About Rich Schur

NBN Episodes hosted by Rich:

Laurent Dubois, "The Banjo: America's African Instrument" (Harvard UP, 2016)

December 30, 2023

The Banjo

Laurent Dubois
Hosted by Rich Schur

Most scholars of popular music use songs, artists, and clubs as the key texts and sites in their exploration of the social, cultural, political, and e…

Benjamin R. Teitelbaum, "Lions of the North: Sounds of the New Nordic Radical Nationalism" (Oxford UP, 2017)

January 24, 2018

Lions of the North

Benjamin R. Teitelbaum
Hosted by Rich Schur

Music is frequently connected to leftist politics and seen as the soundtrack to social protest movements, most notably the civil rights movement. But …

Daniel Kane, "Do You Have a Band?": Poetry and Punk Rock in New York City" (Columbia UP, 2017)

November 2, 2017

Do You Have a Band?

Daniel Kane
Hosted by Rich Schur

Often, poetry and punk rock are seen as distinct activities that occur in different locations with separate audiences. Many would also ascribe to them…

Franz Nicolay, "The Humorless Ladies of Border Control: Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar"  (The New Press, 2016)

July 12, 2017

The Humorless Ladies of Border Control

Franz Nicolay
Hosted by Rich Schur

What is the punk music scene like in Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, or Mongolia? Who listens to punk in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans?…

Andre Sirois, "Hip-Hop DJs and the Evolution of Technology: Cultural Exchange, Innovation, and Democratization" (Peter Lang, 2016)

June 13, 2017

Hip-Hop DJs and the Evolution of Technology

Andre Sirois
Hosted by Rich Schur

What is the role of the deejay in shaping hip-hop? Did deejays shape the technology that is used to create the music or were they simply consumers of …

Ben Westhhoff, "Original Gangtas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap" (Hachette, 2016)

January 9, 2017

Original Gangstas

Ben Westhoff
Hosted by Rich Schur

The real story behind the origin of gangsta rap is difficult to discern. Between the bombastic rhetoric and imagery, the larger-than-life characters, …

Andrew Schulman, "Waking the Spirit: A Musician's Journey Healing Body, Mind, and Soul (Picador 2016)

September 8, 2016

Waking the Spirit

Andrew Schulman
Hosted by Rich Schur

What do the musical compositions of Bach, Gershwin, and the Beatles all have in common? Besides being great pieces of music, according to Andrew Schul…

Michelle Cruz Gonzales, "The Spitboy Rule: Tales of Xicana in a Female Punk Band" (PM Press, 2016)

August 12, 2016

The Spitboy Rule

Michelle Cruz Gonzales
Hosted by Rich Schur

In her new book The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band (PM Press, 2016), Michelle Cruz Gonzales tells her story as a member of a fe…

Roshanak Kheshti, "Modernity's Ear: Listening to Race and Gender in World Music" (NYU Press, 2015)

April 1, 2016

Modernity's Ear

Roshanak Kheshti
Hosted by Rich Schur

The origins of world music can be found in early ethnographic recordings as anthropologists and ethnomusicologists sought to record the songs of lost …

Aisha Durham, "Home With Hip Hop Feminism" (Peter Lang, 2014)

January 14, 2016

Home With Hip Hop Feminism

Aisha Durham
Hosted by Rich Schur

Is hip hop defined by its artists or by its audience? In Home With Hip Hop Feminism, Aisha Durham returns hip hop scholarship to its roots by engaging…

Grace Wang, "Soundtracks of Asian America: Navigating Race Through Musical Performance" (Duke UP, 2015)

November 9, 2015

Soundtracks of Asian America

Grace Wang
Hosted by Rich Schur

Many people assume that music, especially classical music, is a universal language that transcends racial and class boundaries. At the same time, many…

Patty Farmer, "Playboy Swings! How Hugh Hefner and Playboy Changed the Face of Music" (Beaufort Books, 2015)

September 9, 2015

Playboy Swings

Patty Farmer
Hosted by Rich Schur

What do Aretha Franklin, Rodney Dangerfield, and desegregation in New Orleans have in common? Perhaps, surprisingly, the answer is Playboy. Playboy ma…

Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone "Queerness in Heavy Metal Music: Metal Bent" (Routledge 2015)

July 26, 2015

Queerness in Heavy Metal Music

Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone
Hosted by Rich Schur

Much of the scholarship on heavy metal has assumed that the primary audience is straight white males, who are likely sexist and homophobic. In her new…

Chris O'Leary, "Rebel Rebel" (Zero Books, 2015)

June 20, 2015

Rebel Rebel

Chris O'Leary
Hosted by Rich Schur

Who is David Bowie? Fans and critics have debated this question throughout his lengthy and storied career. Chris O'Leary, in his new book Rebel Rebel …

Donald Deardorff, "Bruce Springsteen: American Poet and Prophet" (Scarecrow Press, 2014)

February 19, 2015

Bruce Springsteen

Donald Deardorff
Hosted by Rich Schur

Bruce Springsteen is an American icon, known to his fans as "Bruce" and the "Boss." Springsteen burst onto the American music scene in 1975 with the r…

Heather Augustyn, "Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation" (Scarecrow, 2013)

February 2, 2015

Ska

Heather Augustyn
Hosted by Rich Schur

What is Ska music? This is a deceptively complicated question. In this podcast Heather Augustyn, the author of Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation(Scarec…

Sherrie Tucker, "Dance Floor Democracy: The Social Geography of Memory at the Hollywood Canteen" (Duke UP, 2014)

January 19, 2015

Dance Floor Democracy

Sherrie Tucker
Hosted by Rich Schur

Cultural memory of World War II frequently draws on swing music and the USO dance floor as symbols of how the country came together in support of the …

Randal Doane, "Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of the Clash" (PM Press, 2014)

October 22, 2014

Stealing All Transmissions

Randal Doane
Hosted by Rich Schur

Who are the Clash? How did they become the "only band that matters"? In this podcast, Randal Doane, the author of Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret…

Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, "Sing Us a Song, Piano Woman: Female Fans and the Music of Tori Amos" (The Scarecrow Press, 2013)

September 30, 2014

Sing Us a Song, Piano Woman

Adrienne Trier-Bieniek
Hosted by Rich Schur

What are female fans of popular music seeking and hearing when they listen to music and attend concerts? In an innovative and fascinating study entitl…

Tim Anderson, "Popular Music in a Digital Music Economy" (Routledge, 2014)

August 23, 2014

Popular Music in a Digital Music Economy

Tim Anderson
Hosted by Rich Schur

Since the 1990s, the music industry has been going through a massive transformation. After World War II, the primary way audiences participated in the…

Lorena Turner, "The Michael Jacksons" (Little Moth Press, 2014)

July 23, 2014

The Michael Jacksons

Lorena Turner
Hosted by Rich Schur

During his lifetime, Michael Jackson became a global icon. Michael Jackson was beloved by millions; his journey began as he became a boy star with The…

Kristin Lieb "Gender, Branding, and the Modern Music Industry" (Routledge, 2013)

May 3, 2014

Gender, Branding, and the Modern Music Industry

Kristin Lieb
Hosted by Rich Schur

It is a challenge for all musicians to find success in the modern music industry, but women face unique challenges. Cultural narratives shape how fema…

Marc Myers "Why Jazz Happened" (U California Press, 2014)

April 6, 2014

Why Jazz Happened

Marc Myers
Hosted by Rich Schur

How did jazz take shape? Why does jazz have so many styles? Why do jazz songs get longer as the twentieth century proceeds? Marc Myers, in his fascina…

Marcia Alesan Dawkins, "Eminem: The Real Slim Shady" (Praeger, 2013)

February 28, 2014

Eminem

Marcia Alesan Dawkins
Hosted by Rich Schur

Who is Eminem? Is he a violent misogynist, another "white" performer imitating African American musical styles, or is he something else entirely? In h…