101 Series Lesson 76: Farm Aid Performances

Willie Nelson is an American legend and icon. He saw there was a need to help some people known as “farmers.” So, after a comment by Bob Dylan at Live Aid,  Willie called a few friends on the phone (John Mellencamp, Neil Young) and said “Hey, kids! Let’s put on a show and pay a few mortgages.” […]

Deez Rhymes Ep 6: Beats By Dre

There’s Phil Spector. There’s Brian Wilson. There’s Berry Gordy. There’s George Martin. There’s Steve Lillywhite. There’s Daniel Lanois. There’s T-Bone Burnett. You know what else, motherfucker, there’s Dr. Dre. The premier hip hop producer of our time has thrown Nate Dogg on a lot of tracks . . . Pull up bluntside to episode 6 […]

101 Series Lesson 75: Talking Heads

The name of this band? Talking Heads! In Lesson 75 of the 101 Series, the weird art kids are taking over. And we let them. We at The Balcony hate to admit it, but yeah, we stole all our dance moves from David Byrne. And our fashion sense. Join us as we play some jams […]

Blue Highway Ep 6 The Grand Ole Opry

There are few traditions left in radio these days. Some that began in the “early days” of radio remain intact – bad advertising, A Prairie Home Companion, and Saturday nights at The Grand Ole Opry. For Episode 6 of our country and folk music show Blue Highway, we listen to great performances from a Hall […]

101 Series Lesson 74: Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground

Andy Warhol gave us some important things: soup cans as art, 15 hour movies of a guy snoring and . . . the Velvet Underground. Two out of three of these things we at The Balcony are big fans of. In Lesson 74 of the 101 Series we take a look at the band that […]

X Chromosome Ep 5

Biologists say that at the moment of conception we are all born female. 53% remain that way. We at The Balcony are 47%ers. But we know how to admire a woman’s work. For Episode 5 of X-Chromosome, our show dedicated to songs sung by women, we jump the genres for a variety sounds emanating from the […]

101 Series Lesson 73.2 (Tom Waits In Studio)

When Tom Waits asks you to come to a recording session and bring a fender . . . you probably should bring both a guitar and the front end of your car into the studio. Cover your bases. In part two of Lesson 73 of the 101 Series, we follow Waits out to the barn […]

Soulville Ep 5 (Blue Eyed Soul Show)

We at the Balcony are pretty fond of three things: peace, love and soul. (Four if you count BLTs.) It’s time for episode five of Soulville, our show dedicated to music of the heart and the spine and the guts. In this installment we prove that white people got rhythm by playing you a couple of […]

101 Series Lesson 71: Bruce Springsteen (Part 1: In Studio)

Icons come and Icons go but The Boss goes on forever. And when he gets going it goes all night. For Lesson 71 of the 101 Series we take a 2-part listen to the music of Bruce Springsteen with and without the E Street Band – because that’s the only thing that can be done. […]

Songs From the Yard Ep 5

Five hundred miles off the tip of the Florida Keys (on the other side of Cuba), is Jamaica, birthplace of a little something called reggae. Every once and a while we at The Balcony grab a trade wind and point our spliffs straight for Kingston. Join us for episode five of our testament to Jah […]