As the first wave of LA punk started to take hold in Hollywood, both on and off the Sunset Strip,... more

In the mid 1970s, as glam rock fizzled out, new kids began to trickle in on the block–kids who looked... more

Hello Lost Notes fans! The final two episodes of Groupies: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk are... more

Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco. The Continental Hyatt House. The Rainbow Bar & Grill. Glam rock was the genre du jour... more

A teen magazine so daring, so outrageous, so scandalizing and sexually suggestive that it only lasted…five issues. Star Magazine: from... more

As a girl, Dee Dee Keel ditched the doldrums of Venice for the thrills of Hollywood. Just a few years... more

Venice Beach teen Dee Dee Keel was desperate to find out what was happening behind the scenes, in the clubs... more

The origin story of Miss Pamela Des Barres, the original queen of the groupies, author of the iconic memoir, I’m... more

In 1973, the Sunset Strip was the epicenter of the rock n roll universe, where rockstar mythology was being built... more

In the early 1970s, LA’s Sunset Strip was the epicenter of the rock'n'roll universe. Drugs, sex, private planes, limos, destroying... more

An audio folk story examining the tradition of Black watermelon long-haulers, who drive to farms in the South for watermelon... more

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio)... more

KCRW’s relationship with Fela Kuti goes back to 1980, when KCRW’s Tom Schnabel and Roger Steffens were connected with the mighty Afrobeat... more

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio)... more

Lost Notes brings you behind-the-scenes conversations with Nia Andrews and Terrace Martin about the legendary Reggie Andrews.

Lost Notes examines the legacy of Reggie Andrews, a world-class musician, producer, and mentor who changed the lives of countless young... more

Lost Notes celebrates the life of Ruth Dolphin, who went from being a terrified widow with four kids to the... more

Lost Notes presents a story about Soul Train, the Slauson Shuffle, and what’s lost – and found – when a... more

Lost Notes introduces a pair of brothers - one from NASA, the other from Motown - who launched an entire... more

Lost Notes returns with a brand new episode next Wednesday. To tide you over, we’re featuring a deep dive into... more

Lost Notes explores how the song “Viva Tirado” exemplifies the inter-generational musical conversation between LA’s Black and Brown communities.

Lost Notes explores how Fela Kuti’s time in LA in 1969 was instrumental in the creation of his legendary Afrobeat... more

Lost Notes details the darkly hilarious schemes of record-label magnate Ruth Christie, who instigated one of the most absurd court... more

Long before “Tainted Love” was an ‘80s anthem, it was a 1965 B-side by LA’s Gloria Jones. We trace the... more

‘Lost Notes’ returns for Season 4 with a special preview episode about the song “Tainted Love,” and its lesser-known origins... more

Talking Heads’ 1984 film, Stop Making Sense, has long been regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the... more

Throughout “Bent By Nature,” you’ve heard many stories of the lifelong connections set in motion by Deirdre O’Donoghue. But none... more

The artist has got to be not like the historian.The historian’s got hindsight. He can go back and go, “That... more

It’s September of 1984. And Deirdre is head over heels for a fast-rising quartet from Athens, Georgia called R.E.M. In... more

In the mid-1980s, two young women are coming of age in the San Fernando Valley. In a few years, when... more

It’s New Year’s Eve, 1986. Deirdre is talking with the LA Times’ music critic, Robert Hilburn, about the musical trends... more

It’s Independence Day Weekend, 1988. And Deirdre is celebrating the return of Glass Eye, her favorite independent act from Austin,... more

It’s September 4, 1986. And Deirdre has just met a kindred spirit in singer Syd Straw. Like Deirdre, Syd traveled... more

In 1988, while most of the music world was fawning over Morrissey’s solo debut, Deirdre O’Donoghue was all-in on a... more

Illustration by Meredith Schomburg   In episode two of Bent By Nature, co-producer Bob Carlson explores the life of influential and enigmatic... more

Before Soundcloud and Bandcamp, there was Deirdre O'Donoghue and "SNAP!," the LA DJ and radio show that served as a... more

She was the most influential American DJ you’ve never heard of. Deirdre O’Donoghue was a vital force in the musical... more

In 1980, anti-disco sentiment was at a high and Grace Jones was coming off a trilogy of disco albums. If... more

Most know Minnie Riperton because of one part in one song. “Lovin’ You” was Riperton’s biggest hit, and she doesn’t... more

In December of 1980, two exiled artists and freedom fighters attempted return to their home in South Africa for a... more

Punk singer Darby Crash dreamed of immortality. The single full-length Germs album was to become a holy grail of music... more

In May of 1980, Joy Division lost its lead singer, Ian Curtis. The band decided that they would carry on... more

In 1979, "Rapper’s Delight" was released and went on to become the first Top 40 hip-hop single. Sugarhill Gang almost... more

Stevie Wonder released seven albums from 1970 to 1976. It is an impenetrable run of albums and songs, one of... more

This season the poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib explores the year 1980. It was the brilliant, awkward and sometimes heartbreaking... more

Our second of two Lost Notes bonus episodes for this summer. This one is about The Student Teachers. In 1977, a... more

The new season of Lost Notes will be here in September. Meantime, this summer, we’re sharing a couple of bonus... more

As long as there have been guns, there have been songs about guns. But American culture's relationship with guns is... more

In the early ‘80s, two teenage siblings in London recorded an album that fused Pakistani pop and British New Wave.... more

Jazz pianist Billy Tipton has been celebrated by some as a trans pioneer – but his story resists an easy... more

As a supplement to our episode on John Fahey, we share a conversation between Jessica Hopper and Carla Green about... more

John Fahey’s guitar playing influenced the sound of the American underground for generations. But how does that legacy change when... more

The rock band Fanny ruled the Sunset Strip in the 1970s, and they were supposed to be the next big... more

Synth pioneer Suzanne Ciani used an esoteric instrument to design some of the most well-known commercial sounds of the 20th... more

Poet and author Hanif Abdurraqib's letter to Cat Power about how her album The Greatest worked its way into his... more

The Freeze were an early American punk band. Now, 40 years later, two members reckon with the lyrics they wrote... more

On this season of Lost Notes, the music journalist and author Jessica Hopper is looking at artist legacies. How do... more

The strange story of the postwar pop standard "Nature Boy" and its enigmatic creator, eden ahbez.

Legendary DJ/crate-digger Cut Chemist professes his love for Cymande’s 1972 self-titled debut.

A global pop icon appears in a most unexpected place in this story from Pod Planet’s Clive Desmond.

We resurface a story from Falling Tree Productions that takes a look at the empowering flip-side of pop fandom.

In the wake of the swinging ‘60s, a young woman named Aisha Ali travels to North Africa in search of... more

In 1989 McDonald’s ran the biggest flexi-disc promotion ever, sending out 80 million discs (playing the “Menu Song”) as inserts... more

One of the most unlistenable bands of the ‘60s became a cult favorite decades later, gaining praise from the likes... more

When Johnny Cash played his iconic concert at Folsom Prison he covered the song of one very talented inmate. Johnny... more

The boys in New Edition were basketball fans from Boston - Celtics country. So what happened when they hung out... more

In this intimate radio portrait of one of music’s most legendary eccentric geniuses, writer Kristine McKenna offers you a visceral... more

Pirate radio station WBAD in New York was a beloved source for fans of underground, unsanitized hip-hop in the 1990s,... more

An FBI Investigation, an engagement ring, wine coolers...  the surprising story behind the ubiquitous anthem that every teenager bangs out... more

Hear a preview of Lost Notes, an anthology of some of the greatest music stories never truly told. Top journalists... more