Playback with Black Market Dub

Preview of our bonus Graceland episode! Full video available on our Patreon page.

For full episodes, bonus video episodes, and more content - please subscribe to our Patreon page: Patreon.com/Blackmarketdub

To listen to our music visit: blackmarketdub.bandcamp.com

For vinyl purchases and more: escapehatchrecords.com

In this episode we dive into Paul Simon’s 1986 classic Graceland and sit with both sides of it: the undeniable musical genius and the apartheid-era controversy around how it was made.

We talk about Simon travelling to South Africa during the cultural boycott, recording with Black South African musicians, and blending their styles with his own songwriting into a world-changing pop album. Then we dig into the ethics: did he break solidarity and benefit most from a sound that wasn’t his, or did he create meaningful collaboration and visibility for the musicians involved—or both at once?

In this episode:

– Track highlights: “The Boy in the Bubble,” “Graceland,” “I Know What I Know,” “Homeless,” “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” “You Can Call Me Al”

– How the South African grooves, harmonies and production make this album feel so alive

– The apartheid cultural boycott, Artists Against Apartheid, and the criticism Simon faced

– How we personally reconcile loving Graceland with its messy political context

Chapters:

0:00 (Intro)

13:20 (History of Graceland)

24:40 (Controversies)

34:51 (Musicians)

52:55 (More on Musicians)

1:11:00 (Production Techniques)

1:17:33 (Artistic Autonomy and Standout Songs)

1:27:15 (Closing Thoughts)

🔊 Support & follow:

• Patreon – bonus episodes & ad-free audio

• Black Market Dub on Bandcamp – our original music

• Escape Hatch Records – label family & collaborations

• Instagram – clips and episode updates

We finish off our discussion of Bob Dylan's Christmas in the Heart, and talk about the next album we're picking to discuss!

For full episodes, bonus video episodes, and more content - please subscribe to our Patreon page:

Patreon.com/Blackmarketdub

To listen to our music visit:

blackmarketdub.bandcamp.com

For vinyl purchases and more:

escapehatchrecords.com

In this episode we kick off Playback by diving into Bob Dylan’s Christmas album Christmas in the Heart, a record most people joked about… until they actually heard it.

We talk about how Dylan leans fully into the old-school Christmas-album tradition—choirs, classic arrangements, big-band vibes—filtered through his late-career voice, and why the result is way more sincere and moving than you’d expect. We also get into the fact that Dylan donates all of his royalties from this album to hunger relief charities, which reframes the whole project as something quietly generous and heartfelt.

In this episode:

– Standout tracks from Christmas in the Heart (“Must Be Santa,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” etc.)

– How Dylan’s rough voice interacts with these ultra-traditional arrangements

– Why this album might be one of the most honest modern Christmas records

– What made it the perfect subject for our very first Playback episode

Chapters:

0:00 (Intro)

6:08 (First Impressions)

19:35 (Bob Dylan is A Great Singer)

33:15 (Standout Songs)

58:13 (Closing Thoughts)

🔊 Support & follow:

• Patreon – bonus episodes & ad-free audio

• Black Market Dub on Bandcamp – our original music

• Escape Hatch Records – label family & collaborations

• Instagram – clips and episode updates

Hey everyone! Welcome to PLAYBACK! This is a teaser trailer for our first Patreon-only episode. To hear the full episode and video version, please go to: Patreon.com/blackmarketdub and subscribe at the $5 tier for access. Full, non-Patreon exclusive episodes will be posted everywhere you enjoy your podcasts bi-weekly.

In this episode, we discuss the show's format, pick which album we will discuss first, and talk about the troubles of juggling being musicians and creating all this content.