Inside The Archives

Halloween is the best day of the year for music. It presents an incredible musical opportunity. The chance to do something so bizarre. So out of left field that your fans will be delighted you’ve taken that chance.  We take a look at the history of rock and roll Halloween concerts. From artists "dressing up" as other bands and covering their albums to some truly bizarre instances. Inside The Archives is available on Apple Podcasts and RADIO.COM.  Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every single episode.

There's a chance many have left the cassette tape for dead. Heck, I know I did. In recent years though, it's started to make a comeback. Cassette tape sales grew 23% in 2018 with a total of 219,000 tapes sold. If you go back to 2016, this represents almost a 100,000 unit increase when 129,000 tapes were sold.  This episode of Inside The Archives looks at why the unlikely revival of the cassette tape has taken place, whether or not it's a flash in the pan, and offering an explanation for the format's newfound popularity. Joining me is Doug Kaplan, co-owner of the Chicago record label Hausu Mountain. Kaplan specializes in releasing music on tape and has built an extensive network of like-minded musicians using cassette tape to share and release music.  Inside The Archives is available on Apple Podcasts and RADIO.COM.  Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every single episode.  

Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Coachella are the three biggest music festivals in the United States. After all three lineups were released this past year, a common sentiment online was that they were all kind of the same.  Is this actually the case though? This episode of Inside The Archives looks at the headliners for all three festivals dating back to 2005 to see if this sentiment is true and if it's a newer phenomena.  Inside The Archives is available on iTunes and RADIO.COM.  Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

On the surface, it appears the live album is no longer a force. The seeming decline of live records makes it look like a novelty more than a driving force to present your music. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. XRT's night guy Ryan Arnold joins us to discuss how musicians have reinvented the way they distribute their live material to fans. It's just as powerful as ever and can have the exact same impact as it did for listeners of live records 40 years ago. Plus, we dig into the results of our poll asking XRT's social media followers to name their favorite live album that's been released in the past ten years. Inside The Archives is available on iTunes and RADIO.COM.  Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

The second part of our foray into guilty pleasure music looks at the science behind the phenomena. Why some artists get the guilty pleasure label and if they can ever escape it. What common themes are found in guilty pleasure songs? Is the term guilty pleasure a recent one? Dr. Nicholas Wallin, an Associate Professor of Music at Lake Forest College joins the podcast to discuss the psychology behind guilty pleasure music, why we're attracted to it, and much more. In case you missed the first part of this podcast, you can listen to it here. Inside The Archives is available on iTunes & RADIO.COM. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

The term "guilty pleasure" evokes a sense of getting pleasure out of something your not supposed to. It's applied in the music world by assigning the term with certain bands.  Why does it exist though and what artists constitute a guilty pleasure? We polled our Facebook & Twitter followers to find out who their favorite "guilty pleasure" musicians our. The first part of this two-part series looks at what bands are commonly associated as "guilty pleasure" artists and offer perspective on why the term exists.  

Lollapalooza is here! Marty Lennartz joins Inside The Archives podcast to preview the must-see acts of the fest, up and coming bands you don't want to miss, bands we were surprised to not see on the lineup, and some festival hacks to make sure you make the most of your weekend. Inside The Archives is available on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

We all love concerts, but have you been to a show that has shaped your taste in music for years to come? We polled our Facebook & Twitter followers to find out what was the first concert they attended that did just that. The goal is to find out which bands are the most influential when it comes to how people consume music in the years that follow. This isn't a look at the best live acts out there today. Rather, it looks at the bands that are most likely to change the course of your music listening habits and tastes. Inside The Archives is available on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

It's hard to believe, but we're almost done with the 2010's. We've heard a lot of great music this decade, but what stands out as the decade defining sound? XRT's Ryan Arnold joins the podcast to discuss why this past decade was a transformational period for rock & roll. We also list the artists that 20-30 years from now will be looked back upon as those that defined this period of time. Inside The Archives is available on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

One of the most discussed topics in music this year was the similarity between Greta Van Fleet and Led Zeppelin. Regardless of where you stand on their music, they have been able to generate conversation like few rock bands have over the past decade. In other genres, sounding similar to other artists can be seen as an honor or paying tribute to them. In rock, it can act as a stigma? Why is that? XRT Morning Show host Lin Brehmer joins Inside The Archives to provide a historical perspective and answer that question. Inside The Archives is available on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and listen to every episode.

Concert tour rumors abound! We wrap up 2018 by looking ahead to 2019 and seeing what bands may be touring. Can the Davies brothers reconcile and give fans a long awaited Kinks reunion? We'll discuss the not likely, likely, and definitely happening tours of 2019. Inside The Archives is on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and find a full archive of every single episode we've released. Click here for more.

Ready at a moments notice? Frank E. Lee's the one. Frank joins the podcast as XRT's active fill-in host to discuss how he prepares to host a radio show on a moment's notice, and how you host a show is affected by the time of day. We also discuss the state of rock & roll in 2018 and how the bounds of music discovery are endless. Perfect topic of conversation with XRT's resident science fiction lover! Inside The Archives is on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and find a full archive of every single episode we've released. Click here for more.

Last week we tasked our Twitter followers to name their ultimate fantasy band to create an album of original material. You can read the entire article here, but this podcast takes a deeper dive into the findings and explains how we ended up with them. Inside The Archives is on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and find a full archive of every single episode we've released. Click here for more.

XRT Morning Show Producer Chris Cwiak isn't one to be front and center of a radio show, but his impact is heard every morning on the radio. We spoke with him to get the behind the scenes look at the critical role a producer plays to a radio show, working with talent, the best and worst guests he's encountered in his career, and what to do when an interview goes south. Topics include: What's the role of a radio producer (1:45), producing for Stan Lawrence/Terry Armour/Garry Meier (5:55), how to contribute your ideas to the show while meshing with talent (9:20), the difference between producing talk and music radio (12:35), how to book guests (15:52), the most interesting guests and interviews that go south (25:35), quick hit questions (41:40). Inside The Archives is on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and find a full archive of every single episode we've released. Click here for more.

When you're hosting a radio show from Midnight until 5:30 AM, you're bound to have plenty of stories to share. Emma Mac has plenty and we take a deep dive on the latest episode of Inside The Archives. Topics include: The tight-knit overnight community (3:00), being on the air when David Bowie died (11:35), growing up as an XRT fan and how the station shaped her music interests (16:25), digging deep into the XRT music library (24:35), growing up in a world where rock isn't the dominant genre (31:00), why Millennials  love soul music (34:10), and more. Inside The Archives is on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and a review, and find a full archive of every single episode we've released. Click here for more.

Lollapalooza is here and we've got a big ol' preview podcast for you! Marty Lennartz joins the show to preview the must-see acts of the fest, up and coming bands you don't want to miss, and some festival hacks to make sure you make the most of your weekend. Inside The Archives is now on iTunes! Subscribe to the show, leave a rating a review, and listen to every episode we've released. Click here to listen.

The good news is that it's easier than ever to get information. The bad news is that it's easier than ever to spread false information. Award-winning journalist and XRT Morning Show co-host and news anchor Mary Dixon discusses how people can use a few tried and true journalistic practices to help disseminate information. She also speaks on the evolution of media and what the future looks like for journalists. Additionally, she shares how the famous Twitter saga of "Pru Dude" came about and naturally, Lin Brehmer stories. Inside The Archives is now on iTunes! Subscribe to the show, leave a rating a review, and listen to every episode we've released. Click here to listen.

Over the course of decades, musicians have been trying to connect with the cosmos. From lnterstellar lyrical content to the instrumental sounds of space, artists have long held a fascination with the galaxies above. 93XRT's resident science fiction aficionado Frank E. Lee joins Inside The Archives to discuss why rock & roll and space go hand in hand. Subscribe to Inside The Archives on iTunes today! Rate and review the show, plus stream every episode on demand.

Chicago's music history is so rich, there ought to be a multivolume encyclopedia of it.  With the diversity of music that comes out of the Windy City, how do you define the Chicago sound? Perhaps there was no one better to ask the question to than XRT's Richard Milne. Richard plays a vital role in the Chicago music scene and has seen and heard it all. We gather some great stories from throughout his career and discuss what exactly makes up the Chicago sound. Plus, you'll get never before heard stories about the Chicago music scene. Inside The Archives is now on iTunes! Subscribe to the podcast, rate us, review us, and find past episodes!  

With Lindsey Buckingham and the rest of Fleetwood Mac offering mixed messages about his exit from the band, it's brought upon a familiar feeling for some. Here we go again! But is it a bad thing? The latest episode of Inside The Archives looks at whether or not feuds can have a positive effect for bands and increase album & ticket sales. Marty Lennartz joins the show as we also discuss some of the most outlandish feuds in rock history. If you're enjoying Inside The Archives, please subscribe and leave us a review!

Marty Lennartz has spoken with the likes of Keith Richards, Arcade Fire, Wilco, Florence & The Machine, Patti Smith, Jack White, and many more. His resume of interviews reads like the rock & roll hall of fame induction list. We pick his mind and get his philosophies when it comes to interviewing. We also touch on his career highlights, favorite interviews, strange experiences, and what happens when an interview starts heading south.

After months of waiting, the Lollapalooza 2018 lineup is here! Inside The Archives host Marty Rosenbaum sits down with Marty Lennartz to reveal to him the 2018 lineup. What you're hearing is Marty Lennartz's first reaction to the artists on the lineup and let me tell you... You're in for a treat!

We of the concert-going community can appreciate the work it takes to make our favorite bands sound fantastic. How does it happen? It's not as simple as plug in your instruments and start playing. No no no, there's a lot more that goes into it! On the latest episode of Inside The Archives we chat with XRT's Engineer Dominic Mendicino about the nuances of being a sound engineer, what factors go in to putting on a live show, and explaining the process for how XRT's famed BlueCross BlueShield Performance Stage was built.

Lin Brehmer knows a thing or two about songwriting. After all, he routinely introduces a track as "the greatest song ever written" before playing it on the radio.  The latest episode of Inside The Archives digs deep into songwriting. What is it? What makes a great song? Why is the songwriter stereotyped as someone sitting in their kitchen with an acoustic guitar? Why isn't the blues associated with the image of a classic songwriter? Plus, we get Lin's prediction on how the Cubs 2018 season will fare.     

Record Store Day holds a special place in our hearts here at XRT. When the list of releases was announced earlier this week, we had to record a podcast about it. The latest episode of Inside The Archives chats with certified vinyl junkie Ryan Arnold about all things Record Store Day.  We touch on this year's releases, the pillars of communities record stores represent, vinyl's resurgence, and much more. 

How do you explain what it was like to live through Beatlemania to people that didn't experience it? We looked no further than down the hallway as we spoke with Terri Hemmert on the topic. Today, we discuss why The Beatles have been able to connect with music fans across generations in a way that other bands haven't been able to do.

Inside The Archives host Marty Rosenbaum grew up in a world where The Beatles were already the greatest Rock & Roll band of all time. They had already changed the world. He speaks with Terri Hemmert to get a first hand perspective on what it was like to live through Beatlemania and how it impacted both her personal and professional life.

We spoke with BIG BEAT host Jason Thomas on a wide range of topics including why he doesn't listen to many albums anymore, what he considers new music, how much autonomy he has with the show, his favorite music of 2017, and why he likes to play music you don't normally hear on XRT, but still has that XRT sound. We also discuss the transformation of 00's bands like The Killers, Muse, Arcade Fire, and St. Vincent and how they've carved out their own place in the musical canon. Plus, we break down the latest music festival announcements (hello again Jack White), the ever entertaining Gallagher brother feud and the prospects of an Oasis reunion, as well as the glorious return of David Byrne.