In this episode of Reading Is Funktamental, we discuss the life and music of Ric Ocasek, the driving force of one of New Wave’s most successful bands, the hitmaking machine, The Cars, with Peter Aaron, the author of the first in-depth biography of the musician.

The sounds of new wave pop music and the early days of MTV were defined by the work of a handful of iconic musicians, and few stood taller in that era than Ric Ocasek, frontman and primary songwriter for the Cars. The band charted 13 Top 40 singles in the U.S. from 1978 to 1987, the music video for their song “You Might Think” won MTV's first-ever Video of the Year award, and their biggest hit, “Drive,” became a Top 10 hit worldwide. They would ultimately be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Following the band's breakup in 1988, Ocasek continued to lead a lively professional and personal life, dating supermodels, publishing poetry, and appearing in movies. He enjoyed enormous success as a producer, working with such bands as Weezer, No Doubt, Guided by Voices, and the Bad Brains. Moving in Stereo: The Life of Ric Ocasek, the Driving Force of the Cars, serves as an in-depth guide to Ocasek's life and career as a musician. Drawing on interviews, personal reminiscences, and the journalistic coverage he so reliably inspired, it gives a memorable portrait of one of the most essential voices in pop music during the MTV era and beyond. For more, read my review at NYSMusic.com https://nysmusic.com/2025/11/24/ric-ocasek-the-cars-driving-force-profiled-in-new-biography/

"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour podcast and radio show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it.

"Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms. Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books, and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

In this episode of Reading Is Funktamental, we discuss the long history and profound influence of a single song, “Hey Joe,” a tune that binds nearly every strand of 20th-century American popular music.

“Hey Joe” was written sometime in the early 1960s by a man named Billy Roberts, an obscure singer and guitarist from South Carolina who moved to New York City, drawn by the burgeoning folk music scene in Greenwich Village. It was a time when original material was scarce, leading other singers to quickly adapt quality songs in the spirit of folk music’s oral traditions. Thus began the long journey of “Hey Joe” from New York coffeehouses to the bars on L.A.’s Sunset Strip to the ears of a young guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, who launched his career with his radical, electrified interpretation. The story is related by Jason Schneider, author of That Gun In Your Hand, a new book that also presents previously unpublished information about the life of Billy Roberts, a shadowy figure whose 2017 death went unreported by all news outlets. For more, read my review at NYSMusic.com https://nysmusic.com/2025/10/20/the-strange-saga-of-hey-joe-revealed/

"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour podcast and radio show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it.

"Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms. Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books, and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

In this episode of Reading Is Funktamental, we discuss Bob Dylan's New York, a guidebook and history of New York's key role throughout Dylan's lengthy career. It places Dylan's early career within the storied history of Greenwich Village, a hotbed of artistic innovation.

A contemporary of Dylan's, musician/author/educator Dick Weissman walked the same streets, played music in the same venues, and witnessed the growth of the folk music revival from before Dylan became popular to after the height of his impact on the music scene. In this episode, Weissman discusses ten easy-to-follow walking maps and historic photographs, allowing the reader to retrace Dylan's footsteps and experience both Dylan's New York and contemporary New York. It also goes beyond the Village to include the many areas of the city where Dylan lived and worked, as well as the storied time he spent in Woodstock. Combining cultural history with personal history and anecdotes, Bob Dylan's New York illuminates the life and times of this seminal artist. For more, see my print review of the book here: https://nysmusic.com/2025/09/10/bob-dylans-new-york-city-profiled-in-new-book/

"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour podcast and radio show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it.