Rock n Roll Book Club
114 episodes listed below
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Each episode we use a place as a jumping off point for a conversation about music - anywhere from the obvious to the obscure. Join us as we build our music map of the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Music Maps turns geography into musical context, linking artists and records to the places, scenes and pressures that shaped them.
Music Maps treats place as a working tool for music history. Simon's questions connect David Bowie's early Brixton, Pink Floyd's Cambridge and the Undertones' Derry to the scenes, institutions and local conditions around the music, while writers and musicians supply the lived…
Derry before 'Teenage Kicks': if the place changes the song for you, Simon has your number.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A Manila Beatles story about protocol and public fallout.
The episode frames the Beatles' Manila visit as a story of place, protocol, and the public fallout that followed. David Guerrero grounds it in local detail, so the account feels specific rather than legendary, and the discussion stays on how the trip unfolded, then turned…
A thoughtful Bowie conversation that treats early life as the beginning of the map.
Music Maps uses David Bowie as a route into early life in Brixton in the 1950s, then opens outward through memory, atmosphere, and small details that take on real weight. Paul Morley fits the tone well.
A Sunderland-linked Stranglers conversation shaped by records, road miles, and a frontman looking back on years with the band.
Baz Warne's Sunderland-linked Stranglers story lands best when it stays close to places, records, and the road. No Grass Grows on a Busy Street, 25 Years on the Road with the Stranglers gives the piece a solid frame, and the strongest details are the first brush with Golden…
A Derry-centered look at the Undertones' early years and the making of Teenage Kicks.
Set in Derry in Northern Ireland, this episode revisits the Undertones' early years and the making of Teenage Kicks. Mickey Bradley talks through the conditions of the 70s, the records that shaped the band, and the push toward a faster sound through songs by the Ramones, the…
Pink Floyd's early history is framed through Cambridge, the first single, and the move from Joe Boyd to EMI and Norman Smith.
The piece opens with Cambridge as the key to Pink Floyd's early shape, and it is at its best when it asks what the city felt like in the early 60s.
Beatles history told through personality, context, and a rueful edge.
This episode tracks Tom Doyle through a slice of Beatles history that feels businesslike, bruised, and a little sad. It begins with the band coming to an end, with Ringo Starr at the final recording session and the awkward errand of carrying a letter to Paul McCartney because of…
A patient Ride conversation about songs, process, and how a solo record arrives.
Steve Queralt spends most of this conversation on how a solo record grows out of band life: ideas left over from Ride sessions, the EP that never quite happened, and the shape of Swallow on Sonic Cathedral. That keeps the talk grounded.
A memory-rich Laurel Canyon tour shaped by place and people.
Pamela Des Barres leads Music Maps through Laurel Canyon in a way that feels close-up and rooted in place, with the episode favoring local texture over a full biography.
Records worth hearing, reasons worth arguing over.
Annual Songlines Music Awards ceremonies spotlighting global artists, from Afrobeat to sevda.
A high schooler's music diary — Grammys press pass stories to family concert interviews.
Rap verdicts, fight-night takes and wandering movie arguments.
The Beach Boys' official Hawthorne monument sits beside a freeway because the Wilson family home was demolished, and Peter Doggett uses that fact to open a discussion of Brian Wilson's childhood.
The host and guest Anna Doble discuss 1995 as a pivotal year in their teen years, focusing on music culture, indie scenes, and Anna's book about being young in the 90s.
Music Maps Episode 98 is a live Q&A after a screening of A Certain Ratio's 1980 Hurrah set, filmed by Meryl, who recorded 240 concerts by 186 bands there between 1980 and 1981.
Steve Brookes, a founder of The Jam, recalls forming the band with Paul Weller at 13 in Woking and playing their first gig at Woking Worker Men's Club in 1972 in orange loon pants.
Everett True, author of the Omnibus book "Hey Ho, Let's Go," traces the Ramones from Forest Hills, Queens, through their first gig in March 1974 to their 22 years and 2,253 shows on the road.
Music Maps welcomes Tom Doyle back for a conversation built around Ringo Starr, using his new book as the starting point.
Music Maps returns to David Bowie with writer and journalist Paul Morley.
Music Maps heads to Sunderland for a conversation with Baz Warne.
Music Maps heads to Manila.
Music Maps goes to Derry in Northern Ireland to mark 50 years of the Undertones.
This episode features an interview with author Mark Blake discussing the early history of Pink Floyd, focusing on their origins in Cambridge, the rise and struggles of Sid Barrett, and the band's transition to David Gilmour.
Pamela Des Barres discusses her memoir 'I'm With The Band,' sharing firsthand stories from the 1960s LA music scene, including encounters with legends like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix.
Steve Queralt, former bassist of shoegaze band Ride, discusses his new solo album 'Swallow' and the history of Ride, from their formation in Oxford to their chaotic recording processes, internal tensions, and eventual reunion.
Music Maps Episode 108 is a live conversation in which Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's interviews Amy Rigby about her self-published memoir Go To Country.
Music Maps episode 100 pairs a short intro with an interview of Kevin Rowland about his memoir "Bless Me Father" (Penguin).
Mark Webber describes meeting Pulp as a Chesterfield teenager in 1985 after buying 'Little Girl with Blue Eyes', and the live interview with Music Maps host Simon takes place on Tower Hamlets Road.
Justin Currie of Del Amitri traces the band from a Glasgow school group formed around 1979 to A&M Records, recalling how Postcard Records bands such as Orange Juice shaped his taste.
Music Maps host Simon talks with journalist Jane Eisner about her Yale University Press book "Carole King, She Made the Earth Move," starting in 1940s Brooklyn.
Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum tells Music Maps host Simon that he left Los Angeles at 17 after finding it "superficial," and moved to San Francisco in 1981.
Robert Elms recalls buying a "space Cossack" top from Steve Strange at the PX boutique in 1978, which led him to Strange and Rusty Egan's Bowie night at Billy's in Soho.
An interview with musician Melissa Oftermauer about her career, growing up in Montreal, and her new book.
An interview with Everett True about Nirvana's origins in Aberdeen, Washington, and the mythology surrounding Kurt Cobain.
A podcast that uses geographic locations as a springboard for music conversations, building a global music map.
Host interviews Peter Jesperson about his career in music, focusing on Twin Tone Records and the Minneapolis indie rock scene.
Interview with Paul Simpson about his book on the Liverpool music scene and his musical career.
Host interviews legendary 60s musician Donovan about his early life, guitar playing, and musical influences.
A live episode discussing Britpop music from the 1990s, featuring authors Miranda Sawyer and Sian Pattendon.
Host Simon interviews music journalist Caroline Sullivan about her Taylor Swift book and her career.
The hosts introduce their music podcast that uses locations as a springboard for music discussions, and they preview an upcoming interview with former Cocteau Twin Simon Raymond.
An interview with author Lucy O'Brien about her research on singer Dusty Springfield, exploring her career and mystique.