Rock

The Queens-based punk band has a new disc compiling some of their best tracks. Frontman Joey Ramone joins Fresh Air to discuss how the group formed, the punk attitude, and the changing sounds of popular music.

Darlene Love sang with the 1960s girl group The Blossoms, and recorded hits with producer Phil Spector. Their professional relationship was rocky; Love later severed ties with him. Her first solo album, Paint Another Picture, has just been released.

Rufus Thomas was a Memphis-based disc jockey who helped promote black music throughout the south. He also became a recording artist and producer who wrote dozens of dance hits. Rock historian Ed Ward has this profile.

Don Glen Vilet is a painter who recorded experimental, blues-inflected music under under the name Captain Beefheart. Rock historian Ed Ward says that, while Beefheart was never a commercial success, his influence can be heard in everything from pop to heavy metal.

After leaving art school, Malcolm McLaren started a clothing store called Sex, and later helped assemble the punk band the Sex Pistols. McLaren says the group's talent was secondary to its subversiveness.

Rock critic Ken Tucker says that the black rock band Fishbone takes African American stereotypes and stretches them until they break. The band deserves more attention for their insightful social commentary and screaming live shows.

Rock historian Ed Ward considers the influence of early Mexican American rock bands. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs were a goofy novelty act; the Question Marks incorporated the sounds of traditional Mexican music into their songs.

Tom Waits' music is changing, incorporating new styles like tango and Tin Pan Alley. He has a new performance film called Big Time, which features Waits singing different personas, and an album of the same name.

In an age when musical distinctiveness is paramount, the band Was (Not Was) switches genres -- and lead vocalists -- from song to song. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews their new album, What Up, Dog, which features guest singers Elvis Costello and Frank Sinatra Jr.

Ed Ward profiles Chuck Willis, who helped lay the groundwork for soul music. Despite his success as a songwriter, performer and recording artist, Willis was a secret alcoholic. He died at 30.

In his latest album, Randy Newman breaks from his past work, mostly abandoning irony to explore autobiographical themes. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the effort is both refreshing and disappointing.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the late guitarist, whom he knew personally. Bloomfield grew up a rich kid in Chicago, and later started one of the city's first integrated blues bands. He's notable for updating the genre by linking it to folk traditions.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Etta James, Willie Dixon and Toots. Tucker says it's refreshing that each of these artists continues to record and perform, even after their popularity has peaked.

Simon Frith is a rock critic and sociologist. He believes the genre has been emptied of its rebellious spirit, and is often sanitized or commercialized by the corporations that distribute it. Yet recent developments in rock have some benefits: its globlalization has allowed for the participation of lesser known, international artists; music videos have the untapped potential for further artistic expression.

Marti Jones has preferred to perform and record songs written by other artists; now, she's starting to flex her own songwriting muscles with her partner, guitarist Don Dixon. Her latest album is called Used Guitars.

In the first of a two-part profile, Fresh Air's rock historian looks back at the 5 Royales. They started off as a mediocre gospel group from North Carolina before evolving into a distinctive rhythm and blues vocal ensemble signed to Apollo Records.

Newman made his mark in popular music with ironic lyrics about good old boys, petty criminals, saints and lovers. He also wrote the soundtracks for the films "The Natural" and "Ragtime." Newman's latest album, his first in five years, is titled "Land of Dreams."

John Lennon's life and legacy are revisited in a new film and biography. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Albert Goldman's book The Lives of John Lennon is an inelegant hatchet job that portrays the musician in a harsh light; the film Imagine, on the other hand, is little more than treacly hagiography.

Part I of the Fresh Air interview. The folk-rock singer and songwriter battled drug addiction and eventually served eleven months in jail. He's now clean, and has a new autobiography about his life. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about what made his bands The Byrds and Croby, Stills & Nash unique.