Let It Roll

An interview with Lance Scott Walker, author of "DJ Screw: A Life in Slow Revolution." Host Nate Wilcox asks Lance about the rise and fall of DJ Screw and the influence of the chopped and screwed sound. Order the book and support the podcast. Download this episode. More Hip-Hop on Let It Roll:  Hip-hop's early entrepreneurs: Sugar Hill & Def-Jam. Time-Warner and the Campaign against Ice-T and Body...

Host Nate Wilcox asks Jeff Kaufman, the director of "The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America," about the great swing drummer Chick Webb and his impact on American music. Order the movie. For more information about THE SAVOY KING, including DVDs with a free eBook. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow...

An interview with Joe Yanosik, author of "A Consumer Guide to The Plastic People of the Universe." Order the book. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...

Host Nate Wilcox asks John about the ups and downs and self-imposed limitations that kept Arthur Lee and Love strictly a Southern California phenomenon. Buy the book and support the podcast. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part...

Host Nate Wilcox asks Dale about the musical ferment bubbling under the New York demimonde in the 1800s. Buy the book and support the podcast. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad...

An interview with Daniel de Visé, author of "King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King." Host Nate Wilcox asks Daniel about B.B. King's beginnings on Beale Street. Buy the book and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of...

An interview with Emily Bingham, the author of "My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song." Host Nate Wilcox asks Emily to detail the 150 years of myth-making around Stephen Foster's song. Buy the book and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter....

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Brooks Long discuss "Rhythm And The Blues: A Life in American Music" by Jerry Wexler and David Ritz. Brooks Long is back and that means he and Nate are talking about a book written or co-written by the great David Ritz. While at Billboard magazine in the 1940s, Jerry Wexler coined the term Rhythm & Blues. He went on to become one of the great "record men" at Atlantic Records...

An interview with Marc Wasserman, author of "Skaboom!: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History." Host Nate Wilcox talks to Marc about the beginnings of the 3rd wave of ska in 1980s America. Buy the book and support the podcast. Don't miss Nate's discussion with Ed Ward on the origins of reggae. Don't miss Nate's discussion with Ryan Harkness about ska's place in the history of DJ-centric music. Have...

Hosts Nate Wilcox, Eugene S. Robinson & Alexei Auld discuss the fan-funded "Extreme Metal" episode of the documentary series "Metal Evolution." The Puncholes wrap our look at metal evolution with a discussion of grindcore, death metal and black metal. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- T...

An interview with Dan Charnas author of "Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm." Host Nate Wilcox talks to Dan about what exactly made J Dilla's work as a producer, rapper and solo artist so unique, innovative and influential for some hip-hop, EDM, jazz and classical musicians. Buy the book and support the podcast. Don't miss Nate's two other int...

Hosts Nate Wilcox, Eugene S. Robinson & Alexei Auld discuss the "Progressive Metal" episode of VH1 documentary series "Metal Evolution." The Puncholes debate the history of progressive metal with a lot of contention about whether or not Tool represented a clean break with the previous prog metal tradition. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

An interview with Ned Sublette author of "The Year Before the Flood: A Story of New Orleans." Host Nate Wilcox talks to Ned about the music of New Orleans in the 2nd half of the 20th Century including R&B, funk and hip-hop. Listen to part one of our discussions with Ned about New Orleans and its musical history. Buy the book and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or p...

Hosts Nate Wilcox, Eugene S. Robinson & Alexei Auld discuss the "Power Metal" episode of VH1 documentary series "Metal Evolution." The gang struggles to come to grips with Sam Dunn's definition of power metal, his belated coverage of German metal bands like the Scorpions and Accept, as well as discussing both first and second wave power metal bands from Manowar and Helloween to Blind Guardian and...

An interview with Jason Mellard author of "Progressive Country: How the 1970s Transformed the Texan in Popular Culture." Jason and host Nate Wilcox also discuss the late Jan Reid's classic "The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock." Buy Progressive Country and support the podcast. Buy Redneck Rock and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Emai...

Hosts Nate Wilcox, Eugene S. Robinson & Alexei Auld discuss the "Shock Rock" episode of VH1 documentary series "Metal Evolution." The gang grapples with the "shock rock" umbrella that Sam Dunn uses to discuss a wide range of acts that combined intense rock with the shock aesthetic of the Grand Guignol. Slipknot emerges as a surprise favorite of the Puncholes. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR...

An interview with S. H. Fernando Jr., author of "From the Streets of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga." Host Nate Wilcox asks S.H. to walk us through the story of the brilliant and ambitious RZA and the talented rappers he brought together to conquer the rap game. We hear how it came together and how it fell apart. Buy the book and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or perso...

Hosts Nate Wilcox, Eugene S. Robinson & Alexei Auld discuss the "Nu Metal" episode of VH1 documentary series "Metal Evolution." Nate struggles to keep the team on track as long-held anti-Nu Metal biases threaten the attempted objectivity that's sacred to the Let It Roll approach. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

An interview with Gareth Murphy author of "Cowboys and Indies: The Epic History of the Record Industry." Host Nate Wilcox gets Gareth to detail his researches on the earliest days of the record industry when Thomas Edison battled The Victor Talking Machine company for control of the industry. Then the conversation follows the record industry's evolution into the "race records" era of the 1920s, Jo...

Hosts Nate Wilcox, Eugene S. Robinson & Alexei Auld discuss the "Grunge" episode of VH1 documentary series "Metal Evolution." Nate and the team grapple with the meaning of grunge, its place in heavy metal history and our own tastes and biases. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final...

An interview with Joel Selvin, author of "Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day." Host Nate Wilcox asks Joel about his research into the causes and impacts of the disaster at Altamont in 1969. Buy the book and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow...

An interview with Michaelangelo Matos author of “The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America.” Hosts Nate Wilcox and Ryan Harkness ask Michaelangelo Matos the questions raised over the course of TechnoRoll series 3 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

An interview with Bill Kopp, author of "Disturbing The Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave." Host Nate Wilcox asks Bill about Howie Klein's early 1980s independent label, its key bands like Wire Train and Romeo Void and its partnership with major label Columbia Records.  Buy the book and support the podcast. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Ryan Harkness continue their discussion of "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Underground is Massive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" with a look at EDM's Animal Farm moment when the genre and its practitioners were finally accepted by the American music industry.  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

A discussion of "The Rise of Gospel Blues: The Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church" by Michael W. Harris. Hosts Nate Wilcox and Garrett Cash talk about the transformation of blues pianist Georgia Tom into the most important composer of modern African-American gospel music. Buy the book and support the podcast. Download this episode.  Check out this playlist of his work on Spotify. Ha...