How podcasting got its sound ft. Breakmaster Cylinder
What if the entire sound of modern podcasting can be traced back to a single Grateful Dead song uploaded in 2001? We uncover the musical lineage that connects NPR's classical gravitas to dubstep wobbles, from the very first RSS feed experiment to the mysterious masked composer who's scored over 200 podcast themes and shaped what millions of people hear when they hit play. This deep dive reveals how podcast music evolved from classical public radio strings into today's signature blend of plinking pianos, breakbeats, and irreverent sampling—plus an exclusive interview with the enigmatic Breakmaster Cylinder, the "Hans Zimmer of podcasting" who's been hiding behind a robot helmet for over a decade.
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SONGS DISCUSSED
Grateful Dead "Truckin'"
Adam Curry "Daily Source Code" theme
NPR "All Things Considered" theme
Don Voegeli "All Things Considered" original theme (1971)
Don Voegeli "All Things Considered" jazz funk version (1976)
NPR "All Things Considered" orchestral version (1983/1995)
The Daily theme
WNYC "On the Media" theme by Ben Allison "Disposable Genius"
Christopher Lydon "Radio Open Source" theme by Dafnis Prieto
Disparition "The Ballad of Fiedler and Mundt," (Welcome to Night Vale theme)
Serial theme
Joe Rogan Experience theme
Call Her Daddy theme
Snap Judgment theme
The Breakfast Club theme
WTF with Marc Maron theme by John Montagna "Lock the Gate"
Reply All theme by Breakmaster Cylinder
Breakmaster Cylinder "Outside In" theme
Breakmaster Cylinder "Bird Note" (Claire de Lune with loon calls)
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Is that new song you like AI? Here’s how you can tell
The robots have arrived, and they're making protest songs about boots on the ground. When an AI band called The Velvet Sundown fooled over a million Spotify listeners with their psychedelic folk anthems, it raised an unsettling question: have the machines gotten so good we can no longer hear the difference? Charlie puts Nate to the test with a game of "AI or Human?" featuring Wu-Tang deepfakes, phantom instruments, and songs that sound like Dire Straits and Tom Petty had a baby. Along the way, they uncover the five telltale signs that expose artificial music, from juvenile rhyming patterns to voices that shapeshift between tracks. But here's the terrifying part: just six months ago, AI music was unlistenable chaos. Now it's disturbingly competent. And it's only getting better.
Songs Discussed
The Velvet Sundown - "Dust on the Wind"
Post Malone - "Chemical"
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio"
The Velvet Sundown - "Freedom Song"
Kansas - "Dust in the Wind"
The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun"
Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"
The Velvet Sundown - "Where War Remains"
Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"
The Velvet Sundown - "Ash and Velvet"
Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"
The Velvet Sundown - "For the Ones We Couldn't Keep"
The Velvet Sundown - "Mirrors in the Smoke"
Pink Floyd - "Breathe"
The Velvet Sundown - "Rebel Shout"
The Velvet Sundown - "Smoke in Silence"
The Velvet Sundown - "Marching Shadows"
The Velvet Sundown - "As the Silence Falls"
The Velvet Sundown - "How Did This Go Wrong?"
Hip Hop Intelligence - "Bar Fight" (AI Wu-Tang)
Hip Hop Intelligence - "Party with Me" (AI Eminem)
Temple of the Acid Fist Records - "Woman Gone Blues" (AI)
"Echoes of Twilight" (AI student example)
The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane"
"Whispers of Chaos" (Charlie's AI generation)
Mungo Jerry - "In the Summertime"
Almost Vinyl - "Phil Wildo's Door to Door Dildos" (AI)
Joey Two Legs - "I Shouldn't Have Done That" (hybrid)
Bill Evans AI track (untitled, by Nobody in the Computer)
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The Benson Boone-Doggle
In which we explore the unlikely rise, and surprising backlash against, one Benson Boone.
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Can Recession Pop predict the market?
Why does the economy look great on paper but feel terrible in your wallet? There might be a more revealing economic indicator hiding in your Spotify queue. "Recession Pop" first emerged during the Great Recession and exploded into playlists, radio formats, and DJ sets in 2024. From melancholy indie anthems to escapist dance tracks, the songs we gravitate toward during uncertain times might predict where the economy is headed next. Host Jonquilin Hill explores this musical phenomenon on Vox's "Explain it To Me," with Charlie joining in the second half to decode what our streaming habits reveal about financial anxiety and economic forecasting.
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How Americana helped mainstream country find its soul
A podcast all about the making and meaning of popular music. Musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding pull back the curtain on how pop hits work magic on our ears & our culture. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.