Celebrate International Music Day with these 9 music podcasts

We’re celebrating International Music Day with some groovy podcasts filled with news, artist interviews, music critiques, and history. Hear insight into some of your favorite albums as told by the artists themselves on “Life of the Record.” In another series, hear Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond interviewing musicians about their life, work, and greatest inspirations.

On “Jonesy’s Jukebox,” Sex Pistol Steve Jones shares classic interviews from his Indie 103.1 radio show. For music history and trivia, tune into podcasts like “Hit Parade” and “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs.” Podcaster Jake Brennan unites music and true crime on “Disgraceland” and “Blood on the Tracks Season 4: The Brian Wilson Story.”

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs

Dive into rock’s history from 1938 to 1999 with host Andrew Hickey. Episodes dissect 500 songs that molded the genre with fact-filled episodes on tunes by Herman’s Hermits, The Beatles, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Aretha Franklin, The Doors, and many more. Check out over 180 episodes running less than 90 minutes on average, a must-listen series for music fans.

Life of the Record

Hear music history and classic album stories as told by their artists on “Life of the Record.” Hear of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes talk about the album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Arrested Development’s Speech discussed the group’s debut, 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF. In another episode, Jody Stephens, Terry Manning, Holly George-Warren, and Rich Tupica chatted about Big Star’s debut, #1 Record.

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

Slate Podcasts’ “Hit Parade” shares music history and trivia with Chris Molanphy, pop chart analyst and author of Why is This Song #1? The series explores what makes songs smash hits and dives into classics that dominated the charts. Tune in for episodes on Kate Bush, Virginia Beach’s music scene geniuses including Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and Pharrell, and ’70s R&B queens.

Jonesy’s Jukebox

Hosted by Sex Pistol Steve Jones, “Jonesy’s Jukebox” shares classic interviews from his radio program on Indie 103.1 with artists like The Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie (from the Banshees), and more. Tune in on Mondays for new episodes.

Popcast

The New York Times‘ pop music critic Jon Caramanica hosts “Popcast,” a series sharing news, commentary, and trends. Recent episodes covered Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Lizzo, Elvis and his biopic, and Jack Harlow.

Blood on the Tracks Season 4: The Brian Wilson Story

“Blood on the Tracks” is back for a new season, “The Brian Wilson Story.” Wilson was writing the Beach Boys’ next album, Smile, after Pet Sounds. The new album was never released, and this podcast is a historical fiction take on his life and piling worries. This Double Elvis podcast is hosted by Jake Brennan and each season integrates true crime, music history, and lo-fi beats.

Disgraceland

Double Elvis’ “Disgraceland” combines music and true crime when sharing celebrities’ bad behavior ranging from theft to getting away with murder in over 10 seasons. Hear about Taylor Swift’s stalkers, Britney Spears’ conservatorship, punk rock icon Sid Vicious’ life, Syd Barrett’s drug use, and more stars’ stories.

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond

“Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond” chats with artists about their craft. Hear over 200 episodes with guests like Patti Smith, Neneh Cherry, Sonny Rollins, PJ Morton, Sharon Van Etten, Tom Jones, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers – just to name a few. This series is presented by Pushkin.

Rolling Stone Music Now

Cumulus Podcast Network presents “Rolling Stone Music Now,” a weekly series hosted by senior writer Brian Hiatt. Tune in for news, opinions on new releases, and more from Rolling Stone’s staff and special guests. A recent episode celebrated Joni Mitchell with Cameron Crowe talking about his 1979 interview. Guitarist Larry Carlton shared his experiences playing on Mitchell’s songs.