The Soundtrack Series

Isaac Butler is a writer whose work has appeared in Slate, Narratively, and American Theatre. His upcoming book is called The Thousand Natural Shocks: A Father, A Family, A Crisis of Faith. This episode features his story about Shop Around, by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and the very special woman who introduced it to him. Plus, Dana ramps up for the re-release of The Breakfast Club and looks at some of the “forgotten” music moments from the movie.

Performer and musician Rebecca Vigil tells her story of the ups and downs of winning big on Don’t Forget The Lyrics. Plus, Dana looks at the whole Tom Petty/Sam Smith songwriting showdown, complete with her insistence that there was a time when Michael Jackson and Danzig were totally on the same page, and Daft Punk’s One More Time kind of sounds like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Kind of.

Soundtrack Series creator and producer Dana Rossi, and her story about the perils of dating people you work with in restaurants, and how the voice of Dr. Dre sometimes shows up when you least expect it.

Saidah Blount is the music events manager and producer at NPR Music. This is her story about how Depeche Mode–specifically the “Nothing” scene in Depeche Mode 101–changed her teenage life, and showed her that there were other kids looking to break out of the place they’d come from, just like her.

A first crack at The Legend of Zelda. The importance of keeping your voice even as everything else changes. A special high school friend who only lives in memories and Madonna. These three stories are the Best of Soundtrack Series 2014.

Musician AK grew up on movie sets because her parents work in film production. But this is her story about the first time she got to appear and sing in a feature film–and why her song is not the one playing over the end credits.

Whitney Joiner is a Senior Editor at Marie Claire, and a co-founder of The Recollectors–an online community for people who have lost parents to AIDS. This is Whitney’s story about losing her father to AIDS in 1992, and how she and her brother were finally able to properly honor his memory at an Erasure concert 13 years later.

Many couples have a song that brought them together. But as storyteller Hillary Rea can attest, not every couple is one part the lead singer of Reel Big Fish, and not every song that brought them together is “I’m Gonna Get You” by Bizarre Inc.

Austin shock jock Dale Dudley (The Dudley & Bob Morning Show on KLBJ-FM) on breaking free from a religious upbringing, his brother, the tattoo you’d never think he has, and “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables.

Philadelphia legend R. Eric Thomas tells us how queuing up Ray of Light always helps him to visit a very special friend.