Miss you guys. Wonderfully smart, funny show. Listened to every episode and can’t wait for more!

I’ve been bingeing this since discovering it a month or so ago. I have learned a lot of theory (having forgotten a lot of what I learned in school), and I’ve gained an appreciation of genres I’ve never cared much for. If not for the following comment, I’d give this a 5-star rating! Just one question: why does Scott despise Baby Boomers? His rants about Boomers seem random and baseless—so far, I haven’t heard him offer a reasoned explanation for this aversion. Were you bitten by a Boomer? Did a Boomer steal your candy? Did a Boomer give birth to you? Dude—just gimme a reason! Really, it’s beginning to get old enough that I’m considering unfollowing the show. (Edit to previously posted review) I can’t take it anymore. What I learn from and enjoy about this show have been overwhelmed by Scott Hambrick’s rants & tirades. I know y’all don’t care, but I’m unfollowing this podcast.

I found this podcast after listening to the Online greatbooks feed.I didn’t know if I would like it at first, but I must say I am floored. In the Steppes of Central Asia is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve heard in a long time and I would not have found it without this show. Not that the other music isn’t good, but something about that song set me to praying. I just prayed that I would be able to make the most out of the gifts that I have. Oh yeah, and then on the next show y’all played Little wing, which is outstanding. I forgot how much I love that song. Thank you!

Love this podcast almost more than any other. Louis Armstrong and West End Blues was great- just listened for 2nd time. Would love that list of 10 gréât jazz tunes- for the life of me can’t understand the link to Michelle’s list. Thanks!

Love when Scott was with the BLOC podcast, lost something after he was gone. Him and Karl are amazingly smart, worldly and witty, while Trent provides very sophisticated color commentary to tie it all together and produce an amazingly good quality show. The trio is greater than the sum of its parts for sure. That said, I need a punk show! The genre has been mentioned and all M&A guys have proven either they are much more diverse in their musical tastes than they let on OR their prep work is meticulous. I think they could make a good go at it. I mentioned to Karl when I was briefly a client of his that my favorite band is Social Distortion. He told me he hadn’t heard of them. That’s insane to me after listening to him provide great content for so many other subjects on the show. I think they are an ideal microcosm of Punk, and the episode can also incorporate tie backs to outlaw country, Western swing, the blues, and even a bit of bluegrass. You may even discover a new artist to love.

Each week I look forward to this podcast and Music and Ideas more than any other podcast I subscribe to. Thank you Scott, Karl, and Trent for all that you guys do!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Jimmie Rodgers music and commentary about him. I grew up in East Tennessee with traditional country and blue grass, but I had not heard of Jimmie. Thank you.

I would have never, ever known Roy Buchanan without this podcast….so amazing! Thank you for showing the True, Beautiful, and the Good when it comes to music! Roy is the Best Guitarist never remembered!

This is a GREAT podcast. These guys are super intelligent and know music. Highly recommend this as well as their Online Great Books podcast. P.S. The Led Zeppelin episode could have spanned multiple podcasts. Also, hardly a mention of one of the best Led Zep songs ever - Since I've Been Loving You??

Karl and Trent are awesome. I’ve learned quite a bit from their conversations on how to listen to music and some vocabulary to discuss what I hear. I can now better put my feelings into words after listening to a song that moves me. I have especially liked the deep dives into specific artists.

1) They make any genre interesting 2) they know music and give a subjective perspective on each topic 3) they don't like Bob Dylan or any other artist just because a bunch of people do!

I like listening to these guys because they help me listen to music better.

A great podcast where every episode is self contained but rewards return listeners as many episodes build on or have call-backs to lessons learned in prior discussions. When Karl asks if something's a tri-tone in the Vince Guaraldi episode you know what that means because it was thoroughly discussed in the "Intro To Metal" episode (the episode where I learned that Tri-Tones are the thing that makes Metal sound "Evil"). When there's a call back to Bob Wills or Jimmie Rodgers in the Buddy Holly episode you know who those guys are and why they're topical in a discussion about Buddy. When Scott says Bob Dylan's "folk" persona is fony you know it's true 'cause you've already heard multiple episodes about actual "folks" that made Blues/Bluegrass/Country music. In-jokes aside, the personalities and tastes are well balanced and often at least one of the guys is new to the topic in a given episode which makes for a good stand-in for similarly uninitiated listeners. Each episode has a different feel as you'd expect when you're going from Classical to Funk to Jazz to Rock. It's introduced me to a lot of things I never thought I'd listen to and has given me a great deal of respect for styles that i'd formerly turn-up my nose at since I understand their place/context/purpose. One of the best things to listen to when you're working in the yard or doing chores around the house.

I think it was in the Gershwin episode where Trent first mentioned the bygone serendipity of the record store employee recommendations. This podcast has become my source of musical serendipity, bringing with it little moments of joy about just how good good music can be. While the length of the episodes used to drive aggravate me, I’ve come to look forward to the relaxed pace of conversation. This podcast offers a respite from the short sentences and fast pace of most other media I consume. There is something luxurious about listening to three men who feel deeply about music take the time to explore the topic at hand. I appreciate what y’all do, thank you for sharing your love of music with your listeners.

Love the show. These guys have exposed me to new music and I’m grateful for that. They make me want to explore music and learn to play for myself. Keep making episodes! Great content!

By way of credentials I will state that I was born in 1952 and graduated high school in 1970 without ever getting laid. Romance came my way, at least temporarily, shortly thereafter but so did the counter culture, weed, psychedelic drugs and a boatload of music good and bad. Dylan had already got his hooks into me several years previously and laid the groundwork for youthful rebellion on the theory that "everybody must get stoned." Music in those days seemed devided into what got played on either the AM or FM stations. Am was the vehicle for top 40 delights such as "Muskrat Love" and "Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Love In My Tummy" along with the Beatles, Stones, etc. Fm had opera on PBS stations and WMMR in Philadelphia where you could hear the likes of The Moody Blues, King Krimson, The Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendricks, and Janis Joplin. Boomer music ranges from the sublime to the consciousness altering ridiculous. By 1972 I had stopped listening to the radio and stuck to albums which had just what I chose to bring into my life. Much of that was an exploration of clasical, folk and a rediscovery of my father's music starting with Hank Williams. I had not bothered to listen to Dylan since his self-Portrait album. I had come to value authenticity. I found that Arlo Guthrie's motorcycle song, as simple as it is, held more pure joy than anything that happened in Bob's big brass bed. Not for nothing I had also dropped the drugs and taken up with a suitable candidate for marriage. Musical tastes like the artistry itself can mature with time. In general popular music has not matured well. The best we have is built on the best of the past. I have come to to take each artist on his own merit and best like a solitary voice with a well played guitar. I am not in a position to apologize for my generation. I would caution the current one to eschew the charts, the Grammys, and especially the weird sexual politics of the day and simply judge a song by how good it would sound around a campfire, in a dive bar or maybe even your garage.

I followed Scott to this show from Barbell logic and OGB. I love this show for the perspective and technical insights that I otherwise wouldn’t have considered, and I super love this show when Scott deuces on boomer music. Great work boys, maybe someday dedicate a show to TOOL.

I started listening to this because I like hearing Scott and Karl talk as a matter of principle. Honestly I don’t know a damned thing about music and I may like this show more than OGB. Everyone should listen.

Absolutely wonderful podcast. Karl, Scott, and Trent have great affection for and insight on the music profiled. Plus, none of the Boomer hagiography for the usual suspects (looking at you Rolling Stone). A request: you have to do one on Marty Robbins. El Paso is genius and Saddle Tramp melts me into a puddle. Plus, he does passable Tin-pan alley standards and raced in NASCAR. What an American.

After years of listening to modern country and folk music and being left with the feeling that this music was somehow superficial, I came across the Music and Ideas podcast episode about the evolution of Bluegrass. 20 minutes in to the episode I had realized that Karl, Trent, and Scott were my gateway into what is good and true about the music of rural America and how it is tied to ancestral folk music. These three have shown me out of the cave of modern music and have helped me to start my journey in search of deep and ancient truths about humanity through our music. Don’t listen to today’s top hits... listen to Music and Ideas.

Did you wonder about the lyrics of Cream’s Crossroads? Listen to episode #17, Tracing the Origins of the Blues, and it all makes sense. Let Scott, Karl and Trent take you on a wonderful introduction to all things musical, so you can start your own explorations into music. It has inspired me to get myself an electric guitar.

The show is great and the hosts as well. Sometimes I get lost in the technical jargon but the stories and history are interesting and entertaining. They had a heavy metal show then a opera show. I was having the best time for 4 hours. Recommended for sure.

Genius is the ability to take a complex subject and explain it so that anyone can understand it. The podcasters discuss the mechanics, mathematics and art of music in this way. And it’s fun to listen to! A grievance: re: Blues, they disrespect Eric Clapton without explanation. In my view his Unplugged concert was the catalyst that rescued music from “the pit” called 80’s music. Also, he’s been a curator of the Blues with his CDs/DVDs re: Robert Johnson. An old time bluesman died in poverty (Lil’ Walter?) and EC paid for his posthumous “proper burial.” He can’t be that bad of a guy... A request: A podcast about Jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery...

An excellent and well produced podcast on music. There’s nothing else like this out there. A treasure and a pleasure to listen to.

The trio hit it out of the park with the episode about Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I know next-to-nothing about music, other than liking what I like and hating what I hate, but this podcast is helping me learn something about music in an entertaining way. As for this specific episode, I thought I was the only one who (a) listens to the album throughout the year, and (b) gets choked up when certain songs come on. Like the album, this episode is perfect (and any minor imperfections are intentional). Listen to it.

Love the Jimmie Rodgers episode. I think they did a great job at explaining why that music is good beautiful and true to people who like it. They do that for all the types of music they discuss. By the way, did Michelle get bumped because she still didn’t like Jimmie Rodgers at the end of the episode? Hahaha

These guys are great. They pick the right tunes. Turn off stuff you should know and listen to this.

Great podcast...I share it and OGB with everyone. The only podcasts I listen to at normal speed.

Walking my dog, marinating in 70 degree day watching the snow melt after an Autumn storm; goosebumps rolled down my body with the thunder of “When the Levee Breaks”. Goddamn, I forgot how much I loved that that album. Thanks from the boy named Kristan

I love this podcast, it's the only one I listen to at normal speed. The Metal episode was so good I listened twice. Would you consider making your playlists public? Would love to listen to all of the songs for each episode. Thanks

I am an OGB member so maybe there is a little bias but if you set that aside, no matter what genre, this podcast is designed to make you think. Metal is NOT screeching at the top of your voice and playing 3 cords over and over. Classical is NOT background studying music. Opera can be enjoyable IF YOU UNDERSTAND the story it tells. These folk offer up a more logical approach to music one that designed to make you think and appreciate it. This Podcast is the “Music Appreciation Class” we wish we all took in High School and in College.

This episode was my first exposure to this podcast. I love metal in most of its forms and the cast really got into the weeds about the origins and musical roots of metal. They covered everything from Sabbath to Jinger. I appreciated the comparisons to classical music and their recognition of the talent and athleticism required of metal artists. I hope they will cover Bluegrass sometime. Going back to listen to older episodes now!

I love the variety of music genres these guys talk about.

Really like this Podcast.

Found this podcast last week and I’m lovin’ it. A varied look at many, (maybe ALL if we give ‘em time) music genres, how they relate to each other, also components of what makes music music. All three hosts are very knowledgeable about the subject, each bringing different viewpoints to the discussion. Highly recommended for any serious music lover.

I don’t have a background in music, so the ideas that they discuss when listening to music ( melody, harmony etc ) are really interesting to me. And now whenever I listen to something good, I get it. I will always have that thanks to this podcast. I’m a big fan

Scott, Karl and Michelle have good chemistry, and sufficient musical knowledge to make this interesting. Not inordinately on musical analysis, relates to wider cultural and intellectual topics.

This is a great discussion on music from a wide variety of genres that will help expand your horizons.

Loved the first episode- cant wait for more!

I’ve only listened to the first twelve seconds, but I’m hooked. Can’t wait for more. This thing is exactly what your looking for. Fun, smart, and Riveting AF. Keep it rolling in I need more!!