071 Joe Bonomo on Writing Essays About Music

On this episode, Marc talks with Joe Bonomo, author of "Play This Book Loud: Noisy Essays," published in May of 2025. It's a collection of pieces Bonomo wrote for various publications, primarily the website The Normal School, covering a wide range of music subjects and formats. Among the topics explored are the Cramps, the Who, the Stooges, the Jam, an exploration of the history of the song "Tobacco Road," a delving into a early 70s compilation sponsored by Dick Clark, and even a thorough examination of a 7-inch that 7-11 gave out to customers in the late 60s called "Dance the Slurp."

Joe is the author of several other books including Sweat, a biography of the Fleshtones, an entry in the 33.3 series on AC/DC's Highway to Hell, and a previous collection of essays called Field Recordings from the Inside.

You can buy Play This Book Loud here.

We hope you enjoy Marc's conversation with Joe Bonomo!