Welcome to MVYRADIO’s Rock ‘n Roll Book Club Page! Polly Simpkins hosts our bi-monthly zoom meetings where we come together to discuss music and music books. You can find past book club recordings as well as Polly’s full audio interviews with the authors of each book below. Please feel free to reach out to Polly with any book club questions at polly@mvyradio.org

Our next MVYRADIO Rock n’ Roll book club gathering will be on Wednesday, May 15^th at 7pm EST when we will be discussing SHINE BRIGHT: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by the incredibly talented and inspiring force of nature, Danyel Smith!
Danyel is an American magazine editor, journalist, and novelist. Danyel was the first African-American editor of Billboard and Vibe magazine, respectively. She has written two novels and also hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Black Girl Songbook.Danyel is a masterful storyteller and has lived her life with courage, creativity and intention always looking to the female musicians and music she loves for inspiration every step of the way.
On Wednesday, May 15^th at 7pm EST Polly will share a few clips from her interview with Danyel and we will engage in what is sure to be a great conversation about music and the incredibly powerful and talented black women who have deeply influenced Danyel’s life and the music world.

There is no sign-up necessary for the Rock and Roll Book Club. Just read the book (it's ok if you don't read the book- come anyway!) and use this Zoom link. We hope to see you soon at an MVYRADIO Rock n’ Roll Book Club gathering.

Zoom meeting with Dar Williams:

Polly's Dar Williams full interview:

Dar Williams Spotify Playlist:

Past book club material:

Our book club for January 2024 was Susan Rogers' This is What it Sounds Like.

Polly's full Susan Rogers interview:

Check out The Kitchen Sisters Presents podcast episode which discusses Susan's book (requires an Apple Podcast subscription and MacOS 11.4 or higher).

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Our book for November 2023 was Lou Reed's "The Art of the Straight Line" ~ a book written in part by Lou before his death and curated and edited by Laurie Anderson, Stephan Berwick, Bob Currie and Scott Richman. The book includes interviews and stories from many who knew Lou well and truly captures his life story. Hear the interview with Scott Richman here (mp3).

Check out Barbara Dacey's interview with Lou Reed from 1997!

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Our Book Club book for September 2023 was "Remain In Love" by Chris Frantz. Below you'll find video of our Book Club meeting, plus Polly's full interview with Chris Frantz.

A note from Polly:
This playlist is an exploration of musical references from Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz' book Remain in Love - beginning with his earliest musical influences, through his RISD days where he met David and Tina, then stepping into the Talking Heads' formative days at CBGB, touring with the Ramones as well as a walk through the Talking Heads studio albums, Stop Making Sense and some Tom Tom Club tracks as well! Listen to some or all to get a taste of what Remain in Love sounds like!

In 2002, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth visited the MVY studios on their way to a Tom Tom Club gig at The Atlantic Connection in Oak Bluffs. Here's their chat with Barbara Dacey.