Vinyl Emergency

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone else with as much curiosity and vigor at 70 years old about the creation of art as longtime CBS News journalist Anthony Mason. Over his 40+ years with the network, he's shaped an Emmy-winning career around making songwriters of all stripes (from Bruce Springsteen to Phoebe Bridgers) feel comfortable enough to get uncomfortable about their motives, fears and process. And though his CBS schedule hasn't slowed down in the least, he's now launched 'Alchemy with Anthony Mason' — a new long-form interview program on YouTube, featuring conversations with Paul Simon, Nile Rodgers, Hozier and others — as a way of expanding upon the segues and tangents around songwriting that might normally be left on broadcast television's cutting-room floor. Returning to the podcast for his second visit, he discusses today how songwriting is a mechanism for the processing of trauma, and the sentiment of the show's rallying cry, inspired by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. Watch Alchemy with Anthony Mason on YouTube, sign up for Anthony's newsletter at alchemy.show, and follow the program on Instagram @alchemywithanthony.
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Check out Episode 173 with Anthony from 2023, further back in this feed.

Hot on the heels of I Built You A Tower — Death Cab for Cutie's 11th album, released earlier this month — bassist and founding member Nick Harmer tells us why this LP is the band's loudest in a long time. Plus, a deep dive into his personal record-hunting habits, how the group culled through nearly 100 demos to shape this release, and pinpointing the connecting tissue between Tower's themes of grief, apathy and change. Tour dates, socials and more are available at deathcabforcutie.com.

It seems that Mike Reed's musical journey has been supported and surrounded by family from the very beginning -- whether his dad was building a stage, his uncle was installing a lighting rig, or having his brother Ben Reed at his side through Small Brown Bike, Able Baker Fox or their latest project, 84 Tigers. On this week's show, Mike details the DIY efforts -- usually involving similar DNA -- that it's taken over the years to steer his musical vision. Plus, ahead of a 25th anniversary performance of their landmark album Dead Reckoning at this year's Fest 24, why reuniting Small Brown Bike without guitarist Travis Dopp (who passed away in 2023) wasn't originally an easy place to get to. Visit thefestfl.com for tickets, and hear 84 Tigers' new album Nothing Ends wherever you stream music. Find it on vinyl from either spartanrecords.com or 84tigersband.com.

Having already penned much-heralded books on both John Prine and Jason Molina, author Erin Osman is now tackling the wide genre of heartland rock — which she defines more by a spiritual and ideological geography, rather than a literal one. And while Bob Seger, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellancamp round out the Mount Rushmore of sorts for this soundtrack of working class 80's middle-America, Osmon casts a needed spotlight on the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Lucinda Williams and Bruce Hornsby within the pages of 'Won't Back Down,' available now wherever you get literature. On this week's show, Osman expands upon the relationship between art and province, and why the subject matter of 'Won't Back Down' stretches across generations. Plus, details on her current role on the editorial staff of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, and how her two decades as a music journalist have led her there. Visit erinosmon.com for more info, past works and a killer playlist of tunes featured in 'Won't Back Down.' Music on this episode is from The Pretty Flowers, available digitally or on vinyl at theprettyflowers.bandcamp.com or forgeagainrecords.bandcamp.com.

This is an encore presentation of a previous episode.
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Global superstar Hozier ("Take Me To Church," "Too Sweet") discusses his appreciation for analog experiences, and some personal anecdotes on how records by Howlin' Wolf, D'Angelo and more -- specifically on vinyl -- have influenced his own creative output. Plus, singer/songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews and Dawes lead vocalist/guitarist Taylor Goldsmith share their thoughts about the importance of wax in a digital world. These conversations were recorded backstage at the 2018 edition of the Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival in Franklin, TN.