Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

From Malcolm Gladwell, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam: Conversations. Arguments. Stories. Remembering old music. Discovering new music. Broken Record: Liner notes for the digital age. Coming to your podcast feed on November 13th.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our introductory episode is a conversation between Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell, covering everything from Rick’s role in the very beginning of hip-hop to his role in introducing Johnny Cash to a new generation of writers, performers and music lovers. Rick and Malcolm delve deep into Rick’s back catalogue – which is really a history of contemporary music – to reveal more about the artists that defined a new era, and why they are still vital listening today...

Nile Rodgers, the mastermind behind the disco band Chic and producer of artists like David Bowie, Daft Punk and Madonna, plays live with his band and talks about his life and long musical career in the very studio that was built for him to produce Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” album...

Elton John has called Rufus Wainwright “the greatest songwriter in the world today.” Broken Record’s Bruce Headlam sits down with Rufus in Los Angeles, where Rufus performs breathtaking solo versions of his songs “Poses” and “In My Arms” from his earliest albums. He also offers a new song, a lullaby for his young daughter...

Malcolm Gladwell talks to three songwriters who helped transform country music in the 1970s. Gone were cowboy hats, train whistles and church suppers. In came songs about desperation, loss, changes, and regret that changed how Nashville made music and spoke to a new generation of audiences. Bobby Braddock, Don Schlitz and Don Henry talk about their influences, trade stories, and play acoustic versions of their classic hits.

“She Remembers Everything” is the name of the latest Rosanne Cash album, the 14th of her amazing career. Rosanne and her husband and musical collaborator, John Leventhal, sit down with Broken Record’s Bruce Headlam to play songs from the album, talk about songwriting, her musical family and how “She Remembers Everything” grew out of today’s politics. They also perform cover versions of two American classics, “Long Black Veil” and “Farewell Angelina...

Malcolm Gladwell sits down with comedian, guitarist, and legendary metalhead Dave Hill, as he recounts how an email exchange between his alter ego Lance and a Norwegian black metal impresario named Saiitham (pronounced “satan”) led to the formation of the darkest metal band of all time. Dave Hill also performs a mediocre rendition of “Hammer Smashed Face,” plus we debut his single "Are You Ready (to Black Metal)?"

For the season one finale of Broken Record, Malcolm Gladwell talks with Rick Rubin about Tom Petty, who died in October 2017 at the age of 66.  Rubin and Petty worked together for two years on his beloved 1994 album “Wildflowers.” Rubin talks about Petty’s writing style, and how half the songs they recorded for Wildflowers ended up on the cutting room floor. 

See omnystudio...

Many observers have tried to pinpoint the specific events that lead to Lennon-McCartney, the formidable songwriting partnership, transitioning to Lennon v. McCartney. But the fact is there is no single truth regarding why the beloved duo split. So instead of investigating the why, we look at the aftermath: legal battles, hurtful accusations in song and, ultimately, a sense of resolution...