Fascinatin' Rhythm with Michael Lasser
No longer in production. Limited archives available online at wxxiclassical.org
WXXI's Fascinatin' Rhythm presents of popular American music from Stephen Foster to Stephen Sondheim, in the context of their relationship to American history. Every week, host Michael Lasser offers a rich mix of singers, songwriters and songs to explore the history and themes of American popular music. LISTEN to this past week's show below.
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4/24 Episode #21-17 The Wit of Dorothy Fields The crackle of irreverence and intelligence set to the rhythms of everyday speech: that’s Dorothy Fields in… -
4/17 Episode #2116Winners and Losers Songs range from ecstasy to despair. The characters inside the lyrics bet everything they’ve got on love and win.… -
4/10 Episode #2115 And The World Goes Round Most love songs about "you" and "me," the only two people who matter. But sometimes, even though they're only… -
4/3 Episode # 2114The New Woman During World War 1, women drove ambulances and served as nurses in France. They had already been agitating for the vote… -
Episode #21133/27 If Swing Goes It’s hard to imagine our popular music without the influence of jazz. It needs whatever jazz gives it. Part of the answer… -
Episode #21123/20 You Hypnotize Me So This show isn’t about hypnosis, spells, or incantations. But the songs are hypnotic--passionate, overheated, and… -
Episode #21113/13 You Irritate Me So These love songs don’t come from Never Never Land. They’re about the way lovers really get along, at least some of… -
Episode #21103/6 Beginning with “Body and Soul” Johnny Green and Edward Heyman wrote this great song in 1930, as the Depression was first deepening. This… -
2/27 Episode # 2109Two Kinds of Musicals. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at RKO helped us escape the Depression with the elegant dances they did on fairy… -
2/20 Episode # 2108George and Ira in 1937. Irving Berlin said that nobody ever wrote better songs in a single year than the Gershwins in 1937. The irony…
