Rock

Singer Emmylou Harris. She’s been making records for over 30 years with music that transcends the country-genre she started with, encompassing folk, rock, and pop. After decades of performing others’ songs, she has a new album of her own songs “Red Dirt Girl” (Nonesuch). She wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the CD. “Red Dirt Girl” will be released September 12. It’s her first solo album since her 1995 “Wrecking Ball” record. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne. We will listen to her songs and talk to Lynne in studio. Her new CD, “I Am Shelby Lynne” (Universal/Island) is part country and part soul. This is the 6th album for this Alabama-born singer, but it is the first album in which Lynne writes most of the songs. Her other albums were products of the Nashville country music scene. With this new album, Lynne has won over critics and fans alike. Lynne is currently touring the US.

An in-studio concert and interview with guitarist Bill Frisell. His latest recording is “Ghost Town” (Nonesuch).

Singer/Songwriter Aimee Mann. She’s best known for her work on the soundtrack for the film “Magnolia.” Her song “Save Me” from the film was nominated for an Oscar. Her new release is “Bachelor No. 2.” Previously the album was available over her website (Aimeemann.com) and at her concert performances. Now it is available in stores. Mann and her manager had bought the master tapes from her record label in an effort to retain creative and marketing control. It’s the first recording to be released on Mann’s Superego Records.

Nadine Cohodas is the author of “Spinning Blues into Gold: the Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records” (St. Martin’s Press). It’s the story of brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, Jewish immigrants from Poland, who knew little about music, but somehow created the influential blues label, Chess Records. Muddy Waters helped them see the potential in the music and they went on to record Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, and others. Chess Records was located in Chicago.

Jim DeRogatis is the author of “Let it Blurt: The Life & Times of Lester Bangs, America’s Greatest Rock Critic” (Broadway Books). Bangs wrote about rock ‘n’ roll for the Rolling Stone, Cream, and The Village Voice. DeROGATIS describes him as, “the great gonzo journalist, gutter poet, and romantic visionary of rock writing—its Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Bukowski, and Jack Kerouac all rolled into one.”

Singer/guitarist Alex Chilton has been playing music for decades. As a teenager he was a member of the Memphis Band Box Tops. He was 16 years old when they recorded their hit, the R&B song “The Letter.” Later with the band “Big Star” he became a underground hero. After dropping out of sight to kick an alcohol addiction, Chilton returned to performing. By then many younger bands, REM and The Bangles, considered him a legend. Chilton’s new release (as a part of a trio) “Set” (bar-none) was recorded on the spur of the moment, and without overdubbing.

Robert Moog is the Inventor of the Moog synthesizer, an electronic keyboard which makes unworldly sounding electronic music. He Invented It In 1965. Moog didn't invent, but he does manufacture the Theremin, the first electronic instrument. It was Invented 70 years ago by a Russian, and It's been used on many science-fiction films because of It's eerie, wavering tones.

Songwriter, producer, and Instrumentalist of the alternative band Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt. The group has produced 6 albums. Their newest Is the three-CD "69 Love Songs," (Merge) which Is a genre blending collection of love songs like"Underwear" and "If You don't Cry." This album topped our rock critic Ken Tucker's list of the best CDS of 1999.

Historian Jon Wiener spent 14 years fighting to gain access to the FBI’s secret files on former Beatle John Lennon. Wiener’s Freedom of Information case went all the way to the Supreme Court before the FBI decided to settle. His new book “Gimme Some Truth” (University of California Press) outlines and reproduces the most important pages of the file, revealing that the Nixon administration plotted to deport Lennon in 1972 and silence him as a voice of the anti-war movement.