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

This week’s Fresh Find, Vagabon, is a self taught, Cameroonian-born musician whose haunting voice and genre defying style has won over critics at both The New Yorker  and  Pitchfork. In this episode she talks about emigrating from West Africa to Harlem as a teenager, sneaking out of her parent’s house to play D.I.Y. punk shows in Brooklyn, and how bouts of writer’s block can cause her to dream of...

***Run the Jewels are raw and so is the language in this episode*** Killer Mike and El-P return to Broken Record to discuss the creation of their fourth album, RTJ4 , and the tumultuous world it was released into. Rick Rubin, who was present during some of the album's recording sessions at Shangri La, digs into the record's production and themes with the duo, calling the message and tone of the al...

Broken Record is bringing you a Fresh Find this week. We discovered Berhana after a key placement in Donald Glover’s show Atlanta. In this episode, Berhana talks about growing up in the real Atlanta, being first generation American born to Ethiopian parents, recording his newest album in Tokyo and how he started earning enough on music to make a living before he ever played a show. Subscribe to Br...

A tornado raged through Margo Price's home-base of Nashville right as she was preparing to release her third album in March. A month later Margo’s husband and longtime collaborator, Jeremy Ivey, tested positive for coronavirus. While taking care of her sick husband and two young kids, Margo decided to push back the release of her new album. Now, "That's How Rumors Get Started" is finally out. Marg...

Rick Rubin joins Questlove and crew on their Questlove Supreme podcast. They discuss Rick's early Def Jam days, working with the Geto Boys, his process for taking on production work and so much more! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Broken Record Presents: Aim Higher — the last episode of Against the Rules Season 2. Can everyone be coached — or are some people beyond help? The transformative power of coaching is put to the test as Michael enlists a coach to help him tackle his greatest fear. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back to the Future is turning 35 and there's no better way to celebrate than a conversation with Huey Lewis who turned in one of the more memorable movie themes of all time: "The Power of Love." The song was a sensation when it was released, propelling Huey Lewis and the News further than even their hit album Sports had. Bruce Headlam talks to Huey Lewis about how this song came together and mines...

It's been nearly 35 years since the Beastie Boys released their classic debut album,  Licensed To Ill . In this candid conversation, Rick Rubin, who started out as the Beastie's DJ, reconnects with Mike D and Ad-Rock. Spike Jonze, who directed the new Beastie Boys documentary, Beastie Boys Story , also sits in and plays moderator. It's been nearly 20 years since Ad-Rock and Rick have talked and li...

Lucinda Williams is defying convention. While most of her peers have settled into a well worn groove, the alt-country icon just released an album that's way more punk than country. She spoke with Bruce Headlam from her home in Nashville about her evolving sound and how her new album was influenced by politics and an abusive relationship. She also plays a few acoustic versions of her new songs. Sub...

Rick Rubin checks in with RZA on Zoom and finds out he's been peaking creatively while in quarantine. Their wide-ranging conversation covers RZA's first experiences with Hip Hop, ODB's parkour-like skills as a child, the spontaneity of classic Wu-Tang recording sessions, and how RZA almost gave up all of his earthly possessions to live with monks in China's Wudang Mountains. https://www.youtube.co...

Malcolm has been writing about race and policing for a very long time, going back to the killing of Amadou Diallo in 1999. Sometimes, it is useful to take a step back and consider policing in a broader context. Here we present a chapter from Malcolm's book David and Goliath,  which includes   an analysis of a riot in Northern Ireland in 1970. Many miles and many years away. About divisions of reli...

Nick Lowe wrote the classic "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" (made famous by Elvis Costello), produced one of the UK's first punk records ("New Rose" by the Damned), and started one of the great independent record labels (Stiff Records). In this episode Bruce Headlam talks to him about producing the first five Elvis Costello records, marrying into Johnny Cash's family and h...

Jason Isbell is one of the most important Southern voices in music today. He started writing and releasing his own songs in 2007, after a stint with the Drive By Truckers. Since then has slowly built a catalogue of songs and a resume—which includes a key songwriting contribution to Bradley Cooper's version of A Star Is Born —that should put him on anyone's short list of the best songwriters curren...

Previewing the first episode of Against the Rules Season 2 by Michael Lewis ( Moneyball, The Big Short, The Blind Side ): It wasn’t that long ago that coaches were confined to sports. Now they’re everywhere. You can hire a life coach or a death coach, an executive coach, a dating coach, even a charisma coach. Journalist and bestselling author Michael Lewis asks who’s getting all this coaching, and...

Rick Rubin talks to Tame Impala's Kevin Parker about his newest release, The Slow Rush , and his creative process. Kevin shares key influences on some Tame Impala songs and also plays Rick a demo for an unrealized song from his voice memos. Then Kevin turns the tables on Rick, asking about his work on Californication and Yeezus , which yields sage advice on record making. Learn more about your ad-...

Drive-By Truckers play music from and talk about their twelfth album, The Unraveling . The band of Alabamans—represented here by Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood—discuss how the political climate shaped the themes of their latest record. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

XL Recordings has released music from Adele, Tyler the Creator, MIA, Dizzee Rascal, Radiohead, The White Stripes, King Krule and many other beloved, boundary-pushing artists. Richard Russell has been with the label since its early days and at the helm since '96. He talks with Rick Rubin about the origin of their friendship, which dates back to the earliest days of XL, and how the label grew from a...

Rick Rubin, like all of us, has been thinking a lot about fear lately. And few people on the planet understand fear in the same way that Rick's good friend, David Blaine, does. David has made a career of pushing his mind and body to the limit. So Rick thought David might be a great person to talk to about facing fear. Ok obviously this conversation isn’t about music. But it does touch on one of Ri...

Alicia Keys talks with Malcolm Gladwell via Zoom about her newly released book, More Myself: A Journey and how writing it influenced her upcoming album, Alicia . You can order her book at https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/alicia-keys/ . And to find out more about her upcoming album (and tour) you can visit https://alicia.aliciakeys.com/ . Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihear...

Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, and star of the movie Once, talks to Bruce Headlam about his newest solo album, "This Wild Willing" and how he nearly sampled a Queen and David Bowie jam unwittingly. Find the playlist for this episode at https://brokenrecordpodcast.com/ . Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Rick Rubin talks with his friend, world-renowned Buddhist and meditation teacher, Jack Kornfield. He's long been one of the most influential figures in American Buddhism. He connects with Rick by Zoom to guide him and you through a couple of different guided meditations. A gift for these stressful times. You can find the first of those meditations at 8:00 and the second meditation at 42:32. And if...

During these tough times, Rick Rubin wanted to have a chat with an artist he finds inspiring. Top of mind was John Legend. So he called him up via Zoom, while both were sheltering in place, for a quick chat about his career and the creative process behind two of his biggest songs. Plus they discuss the song Legend is currently obsessed with. This is our first remote recording, so it's a little sho...

Nathaniel Rateliff talks to Bruce Headlam about his new solo album, And It’s Still Alright , a deeply intimate project that reflects on the loss of his former producer and good friend Richard Swift. Nathaniel plays songs off his new record and recounts his journey as a musician, starting with his family’s gospel band up until his recent success as the frontman of the critically-acclaimed group, Th...

The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir talks to Rick Rubin about why the legendary band was never focused on their studio recordings, and how they were always more interested in seeing where their live shows would take them. Bob also plays a new song from an opera he's writing and tells Rick about a recent dream where he and Jerry Garcia performed a new song that materialized into a room-sized sheep dog. Bo...

Bassist, songwriter, and composer Esperanza Spalding sits with Bruce Headlam to discuss her latest work and the opera she’s writing with the legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter. They also discuss why Esperanza shies away from being labeled a prodigy, what it’s like jamming at Joni Mitchell's house, and how, despite her improvisational approach, she’s so much more than just a jazz musician. Learn m...