The Soundtrack Series

Mo is the author of the revered novel Every Anxious Wave--which is the best of everything having to do with music and time travel. Not to worry, we cover all of this--what shows we'd go back and see, what moments in life we'd undo (or redo), and of course, 120 Minutes.

Isaac Oliver is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir (in other words--one of NPR's Best Books of 2015) Intimacy Idiot. So who better to talk to about music in our dating lives--when it's our best friend, when it's our armor, when it's the sorceress that summons the object of our desire. (And when it's the thing that makes us say ridiculous stuff like that.)

Aline Brosh McKenna is the co-creator of the musical smash Crazy Ex Girlfriend. So we talk about musicals--creating them, being in them, and the times you can't help but live your life by them.

Storyteller (and former talent agent) Sandi Marx talks about the time she was--then wasn't--Pat Benetar's ass double, and how sometimes giving up your dreams is the greatest thing ever.

Comedian Brooke Arnold tells us about her upbringing in a fundamentalist organization where music was forbidden, how she found music anyway, and what it's like to be years behind everyone else when it comes to knowing anything about The Beatles. Music in this Episode: Do-Re-Mi - Original Cast of The Sound of Music Beat It - Michael Jackson This Joy - Vernessa Mitchell Daydreams About Night Things - Ronnie Milsap Girl - Tori Amos Aneurysm - Nirvana Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison Lazarus - David Bowie Oh My God - A Tribe Called Quest Wannabe - Spice Girls

Amy Hobby is an Academy Award nominated producer for her work on the documentary What Happened, Miss Simone. So yeah, I ask for a little "insider peek" at all the Oscars pregaming rituals, but then we really get into it--and talk what went into making this incredible film, what she learned (that we could all learn) from Nina Simone, and how important it was to let Nina tell the story of Nina.

Filmmaker Michael Feld visited every city Huey Lewis mentions in "The Heart of Rock and Roll" and made a video of it (both loved and hated by the Internet at large--but what isn't). So of course we talk about every little detail that goes into doing something like this, all to pay homage to one song and check the pulse of rock and roll throughout America.

Karaoke! Only harder! Talking live karaoke with Joe McGinty--renowned musician and the man behind piano karaoke at Sid Gold's Request Room in NYC--who tells us what it's like to be the guy who makes our rock n' roll dreams come true...if only for the length of one song.

Think of a band you love. Now think about what it would be like to actually join that band. This is what musician Jenny Harder did, when she went on tour with Gogol Bordello in late 2015. Music in this episode: We Are All Illegals - Outernational Oh Come On - The Julie Ruin Boys Wanna Be Her - Peaches Sally - Gogol Bordello Think Locally, Fuck Globally - Gogol Bordello The Passenger - Siouxsie and the Banshees Mind Your Own Business - Chicks on Speed Leeds United - Amanda Palmer Tryouts for the Human Race - Sparks Halfway State - Mico

You probably know someone who has been an extra in a movie or on TV, but do you know someone who does it for the Metropolitan Opera? Thinking you might not. Julia Wiedeman talks about her work as a supernumerary at the Met and the frustrations of gracing the most famous stage in the world, only to be invisible.

Nobody has a stack of records like this man right here. Dana talks to Daniel Sears about the art of collecting music and takes a tour through the rarest and most beautiful pile of vinyl. Plus, a little something we like to call "One Song"--where Daniel tells a holiday horror story, underscored by Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime. Of course. Music in This Episode: Sit on My Face Stevie Nix - The Rotters There's no Business Like Show Business - Ethel Merman The Flying Saucer Song - Harry Nilsson Love Stinks - Millie Jackson River - Joni Mitchell Cry Me a River - Barbra Streisand Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson Eleanor Rigby - Tony Bennett Sounds in Space Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

The Demands. Nightlight. Amazing Man Band. Iridescent Dreams. The Benson Ashe. These are the most legendary bands you've never heard of--the ones that were started in high school. Through interviews with people whose band lasted one rehearsal, to people whose band ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is a look at the time in life where rock begins--the moment a group of high school friends are sitting around and one of them says, "let's start a band."  Music in This Episode: Sit on My Face Stevie Nix - The Rotters There's no Business Like Show Business - Ethel Merman The Flying Saucer Song - Harry Nilsson Love Stinks - Millie Jackson River - Joni Mitchell Cry Me a River - Barbra Streisand Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson Eleanor Rigby - Tony Bennett Sounds in Space Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

Aaron Wolfe, a writer and filmmaker once short-listed for an Academy Award for his film Record/Play, uses the Dinosaur Jr. version of Just Like Heaven to illustrate how he went from Goth kid, to popular kid, right back to Goth kid again. Plus, Dana says goodbye to Infinite Guest/American Public Media, and gives a little taste of what you can expect from the new Soundtrack Series podcast. It kicks off Oct. 20 with “I'm in a Band” — an audio documentary about the universal experience of being in a band in high school.

Deputy Editor for The Decider Tyler Coates talks a particularly bad breakup, and how, when you lean almost entirely on PJ Harvey or Liz Phair for comfort music it can be surprising when you find yourself putting your head on the shoulder of Taylor Swift. Plus, a million things Dana would rather associate with Eye of the Tiger than … you know who.

Comedian Giulia Rozzi (Tru TV, Chelsea Lately) tells us about the harsh realities of finally meeting the rock star you always had a crush on. Plus, Dana spends valuable time dissecting how and why she didn't watch the VMAs, only to arrive at the conclusion that she's just in her 30s.

Dennis Dunaway, bassist for Alice Cooper and 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, tells us the story behind how they wrote “School's Out,” which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year. Plus, Dana eulogizes Columbia House, and speaks to an expert about how he beat the “12 CDs for a penny” game.

Michael Feinstein considers him a mentor. Leona Helmsley threatened to break his fingers if he didn't play in her hotel. Liberace owes his big break to him. And at 100 years old, he still plays every week at the Park Lane Hotel. Dana talks with Irving Fields, legendary musician, pianist and composer about how to find gigs in the 1930s, discovering Latin music, and the “Freebird” of piano bar requests.

Music journalist Amy Linden tells the story of her first interview with The Replacements in 1988–and how it came at a time when she was excited about being pregnant, and not at all excited about being married. Plus, Dana tries to figure out Rihanna's video for ‘Bitch Better Have My Money.'

Trying to come out to your mom three times before it sticks. Losing a parent to AIDS. Hearing the heartbeat of the baby you're giving a gay couple to adopt. Sharing a strange sexual encounter with a best friend. Getting punched in the face because you need to dance to Beyonce. Soundtrack Series celebrates Pride with seven of our favorite gay themed stories from over the years–and the best Pride playlist this side of Christopher Street.

Actor Brian Silliman (look for him on this season of Orange in the New Black) on how sports and musical theater do not mix — and the dent he has in his leg to prove it. Plus, Dana looks back on her high school graduation, and everything that went wrong during her rendition of the National Anthem.

Amber Drea is a writer and storyteller — look for her in McSweeney's or on RISK! This is her heartbreaking story about living in motels with her mom when she was ten — where many times her only friend was a copy of Heart's Bad Animals. Plus, Dana gets giddy about the guests coming up on the next live Soundtrack Series (Chemda, DJ Spooky, and Jeffrey Marsh) and tells the full story behind her double-autographed photo of David Letterman.

Comic Christian Finnegan — whose new special The Fun Part is currently available on Netflix–tells his story of how Whitney Houston almost cost him a car on VH1's Name That Video. Twice. Plus, Dana questions the theory that a revolution happened only three times in pop music history.

Actor, playwright and solo performer Matthew Trumbull (whose one man show The Zebra Shirt of Lonely Children was critically acclaimed by both the New York and Minnesota Fringe Festivals) tells his personal memories of Mr. Jimmy, the crazy old man of his hometown who is rumored to be the Mr. Jimmy in the second verse of You Can't Always Get What You Want. Plus, Dana hops in the way back machine and talks WKRP in Cincinnati — and the unforgivable sin of replacement music in the re-release of classic television.

In this special episode, Dana interviews Chi Chi Valenti — the Empress of NYC nightlife and creator of the legendary Stevie Nicks fan event Night of 1000 Stevies. Dana and Chi Chi talk CSI-level fandom, whether you should actually meet your idols, and how Stevie herself learned about this yearly event where thousands of people gather to pay tribute to her. And Stevie's hair. Of course there's discussion of Stevie's hair.

Filmmaker Jason Jude Hill may not like the song Ring of Fire, but sometimes a song you hate can lead you to the person you love. Plus, what if Mad Men jumps ahead to 1976? Dana indulges in a little Mad Men musical fan fiction, and picks what music would appear in the show if these last episodes take place in the mid-seventies.

Artist and DJ Crystal Durant (DJ Crystal Clear) tells us why her mother told her that Kermit the Frog was singing about her when he sang it's not easy bein' green, and how her family struggled to be accepted in a closed minded, racially imbalanced Pennsylvania town in the 1960s. Plus, we learn something new every day–about Madonna. Dana delves into Madonna's recent Howard Stern interview and highlights what she didn't know about Madonna until this interview. Did you know she was fired from Dunkin Donuts for playing with the jelly squirt gun? You do now.

C.D. Hermelin–also known as NYC urban folk hero The Roving Typist–tells us how in high school, girls may come and go, but Weezer is forever. Plus, Dana's look at the gimmick album–a usually unforgivable musical offering, but not when it came to Leonard Nimoy.

Isaac Butler is a writer whose work has appeared in Slate, Narratively, and American Theatre. His upcoming book is called The Thousand Natural Shocks: A Father, A Family, A Crisis of Faith. This episode features his story about Shop Around, by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and the very special woman who introduced it to him. Plus, Dana ramps up for the re-release of The Breakfast Club and looks at some of the “forgotten” music moments from the movie.

Performer and musician Rebecca Vigil tells her story of the ups and downs of winning big on Don't Forget The Lyrics. Plus, Dana looks at the whole Tom Petty/Sam Smith songwriting showdown, complete with her insistence that there was a time when Michael Jackson and Danzig were totally on the same page, and Daft Punk's One More Time kind of sounds like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Kind of.

Soundtrack Series creator and producer Dana Rossi, and her story about the perils of dating people you work with in restaurants, and how the voice of Dr. Dre sometimes shows up when you least expect it.

Saidah Blount is the music events manager and producer at NPR Music. This is her story about how Depeche Mode–specifically the “Nothing” scene in Depeche Mode 101–changed her teenage life, and showed her that there were other kids looking to break out of the place they'd come from, just like her.

A first crack at The Legend of Zelda. The importance of keeping your voice even as everything else changes. A special high school friend who only lives in memories and Madonna. These three stories are the Best of Soundtrack Series 2014.

Musician AK grew up on movie sets because her parents work in film production. But this is her story about the first time she got to appear and sing in a feature film–and why her song is not the one playing over the end credits.

Whitney Joiner is a Senior Editor at Marie Claire, and a co-founder of The Recollectors–an online community for people who have lost parents to AIDS. This is Whitney's story about losing her father to AIDS in 1992, and how she and her brother were finally able to properly honor his memory at an Erasure concert 13 years later.

Many couples have a song that brought them together. But as storyteller Hillary Rea can attest, not every couple is one part the lead singer of Reel Big Fish, and not every song that brought them together is “I'm Gonna Get You” by Bizarre Inc.

Austin shock jock Dale Dudley (The Dudley & Bob Morning Show on KLBJ-FM) on breaking free from a religious upbringing, his brother, the tattoo you'd never think he has, and “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables.

Philadelphia legend R. Eric Thomas tells us how queuing up Ray of Light always helps him to visit a very special friend.