Karl, Scott, and Trent explore two seminal albums in the catalog of arguably the greatest jazz guitarist of all time, Wes Montgomery. In Incredible Jazz Guitar and Boss Guitar, Montgomery lays down an adventurous blend of hard-swinging bop, romantic ballads, and Afro-Carribean inspired grooves with an effortless mastery of guitar technique.   Although he employs a wide variety of complex techniques such as fast triplet strumming, sweep picking, and octave melodies -- almost exclusively...

Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss the meaning and purpose of music during troubled times, and share their playlists for the end of the world.

Can you imagine five of the most brilliant young musical minds sitting around the fireside, discussing how they could make a new Russian music? What form would it take? What instrumentation? What would the proper influences be? That's precisely what a group of five Russian composers did in the 19th century -- set out to reclaim Russian culture from Western European influence and in the process create a grand, majestic, and distinctly Russian music.   The Russian Five, as they are known,...

Scott, Karl, and Trent trace the family tree of the biggest musical genre of the 20th century: rock n' roll. The roots are deep and gnarled, it turns out, and while they touch on the usual suspects such as Elvis and Chuck Berry, rock can trace it's roots all the way back to the big bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, as well as a myriad of American folk genres.    

In part two of their study on Bing Crosby, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss Bing Crosby's enormous impact on Christmas music and culture since he first sang "White Christmas" in 1942's Holiday Inn. "White Christmas" proved to be a huge hit, hitting number one on three separate occasions, including 1954's classic film White Christmas. Although the film was not initially a box office success, the titular song became the best-selling single of all time with an estimated 50 million copies sold.

Nowadays he's the American Father Christmas, the singer of nearly all the classic Christmas songs, but for several decades he was also the biggest pop star in the world. From his early days singing in The Rhythm Boys with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra (a major band in it's own right in the 1920's), to his breakout solo career in the 1930's, and well into the 1950's with classic movies such as White Christmas -- Bing Crosby is probably the most important singer in American musical history.

Scott digs up an old treasure from his music vaults -- the gospel music of Florida which features an unusual instrument, the steel guitar. Played with a tonebar pressed over a horizontal neck with 6 or more strings, the steel guitar is usually found cooing and whining behind country western troubadours, but in sacred steel gospel, it's the primary instrument and often played as the sole accompaniment to the congregation's singing.

Scott, Karl, and Trent tackle Hilary Hahn's electric, virtuosic performances of three timeless pieces for solo violin: Bach's Sonatas 1 and 2, and the first Partita.

Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss arguably the greatest singer of the 20th century, and how he invented the classic genre now known as "soul."

Oscar Peterson at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival is a 1956 live album by Oscar Peterson, accompanied by Ray Brown and Herb Ellis.  The Peterson trio is celebrated for their seemingly telepathic sense of interplay and its virtuosity. In listening to this album, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss how certain kinds of creativity can't be done in a premeditated way. Scott says, "It's thoughtless and intuitive— pure creativity between three people."  Karl adds, "It's closer to what I think...

The trio discusses The Planets, Op. 32, a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917.  When you first listen to this, you might just be recollecting it— The Planets comes with a long list of imitations churned out by film composers. Karl says, "It's the form of 20th-century film score."  You'll immediately recognize Holst's ability to create tension with certain musical cues. As an avid astrologer, he brings each of the planets and...

This week, the trio discusses an album on Trent's shortlist: Neko Case's album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Released in 2006, it's a mix of folk, country, and early rock elements. Case classifies her style as “country-noir." "She defies genres... she doesn't fit comfortably into any of those worlds," Trent says.   Along with her booming voice, Neko Case is also known for her independent, non-traditional songwriting. This particular album was inspired by Eastern European fairy tales— not...

This week, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss Joe Cocker's live album, Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Released in 1970, the album was spontaneously formed on a few days' notice to meet Cocker's contractual obligations.  These concert tapes ended up being just as much a showcase for Leon Russell, who helped organize and perform the tour, as it was for Joe Cocker. Accompanying the duo is a choir, a three-piece horn section, and several drummers. Scott says, “It’s not polished. It’s just people who...

Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss Depeche Mode's 1990 album Violator, a synth-pop smash. Featuring nine tracks of synthesizer dominant grooves, this English electronic music band created what Trent calls "a perfect album."  The trio discusses how this highly stylized exploration of the dark side of human emotion became a mainstream, chart-climbing album.  Scott says, "I think this shows a sinister, dark worldview and a yearning for some sort of intense experience that those Gen X kids had."  ...

Da-Da-Da-DUM — hardly any succession of notes is as famous as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.  This week, Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss the life and legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music.  Trent says, "I hear him having all of the virtuosity and command of the musical vocabulary that Bach, Mozart, and Haydn have. But I think he is ultimately inspired by fits of passion— these violent, emotional impulses. That's the muse for his music....

In today's episode, Trent orients Scott and Karl to Indian classical music.  To a novice listener, the complexity of Indian music might seem overwhelming, but knowing just a few basics can give you the tools to appreciate the melodic richness. Scott admits, "We have never done a show which we know so little about." Indian classical music is very closely connected to nature, taking inspiration from the cycles of the natural world to create ‘ragas’ or the melodic framework. Trent says, "This...

Scott, Karl, and Trent introduce us to one of America's premier art forms— jazz. To better understand this music genre, the trio listens to the Clifford Brown and Max Roach album Study in Brown.  Jazz is a language on its own: it's explorative, improvisational, and an aesthetic experience. "Brilliant, beautiful things can come out of the danger of the improvisational style," Karl says.   Scott adds, "It's musical dialectic. When you listen to jazz, you have to listen to everything everyone...

Scott, Karl, and Trent discuss the history, ritual, and tradition of chanting.  Karl walks listeners through the musical structure and rules of different chanting traditions in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church. Karl says, "For most people, chanting is an accompaniment for their yoga... it's something alien that we throw in to add a little spice. That's not what it is." Chanting is contemplative music that touches the soul and raises the heart to God.   Tune in for more music...

This week, Scott, Karl, and Trent each choose three "pleasure-only" songs to share on the show.  From The Bangles to Lady Gaga, these picks are not guilty pleasures. These are the fun songs you listen to in your car, while you're lifting, or while drinking a Busch Light.  What songs do you listen to just for fun? Trent says, "If you're trying to win cool points, you're not doing it right." Tune in for more music and ideas, brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott, Karl, and Trent introduce us to the genius of Les Paul. Best known for the solid-body electric guitar, Les Paul was a prolific inventor and tinkerer. He also developed many of the techniques that formed the backbone of modern music recording, including multitracking, overdubbing, and tape effects. Scott says, "He's an interesting kind of genius because of the way it all came about." Les Paul will always hold a special place in the pantheon of American musical greats. Tune in for...

Have you ever thought about what makes a pop song tick? This week, Scott, Karl, and Trent analyze the lyrics in some of the biggest pop hits from different eras of American music. The trio discusses the various levels a pop song can operate on. Trent says, "There are songs that have a subtext to them that belies their exterior... Pop songs can connect with people in a very immediate and visceral way, but can also open them up to the whole human experience." Has pop music lyrics moved from...

This week, Scott, Karl, and Trent talk about the different instruments of the orchestra.  A Symphony Orchestra is defined as a large ensemble composed of wind, string, brass, and percussion instruments and organized to perform classical music. Karl says, "It's one thing to have a melody, but really that's not where it's at. It's who plays the melody."  The trio dives into the different voices in an orchestra that can produce such a rich, well-blended sound. Tune in for more music and ideas,...