Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Today we’ll hear Rick Rubin talk to one of his all-time favorite vocalists, Tom Jones. With his soulful baritone and unique interpretation of the American R&B and gospel, Jones became a mainstay at hip venues in London, New York and Las Vegas with now-timeless hits like “It’s Not Unusual,” and “Green Green Grass Of Home.” On today’s episode, Tom Jones...

Today we’re talking to Stuart Murdoch and Stevie Jackson from the Scottish folk-pop band, Belle & Sebastian. After seven years, the indie pop band is releasing their ninth studio album, their first in seven years –  A Bit of Previous . The album was recorded in Belle & Sebastian’s hometown of Glasgow, after plans to record in LA fell through because of the pandemic....

Today we have a conversation between old friends Rick Rubin and Michael Stipe. Along with his former band R.E.M., Stipe's expert, open-hearted lyrics gave voice to the sensitive and misunderstood among us with hits like “The One I Love,” “Everybody Hurts,” and “Losing My Religion.” After R.E.M. broke up a little over a decade ago, Stipe followed other creative p...

Today we have the final interview in our month-long series with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in celebration of their new album, Unlimited Love , produced by Rick Rubin. There’s only one Chili Pepper left, Mr. “I eat-drums-for-breakfast” himself, Chad Smith. Chad has always been a bit of an outlier in the band, he’s the only member who isn’t from L.A. He’s from the suburbs of Detroit and he was reared...

This is the third episode in our four episode run with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, celebrating their new album, Unlimited Love . Today you’ll hear a very special conversation between Rick Rubin and Flea. Flea’s one of the most iconic bass players of all time and, along with singer Anthony Kiedis, one of the all time great musical ambassadors of Los Angeles. Flea talks with Rick on today’s episode a...

We’re continuing our run of episodes celebrating the release of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album, Unlimited Love , produced by Rick Rubin. We left off our episode last week with Anthony Kiedis popping in to join Rick’s conversation with Chili Peppers' guitarist John Frusciante. Today we have part two of Rick’s conversation with John and the band’s iconic frontman. On this episode we'll hear An...

Today is the start of a month-long run of episodes in celebration of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ newest album, Unlimited Love . We kick things off with Rick Rubin in conversation with the Chili Peppers' guitarist, John Frusciante. If you’re a diehard fan you know why the release of their new album is so exciting. Unlimited Love is their first record with John in 16 years. In this episode, you’ll he...

Missy Elliott is one of popular music's greatest innovators . This year is the 25th anniversary of Missy’s classic debut album, Supa Dupa Fly . When that album dropped, Missy’s unconventional rhyme schemes paired with her childhood friend Timbaland’s futuristic production set a precedent for what was creatively possible in hip-hop. And throughout her career, Missy’s maintained that same level of p...

Today we have the one and only Patti Smith on the show. Patti is the prototypical downtown, New York City artist. Her 1975 debut album Horses is credited as one of the masterpieces of its time. It also cemented her as one of rock n roll's great lyricists. But her writing extends far beyond music. Her 2010 memoir, Just Kids , won the National Book Award for its brilliant portrayal of the ‘70s bohem...

Bonnie Raitt is many things—a Rock ‘n Roll Hall-of-Famer, an incredible blues guitarist, an underrated songwriter, and a fierce advocate for social justice. Bonnie was offered her first record deal as a college student in 1971 after a reporter saw her play an early gig in NYC, but it took almost two decades before she peaked commercially with her tenth album, Nick Of Time . Throughout her long car...

Beach House is a psych-pop band with a die-hard cult following. Since their 2006 debut album, their lush, cinematic sound has been sampled by artists like Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd. And Kanye recently posted a picture on Instagram collaborating with Beach House in the studio.  In January, Beach House began releasing their most ambitious project yet—a double album that debuted at number one. It...

To kick off our month long celebration of Women's History Month, today we are featuring an interview with the great Judy Collins. At 82 years-old, Collins is in the midst of a creative shift. She first made a name for herself in the 60’s folk revival covering songs by artists like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. But this year, for the first time in her career, she’s released an album written entirely...

Robert Plant is arguably the most iconic rock vocalist of all time. As the frontman for Led Zeppelin, his dynamic, soaring vocal style was the perfect lead for the band’s unparalleled musicianship. After Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the death of drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham, Plant set out on his own and recorded songs that drew inspiration from North African music, psych rock, and the Blues....

Jon Batiste is an overachiever. Batiste is the bandleader on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and an Oscar-winning composer for the Pixar animated movie, Soul. He also received the highest number of Grammy nominations this year, with eleven, including Album of the Year for his most recent release, We Are . On today’s episode, Bruce Headlam talks to Jon Batiste about what it was like coming up as...

Stevie Van Zandt is the ultimate underboss. His first big break came in the mid-70s as Bruce Springsteen’s right-hand man, guitarist, and occasional co-producer in the E Street Band. Later he seamlessly made the jump to acting as one of Tony Soprano’s key consiglieres, Sil, on The Sopranos .  Van Zandt recently released his memoir, Unrequited Infatuations , which details his career over the past 5...

Todd Rundgren is a multi-talented musician who has made a name for himself both as a solo artist and a visionary music producer. Rundgren’s crowning achievement though was producing Meatloaf’s album Bat Out Of Hell , which is to this day one of the highest-selling albums of all time. In addition to recently being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rundgren has been busy working on a new...

In the 1970’s Jackson Browne was known as one of the originators of the carefree, California classic rock sound with hits like “Doctor My Eyes” and “Running on Empty.” As his career progressed, Jackson Browne’s knack for writing soul-searching lyrics turned more political. Browne continues to use his music as a vehicle for change today. His latest album, Downhill From Everywhere , was inspired by...

Since debuting in the late ‘60s, Yusuf/Cat Stevens has made a sizable contribution to the folk canon with tender, contemplative songs like “Wild World,” “Moon Shadow,” and “The Wind.” Stevens recently reissued one of his most seminal early albums, Teaser And The Firecat, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its release. The new edition features remastered versions of the original album along with...

Today we're sharing an episode from our friend Sam Sanders over at NPR’s It's Been a Minute podcast. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Janet Jackson's classic album, Control . That album was her first real commercial hit and, looking back, helped redefine all of pop music. It also helped establish two star producers in Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In the late 80s and 90s, Janet was one of the...

Pino Palladino and Blake Mills are renowned session musicians who recently collaborated on their own album, Notes With Attachments . It’s an experimental, jazz-leaning project that blew Rick Rubin’s mind. Pino Palladino is a bass player who has played on records with everyone from D’Angelo to The Who to Adele. Guitarist Blake Mills co-founded the band Dawes in 2005, and he has gone on to release c...

Welcome to part two of Rick Rubin’s conversation with Neil Young. Today we'll hear how Neil's song “I Believe In You” from his 1970 masterpiece After the Gold Rush inspired a mystical experience for Rick. Neil also talks about recording After the Gold Rush and the parallels between that album and his latest release, Barn. And, Neil explains why he started writing and recording music around the cyc...

When we first talked about making Broken Record, we had a short list of absolute dream guests for the podcast and Neil Young was at the top of that list. So when Neil’s new record, Barn , was announced and we were told he wanted to speak with Rick about it we were beyond excited. On today’s episode, Rick and Neil talk about the new album, and all of the archival projects he plans on releasing in t...

24 year-old singer/songwriter Faye Webster stopped by Shangri-La earlier this month in between stops on her tour opening for Wilco to chat with Justin Richmond and play some songs off of her latest album, I Know I’m Funny haha . Faye started releasing music independently when she was just 16 years-old. In 2017 her second album was released through Awful Records—home to the Atlanta hip-hop collecti...

Today we have a special Broken Record Holiday episode with Nashville singer Amanda Shires. Shires’ new holiday album, For Christmas, isn’t meant to make you feel merry and bright. Instead it’s an acknowledgment of the complicated feelings that can come along with the holidays, like disappointment, longing and maybe a little bit of lust. In addition to her solo career, Amanda Shires plays fiddle an...

Mary Gauthier is a folk singer/songwriter whose songs have quite literally saved her life. Writing music did not come easily to Gauthier. She began abusing drugs and alcohol as a young girl growing up in Louisiana. After years of struggling with addiction, Gauthier got clean at age 27 and began frequenting open mics around Boston. She released her debut album, Dixie Kitchen, in 1997 and moved to N...