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, are old episodes behind a paywall now?
Yes, most episodes now go behind the paywall after a week or so but the whole archive of nearly 100 episodes is always available to paid members. Special episodes are always behind the paywall.
Ok, 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.
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.
Cool, so what are Sunday Surprises?
This is a recent members-only Sunday playlist series. Every Sunday, you’ll wake up to a fresh playlist in your inbox. 10 songs. The first series of 9 playlists was themeless, and delightfully different from anything we’re listening to on the radio show. The next series might look a little different. Whatever it is, it’ll be a surprise. And it’ll be in your inbox every Sunday.
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!
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. It mostly happens in the fall but can reemerge at any time. 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 enjoy 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