How We Heard It

In 2025 the hosts of "How We Heard It" decided to dig through their individual music collections just to see what they would find, and they turned up music they had long forgotten as well as music they didn't even know they had and music they didn't even recognize.

And with many of the discoveries came memories of their pasts and realizations about the evolution of music and the changes in their individual tastes in music.

They funneled their discoveries into an episode of the podcast in November, which prompted another dig through the collections and another episode in December.

The guys are at it again this week, and this time what they find triggers memories of everything from sharing music with their families to an emotional encounter in Berlin, as well as the discovery of bizarre music they haven't thought about in years.

This week Chuck and Wayne also remember how they met, initially pitted against one another as natural rivals until they realized their skills and interest in music made them a well-rounded team, not two like-minded opponents locking horns on a music battleground.

More importantly, it was the beginning of a friendship that has endured for decades.

Have you looked through your music collection lately? You might be surprised about what you find and how it makes you feel.

Every song's got to have a hook - or at least it does if you want it to be popular.

A song can have the best vocalists, the best instrumentalists and the best lyrics, but unless it has a great hook, it'll never be all that it can be. And unlike words, voices and music, it's hard to articulate how hooks even work; they hit us on a primal level that can't fully be explained.

The most common hook in popular music comes with a punch - for instance, it's often in the chorus, where the song's title is directly or indirectly referenced and the arrangement rides a crescendo. But sometimes a hook is in the verses or the bridge, sometimes it's an instrumental passage like a guitar solo, and sometimes it's a sudden pivot, like a dramatic change in tempo.

One-hit wonders frequently find the magic to a good hook only once, while more savvy artists have a knack for hooks.

On this week's episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts talk about some of the greatest hooks in modern music history, whether they came from Buddy Holly or Motown, The Who or The Kinks, David Bowie or Cheap Trick, New Wave or disco, Sheryl Crow or Weezer, Kendrick Lamar or Mariah Carey, and Olivia Rodrigo or Taylor Swift. 

Have you ever been captivated by a song and you aren't sure why? It was probably the hook.

It's a question we like to ask but one we usually can't confidently answer: What one album would you want with you on a deserted island?

Forget the fact you aren't going to have electricity on a deserted island or any equipment that plays music. Never mind you might spend the rest of your life alone on this mysterious island.

Your task is to narrow down all of music to just one album to entertain you while you live out the last of your days.

On this week's episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts decide to play the game - after adjusting it to what 10 albums they would want because, let's face it, none of these guys could ever narrow it down to just one.

They used different criteria.

One more or less narrowed it down to the 10 albums he most enjoys for their artistry.

Another considered the 10 albums with which he generally feels the strongest connection.

And another looked for a selection of albums that would keep him the most grounded during any potential situation that might arise while living alone on a deserted island.

Many other factors weighed in while they considered major artists, from the Beatles to Taylor Swift, and genres ranging from calypso to rock and exotica to electronica.

And if you asked them to do it again, they all agreed that their lists would undoubtedly change from one day to the next.

What about you? What music would you want to possibly last you for the rest of your life?

A great love song will warm your heart with its magic, stirring an internal passion that's hard to explain.

A bad love song will make you cringe, laugh and/or yawn. And frankly, there are more bad love songs than good ones floating around out there in the music universe.

Last year, the hosts of "How We Heard It" celebrated Valentine's Day by shaking out some of the best love songs in modern history, performed by artists who articulated the power of emotion and cast a spell with sound.

This year, Wayne, Chuck and John go claws out at the horrible love songs that have flooded the public consciousness with lazy formula, unconvincing delivery, awkward messages and incomprehensible weirdness. The guys feed off each other in this episode, generally agreeing with each other on the worst offenders and having quite a few laughs as they go.

They also reach a consensus that many of the worst songs tended to come from some of the most powerful artists in the most dominant genre of the time.

Disclaimer: All of us (including your hosts) love some songs that are arguably subpar. If you and your loved one happened to bond over a song we poke fun of, just go on with your bad selves. We won't tell if you don't.

Like all good music nerds, the hosts of "How We Heard It" frequently advocate for lesser-known acts they think deserve more attention.

But Wayne, Chuck and John like to balance the podcast by also talking about the biggest names through the years, and in this episode they talk about the most popular of them all, ranking them against each other.

The premise: The guys explore the top-10-selling music acts from each decade, from the 1960s to the 2020s, and they take turns picking their favorite act as well as their least favorite act from each decade.

This war of the giants includes battles like The Beatles vs. Elvis Presley vs. The Rolling Stones (from the 1960s) to Michael Jackson vs. Madonna vs. Prince (from the 1980s) to Adele vs. Taylor Swift vs. Drake (from the 2010s).

The guys argue, then agree, then argue some more ... and sometimes they even hurt each other's feelings. At least a little bit.

Even a casual music listener is going to know just about all of these artists and might have just as much trouble picking the best of the best, not to mention the worst of the best.

Give it a shot and you'll see.

It seems like forever ago that awards shows were a time to honor excellence. Now they've become an excuse to hate watch, an opportunity to tear apart artists for what they wear, what they say and even how they look at each other.

Coming off a particularly contentious 2025 around the world, the upcoming Grammy Awards will certainly tick off a lot of viewers. For starters, these days we just get mad at everybody all the time for everything anyway. What's more, there are raw nerves out there about any number of social and political issues - and musicians aren't known for being diplomats who keep their opinions to themselves. And on top of everything, last year's Grammys saw Beyonce finally win her first Album of the Year award - for a country album that many country fans refused to accept as "country." (There are still residual hurt feelings over that one.)

Many of this year's top contenders, for Album of the Year and other major awards, have been linked to key social issues and are known for saying what's on their minds. Bad Bunny (set to perform at halftime of this year's Super Bowl) could win Album of the Year among other awards. It would be the first time a Spanish-language album won for best overall album ... and it should be noted the Puerto Rican performer was in the news in 2025 for canceling shows and/or avoiding performances in many cities because of expectations of ICE raids targeting concertgoers.

This year's Grammys could also find Kendrick Lamar or Lady Gaga win their first Album of the Year Grammy. Lamar, an early and committed advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement, hasn't flinched from controversy in his career - including during his recent vicious rivalry with Drake. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga has been a career-long, unapologetically vocal, ally for the LGBTQ members of society ... and 2025 was a particularly tough one for trans Americans.

Enter Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell, veteran music journalists (and friends) who have been arguing about the Grammys since the 1990s. As hosts of "How We Heard It," they invite listeners to play along during this episode as they make their picks from this year's nominees, choosing who deserves to win and who likely will win.

Most importantly, they urge everyone to relax and enjoy the music. We're all friends here.

Here we are again, the least popular time of year for the most of us.

The year-end holidays have passed, and spring is still months away. Oh, and it's the darkest and coldest time of the year, too - because why wouldn't it be?

Some of us go dormant like plants this time of year, insulating ourselves and enduring the season with introspection and maybe a touch of seasonal depression. Others go on a more positive spin, taking time to detox and find spiritual rebirth.

And of course some people actually love the winter, they vibe with the chill and embrace the darkness. Besides, if not for the harshness of winter, would spring even seem so amazing?

Then there are those whose kinkier sides come to life in winter ... but that's another podcast for another day.

In this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts explore music about winter, inspired by winter or evoking winter and all the heartaches and trials of the season as well as the victories and joy. You might be surprised how inspiring winter is for songwriters and just how many loving and uplifting songs are spawned during a "bleak" time of year.

There's some moody and sad stuff too, but you know that can't be avoided.

As Artificial Intelligence continues its relentless spread into so many parts of all of our lives, it seems like all we can do is sit back with a mix of hope and dread and wonder where this is all going.

We know we can't trust anything on social media anymore - be it photos, audio or video - though we see that many of our friends are susceptible to just about anything. Meanwhile, we may be uncomfortable with how much the electronic devices around us know about us thanks to AI, and who hasn't felt alienated when they've been trapped in an AI-automated loop when all they want to hear is a real human voice?

And speaking of human voices, you may be hearing fewer of them when you listen to new songs. AI has crept into the business, becoming a common tool to write, produce and distribute music. So the next song you hear may be created and "performed" entirely by AI programming, without any real singers or musicians.

Should you be alarmed? Does AI music have a soul? Can you enjoy it even if everything about it is fake? What is this going to do to the music industry?

Those are the questions pondered this week by your hosts of the podcast "How We Heard It."

On one hand, AI will make it easier for more people to "create" music, from musicians and singers with limited skills and resources who need help filling in songs with instrumentation, lyrics and voices to those with no music skills at all who can whip up a new song with just an idea.

Like any shift in business, there will be winners and losers, and most of us will win a little and lose a little. Yet unlike past innovations - from AutoTuned vocals to electronic programs that sound like "real" instruments - there's much more at stake with AI, which reaches far beyond music.

Should we be excited, afraid or both?