Songbook: The White Rabbit Podcast

Musician, producer, and composer, David Holmes, is our final festive Songbook guest this week. He joins Jude to discuss the late, great Sinéad O'Connor's memoir Rememberings, as well as his collaboration and friendship with the global music icon. They also talk about growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, the escapism of punk, David's work as a composer on some of the 21st century's b...

Iconic musician Tracey Thorn is this week's festive Songbook guest, joining Jude to talk about Lavinia Greenlaw's vivid and engaging 2017 memoir, The Importance of Music to Girls. Their discussion also covers going to discos in the 70s, the greats of British music journalism, Tracey's teenage obsession with punk, and much, much more. Tracey's latest book, My Rock 'n' Roll Friend, is 'a philosophic...

Musician and author Mat Osman is Jude's guest on the first of our three festive special Songbook episodes and the Suede bassist stopped by to discuss Brian Eno's 1996 book A Year With Swollen Appendices. They also chat about Mat's own writing processes, his competitive relationship with brother Richard growing up, and Suede's tour with Manic Street Preachers coming next year. Mat's latest book, Th...

Award-winning author Benjamin Myers is the final guest of series 2 of Songbook, and he chats to Jude about Julian Cope's extraordinary double-volume autobiography Head On/Repossessed. The discussion also takes in Ben's early years working in the music press, the personal significance of Jon Savage's England's Dreaming, the differences between writing novels and writing about music, and much more....

Renowned music journalist and broadcaster Laura Barton joins to chat about A Little Devil In America, Hanif Abdurraqib's brilliant essay collection exploring black culture in the US. Their conversation also takes in Laura's work with the inimitable Self Esteem, being a woman in the music press, dancing to The Strokes, and much more. Laura's memoir, Sad Songs, is publishing in May 2023 and is a bea...

This week's Songbook guest, music journalist and author Paul Du Noyer, has interviewed some of the most famous musicians of all time, including Madonna, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse and Paul McCartney. He chats to Jude about Nik Cohn's groundbreaking and thrilling history of 1960s rock, Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: Pop from the Beginning. The discussion also takes in Paul's Liverpool chi...

Fat White Family front man and White Rabbit author Lias Saoudi is this week's Songbook guest, chatting to Jude about Nick Tosches' extraordinary and evocative biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire. They also discuss Lias' own experiences of writing a book, the death of rock 'n' roll, how Fat White Family might be viewed in ten years time, and much, much more. Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Fam...

Music journalist and author Emma Warren joins Jude on this week's episode of Songbook to discuss Brian Belle-Fortune's in-depth, self-published history, All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle/Drum & Bass. They also cover a multitude of topics including the challenges and joys of self-publishing, the 90s outside of britpop, the bravery of being the first person on the dance floor, and much more. Em...

Author, broadcaster and educator Jeffrey Boakye is this week's Songbook guest, joining Jude to discuss Shea Serrano's acclaimed rap history book The Rap Year Book.   Their insightful and often inspiring conversation takes in the role that music can play in teaching, hip hop as party music, the cultural and political power of rap, and much more. Jeffrey's 2021 book Musical Truth: A Musical Jou...

Groundbreaking musician, performance artist, and writer Cosey Fanni Tutti joins Jude on this week's episode of Songbook to delve in to Daphne Oram's An Individual Note of Music, Sound and Electronics- a remarkable study of the relationship between electronic music and technology, origninally published in 1972. Their conversation also takes in Cosey's memories of listening to pop music as a child,...

Saint Etienne musician and music journalist Bob Stanley appears on this week's Songbook to discuss The House That George Built, Wilfrid Sheed's acclaimed history of the Golden Age of the American song. The conversation also covers everything from abandoned Saint Etienne albums to Bob's experience of writing music for film soundtracks, and the impact that being a music critic has had on his own car...

American author, journalist and editor Danyel Smith drops by to discuss I, Tina: My Life Story, the 1986 autobiography of the inimitable Tina Turner. They also discuss Danyel's childhood love of pop, the ever-changing nature of fan culture in music, how people misunderstand and underestimate the power of African-American women in the music industry, and much more. A fascinating and joyous conversa...

Musician, writer, and former Lush front-woman Miki Berenyi chats to Jude about Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. by Viv Albertine. They also dive deep in to Miki's experience of writing her Rough Trade Book of the Year winning memoir, Fingers Crossed, her disdain for 'Britpop', her childhood love of Carmen Miranda, the joy of being a young music fan in London in the...

The shy but free spirit who never played by anyone else’s rules, Vashti Bunyan brings her own unique take and experiences to this fascinating discussion about the book Marianne by Marianne Faithfull with David Dalton. Admitting that she was very nervous to revisit an era she had long tried to leave behind her, and a person she didn’t like being compared to, she quickly reveals that reading the boo...

Writer and White Rabbit author Adelle Stripe joins Jude to chat about the 1999 book by James Young called Nico, Songs They Never Play on the Radio. As well as delving into the grimy Manchester life of singer Nico and her manager Alan Wise that the book portrays they also cover, amongst many things, the intrigue of Adam Ant, why reading about failure is more fun than reading about success, misogyny...

Podcaster supremo and (importantly for this episode) Beatles obsessive Geoff Lloyd joins Jude for a Songbook deep dive.   Getting together to unpick Paul McCartney's recent bestseller The Lyrics, revelations abound. From Geoff telling Jude how his wife uses The Beatles as a carrot to get him to do stuff to whether Macca admits to watching bad films about himself. They discuss how ha...

NTS breakfast show presenter, DJ and writer Zakia Sewell gets together with Jude to chat about her choice of book for this week's episode - The Folk by Ross Cole.   Zakia has a lifelong interest in and love of folk in all its myriad forms and definitions - some of which they grapple with here!   Jude and Zakia also delve into childhood mix tapes, Albion, the quest for meaning in dark tim...

Writer and BBC Radio 3 presenter Kate Molleson joins Jude to talk about the book Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay. As well as digging into the life of Bessie they also discuss how music provides solace, childhood encounters with music, whether women are allowed to be straight up authorities on music, radical lyrics and the complications of discussing a female musician’s clothes. Books mentioned in the p...

Author and journalist Lloyd Bradley joins Jude to discuss Ted Gioia’s book Music: A Subversive History.   A wonderful conversation that takes in (amongst many things) Lloyd’s chef training, being sent baby clothes by George Clinton, becoming Shakin’ Stevens ‘envoy on earth’, the responsibility of flying the flag for black music writers in the UK and why music right now is in the best place it...

The crimewriting legend that brought us Inspector Rebus and ardent music lover Ian Rankin joins Jude to discuss another incredible book about music and the people who make it.   Ian has picked a book about his beloved Joy Division. Touching from a Distance is written by Joy Division singer Ian Curtis's wife Deborah and was published fifteen years after he died in 1980.   In this episode...

Midlands-based journalist, singer and guitarist in the black feminist punk band Big Joanie and author of the book 'Why Solange Matters', Stephanie Phillips knows her stuff when it comes to music and books. So we were dead excited when she agreed to come on Songbook to talk about Kristin Hersh's memoir 'Rat Girl'. Whilst chatting about the book Jude and Stephanie manage to cover Destiny’s Child, re...

British folk icon Shirley Collins welcomes Jude to her home in the Sussex countryside to talk about Alan Lomax's book The Land Where the Blues Began. A book that, as you'll discover, she feels very conflicted about. From men taking all the credit to going to dinner at David Attenborough's house, witnessing the horrific racism of the Deep South in the 1950s to what luxuries she would take to a Dese...

In this very first episode of Songbook Jude chats to Suede frontman and all round indie legend Brett Anderson about the book 'Starlust' by Fred and Judy Vermorel. Using the book as a jumping-off point they cover everything from favourite music writing to Barry Manilow, the seduction of being worshipped to the darker side of obsessive fandom. Books mentioned in the podcast: Starlust by Fred and Jud...

Welcome to Songbook, a podcast about revolutionary music books.   In every episode host Jude Rogers and a special guest delve into the history of great writing about music by choosing a classic book, exploring its history and legacy and discussing what makes it so special. There’ll be some books you’ll have heard of, plenty you definitely won’t have, but either way this podcast is guaranteed...