101 Series Lesson 107: James Brown in Studio

Ladies and gentleman, it’s time now to give it up and over to the greatest of all time: Soul Brother #1 – The Hardest Working Man In Show Business. For Lesson 107 of the 101 Series, we step aside and let the great James Brown show us how to do that funk right. It’s part […]

This Pill Makes You Small Ep 7 ~ More International Psychedelia

So, around 1967 the entire world seemed to take a lot of drugs and start making weirder music. It was great. (One of the few things people world-wide can agree on is that taking drugs and making music is a good time.) In episode 7 of This Pill Makes You Small, we track down our […]

101 Series Lesson 106: Songs About Dope

Some topics come in songs pretty often . . . girls, cars, death, The Man, being done wrong and drugs. In Lesson 106 we handle the last one on the list and focus on d-r-u-g-s. People have been writing songs about dope since people have been writing songs. So, find yourself a nice, soft place […]

The FreeSpace Ep 7

Not to surprise you, but . . . Balcony Radio is a small operation. Two mics. One mixing board. Three computer screens. One phonograph. One cat. Forty-five hundred LPs. Four thousand CDs. We play music. This show is called The FreeSpace. In two hours we play a bunch of stuff that we picked out for […]

101 Series Lesson 105: Kiss-Off Songs

Sometimes a beautiful melody can be happy and inspiring. Sometimes it can say something horrible. Other times it says get out of my life because you’re a jerk. For Lesson 105 of the 101 Series heartbreak gets the spotlight as we listen to great Kiss-Off songs that say “F**K YOU! GET OUT OF MY LIFE!” There […]

Swingtime Ep 7: The Rat Pack Show

We hate to tell you this, kids, but . . . your grandparents invented cool. They really did. Don’t argue. You’ve got Katy Perry and Gah-gah, they had . . . The Rat Pack. Say no more. In episode 7 of Swingtime, we mix the drinks and light the smokes and give you a couple […]

101 Series Lesson 104: Simon and Garfunkel

Soulmates don’t always have to be of the opposite sex, you know . . . sometimes a boy named Paul grows up a few doors down from a boy named Artie and they just become the soundtrack to your life. It happens. In Lesson 104, we give you two kids from Queens who started their […]

Soulville Ep 7

You know what you people? Soul! Deeeeeep soul. Deep, sweet soul. Dammit. In episode 7 of Soulville, we give it to you baby, for like an hour and a half. (Or an hour forty minutes, really. Not to brag.) So, pull up some silk sheets over your fine-ass self and let us wash some soul […]

101 Series Lesson 103: Music of 1977

There are many pivotal years in the history of tunes. Years that mark a new era, a new style, a moment that magnifies the birth, or genesis, or lives of a generation. For Lesson 103 of the 101 Series we bury the first of our musical time capsules with music from the year punk broke, […]