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

In her new Pushkin audiobook Inside Voice: My Obsession with How We Sound, actress/writer/director/producer Lake Bell goes down some fascinating rabbit holes, exploring the psychology and social science of our voices.  But you gotta start with the mechanics.  In this excerpt you’ll hear Lake's conversation with ENT doc to the stars Dr. Randolph Schnitman. He's treated the who’s who of music, strengthening and even saving their voices. If you’re interested at all in how our voices make beautiful music, you’ll like Inside Voice. Available at insidevoiceaudiobook.com, Audible, Apple Books, Spotify, and wherever audiobooks are sold.

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Today we’re excited to bring you the next installment of our John Frusciante interview series. John first came on the podcast back in April to help celebrate the release of the Red Hot Chili Peppers album, Unlimited Love. Then he returned in mid-October to discuss Chili Pepper history, one album at a time.

On today's episode we'll hear John talk about the Chili Peppers brand new release—their second number one album in six months—Return Of The Dream Canteen. John also picks up a guitar and walks Rick through his pre-show warmup and demonstrates how he came up with the now-classic major to minor chord changes on “Under The Bridge.” And, he talks about how he was able to overcome his desire to impress others while recording Stadium Arcadium.

Stay tuned to the end of this episode for details about part three of what is shaping up to be an intimate series of interviews between Rick Rubin and John Frusciante.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers songs HERE.

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Today we are featuring one of the most thrilling new groups in contemporary soul music—Gabriels. And lucky for us, they performed three songs, one of which is still unreleased, live for Broken Record.

Gabriels consists of three very distinct pillars of talent: lead singer Jacob Lusk, who was raised in Compton singing gospel. Keyboardist and producer Ryan Hope, who grew up a lover of dance music in his native UK. And Los Angeles native, Ari Balouzian, who serves as Gabriels' in-house composer and violinist.

Gabriels’ origin story is as unconventional as their diverse musical backgrounds. In 2016 Ryan Hope and Ari Balouzian were hired to direct and score a commercial with a gospel choir. After hearing the choir director Jacob Lusk sing, a light went off for Ari and Ryan. Over the course of the next couple of years, the trio started to record and release songs independently. In 2021, those songs caught fire online. Sir Elton John said their debut EP was one of the most seminal records he’d heard in the last 10 years.

On today’s episode Rick Rubin sits down with Gabriels to hear how they were able to create a working environment that allowed space for vulnerability and musical exploration. And lead singer Jacob Lusk tells a harrowing story about getting lost in the LA county jail system in an effort to clear his name so he could appear in the finale of American Idol.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs by Gabriels HERE.

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Today we will hear from singer-songwriter and playwright Anaïs Mitchell who spent the past 16 years building the world of Hadestown, a career-defining stage musical that has grown from a low-budget community production in Mitchell's native Vermont, to a Broadway phenomenon and the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. But in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theaters, Anaïs, like so many others, moved back home to Vermont. The move and change of pace inspired her to start writing indie folk songs.

Her self-titled album, released at the beginning of 2022, is made up of those songs. It’s produced by Josh Kaufman, and was made with collaborators like Bon Iver, The National, and her own band Bonny Light Horseman. On today’s episode, Bruce Headlam speaks with Anaïs Mitchell about her new album and how Hadestown came to be. She also plays some songs off her album live, just for us.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs written and performed by Anaïs Mitchell HERE.

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Today we’re sharing one of the most intimate conversations Rick Rubin has ever had on Broken Record. It’s with the famed guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante.

Rick Rubin last spoke to John back in April when the Chili Peppers were getting ready to release their album, Unlimited Love, their first record with Frusciante in 16 years. Unlimited Love debuted at number one in the U.S. and 15 other countries. Today, just a little more than six months later, the Chili Peppers released a second Rick Rubin-produced album, Return Of The Dream Canteen.

On today’s episode we’ll hear John Frusciante talk about the band’s early music, including the making of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. They talk about how his contributions on slower, more melodic songs like “Under The Bridge” and “Breaking The Girl” helped expand the Chili Peppers funk punk sound. John also talks candidly about the dark, drug-addicted years that followed the intense success of Blood Sugar. And he explains how he was able to finally get sober and rejoin the Chili Peppers to record their classic, commercial comeback album, Californication.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers songs HERE.

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Bartees Strange is an amalgamation of musical styles. Listen to any given song on his newest release, Farm To Table, and you can hear hints of early aughts emo, auto-tuned hip-hop vocals, and country blues—all housed in an indie rock veneer. Bartees wide-reaching sound makes perfect sense given his Midwest upbringing and early influences. He was raised in Mustang, Oklahoma as one of the few Black kids in an area rife with racial violence. As a  teenager he discovered Christian hardcore punk and for the first time he felt at home in a scene that embraced outsiders of all kinds.

After graduating college and a stint working in D.C., Bartees  moved to Brooklyn where he found a bunch of musical collaborators. In 2020 he released his debut album, Live Forever, and this year he dropped his follow-up album, Farm To Table, to critical acclaim.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Bartees Strange about his ascent into the upper echelon of indie rock, now that he considers artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus friends. Bartees also performs an acoustic version of his song “Heavy Heart," and he plays stems from two songs off his new album, revealing how he is able to expertly build what he calls, “sections on sections.”

You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Bartees Strange songs HERE.

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Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath have been making music together since 2013, when Amelia asked Nick, a music producer and bassist, to remix her band Mountain Man’s hit single “Play It Right.” He did, and the rest is history. Sylvan Esso has always had a very sleek, electro-pop feel to their production. Amelia’s powerful voice is front and center, surrounded by harmonies and samples of her own voice. Nick’s genre-destroying bass creates intricate, pulsing grooves for Amelia’s voice to inhabit.

Now, the married couple and electronic duo have released their fourth studio album, No Rules Sandy. It’s a follow-up to the band’s Grammy-nominated 2020 album, Free Love. The new album is a mix of improvisation and experimentation. On today’s episode, Bruce Headlam speaks with Amelia and Nick about their creative process and how No Rules Sandy came to be. They also play two songs off their new album live.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Sylvan Esso songs HERE.

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Today we have Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks of the Tedeschi Trucks Band on the show. Derek Trucks made his name as a slide guitar prodigy with a Hall of Fame pedigree. He’s the nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer of the Allman Brothers Band, who Derek toured with extensively throughout the 2000s before forming the Derek Trucks Band.

Somewhere along the road, Derek met another great guitarist with a Berklee-pedigree, Susan Tedeschi, who is one of the best singers working today. Eventually the two married and merged their bands in 2010. Their latest album, I Am The Moon, is a collection of 24 songs across four different albums.

On today’s episode, Justin Richmond speaks with Susan and Derek about the beginnings of their band, and how their new album came to be. They also play some of their new songs live from backstage at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Tedeschi Trucks Band favorite songs HERE.

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We have friend of the show Jack White back on the show today along with a legendary special guest. This conversation with Rick Rubin is full of fascinating ideas, asides and musical history that let you know just how deep Jack White is. Jack's work and a business ethic is unparalleled. His label Third Man Records has a rich roster of artists and three retail stores. They also own one of the few fully operational vinyl pressing plants in the U.S. which has been working overtime to keep up with the surging demand for vinyl. Jack also released two full length albums this year, and he’s currently on a worldwide tour.

After a recent two-night stand in Los Angeles, Jack stopped by Shangri-La to talk to Rick Rubin about the early Garage Rock scene in Detroit that helped shape him and The White Stripes. He also shared potential theories about why the “Seven Nation Army” riff is so catchy. And then he treats Rick and a surprise guest to an acoustic performance of his new song “A Tip From You To Me.”

And to cap it all off, we will hear exclusive details about an exciting new project Rick’s been working on, that will be out soon.

You can listen to a playlist that includes Jack White's latest album, along with all of our favorite songs from him, The White Stripes, and a sampling of his many side projects HERE.

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Today we are re-visiting one of our favorite episodes from 2019 featuring Rick Rubin in conversation with Justin Vernon and his engineer Chris Messina. In 2006 Justin Vernon started Bon Iver as a solo project after the end of a romantic relationship and the break up of his college band.

Justin recorded Bon Iver's first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, alone over three months in his dad’s hunting cabin deep in the woods of Western Wisconsin. His setup consisted of a small recording rig and a couple guitars. In the years since, Justin Vernon’s music has evolved dramatically. For one, Bon Iver is no longer a solo project—it’s still centered around Justin, but it now includes a bunch of musicians and collaborators including his engineer, Chris Messina.

On today's episode, Justin talks about how allowing himself to be bored without any guilt, led to him creating his now classic debut. He also talks about how the harshness of the Wisconsin winters along with the absence of any big city thrills first influenced his sound. And, Justin explains his unwavering love for his favorite song of all time “Fugitive,” by The Indigo Girls.

Listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Bon Iver songs HERE.

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