Music That Made Me & the Universal Music Warehouse Fire

Roky

Most music lovers can point to a song that made them: perhaps one that helps define them, or just one of those songs that defines a time in their life. This week, Jim and Greg share some of the music that made them. They also talk with music journalist Jody Rosen about his investigative article for The New York Times Magazine about the Universal Music Group Warehouse fire and the hundreds of thousands of master recordings that were lost.

Download Subscribe via iTunes

Jody Rosen

Journalist Jody Rosen wrote an article called The Day the Music Burned for The New York Times Magazine a couple weeks ago that has musicians, fans and the music industry buzzing. In 2008, a fire ripped though a Universal Studios Hollywood warehouse. At the time, Universal Music Group (one of the largest record labels in the world) downplayed the fire, and it didn't get much media attention. However, Jody Rosen's extensive reporting has revealed a much larger tragedy. He found that hundreds of thousands of master tapes, or original music recordings, were lost from artists ranging from Billie Holiday to Nirvana. Jim and Greg talk to Jody about what was lost.

Music That Made Me

As life-long music lovers, Jim and Greg's lives are full of musical milestones. This week, they each choose four songs that represent who they are: it's Music That Made Me.

Greg

  • Freda Payne, "Band of Gold"
  • Patti Smith, "Gloria"
  • The Isley Brothers, "Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2"
  • Eleventh Dream Day, "Death of Albert C. Sampson"

Jim

  • Wire, "Reuters"
  • Susan Sarandon, "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me"
  • Public Enemy, "Fight the Power"
  • Nirvana, "Heart-Shaped Box"

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!