeply personal record, shining a light on the people close to him, the lives they’ve lived, and the difficulties they’ve navigated between his childhood in Henderson, Nevada, and Payson, Utah. It also explores some of the dead ends Brandon himself might have easily gone down had he not found another path.

Of course, that path led to extraordinary success with the Killers and a sound Brandon describes as a mix of Britpop and British post-punk. But the music that surrounded him growing up was country. His dad and his neighbors played Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and other country greats. It was a sound Brandon never quite left behind, and one he developed a deeper connection to over the years.

So for Thrasher, he went to Nashville’s legendary RCA Studio A, where he recorded with some of the great musicians in the genre: Charlie McCoy, who played on Bob Dylan’s legendary Nashville sessions; Bruce Bouton, who has played pedal steel with Garth Brooks from the very beginning of his career; and David Rawlings, Gillian Welch’s longtime collaborator.

On today’s episode, Brandon Flowers talks about making Thrasher, what it felt like to finally unlock the door that country music had been holding open for him his whole life, and the stories the album carries with it: the family members, the memories, and the particular texture of growing up Mormon and working-class in the American West.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Brandon Flowers HERE.

Brandon Flowers&rsquo; new album, Thrasher, is a beautifully written ode to the Southwest where he grew up. It&rsquo;s a deeply personal record, shining a light on the people close to him, the lives they&rsquo;ve lived, and the difficulties they&rsquo;ve navigated between his childhood in Henderson, Nevada, and Payson, Utah. It also explores some of the dead ends Brandon himself might have easily gone down had he not found another path.
Of course, that path led to extraordinary success with the Killers and a sound Brandon describes as a mix of Britpop and British post-punk. But the music that surrounded him growing up was country. His dad and his neighbors played Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and other country greats. It was a sound Brandon never quite left behind, and one he developed a deeper connection to over the years.
So for Thrasher, he went to Nashville&rsquo;s legendary RCA Studio A, where he recorded with some of the great musicians in the genre: Charlie McCoy, who played on Bob Dylan&rsquo;s legendary Nashville sessions; Bruce Bouton, who has played pedal steel with Garth Brooks from the very beginning of his career; and David Rawlings, Gillian Welch&rsquo;s longtime collaborator.
On today&rsquo;s episode, Brandon Flowers talks about making Thrasher, what it felt like to finally unlock the door that country music had been holding open for him his whole life, and the stories the album carries with it: the family members, the memories, and the particular texture of growing up Mormon and working-class in the American West.
You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Brandon Flowers <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/17tXwJ5xCTDSTfXgRHbfNy?si=0ee609f3a0594996&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=e9335df4f7034702">HERE</a>.

Brandon Flowers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7963353d-4ddb-4993-8553-b4c5015b1d30/transcript

Tom Morello arrived in Los Angeles from Libertyville, Illinois, in the mid-1980s with a Harvard political science degree in his pocket and a guitar slung across his back, determined to become the next great guitarist on the scene.

Instead, he found himself locked out of the glam-rock world that had taken over the Sunset Strip. By day, he worked as a secretary to a state senator; by night, he played clubs, searching for a way in.

Then, in 1991, Morello co-founded Rage Against the Machine with Zack de la Rocha—and everything changed. The band fused hip-hop, punk, metal, and politics into something entirely new, becoming one of the biggest rock bands of the 1990s.

Rage has been on and off over the past 25 years, but Morello has rarely stood still. He formed Audioslave, recorded folk protest songs as The Nightwatchman, toured as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D and B-Real to Johnny Cash.

Now, for the first time in his decades-long career, Morello has made a true solo album. Everyone Gets Everything They Want combines high-energy rock with social consciousness—and features his 15-year-old son, Roman, as a collaborator throughout.

On today’s episode, Justin Richmond talks with Tom Morello about making Everyone Gets Everything They Want and the long road that led him there. Morello tells the story of his early years in Los Angeles, the divide between the Eastside and the Sunset Strip, his time with the E Street Band, and much more.

Tom Morello arrived in Los Angeles from Libertyville, Illinois, in the mid-1980s with a Harvard political science degree in his pocket and a guitar slung across his back, determined to become the next great guitarist on the scene.
Instead, he found himself locked out of the glam-rock world that had taken over the Sunset Strip. By day, he worked as a secretary to a state senator; by night, he played clubs, searching for a way in.
Then, in 1991, Morello co-founded Rage Against the Machine with Zack de la Rocha&mdash;and everything changed. The band fused hip-hop, punk, metal, and politics into something entirely new, becoming one of the biggest rock bands of the 1990s.
Rage has been on and off over the past 25 years, but Morello has rarely stood still. He formed Audioslave, recorded folk protest songs as The Nightwatchman, toured as a member of Bruce Springsteen&rsquo;s E Street Band, and collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D and B-Real to Johnny Cash.
Now, for the first time in his decades-long career, Morello has made a true solo album. Everyone Gets Everything They Want combines high-energy rock with social consciousness&mdash;and features his 15-year-old son, Roman, as a collaborator throughout.
On today&rsquo;s episode, Justin Richmond talks with Tom Morello about making Everyone Gets Everything They Want and the long road that led him there. Morello tells the story of his early years in Los Angeles, the divide between the Eastside and the Sunset Strip, his time with the E Street Band, and much more.

Tom Morello

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/00027025-36d2-45a2-8e2e-b4bb0141f945/transcript

David Porter's story goes well beyond writing songs and releasing albums for Stax Records. His recent memoir, TheSoul Man, tells how he and his partner Isaac Hayes helped invent a sound rich and enduring enough to define American music from the 1960s to today. Together they wrote and produced hits for Sam & Dave, Johnnie Taylor, and dozens of other artists, and in the process built what became known as the Stax sound, a sound Porter still describes as the pursuit of pure emotional connection.

Porter grew up on a dead-end street in Memphis that also produced Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire and members of the Bar-Kays. He started out singing in church before eventually singing and producing music for Stax. He never learned to read music. None of the great names at Stax did. Instead, they built songs by ear, in the room, together, a process Porter calls “head arrangements,” and it became the foundation for some of the greatest songs in the history of R&B.

Today, Bruce Headlam sits down with David Porter to talk about how he and Isaac Hayes built a signature sound to set themselves apart from Motown, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. He also recalls the writing session that turned a bathroom joke into Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming," and the incredible story of how Otis Redding went from an artist's personal driver to a Stax superstar.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from David Porter HERE.

David Porter's story goes well beyond writing songs and releasing albums for Stax Records. His recent memoir, The Soul Man, tells how he and his partner Isaac Hayes helped invent a sound rich and enduring enough to define American music from the 1960s to today. Together they wrote and produced hits for Sam &amp; Dave, Johnnie Taylor, and dozens of other artists, and in the process built what became known as the Stax sound, a sound Porter still describes as the pursuit of pure emotional connection.
Porter grew up on a dead-end street in Memphis that also produced Maurice White of Earth, Wind &amp; Fire and members of the Bar-Kays. He started out singing in church before eventually singing and producing music for Stax. He never learned to read music. None of the great names at Stax did. Instead, they built songs by ear, in the room, together, a process Porter calls &ldquo;head arrangements,&rdquo; and it became the foundation for some of the greatest songs in the history of R&amp;B.
Today, Bruce Headlam sits down with David Porter to talk about how he and Isaac Hayes built a signature sound to set themselves apart from Motown, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. He also recalls the writing session that turned a bathroom joke into Sam &amp; Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming," and the incredible story of how Otis Redding went from an artist's personal driver to a Stax superstar.
You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from David Porter <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oFincL6vEXryXdCHGBQxG?si=7621a118ce1b4211">HERE</a>.

David Porter

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/25b178b8-f322-496c-a6e6-b4b800199436/transcript

Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo

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Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

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