How We Heard It

by howweheardit

Veteran entertainment journalists, music columnists and longtime friends Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell host ”How We Heard It,” a breezy and sometimes offbeat take on how music and movies got to where they are today and where it’s all going. They break down who are the most promising Generation Z singers one minute and the next they debate who are the most overrated acts from the past. Sexy songs, soundtracks, controversies and weird movies find their way into the discussion, and they also weigh in with recommendations on who to hear and what to see in music and film from the past and present. Wayne and Chuck have more than 65 years of experience in professional journalism between them, but they don’t waste time indulging in scholarly breakdowns of their institutional knowledge. Instead, they share behind-the-scenes stories about their odd, funny, inspirational and embarrassing encounters with celebrities, managers, fans and readers. And they laugh at themselves and each other. A lot. Because being an entertainment journalist does that to you. An important third voice in the ”How We Heard It” podcast is engineer John Baker, himself a musician and producer who reins in Wayne and Chuck when they need it. John’s tastes are a little bit Wayne and a little bit Chuck, and he’s a friendly sort. Wayne’s primary role in his nearly four decades at the Knoxville News-Sentinel was his work as an entertainment writer and critic. He currently hosts ”The Six O’Clock Swerve” weekly radio show on WUTK, 90.3 FM in Knoxville, he’s a former Grammy nominee, and he’s an organizer of the annual concert series ”Waynestock: For the Love of Drew and Rylan.” He’s also an artist and unconventional garden writer - see more at www.waynebledsoe.com. Chuck started his career in journalism at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida before joining the staff in Knoxville. He has reviewed more than 5,500 albums, and his column was distributed by the New York Times, Gannett, Cox News Service and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was an entertainment and travel editor in both Florida and Tennessee and a regional news planner for Gannett’s South Region. ”How We Heard It” is a Cozy Planet Productions podcast recorded at The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Send requests, comments and suggestions to HowWeHeardIt@gmail.com

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Cheers! Here are songs about drinks - with and without alcohol

Last week "How We Heard It" explored songs about food, so naturally it follows that this week your hosts take a look at songs about drink. There's a ton of them. Over t

Nov 14
1 h 14 min

Can we whet your appetite with these songs about food?

Food is such an essential part of life, it's no wonder it's always popping up in our music. But judging by how often it shows up in songs, we're obsessed with food. The

Nov 7
1 h 29 min

Why these major music acts lost our interest

Being a music fan can be similar to being a friend. Sometimes you discover them as a school kid and you make a lifelong commitment, and sometimes you discover them later

Oct 31
1 h 24 min

M for music: Madonna's blitzkrieg, plus everyone from Paul McCartney to Metallica

This time on "How We Heard It," the guys finish the dive into their music collections that they started last week, this week charging through the middle part of the alpha

Oct 24
1 h 17 min

This time we’re covering everything from J to L!

Your “How We Heard It” hosts never know what they’ll find to talk about when they dig through their music collections - albums they forgot they had, albums they didn’t re

Oct 17
1 h 21 min

Weird and offbeat music we love

We praise "weird" music because it's engagingly unpredictable, creative and nonformulaic. We condemn "weird" music because it's self-indulgent, affected and weird just fo

Oct 10
1 h 36 min

Home sweet home? That depends on the song

Songwriters know there's no place like home - for better and worse. Home is where the heart is, and home is where the hurt is. We might get homesick when we're away and

Oct 3
1 h 36 min

Gray music for gray days

As we chug deeper into fall, the sunrise comes later each day, and the sundown comes earlier. The thermometer readings are on a steady decline, and there's a pronounced c

Sep 26
1 h 19 min

These weird movies blew our minds!

We all tend to have our favorite movie genres - whether it's action, romcoms, horror, drama or comedies. But often the movies we find it hardest to forget (for better and

Sep 19
1 h 25 min

Songs about cars have gone into overdrive

Cars are our vehicle to freedom. When you get your first one, you can take off in any direction and just go wherever any highway, road or interstate can take you. What co

Sep 12
1 h 23 min

Why it's easier (and harder) to be a music fan these days

In prehistoric days - like, say, the 1970s - your local rock radio station might play a song that caught your ear. Then you might have read a review of that band in somet

Sep 5
1 h 27 min

Why Dolly Parton was so important for the world

Note: This week's episode of "How We Heard It" is posting two days earlier than usual, and the podcast will resume its regular schedule next week. The world lost Dolly P

Aug 27
1 h 15 min

These songs about memory are unforgettable

Memory is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it educates us, it gives us hope, and it reminds us of the most cherished times of our lives. On the other, it forces us

Aug 22
1 h 29 min

Boy do we love girl groups!

There's always been a place in our hearts, and on our charts, for girl groups - who are actually women, not girls, but we digress. From the Supremes to the Spice Girls

Aug 15
1 h 18 min

Party songs! These are some of the best, worst and weirdest ones

It's time to party up and party down. End of summer blowout? Back to school bash? Check and check. Even Halloween shindigs aren't so far away. And after that, Christmas

Aug 8
1 h 28 min

Even music legends can hit sour notes

We all have our off days, including the most beloved and successful among us. Of course, we tend to let our heroes off the hook by looking the other way and pretending th

Aug 1
1 h 23 min

What has reality TV done to us?

There's long been some form of "reality TV" kicking around - in the form of news programs, documentaries and game shows, for example. But in the 1990s and especially the

Jul 25
1 h 29 min

Here's how we handled racy band names, Christian rock and the Sex Pistols

Just looking at the music you've gathered over the years can give you insight into who you are and what you're about. Whenever the hosts of "How We Heard" dig into thei

Jul 18
1 h 28 min

Need energy? Put away the caffeine and crank up these songs!

If you can find the energy you need to get through every day, how do you do it? A well-balanced diet? A consistent exercise regimen? Regular restful nights? Maybe you

Jul 11
1 h 31 min

These songs bring the heat! Can you handle it?

Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere have already had our share of scorching days and steamy nights this summer, and there's only more to come. But rather than take she

Jul 4
1 h 23 min