I’m quoted in an Associated Press article talking about why pop music in 2025 is so bleak and in MusicRadar talking about Radiohead’s “Let Down”, the template for every Coldplay song and an expression of Jonny Greenwood’s love of Steve Reich. MusicRadar wanted an explainer on “Let Down” because it’s currently red hot on Tiktok. I suspect that these things are related. The vibes are terrible right now!
Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd on MusicRader
Big week for publication for me! I’m back on MusicRadar with articles about two 1970s rock classics, “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath and “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd. Both songs are so familiar, and built from such unremarkable musical components, that I didn’t realize how weird they both are until I got in there and started analyzing.
Yet another podcast update
Apparently some people listen to podcasts on YouTube. So, if you are one of these people, now you can listen to mine there (though some episodes might be unavailable due to copyright strikes; I’m working on that.)
Podcast update, and I guess blog update
I think I found a good solution to the dilemma of wanting my posts to reach the maximum number of people while also wanting to make some money from all this labor. I decided to keep the podcast free and to pair each episode with a subscribers-only newsletter that includes notated transcriptions and other musicological extras. So, that’s the plan for now, it feels like the right idea. In the meantime, I’m going to keep posting things here that need to be public-facing and accessible if/when Substack goes out of business or becomes intolerable.
Aretha Franklin and Art Garfunkel on the pod
The podcast format doesn’t allow me to show notation like my blog post on the subject does, but it does allow me to overlay Aretha and Art Garfunkel with their tempos aligned so you can compare their rhythmic phrasing aurally. So, pros and cons.
An homage to Otis Redding on the pod
Rockit on the podcast
One week left to register for Songwriters Lab
This summer I am teaching my first songwriting class open to the general public with the good people at Synthase. We are taking registrations for one more week, so if you want to sign up, now is the time! You don’t need any prior musical knowledge or ability, though if you have it, I can promise a challenging and horizon-broadening experience.
Here’s a conversation I had with Hujian Ling about the class and my general philosophy of songwriting.
I hope that this is the first of many such classes!
Circle of Fifths sequences on the pod (also me singing)
F-sharp, G-flat, and the mysteries of just intonation
This is a favorite topic of mine, and people on the internet are surprisingly receptive to learning about it. This is another one where the podcast format suits the material well, because being able to splice together verbal explanation of the music with the music itself is so easy and straightforward. It’s making me want to revisit some earlier episodes and edit some more musical examples in there. Every time I mention a note, that note should be there!