I don’t know anyone who listens to Andrew Hickey’s A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs who doesn’t bring it up in conversation with other people who are known to listen to the show. My bandmate Brooks Harlan turned me onto it. His bandmate Sue turned him onto it. Another of my mates, J. Robbins, is onto it. It’s a great show, not least because Mr. Hickey is impossibly thorough and committed to his work¹ but because his starting point is that each of these songs contributes to the greater whole of what rock music is, as opposed to simply making a greatest hits or top 500 list. As for myself, I started late but am catching up. This week’s episode is number 162, in my own progress starting with episode 1 early last year, I’m up to number 136, The Who’s “My Generation.”

1. e.g. even at the outset, he knew that if he produced a show a week with a couple weeks off for holidays or unforeseen events, it would still take 10 years to complete his list. ↩