The Music Book Podcast

On this episode, Marc talks Steve Lowenthal, author of "Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist," published in June of 2014. It's an enthralling biography of the legendary guitarist, writer, painter, and music historian, whose solo instrumental guitar work drew on so many sources and added so much that an entire genre became associated with him. "Dance of Death" is lean and efficient, but Lowenthal manages to fit such a wealth of information in its 220 pages that you might ...

On this episode, Marc talks with Seth Neblett, author of "Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic," published in September of 2025. It's a fascinating oral history of the female members of Parliament and Funkadelic, particularly those in the P-Funk sister groups Parlet and the Brides of Funkenstein: Mallia Franklin, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Debbie Wright, and Shirley Hayden. Seth is the son of Mallia Franklin, who, along with being an important musician in the P-Funk story, wa...

On this episode, Marc talks with Al Shipley, author of "Tough Breaks: The Story of Baltimore Club Music," published in August 2025. It's a thoughtful, detailed, and revealing look into a music movement that grew organically in Baltimore clubs, radio stations, and record stores, with beats and other musical ideas passed around quickly so that the styles and sounds morphed constantly. Though it may not have gotten a lot of play outside of the city, was as innovative and important as any club mu...

On this episode, Marc talks with Howard Weulfing. He's the author of Descenes and Discords, an anthology of two fanzines he edited in the early 1980s, documenting the burgeoning underground rock scene in DC at the time. Descenes featured interviews, record reviews, live reviews, and more, with most of the focus on DC. Discords also covered scenes around the country, publishing reports from writers such as Gerard Cosloy in Boston, Jim Testa in New Jersey, Tesco Vee in Michigan, and John Foster...

On this episode, Marc talks with Joe Bonomo, author of "Play This Book Loud: Noisy Essays," published in May of 2025. It's a collection of pieces Bonomo wrote for various publications, primarily the website The Normal School, covering a wide range of music subjects and formats. Among the topics explored are the Cramps, the Who, the Stooges, the Jam, an exploration of the history of the song "Tobacco Road," a delving into a early 70s compilation sponsored by Dick Clark, and even a thorough exa...

On this episode, Marc talks to Ellen Koskoff, author of "Bittersweet Sounds of Passage: Balinese Gamelan Angklung Cremation Music," published in July of 2025. It's a fascinating look into a specific kind of gamelan music in Bali that is an essential part of cremation ceremonies, performed by village members who don't even consider themselves musicians. Koskoff learned to play this music herself by living in Bali and joining in with ensembles there, revealing a tradition that is unlike anythin...

On this episode, Marc talks with Ian Thompson, author of "Synths, Sax, & Situationists: The French Musical Underground 1968-1978," published in August of 2025. It's a detailed history of a group of French rock bands who, inspired by the protests and civil unrest of May 1968 as well as psych rock and free jazz, broke with convention to create some of the most original music of the 70s. The best known of these groups were Gong, Magma, and Heldon, all of which Thompson covers in depth, but h...