Some Needles Find a Groove: Songs About Music

We’re listening to music about music on this week’s Symposium of Popular Songs. I’ve got fewer literary readings for you than usual, but more personal stories, including my all-time favorite story about…

Michial Farmer

October 6, 2025

We’re listening to music about music on this week’s Symposium of Popular Songs. I’ve got fewer literary readings for you than usual, but more personal stories, including my all-time favorite story about my father (which is also my favorite story about Johnny Cougar). Send your song recommendations to me at symposiumofsongs@gmail.com!

0:00
Phil Madeira, “Needles” (Falcon, 2025)
4:59
Benny Goodman, “Sing, Sing, Sing, Pt. 1” (single, 1937)
9:01
Chuck Berry, “Rock and Roll Music” (single, 1957)
11:40
Reading: Walker Percy, Love in the Ruins
15:06
Stevie Wonder, “Sir Duke” (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976)
18:59
John Cougar Mellencamp, “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” (Scarecrow, 1985)
25:19
Elton John, “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” (Breaking Hearts, 1984)
30:17
Uncle Tupelo, “Acuff-Rose” (Anodyne, 1993)
32:50
Randy Stonehill, “Rachel Delevoryas” (Wonderama, 1992)
37:21
Bruce Springsteen, “No Surrender” (Born in the USA, 1984)
41:17
Kate Campbell, “Add Some Music to Your Day” (Making God Smile, 2002)
45:24
Reading: Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata
48:43
Clip: High Fidelity
49:33
Okkervil River, “Pop Lie” (The Stand Ins, 2008)
53:45
Mars Ill, “Sphere of Hip-Hop, Pt. 2” (Raw Material, 2000)

Michial Farmer

Michial Farmer is a poet, essayist, and history teacher. He is the author of Imagination and Idealism in John Updike’s Fiction (Camden House, 2017) and the translator of Gabriel Marcel’s Thirst (Cluny, 2021). He lives in Atlanta.