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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2/13 Episode #2107Details. Lyrics provide insight into the ways that writers shape the quick, familiar references that define and distinguish attitude and…
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2/6 Episode #2106Bill Bailey and More. Large numbers of people can still sing at least part of “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” But there are a…
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Episode #21051/30 Live Alone and Like It. When an affair ends, it hurts, but you also discover that melancholy isn’t fatal. Life goes on. Not necessarily…
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Episode #21041/23 Odd Conversations. Nobody loves language more than a lyricist and nobody has a surer ear for the vagaries of everyday speech. The…
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Episode #21031/16 Dave Frishberg Is Hip. Dave Frishberg is not only hip, he’s offbeat. A jazz pianist who also writes, his songs are often humorous and…
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1/9 Curtain Going Up. How a Broadway show begins sets the tone, introduces characters, and starts the plot. It may also give you a good sense of when the…
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Episode #21011/2 Good Times and Bad. As a dark year turns into something we hope will bring some light, we confront the reality--in songs, of course, that…
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Episode #2052Resolutions and Promises Everybody’s smart enough to know that resolutions are hokum. Yet we continue to make them, knowing we’ll break them.…
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Episode #2051Johnny Mercer Starts a Company In 1942, Johnny Mercer became the only songwriter ever to found a major record company. He, Buddy DeSylva, and…
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Episode #2050Animal Crackers Animals range from the real to the make believe. In songs, they often appear as part of a juvenile strain—either sung by a…