Episode 168: “I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 168: "I Say a Little Prayer" by Aretha Franklin
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Aretha Franklin singing the National Anthem at the 1968 Democratic National Convention

Episode 168 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “I Say a Little Prayer”, and the interaction of the sacred, political, and secular in Aretha Franklin’s life and work. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a forty-five-minute bonus episode available, on “Abraham, Martin, and John” by Dion.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

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Mixcloud Issue

I just got an email from Mixcloud saying my subscription to Mixcloud Pro has been cancelled (something I never requested). When I looked at my profile it said “Spam profile disabled”. Just so people know, I know about this and am looking into it, but until it’s sorted the account will be down.

Episode 167: “The Weight” by The Band

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 167: "The Weight" by The Band







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The Band

Episode one hundred and sixty-seven of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Weight” by the Band, the Basement Tapes, and the continuing controversy over Dylan going electric. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode available, on “S.F. Sorrow is Born” by the Pretty Things.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

Also, a one-time request here — Shawn Taylor, who runs the Facebook group for the podcast and is an old and dear friend of mine, has stage-three lung cancer. I will be hugely grateful to anyone who donates to the GoFundMe for her treatment.

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Closing Comments Here

With the recent increase in traffic to the podcast, there has been a massive uptick in people leaving comments, to the point where it’s taking time away from making the actual podcast to moderate them — and sadly many of these comments are people getting very angry at things I didn’t say but which they made up in their own heads. So I’m closing the comments here.

People will still be able to comment on the Patreon links to the main episodes (all of which are public posts) or for those of you who use Facebook there’s a discussion group there.

Episode 166: “Crossroads” by Cream

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 166: "Crossroads" by Cream







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Cream

Episode 166 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Crossroads”, Cream, the myth of Robert Johnson, and whether white men can sing the blues. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a forty-eight-minute bonus episode available, on “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips” by Tiny Tim.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

Continue reading “Episode 166: “Crossroads” by Cream”

Episode 165: “Dark Star” by the Grateful Dead

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 165: "Dark Star" by the Grateful Dead
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The Grateful Dead

Episode 165 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Dark Star” and the career of the Grateful Dead. This is a long one, even longer than the previous episode, but don’t worry, that won’t be the norm. There’s a reason these two were much longer than average. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode available, on “Codine” by the Charlatans.

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Episode 164: “White Light/White Heat” by the Velvet Underground

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 164: "White Light/White Heat" by the Velvet Underground







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The Velvet Underground (in black) and Nico (in white)

Episode 164 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “White Light/White Heat” and the career of the Velvet Underground. This is a long one, lasting three hours and twenty minutes. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a twenty-three minute bonus episode available, on “Why Don’t You Smile Now?” by the Downliners Sect.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

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164 Coming Very Soon Indeed

As some of you know, I had a two-week planned holiday after episode 163. As fewer of you know, that was followed by a ten-day flareup of my chronic illness which meant I couldn’t think due to brainfog and couldn’t type due to joint pain. Unfortunately, both these came just as I was working on the biggest episode since 150, a truly massive undertaking that has required more research than any episode I’ve done in about a year, and required me to scrap and completely rewrite one script that simply didn’t work.
I’ve made a few statements on my Patreon about when I expected the episode to be up, and have missed every day I suggested, so I’m not going to say for sure when it’s going to be complete and uploaded, but what I can say is that I just finished recording the 57th section of the episode (Moe Tucker just turned up for the first time) and Tilt has been editing in parallel while I’ve been recording.
The next few after this should be much, much more straightforward — I already know exactly what I’m going to say in the next two and it’s basically just a matter of transcribing them — so we’ll be back on a regular schedule soon. Thanks for your patience.

Episode 163: “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 163: "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding







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Otis Redding

Episode 163 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”, Stax Records, and the short, tragic, life of Otis Redding. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a twenty-three minute bonus episode available, on “Soul Man” by Sam and Dave.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

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Episode 162: “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 162: "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees







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The Monkees, with Micky Dolenz playing a Moog

Episode 162 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Daydream Believer”, and the later career of the Monkees, and how four Pinocchios became real boys. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode available, on “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

Continue reading “Episode 162: “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees”