The Track Star Podcast

This week on the Track Star Podcast, we’re joined by New York Times music reporters Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli following the publication of the NYT’s “The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.” As the hosts of the popular music podcast “Popcast,” Jon and Joe are no strangers to passionate debate. Their work often explores contemporary music through both a critical and historical lens, helping listeners make sense of today’s artists in the broader context of popular music. Although we only have time to dive into a handful of names from the list, Jon and Joe unpack the thinking behind their selections, discuss the challenges of being music critics and reporters in the modern media landscape, and share what continues to inspire their curiosity about music far beyond their own tastes and expertise. This Episode’s Tracklist: 00:00 - Intro 1:03 - This Is What You Came For - Calvin Harris, Rihanna 10:26 - Digits - Young Thug 18:47 - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith 27:19 - The Book of Love - The Magnetic Fields 32:23 - Obsesión - Aventura, Judy Santos 47:29 - The Rising - Bruce Springsteen

This week on the Track Star Podcast, we're joined by blues legend Taj Mahal. He spent over six decades expanding what the blues can be, weaving in Caribbean rhythms, folk, soul, and world music along the way. We got to discuss the artists and traditions that shaped both his career and the genre itself. This playlist spans from Elvis Presley to Harry Belafonte to Miriam Makeba, and Taj Mahal has a story for every single one. He traces where this music comes from and connects the dots across Delta blues, jazz, Caribbean folk, South African rhythms, and Saharan guitar. He shares how he discovered his favorite song growing up listening to his neighbor play John Lee Hooker on the porch, his deep love of bassists like Charles Mingus and Oscar Pettiford, the trip he took just to hear Ry Cooder play the 12-string guitar. We also talk about some of the standards he introduced and the most meaningful projects he worked on. This Episode’s Track List: 00:00 - Intro 00:23 - Mystery Train - Elvis Presley 00:40 - That's All Right - Elvis Presley 1:44 - Boogie Chillen - John Lee Hooker 3:15 - Better Git It in Your Soul - Charles Mingus 4:33 - Day-O (Banana Boat Song) - Harry Belafonte 5:25 - Blind Willie McTell - Statesboro Blues 10:44 - Boomer's Story - Ry Cooder 13:36 - Matilda - King Radio 15:35 - Freight Train - Elizabeth Cotten 16:50 - Mbube - Miriam Makeba 17:13 - Mbube - Solomon Linda 18:02 - The Boy in the Bubble - Paul Simon 19:21 - Tamiditine - Bombino

This week on the Track Star Podcast, Ziggy Marley joins us to talk about his passion for reggae, the musical inspirations that shaped him, and the legacy he carries as part of reggae’s most influential family. Jack guides Ziggy through a conversation about the genre’s legends, and together they explore some of the artists who helped define reggae from its earliest days. The discussion begins with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who, alongside Bob Marley, formed The Wailers in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963. From those Jamaican roots, the conversation travels through time to other pivotal voices in the genre, including Toots Hibbert and Burning Spear. Along the way, Ziggy reflects on the powerful role community played in shaping reggae and driving its message from the very beginning. The episode also turns to Ziggy’s work as a producer on the biopic Bob Marley: One Love, which tells the story of his father’s life and legacy. Jack and Ziggy discuss the unique power of music in film, highlighting figures like Jimmy Cliff, who starred in one of the first Jamaican feature films to introduce reggae music to a global audience. This Episode’s Tracklist: 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Simmer Down - Bob Marley & The Wailers 3:08 - The Tide is High - The Paragons 3:38 - The Tide is High - Blondie 5:45 - Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear 11:10 - Equal Rights - Peter Tosh 14:06 - Pressure Drop - Toots & The Maytals 17:35 - Tomorrow People- Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers 18:48 - Genius Love - Tom Tom Club 20:35 - The Boy’s Doin’ It - Hugh Masekela 21:47 - Here Comes the Hotstepper - iNi Kamoze 24:45 - Racism Is A Killa - Ziggy Marley 27:57 - No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley & The Wailers 32:24 - The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff

Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann joins The Track Star Podcast to talk about Elvis Presley and what made his music and live performances so powerful. Using songs from the new concert film Elvis: The King in Concert, Baz and Jack explore what made Elvis a singular entertainer, from the raw power of “Polk Salad Annie” to the emotional weight of songs like “In the Ghetto.” The conversation traces Elvis’s upbringing in the American South, the unlikely path that led him from Hollywood movie star to Las Vegas showman, and why the physicality of his performances, his voice, his body, and his connection to the band and the audience still feels unmatched. Along the way, Baz explains how lost archival footage, recovered audio recordings, and modern restoration techniques helped bring Elvis’s performances back to life. Listen to this episode’s extended playlist: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music New episodes of The Track Star Podcast every Wednesday. [Video available on Spotify and YouTube]

Two of the best-performing Track Star contestants of all time return to settle a big question: Is Gen X the greatest music generation ever? Writer, comedian, and self-described “man about town” Robert George and New York City SoulCycle instructor Sue Molnar join Jack for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up with radio, MTV, and a musical landscape that fractured into punk, new wave, hip-hop, industrial, and grunge all at once. Through artists like Blondie, Prince, and Nirvana, the episode traces a shared musical world of radio countdowns (Casey Kasem and American Top 40), MTV premieres, and albums meant to be heard from front to back. The conversation moves easily between personal memory and cultural history, returning to the idea that Gen X didn’t just inherit great music, but learned how to listen across styles and scenes at a moment when everything still lived together on the same dial, before music became fully on-demand. Listen to this episode’s extended playlist: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music New episodes of The Track Star Podcast drop every Wednesday. [Video available on Spotify and YouTube]