Michael Ruth of Rich Ruth joins us in discussing music that takes us back to when we were kids. Plus, musical obsessions!
Q: What song or artist reminds you of your childhood?
Michael Ruth (Rich Ruth) — Guest Picker
A: The artist that snaps me back to my childhood the most is Tom Petty—specifically the album Wildflowers. My parents would listen to the CD constantly throughout the ’90s. It was one of the only records my folks liked that I wanted to listen to on my own.
Tom Petty - Wake Up Time (Official Lyric Video)
I even dubbed it onto cassette as an 8-year-old. Every time I get to the end and “Wake Up Time” comes on, it makes me think about my whole life and how I felt as a kid listening to the same music.
Michael Ruth's Current Obsession:
DJ Screw. It’s all I want to listen to these days. There’s such a wealth of his work out there that exists in a singular universe. All the music is incredibly slowed down, chopped and screwed, and very psychedelic. It grooves in a way that no other music does, and I can’t believe it took me this long to find it.
DJ Screw – Syrup Sippers (Ch. 131, 1996) [FULL MIXTAPE]
The folklore and stories behind DJ Screw are fascinating as well. He demonstrated the power of what one individual can create and influence by focusing on an approach totally different from everyone else.
Glynn Williams — Reader of the Month
A: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You.” I was 8 when they came out. We pantomimed with brooms.
The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand - Performed Live On The Ed Sullivan Show 2/9/64
Glynn Williams Current Obsession:
Heirs to the rock throne: Christone Kingfish Ingram and the Glorious Sons are two marvelous examples of vibrant new guitar rock. I gravitate to those who seem to show respect for their influences and in Ingram I hear Hendrix and Duane Allman and the blues greats before them. In the Sons I hear the joy of rock; anthems like “S.O.S.” are just fun to listen to, like Tom Petty or the Tragically Hip or Tull or the Stones.
Kingfish: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the c...My only guitar obsession is to someday replace the sweet semi-acoustic, violin-shaped guitar I got in 1971 from the Sears catalog. Used to play that through a Fender Bandmaster stack under the strategy that playing loud covered my absolute lack of skill! Hee hee. Now I play a very nice PRS copy that’s about 25 years old and that’s enough for an old guy, although I do lust for a good window-rattling amp occasionally.
Charles Saufley — Gear Editor
A: “I’m Only Sleeping” by the Beatles. As a little kid, it made me feel dreamy, altered, woozy, and entranced—almost as if I was under a spell. Years later, I marveled at how perfectly the Beatles articulated the sensations of mind expansion and transcendence in “I’m Only Sleeping”—and at how the elation and freedom in those experiences were the same feelings the song gave me as a little boy. It made me think a lot about art and music’s more mystical powers.
I'm Only Sleeping (Remastered 2009)
Charles Saufley's Current Obsession:
Bird song. Especially the spiraling call of the Swainson’s Thrush. (Catch you next spring, little buddy).
Nick Millevoi — Associate Editor
A: “Twilight Time” by the Platters. I probably first heard the hook in late-night commercials for ’50s box sets back when I was beginning to form my long-term memory. Eventually, I got into oldies radio and my obsession spiraled from there. Whenever I hear the original recording—or songs like “In the Still of the Night,” “Earth Angel,” and “Love Potion No. 9”—it takes me back to early cable TV and the ’50s-obsessed Jersey Shore.
The Platters - Twilight Time - Lyrics
Nick Millevoi's Current Obsession:
Derrick Bostrom’s totally awesome drum fills.
Vanessa Wheeler joins us in naming the tracks we’re currently playing "on repeat." Plus, our latest musical obsessions!
Q: What’s your “on repeat” song/album right now and what drew you to it?
Vanessa Wheeler — VAVÁ
Photo by Derrick K. Lee
A: I’ve been listening to the Tycho remix of MUNA and the Knocks' song, “Bodies,” consistently since it was released back in September 2020. I don’t know if I can say that it’s so much an “obsession” at this point, but a tune that makes it onto most of my playlists because of how I used to be obsessed with it during a time when I was both sad and yet dancing. The original is a fun song to be sure, but the Tycho remix brings in these satisfying acoustic drum samples, smoother and more subdued synth samples, and extended breaks between verses that allow the listener to really sit within the mood. I’m not even sure what the song is about, but hearing words like “bodies in the basement” and “I’ve been thinking about home,” combined with the aforementioned, speaks to a certain kind of melancholy or longing for something that seems impossibly far away.
The Knocks & MUNA - Bodies (Tycho Remix) [Official Visualizer]
Vanessa Wheeler's Current Obsession:
I’d been looking for a little, black acoustic guitar that wouldn’t break the bank —something I could travel with that sounded good and felt comfortable to my primarily electric-guitar-playing hands.
I was lucky enough to get a Taylor GTe Blacktop. I love how slack the short scale makes the strings feel, how compact the neck width is without feeling miniature, and the way it sounds particularly good with fingerstyle playing.
I recently played it unplugged in a beautiful 75-seat theater on the grounds of the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, and it performed beautifully. As a traveling musician, I know I can pop this “little” guitar in an overhead bin and take it everywhere I go.
Joseph Torres — Reader of the Month
A: “In the Nick of Time,” from Ken Burns’ The War documentary. Ken Burns always knows how to pick good music for a documentary series, and this is no exception.
In the Nick of Time
This song drew me in because it gives an adventurous feeling when listening to it, like you’re a fighter pilot in the middle of an epic dogfight.
Joseph Torres' Current Obsession:
The bass guitar. While primarily a guitarist, I’ve been playing bass on and off for the past seven years now. Until a few months ago, I’d lost interest in it and wanted to focus more on being a guitar player. However, as I kept listening to Cream, I kept paying more attention to Jack Bruce’s bass parts. Jack Bruce has become a tremendous influence on me ever since. He, Geezer Butler, and James Jamerson have convinced me also to play more with my fingers. You get a more intimate connection with the instrument that way.
Tessa Jeffers — Managing Editor
A: Lord Huron’s “Your Other Life.” A friend included it on our road-trip playlist, and the instant it came on, I knew it was gonna be my track of the summer.
Lord Huron - Your Other Life (Official Music Video)
I’ve spun it every day for the last month. The swooning strings, terribly romantic bass line, and ohhh the singsong of a love gone wrong but still strong. Absolutely mesmerizing!
Tessa Jeffers' Current Obsession:
Musician biographies and memoirs. I’ve read dozens and dozens, but last month I finally finished Slash’s bodacious (and ridiculous) larger-than-life tale. I just found Willie Nelson’s My Life and Alicia Keys’ More Myself at a used bookstore, so I’m set for a while.
Nick Millevoi — Associate Editor
A: “Synchro System” by King Sunny Adé. The sound on this track is so hip—it’s like musical sunshine. The interaction between the acoustic percussion and the interlocking guitar and steel riffs creates a hypnotic texture, and the ’80s production elevates the whole vibe.
Syncro System - King Sunny Ade & His African Beats - 1984
I keep watching live videos from this period, and “Synchro System” is always a set highlight, complete with dance instruction.
Nick Millevoi's Current Obsession:
My Strat XII. After spending the early 2010s touring the U.S. and Europe with this guitar, I needed a long break. But now, I’m obsessed once again! It’s great for tight, clean riffs, and it keeps being the magic “something” that makes my recordings bloom.
Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers joins us in discussing the players we'd pick to portray if we got our chance on the big screen. Plus: musical obsessions!
Question: If you could play the role of any guitarist in a biopic, who would it be and why?
Oliver Ackermann — A Place to Bury Strangers
Photo by Tyler Barclay
A: If I could play anyone in a biopic it would be Kurt Cobain. I definitely don't qualify as the most obsessed fan of all time. That perhaps goes to the runaway I drove around in my '89 Caprice constantly requesting to rewind back to "Drain You" over and over again.
Kurt Cobain interviewed on Boston's WFNX radio, September 1991.
Photo by Julie Kramer
But Kurt for sure gave me the confidence that I could write a song and I just dove in and never looked back. I also think I could figure out those guitar parts, so there would be no weird miming to some complex solos. The real reason to do this, though, would be one of my favorite pastimes: jumping into drum sets.
Nirvana - Drain You (Live at Reading 1992) (Official Music Video)
Oliver Ackermann's Current Obsession:
Beyond-destroyed sounds. I guess that's always been my obsession, so it's more of a lifestyle. There's a little constant fight that goes on in my head where I think "this is just too messed up—what about pure fat sine waves, distinguishable rhythms, beautiful harmonies, and dreamy melodies?" And then when it comes down to it, it's just more exciting to swing a strobe light over your head and play a little AC interference. The other thing that's important is there ain't no faking. I better be drilling into my pickup or throwing my amp through the air. More high definition than surround sound 182 kHz is standing right next to me when I rip the strings off my guitar.
Sarah Gutierrez — Reader of the Month
A: Nancy Wilson. How could I miss the '70s and '80s—that's why!!! I grew up listening to Heart and being in a female fronted group would be a dream. I really loved her work on the movie Vanilla Sky. I remember frantically searching for who played, "Elevator Beat" in a movie that moved me. It certainly pulled at the heart strings.
Elevator Beat - Nancy Wilson
Sarah Gutierrez's Current Obsession:
Royal Blood having Josh Homme as a producer for "Boilermaker" on Typhoons blew me away, along with Mike Kerr's riffs. Hometown & young self-produced "Drown." I love the drums! These boys from Gen Z really are the future of music. Des Rocs made my cry about following your dream when I saw them live in October. I love to turn up Cleopatrick as loudly and often as possible. Recently discovering Nothing but Thieves' self-titled album (heavily influenced by Jeff Buckley) gave me life—I'm thrilled to see them in Chicago next year.
Royal Blood - Boilermaker (Official Video)
Tessa Jeffers — Managing Editor
A: Kim Gordon. I'm not much into Sonic Youth, but I love Kim's solo stuff. She's a great bass player, and her guitar playing is raw and powerful (just like her voice).
Years ago, I read her biography, Girl in a Band, and it's a wildly interesting look into an artful life. She's a bold creator who rose out of the shadows of men to claim her own space, and I'm here for that.
Tessa Jeffers' Current Obsession:
French music. Recently I came across a rad song by Les Artisans called "Theoreme," and it prompted me to seek out other French artists. I knew Edith Piaf and Savages well, but new ones for me include La Femme, Christine and the Queens, and Serge Gainsbourg, who's apparently the "Elvis of France." J'adore!
Theoreme - Les Artisans (audio)
Joe Gore — Contributing Writer
A: Hector Berlioz, the great 19th century French composer. Unlike nearly all classical composers, he didn't compose at a keyboard. He wrote everything on guitar and a little whistle—including his revolutionary Symphonie Fantastique and the massive opera Les Troyens. Despite his humble tools, he's considered one of the greatest orchestrators ever. (Sadly, he never composed for guitar—only with it.) But the fun part would be portraying his larger-than-life personality. Talk about attitude! He was ambitious, angry, arrogant, and unspeakably funny. His prose is as amazing as his compositions, especially his Mémoires, my fave book about classical music. (Free English-language edition here.) On page one he writes, "I was brought up in the Catholic faith—the most charming of religions since it stopped burning people." And the snark never stops.
Joe Gore's Current Obsession:
Baude Cordier's "Belle Bonne Sage," a 14th-century love song notated in the form of a heart.
Medieval music! When I was a teen, my plan was to go into academia, specializing in early music. Life decreed otherwise. But now, in late middle age, I'm returning to the late Middle Ages. I've just recorded my first-ever solo album: a compilation of 14th-century pieces. I play the notes exactly as written, but using modern instruments, including lots of electric guitar. To modern listeners unfamiliar with the style, it sounds like music from Mars: eerie, beautiful, and totally frickin' weird. (Example: This love song by Baude Cordier, notated in the form of a heart.)