What is the human and environmental cost of music? In Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music (MIT Press, 2019),Kyle Devine, an Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology at the University of Oslo, tells the material history of recorded music, counting the impact of music from the 78 to digital streaming. The book has a rich and detailed analysis ... Show More
Yesterday
Sharon White Rewires Disco
At the center of 1970s New York's most iconic clubs—from the celebrity-studded Studio 54 to the premiere lesbian discotheque Sahara—stood a queer Black woman on the turntables: Sharon White. With a sound she describes as "edgy, deep, aggressive, tech, synthy, percussive and lush, ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 15
Lucy Caplan, "Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera" (Harvard UP, 2025)
Recently, musicologists and others have started writing about Black participation in opera. Lucy Caplan’s Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera (Harvard UP, 2025) is a major new publication on this topic. Caplan examines what she calls a Black operati ... Show More
59m 59s
Dec 2024
The Bridge: Slate Music Club 2024
The Slate Music Club is back, in a special edition of Hit Parade – “The Bridge”! Our year-end panel of critics—NPR Music’s Ann Powers, Hearing Things’ Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Slate’s own Carl Wilson and Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy—discuss their favorite albums and singles ... Show More
35m 12s
Dec 2024
How AI and Algorithms Are Transforming Music
<p>It’s been almost a year since the historic music outlet Pitchfork shrank considerably. On this week’s On the Media, why the distinctive voices in music journalism are worth saving. Plus, how AI music generators could upend the industry. </p><p>[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger, sp ... Show More
50m 42s
Jan 2025
Ahmad Kubbara Gives Us a Masterclass in Music Production
<p>Scavenging for synthesizers, digital vs analog music, and what it means to be a music producer in the AI era. This episode of Quartertones features Egyptian music producer Kubbara in our studio in Beirut. Known for his jazz-influenced, neo-soul sound, he gives us a master clas ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 6
148-Renaissance Music Pt.2 (Late)
Continuing from episode 144, Renaissance Music Pt.1 (Early-Mid), we will now get into the late Renaissance period! In this episode, we will cover the composition techniques and musical stylings of composers, such as Thomas Weekles and Giovanni Palestrina, and how their music infl ... Show More
57m 9s
Jun 2023
Hip Hop, the Lahme Song & Making Beats From Old Syrian Vinyls | Thanks Joey
<p>In this episode of Quartertones, Thanks Joey takes us on a journey through hip hop, Brooklyn music, and his Syrian grandfather’s old records. We talk about working with Omar Offendum and Narcy, his music making process, and what inspired his Lahme song.</p><p>He gives us a sne ... Show More
1h 17m
Mar 2025
How AI Could Change the Future of Music
Artificial intelligence tools for musicians are getting eerily good, very fast. Their work can be maddening, funny, ethically dubious, and downright fascinating all at the same time. TV and podcast composer Mark Henry Phillips joins to describe his experience working with them. W ... Show More
57m 41s