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

Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell talk with David Byrne (formerly of Talking Heads) about protest music: some of his favorite protest songs, the earliest ones he heard, how they affected his songwriting, and what makes them effective.

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Questlove talks about how he got involved with D’Angelo’s Voodoo record, the evolution of his drumming style, how he approaches DJ’ing, and tells the best Obama story ever. Part 2 of 2.

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Questlove talks about how he got involved with D’Angelo’s Voodoo record, the evolution of his drumming style, how he approaches DJ’ing, and tells the best Obama story ever. Part 1 of 2.

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From Malcolm Gladwell, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam: Conversations. Arguments. Stories. Remembering old music. Discovering new music. Broken Record: Coming to your podcast feed on March 26th.

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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. 

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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)?"

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“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.”

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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.

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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. In conversation, he frankly discusses his crazy early life and the inspiration for his music, his move into opera and his relationship with Leonard Cohen, who is, among other things, the grandfather to Wainwright’s daughter. He also discusses his newest single, “Sword of Damocles,” which was inspired by Donald Trump and Carrie Fisher, and his upcoming tour, “All These Poses,” featuring songs from his first two albums. And after a four-year break, Rufus and his sister Martha are once again presenting their Christmas show “Noel Nights” at New York City’s Town Hall of December 16th. For more information, check out rufuswainwright.com. 

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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. Rodgers tells Broken Record’s Bruce Headlam about his chaotic childhood and how it led to his love of musical collaboration, how his love of jazz transformed the music of Chic, and he tells the hilarious story of Prince’s obsession with the song “Let’s Dance.” With his current version of Chic, Rodgers performs blistering versions of “Good Times,” “Le Freak,” “Everybody Dance,” “Let’s Dance” and his hit with Daft Punk, “Get Lucky.” 

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