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Last week, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner announced a last-minute musical change to the show’s season five premiere. Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love” was cut after critics pointed out that the song wasn’t released until late 1967 – more than a year after the episode was set to take place. Today, Rolling Stone editor Anthony DeCurtis tells us what was being heard in mid-1966, from Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” to Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” to the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it, Black.” 

Garrison Keillor isn’t the only one who announced his retirement recently. The New York dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem is also calling it quits… loudly. After a weeklong farewell tour, the group’s heavily publicized grand finale will take place at Madison Square Garden Saturday evening and will also be streamed online through Pitchfork’s website. But in the music biz, the “last concert ever” often ends up being… not the last concert ever. Joining us to discuss some other famous first farewell moments in music history is Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor for Rolling Stone.

Since his passing, Jimi Hendrix has maintained a presence through constant memorializing. However, his music remains a relevant force. Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis joins us to talk about Hendrix's continued impact.

The appetite for Beatle culture is still strong, as evidenced by a New York exhibition of rare band photos and the $1.2 million sale of John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "A Day in the Life." Another clue: the enduring popularity of the urban legend known as "Paul Is Dead."

The late Robert Palmer was best known as a New York Times music critic, Rolling Stone editor and author of the book Deep Blues. Others knew him as a musicologist and record producer. But Palmer was also a difficult man whose ambitions and addictions overshadowed loved ones. We talk with ...

The poet and philosopher George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." To ensure that future generations don't forget the triumphs and tragedies of pop music's past, we host another Soundcheck Smackdown over the musical legacies of baby boomers and Generation X. Joining ...

The poet and philosopher George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." To ensure that future generations don't forget the triumphs and tragedies of pop music's past, we host another Soundcheck Smackdown over the musical legacies of baby boomers and Generation X. Joining ...