Ian Williams came to the show with a request to press shuffle on his tightly curated, massive Spotify playlist and chat about what came up. What resulted was a story about friends, family, relationships, and the power of music to facilitate genuine human connection. Now that's rock & roll (and hip-hop! And other stuff too!). 

This week, Charlie Madsen returns to discuss the timing of mixtapes, the unpredictability of pop music, his favorite artist of all time, and more!

This week, on the first Blank Cassette two-parter(!), LA-based writer Charlie Madsen shares side A of a 2006 tape, his first involving (then) popular music, and offers us insight into his visual method of maxing mixes. 

This week, incredibly talented Chicago comics artist Kevin Budnik shares a playlist he made last Valentine's Day and discusses aesthetics, gender norms, nostalgia, genuine connection, and David Bowie -- sounds like Modern Love to me.

We spend all December hearing Christmas carols. Shouldn't Valentine's Day have carols of its own? Oh wait, it does. \m/ \m/

Turning 16's already a cultural milestone, but what happens when you add a taboo mix tape to it? 

This week, London mixmaster Livia Cruz shares a primer for women in rock and roll. 

This week, Chicago designer Sharlene King tells her story of growing up intertwined with the story of this mix. 

On this week's Blank Cassette, returning mixologist Dr. Benjamin Rathert shares a CD he burned all about Superman that helped him process some difficult times in fall 2001 and continues to inspire him still. 

This week, the host shares his own favorite tracks from this horrible, horrible year.