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Most people - music lovers or not - know the dastardly feeling of getting a tune lodged in your head, and not being able to get it out. Brazilians call such tunes chiclete de ouvido, or "ear chewing gum." Here they're known as "earworms." Brooke offers this rumination on the kinds of ears most likely to be sticky, and the kinds of songs most likely to get stuck. Listen at your own risk.
How do you get to Nashville's famed Bluebird Cafe, the launch pad of dozens of country music's biggest stars? If you're Bob Garfield - and you're trying to make it big in country music in less than 36 hours - "practice, practice" is not an option. Luckily, Bob has chutzpah, and a brilliant song, just waiting for a record exec to bite. Join Bob as he tries to pen the next country music hit. You asked for it, you got it! A free, downloadable version of Bob's hit song "Tag You're It".... To start your download, just click here.
The 45 was once the dominant musical medium. From Elvis to the Beatles to the Supremes, that round little disc with the big hole in the middle defined the early rock 'n' pop era. New technologies have since swept the single aside, but there are some die-hards who refuse to relinquish their vinyl disks. OTM's Rex Doane reports.
While the recording industry presses on with its lawsuits against online music downloaders, there are indications that more people are file sharing than ever before. Ever since the early days of Napster, file sharers have said that a prime attraction of the peer-to-peer services has been the unavailability of quality music in stores and on commercial radio. NPR's Rick Karr takes a look at the ways in which major labels are actively driving musicians and fans to the Internet and other new technologies.
When a band refuses to play by the music industry's rules, does it thereby give up all chances of success? Not necessarily, if the story of Wilco is any indication. The band's brand-new album is yet another example of how it has continuously resisted categorization, and in doing so, defied the rules of the industry's game. Brooke speaks with Wilco chronicler Greg Kot about the backward business models that the band has rejected, and with Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy about the values that it has embraced.
Some audience research suggests that classical music lovers shun modernity, but one of the best-known classical pianists embraced everything the latest electronic media had to offer. Halfway through his creative life, Glenn Gould renounced live performance and declared he would henceforth express himself solely through media. OTM's Senior Producer Arun Rath climbed down from his ivory tower to deliver this appreciation of one of the 20th century's most controversial classical musicians.
Most people - music lovers or not - know the dastardly feeling of getting a tune lodged in your head, and not being able to get it out. Brazilians call such tunes chiclete de ouvido, or "ear chewing gum." Here they're known as "earworms." Brooke offers this rumination on the kinds of ears most likely to be sticky, and the kinds of songs most likely to get stuck. Listen at your own risk
How do you get to Nashville's famed Bluebird Cafe, the launch pad of dozens of country music's biggest stars? If you're Bob Garfield – and you’re trying to make it big in country music in less than 36 hours – "practice, practice" is not an option. Luckily, Bob has chutzpah and a brilliant song just waiting for a record exec to bite. Join Bob as he tries to write the next country music sensation.
