Truth & Soul Truth & Soul

Song lyrics are generally only regarded as placeholders for melodies. In this episode,  SB and tREBLEFREE do a deep on the messages, stories, and emotions in the lyrics of popular songs that the everyday music listeners may not have been aware of.

SB and tREBLEFREE talk about the role New York played in carrying R&B through the 80's, and the seeds of a new sub-genre in the Midwest. As always, the guys break down a classic album that simultaneously closed and began two eras in R&B.

In this episode, SB & tREBLEFREE count down their favorite soulful Christmas jams. Later in the episode, they break down the 1985 classic album, The Night I Fell In Love. An expertly constructed work by Luther Vandross, a master of his craft whose art deserves closer examination.

In this episode, SB and tREBLEFREE conclude their exploration of the blatantly crossover music by Black artists that made all of the world dance together for a few years in the mid-80's and the social climate behind it. How did this "beige" music affect our lives?

In the mid-80's, there was a phenomenon of Black artists making pop records with just a tinge of R&B in a blatant effort to crossover. Strangely, these records were equally successful with both urban and pop audiences. In this episode, SB and tREBLEFREE, trace the evolution of this "beige" music.

In this episode, hosts SB and tREBLEFREE take a look at a Detroit musical landmark. Later in the episode, they do a deep dive on Parliament's 1978 conceptual masterpiece, The Motor Booty Affair.