Why Pay?
Here’s why people become paid members
Hey Walt, why would I want to become a paid member?
Great question. Apart from it being a nice way to support my work, a lot of what I’m really focusing on is only for paid members:
Wait - hold on, what the hell are Special Episodes?
Alright lemme explain.
Special episodes are the more focused episodes I do regularly for paid members. Like when I want to get deep into a specific topic or artist or something.
Here’s a few examples:
Deliver Me From Nowhere (that Bruce Springsteen biopic)
A Complete Unknown (that Bob Dylan biopic)
I do lots of these special episodes about a variety of hopefully unexpected and interesting things.
Ok, what’s “When I was 17”?
That’s a special episode series that I just started where I have musicians/artist types on and we talk about the music they listened to at the crucial age of 17—how it inspired them to become musicians and shaped them as artists and all that stuff.
Only a couple so far, but I’m planning more!
And what’s The Playlist Archive?
That’s where all the playlists go. It’s a neatly organized library of all the music I’ve covered on the radio show, plus a lot of additional related music.
It’s here: Playlist Archive.
Every Monday, I post playlists that correspond to the previous week’s radio show — or just relevant music recommendations. This allows members to go through it all at their own pace.
I’ve handpicked literally every track in this huge archive and I do believe you will feel the love.
Playlists are organized by month, and are easy to browse and return to. Each playlist has Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and (starting in December of 2025) YouTube Music links.
Ok, now wtf is Classical Club??
Oh yes! Great question! I do a thing called Classical Club! It’s sorta like a book club for classical music where we listen deeply to one piece or one composer every month or so. We digest it together then I make an episode about it. I’m kind of obsessed with it. All the details are here.
What’s the point of all this?
Hmm. I guess basically the goal is just to get people excited about music they might not know well.
As I explain here, my whole life, I’ve loved finding cool music and telling my friends about it. And, to my delight, since starting this Substack, I’ve found that people I don’t know seem to respond to the way I talk (or yell) about it.
So, I’ve decided to spend a lot of time developing this as a place where anyone can find great music. (With me—a lifelong musician and record nerd—as your friendly guide).
If you enjoy what goes on here, please consider supporting my work and becoming a paid member.
Thank you!
-walt