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How We Heard It
howweheardit
79 episodes
6 days ago
Veteran entertainment journalists, music columnists and longtime friends Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell host ”How We Heard It,” a breezy and sometimes offbeat take on how music and movies got to where they are today and where it’s all going. They break down who are the most promising Generation Z singers one minute and the next they debate who are the most overrated acts from the past. Sexy songs, soundtracks, controversies and weird movies find their way into the discussion, and they also weigh in with recommendations on who to hear and what to see in music and film from the past and present. Wayne and Chuck have more than 65 years of experience in professional journalism between them, but they don’t waste time indulging in scholarly breakdowns of their institutional knowledge. Instead, they share behind-the-scenes stories about their odd, funny, inspirational and embarrassing encounters with celebrities, managers, fans and readers. And they laugh at themselves and each other. A lot. Because being an entertainment journalist does that to you. An important third voice in the ”How We Heard It” podcast is engineer John Baker, himself a musician and producer who reins in Wayne and Chuck when they need it. John’s tastes are a little bit Wayne and a little bit Chuck, and he’s a friendly sort. Wayne’s primary role in his nearly four decades at the Knoxville News-Sentinel was his work as an entertainment writer and critic. He currently hosts ”The Six O’Clock Swerve” weekly radio show on WUTK, 90.3 FM in Knoxville, he’s a former Grammy nominee, and he’s an organizer of the annual concert series ”Waynestock: For the Love of Drew and Rylan.” He’s also an artist and unconventional garden writer - see more at www.waynebledsoe.com. Chuck started his career in journalism at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida before joining the staff in Knoxville. He has reviewed more than 5,500 albums, and his column was distributed by the New York Times, Gannett, Cox News Service and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was an entertainment and travel editor in both Florida and Tennessee and a regional news planner for Gannett’s South Region. ”How We Heard It” is a Taral Productions podcast recorded at The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Send requests, comments and suggestions to HowWeHeardIt@gmail.com
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Music Commentary
TV & Film,
Music
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Veteran entertainment journalists, music columnists and longtime friends Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell host ”How We Heard It,” a breezy and sometimes offbeat take on how music and movies got to where they are today and where it’s all going. They break down who are the most promising Generation Z singers one minute and the next they debate who are the most overrated acts from the past. Sexy songs, soundtracks, controversies and weird movies find their way into the discussion, and they also weigh in with recommendations on who to hear and what to see in music and film from the past and present. Wayne and Chuck have more than 65 years of experience in professional journalism between them, but they don’t waste time indulging in scholarly breakdowns of their institutional knowledge. Instead, they share behind-the-scenes stories about their odd, funny, inspirational and embarrassing encounters with celebrities, managers, fans and readers. And they laugh at themselves and each other. A lot. Because being an entertainment journalist does that to you. An important third voice in the ”How We Heard It” podcast is engineer John Baker, himself a musician and producer who reins in Wayne and Chuck when they need it. John’s tastes are a little bit Wayne and a little bit Chuck, and he’s a friendly sort. Wayne’s primary role in his nearly four decades at the Knoxville News-Sentinel was his work as an entertainment writer and critic. He currently hosts ”The Six O’Clock Swerve” weekly radio show on WUTK, 90.3 FM in Knoxville, he’s a former Grammy nominee, and he’s an organizer of the annual concert series ”Waynestock: For the Love of Drew and Rylan.” He’s also an artist and unconventional garden writer - see more at www.waynebledsoe.com. Chuck started his career in journalism at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida before joining the staff in Knoxville. He has reviewed more than 5,500 albums, and his column was distributed by the New York Times, Gannett, Cox News Service and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was an entertainment and travel editor in both Florida and Tennessee and a regional news planner for Gannett’s South Region. ”How We Heard It” is a Taral Productions podcast recorded at The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Send requests, comments and suggestions to HowWeHeardIt@gmail.com
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Music Commentary
TV & Film,
Music
Episodes (20/79)
How We Heard It
Here's why 2025 didn't totally suck
2025 won't be remembered as the year for love, peace and harmony. War and military attacks were happening everywhere - from the Ukraine to the Middle East to Venezuela to Nigeria. Natural disasters like wildfires and floods swept the U.S. And not only did we lose beloved celebrities like Diane Keaton, Robert Redford and Ozzy Osbourne, other popular figures - from Rob and Michele Reiner to Charlie Kirk to Melissa and Mark Hortman - died in devastating ways that shocked the world. Political differences polarized Americans with increasing intensity, AI made us increasingly unsure what was even real, social media became a toxic wasteland, and millions were facing the loss of health insurance at year's end as a result of the expiration of ACA subsidies. We could go on and on, but we know you lived through it, too. So this week your hosts of "How We Heard It" decided to highlight some positive things about 2025 with lists of the year's best songs and albums and movies and TV shows. They were riveted by movies like "One Battle After Another," "Sinners" and "Weapons" and intrigued by films like "Nuremburg," "Companion" and "Good Boy." On the small screen, your hosts were thrilled by "IT: Welcome to Derry" and "Alien: Earth," challenged by "The Bear" and "White Lotus" and tickled by "The English Teacher" and a revived "South Park." Musically, Kendrick Lamar and SZA teamed up on a sizzling tribute to Luther Vandross, the U.K.'s Wet Leg brought back rowdy alt-rock excitement, and Taylor Swift may have saved us from the fate of Ophelia. It was almost enough to inspire them to do that little Swiftie dance. If they could dance.
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6 days ago
1 hour 19 minutes

How We Heard It
What does your music collection say about you?
Everyone with a physical music collection - you know, stuff you can hold in your hands like albums and compact discs - has had to decide how to store it all.Organized fans often arrange their collections alphabetically and/or chronologically and/or by popularity. Less organized fans find it harder to keep up with what they have and find what they want when they want it.For veteran music journalists like Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell, who have each amassed thousands of albums and CDs over the decades, organizing their collections has been a complicated and imperfect undertaking.This week, your “How We Heard It” hosts Wayne, Chuck and producer John Baker root through sections of their collections and discover favorite recordings they forget they had as well as albums/CDs they didn’t realize they had and some they didn’t even know existed. And along the way, they discover they may not be the same guys they once were.When was the last time you took a good look at your music? Have you also changed over time?
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1 week ago
1 hour 19 minutes

How We Heard It
These strange songs came out of nowhere!
You never see them coming, and yet they never stop coming. From the beginning of popular music to today, offbeat songs just keep pushing into our consciousness. As much as we’re conditioned to respond to formula-based songs that fit into established genres, the outliers just keep catching our attention and burrowing into our brains. Over the decades, there’s been a singing nun and chanting monks, weird mini-musicals from the likes of Queen and Paul McCartney, unlikely foreign-language acts promoting red balloons, taxi drivers and whatever “Gangnam Style” was. Unconventional instruments, animals (including the performer who thought she was a cow), cheerleader-esque songs and mashed-up genres also found fame. And in just the last year we’ve seen the charts topped by everything from a song based on a Korean drinking game to a country hit that was completely invented by AI. On this week’s “How We Heard It,” your hosts explore some of the strangest songs that have ever been made - funny, bizarre, racy, disturbing, catchy … and sometimes annoying in the long run. Expect the unexpected!
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2 weeks ago
1 hour 30 minutes

How We Heard It
Here’s our (satirical?) gift list for your favorite performers!
Snappy holidays, y’all!The snarky Santas of “How We Heard It” have been making a list of what the biggest names in modern music should get for their behavior this year.We’re not talking about golf clubs and spa days. Instead, these are intangible gifts the artists need, even if they don’t realize it.Your hosts bounce from sarcasm to sincerity as they distribute their tidings on naughty and nice performers from across genres and age groups, including young pop stars like Benson Boone and Olivia Rodrigo, country artists such as Morgan Wallen and Jason Aldean, and old rockers like Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page. Find out what your hosts would give Beyonce, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Bad Bunny, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Nickelback and more.Yes, Nickelback. They haven't been THAT bad, have they?
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3 weeks ago
1 hour 22 minutes

How We Heard It
Need to cheer up, calm down or blow off steam? Try these songs!
Feeling out of sorts?Join the crowd.We're full-tilt into holiday season and most of us might be feeling the blues ... or feeling chaotic ... or feeling like we're about to go off on someone. Or all of the above.We all have our go-to therapy songs that help us get through a rough patch. But sometimes our sonic medicine can't get the job done.Never fear! In this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts have a collection of songs that can change your mood.You've maybe forgotten about some of these suggestions, and you've likely never heard of some of the others. So lend them an ear and let them fix what ails you.Chuck, John and Wayne have got your back!
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1 month ago
1 hour 22 minutes

How We Heard It
This podcast topic took unexpected turns!
Your hosts of the "How We Heard It" podcast usually have a general goal in mind when they pick a topic ... but when they came up with this idea, they had no clue what they were in for: "Hey, let's dig through our music collections and just see what we find." Keep in mind that these guys have each amassed thousands of albums and compact discs (and even some 8-track tapes for Wayne), accumulated over decades thanks in great part to record companies sending the guys an avalanche of free music, hoping for reviews. Amazingly, Wayne and John independently decided they wanted to start the podcast with the same artist. And Chuck quickly remembered he didn't like the smell of the cardboard in album covers and had never even listened to many of the artists in his collection. On this week's episode, the guys talk about some of their initial findings, their random systems of filing and storing their collections, some hidden gems they turned up, and some unexpected, funny and baffling memories that surfaced with their research. The guys came up with ample podcast material when they had barely made even a dent in their collections, so they decided they'll dig deeper for future podcasts. Meanwhile, have you poked around in your music collection lately? You might be surprised by what you find.
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1 month ago
1 hour 26 minutes

How We Heard It
Controversial singers! ... And why we'll never have another Dolly Parton
Seems like every day another performer has said the wrong thing or done the wrong thing. And if we like them, that's just more spice in the sauce. And if we don't, we just hate them even more. But the controversy wheel just keeps on spinning, regardless of how you feel. It could be a manufactured scandal, like a diss track, or something out of control, like an act of violence. Sometimes it's hard to know if it was planned or not - you know, like when one singer pulls the top off another singer during the Super Bowl halftime show. On this week's episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts spin through some of the biggest and some of the strangest controversies ignited by musicians, either by design or by accident. They poke through scandals from recent years and look back at some from decades ago to see how they hold up now. For example, most of Madonna's shenanigans from the 1980s seem rather tame by today's standards. But on the flipside, you might be surprised (and disappointed) to learn how many of your favorite singers from classic rock days were routinely sleeping with underage fans ... and how it generated relatively little concern back then. Your hosts also look at the current social environment and how performers are forced into controversy against their will and how stars are no longer allowed to be neutral about issues. This is why Taylor Swift couldn't be another Dolly Parton, even if she tried. (Why is everybody always mad about everything all the time?)  So join us and find out if your favorite singers have been naughty or nice ... and if it changes how you feel about them, for better or worse.
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1 month ago
1 hour 20 minutes

How We Heard It
Sweet, sour and salty: great songs about giving thanks
The United States may have an official day of gratitude every November with Thanksgiving, but for many of us, most every day could be a day of appreciation. A sincere "thank you" is rewarding for everyone: It feels good to say it and it feels good to hear it. However, appreciation can be complicated and "thank you" may come with a twist. Sometimes we're grateful (in hindsight, at least) for the lessons we've learned from difficult people. Sometimes we feel generalized happiness for family and/or friends. Sometimes we're just thankful to no one in particular that we're happy for no reason in particular. And of course sometimes expressions of gratitude are just a cover for dark feelings. In this episode of "How We Heard It" your hosts sift through an array of old and new songs that directly or indirectly express gratitude. Artists include Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, The Kinks, Sly and the Family Stone, The Beatles, Big Star, Natalie Merchant, Taylor Swift, Bob Hope, Elton John, Louis Armstrong, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, The Beach Boys, Backstreet Boys, Alanis Morissette, James Taylor, Small Faces, Kool & the Gang, U2, Spice Girls, Boyz II Men and many more. Thanks for listening!
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1 month ago
1 hour 24 minutes

How We Heard It
Sometimes words just get in the way
When we're listening to music, most of us tend to focus on the singer. And why not? Singers spell it out for us. They give us a human voice, and the words, to understand the meaning of songs. But we don't always need someone holding our hand and walking us through a song. Sometimes the lyrics are trite and the vocals are lame. With instrumentals, you get to choose your own adventure. You can feel the music and define the meaning to suit yourself. Without all those words getting in the way, you can be absorbed into the sonic wonderland of a song and come up with feelings that you tailor for yourself. This week your "How We Heard It" hosts explore the beauty of instrumental music and the freedom it gives its listeners, whether they just need background noise to clean house or they need to focus without distraction. Instrumentals are more common in some genres - such as classical, jazz and bluegrass - but they exist in all forms, be it on soundtracks, in lounges or at nightclubs. And your hosts even drift into altered-state uses of instrumental music - like if you're trying to sink into a meditative sleep or even astral project. So, buckle in and let them take you away.
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2 months ago
1 hour 24 minutes

How We Heard It
Music's biggest feuds - from the vicious to the absurd!
Face it, everyone loves a good fight. And musicians and singers are always adding an extra layer to their entertainment value - intentionally or accidentally - by engaging in battles with their peers. Some of these feuds are exaggerated and some are underplayed. Some have an obvious bad guy while in others it seems like both parties should share the blame. Some seem to be about nothing, and others seem to be about everything. It seemed like the stakes couldn't have been higher than they were in the recent Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud ... that is, until you remembered Tupac Shakur vs. The Notorious B.I.G. (both of whom died from drive-by shootings just months apart). Internal wars chipped away at some of rock's best bands - from the Beatles and The Kinks to Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile, some of the most iconic singers were locked in bitter rivalries, including Prince and Michael Jackson as well as Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain. Then there were the entertaining battles of the divas - Cher vs. Madonna, Elton John vs. Madonna, Whitney Houston vs. Mariah Carey, Mariah Carey vs. Jennifer Lopez. ... And we'll never forget the most inexplicable feud that just seems to go on and on: Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift. This week your hosts of "How We Heard It" recap all of these fights and many more - the ones that made them laugh, the ones that made them wince and the ones that made them scratch their heads. They also take a look at the artist who seems to be fighting the entire world. Even if you've never heard of her.
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2 months ago
1 hour 24 minutes

How We Heard It
What's gotten into everybody? We're possessed!
Summer's done, and now we're hurtling toward the darkest, coldest days of the year. So forgive us if we aren't feeling ourselves. It's as if an evil force has taken over our souls. ... Could this be what it feels like to be possessed? In the spirit of the season, this episode of "How We Heard It" explores the phenomenon of possession as portrayed in the movies. Your hosts - veteran entertainment journalists and horror-movie aficionados Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell - compare notes on one of the most lucrative subgenres in the film industry. (John Baker's along for the ride, too, though he doesn't like scary movies.) There are the old-school priest-and-holy-water possession movies popularized by "The Exorcist" franchise (well, at least the first and third installments), and subsequently everything from the "Conjuring/Annabelle/Nun" world to solo shots like "Late Night with the Devil," "Jennifer's Body" and "Immaculate." Then there are location-oriented hauntings and possessions, from "The Amityville Horror" and "The Shining" to "Evil Dead" and "Paranormal Activity." And, of course, curse-oriented movies like "The Ring," "The Grudge" and "Drag Me to Hell." And who can forget that creepy boy from "The Omen"? We've all felt like that kid from time to time.
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2 months ago
1 hour 23 minutes

How We Heard It
These cover songs might blow your mind!
Cover songs often aren't what they should be. Many are pale and pointless facsimiles of the original songs, and others even take off into some new direction for no reason whatsoever. Rude. So this week the "How We Heard It" guys let their imaginations run wild, freewheeling through music history (from 60-odd years ago to today), mixing and matching some of the most popular songs of all time to an expansive variety of distinctive artists, old and new. They make inspired choices as they spitball ideas, conjuring some songs you just know would be great, some you'd at least want to check out and some that would doubtless be terrible. There are no rules to the game - artists who are long dead could be called upon to cover new songs just as easily as new artists could be called upon to cover old songs (with AI, anything is possible). As a result, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Karen Carpenter and Prince can be called upon just as easily as Lady Gaga, John Legend, Billie Eilish and Benson Boone. Who would cover the Beatles? Who would the Beatles cover? You'll likely be surprised who the guys pick to cover Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off," John Lennon's "Imagine," Bette Midler's 'Wind Beneath My Wings," Blondie's "Call Me" and R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" - just to name a few. Find out what very different songs they have in mind for Lana Del Rey to cover and the unthinkably bizarre (albeit tantalizing) pair they'd pick to remake "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus. Free your mind and play along.
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2 months ago
1 hour 18 minutes

How We Heard It
More guilty pleasures and shameless infatuations!
When "How We Heard It" was just a few weeks old in the summer of 2024, we posted an episode about guilty pleasures, featuring your veteran entertainment critics/hosts Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell confessing their love for art that other critics frown on - including Wayne's love of sunshine pop and westerns and Chuck's love of exotica and techno music. Some 15 months and 65 shows later, the guilty-pleasures episode remains one of the three most-listened-to episodes of "How We Heard It." So Wayne and Chuck - plus their engineer, songwriter/musician John T. Baker - decided to revisit the topic and own up to more embarrassing affections about what they find entertaining, including artists who often get looked down on (from New Age acts on Windham Hill Records to Peter, Paul and Mary), as well as mainstream musicals and novelty bands. Find out who likes Donna Summer, who likes the Pointer Sisters and who can't hide his love of high-voiced women. One of the guys loves the "bubblegum" rock of Three Dog Night, another loves the "yuppie rock" of  Counting Crows and one of them can't tear himself away from those social media video compilations where people scare their loved ones, friends and family. These admissions may ding your hosts' credibility, but they aren't ashamed and don't think you should be ashamed of your guilty pleasures either. Well ... maybe they're a little ashamed. And maybe you should be too. But whatever: Life's too short to worry about the opinions of snobs.
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3 months ago
1 hour 19 minutes

How We Heard It
These albums changed who we are
In modern times, our society is partially shaped by widely praised albums, brilliantly executed works of art that reflect, or even reshape, the direction of our culture. But the effect of music on individuals is more nuanced, and broad generalizations don't always apply. A life-changing album could come from anywhere if the timing is right, such as the beginning or end of a relationship or maybe the last year of high school or college or after a cross-country move or the death of a loved one. Even mediocre albums can seem life-altering if they catch us at the right time. Also, music has a way of teaching us about ourselves in unpredictable, and improbable, ways and under circumstances you couldn't predict. A melody might hit you from another car at a red light, you could inadvertently be moved by a voice while flipping through TV, or you might even become obsessed with a snippet of a song used in the background of a video on social media. This week on "How We Heard It," your hosts - music journalists Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell and producer/musician John T. Baker - talk about their discovery of albums that impacted them in unexpected ways, albums that opened their ears and even changed their lives ... sometimes against all odds.
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3 months ago
1 hour 23 minutes

How We Heard It
Songs about fall: the sweet, the sad and the strange
They were supposed to do a straightforward episode about autumn songs, but this week the hosts of "How We Heard It" found themselves in lively debate from the get-go. When is fall? When the kids go back to school in August? Is it the autumnal equinox in September? Maybe when the leaves turn in October? Your host Chuck Campbell doesn't like much of anything about fall - colder, darker days make him gloomy, sleepy and unproductive. Yet his counterparts, Wayne Bledsoe and John Baker, are invigorated by the cooler days and natural beauty of the season. But at least Chuck - and John - embrace the excitement of football ... which Wayne adamantly rejects. And they're similarly separated by the music of the sport, from the school fight songs to the commercial songs that have been adopted by fans. Autumn music also include all those songs about September - generally the bittersweet kind about saying goodbye to summer (and summer flings) and moving on to some new adventure. And don't forget sweaters, cozy settings, ambivalent moods, hopefulness and hopelessness. As a season, fall sends a lot of mixed signals and it's hard to make sense of it. But here we are, and we just have to ride it out.
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3 months ago
1 hour 21 minutes

How We Heard It
Here are the best men singers from the past 60+ years
Last week the "How We Heard It" hosts came up with a list of the greatest women singers in modern music, debating Janis Joplin vs. Whitney Houston and Karen Carpenter vs. Barbra Streisand while also finding endless praise for everyone from Aretha Franklin to Linda Ronstadt to Annie Lennox to Billie Eilish. This week, "How We Heard It" pivots to men singers, going back in time to crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and country legends like Hank Williams and George Jones. From there, the hosts come forward, breezing through classic singer-songwriters like Jim Croce and James Taylor, R&B pioneers such as Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, and all manner of rock singers, including Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury, while pausing to engage in the inevitable Paul McCartney vs. John Lennon debate. The 1980s and 1990s are represented by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Sting, Robert Palmer, Michael Hutchence, Trent Reznor, Vince Gill and Randy Travis. And today's stars are also evaluated, including Post Malone, The Weeknd, Harry Styles, Benson Boone and John Legend. Meanwhile, you might be surprised to find out where many of the others fall into place, including Elton John, Willie Nelson, Michael Jackson and Robert Plant. Especially Robert Plant.
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3 months ago
1 hour 21 minutes

How We Heard It
These are the best women singers in modern music
Singers often make or break a song. The exceptional ones can lift a bland arrangement into the stratosphere and the mundane ones can sink a great arrangement like a torpedo. This week the "How We Heard It" guys take a look at women vocalists (men singers will come next week), from the clear-voiced vocalists with perfect enunciation to soul singers who use a ragged edge to add personality. Some are belters, some practically whisper, some float into the atmosphere, and some are Bjork. But the differences between artists are pronounced, even in the sub-categories. Find out why Karen Carpenter hits differently than Barbra Streisand, how Tina Turner persevered, what sets Debbie Harry apart, where Sheryl Crow lands and how Billie Eilish factors in. And the guys are not on the same page on many of these vocalists, from Janis Joplin to Joni Mitchell to Kate Bush to Whitney Houston to Mariah Carey. Some of these women only seem better the more you explore their work, while others don't hold up to a closer listen. Your hosts dovetail, dissent and then dovetail again as they explore women singers from today, yesterday and long ago.   
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3 months ago
1 hour 17 minutes

How We Heard It
Songs about friends: They'll have your back and stab it, too
Friends are our chosen family, the people we can sometimes count on when everyone else has turned their backs on us. But friendships vary. They can be a lifelong commitment or they can end tomorrow without warning. Or they can mysteriously fade away from benign neglect. Friends have inspired numerous songwriters over the years - the ride-or-die friends who will help you hide the body as well as the duplicitous friends who will steal your lover. On this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts explore funny, heartfelt, angry, inspiring and pained songs about friendships, songs from pop, rock, R&B and country music that have surfaced on the charts and emerged in movies and television. Whether they bring out the best in you or bring out the worst, friends have a lasting impact on our lives. And they might even serve you butter tarts.
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4 months ago
1 hour 16 minutes 42 seconds

How We Heard It
Musicians use these secret tricks to win your love
Why do we love our favorite songs? We may think it's simply because we love the singer's voice or the guitars or the fact that it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. But often we love songs for reasons we may not understand and can't articulate. They just make us feel a certain way. Musicians know how the brain processes sound and triggers emotions, and they employ tricks that win you over even when you don't realize what's happening. Perhaps it's their unconventional use of major and minor chords and downtempo or uptempo cadence. It could be a subtle touch of percussive or stringed instrument or some kind of production enhancement ranging from overdubbing to reverse-tape trickery. And it might be a lyrical turn that got into your subconscious without your awareness. In this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts explore how musicians can lead you on an emotional path that you can't explain.
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4 months ago
1 hour 15 minutes 11 seconds

How We Heard It
On second thought, these acts don't suck
Have you ever dismissed a band or singer as mediocre (or worse) only to later realize they were amazing and you misjudged them? It can be a blow to the ego to miss the genius that others hear - especially if you're a professional music critic or musician. But this week, your "How We Heard It" hosts put their pride aside and confess to overlooking some of the most-respected names in popular music. They explain how they underestimated the artists and what finally happened to bring them around to the truth. Believe it or not, these A-list artists include the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Taylor Swift and more. But before you shame your humble podcasters, look at yourself: Have you, too, been too quick to blow off acts you learned to love? It's OK, we're all friends here.  
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4 months ago
1 hour 21 minutes 17 seconds

How We Heard It
Veteran entertainment journalists, music columnists and longtime friends Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell host ”How We Heard It,” a breezy and sometimes offbeat take on how music and movies got to where they are today and where it’s all going. They break down who are the most promising Generation Z singers one minute and the next they debate who are the most overrated acts from the past. Sexy songs, soundtracks, controversies and weird movies find their way into the discussion, and they also weigh in with recommendations on who to hear and what to see in music and film from the past and present. Wayne and Chuck have more than 65 years of experience in professional journalism between them, but they don’t waste time indulging in scholarly breakdowns of their institutional knowledge. Instead, they share behind-the-scenes stories about their odd, funny, inspirational and embarrassing encounters with celebrities, managers, fans and readers. And they laugh at themselves and each other. A lot. Because being an entertainment journalist does that to you. An important third voice in the ”How We Heard It” podcast is engineer John Baker, himself a musician and producer who reins in Wayne and Chuck when they need it. John’s tastes are a little bit Wayne and a little bit Chuck, and he’s a friendly sort. Wayne’s primary role in his nearly four decades at the Knoxville News-Sentinel was his work as an entertainment writer and critic. He currently hosts ”The Six O’Clock Swerve” weekly radio show on WUTK, 90.3 FM in Knoxville, he’s a former Grammy nominee, and he’s an organizer of the annual concert series ”Waynestock: For the Love of Drew and Rylan.” He’s also an artist and unconventional garden writer - see more at www.waynebledsoe.com. Chuck started his career in journalism at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida before joining the staff in Knoxville. He has reviewed more than 5,500 albums, and his column was distributed by the New York Times, Gannett, Cox News Service and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was an entertainment and travel editor in both Florida and Tennessee and a regional news planner for Gannett’s South Region. ”How We Heard It” is a Taral Productions podcast recorded at The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Send requests, comments and suggestions to HowWeHeardIt@gmail.com